Game of the World Tree-Chapter 537

【 HELLO AGAIN REINHARDT 】

“Brother Mu, you must’ve noticed it too. After that battle a couple of days ago, the number of players participating in the war has been steadily dropping and it’s only accelerating.”

“Well, It’s getting harder and harder to find orc tribes worth attacking. So a lot of players have gone back to grinding in the underground or the Elven Forest.”

“If this keeps up, the advantage we fought so hard for is going to disappear. And if the final battle suddenly arrives and we don’t have the numbers, we’re screwed.”

Dōngdōng voiced her concerns.

Li Mu nodded in agreement.

He had already thought of the same thing.

“So… after discussing it, you all decided to launch a proactive offensive while we still have the manpower?” Li Mu asked.

“Exactly! A preemptive strike!”

Little Salty Cat threw a fist in the air, making a punching gesture.

Then, with a grin, she added,

“Of course, since the defenses of Sandstorm City are way too strong, we’re not gonna attack the city itself. Instead, we’re going after the orc army stationed outside!”

“Our original plan was to wait until the orcs’ forces were worn down before going on the counterattack, right? Sure, they still have the numbers right now but I believe that we’ve actually got a good shot at winning if we meet them head-on in the battlefield!”

Hearing her reasoning, the other players nodded in agreement.

Though the battle two days ago hadn’t delivered a decisive blow to the orc army, it had shown the players just how strong they had become.

The orcs had lost 40,000 troops, while their sides’ casualties didn’t even reach 5,000.

From a numerical standpoint, it had been a landslide victory for their faction.

After months of leveling up and fighting nonstop, their power had drastically increased. As a result, many players realized they could completely overpower the orcs one-on-one in that last battle.

Plus when you think about it, such outcome made sense.

The average strength of an orc warrior barely reached upper Iron-rank, whereas the weakest players had already surpassed that threshold.

Even if some of them lacked combat experience, with their sheer fearlessness and stat advantages, the players had definitely the upper hand.

From this perspective, even without further weakening the orc army, the players were already strong enough to take them on in open battle.

A 1-to-2 ratio?

So what?

Human history on earth has plenty of cases wherein smaller forces defeated larger ones.

Besides, they weren’t planning to storm the city and just attack the orc army camped outside.

That would make the fight significantly much easier.

Henceforth, of they pulled it off well, they might even cripple the entire orc force outside Sandstorm City.

That army was huge—over 200,000 strong.

Even after incurring huge losses in the previous battle, there were still plenty left for the 100,000-plus players to “feast” on.

As for Sandstorm city itself…

All signs suggested that without divine intervention, the players didn’t stand a chance to break its defense at all.

After all, the ongoing storyline hinted that Sandstorm City was part of an enemy conspiracy which was targeting the Goddess.

So if their enemies were plotting against the Goddess, then there was a high chance that these conspirators were mythical beings, right?

Facing these kind of beings would absolutely wreck the players.

They’d have to wait for a story event to even stand a chance.

“So… you all discussed it and decided to change the plan? Instead of targeting Sandstorm City, the goal now is to eliminate the orc army?” Li Mu asked.

“That’s right!”

Everyone nodded enthusiastically.

“And that’s not all,” Demacia added. “Bro, you’re forgetting something—every major storyline in Elven Kingdom has been triggered by our bold moves or unexpected stunts. So… if we actually crush the orc army outside Sandstorm City, there’s a real chance things could take a major turn!”

He chuckled mischievously.

Li Mu’s eyes lit up.

He understood what Demacia was implying.

Right now, the players didn’t have what it took to break the defenses of Sandstorm City.

But if they could trigger a plot event or cutscene, then perhaps everything might change.

Sure, it was a gamble.

But based on their past experience, it wasn’t impossible.

And who knows?

If this operation of theirs somehow sets off the final battle and leads to those mythical entities finally showing up, the players might be able to sneak in a win amid the chaos.

But… there was still one issue to resolve.

“I’m fine with launching a proactive strike against the orc army,” Li Mu said. “But I have to point out—our top-rank strength still doesn’t match theirs. If we’re going to take the offensive, we absolutely need a few powerful NPCs to join in and share the load.”

As he spoke, he glanced over at Little Salty Cat.

She blinked in surprise, then immediately understood what he meant. She patted her chest confidently and declared,

“Leave Meryer and Tiberia to me. I guarantee they’ll be fighting over the chance to join us!”

Uh…

Having wealth sure does make one bold…

Li Mu looked away and turned to Tomato.

Tomato raised an eyebrow, paused for a moment, and said, “I’ll try negotiating with Rose, but getting her to fight will cost us—and I mean all of us.”

Over the past month, Spider Queen Rose had been closely cooperating with the First Legion, which also happened to be the guild with the most Crypt Spider familiar.

So… Tomato felt he had some leverage when dealing with Rose.

Of course, it would be more of a transactional discussion.

“That works.”

Li Mu nodded.

Though Rose had a glaring weakness, she was still a Legendary-rank being which was more than enough to deal with Gold-rank opponents.

However…

“The most important thing is convincing Big Sister to agree with our plans,” said Salty Cat.

Li Mu agreed.

“Indeed. While on paper she may only be a Gold-ranker, she’s a Godwarden of the Goddess. Once she taps into the Goddess’s strength, she becomes stronger than even a Legendary-rank. If we can get her on board, our odds will definitely skyrocket.”

Everyone in the playerbase knew how terrifying Lady Zero was.

In fact, some forum users compiled rankings of friendly NPCs and Zero undoubtedly ranked number one.

Of course, the list excluded actual deities. If those were included, the title would obviously go to the Goddess Eve, who slayed gods like chickens.

To this day, Li Mu could still vividly recall the scene when the Goddess throughly crushed demigod Volker and those wretched screams he made as he was slowly dragged away by those vine tentacles…

Right after Li Mu finished speaking, silence fell over the tent.

He looked up and saw everyone staring at him.

Li Mu: “…?”

“So… what, you want me to be the one to persuade Big Sister?”

He pointed at himself.

“Of course!” said Demacia with a grin. “Bro, you’re best bootlic—err I mean, the player with the highest NPC favorability in the entire game! If anyone can convince her, it’s definitely you!”

Li Mu: “…”

Just now, you were going to say bootlicker, weren’t you?

This chapt𝓮r is updat𝒆d by ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom.

You totally were!

Damn guy… no wonder the NPCs doesn’t like you.

Li Mu’s mouth twitched.

“Fine. I’ll give it a try,” he said.

→⟐←

“…So you’ve come to ask me to join you in battle?”

In the luxurious tent constructed by players using contribution points, Evé looked calmly at Li Mu, who stood respectfully before her.

“Yes. After some discussion, we believe the time has come for a proactive strike.”

Li Mu answered.

Evé neither agreed nor disagreed.

To be honest, while she admired the players’ initial strategic mindset of wanting to conquer Sandstorm City, she had always understood one thing clearly…

That is, capturing Sandstorm City all by themselves in this war would be nearly impossible.

This war itself was born from a clash of mythical powers, which was an elaborate plot by several gods behind the Orcs, all aimed at her.

And clearly, the so-called “Divine Kingdom of the World Tree” within Sandstorm City was the crux of their ploy.

As such, Evé didn’t even consider the city itself to be safe.

She didn’t believe that, given her current strength, she could walk straight right into their trap and come out unscathed.

Chances were, she’d likely have to face a multi-pronged assault from several mythical entities.

This time, Uller had clearly gone all-in.

If war truly broke out, his two other demigod-level envoys would almost certainly descend. Uller himself might even project a demigod-level incarnation into the battlefield.

And outside her own divine kingdom even with the aid of the artifact Withering Heart, Evé doubted she could defeat them easily.

After all… her power would also be limited to the demigod level.

And that wasn’t even the worst part.

The very fact that they dared to set a trap for a god whose true body resided here in Seigües meant they had confidence in their plan.

Uller and his envoys definitely weren’t the only enemies hiding in the shadows.

The Lord of Darkness and Shadows, Hodür, would likely lend his support as well. And those two evil gods who once appeared during the war in the Underground were probably not going to sit this one out either.

Together, all these enemies of hers formed a truly formidable alliance.

In contrast, Evé was just one person.

She had once considered negotiating with the dragons for support, but upon further thought, she realized her chances of convincing them were slim and gave up on the idea.

Other than purifying their bloodlines, she had nothing to offer that might convince them to join the war.

And as for bloodline purification—that had already been traded in exchange for the Dragon Pact.

At most, she could ask Hela to let her borrow one of her champions, the magical wolf Fenrir.

But even then, facing so many enemies at once would be an extremely risky endeavor.

Her original plan had simply been to clear the World Tree’s name while dealing a heavy blow to the orcs. Of course, if she could drag a mythical being down with her, that would be even better.

Eve possessed the artifact Withering Heart.

If the opportunity arose to seal an unfortunate enemy, she could snatch it and run with a classic “hit and run” tactics.

So, after hearing the players’ plan from Li Mu, she simply nodded:

“Alright.”

Receiving Eve’s support, Li Mu was overjoyed.

He bowed respectfully and left cheerfully, braving the raging sandstorm outside.

Evé, on the other hand, returned to her seat, sipping floral tea provided by Alice while browsing through the player interface of the game system.

To be honest, attacking the enemy troops stationed outside the city without storming Sandstorm City itself was relatively safe.

And if the players performed well enough, it was entirely possible that they might provoke Uller into revealing his true cards.

In any case, the altars in both the Elven Forest and the Ouros demirealm were already prepared. Once a mythical being descended upon the battlefield, the stage would be fully set.

Then she could “cooperate” in a grand performance to clear her name.

The only concern was that while she, being cautious, could escape unharmed if things went south, the same couldn’t be said for the players.

Especially once a mythical being arrived…

Would a scripted story event result in the fall of the city?

No—It was far more likely to result in a party wipe.

“So be it,” she silently muttered. “If we get wiped, then we get wiped. As long as I can capture one enemy mythical being, it’s worth the cost even if the players all die. As for their morale… I’ll just hand out some juicy quest rewards and waive the resurrection token penalty for this event afterwards and the problem will likely be solved.”

Since she had decided to join the battle, she figured she might as well turn it into a formal quest.

“Let’s trigger it as a hidden storyline quest. That way, I can legitimize Li Mu and the others’ plan and gather more players.”

With that thought, Evé prepared to invoke her divine power and send out a new system message. But just as she was about to act, she suddenly sensed a familiar presence…

Evé suddenly looked up toward the Elven Forest, showing a surprised expression.

After a moment’s thought, her awareness quickly shifted and she returned to her true body.

→⟐←

Elven Forest, Florence.

Nearly two years had passed since the players reclaimed the city, and the restoration and renovation efforts had long been completed.

Although a thousand years had erased much of its former splendor, and the city no longer matched its ancient scale, Florence had been reborn, fresh and full of new life.

Intricate patterns, elegant architecture, charming gardens…

Even if it wasn’t a perfect replica of its past glory, it was undeniably still beautiful and inviting.

On the streets of Florence, a handsome silver-haired elf in a silver robe strolled leisurely.

With a faint smile, he admired the buildings around him and couldn’t help but murmur to himself:

“What an impressive reconstruction speed…”

Then he shook his head and added:

“But it’s far too quiet.”

Indeed, it was eerily quiet.

In fact, “deserted” might have been a better word.

Though the buildings looked brand-new and some homes had clearly been maintained, there was barely a soul in sight.

It was as if the entire population had suddenly vanished.

Only the hourly chimes from the temple bell tower indicated that the city still had residents.

“Most of the elves joined the Holy War, so naturally, the city feels empty.”

A soft, ethereal voice rang out behind him.

The silver-haired elf didn’t seem surprised. He had apparently been expecting this.

Stroking his chin, he muttered:

“Ah, that explains it…”

Then he turned gently and looked toward the silver-haired, violet-eyed elf maiden who had appeared behind him.

With a resigned expression, he said:

“Lady Eve, you really do enjoy sneaking up behind people, don’t you?”

“Likewise, Lord Reinhardt. You also have a habit of dropping by unannounced,” the elven maiden replied.

The newcomer was none other than Platinum Dragon King Reinhardt, who had once signed a covenant on behalf of the dragon race after his brief encounter with Evé.

Hearing her words, Reinhardt raised an eyebrow, then shook his head and said:

“This time, Lady Eve, I’m not here without a reason,” he ruefully smiled before adding, “An old friend asked me to retrieve a certain junior who’s gotten a little too carried away.”

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