Game of the World Tree-Chapter 539

【 THE FINAL BATTLE BEGINS 】

Early Morning.

The sky spread out in a vast, pristine expanse, its deep blue brilliance gleaming as if it had just been washed clean.

The sun crept upward, its early rays breaking through drifting white clouds and spilling golden light over the endless, windswept sands of the Desert of Death.

To the north of Sandstorm City, just beyond the player-constructed encampment, fully armed battalions of players gathered in steady formation.

Seen from above, the massive encampment resembled a colossal beast, endlessly devouring and spitting out troops as it operated at its full capacity.

With the Sandstorm finally subsiding, Evé had also obtained the attack plans of the top leaders of several major guilds.

As always, the appearance of a “hidden quest” reignited the players’ enthusiasm, triggering a fresh wave of participants.

Thus, the player exodus had ceased.

Even those who had previously returned to the Elven Forest, disheartened and exhausted, were now hastily teleporting back through the portals…

Outside the player camp.

After several months of gameplay, the players had become increasingly proficient at mass mobilization.

In no time at all, a vast and densely packed formation had quickly taken shape outside their camp.

This time, a staggering army of 100,000 players had been mobilized.

It was nearly the upper limit for this campaign.

Unlike before, this battle took place on a weekday in earth’s time, precisely at 6:30 PM.

While many people were already done with their work at this time, a sizable number were still stuck in overtime hell.

Therefore, these poor souls could only sneak peeks at the chaotic “streams” of the players—if they could even be watchable at that due to the time dilation—during work breaks, their eyes filled with envy, jealousy, and frustration…

Aside from those who couldn’t log in due to real-world obligations, and those who hadn’t yet returned to the Desert, or the idle players assigned by their guilds to remain behind and monitor the bodies of those offline, everyone else was here.

One hundred thousand players.

While the number was far smaller than the initial wave of participants, after so many days of brutal combat, the current players were no longer the same as before.

Their overall strength had subtly advanced, and more importantly, they had compiled and shared a wealth of effective anti-orc tactics through repeated combat experience through the official forums.

And that tactical knowledge made all the difference.

In earth’s real-world warfare, the reason veterans had higher survival and kill rates than recruits was simple:

—Experience gained through countless battles.

What the players had developed through trial and error was their combat experience.

The internet bridged distances between people and allowed players to share knowledge freely and improve together.

This was something the orcs could never hope to match.

Among the gathered army, nearly one-third had chosen to ride into battle on their magical familiars.

These made up the 30,000-strong cavalry troops.

Of those, more than half were archer-class players, while the remainder were mostly heavily armored tank-class warriors.

There was a reason for this composition.

Here in the Desert, players could revive after death but their dropped unbound gear couldn’t be recovered, and magical familiars, once dead, stayed permanently dead.

Thus, the players treated them like precious treasures.

As such, only ranged players who could avoid melee risk chose to become mounted archer cavalry for better mobility.

Meanwhile, tank-class players had been specially deployed by major guilds as heavy cavalry.

These players wore full heavy armor, and their mounts whose equally armored thanks to player blacksmiths were none other than crypt spiders.

Since Spider Queen, Rose, had ascended to Legendary-rank, her broods numbers had skyrocketed drastically, offering a steady supply for players to use.

Moreover, they were mindless drone creatures.

So it didn’t really matter even they died.

Although these creatures were quite weak in daytime, they boasted excellent load-bearing and speed, which was far outperforming the horses and camels players had captured.

There were 10,000 heavy cavalry players in total.

According to the battle plan, the heavy cavalry would serve as the vanguard. The infantry players would form the main fighting force, while the mounted archers provided flexible support, harassment, and pursuit.

This plan had been developed by players over numerous battles, with inspiration drawn from earth’s own pre-modern warfare history.

Outside the camp.

Wearing her black combat dress armor and donning her “Zero” persona, Evé stood atop a barren hill, gazing toward Sandstorm City.

The entire city was built from solid obsidian and rested against a mountainous backdrop which were slightly elevated in terrain.

In the sunlight, it gleamed with a faint, eerie luster.

Evé silently watched the city—this bastion the orcs were so proud of—and observed their movement on the ramparts with an unreadable expression.

At that moment, a respectful voice spoke behind her:

“Lady Zero, we’ll finish assembling in no more than ten minutes. However, the total number of troops we’re deploying this time is slightly lower than before—just 100,000.”

It was Li Mu.

Upon hearing his report, Evé gave a slight nod.

“It’s fine. Such numbers is already quite impressive enough.”

As of now, over 150,000 players had participated in the Desert War campaign. Though only about two-thirds of them had shown up for this battle, an army of 100,000 was still an immense force.

In fact, this might be for the best.

Between 100,000 and 150,000, the difference at this stage wasn’t truly significant anymore—because the real crux of this war lay in the clash of mythical beings.

If the players were somehow wiped out unexpectedly, having fewer casualties involved would mean fewer overall losses.

Watching Evé stare off into the distance, Li Mu couldn’t help but ask:

“What are you looking at, Lady Zero?”

“I’m observing the movements of the Orcs,” Eve replied.

The Orc’s movements?

Li Mu was taken aback.

He followed her gaze, but he could barely make anything out aside from the faint silhouette of the towering spire in the distance.

Even when he activated the [Eagle Eye] skill, all he could discern was a blurry outline of the city walls.

It made him marvel her yet again.

No wonder she’s called Big Sister….Her eyesight was insane!

But then, he suddenly slapped his own forehead.

Damn, I’ve been playing this game for so long I’m starting to think about it like it’s real life. I forgot there’s magic here…

This game is just too immersive. Stick around long enough and it really starts feeling like another world.

Evé, however, paid no attention to Li Mu’s little gestures. Her focus remained firmly fixed on the direction of Sandstorm City.

The city lay two kilometers from the player encampment, and the terrain in between was wide open with no cover or obstructions.

Because of that, as a true god, Evé could clearly see the activity on the city walls—and especially atop the lofty Sandstorm Spire where the Orc were stationed.

Of course, that also meant the Orc could clearly observe the players’ movements in return.

With an unobstructed view, the maximum line of sight from a hundred-meter height was roughly 35 kilometers. While the Orc’s eyesight certainly couldn’t compare to that of a god, standing atop the Sandstorm City’s Spire, they could still roughly make out the player camp and its activities.

So, the Orc had undoubtedly already noticed the Elves’ massive gathering of their troops.

What intrigued Evé, however, was that after initially reacting with a burst of panic, the Orcs in Sandstorm City quickly regained their composure.

That was unexpected.

When the players had first appeared a few kilometers away, the city had plunged into total chaos. Horses reared, warriors shouted, and the ramparts descended into a frenzy that took a long while to settle.

But then again, that was because the players had struck hard during their last offensive.

Relentless slaughter, plunder, and even forced conversions had left a deep psychological scar on the Orcs. Never in their wildest dreams could they have imagined that those harmless, peace-loving elves would one day become a brutal force they genuinely feared.

And now, despite the elves mobilizing for another large-scale operation, Sandstorm City remained surprisingly calm.

This ran counter to Eve’s expectations—especially given that the Orcs had just suffered a crushing defeat two days ago and should’ve still been reeling from the blow.

…Something wasn’t right.

“Interesting…”

Evé murmured to herself.

A hint of suspicion had begun to form within her mind…

Two kilometers.

Not too far, but not too close either.

For a true god like her, however, it was a trivial distance—no more than a blink of an eye.

At this range, Evé could even sense larger fluctuations in energy.

Ever since the players had neared Sandstorm City, she had been closely monitoring the magical energy in this region, as well as gathering intel through player channels.

Anything involving a god would inevitably leave a substantial trace.

So even if Uller tried his best to conceal himself, he would still leave behind some clues.

Eve’s goal was to find those traces and use them to predict Uller’s moves.

However, over the past few days, apart from detecting one faint pulse of divine power, she hadn’t sensed any other disturbances at all.

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And judging by that single ripple, based on her experience, Eve concluded it was likely one of Uller’s divine oracles.

Coupled with the Orc’s previous disastrous defeat…

It all suggested that, for the moment, no more powerful entities had descended upon Sandstorm City.

Which made sense since the realm of Seigües had not yet been fully opened.

For a true god or even a demigod to descend here required a continuous expenditure of divine power to resist the world’s natural rejection.

And the cost wasn’t small either.

Although brief descent might be manageable, but if Uller committed too early, he’d likely exhaust himself long before the true climax of the war.

After all… Uller was only a God with weak divine power, and he was still maintaining a spatial-temporal restriction nearby which was a drain that already consumed a great deal of his power.

So, Evé had originally assumed that only once the players launched a full assault would the Orc begin their rituals and summon their reinforcements.

But now, after observing the Orc’s unexpected shift in behavior, her theory was beginning to change.

Something was off.

She hadn’t sensed any large-scale energy fluctuations except for yesterday.

The Desert of Death had long been polluted by chaotic magical energy. Under extreme weather conditions, the mana across the entire desert would become unstable.

Take those Sandstorms, for instance.

And since this area wasn’t under Eve’s direct control, any fluctuations in mana gave Uller a chance to conceal his energy to some extent.

Chaotic mana usually disrupts summoning rituals and can easily lead to failure—except in one location.

The temple inside Sandstorm City.

And as it so happened, Sandstorm City housed the largest temple here in the desert.

Putting all these factors together, Evé had a strong suspicion:

The Orcs likely used yesterday’s sandstorm to complete their ritual summoning.

It was highly probable that a demigod envoy now existed within Sandstorm City.

As if to confirm her theory, the next moment, Evé noticed movement among the Orcs.

Specifically, the Orc army stationed outside Sandstorm City had begun to mobilize.

But this wasn’t a defensive maneuver.

To her surprise, Evé saw the Orc army forming ranks inside the city, marching out in grand formation.

That made her pause.

Mobilizing an army takes time and the Orc’s mobilization couldn’t have been in response to the players alone.

They must have planned this in advance.

At that point, there was no more room for doubt.

Only with powerful reinforcements would the Orc have the confidence to launch another full-scale offensive.

Evé sighed softly.

“So the final battle… is about to begin.”

She then turned to Li Mu and said,

“Inform the other Chosen Ones to prepare for combat. The Orcs are mustering their forces too. It seems… we’ll be meeting them in the battlefield once more.”

“Moreover, they must have received divine aid.”

Divine aid…

Li Mu’s expression grew serious.

After a moment of thought, he asked respectfully,

“Should we fall back to the camp and prepare for a defensive battle?”

Evé replied with a question of her own:

“What do you think?”

Li Mu paused but then, he chuckled and replied,

“…Of course we’ll fight them in the battlefield!”

He wasn’t kidding.

No one enjoyed the last defensive battle—it had felt far too passive. Now that the Orcs were pouring out of their stronghold, wasn’t this the perfect opportunity?

Sure, defending might lower their casualty rate slightly, but what the players really wanted was a massive battle where everyone could participate to their heart’s content!

Besides, they believed in their own strength.

As for that supposed divine aid?

Well, didn’t they have the Goddess on their side?

Thinking that, Li Mu glanced at her again. As if reading his thoughts, she drew the symbol of the Scepter of Life over her chest and solemnly declared:

“The Goddess will watch over us.”

Li Mu nodded, gave her a respectful bow, and departed.

Twenty minutes passed quickly.

The 100,000-strong elven army had fully assembled.

The battlefield voice channel opened once more.

A familiar BGM began to play, stirring the players, some solemn, while others unable to contain their excitement.

Li Mu had already shared the intelligence he’d received from Zero in the battlefield channel.

And this time, there was no more rallying speech, nor pre-battle declarations coming from him…for every player already understood at this point:

The final showdown of the Desert of Death main storyline was about to begin.

“Move out! Our target—the Orc army!”

With that single command, echoing across the entire battlefield channel, the massive elven army formed a somewhat tidy formation and began advancing toward Sandstorm City.

As if on cue, the BGM also shifted, before a rousing march blared in their ears, lifting the morale of every player.

Meanwhile, in the distance near Sandstorm City, the Orc army whose clearly prepared in advance had also formed their ranks and gathered.

With blaring warhorns echoing in the desert, over 200,000 Orcs, flanked by more than 60 Behemoths, all began advancing northward.

It was as if both sides had made an unspoken agreement.

Like two colossal beasts of war, they steadily drew closer to one another.

Only two kilometers apart, with flat terrain between them…

The final battle against the Orcs was about to begin.

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