Game of the World Tree

A week had passed since the players ventured into Maple Leaf City and completed the hidden quest of thwarting the Church of Despair’s conspiracy, whilst also liberating scores of captive elves in the process.

Currently, the elves that were rescued are still depleted of a significant amount of their bloodline power due to the rituals of the Despair Church that used these elves as a medium, thus they are all still in a deep slumber.

However, according to Alice, their lives haven’t been seriously affected, and they will likely wake up one after another as long as they get to properly rest for a while.

In the meantime, while the Saintess and the players who had rescued them were taking care of these slumbering elves, some players who had remained in Maple Leaf City also triggered the subsequent storyline of the main questline one after another.

The gist of the storyline is that Lady Zero, the goddess’s Godwarden, has finally figured out the identities of those Despair Church believers by reading their memories.

Based on her findings, the real mastermind behind the Despair Church is the Ancient Dragon of Despair, Nidhogg, who once participated in the thousand-year heavenly war and gnawed at the roots of the World Tree!

Moreover, Lady Zero also received a revelation from the goddess pertaining to the current state of this ancient dragon.

At present, Nidhogg exists solely in a spiritual state, having lost his true body in the Heavenly War, and has been further weakened by his recent battle against the Eternal Lord.

Furthermore, his plan to obtain a new body has been foiled by the players. With his current unstable state and his original plans ruined, Nidhogg is undoubtedly eager to obtain a suitable body for himself.

Therefore, for the further recovery of the goddess and to exact revenge against this evil dragon deity who directly caused the goddess to lose her power in the past, Lady Zero ultimately devised a plan.

That is to use Meryer, being a black dragon and descendants of Nidhogg as bait to lure the Old Dragon out.

Then, if Nighogg were to truly fall into the trap, Lady Zero would perform a divine possession, borrowing the power of the goddess, to kill the severely weakened ancient dragon and present him as an offering to the goddess!

That is the gist of this new hidden questline—【Hunting the Ancient Dragon God 】

The role the players need to fulfill is to spread the existence of Meryer around the human territory and occasionally trick the little black dragon into wandering around the Empire’s Borderlands to confirm the rumors of its supposed existence.

With the rewards as rich as ever, the players acted swiftly and cajoled the gluttonous Meryer into going on ‘walks’ by offering him roasted barbecues.

In just a matter of days, news of sightings of a black dragon immediately spread throughout Maple Leaf City.

Nonetheless…

“Boss Demacia, weren’t we supposed to work with those players who were still pretending to be Despair Church members to reveal the existence of the black dragon to the city higher-ups? Why does everyone in the city now knows about it instead?”

The person standing next to the red-haired man asked with a trace of confusion upon his face.

The red-haired man smirked:

“You dumbass! Even if it doesn’t attract the intended targets, we can still rope in some people who might want to be heroes and earn the title ‘Dragon Slayers’ if we spread the news more widely!”

“I’ve asked around and almost every human experts in ElvKing have a great interest in slaying dragons. Seriously, all those I’ve asked want to be called dragon slayers, so it’s better this way!”

“Once we attract some human experts to take the bait, won’t we be able to take advantage of the situation?”

“Just think about it… even though we’re spreading rumors about this really powerful black dragon, if you properly analyze the description we gave, any expert can tell it’s just a juvenile dragon. So, the people we’ll likely rope in probably aren’t all that strong either.”

Upon hearing the red-haired man’s reasoning, his companion showed a look of apprehension.

“But… what if we can’t handle them? What if we somehow attract some really strong folks? I mean, we’re not even level 40 yet, Boss.”

Demacia shrugged.

“Well, if we can’t, then there’s my boy, Aél! If Aél can’t handle it, there’s Sister Zero! But if Sister Zero still can’t either, there’s ultimately the Goddess! Look buddy, we can always rely on more powerful people to help us, so don’t be too worried, okay?” ¹

The red-haired man winked at his companion.

Ever since the Orc War at Black Dragon Castle, Lady Zero’s formidable prowess has left a lasting impression upon the players. In the aftermath of that event, some players began to affectionately refer to her as “Sister Zero,” a testament to the respect and admiration she garnered through her actions that day.

“But… won’t spreading the news so widely like this mess up the original plan? I mean, won’t it make the enemy more cautious or something? Sister Zero might also get mad at us for not sticking with the intended plan, and then we’ll lose some favorability with her…”

Demacia’s companion asked again but the former only shook his head.

“I don’t think so… Before I did anything, I got Brother Mu to subtly asked Sister Zero what she thinks about my plan and it looks like she’s cool with me spreading the news everywhere.”

After saying this, Demacia furrowed his brow, with his fingers tracing absent-mindedly along his chin.

“I even think… the original plan might really just be a ruse by Sister Zero, and it has a much deeper schemes hiding beneath it… I mean, given how the A.I. operates in this game, that Ancient Dragon wouldn’t fall for such an obvious trap, right?”

“Well, who knows! Let’s just wait and see what happens next!”

“…Black Dragon?”

In the Lord’s study of White Maple Castle, the Borderlord frowned slightly after listening to the guard’s report.

These days, the Count appeared more noticeably worn-out, likely from being overwhelmed by recent events in Maple Leaf City.

He remained silent for a moment before nodding:

“I understand. You may leave.”

The guard bowed respectfully and retreated with measured steps.

In the study, silence enveloped the entire room.

As the door closed behind the departing guard, the Borderlord paused whilst deep in thought, then rose and locked the door.

Then, the Count retraced his steps to a bookshelf’s side, before extending his hand to a specific spot. With a faint creak, the bookshelf shifted, unveiling a hidden passage beneath it.

After a deep breath, the Borderlord stepped into the passage.

As he advanced, the bookshelf behind him eased shut, enveloping him in darkness. Yet, shortly afterward, the passage was illuminated by the soft glow of magical lamps hanging upon its walls, unveiling an underground chamber.

It was a clandestine passage leading somewhere deep underground.

Without hesitation, the Borderlord descended the stairs, proceeding directly to the lowest level of the underground chamber.

Within a confined space of less than twenty square meters, a solitary mirror stood at the center.

As the Count moved closer to the mirror, his voice filled the air with melodious yet rhythmic incantations, causing the mirror to shimmer and radiate a deepening light until a dark shadow slowly emerged from within its depths.

A voice, old and weary, echoed from the depths of the mirror.

“You’ve come. Have you taken care of the aftermath?”

“It’s taken care of. I found some scapegoats, and the main base of the church has been relocated as per your instructions. I used the secret technique you taught me to erase any traces. They wouldn’t be able to find anything even if the Eternal Diocese sends someone to investigate,” The Borderlord said.

“Very good!” the old voice sounded satisfied.

“For now, keep a low profile. We’ll discuss about this matter more once the new bishop of the Eternal Diocese arrives.”

Upon hearing the old voice’s instructions, the Borderlord nodded slightly.

Then, after hesitating for a moment, the Count asked:

“Where are you now?”

There was a moment of silence from the old voice before it replied:

“I’m in a safe place and won’t be returning for a while.”

Upon hearing this, the Borderlord’s expression shifted, a hint of uncertainty flickering across his features.

After a brief pause, he spoke in a deep voice, “It wasn’t me! I wouldn’t be that foolish since we already signed a contract!”

“I know it wasn’t you,” the old voice admitted with a tinged of self-deprecation.

“Hehe, this time… I was simply outplayed by an old friend.”

A slight furrow creased the Borderlord’s brow.

“An old friend?” he inquired.

“Hehe, I certainly felt the breath of death at that last moment…”

Though the Borderlord wanted to inquire further, the other party remained reticent.

Seeing the old man didn’t want to further elaborate on the matter, the Borderlord didn’t press further.

However, after a moment of hesitation, Count Otto ventured to ask:

“Your condition… seems to be very bad?”

“You probably wouldn’t have been able to contact me again if I had been a second slower in escaping…” chuckled the old voice, tinged with self-deprecation.

A subtle shift crossed the Borderlord’s expression.

After a moment’s pause, the Count asked, his tone tinged with uncertainty:

“The one you fought with that day… was it truly…”

He stopped and simply gestured upward.

The old voice sighed.

“Only ‘He’ could force me into such a miserable state with His mere projection of will alone…”

“Of course it’s also because I haven’t obtained a body yet…”

Upon hearing this, the Borderlord fell silent, his gaze drifting momentarily.

Then, with a subtle shift in his expression, the Count spoke:

“Actually… I came here this time for another reason.”

“Do you recall the black dragon we discussed previously?”

Upon hearing this, the old voice lapsed into silence for a moment.

“You mean… the recent rumors?”

There was a trace of ridicule in the old voice before it added:

“It’s such an obvious trap for me. Do you think I’m that stupid?”

— 312 —

【 DO YOU THINK I’M THAT STUPID? 】

¹ There’s a chinese proverb here in the original raws which doesn’t really translate well into English (Even if you can’t eat meat, you can still drink some soup/就算吃不了肉，喝点汤也可以吧) This proverb alludes to the concept of mutual support, generosity, and fairness in relationships.

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