Game of the World Tree

After all, this marked the players’ first formal interaction with another faction within Elven Kingdom.

Although they had previously fought against the Orcs, these faction had been initially designated as enemies, and for the players, the Orcs were no different from the mindless monsters they usually hunted, except for the fact that they could speak.

But the Dark Dwarves were different. Evé had no significant conflicts of interest with them, harbored no grudges, and most importantly, there were other true gods behind them.

The Gods of the Netherworld!

Compared to the gods in Heavenly Realm, the gods of the Netherworld were much more enigmatic and ancient. Legend has it that the earliest deities of the Netherworld were a group comprised solely of Great Ancient Ones.

They always kept a low profile and did not get involved in the power struggles of the mortal world, nor did they participate in the gods’ siege of the World Tree a thousand years ago.

Although she had the inheritance of the World Tree, it contained limited information about the gods of the Netherworld.

She only knew that Hela, the Goddess of Death, is currently the nominal ruler of the Netherworld, while Hodur, the Lord of Darkness and Shadows, predated Hela in terms of existence.

And these two were the primary gods worshipped by the Dark Dwarves.

However, subsequent revelations from the Spider Queen revealed that some conflicts arose between these two gods concerning the Dark Dwarves’ faith.

It is precisely because of this that Evé reminded players not to intervene in the dwarves religious disputes when she assigned the quest.

Because in her view, these two gods of the Dark Dwarves might already be engaged in a senseless struggle within their own respective religious denomination, and the sudden intervention of players in this conflict could potentially be harmful to her.

However, when the players entered Blackrock City, Evé discovered that Hela, the Goddess of Death, had likely the one who emerged victorious in the religious succession of the Dark Dwarves, seeing as all the shrines of Hodur, the Lord of Darkness and Shadows, had been destroyed.

Yet, as the players continued on with their activities around Blackrock City, Evé was surprised to find that there seemed to be a force lurking within the shadows of the city, constantly targeting and provoking the players.

These forces included dwarf mercenaries, local thugs, slave traders and so on…

At first, Evé suspected that this force might belong to Hela, the Goddess of Death, and was testing the players. However, she quickly dismissed this idea because the other party had basically no need to do so.

From the players’ point of view, they did not find anything wrong with engaging in conflict with these people. On the contrary, they even found it rather fascinating. Nonetheless, Evé, who had been monitoring the players’ collective perspective, uncovered some clues as she observes the actions of these individuals.

It appears that their ongoing attempts to provoke the players are specifically intended to harm the developing relationship between the elves and the Dark Dwarves.

Not only that, but when a player was captured by slave traders, Evé secretly observed the situation and was astonished to discover that the slave traders who had kidnapped the player seemed to have some connections with the Sauron Caravan!

In other words… as the dwarven tribe closest to the Elven Forest, these slave traders were probably also responsible for trafficking elves. They conducted business with the Sauron Caravan and sold elves to other criminal forces in need of such commodities. Some of these dwarven slave traders were even members of the Sauron Syndicate…

And this discovery also led Evé to make some guesses.

Just like the Orcs, the Sauron Syndicate is also a major force in slave trafficking, responsible for the distribution of elven slaves within the human society.

If she remembers correctly, Meryer once said that the reason why the Sauron Syndicate can operate freely across the continent is because they have attached themselves to the thigh of a certain powerful existence in the underworld!

However, Evé didn’t pay too much attention to it. Instead, she kept an eye out and strengthened her monitoring of the players in Blackrock City.

And today, these people finally showed up…

They turned out to be followers of the Lord of Darkness and Shadow!

To be honest, this result did not come as a surprise to Evé. It was almost similar to what she had initially guessed.

As a true god, even if this force doesn’t say anything, Evé can probably guess as to what they want to do.

What more could a group of believers of a specific god desire from another true god with conflicting beliefs?

It’s probably nothing but cause trouble and most likely related to their struggle for faith.

However, upon realizing that this particular Nether God is likely the powerful entity behind the Sauron Syndicate, Evé once again felt overwhelmed, considering that the Sauron Syndicate had already been marked as a hostile force by her.

Perhaps the Sauron Syndicate’s actions against the elves were solely driven by profit alone…

Yet one undeniable fact was that they are also accomplices of the Orcs.

Moreover according to Nightingale’s words, they mercilessly hunt and slay elves even more ruthlessly than the Orcs do. In fact, the human mercenaries responsible for annihilating Nightingale’s branch of the Darkshade Clan were even associated with the Sauron Syndicate.

What else is there to say? Even more so for the sake of the elves’ return, the Sauron Syndicate is undoubtedly a hostile force that she would need to deal with sooner or later.

However, now that it has been revealed that the Lord of Darkness and Shadows is the backer behind the Sauron Syndicate…

To be honest, Evé is really at a loss.

When facing Uller, Evé had disguised herself as a subordinate of the Goddess of death.

And given the collaboration between Sauron Syndicate and the Orcs, it is likely that this Nether God also has some connections with Uller. If somehow the Hunter God really wants to score a victory against her and approaches this Nether God as a potential ally, then Evé will find herself trapped in a serious dilemma…

There’s a saying that one always has to pay for their actions. If that scenario were to actually occur, then Evé couldn’t simply go and pitifully cling to the thighs of the Goddess of Death, could she?

Forget about Uller, who has displayed hostility from the very beginning. While the forces of the Lord of Darkness and Shadows have also been persecuting the elves, which has indirectly led to the rapid decline of the elven race, alas, Evé currently has no plans to attack the other party for the time being.

On one hand, she is still weak, and on the other hand, she already has enough enemies as it is.

However, disguising herself as a subordinate of the goddess of death has now become a burden for Evé.

If Uller were to reveal the ‘truth’ to the Lord of Darkness and Shadows, then Evé wouldn’t stand a chance unless she abandons the guise of being an underling of Hela.

However, getting rid of the disguise of being a subordinate of Hela would also greatly increase the risk of exposing her true identity…

What a headache!

Fortunately, Uller, as he is now, still wants to monopolize the Divinity of Life and Nature for himself alone. He is confident in his own power and probably won’t seek any allies for the time being.

And now, the followers of the Lord of Darkness and Shadows have come to her doorstep and somehow mistaken her identity, which has given Evé some wild ideas…

In that case…

Why not try forming a proper alliance with Hela?

Even though her status as a subordinate of the goddess of death is fabricated, why can’t it become ‘real’ instead?

With this thought in mind, Evé made a decision.

She had already made up her mind.

She plans to deceive the players and the followers of the Lord of Darkness and Shadows first and then secretly report them to the Church of Death, so that Hela’s minions could trouble them!

It would also be an opportunity to earn a favor from Hela and observe if there could be further cooperation between them.

While making these decisions, Little Salty Cat and the other two had already selected the spokesperson for the conversation.

The chosen person was Salty Cat.

There was no other way, Tomato and Demacia couldn’t stand each other, and neither of them wanted the other to engage in the conversation, so the role eventually fell to Little Salty Cat.

Tomato could only reluctantly accept it but couldn’t help but to remind her,

“Hey Salty Cat, be serious okay, don’t choose the wrong option.”

“Heh, you ignorant bumpkin. It doesn’t matter who the spokesperson is you know?” Demacia sneered at Tomato.

It doesn’t matter who the spokesperson is?

Little Salty Cat gave Demacia a strange look.

She didn’t say much but excitedly clicked the candidate confirmation in the system prompt along with the other two.

【Confirmed spokesperson: “Little Salty Cat“】

The system message flashed once again, and in an instant, the three of them found themselves temporarily losing control of their bodies.

【Spokesperson confirmed, initiating transitional cutscene】

Another message flashed by.

Then, Evé used the game system to manipulate the body of Little Salty Cat…

After establishing the link in her Celestial Domain and the connection between faith and the game system was strengthened, Evé gained the ability to manipulate the players’ bodies using the system.

Soon after, Little Salty Cat was surprised to find that her avatar took a step forward without being controlled by her, and at the same time, she spoke on her own:

“What kind of transaction?”

Little Salty Cat: “???”

Wait a minute?

Is this fully automated?

“Assist us in overthrowing the reign of the Goddess of Death here in the city,” said Hearthstone, the Godwarden of Shadows, with a deep voice as he gazed at ‘Little Salty Cat.’

“Do you know who is behind us?”

Eve asked through the body of Little Salty Cat.

“A while ago, the mana in Saigües suddenly increased. The Patriarch of our church made a prediction and learned that a group of dormant beings is about to awaken.”

The Hearthstone spoke in a deep voice.

A group of dormant beings?

Evé raised an eyebrow, knowing that the other party had mistaken her, the existence behind the elves, as some evil god or an ancient demigod seeking ascendance into godhood.

Of course, such misunderstanding is for the best and she has no plans to rectify it.

“What can we gain for helping you?” She asked again through the body of Little Salty Cat.

“Friendship with the Church of Darkness and Shadow, and an alliance with the Dark Dwarves, as well as 100,000 pounds of common currency as employment payment, and… a permanent business agreement!”

“Deal but a contract needs to be signed.”

‘Little Salty Cat’ answered bluntly.

“Excellent, you are truly straightforward! Here is the contract, as well as all our plans have been written on it!”

Hearthstone nodded approvingly and took out a prepared employment contract from his chest pocket.

This blood contract is frequently employed in the underworld, where the blood of the signatory serves as a catalyst to activate a blood curse on the person who signed the contract.

Should the signatory breach the agreement, then their entire body will experience a boiling sensation, ultimately resulting in their demise!

It is said that this type of contract originated from the devil in purgatory, and it is very easy to use…

Evé was very straightforward. After reading the specific requirements of the contract, she bit the finger of “Little Salty Cat” and pressed her thumbs onto the contract.

Little Salty Cat: “…..”

Wait…

Why did I sign a contract?

Meanwhile, Tomato and Demacia looked at Little Salty Cat with admiration in their eyes.

“By the way, the two of you also need to sign.”

Hearthstone smiled and also took out two more copies and handed them to Tomato and Demacia.

We need to sign too?

The two of them were taken aback.

Then they realized that their bodies were also automatically moving, and they bit their fingers and pressed their bloodied thumbs onto the contract.

Tomato: “……”

Demacia: “……”