Game of the World Tree

Barain, the old dwarf, sat at his desk, bowing his head as he dealt with the daily affairs of the city.

Suddenly, a commotion outside made him raise his head and furrow his brow.

Ironhammer, a dwarf guard, burst into the room with his entrance accompanied by distant noise and screams.

“Lord Barain! Lord Barain! A squad of guards has just arrived and they’ve taken Elder Sulin and Elder Loto away! The guards are saying they’re Shadow Cultists. You should go and see for yourself!”

The guards?

Barain’s pupils partly contracted, and he unconsciously snapped his quill in half.

“How many guards came? Where did they go?”

He managed to suppress his fear and asked.

“They should be approaching this room shortly. You need to go and persuade them! The city hall is loyal to the Church of Death. How is it possible that there are Shadow Cultists among us? You—”

Ironhammer’s words came to a sudden halt as he caught sight of Elder Barain. The usually calm and collected Elder swiftly turned around and hurriedly opened the window, clearly intending to make a swift escape…

“E-Elder?”

Ironhammer found himself puzzled, struggling to grasp the implication of what he was witnessing.

As if on cue, several fully armed guards rushed in at that very moment.

“On the orders of the Shrinelord, we are here to apprehend any Shadow Cultists! Barain, there’s nowhere for you to escape. Surrender immediately!”

Hearing the voices of the guards behind him, Barain’s face was filled with horror.

What’s going on? How could they have been exposed?

Ironhammer was shocked.

Elder Barain turned out to be a Shadow Cultists?

Barain panicked and hastened his actions.

However, as soon as he stepped out of the City Hall, he was surrounded by a group of guards and was quickly tied up…

Similar incidents began to unfold in various directions within Blackrock City. The guards demonstrated an uncanny awareness, seemingly equipped with an all-seeing “eyes” and efficiently carried out arrests of numerous Shadow Cultists within just a short period of time…

In the outskirts of Blackrock City.

Whilst in a state of panic, a group of Hodur’s followers, who had somehow evaded the ongoing purge are swiftly attempting to escape while pushing the wheelchair-bound Hearthstone.

Holdur’s Godwarden was filled with disbelief.

“How did we get exposed? What the hell is going on?”

Undoubtedly, his plan has been well thought out. In the event that the elves manage to stir up chaos, he will then command a select group of his subordinates to covertly infiltrate the Church of Death and destroy the protective statue. Following this, he will initiate a two-pronged assault, summoning the Legion of Shadows to completely eradicate Hela’s believers within Blackrock City.

And should the elves fail to execute the plan, he would simply bide his time and remain hidden for a while. Over time, once the Church of Death and the elven mercenaries become less vigilant, he will then intentionally intensify the conflict between them…

Yet… how did all their operatives get exposed in an instant?

Hearthstone looked panicked and could only be escorted by his cronies through the secret passages of the mining tunnel to escape outside the city…

“It’s over. If we lose our foothold in Blackrock City this time, there will be no way to destroy Hela’s statue…”

A look of fear washed over Hearthstone’s complexion.

As long as the protective statue within the Death Shrine remains intact, the city of Blackrock is nearly impregnable. It prevents our people from fully overthrowing the Goddess of Death’s reign here in this area!

Despite preparing a large army of shadow creatures as his trump card, it is highly unlikely that it will prove to be effective.

Because for shadow creatures, the power of faith is a great threat, and it is very lethal!

He could already imagine the wrath of the Dark Lord that would await him if his mission failed.

Death is not frightening, because the Dark Lord has ways to make one’s suffer even after dying!

Despite its modest size, Blackrock City held great significance as a bastion of faith for the Lord of Darkness and Shadows. However, when the followers of the Goddess of Death had successfully drove out the Dark Lord’s forces from the city, it made the Ancient God feel anger and shame…

This time, reclaiming Blackrock City is an oracle personally issued by the Dark Lord to his followers!

Should they fail, Hearthstone as their leader will certainly meet a tragic and miserable end.

But… what exactly is going on?

Hearthstone couldn’t figure it out and could only flee in panic with the support of his loyal subordinates…

However, upon finally reaching the outskirts of Blackrock City through a hidden passage, he suddenly froze, for there was already someone waiting for him there.

“Hearthstone, you have nowhere left to go.”

A clear voice resonated, resembling that of the female high priestess of the Church of Death.

She was accompanied by a group of guards, blocking the exit of the secret passage.

However, at this moment, the dwarven priestess had completely restored her original appearance and released herself from the divine possession of the Goddess of Death.

Hela’s consciousness had already returned back to the Netherworld.

“H-how did you discover us?”

Hearthstone gritted his teeth.

The Shrinelord looks at Hearthstone with crimson eyes and sighs lightly, a hint of reverence surging from within her expression.

“Nothing can escape the gaze of the true God!”

T-True god?

Hearthstone was stunned, then he noticed a subtle yet unmistakable aura of death surrounding the high priestess…

He realized it in an instant.

“So that’s it! You really used the energy stored in the statue to invoke the power of god!”

The high priestess of Death neither admitted nor denied it, but merely stated,

“Surrender, Hearthstone. We have already captured all the shadow cultists within the city.”

“…Surrender?”

Hearing the words of the high priestess, Hearthstone burst into a hysterical laughter and sneered.

Upon confirming that the Church of Death had indeed utilized the power of the statue, a sense of calm washed over him.

Narrowing his eyes, Hearthstone said, “I can’t tell if you’re either smart or foolish. You actually used the power of the statue just to capture us. However, considering the extensive purge you conducted, I wonder how much power the shrine’s statue has left in it, hmm?”

“No matter how much is left, you have already failed.”

The high priestess said.

“Heh…”

With a touch of madness creeping into his face, Hearthstone let out a chuckle.

“The ultimate winner is yet to be determined!”

Following his words, a profound energy started to emanate from him!

“Not good, everyone quickly take cover!”

The High Priestess expression changed.

Upon hearing her command, all the guards began to retreat.

Amidst the solemn gazes of everyone around, Hearthstone unexpectedly ignites the power of his faith, instantly transforming his whole body into a radiant black flame that soars high into the sky.

“It… it’s a signal!”

The High Priestess’s expression appeared grave, yet she remained composed as if she had anticipated it.

“It’s the emergency signal!” exclaimed one of the cultists.

In the depths of the dark forest surrounding Blackrock City, a group of grim-faced dwarves, adorned in gray and black robes, turned their gaze towards the city.

“It’s Lord Hearthstone,” one of them spoke with urgency. “Something must have occurred within the city. He told us to swiftly summon the Shadow Legion as soon as we spot that signal.”

A low, hoarse voice spoke.

Upon hearing these words, the hooded dwarves exchanged glances and nodded in agreement. They then took a step forward and swept away the fallen leaves from the ground…

As the leaves were being cleared, a pre-drawn giant magical array gradually became visible on the ground!

They lined themselves up at the edge of the magical array and knelt around it, beginning to pray softly and chant a ritualistic incantation.

As they uttered their incantations, the magical array gradually started emitting a profound radiance, and a chaotic and chilling aura continuously condensed at its center.

At the same time, the center of the magical array suddenly brightened, causing the ground to tremble as a dark grayish energy slowly materialized before shooting up into the sky!

Within the confines of Blackrock City, the players who were initially surprised and curious about the internal conflict of the dark dwarves suddenly felt the ground shaking.

“Look, what’s that?”

Someone pointed to the sky.

The players looked up and saw dark gray energy pillars emerging from different locations, casting an eerie and disordered ambiance from afar…

Shortly afterward, the upper sections of the four energy pillars suddenly collapsed resembling that of erupting volcanoes. Numerous smaller arcs of dark gray energies then descended into the ground akin to meteorites, with a few even landing directly within Blackrock City!

As soon as they landed, these dark gray energies began to transform like wriggling jelly, gradually assuming the shape of humanoid monsters enveloped in thick black smoke.

The city guards stationed on the walls of Blackrock City were horrified as they witnessed the sudden emergence of these strange creatures beneath the city, causing their expressions to pale with terror.

“Shadow creatures! It’s the Shadow Legion!”

“This is bad! Quickly sound the alarm, close the city gates, and inform the shrine to activate the defensive spells!”

With the sound of a resounding horn, the guards on the entire city wall immediately sprang into action…

“Captain, sir we have a problem! The energy stored in the shrine’s statue has been used up!”

“What!?”

“But one of the shrine’s elder said that the elves will help us defend the city together!”

“Elves? Just them? What can they do?”

The captain of the guards became suddenly speechless, with his face contorting into an expression of anger.

Blackrock City.

With the arrival of a few shadow monsters, chaos had already engulfed the streets of Blackrock city.

These formidable shadow monsters possessed immense power, rendering conventional attacks ineffective against them. They mercilessly slaughtered and consumed any living beings they encountered within the city.

With thunderous roars, they unleash their fangs, scaling buildings, racing across the ground, and mercilessly rending everything within sight with their razor-sharp claws clad with black mist!

The dwarven guards were left with no alternative but to form smaller groups consisting of two or three individuals and confront the shadow creatures in an intense combat.

Sounds of wailing, screams, roars, clashes of weapons, and chants of spells echoed almost everywhere…

Seeing such chaotic scene, the players were shocked.

“Damn! Why did the devs make this event looks so real and terrifying?”

Although they had experienced a great war with the Orcs before, these horrifying monsters still startled them.

“Dumbass, don’t just stand there! Go get your equipment! It’s war!”

Demacia cursed under his breath and hurriedly ran towards the city gate.

The other players also reacted, suppressing their fear of these ghost-like shadow creatures, and followed suit…

Perched high atop the city walls, the captain of the Dwarven guards, accompanied by a contingent of soldiers, struck down a shadow monster attempting to climb the wall. Then as he looked at the army of shadows densely packed in the distance, his expression turned grim.

“There are probably at least a few thousand of them, maybe even tens of thousands!”

His voice trembled slightly.

Without the shrine’s defensive magic, how could Blackrock City withstand this!?

At that moment, the surrounding guards suddenly exclaimed,

“Captain, watch out!”

The guard captain felt a sudden surge of urgency. Swinging his sword and turning around, he was startled to witness a shadow monster rapidly approaching him…

Taken by surprise, he was swiftly knocked down, and his weapon was also sent flying in the process. The shadow monster then brandished its claws, poised to attack him…

Just as the guard captain was horrified, believing he was about to die at that moment, a large fireball suddenly flew towards them, hitting the shadow monster directly.

The fireball exploded, and the shadow monster let out a piercing scream. Half of the black smoke surrounding its body dissipated, revealing its darkish gray semi-transparent form.

Seizing the opportunity, the guard captain skillfully extricated himself from the clutches of the monster and retrieved his weapon, before successfully escaping.

Gasping for breath, he then looked in the direction where the fireball had come from and saw a young elven girl with pink hair, wearing a robe and holding a magical staff, standing three to four meters away.

The elf girl appeared excited as she looked at her staff and murmured happily,

“I hit it! I hit it!”

The guard captain: “……”

Behind her, more fully armed elves rushed up onto the city walls one after another!

Their expressions were somewhat peculiar; some were nervous, while others appeared excited. Warriors, mages, hunters, and individuals of various other professions began to emerge incessantly.

Nevertheless, they all exuded high morale. They waved their weapons, howled, and climbed the city walls, providing assistance to the dwarven city guards in their defense.

Meanwhile, the captain of the guard was astonished as he observed the elves, who displayed greater enthusiasm than the dwarven soldiers themselves, shouting in the common language:

“Support the Dwarves!”

“Quickly! Strengthen the defenses! Don’t allow any monsters inside!”

“Kill them all!”

“For the Alliance!”

“Urrrah—!”