▪️PAST COMPARED TO THE PRESENT PLAYERS

When Evé inserted her hands onto the terminal, a surging force erupted from her body and moved straight into the defense core.

Under the watchful gaze of the panic-stricken Head Priestess, the defense core bursts into a brilliant light, followed by a golden pillar of light ascending into the sky…

Then, the golden pillar of light turned into a semicircular cover, covering the top of Blackrock City.

At the same time, another pillar of light rushed towards the ground, connecting with the surface and instantly spreading outwards. It eventually extended all the way to the walls of Blackrock City, giving the entire wall a faint golden hue…

And so just like that, the entire Blackrock City was enveloped with a layer of golden magical shield!

The Shadow Legion was too numerous, while the number of players and dwarves was limited. Without a Magical Defense Shield, they would not be able to withstand the full might of the enemy’s attack, and the city would likely be breached soon afterwards…

Therefore, Evé chose to personally infuse her own divine power into the core, unleashing the power of the defense shield!

However, upon closer observation, one would notice that the “barrier” resembling an inverted bowl was not completely sealed. There were several openings on the city walls, indicating that the shield’s effect had reached its maximum capacity but had not yet completely closed off the entire defense system.

These openings on the barrier that’s protecting city walls were just enough for the shadow creatures to get in!

Of course, in spite of this, the dwarf soldiers defending the city walls couldn’t help but feel a surge of morale upon seeing the familiar barrier.

“It’s the magical defense shield! The city’s defense shield is finally activated!”

The attack of the Shadow Legion was evidently affected.

Those grayish black figures descending were no longer able to enter Blackrock City from the skies. They could only collide with the magical shield, causing faint ripples within the barrier before sliding down slowly…

The shadow creatures rushing on the ground were also unable to climb or inflict any sort of damage to the city walls due to the magical shield in effect.

Thus they could only patiently line up like ‘Arhats’ ¹ at the base of the wall, hoping to climb over the few opening gaps and enter Blackrock City!

Of course, these gaps have been intentionally left by Evé. She deliberately hasn’t sealed the entire magical defense shield and has created an area for players and shadow creatures to engage in combat.

This way, players can easily harvest shadow creatures in a controlled manner, constantly providing her with lifeforce, and the Shadow Legion won’t give up their attack due to the existence of the magical shield.

And what happened afterwards was just as Evé had predicted. Upon witnessing the activation of the magical shield, the shadow cultists who controlled the Shadow Legion in the rear were equally shocked.

“A barrier spell! Blackrock City has raised its defense shield!”

However, they quickly noticed that the magical shield was not entirely perfect either.

“Don’t panic! Look, the magical shield hasn’t fully sealed off the entire city!”

“It must be Lord Hearthstone’s doing! Quickly, order the Shadow Legion to focus their attacks on those vulnerable areas!”

For a while, countless shadow creatures surged towards the few sections of the wall where the shield was not completely sealed off…

All of a sudden, a multitude of shadow creatures swarmed towards several openings in the city walls.

However, the dwarven soldiers and players had already come prepared and gathered in these areas, ready to battle any shadow monsters that managed to climbed up through these gaps like “Stacked Arhats”.

Meanwhile, the shadow monsters that had been killing civilians throughout Blackrock City became completely trapped inside the city after the magic shield was formed. Cut off from any reinforcements, they were besieged by the combined force of the Dwarves and players, and eventually slain.

Seeing that their initially precarious situation was gradually stabilizing, the Dwarven High Priestess came outside the shrine.

She glanced at the now stable situation inside the city, then looked up at the magical defense shield protecting in the sky and the players currently fighting the shadow creatures near the gaps on the city walls in the distance.

Subconsciously, she turned her head back and looked towards the direction of the shrine…

In an instant, the expression of this powerful silver-ranked death priestess showed a hint of astonishment and curiosity…

Who exactly was this Godwarden named Zero?

How did she single-handedly activate the defense terminal of the dungeon core all by herself?

What kind of immense power is required to achieve such feats? Is she really just a mere high-level practitioner?

Or perchance, she borrowed the power of her patron god?

The thoughts of the High Priestess did not concern Evé. After activating the city’s defensive barrier, she chose not to leave but instead still remained inside the shrine, using the excuse of maintaining the shield’s operation.

As for her reasons… On one hand, she personally controls the central terminal, which can minimize the divine power she is currently consuming to maintain the shield. On the other hand, she has also developed an interest in the functionality of this dungeon core.

“It’s truly a brilliantly complex design. It only requires a certain amount of energy to activate and form the magic shield, and it appears to have counterattack capabilities as well… Who on earth designed this dungeon core?”

Gazing at the radiant hexahedron core that resembled an exquisite piece of art, Eve’s mind was filled with curiosity.

“If I can learn how to replicate this central terminal, reverse-engineer its structure and material composition, and fully understand its inner workings, then I can then put the design blueprint on the exchange market. Players will be able to gather the required materials so that I can build one in the Chosen City, Florence, and Rivendell! It would greatly enhance the defensive capabilities of these cities!”

“And… the principle behind this shield also inspires me. If I can thoroughly reverse-engineer it, my avatar’s utilization of power can become even more sophisticated! It might even provide me with valuable insights into the application of divine power!”

With this in mind, Evé made the decision to dedicate fifty percent of her mental capacity to studying the Dungeon Core.

In contrast to other magical devices, the dungeon core possesses the unique capability of being fueled by divine power, making it an area of interest for Eve’s contemplation.

Although she inherited the legacy of the World Tree and possesses control over natural laws, she is still young and inevitably lacks finesse when it comes to wielding divine power.

Perhaps her instinctual application of divine power is somewhat acceptable, but when it comes to her avatar, it falls short in comparison to the sophistication of this magical instrument. Therefore, studying it would be both beneficial and harmless.

Of course, the other fifty percent of Eve’s mind remains focused on the defense battle in Blackrock City, constantly alert for any possible unexpected events.

On the city walls, the dark-dwarf guards were completely overwhelmed and touched by the support shown by the elven mercenaries…

Their actions completely changed the guard captain’s attitude towards them.

When these elves first entered Blackrock City and obediently removed their weapons and equipment, he instinctively looked down upon these elves.

Afterwards, as these elves engaged in friendly trade later on, the captain started doubting their strength, perceiving them more as merchants than warriors.

But the current performance of these elves had completely overturned his initial perception.

Because he discovered that the elves’ cooperation and combat power far surpassed even the dwarven guards he personally trained!

In fact, the actual strength between the two sides was not much different, with the dark dwarves even slightly higher in many cases, with many of them being intermediate Iron-rank…

“Oh, by the grace of death… How many battles have these elves experienced? Why are they like this? Why are they so eager to fight?”

He widened his eyes, observing the players around him.

The players radiated a faint glow around their bodies as they excitedly clustered through the gaps in the shield that was protecting the city walls. They fiercely fought any shadow monsters that managed to squeeze in.

They formed small groups of five and worked together in perfect coordination. Whenever a shadow monster would came near, the elven warriors would instantly lure it away, and the druids would then cast a control spell to slow it down. After that, additional elves would swiftly join the fight, demonstrating their skills and engaging the shadow monsters in close-quarter combat.

However, upon careful observation, it could be noticed that their movements were quite orderly and extremely skilled. Apart from the initial chaos when engaging in combat, they gradually mastered the rhythm of battle…

The players were no longer the rookies they once were.

After several months of gameplay, they had accumulated considerable wealth of combat experience and teamwork skills.

Moreover, many players had formed their own fixed five-man combat party.

This was a spontaneous action by the players. As the game progressed, they discovered that this fixed five-man party mode of combat brought them greater benefits.

The game Elven Kingdom emphasizes teamwork.

If several individuals can coordinate and cooperate well together over a long period, their combat capabilities would far exceed what a solo player can typically do.

Many Iron-ranked monsters in the Elven Forest were exterminated by them in this party format.

Moreover, in contrast to other races, players exhibit no fear of death. Consequently, they engage in regular battles with greater intensity, thereby accelerating their growth even further…

Additionally, reducing pain sensitivity and maintaining a stable mindset during the game have unexpectedly improved the players’ combat effectiveness and coordination!

Compared to their initial state when they recklessly fought goblins in the past, the players have undergone a notable transformation by now.

Evé was confident that if the players were to encounter the goblins again, it would be now just as effortless as slicing melons and dicing vegetables.

Even when facing the orcs, although the players may still find it difficult to engage in one-on-one combat. However, their probability of success is likely to increase if they unite as a smaller team and confront an equally sized orc team at a similar level.

The simultaneous improvement of individual combat capabilities and good teamwork have made the players increasingly powerful!

This kind of point-to-point defensive battle has brought out the players’ advantages.

Of course, that’s not what impressed the dark-dwarves the most.

What truly astonished them was the elves’ great enthusiasm for battle and their sheer determination to kill off all their enemies.

In the eyes of the elves, these shadow creatures were not just enemies but also their prey!

These elves, who call themselves players, were enthusiastically fighting over any shadow creatures that had struggled so hard to climb up the walls. Disputes would sometimes even occur when two parties attacked the very same monster.

And whenever a dark dwarf was at a disadvantage against a shadow creature, the elves would enthusiastically come to their aid, assisting the dwarven guards upon slaying them!

Over time, an increasing number of elves keeps gathering at the city walls, and they began to think that the dwarves were too weak. They subconsciously began to displaced the original defenders, the dark dwarves, as the players felt restricted by their presence…

On the city walls, only a group of dwarves still remained, engaged in combat with the shadow creatures through the gaps in the magical shield… The dwarf warriors, previously forced to the outskirts, could only observe with a sense of astonishment, akin to mere onlookers.

Of course, what also crushed the spirits of the dark-dwarves was the elves’ calm and fearless attitude when facing death.

It’s not that nobody died in battle, but the dark-dwarves had never seen even a single elf display any sort of fear towards death!

Moreover, even in the face of death, they would still fight until their last breath, falling with a look of regret on their faces…

“By the Goddess of Death, what a fearless group of warriors!”

The captain of the dwarven guards let out a sigh as he watched yet another elf meet their demise, their face filled with an unexpected sense of excitement.

¹ 罗汉 – an Arhat is a person who has eliminated all the unwholesome roots which underlie the fetters of the mundane world. In this chapter’s context, it means that the monsters couldn’t only patiently line up like a Buddhist monk.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep