【 UNDERCURRENTS 】

“The Sauron Trading Company is the largest smuggling syndicate in Seigües, which is responsible for at least seventy percent of the black market slave trade. For them, trafficking us elves has always been a major source of income,” Selena said, her tone heavy with seriousness.

“From what I’ve gathered, ever since the news spread around that the Matria—uh, I mean the Goddess—had began protecting the elves, the Sauron Company has become increasingly vigilant. After all, there’s a vast difference between a race that’s under a divine protection and one that isn’t.”

“They are a group of scoundrels who will stoop to any depth, disregarding all principles, solely for the sake of profit. The ironic part is that, despite being human, they show no reverence for the god of trade and justice which belongs to the human pantheon. All they care about is conducting their shady business in secrecy.”

“So… I have every reason to suspect that the Orcs have secretly struck some kind of deal with them. Chances are, It’s highly likely that the Orcs are planning another invasion of our Elven Forest.”

Selena’s expression grew even more solemn after stating this report.

“But Selena,” the Saintess Alice interjected, her tone tinged with doubt, “we’ve already defeated the Orcs once. Thirty thousand Orcs fell at the hands of the Chosen Ones. Even their King, Imsh Lionheart, and their chief high shaman perished in that battle, and their royal artifact, the Lionheart Sword, became a trophy of the Chosen Ones…”

“Under such circumstances, will the Orcs really still have the strength to muster up yet another invading army? Certainly, we were much weaker back then. But now, both the Chosen Ones and we ourselves are far stronger than we were at that time.”

Alice furrowed her brows slightly, her words filled with skepticism.

After hearing her words, Selena sighed.

“Alice, I too used to think the same. But… during my time in the Kingdom, I met other members of our kind and learned more about the Orcs.”

“Our understanding of them is still far too shallow…”

She paused, then turned to Zero, who was quietly listening on the side.

“Lady Zero,” Selena said, her tone respectful yet edged with urgency, “may I bring in one of my companions? He is more familiar with this matter, and his insights could prove invaluable.”

Evé gave a slight nod of approval.

With her consent, Selena moved swiftly, her steps echoing in the otherwise still temple. She returned moments later, leading a male elf into the room.

The elf had icy blue hair, and his eyes were as clear as sapphires. However, his expression was somewhat dazed, a mixture of laughter and tears, as though he had endured immense emotional turmoil.

Neither Alice nor Evé found his reaction surprising for they had witnessed similar responses beforehand.

Many elves who had returned to the Elven Forest after years of wavering faith, often showed similar expressions.

It was a mix of awe and disbelief when they first saw their homeland in its flourishing state. But the true shock came when they finally discovered the real identity of the Goddess of Life. For many, it was a revelation that struck them like a thunderclap, shaking the foundation of everything they had once believed in.

This realization left them feeling a mix of awe, joy, excitement, and a long-suppressed sense of grievance, lost in a swirl of emotions far too complex to untangle.

Nonetheless, the elf quickly regained his composure.

Wiping the moisture from his eyes, he respectfully bowed to Evé and Alice.

“I, Merus Whitefrost, humbly greet the Lord Divine Envoy and esteemed Holy Maiden.”

The bow he performed was not the typical gesture used by elves but rather the formal etiquette usually employed by human nobility.

Eve gave a slight nod, while Alice warmly helped him up.

“So you’re a member of the Whitefrost Clan. There’s no need for such formalities—just call me Alice.”

As she helped him up, Alice also noticed that there were some hideous scars under his sleeves.

Her movements faltered for a moment, her expression turning complex.

Seeing her reaction, Merus awkwardly hid his arms.

“I… I’m sorry for showing Milady such unsightly scars…”

“No, don’t worry,” Alice said gently, helping him stand. “I understand. You’ve endured much.”

She didn’t ask about the scars, for she already knew the likely answer.

“Merus is one of our fellow companions whom we rescued from Sauron Company,” Selena explained. “He was sold into slavery when he was very young. He has spent three centuries serving human nobles from the Kingdom and possesses extensive knowledge about the Orcs.”

Indeed, his long stay in Aries—a kingdom bordering the Desert of Death, which was constantly threatened by orc raids—had made him far more familiar with the Orcs than most elves, even those who had once aided the Orcs settle down or even the orcish knowledge Evé got from the World Tree’s inheritance.

“My apologies,” Merus said uneasily. “After spending so much time in the human society, I instinctively used human etiquette. I’ll correct myself immediately.”

“Relax and take your time,”

Alice said warmly.

Encouraged by her words, Merus visibly calmed.

Whilst taking a deep breath, he placed his right hand over his chest and traced a tree-shaped symbol over it, before crossed his hands in a standard elven gesture.

“I, Merus Whitefrost, humbly greet, the Divine Envoy, Lord Zero and the Saintess, Lady Alice.”

“The symbol of the Goddess is not the World Tree but the Scepter of Life,” Selena lightly corrected him from the side.

Merus froze momentarily.

Alice chuckled.

“Don’t worry about it. Some things are better understood over time. But now that you’ve known about the ‘truth’ I advise you to not leave the Elven Forest again. It’s for the sake of both Her Grace, the Matriarch and ourselves.”

Merus nodded deeply, his voice filled with emotion.

“Our homeland, the Elven Forest…has now become like a paradise. I doubt any of our fellow brethren who returns will ever want to leave again.”

Alice smiled knowingly, and even Evé felt a wave of sentiment after hearing it.

The male elf before them was the very same one who voiced the strongest skepticism about the “Goddess of Life” amongst Selena’s companions.

He also initially had the least belief upon their new Patron Deity in terms of faith.

Nevertheless, his belief had undergone a drastic transformation after learning the truth. Now, his faith rivaled that of even the most senior and devoted believers.

Moreover, such drastic change have only taken mere seconds, perhaps even occurring right at the very moment he realized that the Goddess of Life was actually the World Tree herself.

Evé couldn’t help but sigh as she marvel at the pureness of the elven race.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, they moved directly back to the main topic.

“Merus, Selena mentioned that you’re well-versed in matters concerning the Orcs?”

Alice inquired.

“Somewhat, I know a little bit,” Merus replied. “I spent over a century living near the border between the Desert of Death and the Kingdom of Aries, so I often dealt with the Orcs.”

His expression then grew more solemn as he continued:

“Lady Alice, Lord Zero, I know that the Elves had fought a great war against the Orcs last year, and their thirty-thousand-strong army was utterly annihilated during that battle. However…such losses was far from a crippling blow to them.”

Eve’s attention sharpened after hearing his words.

“What’s the reason?”

“It has to do with the societal structure of the Orcs.”

Merus explained.

He then began to further elaborate, his tone growing more thoughtful as he described the complex nature of Orcish society.

“The Orcs are fundamentally different from humans or us elves,” Merus continued, pausing briefly to ensure his words were clear.

“While they collectively follow one king and adhere to a single faith, they aren’t a unified nation in the conventional sense. Rather, they exist as a an alliance of distinct orc tribes, with their king acting as the chieftain of this melange of an alliance.”

“Each Orc Chieftain assembles warriors from their respective tribes to form one large battalion, and these collections of battalion formed up the army the Orcs use for their external campaigns.”

“The army the Elves defeated last year was only one of such battalions.”

Alice nodded slightly.

“I’m familiar with some of this. But with their entire thirty-thousand-strong army wiped out, can the Orcs still organize another invasion force?”

“They can, and it would also be more challenging,”

Merus affirmed.

“I know that most records estimate the orc population in the Desert of Death at only a few hundred thousand, but…that record is decades old.”

“The Orcs are naturally a combat-oriented race. Thus, in the past, their warring nature often led to frequent internal wars among their tribes, which resulted in significant casualties that kept their population growth in check.”

“However, their previous king, Lionheart King Imsh, was an exceptionally capable leader. He truly unified most tribes in the Desert and became a unifying king in every sense of the word.”

“Under his leadership, the number of Orcs in the Desert grew exponentially and deviated from what the outside world knew. Moreover, their age structure also changed, with many of them currently being young and strong. This can be seen from the amount of food and iron smuggled between the Kingdom and the Desert of Death…”

“Even if their population hasn’t exceeded one million yet, it’s not far off already. For a race where every member is a potential soldier, this can be really alarming since it means that they can repeatedly assemble thirty-thousand-strong armies again and again!”

Merus’s tone grew grave.

So… they’re like otherworldlyequivalent of nomadic barbarians?

Evé thought, her expression becoming peculiar.

Alice, however, frowned.

“But their king, Imsh Lionheart, was already dead. Surely, those orc tribes in the desert have fallen into chaos again, right?”

Merus hesitated and was about to respond, but Evé interjected with a brief rhetorical question:

“Their Patron Deity?”

Merus froze for a moment before nodding.

“Indeed, Lord Zero. Their Patron Deity, The God of Winter and Hunt intervened and issued an oracle, which appointed a new king to maintain the unity of the Orc Tribes in the Desert.”

“So it turned out their Patron Deity had intervened…”

Alice’s expression grew serious.

She hadn’t anticipated this.

After all, Uller, the God of Winter and Hunt had always adhered to the principle of survival of the fittest.

His doctrine always encouraged competition among his believers, which led to frequent conflicts among the orc tribes, largely due to his influence.

Yet now, he had changed his usual stance and directly interfered in his followers’ internal struggles?

“It seems they’re preparing for something significant,”

Alice murmured.

“I highly believe so,” Merus agreed. “And it’s not just that. With the mana across the entire realm of Seigües rising, all sentient races have experienced noticeable increases in strength, including the Orcs.”

“Although their Iron lineage limits the potential of most Orcs, some tribes in the desert have seen a surge in the birth of individuals akin to divine envoys. Their strength is considerable as well, with many having reached the upper ranks of Iron, and quite a few even advancing to Silver-rank.”

In Seigües, the linage of a race is often determined by the collective strength of its populace.

For Orcs, they are classified as a race with an Iron lineage, which means their average strength typically corresponds to Iron-rank

However, despite the Orcs being categorized as an Iron-lineage race, this classification does not mean that every individual only falls strictly within this range and stronger individuals still do emerge.

Moreover, when evaluating the power of a race, one must also take into account factors beyond just the average rank of its populace. The sheer size of a race’s population also plays an equally important role in its overall strength.

Take humans as an example.

The average strength of their populace isn’t even that of trained experts, which technically makes them fall below the Iron Lineage. Yet, no sentient race will ever dare to underestimate humanity.

With their sheer numbers alone, humans inevitably will produce powerful individuals amongst its massive population every now and then.

Uller’s recent actions of interfering with his believers really surprised Evé, since this kind of divine interference isn’t unheard of, but most gods tend to avoid it, especially when they’re stationed in another realm.

Surely, the cost of such actions was immense, because sending oracles over long distances outside of one’s own realm consumes too much divine power.

Moreover, if two gods were to wage a war of faith and one side started empowering their believers on a large scale, then there’s a huge chance it would compel the opposing god to take similar actions in response.

Such conflicts would in the end devolve into battles over which deity possesses more divine power. As such, in this scenario, even the victor would suffer significant losses, making it a Pyrrhic victory at best.

Thus, most gods refrain from using this strategy.

However, Uller’s decision to resort to such tactics indicates only one thing:

—He’s desperate.

Not only that, but his mindset has also shifted.

It’s clear he’s determined to eliminate the threat posed by her, no matter the cost.

To be fair, Eve could understand his urgency.

After all, the emergence of a god, which rapidly grew in power and started protecting the elves whilst showing no mercy to the Orcs, would unsettle anyone in Uller’s position.

Especially now, with mana swiftly surging back into Seigües, making it easier for its inhabitants to advance in rank.

In the past, back when the quantity of mana was still low, the gap between orcs and other races wasn’t as pronounced.

But once mana returned in abundance, everything changed.

The racial shackles of the elves, once limiting their true potential, were also lifted, thereby allowing them to access their full potential.

With mana flowing freely again, the elves would undoubtedly advance, and the disparity between the orcs and the elves would only widen.

As it stands, the native elves have already managed to raise their average strength to upper Iron-rank through meditation and training, barely keeping pace with the players.

This isn’t because the elves are inherently more talented per se, but because their original racial lineage is naturally at the Silver-rank.

Such quick recovery is merely a return to their baseline strength, unlike the players, who advance purely by consuming EXP and leveling up.

In other words, while most native elves might reach a bottleneck at Silver-rank as the level of mana rises, the players—thanks to their unique potential—could theoretically push all the way to legendary-rank if Evé chose to lift their current strength limitations.

But the only thing that’s preventing her from doing that is because, reviving a player after advancing to such high rank would really drain her divine power to unbearable levels.

Anyway, back to the present.

When Merus finished speaking, the atmosphere within the temple grew heavy.

Alice frowned deeply, her expression tense, while Selena’s demeanor was similarly grave.

Even Evé maintained a somber look.

But her solemnity wasn’t because of the issues regarding the Orcs.

From her perspective, no matter what kind of plans Uller concocted, the players’ current strength was sufficient enough to thwart any of them.

Assuming Uller had indeed amassed a force of a million Orcs, then it simply meant that each player would only need to eliminate around fifteen or sixteen Orcs.

Besides, her current divine power had already long surpassed Uller’s.

The gap between their strengths had grown far too wide to bridge through any means he might attempt. Even in a direct contest of divine strength, Evé was certain of herself that she wouldn’t be at a disadvantage.

Still, Evé had no intention of wasting too much divine power on Uller.

Her real concern wasn’t him alone.

What she truly worried about was the inclusion of Sauron Trade Company.

Merus and Selena might not know, but Evé was well aware that the entity behind the Sauron Trading Company was none other than Hödur, the God of Darkness and Shadows.

Ever since the war that took place underground, Evé had publicly revealed that she had aligned herself with Hela, creating an unresolvable enmity between her and Hödur.

Therefore, if anyone claimed that Hödur wasn’t pulling strings behind the Orcs’ actions, Evé wouldn’t believe it for a second.

— 478 —

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