【 IT’SALL THE EVIL GOD HIDING IN THE ELVEN FOREST FAULT! 】

September marks the transition between the oppressive heat of summer and the more cooler temperate embrace of autumn.

However, the heat in the Desert of Death still remained daunting, with its intensity seemingly unchanged by the passing of seasons, even as autumn began its early arrival.

Moreover, with the end of the summer rainy season, autumn in the Desert of Death was even drier. Combined with occasional unseasonal weather, the dryness and heat are enough to drive anyone mad…

Only the Orcs with their thick and tough skin could adapt to such a harsh environment.

Meanwhile in the northern part of the Desert, a human merchant caravan, laden with goods, was slowly making its way forward.

The caravan consists of about sixty to seventy people, with around twenty wagons. Each wagon bore the black eagle emblem on one side, which made their procession quite a remarkable sight.

This emblem was the unique symbol of the Sauron Trade Group.

The most strongest member of the caravan was a human warrior, around thirty years old. He was the man clad in leather armor, riding a camel, with a black eagle symbol upon his chest, which could only be worn by the high-ranking personnel of the Sauron Trade Group.

It served as both a token of the company and proof of one’s rank and status, as only powerful Silver-rank experts were granted the right to wear such an emblem within the Sauron Trade Group.

The warrior occasionally gazes at the blazing sun overhead, then takes a drink from his water skin, wiping sweat from his brow while muttering curses under his breath:

“This damn weather!”

Even a Silver-rank expert like him could not tolerate such intense heat before advancing to the Gold-rank and undergoing a full physical transformation.

Nonetheless, despite the scorching weather, the caravan decided to steadily move forward, passing one barren hill after another, before finally arriving at an oasis.

The oasis was not large, which was surrounded by a shallow lake with flourishing reeds and desert poplars along the shores.

At the same time, scattered around the oasis are hundreds of tents and straw huts of various sizes.

This was a small Orc settlement.

Strong Orcs, wearing simple leather armor or rough linen garments, were bustling about in the vicinity and due to the harsh climate within the Desert of Death, especially the lack of water, meant that only such oases could sustain life.

After seeing the Orc settlement, the caravan leader finally lets out a sigh of relief.

As the caravan drew closer, the Orcs, on the other hand, stirred in response upon noticing the approaching group. They moved about in their settlement, showing clear signs of activity, and their actions further intensified when they finally caught sight of the black eagle emblem on the wagons.

Seeing the mixed looks of greed, curiosity, desire, and wariness from the Orcs, the caravan leader sneered as he surveyed the tattered equipment and clothing of the surrounding Orcs.

“Just as expected of a lower inferior-class race…”

He muttered to himself.

Even though, technically speaking, humans were lower in ranking as they weren’t even a race with Iron lineage, he still looked down on these big, dumb brutes with nothing but muscle for brains.

His judgment was solely based on the overall strength of their race and the power of their respective Patron Gods.

But regardless of his real opinion, the caravan leader replaced his sneer with a warm smile as soon as he arrived at the settlement.

He dismounted from his camel and loudly called out:

“Shalu! It’s Andris! The goods you wanted have arrived!”

Being a Silver-rank expert, his voice naturally carried louder tone, and soon, his words echoed across the entire settlement.

A moment later, accompanied by hearty laughter, a tall, scarred Orc priest, whilst flanked by several Orc warriors, stepped out from the settlement.

The Orc Priest then approached the caravan, looking at the fully-loaded carts with satisfaction.

“Thank you for the hard work, Mr. Andris!”

He greeted the caravan leader, Andris, with a smile.

Andris glanced at him in surprise and couldn’t help but exclaimed:

“Huh? You’ve already advanced to Silver-rank?”

Silver-rank experts are generally rare among the Orcs, even with the resurgence of mana. Due to their racial limitations, Silver-rank Orcs are few in number, and finding someone as rare as a priest class is even more unlikely.

As such, in small settlements like this, with only a few hundred tents and perhaps a thousand people at most, there would typically be no Silver-rank priest born. The population was simply too small and lacking in the resources necessary to produce such a rare individual.

This was especially true considering the presence of the elderly, the weak, and the ill, whose struggles to survive in such a harsh environment left little room for the development of exceptional abilities like those required to attain Silver rank.

Therefore, seeing Shalu advanced in rank made Andris truly surprised.

Although he hadn’t visited the Desert of Death that many times, he had studied at the Imperial Academy and focused on researching Orc culture, so Andris believed he knew quite a bit about them.

Hearing Andris’ surprise, Shalu, the Orc priest, appeared greatly pleased.

He flashed a wide grin before abruptly becoming serious, his expression shifting to one of pure devotion.

“Glory to the Cold Winter, glory to the Great Hunt! It is all due to the blessings of the Divine Father’s benevolence!”

He traces a bow-shaped symbol over his chest.

Andris nodded in realization, comprehending that the other party must have received some divine favor from their patron god to attained such rank.

He gestured for his subordinates to unload the carts from their wagons and then spoke to the Orc priest:

“Here are the five hundred Imperial-standard weapons and the food you requested. I assure you that nothing is missing and all are newly minted pieces of equipment. Feel free to inspect them.”

The Orc priest’s eyes immediately lit up upon hearing this:

“Wonderful! Now our warriors in our tribe will be able to fight at their full strength!”

He quickly signaled to the Orcs behind him, and they move forward to began inspecting the goods.

A moment later, the Orc warriors who had inspected the goods nodded to Shalu, and his smile became even warmer.

“I knew it! You from the Sauron Trade Group will always be a friend to us Orcs!”

“Mr. Andris, and all your human companions, please come into our tribe and rest. You’ve had a long journey, and we’ve prepared drinks for you.”

The Orc priest invited the caravan with a welcoming gesture.

Andris nodded in response, signaling for the caravan to enter the Orc settlement and take a much-needed break after their long journey.

He wasn’t concerned about being deceived by these Orcs, even with the presence of a Silver-rank priest in this small settlement.

Though he might have been more cautious with the Orcs under normal circumstances, he knew this time they wouldn’t dare to act rashly.

The trade had been arranged between the Orc King’s Court in the Desert of Death and the higher-ups of the Sauron Trade Group. The two factions had spent months negotiating to ensure the terms would be mutually beneficial, and there were even rumors that a more powerful divine entity was supporting the arrangement.

Moreover, Andris was merely leading one of the many caravans from Sauron that was trading with the Orcs.

While sipping the sweet desert spring water, Andris sat in the cool shade, nibbling on the dry rations he had carried, and squinting at the Orcs eagerly dividing up the equipment from the carts.

What surprised him, however, was that it wasn’t just Shalu alone who had grown more powerful. As he silently watched the Orcs, Andris realized that many of the other warriors from this tribe had also become significantly stronger.

As far as Andris knew, the average strength of the Orcs in the Desert of Death ranged from low to intermediate Iron-rank, with only a few of them reaching the higher ranks.

Yet the odd thing was, nearly half of these Orcs scrambling about for their equipment had already advanced to upper Iron-rank!

This surprised Andris, who suspected it was likely due to the intervention of the Church of the Hunt.

Soon after, a few Orcs pushing handcarts appeared before him, led by Shalu.

There were three carts behind them, each packed to the brim with pelts.

These pelts belonged to the elusive and powerful Desert Spotted Leopards, which was a rare magical beast that prowled the farthest reaches of the Desert of Death. Their fur was not only a prized commodity for its beauty but these creatures fur had also long been coveted by numerous traders and collectors across various human countries, where it fetched a fortune on the black market.

The value of these three carts of pelts would be enough to trade for seven or eight hundred sets of high-quality armor, or provide enough food for a Orc tribe for three months.

Seeing the carts full of pelts, Andris’s face lit up with satisfaction.

“Excellent!”

However, his gaze didn’t stop there, and he eagerly looked behind them.

“Is there more? You know… the private goods.”

He chuckled slyly, asking meaningfully.

Hearing his words, the Orc priest smiled, then nodded with a knowing look.

“Of course, there are also some private goods.”

He signaled to the Orcs behind him, who subtly nodded and brought forward another cart tightly covered with grey cloth.

Andris’s eyes brightened, and he quickly stepped forward, carefully peeling back a corner of the cloth.

Underneath was a cage, and inside were three young, beautiful elven women, tightly bound and trembling.

“Only three?”

Andris frowned slightly.

“Heh, it’s not easy capturing these elves. You know how much trouble the Elves had been causing lately. These three, we caught them blocking the route through the Dark Mountains. They were all trying to return to the Elven Forest from the Kingdom of Aries.”

“However, this is our limit at the moment, as recently, there have been some evil elves emerging in the Dark Mountains, and we’ve lost quite a few men from them.”

The Orc priest shook his head.

Upon hearing this, Andris also frowned slightly.

Elven slaves were the most valuable luxury on the black market, and they had been the foundation of the Sauron Trade Group’s early success.

But ever since last year, after a newly ascended deity inherited the Divinity of the World Tree, the volume of elven slave trade have drastically plummeted.

To make the matters worse, this elven god, named Evé, was also rumored to be a subordinate of the Goddess of Death, which further complicate things.

Last year, the elves not only repelled the Orc army that had dared to invade the Elven Forest but also played a decisive role in the Underdark’s conflict, aiding the Hermetic City-State Alliance in their victory over the Dark City-State Alliance.

With each passing months, their legend grew more and more, and what was once a scattered, declining race was now rapidly becoming a rising myth, one that could no longer be ignored.

It was even said that the Elven God borrowed some of the powers of Death to create an undead evil elven army, which was the key to their repeated victories.

However, the specific details were lost to the deluge of rumors and even now, no one truly knew what this so-called undead evil elven army was all about.

Some claimed they came from realms outside of Seigües, while others said they were the spiritual manifestation of dead elves, or elves corrupted by the Abyss. Some even argued that the undead elven army didn’t exist at all, and the so-called ‘Evil Elves’ were actually just the Goddess of Death’s heroic spirits in disguise…

In short, everything about them was shrouded in mystery, and the real facts remained elusive. Rumors spread like wildfire, but no one could say for certain what was true and what was mere speculation.

Even within the various human countries, many adventurers and bards had recently become curious about this, and some were even planning to venture forth into the Elven Forest to uncover the truth for themselves.

After all, it was because of this newly ascended god who openly declared her protection over the Elvenkind, which caused the flow of elven slaves into the black market to rapidly dwindle.

As a result, numerous elves who had lived quietly also began fleeing in large numbers back to their old homeland, the Elven Forest.

This had greatly affected the Sauron Trade Group’s profits.

However, the reduced supply of elven slaves had also led to a rise in their prices.

These three female elves, if sold now, could easily fetch several times the price they would have commanded just a few years ago.

Thinking this, Andris felt a bit more at ease.

At the same time, he could almost predict that the Orcs’ asking price would also be higher.

As expected, after showing him the elven slaves, Shalu soon lowered his voice:

“Also… the royal Orc court has forbidden us from capturing elves for the time being. They require that any elf we catch must be executed on the spot…As such, I’ve only managed to get these three, which I’m leaving them for you secretly.”

“As you see, I’ve taken quite a risk, so… heh heh, you know what I mean.”

“You’re a true friend! I’ll buy these three elves at double the price!”

Andris clapped the priest on the shoulder, speaking cheerfully.

Upon hearing this, a look of surprise flashed in the Orc priest’s eyes.

However, the brief moment of surprise in the Shalu’s eyes was noticed by Andris, who couldn’t help but feel a slight disdain toward him…

For Orcs, the orders of their royal court often also represented the commands of their Church.

So it was very likely that Shalu were exploiting his position for personal gain, but it was the first time Andris had ever seen a Silver-rank orc priest openly defy their royal court’s orders…

Tsk, as expected of a lower inferior race. Even the faith of a Silver-rank priest isn’t truly genuine…

Andris thought disdainfully.

Of course, had he known that the Orc priest’s strength had been forcibly enhanced by the God of Winter and Hunting, he might not have been so surprised.

Regardless, the transaction between the two sides went smoothly.

While their subordinates busily unloaded the goods, the two leaders continued chatting, discussing the recent happenings in the human lands and the Desert of Death.

Intelligence was often a highly valuable resource.

“Hey, recently, members of the Oakhand have appeared in the Kingdom of Aries. They’ve destroyed a few of our smuggling bases. It’s really frustrating…”

“It’s all because of that evil god hiding in the Elven Forest. Otherwise… we’d still be hunting there by now.”

“Evil god? I heard that’s actually a real true god.”

“Heh! If it weren’t for their new evil Patron Deity, then how could the elves kind nature have become so twisted and evil?”

“That’s true. So… you’re buying equipment and food again next time? Are you really planning to attack the Elven Forest before winter comes?”

“Mr. Andris, this is something we Orcs are keeping secret. Even though we’re friends, you know I can’t reveal the details to anyone.”

“Pfft, why all the secrecy? I heard the higher-ups of our group are also planning to send some mercenaries to support you Orcs. We’re all allies here, you know…”

“Is that true?”

“Heh, it seems you truly didn’t know. The Sauron Trade Group has always had its eyes on the Elven Forest’s resources too, but we’ve never made a move until now…”

“Mr. Andris, you can’t just say whatever comes to your mind. The Elven Forest belongs to us Orcs!”

“I know, I know, the Thousand-Year Covenant and all that. But you Orcs didn’t exactly keep it, did you?”

“Well, who knew an evil god would show up?”

“This topic again…?”

“Heh… Anyway, our strength now is unlike before. This time, us Orcs definitely win. We’ll clear last year’s shame. The evil god hiding in the Elven Forest won’t be able to cause trouble for much longer!”

The Orc priest said proudly.

Unlike before, huh…

Listening to the priest’s words, Andris couldn’t help but look around at the Orcs around him.

Indeed, from the perspective of their strength, these Orcs had improved drastically.

Though logic told him that this wasn’t normal, their drastic increase in strength was undeniable.

Furthermore, a tribe like Shalu’s was just one of many small Orc tribes.

So if they were already capable of organizing and preparing a 500-strong Orc army just from a single tribe like this, then it seemed that the Orcs in the whole desert were indeed about to mobilize themselves on a more massive scale…

A hundred thousand?

Several hundred thousand?

The last recorded mention of Orcs mobilizing their troops on such a scale should have been over a thousand years ago.

It seemed that, back then, the Orcs also mobilized their race’s full force to attack the Elven Forest, which solidified their place on the continent.

Thinking about the historical knowledge he had gathered from his studies, Andris couldn’t help but sigh:

“History really does repeat itself…”

He squinted and looked up at the sky.

The sun was still fierce, and the deep blue sky resembled a massive blue mirror.

Gazing into the vast cloudless expanse above him, Andris remarked with surprise:

“…Huh? So there are also mountain hawks here in the Desert of Death?”

“Mountain hawks?”

The Orc priest furrowed his brow.

“We don’t have any flying birds here.”

The Orc Priest shook his head.

“So those aren’t mountain hawks? Then… what are those?”

Andris was both surprised and puzzled.

“Hm?”

Shalu followed his gaze.

There wasn’t a single white cloud in the sky.

Only a tiny golden figure was soaring, wings flapping in tight circles…

The figure resembled a golden mountain hawk, but its wings were somewhat unusual.

Suddenly, the golden figure began to descend…

As they both watched, they gradually saw the figure more clearly.

But when they finally saw the creature’s outline, their astonishment grew wide:

“A dragon?”

Indeed, what they initially thought was a mountain hawk was actually a small gold dragon.

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