【 NEVER TANGLE WITH THRANDUIL 】

Upon hearing Taylor’s words, Thranduil, the primordial elf, placed his quill down and slowly lifted his head.

He smiled gently.

“Well done.”

His voice was rich and pleasant, and his smile was as bright as spring. His handsome features, almost too perfect to be real, combined with such a sunny smile, made Taylor’s heart skip a beat, despite being confident about his own path ahead.

The last time he felt like this was when he first saw the Goddess’ statue.

Damn, is this the terrifying power of the primordial elven royal family?

Taylor couldn’t help but think to himself.

“Now then, how many believers can participate in the ceremony?” Thranduil asked gently.

Taylor’s expression grew serious.

He cleared his throat, turned his gaze away, and pulled out a small book from his chest, reading aloud:

“Lord Thranduil, as of today, nearly 130,000 believers have joined the ceremony, with approximately 20,000 having reached a devout level of faith.”

“Of the 20,000 devout believers, 1,244 have passed the Goddess’ trials and undergone the initial blood purification, becoming half-elves. 106 have passed the second trial, becoming full elves.”

“Almost half of the believers are concentrated here in Seigües City, with the rest spread out across surrounding towns and villages.”

“At present, the number of believers is still growing rapidly, and the rate is accelerating. Although it has slowed somewhat recently due to the departure of the Chosen Ones, it still remains fast. Over 500 people are registering every day…”

“The first batch of those who passed the Goddess’ trials are already receiving in-depth teachings from the mentors, and future bloodline purifications will proceed more smoothly.”

“In one month, the number of believers passing the first trial is expected to exceed 3,000, and the second trial could see more than 500.”

“However, the growth of new devout believers has hit a bottleneck, which may require more time.”

The missionary work in the Ouros demirealm was progressing smoothly, especially as the faith toward the Church of Life grew much stronger.

Unfortunately, the thousand-year isolation and the demise of the Church of Creation had made the residents of Ouros less fervently devoted to faith than those in the realm of Seigües.

The conversion to faith here was not as fast as in the upper realm. Even if several million residents remained non-believers, there were rarely any cases of instant conversions.

Most people became believers only after substantial preaching, and becoming a devout believer was even harder.

Of course, the benefits were clear.

The faith of these few million people would eventually belong to Evé.

After listening to Taylor’s report, Thranduil nodded in satisfaction.

“Good. This progress is much faster than I expected.”

He paused, picked up a jar of honey tea produced by the Chosen Ones, took a gentle sip, and then asked, “How is the work on the altars going?”

Taylor respectfully replied:

“All the altars have been completed and inspected twice, and we are now doing a third round of checks. Additionally, the Goddess’ statue has been set up and has already been blessed.”

“Very good! As expected of the first being to purify their bloodline. Taylor, you’ve done well! These numbers have exceeded the Church’s expectations,” Thranduil praised.

Taylor smiled awkwardly, then reverently made the sign of the Life Scepter upon his chest:

“This was all… for the Goddess!”

He then asked, “Lord Thranduil, what should we do next?”

Thranduil pondered for a moment before replying:

“Wait for the Goddess’ oracle, and continue spreading her faith, bringing more companions into our fold.”

“Don’t rush with the preaching. It’s like rolling a snowball—the better we do in the early stages, the smoother things will become later on.”

“Next, report this situation to Lord Zero.”

“Report to Lord Zero? Should I go myself?” Taylor asked.

Thranduil shook his head.

“No need.”

He turned and patted the small elven girl standing beside him, then whispered in her ear, “Go bring the Chosen Ones from outside.”

The little elven girl nodded, then ran out of the side hall, her footsteps echoing.

Before long, Taylor saw a group of Chosen Ones with green-tinted eyes pour into the room.

“Lord Thranduil, do you have a task for us?”

“What should we do? I’m quick and efficient!”

“Lord Thranduil, you’re so handsome! Give me a task! I’ll do anything!”

They chattered excitedly, quickly surrounding Thranduil’s desk.

Some even began to get a little too close and a little inappropriate…

Taylor: “…”

Hey! Hey! That female Chosen One, you’re almost on top of Lord Thranduil!

And that female warrior, what is she doing with her hands?!

He twitched his lips, unable to look any longer.

These Chosen Ones… were a lot to handle.

After spending more time with them and getting to know their true nature, Taylor’s initial image of them completely crumbled.

They usually were so serious when these guys preached, with each of them seemingly surrounded by an aura of sanctity.

Of course, it wasn’t until later that Taylor learned that the glow they emitted was just a light spell created by the Chosen Ones…

But once a task was mentioned, their demeanor would immediately shift, and they would all turn into bootlickers…

Not only that, but the Chosen Ones were also full-fledged looks-obsessed individuals.

Yes… looks-obsessed.

This term was one that Taylor had heard them use themselves.

And he couldn’t agree more.

The only one who could drive female Chosen Ones this wild was probably Lord Thranduil himself…

Thranduil, however, seemed rather accustomed to the Chosen Ones’ antics.

He subtly avoided their eager hands and gave a small smile.

Then, he turned to one of the female Chosen Ones and said:

“Miss Momozi, is it? I have a task. May I entrust it to you?”

When Thranduil’s gaze landed on her, the female Chosen One was momentarily stunned, then her face lit up with joy.

“Of course! I’m willing!” she exclaimed.

The other female Chosen Ones looked on with envy, their gazes filled with jealousy.

Thranduil nodded gently and said, “Then please, using your Chosen One communication methods, pass these messages onto Lord Zero.”

With that, he gestured toward Taylor.

Taylor was initially taken aback but quickly understood. He handed the documents he had just prepared to the female Chosen One.

Momozi’s face brightened, and she bowed to Thranduil.

Then, surrounded by the other female players, she left.

From afar, her excited voice could still be heard:

“Did you hear that?! My husband knows my name! Ahhh! He knows my name!”

Along with… the other female Chosen Ones’ sarcastic remarks:

“Yours? He’s obviously everyone’s husband!”

“We know, we know… we know Milord has called your name…”

Taylor: “…”

Of course, there were also expressions of envy and curiosity:

“That’s amazing…”

“Are you closer to him? How did you raise your favorability?”

“What’s in the document? Open it and see! Is it a hidden quest?”

Taylor: “…”

Once those female Chosen Ones had all left, Thranduil turned to the two little elven girls beside him and said kindly:

“Did you see that? When there’s a task, if it can be given to a Chosen One, let them handle it, especially tasks like delivering messages.”

“The Chosen Ones have the ability to communicate over long distances, so entrusting them with such tasks is highly effective.”

“Hmm, ‘highly effective’—it’s an old saying from the Chosen Ones’ homeland. It means that with half the effort, you get double the result. Small effort, big impact.”

The two little elven girls nodded eagerly, their expressions serious yet full of admiration.

Taylor, too, felt deeply moved:

Truly, a royal elf!

Even when considering matters or educating others, he is so profound and learned!

But soon, he heard Thranduil continue:

“Not only do they have this miraculous communication ability, but they also possess many other unique powers that we can use to our advantage, as long as we’re clever in our methods.”

“For example, their immortality… We could have them undertake high-risk missions during battles.”

“When we’re in danger, we shouldn’t hesitate. As long as there are Chosen Ones nearby, we can safely send them to the frontlines, since they can be revived after dying.”

“Of course, the process should be tactful. You can express concern for them, and sometimes even use a little reverse psychology…”

Taylor: “…”

Why… does something feel off?

He looked at Thranduil, opened his mouth, but wasn’t sure what to say.

Thranduil continued:

“Also… try to remember their names. They take pride in being remembered by us. If you make good use of this, you can get them to perform complex tasks with little cost.”

Taylor: “…”

“And, although I’ve emphasized this many times before, let me reiterate: make clever use of the Chosen Ones’ genders.”

“Female Chosen Ones are always fond of male elves, especially handsome ones, and vice versa. By using this to your advantage, you can save a lot of contribution points during tasks, and sometimes even get things done for free…”

“You two are still young and cute, and many Chosen Ones are weak against adorable things. Some male Chosen Ones especially love cute type. This is your advantage.”

“You can use this to shape your persona and have the Chosen Ones become your allies.”

“If you do well, you might even get a large group of loyal believers, ready to die for your smile or a just simple act of calling them ‘Big Brother’ or ‘Big Sister’” in return.

“Of course, gender isn’t an absolute thing, and it sometimes depends on the situation.”

Taylor: “…”

He watched as Thranduil, with a smile, explained various techniques for commanding the Chosen Ones to the two young elven girls. Without thinking, Taylor swallowed nervously and couldn’t help but shudder.

Primordial royal elves…are so terrifying!

This Lord Thranduil, who usually appeared so friendly and approachable, had such a side to him that Taylor hadn’t expected…

Is this the real him?

From now on, I must never cross him…

Otherwise, I’ll never know just how unlucky I’ll become.

༺⟐༻

“Did Thranduil send you with this message?”

Evé looked at the player standing in front of her, a look of awkwardness on her face.

That guy…

He was getting better and better at exploiting the players’ strengths.

Whilst shaking her head, Evé opened the document that the player had transcribed by taking photos. She only glanced at it briefly before understanding the general content.

So it’s about the preparation for the divine kingdom positioning ceremony.

She murmured.

As their true god behind everything, no one knew her believers’ affairs better than Evé herself.

What Thranduil had sent, she already knew in detail—more than what was written on this paper.

Of course, even though she knew, since she was currently in the guise of Zero, she still had to maintain the proper behavior.

With that thought, Evé looked at the messenger.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

She nodded toward them, before handing over 3,000 contribution points as a reward.

The player’s face brightened with joy, and they thanked her before leaving.

Evé, however, was deep in thought.

She checked her status bar:

Name: Evé Yggdrasil

Race: World Tree (Ancient God)

Level: 150 (Mythical)

Status: Weak Divine Power

Divinity: Nature, Life, Elvenkind

Titles: Goddess of Life, Mother of Nature, Sovereign of Elves

Divine Power: 8721/10000

Believers: 135,180 (1 Saint, 128 Fanatics, 25,414 Devout believers, 109,642 Shallow Believers)

Believer Types: 1 Crypt Spider Queen, 1 Dragon, 105 Oak Guardians, 2,467 Elves, 1,453 Half-Elves, 130,924 Human-Elf Hybrids, 214 Humans, 15 Half-Orcs

Abilities: Absorption, Communication, Blessing, Enlightenment, Healing, Summoning, Divine Descent, Divine Realm…

Divine Artifacts: Scepter of Life, Withering Heart (Damaged)

After all these days, her divine power still hadn’t changed much.

Although her number of believers had increased and she received more feedback from the players’ battles, the toll of war had been great.

However, Evé was certain that things were even worse on Uller’s side and his divine power reserves was likely plummeting at an exponential rate.

The most promising thing was her number of believers.

While her number of devout believers still lacked in numbers, the total number had reached the threshold required for the divine kingdom’s positioning.

Considering Eve’s own speculations, the quantity and quality of these believers should now be sufficient enough.

“Just a little longer… now isn’t the best time. The perfect moment will come after Uller’s mythical envoys emerges…”

She murmured to herself.

“It should be soon. Once the orc side realizes they can’t win with their main army, they’ll definitely call upon their mythical experts. And that moment will be the real turning point of the war.”

The battle of faith is, at its core, a struggle between true gods.

And this time, mythical powers were bound to be involved.

Once mythical powerhouses enter the fray, the real battle won’t be a mundane one, but a clash between deities.

With her decision made, Evé turned her attention back to her information.

She glanced at her new type of belivers, with her expression slightly shifting into a strange look.

Recently, she had gained a number of orc believers.

These were orcs who had been captured by the players and brought to Rivendell to work as miners.

She wasn’t sure how the players had brainwashed them, but among the several thousand orc miners, a few had actually been convinced to believe in her…

Of course, they were all shallow believers.

And the quality of faith from these orc believers was also low—not much better than the average human follower.

Whilst shaking her head, Evé turned her gaze to the battlefield.

The Sandstorm City battle was still ongoing.

But she wasn’t participating herself and she merely stood on a high platform on the encampment’s wall, watching from afar.

The battle had reached a deadlock and had become an intense and brutal tug of war.

The orc army had already approached the walls, with many parts of the wall now equipped with siege towers. Close quarter combat was happening all along the wall, which, once a yellowish-brown, was now stained a dark red with the blood of both the orcs and the players alike.

However, with the divine barrier and the home-field advantage, the orcs couldn’t breach the wall and had become stuck in a standoff with the players.

Both sides had taken losses, but the orcs, as the attackers without any mages in their ranks, were suffering far worse casualties.

Subtly, they were starting to lose momentum.

“The Orcs morale has dropped, and nightfall is soon approaching. They won’t be able to fight much longer.”

“Now, it’s just a matter of when they’ll retreat and when they’ll deploy their mythical envoys.”

Evé muttered as she looked at the orc army.

Not long after, a deep horn sounded from the rear of the orc army…

They were finally retreating, leaving behind a battlefield full of discarded equipment.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep