【 THE LEGENDARY ELF KELEZ 】

—

Boxlunch’s words caused everyone in the group to fall into deep thought.

This was a question they themselves had also been curious about.

According to the background setting of Elven Kingdom, the Goddess had only revived in recent years.

In that case, during the long period before her revival, could the twenty million believers not have used those eight hundred years to produce another Goddess of Life and Nature?

Even if the God they elevated through faith didn’t hold control over the Divinity of Life and Nature, couldn’t they have established another Patron Deity altogether?

Having already amassed enough power of faith, was it truly necessary to remain bound to the original World Tree?

Would it not have been possible to gradually shift the direction of their faith to another God over time?

“Hmm… Perhaps, it’s due to a conflict of faith? Since the elves who served as priests have relatively long lifespans, it may have been difficult for them to change their beliefs. And because the Goddess had not truly died, another elven Patron Deity could not be born?”

Calabash speculated.

“Who knows… I don’t think this is something we should concern ourselves with. We don’t have any deeper understanding any of these matters concerning gods, and most of the discussions online are merely guesses. Besides… I think the information we have gathered should already be sufficient, right? We should be able to complete the mission by this point.”

Demacia said.

The task assigned to them was to gather various pieces of information. More specifically, their objective was to investigate the history of this world.

Based on the information they had already obtained so far, the task requirements had, in theory, already been fulfilled.

However, after some thought, Li Mu turned to Demacia again.

“Dema, you mentioned that you obtained a token from those blasphemers. What exactly happened?”

“Oh, that? Well, they discovered that I am a non-believer and tried to recruit me into their organization. They said that so long as I bring this token to the tavern they specified, I could contact them.”

Demacia explained.

As he spoke, a thought suddenly occurred to him.

“—Wait. Bro, are you suggesting that we should track down the organization of those Blasphemers, locate and gather more information about them, before completing the mission?”

Li Mu nodded slightly.

That was indeed his intention.

However, upon hearing their conversation, Dōngdōng frowned.

“Eh… Is that really necessary?”

“Hm?”

The surrounding players turned to look at her.

“I mean, is it really necessary to go through all that trouble? Isn’t it obvious that those blasphemers already know that the Tree of Life is not the real Goddess? Perhaps they even worship the Goddess in their own way.”

“If that is the case, why not simply hand the token over to the Goddess and make her appear before them?”

Upon hearing Dōngdōng’s suggestion, the players exchanged glances.

Li Mu slapped his forehead.

“You are right, Dōngdōng. Searching for those blasphemers ourselves cannot possibly be as efficient as having the Goddess locate them…”

“It’s getting late. Let’s just complete the mission and rendezvous with the Goddess.”

“Rendezvous? Brother Mu, do you know where the Goddess exactly is right now?”

Cypher asked curiously.

“I do not. However… once we completed the mission, we should probably find out her location.”

Li Mu replied.

༺⟐༻

Under Li Mu’s proposal, the ten players quickly reached a consensus.

They opened the quest system and selected the option to submit the task progress within the game interface.

As soon as everyone had completed the submission, a soft system notification sounded in their ears, and each of them received confirmation that the mission had been completed.

The generous rewards were distributed instantly.

However, as they looked at the enticing contribution rewards, most of the players, aside from the more carefree ones, felt somewhat conflicted.

There was a reason for this.

Whenever they recalled that the mana crystals Little Salty Cat had casually used earlier, when converted into contribution points, amounted to more than twice the reward they had just received, they could not help but sigh at the disparity of wealth between individuals.

At the same time, a new set of tasks appeared before them.

There were two in total.

The first was to rendezvous with the Goddess.

The second was to deliver the blasphemer’s token to her.

“Heh, the Goddess’s missions are certainly straightforward. If this had been a task from Alice, we would have had to report everything from beginning to end before receiving the reward.”

Demacia remarked.

The other players nodded in agreement.

In fact, the reason Li Mu had gathered everyone together earlier was precisely because he had grown accustomed to the quests issued by NPCs, and had been preparing to organize their findings before reporting them to the Goddess in full.

Of course, these players would never realize that, as laborers brought here by Evé, every one of their actions was visible to her as long as she willed it.

By the time the players had completed their investigation, Evé was already aware of all their discoveries.

In fact, because Evé could directly examine each of their individual memories, she likely knew even more than they did.

Communication among players inevitably involved some degree of information loss. No one could convey all of their findings perfectly and without omission.

Evé, however, could receive all the information they had uncovered without missing anything, and could further analyze and synthesize it using her formidable computational ability.

Upon seeing the updated coordinates on the mini-map, Li Mu’s spirits lifted.

“Ah, the Goddess’s exact coordinates have appeared as expected. In that case… let us go and meet her now.”

The players nodded in agreement.

After settling their bill at the tavern, the group followed the coordinates on their mini-map and set off.

The Goddess’s location isn’t that far.

After walking for just about ten minutes, they found her by the river that ran through New Rivendell.

By now, the sun had already set, and night had fallen.

However, the city of New Rivendell remained brightly illuminated.

A gentle evening breeze flowed along both banks of the river. The area was well landscaped, and many citizens were out for a stroll.

Evé stood quietly by the riverside, gazing in the direction of the Tree of Life in the distance.

Within a radius of one hundred meters around her, not a single person passed by and whenever someone approached, they seemed to receive somekind of subtle suggestion which made them instinctively turn another way.

At the same time, they felt no sense of anything being amiss.

The ten players spotted Evé immediately.

It could not be helped.

Though night had fallen, a soft holy radiance still surrounds her, making her particularly conspicuous.

Of course, she had likely employed some form of concealment magic, as the players noticed that the passersby did not seem to notice her presence at all.

Standing behind her, Li Mu spoke respectfully.

“Goddess, we have completed the mission you gave us and returned.”

Hearing his words, Evé slowly turned around.

“Very good.”

A hint of approval colored her voice.

“I am already aware of the entire sequence of events. Hand over the token.”

She extended her hand slightly.

With a flattering smile, Demacia cheerfully took out a leaf-shaped badge from his robe and presented it with both hands.

“Goddess, I have already marked the location of the tavern that those blasphe—ah, those elves mentioned. Shall we head there now?”

he asked expectantly.

Evé gently shook her head.

“No need.”

As she spoke, she put away the token and closed her eyes.

In the next moment, the token emitted a soft glow, appearing especially beautiful in the night.

Evé slowly opened her eyes, her violet gaze calm and composed.

“We will go directly to the source.”

“Go directly to the source?”

The surrounding players were momentarily stunned.

༺⟐༻

Approximately fifty kilometers southeast of New Rivendell, in a small town bisected by a stream:

Night had fallen, and the townspeople had returned to their homes. Points of light flickered to life throughout the settlement.

The bluestone-paved streets were quiet.

Suddenly, a hooded figure draped in a cloak appeared under the moonlight.

He hurried forward, heading toward the eastern side of the town, until he arrived before a manor and stopped.

The manor stood on a small hill which overlook the entire town, though it showed signs of slight decay.

The figure approached the door and knocked softly.

“…Who is it?”

An aged voice came from within.

“It’s me, Dio.”

the cloaked figure replied.

The door creaked open from the inside. An elderly elf holding an oil lamp examined the visitor with clouded eyes, while the visitor removed his hood.

Black hair, black eyes, and pointed ears.

He was a shadow elf.

“Lord Dio, you have returned!”

A trace of delight flashed through the elderly elf’s eyes.

“Yes. Some incidents have occurred in New Rivendell, so I came back ahead of schedule. Let us talk as we walk.”

As the shadow elf spoke, Dio stepped inside.

The old elf cast a cautious glance outside before slowly closing the door.

The room was unlit.

“Lord Dio, what has happened in the city? Has the Church begun another search operation?”

the elderly elf asked.

Dio followed him further inside, speaking as they walked.

“Yes and no. Today, an unfamiliar powerful figure appeared in the city which forcefully broke into the forbidden area, and killed over a hundred Guardian Knights. As such, the entire city is now under strict lockdown…”

“Divine Mother above! O-Over a hundred Guardian Knights?!”

The old elf’s expression filled with shock.

“That’s correct. That is why I returned urgently, to report this matter to Lord Kelez.”

Dio replied.

“Who could it possibly be? The Guardian Knights are at least Gold-rank in strength. Moreover, within the forbidden area, that evil giant tree can even elevate their strength to the peak of the Gold-rank, can it not?”

the elderly elf asked with a frown.

“That is precisely what I intend to report to Lord Kelez. It is said that the intruder was an elf, and one with silver hair. Most likely a member of the illustrious Royal Moonlight Clan. Unfortunately, the Church is currently tracking us, so I did not have the opportunity to obtain a portrait, nor was I able to locate the individual.”

Dio sighed.

As they spoke, they arrived before a hidden passage leading underground.

One after the other, they entered.

The passage spiraled downward, eventually opening into a long underground corridor that stretched into the distance, its walls illuminated by magical lamps.

The two continued their conversation as they walked.

“A Royal from the Moonlight Clan…?”

A glimmer of light appeared in the old elf’s clouded eyes.

“They are still alive? If I recall correctly, the Moonlight Elves who came to this realm had already perished during that great upheaval…”

“Indeed, that is what intrigues me as well. That is why I have come to report to Lord Kelez.”

Dio replied.

After a pause, he continued:

“Additionally… I also encountered an interesting non-believer today. He has red hair, which is a rare member of the Rageblaze Clan. I could even sense his hostility toward the evil tree. He may be able to become one of our allies. I have already given him the contact token we used within the city.”

“That is excellent news! Our number of comrades has been steadily dwindling. This is precisely the time when we must bring in new blood in our organization.”

the elderly elf said with joy.

Their voices echoed softly through the vast underground passage. After about two minutes, they arrived before a stone door.

“Milord, I will go and announce your arrival. Please wait here for a moment,” the old elf said.

Dio nodded.

The elderly elf then pushed the door open and entered, leaving Dio outside.

Two minutes later, the stone door opened again from within.

“Lord Dio, Lord Kelez is waiting for you in the prayer chamber. Please proceed.”

Upon hearing this, Dio’s expression brightened, and he quickly stepped inside.

Beyond the stone door lay a vast space, resembling a small square. Inside, numerous hooded figures could be seen moving about, engaged in various tasks.

Under the old elf’s guidance, Dio soon stopped before a stone chamber.

“Lord Kelez, Lord Dio has arrived.”

he said respectfully.

A dignified voice came from within the chamber.

“Enter.”

Dio steadied his breathing and promptly walked inside.

The chamber was not large, measuring only a little over ten square meters.

At its center stood an altar, upon which rested a beautiful statue depicting a goddess of extraordinary beauty.

Before the statue stood a shadow elf clad in black robes, appearing to be a human male in his thirties or forties, with his eyes closed in prayer.

He was both handsome and imposing. A fierce scar ran across his right eye, lending him an added sharpness.

Yet, the devout and tranquil expression he wore while praying before the statue softened his presence with a trace of gentleness.

At the sight of this figure, Dio immediately adopted a respectful posture.

Information about the man surfaced in his mind.

Kelez Shadow…

He was the leader of the Alliance and the spiritual guide of them all.

He was the youngest elf in the history of the Shadowshade Clan to reach the Legendary-rank. During the holy war a thousand years ago, he had once faced five Legendary-rank experts alone, and was praised by the former head of the Shadowshade Clan as the most talented prodigy their clan had seen in ten thousand years.

At the same time, he was also the most valued disciple of Lord Eris, the Shadow of Night and personally trained as their successor.

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