Chapter 05
▪️Connections in the Online World
Oak Guardian!
The Elven Goddess had ruled over all during the peak of the Silver Civilization a thousand years ago back when the Elven Kingdom still existed. And throughout her reign, the Oak Guardians was her primary enforcers, its status is equivalent to the archangels of humanity's gods!
During the height of the World Tree's power, she commanded an army of 100,000 all comprised of powerful Oak Guardians.
Even the weakest Oak Guardian possessed the power of silver-rank!
Every intelligent beings living within the Elven Forest and its affiliated territories, would instantly know the meaning behind the reappearance of this once legendary being.
A wave of emotions surged within Rock's heart as the Orc captain looked upwards at the colossal creature standing before him in comparable to the size of a dragon.
"Silver... silver..."
Feeling the pressure of its overwhelming force, Rock's mind then went completely blank.
How was this possible?
Didn't the Oak Guardians all died alongside the fall of the Elven Goddess?
Was he hallucinating right now?
Rock rubbed his eyes in denial, but everything before him stood the same and the horrifying creature in front of him wasn't just an illusion.
As he looked at the towering tree-like being, Rock felt his entire body tremble in fright as reality finally sinks in...
No... there was no mistaking it. He had seen this image countless times back in the tribe's murals, and he couldn't be wrong!
This... this was definitely the Oak Guardian! The guardsmen of Elven Goddess!
How could this be?!
Rock's not-so-high intellect made it difficult for his brain to keep up... but one thing was sure, the other party's appearance in front of them was definitely a bad premonition for him and his hunting crew.
"He's going to kill us!"
An instinctual sense of danger pervaded his heart as his fight or flight instincts completely sends alarm to his brain to immediately choose the latter.
"R-Run..."
Mumbling to himself, the Orc Captain suddenly snapped out of his daze before shouting to his fellow mercenaries,
"Run for your lives... quickly!"
Without even bothering to pick up his wolf's tooth club, Captain Rock swiftly turned and flee for his life as if the devil himself is in hot pursuit of him.
Are you kidding!?
This Oak Guardian with the power of silver-rank weren't his match at all! He would be dead in seconds should he try to fight it!
Hell, even if the tribe's High Priest somehow miraculously came to his rescue right this instant, he would still be nothing more than a tiny prey compared to this colossal predator.
Seeing their mighty captain flee in a completely pathetic manner, the rest of the orc mercenaries stood completely stunned.
They tried to open their mouths but then turned their heads in unison instead, like birds and beasts scattering in all directions, running for their lives just like their leader...
At this moment, they had already forgotten about the slave hunt. The only thing on their minds at the momentsl was to escape this towering monstrosity...
As Rock sprinted, he became more and more confused and equally frightened...
Why are there still Oak Guardians appearing?
The Elven God had clearly fallen long ago, which is a widely known fact all throughout the realm of Saigües!
Without the support of a patron deity, how could this Oak Guardian still exist?!
No...
C-Could it be...?
Suddenly, an incredulous idea emerged from his heart, and somehow, the image of the imposing and ancient World Tree reappeared in his mind...
"N-N-No... it c-can't be..."
At that moment, Rock felt his throat dry up and deathly chills looms all over his body.
Run!
Quickly escape! Return to the tribe!
This must be reported to the high priest at all cost!
If it's really what he's thinking, then their tribe—No, the entire Orcish race will be in grave danger!
Beserker felt extremely angry.
At first he was elated since the Goddess had finally given him his first task.
Being able to dedicate his power to the great monarch, Berserker felt incredibly excited to complete this task no matter what the cause.
However, when he arrived at the location designated by the mother goddess, what he found was a group of ugly and evil Beastmen!
What made him even more mad was that these Beatmen were hunting the children of the great mother goddess!
Not only that, but when he heard the evil Orc even dared insulted the great monarch, Berserker's last bit of reason instantly collapsed.
At the same time, the icy voice of the mother goddess once again resounded in his mind:
"Cut him."
Akin to unlocking the final shackle for which holds his raging fury, the goddess simple order was all the Oak Guardian needed to finally let loose.
"Rooar!! "
The deafening shout coming from the treant agitated countless birds within the vicinity as they flew away in droves.
"Blasphemous Orc, die!"
Accompanied by a trace of divine power, the immense magic gathered from the core of the Oak Guardian made his already towering thirty-meter-tall body to even grew larger. With his eyes turning red, Berserker raised his arms made of branches and roared,
"War Sacrifice!"
With a fluctuating chant, his arms transformed into rapidly growing vines, slithering like criss-crossing ropes towards the countless fleeing Orc mercenaries...
The vines were extremely agile, and before many of the Orcs could even take a few steps, they were already bound up long before they even realized what just happened...
"What is this? Let go of me! Let go please!"
"Help! Captain Rock, help!"
"Monster! It's a monster! It's absorbing my life f-force... ah..."
"Argh... my leg! Goddammit my leg!"
"..."
Hearing the countless miserable screams behind him, Rock's scalp went completely numb.
Suddenly, a sense of dread surged up in his heart.
Rock's heart skipped a beat, and he instinctively dodged to the side as a thick vine shot through the spot where he had just passed, causing him to shudder in fright.
However, before he could evrn catch his breath, the vine rushed towards him once again.
Gritting his teeth in frustration, he drew the curved blade from his waist and swung it fiercely at the vine.
Accompanied by a "clang" sound, the blade broke into two pieces, but the vine was unharmed.
"How is this possible?!"
In Rock's stunned gaze, the vine leaped up and tied him up, and a terrifying attraction appeared on the vine. In Rock's horrified eyes, he saw his once-strong body rapidly wither, his strength constantly weakening, and his life force rapidly draining away.
In just a few seconds, he aged significantly...
"W-War Sacrifice..."
His voice became old and hoarse, filled with infinite fear.
War Sacrifice, an intermediate-level ability of the druid.
The user can transform into a vine, absorb the target's life force for their own use, and sacrifice some of the obtained strength to the Mother Nature.
In his last moments of consciousness, Rock finally remembered this terrifying skill that once belonged only to the Wrath Druid...
In a flash, the hunting party of over twenty Beastmen was completely wiped out.
All of these twists and turns occurred in less than ten seconds as a matter of fact.
Alice, sitting on the ground whilst watching all this happen was entirely stunned.
"Oak Sentinel... War Sacrifice..."
Watching the slaver mercenaries whom turned into bones and ash in the blink of an eye under the vines of the Oak Sentinel, the elven girl murmured to herself in reverence.
Suddenly, as if realizing something, two lines of crystal tears slowly flowed down her fair cheeks as Alice suddenly raised her head before looking towards the direction of the World Tree with seven parts of surprise and three parts of apprehension, a little confused, expectant, and ashamed.
"Great Mother Goddess, is it...you?"
Silence.
A breeze passed by...
Countless dazzling light green rays descended from the sky, incomparably sacred and solemn.
The rays carried a gentle power and seemed to receive some kind of mandate, rushing into Alice and Samuel's bodies one after another.
The injuries caused by the explosion of the core in the elven girl's body were healed in an instant, while the broken body of the old elf Samuel also recovered at a visible speed with his consciousness slowly awakening...
Evérything was akin to a miracle.
The old priest trembled as he stood up, looking incredulously at the majestic Oak Sentinel and then at his own wounds. After realizing what had happened, he then sat down on the ground still in utter disbelief.
His lips were sticky, and he looked expectant yet somewhat uneasy, as if wanting to believe something but fearing that he was experiencing a meaningless dream...
"Is this... is this real? Can I really believe it?"
Suddenly, a grand and sacred voice echoed within their minds...
My name is Evé Yggdrasill.
The two of them instantly shook down to their core.
They then looked at each other and saw fear and disbelief in each other's eyes, which quickly turned into boundless joy...
It's the Great Mother Goddess!
It really is the Great Mother Goddess!
She's back...
In an instant, Alice felt as if all the power in her body had been drained away. Her body wavered and she couldn't help but collapse to the ground, tears streaming down her face incessantly.
As the voice entered his ears, Samuel slightly opened his mouth, and deep wrinkles trembled uncontrollably, while his murky tears fell like pearls.
He, who was once a respected elder of the tribe, was now crying like a child.
"Goddess...Goddess, is that you? Is it really you?"
"Goddess, have you come back?"
"Have you really...come back?!"
Their nigh almost extinguished flicker of faith was once again reignited anew as it soars metaphorically high into the sky.