Chapter 491

【 THE GRAND WAR SCENARIO BEGINS!】

Within the divine kingdom of the World Tree, Eve sat before her divine throne, watching an ethereal projection formed from her divine power. @@novelbin@@

Nodding subtly, she mused over the scene before her.

“As expected, chromatic dragons favor combat players more.”

This time, Evé had not personally interfered in the dragon partnership selection process and left the choice entirely to the five young chromatic dragons.

And judging by the results, this method of selecting partners through the use of virtual space seemed to be quite effective.

It turned out that hatchlings had an even keener sense for battle prowess and killing intent than Evé had expected.

They didn’t even need to see the players fight—just by their sheer instinct alone, the five hatchlings could discern who among the players was the strongest.

All five players chosen by the young dragons were combat-focused, ranking among the top fifteen on the battle leaderboard.

The only exceptions were the two Druids, whose rankings were slightly lower.

Of course, even though they ranked lower in direct combat, their class had the advantage of being naturally attuned to bonding with other creatures. This allowed them to outshine several higher-ranked Mages, Warriors, and Hunters, ultimately earning the favor of the young dragons.

Additionally, Evé took note of the black dragon Meryer and the red dragon Tiberia, who had stealthily entered the selection process.

Yet, after merely observing for a while, the two massive dragons lost interest and moved on.

Smiling faintly, Evé closed the projection and disengaged the virtual space.

The players and dragons soon returned to their physical bodies…

The dragon pacts had now been finalized in the virtual space.

However, since all five contracted players had entered the virtual space from the Dark Mountains, Evé decided to offer them a small convenience.

【❗ 】

【You have successfully formed a partnership pact with a dragon. Would you like to summon your contracted partner to your side? 】

She sent this message to the five lucky players.

Still basking in the excitement of their newly bonded dragon companions, even the usually composed Boxlunch among them, they were torn between celebrating their success and deliberating whether to return to Florence immediately.

After all, now that they had formed the bonding ceremony, they couldn’t just leave the young dragons unattended in Florence.

So, when the system prompt appeared, their eyes lit up, and without hesitation, all five chosen players picked the option to summon their dragon partners.

Without delay, Evé used the game system to teleport the five hatchlings to their respective partners.

Since all five individuals were combat-oriented players, they were clearly preparing to venture forth into the Desert of Death for the upcoming battle.

Even though the dragons were mere hatchlings, dragons were still dragons.

Their presence would be a considerable boost to the players’ strength.

Moreover, chromatic dragons experienced a significant reduction in their need for sleep and their desire for battle intensified especially after forming a companionship bond. 𝘳Á₦𝘖𝐁Ɛᶊ

To them, combat was simply another way to train and grow.

Just as Evé finished teleporting the young dragons, she suddenly sensed something as her gaze shifted toward the sacred artifact, Casket of the Dead enshrined within her temple.

At that moment, the casket was radiating a misty glow.

“Hela has finally responded.”

Eve’s eyes brightened.

Following the public beta, she had sent a message to the Goddess of Death, Hela, informing her of the impending operation she was planning in the Desert of Death. She had also expressed concerns regarding the God of Darkness and Shadows, Hödur.

Now, at long last, Hela had replied.

Evé quickly reached out, summoning the divine artifact used for communication between them, and lightly tapped it.

As she did, the Casket of the Dead promptly opened, releasing a deep, deathly divine energy. Then, the familiar, languid voice of Hela resonated throughout the temple:

“I am aware of the situation. I will remain stationed in the Netherworld to keep an eye on Hödur and will issue a divine decree to the Hermetic Alliance to assist you.”

“Wishing for your success, Your Grace, Evé.”

Hela had agreed to help!

Evé felt a sense of relief.

With Hela’s assurance, her concerns about Hödur had lessened, and she felt more at ease about taking action against the Orcs…

“Good. Now I can proceed with assigning the players their missions without worry.”

She gave a small nod.

Her gaze shifted toward the strategic map displayed within the temple, focusing on the miniature representation of the Dark Mountains.

At the mountain’s borders, countless glowing orbs of light had been steadily gathering into tight clusters, forming a sea of shimmering brilliance.

Each flickering point represented a high-level Iron-rank players who had honed their skills through countless battles, alongside a handful of elite players who had ascended to the Silver-rank.

Having already seen the inactive questline in the system, they knew that the next major storyline event would take place in the Desert of Death. As a result, they had stationed themselves at the boundary between the Dark Mountains and the desert, grinding enemies while waiting for the quest to activate.

“It seems they’ve been preparing for this for quite some time.”

Evé nodded to herself in approval.

Taking a deep breath, she infused her divine power into the quest system, activating the long-prepared questline scenario:

【❗】

【Pre-requisites met. Major War Scenario: ‘Desert of Death’ has begun! 】

【Storyline Background: Disturbances have been detected in the Desert of Death. The Orcs, once defeated in the War of Faith, have not given up. They have rallied their forces and are preparing to invade the Elven Forest once more… 】

【For the peace of the Elven Forest, for the future of the elves, you have chosen to take the initiative by scouting the Orcs movements and paving the way for the elven army’s counterattack… 】

【The elves have retreated too many times in the past. Now it’s time to make our enemies pay the price instead! 】

【❗ 】

【Phase One of the Storyline Quest has begun… 】

【Phase One Objective: Investigate the Desert of Death 】

【Quest Goal: Enter the Desert and investigate the Orcs movements, map the terrain, and disrupt their forces to prevent them from gathering into a full-scale army.】

【Recommended Level: 40】

【Quest Rewards: All participating players will receive a 50% bonus to experience and contribution points in the Desert. Additionally, upon unlocking Phase Two, all participants will be granted 10,000 contribution points and 100 resurrection coins.】

【Phase Two Unlock Conditions: 】

1. Successfully map out the Desert of Death for the upcoming invasion.

2. Organize a 100,000-strong elven army (i.e., reach 100,000 players at level 30 or above across the server).

【❗ 】

【Desert of Death Map (Level 30+) Unlocked… 】

【Task and Army Progress Tracking Activated… 】

Desert of Death Reconnaissance Progress: 0%

Elven Army Strength: 44,123 players

【March forth! For the glory of the Goddess, for the future of the elves! 】

Evé mused aloud, a subtle smile playing on her lips, “Large-scale army battles always risk players falling behind. But with an advance announcement like this, they’ll be better prepared… That should help.”

Her smile widened slightly.

“A hundred-thousand-strong army… I imagine the players will be thrilled by this kind of event. After all, it’s not something they get to experience in just any game.”

— 491 —

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