CHAPTER 611

Game of the World Tree

【 YOU…WHO ARE YOU 】

—

“It is Big Sister’s arrow!”

“Is a new storyline about to begin?”

The excited voices of the Chosen Ones resounded from all directions.

Tonglu was slightly taken aback.

Big Sister?

At that very moment, he suddenly sensed a powerful yet unfamiliar aura accompanied by faint spatial fluctuations emerging behind him.

Tonglu’s heart stirred, and he turned to look.

Not far away hovering in midair, a graceful and commanding figure appeared.

It was an elven maiden clad in black armored dress.

She possessed long dark-silver hair, and her pair of crimson-violet eyes gleamed like stars in the night sky.

Like her fellow elves, this maiden, who appeared to be no more than eighteen or nineteen years of age in human terms, possessed an exceptionally beautiful countenance that naturally drew lingering gazes.

Yet compared to other elves, her gaze was much sharper, carrying an imperceptible majesty akin to that of a sovereign.

Her expression remained cold and detached. Combined with her stern black armor, she exuded the aura of an aloof and noble beauty, much like a proud ice queen.

This sight reminded Tonglu of his youth, when he visited a human kingdom and met the Empress of the Holy Maniya Empire, whom was also known as the Red Rose of the Empire, a woman of golden rank.

The resemblance was striking. The elf before him carried the same strength, beauty, and aura of nobility.

But no.

Something set her apart. This elf, whom the Chosen Ones affectionately addressed as Big Sister, was not quite the same.

On the surface, her power seemed limited to the peak of Gold-rank. Yet Tonglu could feel a subtle pressure emanating from her presence. It was not something that could be measured by rank alone. Ɍ𝘼ƝꝊ𝔟Εṧ

More than that, he even had a premonition: should he battle this elven maiden, he might still be the one to fall in defeat despite being a Legendary-rank.

It was an inexplicable sensation, yet impossible to dismiss.

Soon, however, Tonglu realized the source of this feeling.

It came from the faint radiance which enveloped her body.

The radiance of a Godwarden.

Unlike those Chosen Ones, who only temporarily attained such a state through the Goddess’s favor, this maiden appeared to be the true Godwarden of the Goddess of Life. Since the summoning of the Chosen Ones, she stood as the most powerful individual yet to be called forth.

The Chosen Ones clearly recognized her, and with her arrival, joyous shouts echoed across the battlefield.

At the same time, the elves fought with greater ferocity, as though striving to prove themselves or eager to bring the battle to a swift conclusion, clashing against the demons with renewed fervor.

Of course, unbeknownst to Tonglu, the real reason the players erupted with such excitement was not solely due to her arrival. The background music in every player’s system had suddenly shifted the moment this maiden appeared in the sky.

The exclusive theme song ‘For Glory of the Goddess’ which normally played only when a player entered the Godwarden State, now resounded for everyone alike.

This battle theme, cherished by the players since the conclusion of their first campaign, instantly ignited their enthusiasm.

Yet that was not the only cause of their reaction.

“Oh no! Big Sister Zero has arrived. Does this mean another forced cutscene is about to begin?”

“Not yet, please! Hurry, everyone, defeat the monsters before we lose control again!”

Such comments spread quickly among the Chosen Ones, though Tonglu could not fully grasp their meaning.

Yet from their exchanges, he learned the name of this mysterious elven maiden.

Zero.

The Godwarden Zero.

In an instant, memories of his earlier conversation with Lord Thranduil, the elven royalty in charge of Sandstorm City, resurfaced in Tonglu’s mind:

“Lady Zero is the acting leader of the Church of Life and currently the most powerful individual among us elves. She can even commune directly with the Goddess Herself and beseech Her Grace to perform Divine Descent…”

Tonglu’s spirit soared.

With excitement, he turned to the High Pontiff and exclaimed: “Your Holiness! That elven maiden is Lady Zero, the one who can invoke Divine Descent!”

“It is her…?”

A look of understanding flickered across the High Pontiff’s expression.

“You know her?”

Tonglu asked in surprise.

The High Pontiff nodded.

“It is said that three years ago, when one of the City-States under the Hermetic Alliance was assaulted by a legion of shadow creatures, it was a lone elven maiden who activated the city’s defensive divine barrier and slew a Shadow Dragon of legendary-rank.”

“That elf was named Zero. At the time, her strength was reportedly no more than Lower Gold-rank.”

A trace of sentiment colored the High Pontiff’s voice.

Tonglu’s eyes widened in shock.

“Lower Gold-rank?!”

“The power of a Godwarden cannot be measured by rank alone, for they may draw directly upon the strength of their patron deity. Never judge them solely by their outward level of power,” the High Pontiff explained calmly.

Then, glancing at the elven maiden who was hovering in midair, he sighed with emotion:

“To think that in only three years, that elven maiden has already reached peak Gold-rank. With such potential… she may very well be capable of invoking a full Divine Descent.”

Full Divine Descent…

Tonglu could not help but draw in a sharp breath.

Divine Descent, as its name implied, was a ritual that invoked the manifestation of a true god.

Normally, it was performed by a Godwarden, who served as a vessel to allow the will of their patron deity to descend into their body.

However, such manifestations were rarely complete, for they were constrained by the vessel’s potential and strength. As a result, the descended will of the god seldom surpassed the level of a demigod.

Hence a Full Divine Descent meant that the True God would arrive in their full form.

Although Thranduil had once told Tonglu that the Goddess of Life would intervene, he had always assumed Her intervention would be no more than performing a Divine Descent at the demigod-level.

But after hearing the High Pontiff’s analysis, Tonglu suddenly realized he might have underestimated Her Grace’s determination to eradicate evil.

A Full Divine Descent!

If the High Pontiff’s speculation proved to be correct, then the outcome of this battle was already decided.

After all, from what Tonglu had learned in recent days, the Goddess of Life had once slain a veteran true god even when ambushed.

In the face of such overwhelming True God, even the evil god Barolte—who had failed to break out of his prison after so long—stood no chance.

At this thought, Tonglu once more gazed at the elven maiden floating in the sky, his expression tinged with hope.

Almost unconsciously, he placed his hand upon the spare weapon at his waist, feeling an eagerness to join the battle.

At that moment, the voice of the High Pontiff sounded beside him:

“Tonglu, calm yourself. You are itching to charge in again, are you not? But now, more than ever, we must remain vigilant. Guard well the statue of the Goddess of Life. As long as this holy statue stands, victory will surely be ours.”

Tonglu’s heart trembled.

He nodded solemnly, drew closer to the holy statue, and raised his vigilance to its utmost.

The exchange between Tonglu and the High Pontiff Greycloth lasted only a brief moment.

Yet in that short span, the tide of the battlefield had already shifted.

The demon king, though struck by Zero’s arrow that had blown away half his body, did not retreat. Instead, he released a sinister laugh.

Dark abyssal energy surged forth, drawn to him in torrents, converging around his form before being slowly absorbed.

From his ghastly wounds sprouted writhing flesh, twisting like worms as they swiftly knitted together.

Within moments, his body was completely restored.

Not only that, but his aura swelled and surged as well, breaking through an unseen threshold.

Seeing the Demon King’s transformation, the High Pontiff’s expression grew grave.

“Legendary-rank…”

In the sky above, Zero furrowed her brow ever so slightly, a trace of surprise flickering across her face.

Then she extended her left hand and closed it gently.

Golden radiance gathered within her palm, condensing into a magnificent bow woven entirely from divine power.

She then raised her right hand, drew back the bowstring, and leveled her aim directly at the legendary-rank demon king.

Brilliant divine energy surged and converged upon the string, solidifying into a golden arrow that radiated overwhelming might. Around Zero, winds of elemental force howled, scattering her silver hair into a storm that framed her figure with an almost otherworldly majesty.

“Get out of the way.”

Every Chosen Ones near the demon king heard Zero’s cold, commanding voice resound in their minds.

The players’ expressions shifted sharply.

“It is Big Sister!”

“Damn, Big Sister is about to unleash her ultimate move!”

Panic mingled with exhilaration, and anticipation merged with fear, as they scattered in every direction to clear her line of fire.

In moments, only the demons clustered near the demon king remained.

The arrow in Zero’s hand burned ever brighter.

Countless motes of radiant light were drawn toward her, gathering into the golden shaft. With each spark absorbed, the arrow blazed more brilliantly, its aura swelling into something so immense that the very air trembled under its presence.

A divine and majestic pressure surged higher and higher. Even Tonglu, who stood guard near the holy statue, felt a chill of mortal dread seize his heart, as though he were staring directly into the face of inevitable death.

His pulse thundered in his ears.

How could one whose strength was no more than peak Gold-rank wield such terrifying power?

The thought defied reason.

On the battlefield below, the demon king too sensed the imminent danger.

His crimson gaze narrowed as he cast a wary glance at the elven maiden in the sky. With a guttural roar, he raised his colossal battle axe high. Abyssal energy flooded into the weapon, its black surface writhing with abyssal energy as if it sought to devour the very light around it.

Then, with a furious bellow that shook the ground, he hurled the weapon skyward. The air split apart with a whistling gale as the axe tore through the air.

At that instant, Zero’s eyes glimmered with resolve, finally releasing the bowstring.

The blazing golden arrow shot forth, trailing a radiant tail of divine brilliance. Spinning like a drill, it howled through the air, tearing apart the sky itself as it sped toward the demon king.

A resounding crack split the battlefield when the arrow clashed against the oncoming axe.

The weapon, which had once belonged to Tonglu, shattered like fragile glass.

The legendary dwarven warrior’s eyes widened in disbelief, his face torn between anguish for his lost weapon and awe at the power that had destroyed it.

For that was no ordinary weapon—it had been a legendary-grade artifact.

And yet even after destroying such a weapon, the golden arrow did not falter in the slightest. Its momentum only seemed to grow, as though fueled by an inexorable will.

Like a falling star cloaked in fire, it streaked forward, bearing unstoppable heat and divine power, and struck the body of the legendary-rank demon king.

In that instant, the sealed land was drowned in light. The radiance was so brilliant and pure that every being upon the battlefield saw their vision engulfed in blinding whiteness, as though the world itself had been erased.

Then came the explosion.

It was so loud that the ears of those present rang with piercing pain, leaving many nearly deaf.

The ground quaked violently.

Waves of scorching heat surged outward like an endless tide, sweeping across the land. The Chosen Ones caught within the blast were thrown to the ground, their shouts drowned out by the explosion. Those nearest the blast were struck hardest, blood spraying from their lips as their bodies suffered grievous internal wounds.

As for the demons, their fate was far worse.

Those nearest were instantly reduced to ash by the sacred light. Even those farther away wailed in agony as smoke rose from their burning flesh.

The blinding brilliance lasted for several seconds before it gradually faded.

Yet the ringing in everyone’s ears persisted.

When the vision of the elves and dwarves finally returned, they beheld a vast crater at the spot where the demon king had once stood. It was even larger than the one left by Little Salty Cat’s earlier self-detonation.

Within the crater, golden flames burned brightly, dazzling and awe-inspiring.

“Holy crap! A one-shot kill!”

“Big Sister is invincible!”

“What is that skill called? It looks incredible!”

Cheers erupted from the Chosen Ones.

Tonglu’s eyes were wide, his heart shaken to the core.

To slay a demon king who had already advanced to the legendary rank with just a single arrow… even with divine power borrowed from a true god, it was a terrifying feat.

That was a legendary-rank demon king!

And what was more, the light arrow had achieved this even after annihilating his axe along the way.

“So powerful… So this is the strongest of the elves?”

Tonglu murmured in awe.

Instinctively, he glanced up at Zero who was still hovering in the sky. But to his astonishment, she did not appear relieved.

Instead, her brow was faintly furrowed, her sharp gaze fixed intently upon the crater.

Hm?

Tonglu’s heart skipped a beat. A vague sense of foreboding crept into his chest.

The next moment, he saw the elven maiden let out a cold, disdainful snort. Divine power surged once more into her hand, coalescing into a radiant longsword wreathed in golden flame.

With a swift, almost ethereal leap, she appeared above the crater. Raising the blazing blade high, she brought it down in a strike that seemed powerful enough to cleave the heavens itself.

The golden fire roared like a descending sun, crashing downward with incomparable might.

But just then, the earth shuddered. From deep within the crater surged a thick and sinister abyssal energy, rolling outward in waves of choking black smoke.

From within that darkness, a monstrous demonic hand burst forth, its talons like jagged spears, and seized the descending divine blade in its grasp.

A thunderous blast shook the battlefield. Radiant light flared across the land, tearing through the black haze for a fleeting instant.

Yet when the brilliance finally faded, the claw—armored in black scales harder than steel—remained wholly unscathed.

It had withstood the divine strike.

Zero landed lightly, her gaze sharp as she took a single step back. The black smoke slowly unraveled, revealing a towering silhouette.

Before the eyes of all, the demon king emerged unhurt. His form now loomed mightier than before, the sheer pressure of his aura suffocating the air. His once savage features were sharpened by newfound strength, giving him an almost regal and terrifying presence.

A murmur of disbelief rippled across the battlefield.

“This… impossible!”

Tonglu cried out in shock.

Even the High Pontiff faltered, his composure cracking, his expression shaken with doubt.

The demon king casually brushed the lingering golden flames from his body, as though swatting away embers. Then, lifting his gaze to the elven maiden, he spoke.

“You… who are you?”

His low and commanding voice resounded across the battlefield.

Zero narrowed her eyes slightly.

Her own cold, melodious voice rang out in return:

“Likewise. You… who are you?”