CHAPTER 674

【 YOUR SMILE DISAPPEARED ONCE MORE 】

—

【Hidden Quest: Sophia’s Request 】

【Quest Objective: Assist Sophia in reclaiming Maple Leaf Territory, defeat the self proclaimed ‘King’ of Red Maple Kingdom, eliminate the God of Twilight and Dusk, and spread the faith of the Goddess of Life in the region…】

【Minimum Level Requirements: 40+ (Max level Iron-rank and above)】

【Number of Participants: 1265/100000】

【Quest Rewards: Based on contribution points earned during the quest, participating players will have a certain probability of receiving the following rewards:

Goddess Favor (very low probability), Intermediate-Silver Advancement Slot (low probability), Silver Class Change Slot (low probability), Artifact Repair Voucher (moderate probability), Personal Reputation Rating (high probability), Large Amount of Experience (very high probability), Large Amount of Contribution Points (very high probability)】

【Note 1: The maximum number of participants for this hidden quest is one hundred thousand. Registration will close once the limit is reached. Any player who remains offline for more than one earth day during the quest or fails to return to the battlefield promptly after death will lose their qualification. Their slot will be automatically filled by the next person in the registration queue.】

【Note 2: Once this hidden quest becomes available, players who are not participating will temporarily lose access to Maple Leaf Territory until the quest ends. Any player currently active in Maple Leaf Territory will be automatically be enrolled as participants. The current number of enrolled players is ‘1265’.】

【Note 3: This hidden quest is a server-wide quest which will includes events like siege warfare, field battles, defensive operations, and evangelism. Henceforth, players are advised to act in legion sized groups, create detailed plans in advance, and manage their playtime responsibly.】

【Brave Chosen Ones, for the glory of the Goddess, draw forth your blades!】

【

】

【Player ‘Demacia’ the system has detected that you meet the requirements for the hidden quest: Sophia’s Request.】

【Would you like to participate? Y/N 】

Staring at the quest notification in his field of vision, Demacia opened his mouth in surprise, then his expression brightened with excitement.

He slapped his thigh, registered without hesitation, and spoke with tears in his eyes.

“I knew it! The Goddess still loves me!”

༺⟐༻

The soft radiance slowly faded and Sophia finally awoke from that strange, transcendent state in which her entire being had seemed to drift into.

At this moment, she felt as if she had drawn even closer to the Goddess.

“Your Grace, I will not disappoint you. I will definitely change the future of humanity!”

Filled with the powerful divine faith surging through her body, the half elven girl trembled with emotion.

She bowed deeply toward the World Tree at the center of the southwestern central region, then respectfully traced the symbol of the Scepter across her chest.

After that, Sophia took a deep breath, lifted her head, and looked toward a certain red haired elf gazing at the sky at a forty five degree angle.

“Sir Demacia, would you be willing to help me?”

The half elven girl’s expression was earnest.

Yet that sincerity quickly shifted to surprise upon seeing his weird expression.

Looking at Demacia’s glistening eyes, Sophia was left confused. She tilted her head slightly, unsure whether she had said something wrong. Noticing her puzzled stare, Demacia wiped his face with the back of his hand and let out a long, theatrical sigh. Ɽά₦ö𝔟Εṥ

“Oh, it is nothing. I just remembered all the pile of white apprentice shoes that has nearly filled up my storage room.”

Sophia blinked.

“…?”

Demacia did not elaborate further. He simply gave a carefree chuckle, as if the matter were too complicated or too embarrassing to explain.

“You want me to help you, right? Of course I accept.”

Her expression brightened immediately at his hearty smile, as happiness briefly broke through her composed exterior.

“Great!”

However, she quickly gathered herself, concealed the burst of excitement, and returned to her usual calm expression. She straightened her back and nodded with polite composure.

“Thank you for your support.”

At the same moment, a sudden notification appeared in Demacia’s field of vision:

【Sophia’s favorability value has increased by 40 points. Your relationship has reached ‘Fondness.’】

For a heartbeat he just stared, stunned by the unexpected news. But then despite the message stating that it increased, he noticed that the half elven girl’s demeanor still remained cool and aloof as always. Not a hint of warmth, nor even the slightest sign of emotional change.

Demacia’s mouth slowly fell open as his expression twisted into disbelief, then quickly shifted to exhilaration. Straightening his back, he threw his chest forward, and blurted out,

“Miss Sophia!”

Sophia blinked.

“Have you fallen for me?”

Sophia: “??”

“Haha, come on, no need to hide it. I can tell. You are far too shy.”

Sophia: “…”

【Sophia’s favorability value toward you has decreased by 40 points. Your relationship has returned to ‘Normal.’】

At that, Demacia stood rooted to the spot, smile frozen in stiff expression.

༺⟐༻

Just like every previous server-wide quest, the arrival of the new announcement sent the entire playerbase of Elven Kingdom into a frenzy.

However, unlike previous events, this quest came with a strict limit on the number of participants, catching the players completely off guard.

With limited slots, players had to act before anyone else and claim a spot as quickly as possible.

In an instant, every eligible player enrolled without hesitation and hurried to call their offline friends, urging them to log in before the registration window closed.

After all, the rewards were undeniably lucrative.

Whether it was the Goddess Favorability that increased shop discounts and raised the probability of triggering blessings in hidden and battlefield quests, the newly opened Intermediate Silver Advancement Slots, the highly sought after Artifact Repair Voucher, or the still valuable Silver Class Change Slots, everything was appealing.

Under the rush of players flooding in hopes of participating the event, all one hundred thousand spots were filled in less than five minutes.

Among the successful registrants, the ratio of Silver-rankers to Iron-rankers was around one to nine. More than ten thousand were Silver-rankers, about half of the entire Silver-rank population, while nearly ninety thousand were Max Iron-rank players, roughly one sixth of all Iron-rank players.

This was expected, since most Silver-rankers logged in frequently and thus naturally joined immediately. Meanwhile, the Iron-rankers were a mix from the latest batch of public-beta players and the more casual or life-oriented players.

Among the more than ten thousand Silver-rank participants, despite the update going live only a few days ago, several hundred lucky or dedicated players had already reached Intermediate Silver-rank.

Those who secured a participation slot were delighted, celebrating loudly in world chat or dedicated guild channels. Those who failed to do so could only stare at the message:

【Registration slot already full. You have been placed in the queue. Your current position is XX】

They sighed helplessly.

As expected, many filed complaints, since previous server wide quests had never imposed a limit, but after venting out their frustration, most could only accept the situation in silence. The rules had been clear, the registration had been open, and the window had closed faster than expected.

Who could they blame but themselves for being slow to register.

Naturally, the players had no idea that the registration limit was deliberately set up by Evé, and this would not be the only time. In fact, for future similar large scale events, she also intended to impose a cap on participants each time, treating it as a long term adjustment rather than a one time experiment.

This was now necessary since unlike the earlier days, when the entire playerbase had to be mobilized because there were simply too few players, the current situation had shifted completely.

The concurrent total number of players had reached five hundred and sixty thousand, and their overall strength had undergone a dramatic transformation. Many had advanced several ranks since the early era, and the collective combat power of the Chosen Ones was now quite formidable. Under such circumstances, most specific questlines no longer required a massive force that moved as one.

Furthermore, many life oriented players still needed to maintain the operations of the Elven Society. The vast territory also required personnel to remain stationed in various towns and outposts. With so much daily maintenance needed, not everyone could be pulled away at once.

Considering input versus reward, and balancing the needs of the entire region, limiting the number of participants in large events like these was a better approach as it ensured efficiency for the quest while preventing disruption to the normal functioning of the Elven Forest.

For example, in this mission, the enemy was ultimately an Evil Ancient Titan God. If such a fearsome entity suddenly annihilate the players army with a single blow, the cost Evé would pay to resurrect all of them would be enormous. Even with her increased divine powers, reviving hundreds of thousands at once would still be a painful expenditure on her part.

By her estimates, a force of one hundred thousand was already sufficient enough to defeat the Borderlord’s secular army, break through their defenses, and then continue holding off the imperial forces outside Maple Leaf Territory after claiming victory.

Anything more than that would be needlessly wasteful.

As for the Eternal Lord’s reaction after Sophia took control of Maple Leaf Territory following its reclamation?

Heh.

Well, when Borderlord Otto declared his independence, expelled the Eternal Church, and established the Church of Twilight and Dusk as Red Maple Kingdoms national religion, Maple Leaf Territory, from a legal standpoint, had already ceased to be part of the Eternal Lord’s domain the moment Otto severed his ties.

Therefore, launching a holy war against a neighboring evil god and ultimately claiming the region was fully permissible under the rules set by the Eternal Lord under the Covenant of the True Gods. As long as her target was an evil deity, any action she took fell within acceptable bounds.

Of course, rules made by gods do not particularly constrain their creators. Even if such convenient legalities existed, divine authority always trumped written agreements whenever a god chose to ignore them.

༺⟐༻

Central Temple of Life, Chosen City.

Saintess Alice studied the war map spread across the polished table in the meeting room, her brow furrowed with concern.

“Lady Zero, isn’t Maple Leaf still nominally within the Eternal Lord’s sphere of influence? Although it has now been occupied by that evil god, are we certain that launching a holy war will not provoke the Eternal Church?” she asked, her voice tinged with unease.

However, the newly appointed High Priest, Taylor Rocksand, offered a calm, confident smile.

“Lady Alice, you worry too much.”

“That Titan Evil God has already descended here in Seigües in its True Body. At this moment, only Her Grace the Goddess possesses the power to defeat such a formidable mythical-rank being. The Eternal Church has no choice but to tacitly accept the situation for the sake of protecting their own territories.”

He gestured toward the map, emphasizing key strategic points.

“Moreover, Her Grace has already issued an oracle. The Demon Crusade will commence one year from now. Thus, before the crusade begins, the Eternal Church will not allow any evil god with ties to the Abyss to roam freely under their watch.”

Alice listened intently, weighing his words carefully.

“No matter the angle, that Evil Titan God has to be dealt with within this year. And in this world, only Her Grace, whose True Body also resides here in Seigües, has the strength to accomplish this.”

He paused, letting the weight of his statement settle in the room.

“So, even if the Eternal Church is dissatisfied, they will simply have to turn a blind eye to our intervention.”

Alice listened thoughtfully to Taylor’s words.

With the support of both herself and Zero, this half-elf from the demirealm of Ouros had recently become the Supreme High Priest of the Church of Life. He had received divine favor from the Goddess on the day of his appointment and advanced to gold-rank.

Although he had only joined the Elven Forest a few years ago, his faith was firm, his vision farsighted, and his capabilities reliable.

“That is indeed true.”

Nearby, Evé, in the guise of Zero, also nodded.

She then shifted the topic.

“More importantly, our strength is no longer what it once was.”

“In the end, one’s power determines who holds the final authority.”

“We will leave this matter to the Chosen Ones. Our role is to simply provide them support, especially in logistical matters.”

Alice and Taylor both nodded in full agreement.

༺⟐༻

With the server-wide quest now in progress, the Elven Faction once again began to move like an enormous war machine.

Although the number of players participating in this questline was not as large as in the war against the orcs, the overall mobilization was far greater, reflecting the faction’s growing strength and organizational efficiency.

Those who had secured a spot for themselves began their preparations immediately, continuously traveling toward Greyhaven at the easternmost edge of the Elven Forest.

Meanwhile, those who had failed to register, under the coordination of various major guilds, focused on gathering supplies, crafting equipment, and arranging logistics to support the campaign from behind the frontlines.

For a time, the streets of Greyhaven overflowed with streams of people, their armor clanking and banners fluttering, as fully armed elves filled the city. They were accompanied by countless players who had not registered but still saw a business opportunity, thus bringing goods to sell.

As such, the atmosphere grew increasingly intense throughout the entire region as sense of impending conflict, permeated the air.

Even outside the city, makeshift camps from various guilds began to appear one after another. Magical beasts and horses roamed in great numbers, while some guilds had even assembled siege engines and employed Behemoths strengthened through Titan bloodline potions purchased from the in-game exchange store, towering over the rows of tents and wagons.

A few guilds also brought orc soldiers as auxiliary troops to help transport supplies. Despite the sheer numbers of players, storage rings remained too few to handle the volume of necessities, making logistics units essential during wartime.

The ground was bustling with activity, and the skies were no different. Above Greyhaven, more and more flying beasts circled overhead, including several dragons. Most common, however, were the griffins, purchased from the Dwarven Kingdom after the dwarves formally allied with the Elven Faction.

The southern mountains were well known as the ‘Land of griffins’ and the dwarves were more than willing to trade these majestic beasts.

With the growing number of players and the steady passage of game time, flying beasts had become widespread,giving the players the capacity to properly form aerial units, thus adding a new type of gameplay to the upcoming campaign.

Naturally, the docks of Greyhaven had been sealed off entirely to prevent any information from leaking about the elves gathering their army.

As the seven major player guilds—the Great Old Four and the Three Guild Alliances—began to mobilize their forces, each formed a dedicated operations division for the upcoming event.

In the council hall of the Heart of Nature guild, Li Mu looked helplessly at the representatives of the major guilds.

“Why am I the field commander again? I’m already tired of commanding events like these. Can you switch to someone else for once? Guys, every time I finish a major campaign like these, I always ends up feeling completely drained even in real life. Being in this position is too much responsibility and consumes far much energy…”

HeoNa’s guildmaster, who had recently become obsessed with helping his elemental fairy Nezha pursue Dingdang, the beloved female fairy of Natsume, just wanted to relax and enjoy the game more casually.

In fact, recently he had found more joy in tending to his flower garden and fishing…

Besides, he was already a city lord, his reputation value maxed out, and he had commanded countless campaigns beforehand, which made him prefer engaging in other activities the game offers, rather than continuing to focus on grinding and endless combat.

Not to mention, being the commander in chief did not earn significantly more contribution points than anyone else.

“Well what choice do we have? You’re the only one who has experience in this position, after all. Or do you believe anyone here has a leadership skill better than yours?”

Little Salty Cat replied with a cheeky smile, and the other guild leaders nodded vigorously.

Come on, I know you all just advanced to mid-silver-rank and eager to charge into the battlefield to farm mobs and rack up EXP points for yourselves, leaving all the tedious and stressful matters to me!

Li Mu thought to himself.

“What about Demacia? I remember he did a decent job commanding before. How about letting him try this time?” he suggested.

“Him? Do you think that guy is in any condition to lead us?”

All Stars Alliance’s guildmaster, AllStars Achan, curled his lip and gestured toward the corner of the room where a certain hollow-eyed, red-haired warrior was crouched down, pitifully drawing circles on the floor.

Li Mu: “…”

After further discussion, Li Mu once again reluctantly accepted the Lionheart Longsword, the symbol of the Elven Legion’s Commander-in-Chief.

----------------------------------------

〘 PREVIOUS 〙

〘 NEXT 〙

— —

----------------------------------------