Chapter 838: Save Your Loyal Wood Elf Worker

In Stoneheart City, upon the throne.

For the past few years, Orion had settled into a routine: ruling his horde, spending time with his wives and children, and managing the faction’s myriad affairs. Of course, a great deal of his time was spent immersed in the Survivor’s Platform. Leveraging the now stable and prosperous Stoneheart Horde, he used the horde’s immense wealth and resources to sweep the Platform for anything of value, enriching both himself and his people.

In truth, the Commander, Deputy Commander, Arthas, Alexander, and Leonidas—all his powerful patrons—had walked this same path. Their vast resources had not appeared from thin air; they had been accumulated piece by piece, over countless hours of effort. Orion was now simply retracing their steps.

This process would continue indefinitely, until the day the Survivor’s Platform could no longer meet his needs. As things stood, this would be the daily reality for Orion’s true body for a long time to come.

*****

“Sir… help me!”

“Godfather… help me!”

“Adoptive father… help me!”

“Darling… save me!”

“…”

The moment he entered the Platform, Orion was bombarded by messages from Aerin. It had been some time since he’d heard from his business partner, and she had returned with an absolute information blitz.

Among all his contacts, only Aerin would use such a shameless and varied list of titles. The girl was proud and prone to her own little schemes, but when trouble struck, she could truly swallow that pride. The repeated cries of “Godfather” brought a smirk to Orion’s face, the corners of his lips twitching with amusement.

“Speak. What is it?” Orion replied, his message brief, his composure as unshakeable as a mountain.

Aerin didn’t reply with words. Instead, she initiated a trade.

A massive quantity of Pet Pills, high-tier Pet Pills, high-tier magical plants, vials of Moon Well water, high-tier Toughness Potions, alchemical birds, flash powder, and three sealed elemental sprites appeared in the trade window.

The other items were one thing, but the sheer number of alchemical birds and the three sealed elemental sprites made Orion’s eyes light up. Alchemical birds were excellent tools for relaying intelligence and transporting small goods. For Aerin to offer nearly a hundred of them, she must have been giving up her entire savings from the past several months.

He knew it was an offering because before he could even transfer the crystal cores, Aerin had confirmed the trade, as if terrified he would refuse. As for the elemental sprites, they were semi-elemental life forms, rare treasures that could increase the concentration of elemental energy in their environment. His adopted daughter, Elara, deeply needed and longed for such things.

Orion chuckled and accepted the trade. He knew Aerin’s personality well. This was just the preamble. The real request was coming, and he was curious to see what she would ask for.

“Godfather… save me! Save your loyal Wood Elf worker!!”

Seeing the word ‘worker’ broke through Orion’s composure, and he laughed aloud on his throne.

“Well then, my dear adoptive daughter and worker, Miss Aerin, what is it that you want?” Orion replied, his tone teasing.

“Godfather, we’ve been invaded! The whole world is shrouded in an evil plague cloud!”

“The Wood Elves’ Forest of Nature was attacked too. The enemy didn’t get in, but if they failed this time, what about next time? And the time after that?”

Orion could read the panic between the lines. Aerin had told him before that the Wood Elves detested war, were unskilled in it, and preferred to live in their forests, tending to their plants. Their own combat strength was likely negligible. The fact that they had defended themselves meant they probably had corresponding Treant guardians.

In short, the Wood Elves had poor offense but a respectable defense. From just two sentences, Orion had already pieced this much together. It was an intuition born from long experience in war, backed by a vast reserve of knowledge.

“So, what do you need?”

“Equipment, weapons, mounts, artifacts. I have them all. What do you want?”

Orion was calm. Aerin was only at the Alpha-tier; he could easily satisfy her current needs.

“Godfather, I need things to save my life. And things to increase my ability to survive.”

“Anything. There are no restrictions.”

Orion narrowed his eyes. For her to say that, this wasn’t simple panic. She must have felt the true terror of death. It was why she attached “Godfather” to every sentence.

“Godfather, you have to think of something, quickly! It’s a dire emergency!”

Orion reined in his amusement, his demeanor becoming calm and detached.

“Wait.”

After searching through his personal collection for a moment, Orion traded her several life-saving items she could only have dreamed of.

First were ten Cursed Scarecrows, death-substitute artifacts he had acquired from Scarecrow himself. Every Alpha-tier expert in the Stoneheart Horde carried one of these. To get more, one had to exchange merit points in the horde’s treasury. Next were two bracelets, each sealing an Alpha-tier scorpion soldier within.

“The Scarecrows are death-substitute artifacts. As long as your power doesn’t exceed the Alpha-tier, they can save your life once,” Orion explained after the trade was complete. “The two bracelets contain scorpion soldiers. Their intelligence is low, but they are more than adequate as bodyguards and will improve your chances of survival.”

“Godfather, love you! Mwah!” came Aerin’s reply, expressing her boundless gratitude.

“Disgusting,” Orion replied dismissively, before falling into deep thought.

In an unknown realm, the Forest of Nature.

Within a massive wooden house, Aerin leaped up from her large bed, waving her arms, shaking her head, and wiggling her hips.

She was a romantic dreamer, and a bundle of nervous energy all rolled into one. After witnessing people she knew die horribly from the plague, twisting into illusions of their worst fears, she had developed a profound terror of death.

To be honest, before receiving Orion’s items, she had been living in a constant state of anxiety and fear. Having finally awakened to her powers, she desperately did not want to die.

After seeing the incredible items Orion had given her, the anxiety vanished and the fear dissipated. Her true nature was revealed, and she transformed into a jubilant, sprightly Wood Elf.

“Oh yeah! Oh yeah! Oh yeah!” she cheered.

“Godfather, Aerin loves you! I’ll never marry anyone but you!”