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Chapter 105: The Great Northern War (1)

“There are many good things if you become a disciple. You can become strong and have great muscles like me,” Zelkyan said.

He flexed his arms, and his round biceps bulged out.

“I will also refuse,” replied Tiyo.

Zelkyan turned to look at him.

Tiyo justified his refusal, “Although we will receive powers if we become a disciple, we will be given missions to accomplish.”

“Yes,” said Zelkyan.

“I don’t want to be bound to anyone. I will become stronger on my own.”

“Hmm...”

The branch of the World Tree shook like a tentacle and tied itself into a loose knot, looking like a pair of crossed arms. It seemed shocked by the consecutive rejections.

Zelkyan’s attention shifted to Anor. He looked at Anor with expectant eyes because the latter was a dark elf. The World Tree was holy to dark elves, so unlike orcs and gnomes, most dark elves would think of this opportunity as an honor.

Despite that, Anor smiled and shook his head.

“Ahh, why?” Zelkyan spread open his arms in surprise. “The opportunity to become a disciple of the World Tree isn’t given to everyone. It’s a great gift.”

“But I will be tied to this place if I become a disciple of the World Tree,” Anor said.

“Of course. It’s a blessing to be with the World Tree.”

“No,” replied Anor while glancing at Crockta and Tiyo. “I have to go to the continent with them.”

Anor hadn’t forgotten about the promise he’d made with Crockta and Tiyo to explore the continent together. He had an important goal.

Zelkyan nodded and relented. “If it’s because of friendship... I guess it can’t be helped.”

He shifted his gaze to the faraway sunset, which saturated his face in red light.

After a while, Zelkyan turned back toward them and said, “Follow me.”

They entered the interior of the World Tree again. The group rode the branch down to the staircase located on the upper level and then followed Zelkyan into his office. The room was empty, with just a single desk. However, the wooden floor immediately warped and formed chairs.

Crockta and his friends were able to see with their own eyes what the dark elves meant when they said the World Tree had created the place. When they sat down on the chairs that the World Tree had provided for them, the inside of the office shifted again and created a table for them. Moreover, Tiyo’s chair was made higher so that he could be at eye level with everyone else. This was custom-made furniture.

The branch that expressed the will of the World Tree appeared in the office. It was bizarre to see the branch freely moving around like a tentacle, but Crockta felt a sense of familiarity with it.

“Everyone, sit comfortably,” said Zelkyan.

He puffed out his chest, showing a sense of pride in the World Tree’s power.

“Now, I will tell you guys what we have to do.”

The table transformed. The wooden surface was undulated up and down and formed contours, creating an intricately engraved map. Crockta, Tiyo, and Anor watched the transformation in awe.

The branch loudly tapped on the table as if urging them to get down to business.

Zelkyan pointed at Spinora on the map. “We are here.”

Then he pointed at the territory of the chiefdom, the base of the orcs. “The chieftain is here.”

After that, he used a pen to draw an arrow on the table and marked the chiefdom’s travel route. The orcs’ territory had expanded and was advancing toward dark elf territory. There was already an ongoing battle at the boundary of dark elf territory.

“It’s not a matter of strategies and tactics,” Zelkyan said as he drew a circle around an untouched area. “They arrive in a week.”

He drew another line at the circle and extended it into a long arrow toward the dark elves’ center. Then he wrote the word ‘monster’ inside the circle.

“We have to stop him,” Zelkyan stated.

He was referring to the chieftain.

“Is the chieftain that strong? Even for a disciple of the World Tree?” asked Tiyo.

As a disciple of the World Tree, Zelkyan had special powers, but he shook his head at the question.

“You don’t suddenly become invincible once you become a disciple of the World Tree. Also...” Zelkyan tapped the word ‘monster’ with his pen. “I think this guy... is a disciple as well.”

“A disciple?” muttered Crockta.

“Yes, but he’s completely irrational right now,” replied Zelkyan.

“Whose disciple could he be?” asked Crockta.

He thought of the system, the woman who had given him unknown powers. Based on the name of his skill Eyes of the Ashen God, the woman had to be the Ashen God or the Fallen God.

The World Tree seemed like a divine entity too. Was this war a fight of the gods? Which god had given powers to the chieftain?

“I can’t say for certain. I don’t know much about orcs,” replied Zelkyan.

Crockta’s Heart and Soul Penetrating Eye was telling him that Zelkyan had potent powers. He could feel the formidable aura that Zelkyan exuded, but even this man was extremely wary of the chieftain. Zelkyan’s uncertain attitude implied that he believed the chieftain was stronger than him.

“So, what do you want from us? Where should we fight?” asked Crockta.

That was the key point. Regardless of what they discussed and speculated, they still had to fight. Once it became clear which battlefield they would have to spill blood on, they would gladly make it overflow with the blood of enemies. That was the task of the soldier.

“You don’t have to rush. We will do our job keeping them at bay, so slowly—”

Crockta cut off Zelkyan by pointing at Nuridot’s surrounding areas and then at the outskirts of dark elf territory on the map.

Zelkyan shut up. All of the areas that Crockta had pointed at were spots where the dark elves were already engaged in combat.

“How can we not be urgent, Zelkyan? This is not a toy soldier’s game,” said Crockta.

“...”

“The war has already begun. You seem occupied with the chieftain, but those on the front lines are dying from an onslaught of enemies right now. I don’t want to waste any more time. If that’s all you have to say, then coming to Spinora seems to have been a waste of time.”

Tiyo, who had been listening, nodded in agreement and chimed in, “We have to go to the front lines as soon as possible to prevent more casualties. If you called us just to ask us to become the World Tree’s disciples, then we will go back where we came from.”

Zelkyan was silent for a while and then nodded.

“Understood. It seems like I have been too complacent,” Zelkyan replied. He pointed at the branch and remarked, “It seems like the way I perceive things has changed... since I’ve been connected to him.”

The branch didn’t respond. It was a divine being, so it probably perceived the battle between dark elves and orcs as tiny dots on a map, just like how humans did not care much about the lives of ants. It was evident based on its inclination to focus on the chieftain, who seemed to be a disciple of another divine being, rather than the lives of dark elves and orcs.

However, Crockta’s perspective was starkly different. Crockta was looking at the map through the eyes of those whose blood was being spilled on the front line— someone who didn’t have a second to waste.

“I will give you a fast karuk, so you can prepare to depart tomorrow. Spinora will also get moving,” said Zelkyan.

“Understood.”

Zelkyan’s expression changed. He now had a bitter smile on his face.

“I’m glad I met you guys. No one questions my judgment here,” he told them.

To the dark elves, the disciple of the World Tree was like a stand-in for a god, so they revered Zelkyan as if he were a holy being.

“So...”

Zelkyan wanted to say something, but there was a sudden rumble. The World Tree was shaking.

Crockta held onto the table. Tiyo came down from his chair and crouched down. Anor fell from his wobbling chair.

“What’s going on?” Crockta asked, looking at Zelkyan.

The branch of the World Tree was gone; it was as if it had been pulled elsewhere.

“The World Tree... has been attacked,” replied Zelkyan with a serious look on his face.

“What?”

“Follow me.”

Zelkyan briskly stepped out of the office. The interior of the World Tree was in chaos. The dark elves working inside the World Tree didn’t understand what was happening and were running around in confusion, but their confusion came to a stop once Zelkyan appeared.

“Everyone, hold your spots,” ordered Zelkyan.

“Yes,” replied the dark elves.

“Let’s go,” said Zelkyan.

Crockta and his friends followed after Zelkyan, who walked up the stairs to ride the branch, which was waiting for them at the top of the stairs. Everyone got on top of the branch, and it instantly rose. Unlike earlier, it moved with a sense of urgency. The branch came to a stop in the middle of the World Tree, where it parted to create an exit.

After riding outside on the huge branch, they witnessed an unimaginable scene. Wyvern corpses were hanging from branches. Ten or so wyverns, fully clad in steel, were spasming with blood dripping down from their heads. They had flown from a distant place and charged at the World Tree with the full momentum of their steel armor, causing it to crack open and leak sap. The World Tree looked like it was bleeding.

“It’s not a big wound. It’s okay,” said Zelkyan.

Right then, they noticed something on the necks of the wyverns.

“...!”

Crockta and Zelkyan could see clearly what it was now. For a while, they were at a loss for words.

“The chieftain is really... really crazy...” muttered Tiyo.

Bizarre necklaces made with dark elf heads hung from the wyverns’ necks. The numerous soulless faces gazed into the distance. The necklaces were terrifying adornments, each one made with dozens of dark elf heads. There were more than ten wyverns, which meant that hundreds of dark elf heads had been delivered to the World Tree. It was a warning from the chieftain.

“That... bastard...” Zelkyan’s voice trembled along with his hands. His eyes emitted a burst of blue light, as if something had exploded behind them.

“How dare he...” Zelkyan’s voice rang loudly throughout Spinora. The disciple of the World Tree, was in utter rage. “How dare he?!?!”

The World Tree stirred.

“Calmahart, I will kill you no matter what!” roared Zelkyan.

Crockta placed a hand on Zelkyan’s shoulder to calm him down. Anor, on the other hand, covered his ears with his hands because of how loud Zelkyan’s roar was.

After taking a few deep breaths, Zelkyan gradually regained his composure.

“Whew...” Zelkyan stared blankly into space and then at Crockta. His eyes were still filled with rage. “Crockta, you are right. I had been too na?ve about the whole situation.”

He placed a hand on Crockta’s shoulder and said, “As the disciple of the World Tree, I beg you, will you please fight against that crazy chieftain with us?”

Crockta nodded. “Of course.”

“Thank you.”

“We don’t have any time to waste,” stated Crockta.

“That seems to be the case.”

“So, tell us where you want us to go next,” said Crockta with a grin.

Zelkyan closed his eyes. He thought about it for a second and then replied, “Ameranyan.”

Ameranyan was the city with the most intense battles going on and the site of the most dangerous front line, which took the brunt of the orcs’ attacks. It was on the verge of falling under the chiefdom’s control.

Crockta beamed. “Gladly.”

Thus, while the orcs’ siege weapons were breaking down Ameranyan’s city walls, a figure was walking toward the chiefdom orcs. It was a tattoo-covered orc warrior who carried a frighteningly large greatsword and had a demonic belt on his waist.

This was the official start of the Great Northern War.