Elf Kingdom: Game of the World Tree-Chapter 312 - 295: Despair Church

Selena didn’t end up taking so many Chosen Ones back with her; instead, she just picked a few lucky ones to become the new members of the Oak Hand.

For no other reason.

If she really brought so many people back, the target would be so big that they might get caught by humans before even entering the city!

Selena, who knew well about human activity patterns, understood that after the players caused a commotion in Maple Leaf City, humans would definitely be more vigilant.

Although Maple Leaf City was the center of the Border County, with a large flow of visitors even in winter,

at this critical moment, if a team of over a hundred people entered the city, they would definitely be subjected to strict scrutiny.

However, the players didn’t push it.

The mission of the [Oak Hand] offered 1000 contribution points as a reward for successfully joining the organization.

For Black Iron Upper players, while this reward was attractive, it wasn’t that enticing.

Moreover, joining the organization was only the beginning; subsequent rewards for awakening belief and rescuing other captured elf slaves were calculated separately.

So, this was going to be a long-term mission.

Thus, the players weren’t in much of a rush.

As for how to join the organization...

There would always be a way!

Besides... wasn’t there another mission?

[The Secret of the God of Despair]...

Just hearing it felt like there was definitely big news!

...

Maple Leaf City.

In a tavern in the civilian area of the city.

A guard sat at the bar, chatting with his companion while drinking watered-down ale and talking about the city’s gossip.

"Have you heard? A few black markets in the business district got seriously scammed the other day! It’s said... that even a Silver Expert was killed!"

"Hiss... really?"

"It should be true! I heard... some merchant guilds have declared bankruptcy, but no one knows what they’ve been through."

"Wow! Who did it? So impressive?"

"I’ve heard... it might be nobles from the south."

"Southern nobles? Well done! I’ve long despised those black markets. They don’t even respect our City Guard, and have no sense of order... hmph, they deserved to be dealt with! When I become prosperous someday, I’ll surely give them a hard time and demand an elf slave to warm my bed every day!"

"Shh... keep it down. Don’t you know these black markets have shares belonging to the Lord? Otherwise... why would they be so arrogant?"

Hearing his companion’s words, the guard quickly signaled caution.

"The Lord!"

His companion’s face changed, quickly covering his mouth. After glancing around and making sure no one noticed them, he sighed in relief.

The guard, after speaking, continued sipping his tasteless drink, his blue eyes scanning the entire tavern.

"Hey..."

He nudged his old buddy.

"What’s up?"

His companion hiccupped, asking with doubt.

"Don’t you think... there have been quite a few outsiders at the tavern recently?"

The guard’s gaze swept over some unfamiliar faces in the tavern as he whispered.

"Outsiders...? Hic..."

His companion paused and nonchalantly said,

"Isn’t it said that the Lord is hosting an auction? There are many elf slaves to be auctioned... tsk tsk, I caught a glimpse, hic... they look... hic... So, having outsiders is normal!"

"Is that so..."

The guard frowned, scratching his head as he continued drinking his watered-down ale.

At that moment, his peripheral vision suddenly caught a group of people gathered in the tavern’s corner.

Those few hooded individuals were gathered in the corner, speaking fervently to some residents with fanatical expressions...

Seeing these people, the guard shook his head:

"These guys... they’re back again."

"Eternal Lord above, I don’t know what the Lord is thinking, allowing the Despair Church to preach in the territory. Not afraid of provoking the Eternal Church’s wrath?"

"If I remember correctly, the official deity list at the church doesn’t even include the God of Despair’s name, let alone preaching rights..."

He muttered while drinking.

Hearing his words, his companion gulped down his drink and nonchalantly said:

"Hic, brother, why worry so much? Anyway... the Lord hasn’t said much, so why should we guards concern ourselves?"

"And..."

His companion paused, saying:

"Not everything the Despair Church says is false. They talk about a great disaster coming... In my view, with these past months of demon beast tides and strange occurrences, there’s a chance... hic... chaos is truly on the horizon!"

"What Despair Church? What strange occurrences? What great disaster?"

While the two were chatting casually, suddenly, a curious voice came from behind them.

The two were startled and turned to see a young man dressed like a mercenary.

The young man had fiery red hair, a face unfamiliar to them, and his equipment was ragged, looking as if it was scavenged from a trash heap, embodying the look of a wandering mercenary.

The youth stared at them with big eyes, his gaze fiery and full of curiosity, making them shiver unconsciously.

*Where did this wandering mercenary come from? Could he be insane?*

"My good sirs, my good sirs, uh... I’m just curious! Just curious, haha! Could you... tell me a bit?"

The young man chuckled, pulling out a waterskin and placing it in front of them after opening the cap.

A strong aroma of alcohol wafted out.

How fragrant!

The eyes of the two guards lit up instantly.

They subconsciously sniffed, their eyes fixated on the young man’s waterskin, swallowing hard.

*What... kind of alcohol is this?*

Suddenly, their mugs of ale seemed utterly unappealing.

"Hehehe... just a little something special from my hometown, have a taste, have a taste! And... I’m just curious, so could you tell me about this God of Despair and any great disasters?"

The young man laughed.

Both guards gulped and accepted the waterskin.

They downed the rest of their ale and poured themselves some of the drink the stranger had offered.

One sip...

Smooth and spicy!

"What is this drink?!"

Staring at the clear liquid in their cups, the two guards perked up.

"Hehe... a hometown specialty, called... um... let’s call it Er Guotou!"

"Er Guotou? Strange name..."

The two guards wrinkled their brows.

However, their spirits lifted:

"Good liquor! Though the taste is different—one might say odd—it’s exciting! I like it!"

"So... could you tell this little brother about the God of Despair..."

The young man smiled, flashing a toothy grin.

The two guards’ expressions softened as they gradually recounted what they knew:

"That’s a church organization that suddenly appeared on the territory a few years ago. They’re said to have connections with some major nobles in the Maple Leaf Territory. They are quite mysterious but possess high-level healing Divine Arts, so they’ve developed quickly in the Maple Leaf Territory..."

"However, there are also rumors that they’re affiliated with an Evil God, but... the Lord has never stepped in, and the Eternal Church hasn’t prohibited them either..."

The two guards spoke one after the other, sharing everything they knew.

——————

Sorry, severe writer’s block here, can’t catch up with updates. The second update will be delayed as well. Everyone should sleep early, catch the second update tomorrow morning.