Game of the World Tree
chapter-320

Never underestimate the quality of players.

Sure, they might be subservient when they interact with friendly NPCs, considering their attitude will affect their favorability score, thus they have learned to be polite and role-play as good-natured individuals…

But when facing enemies…

‘草’ Kusa(Lol)¹, they’ll totally let loose and act like a bunch of wild beasts.

Since their reputation wouldn’t be affected, then they can do whatever they want!

The coarse and vulgar language that spilled out from the players mouth left the mercenaries dumbfounded, making it difficult for them to connect the crazy figures before them with the elegant elves in their memories…

If the chaos of the initial battle had already fractured their perception of the elves, now it shattered entirely.

These elves, which defied their expectations, rendered the mercenaries speechless, momentarily paralyzing them with disbelief.

Although unlike their bewildered subordinates, the expressions on the faces of the two mercenary captains shifted abruptly upon hearing what the elves have said just now.

They… suddenly realized a problem.

Since those trebuchets seemed to belong to the elves, and those were positioned on the castle which in turn, belonged to the black dragon.

Then, in other words… were these elves allied with the black dragon?

More specifically, were these elves…the enslaved subordinates of the black dragon?!

The mere fact that a juvenile black dragon had enslaved so many elves sent chills down the spines of the two Silver-ranked mercenary captains, making them feel incredulous…

This… can’t be, right?

That evil black dragon…how could it possibly mix with elves?

No… these weird elves cannot be viewed with ordinary eyes; they are a bunch of lunatics masquerading as elves!

Wait a minute…

If that’s really the case, then the existence that wiped out the Caverock Tribe…

Thinking of a certain possibility, the pupils of the two mercenary group leaders contracted.

Could it be that the Caverock Tribe was also destroyed by them?

Did they silently wipe out a medium-sized Half-Orc tribe?

After realizing this possibility, Kaynes’s expression changed drastically, and he hastily shouted:

“No good! Break through! Break through quickly! Everyone fall back to the direction we came from!”

Having the capability to eradicate an entire medium-sized Half-Orc tribe without detection, such an existence, even if two mercenary groups could handle it reasonably, would still suffer severe damage in the process!

Mercenaries like them are profit-driven individuals.

If it’s really just as he imagines, then even if this operation can be completed, the two mercenary groups are likely to incur severe damage and lost a lot of personnel.

At this moment, Kaynes had already decided to abandon the operation and decided to leave.

What a joke!

The ability to eradicate the Caverock Tribe without a survivor suggests that the black dragon behind them is quite formidable.

Faced with such an adversary, what other challenge could compare?

See those elves still charging towards us from a distance?

There are probably not just thousands of them, but tens of thousands!

Moreover… they’re also riding on magical beasts!

Lord Eternal above! Did the Black Dragon enslaved all the elves in the world!?

At this moment, Kaynes was certain that this so-called hunting commission was definitely a conspiracy!

Damn it! No wonder the Borderlord didn’t send out his own White Maple Knights; he must have known that this might be a trap!

Kaynes gritted his teeth.

Although he was still puzzled by the origin of these elves, it did not stop him from feeling the urge to retreat.

However, at this moment, what worried him the most actually happened…

With a loud roar akin to a dragon, an overwhelming pressure engulfed their surroundings.

“Ruaaah! How dare you step into the territory of this great lord! You evil humans must be punished by justice!”

From a distance, an excited voice echoed through the air, prompting Kaynes to glance upward.

There in his vision, a looming shadow stretched across the sky whilst being accompanied by the thundering beat of massive wings.

Its colossal form, enveloped in menacing scales and crowned with sky-obscuring bat-like wings, exuded an aura of terror.

Before him stood a black dragon, its body spanning dozens of meters in size.

Is this the black dragon that the Borderlord mentioned?!

Feeling the aura emanating from it, Kaynes’s face turned green.

Although he was sure that the opponent had not yet reached adulthood and had not broken through to the gold rank, its terrifying aura was definitely not something ordinary silver ranks could compare to!

Not to mention… Although this black dragon was not yet an adult, its size was already more than two-thirds that of an adult black dragon!

And the size of the dragon’s body… is almost proportional to its strength within the same dragon species.

As Kaynes laid eyes on the circling dragon on the skies, he made a judgment within his heart:

This was not an opponent I could contend with!

We…are definitely not a match for this black dragon!

Perhaps they could still have dealt with it if the dragon had been alone…

But with the addition of those crazed, long-eared creatures… the balance had completely tipped against them!

Kaynes could clearly see that with the emergence of the black dragon heightened the chaos among the already disarrayed mercenaries.

This was not only because humans naturally feared dragons, but also because of the overwhelming aura emanating from this particular black dragon, despite it being a juvenile.

Even though this black dragon had yet to reach adulthood, its aura rivaled that of a fully grown one.

And as the dragon’s oppressive aura enveloped them, even the most seasoned mercenaries couldn’t help but quiver in fear.

Observing their formation further descending into chaos, Kaynes clenched his teeth and issued a command:

“Cynthia! Rally your silver experts and assist me in subduing that black dragon. We need to create an opening for everyone to escape!”

After saying that, he hoisted his greatsword high and surged forward, leading the charge towards the descending black dragon.

Upon hearing his words, Cynthia hesitated for a moment, then hurriedly called on the other silver experts to follow suit.

For a moment, thirteen silver-rank experts among the mercenaries moved together and met the attack of the black dragon.

Meanwhile, the silver mages from the two mercenary groups looked at each other, then took out a golden scroll from their pockets.

Without hesitation, they chanted incantations, causing the scrolls to pulsate with magic. With swift movements, they tore the scrolls apart.

A surge of magical energy rippled outward, as two brilliant beams of light ascended into the sky. Complex and intricate patterns formed in the air, conjuring two formidable devil vines that sprang forth to ensnare the black dragon.

Sixth circle magic—[Summon Devil Vine].

This was a trump card specially prepared by the two major mercenary groups to deal with the black dragon before this whole operation.

The black dragon’s magic resistance was high, and ordinary magic was ineffective against it except for divine spells.

However, summoning magic was an exception.

The devil vines summoned by the golden scroll were not magical, but rather powerful living plants. They were not only excellent magical materials but also excellent control spells to subdue an opponent.

Of course, this alone wouldn’t be able to fully control the black dragon.

But even so, they could greatly disrupt its movements.

And sure enough….

Meryer had never expected the other party to have such a trick up their sleeve.

Whilst dodging one vine narrowly, the black dragon found itself ensnared by another. As its wings became entangled, its ability to fly was swiftly compromised, sending the young dragon plummeting into the ground below.

“Damn it! It’s this kind of sneaky move again!”

Meryer was furious.

However, sixth circle magic was still sixth circle magic, far inferior to the Light Cage that had once controlled it.

Although the devil vine entangled the young black dragon, it only affected its movements, causing it to lose its ability to fly, but did not completely imprison it.

Of course, before the magic power of the devil vine was exhausted, the young black dragon would not be able to break free from it.

Nonetheless… Kaynes and the others were already satisfied by this outcome.

Being able to slightly affect the opponent’s mobility had already created an opportunity for them!

The silver experts immediately seized the opportunity.

Each of them promptly raised their respective weapons, as various glow of skills shimmered upon them.

In swift succession, they charged towards the enraged black dragon, ready to confront it head-on.

Additionally, the human mages also began to chant, as powerful magical fluctuations gathered around them…

Skills and spells erupted one after another, aimed at Meryer.

Responding with a furious roar, Meryer extended its razor-sharp claws to deflect the incoming attacks while unleashing a torrent of fiery dragon breath to counter the approaching spells.

The two sides fought each other for awhile and unexpectedly fell into a stalemate.

While the skirmish among the silver ranks reached a standstill, the clash between the mercenaries and the elves grew increasingly fierce.

In the midst of the chaos, dozens of figures hidden within the ranks of the mercenaries began to move discreetly.

These were the mages dispatched by the Borderlord to aid the mercenaries.

Quietly, they dispersed to the outskirts, assuming various positions that subtly outlined a hexagram, encircling the majority of the mercenaries and the Black Dragon.

Their expressions bore a fervent intensity as they commenced their silent incantations, the air humming with the resonance of mysterious spells.

Amidst the chaos of the battlefield, their movements went unnoticed by all.

— 320 —

【 COVERT OPERATION 】

¹ 草 – The raw specifically used this term, and it is read as “kusa” (at least in Japanese) and it’s quite the equivalent of ‘lol’

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