Game of the World Tree
chapter-59

This was a dim cave. The torches on the wall left long shadows in the cave.

On the two walls of the cave, there were crude pictures illustrating the War of Gods 1000 years ago. It was the legendary story of the gods cooperating to seriously damage the World Tree and subsequently crippling the elf civilization. This story was sung in the orc tribes for generations.

At the center of the cave, there was an altar made of skulls.

A crude statue was carved on the altar. It was Ullr, the God of Winter and Hunting.

Before Ullr's statue, a one-eyed old orc in a gray priest robe was praying devoutly on his knees.

The low prayers sounded through the quiet cave incessantly, turning the atmosphere even solemn.

Suddenly, the statue glittered with faint light, lighting up the originally dim cave brightly.

The one-eyed orc trembled and looked up towards the statue frantically in surprise.

"Oracle… It is an oracle…"

He bowed down to the ground in excitement, letting the great force caress his body.

The orc's brain went blank in an instant as a dignified yet thick voice sounded through his head.

"Investigate… Florence, the elves. Be careful… of the followers of the God of Death."

After returning to heaven, Ullr figured out something.

Those elves were absolutely not Hela's elite ghost army!

Because… They had bodies, while the elite ghosts in Hela's army did not.

Besides, if the elite ghost army really appeared on the continent of Sagas, other gods would react fiercely.

Even Hela could not afford to make enemies of the other gods.

Euktrahill's end at that time could serve as an excellent example!

But even if that was the case, those elves must be related to Hela's followers.

It was because only Hela could make the creatures immortal!

So Ullr needed his believers to investigate the whole matter further…

Hearing the deity's voice, the old orc priest's body slightly quivered as he bent his head even lower.

"The chief priest of the orc grotto tribe, Mountain, is listening to the oracle!"

Afterwards, the statue glittered again. A vague scene appeared in his mind.

It was a scene of unlucky goblins being hunted madly by a group of red-eyed elves!

And those elves hanged various kinds of broken equipment all over their bodies, which seemed to be the goblins' equipment…

The scene changed. Some elves were slapped into pancakes by a mysterious force, but they soon emerged again with vigor.

Seeing the scene, the old priest was immediately shocked.

"Elves? How can there be so many elves?! What are they doing?! They are actually immortal?"

He couldn't help but exclaim outright.

The statue didn't answer.

In an instant, the old priest realized that he had lost his composure.

He took a deep breath, got down on his knees, stretched out his hands, and drew a bow symbol on his chest.

"Praise winter. Praise hunting. Praise Great Father!"

After a while, the lights on the statue slowly disappeared.

Raising his head, the old orc found that his back was sweating.

"Oracle… It is really an oracle…"

He murmured in exhilaration.

The fact that he could receive an oracle meant that he won the god's favor and was watched by Him!

Taking a deep breath, Mountain the chief orc priest calmed down and thought about the content of the oracle.

"What on earth is the scene about?"

He postured around, frowned, and pondered.

"Is it the forest of elves? But didn't most of the elves migrate? Where are those elves from? Are they attacking the goblins in Florence? Are they immortal? Are the followers of the God of Death behind them?"

He knew that Great Father had recruited a group of goblins in the forest of elves with the purpose of helping Him find the divine blood crystals of Euktrahill, the fallen Mother of Nature.

In fact, as the recent chief priest of the orc tribe in the forest of elves, he had contributed much to the matter.

He had done so even though he despised those weak, ugly goblins.

But now there seemed to be an accident.

"The followers of the God of Death…"

Mountain the chief priest murmured.

"Could it be that the God of the Underworld created them?"

His expression became solemn as he thought of this.

"It seems necessary to send some orcs to investigate it."

"Two days ago, the tribe's stronghold in the forest of elves reported that two teams of orc mercenaries disappeared. This time, I will take the chance to have this matter investigated!"

Taking a deep breath, Mountain the chief priest left the ancestral cave of sacrifice.

Outside of the cave, the surroundings instantly became bright. A huge valley emerged.

The black mountains glittered under the sun.

At the foot of the mountains, many houses made of stones and straws surrounded the cave in an organized way.

As far as the eye could see, there were no less than one thousand houses.

This was the grotto tribe, the orc tribe that was the closest to the forest of elves.

The grotto tribe was a medium-sized orc village with a population of five thousand. It was situated in the southeastern sector of the border between the forest of elves and the dark mountain range. The distance from the tribe to the center of the forest was more than 300 kilometers.

The leader of the tribe was Mountain, a Low Silver chief orc priest.

Mountain came to the village and watched his fellow orcs with satisfaction.

When he was young, the grotto tribe was only a small tribe with a population of less than one thousand.

After developing for so many years, the tribe gradually expanded with the help of a true god.

During this period of time, the profits they made by hunting elves counted were considered as the lifeline of the grotto tribe.

Mountain's expression gradually became solemn as he thought of this.

If there were problems in the forest of elves, it would be a heavy blow to the grotto tribe.

Mountain sighed deeply as his frown darkened.

"Call Blackstone to come here."

He ordered his men.

A strong orc soon came up to Mountain.

He had a body that was like an iron tower. He was nearly two-meter tall. He was bald. His long, sharp, protruding teeth were outside of his mouth. He looked fierce.

Blackstone, a famous warrior like the missing Rock of the grotto tribe, was at the peak of High Iron!

"Blackstone is here to greet Your Highness the chief priest."

He came before Mountain and got down on his knees respectfully.

Mountain glanced at him and nodded.

"Stand up."

Receiving Mountain's order, Blackstone got up and stood aside silently.

Mountain was extremely satisfied with Blackstone's reverence for him.

Mountain thought for a while and said,

"Blackstone, you are one of the strongest warriors in the tribe. This time, I will give you a task…"

"You will take a team of warriors of Intermediate Iron, a priest, and the best equipment in the tribe and go to the tribe's stronghold in the forest of elves to organize an investigation of the ruins in Florence!"

While speaking, he stopped to think for a moment. Then he took a piece of bone from his clothes and put it in Blackstone's hand.

"This is a holy object in the tribe. It can arouse Great Father's power. It will perform a miracle at crucial times. Additionally, it has the power to purify the undead!"

"In this investigation, you may encounter with the followers of the god of death. Therefore, if there is danger, return instantly. You can give up the stronghold if need be…"

"By the way…"

Mountain's expression changed as he got serious.

"If you encounter the strange elves, you must find a way to capture one and bring him back to the tribe."

"If you can do this well, the tribe will offer you ample rewards!"