Elf Kingdom: Game of the World Tree

As soon as Hu Lu finished speaking, they all felt an overwhelming pressure coming from the sky.

Startled, they all looked up.

Accompanied by a low growl, they saw a massive figure nearly a hundred meters long flying over their heads.

The bat-like wings blocking out the sky stirred up terrifying gusts of wind. Its body, as shriveled as a corpse, was black as ink. The overflowing shadow power transformed into gray-black smoke, leaving a long trail in the semi-darkness of the cavern...

The Shadow Dragon!

Several players who had participated in the Black Rock City defense battle instantly recognized its identity.

Such an appearance, such a cold and terrifying aura, without a doubt, it was one of the few epic creatures they had seen before, also known from the monster bestiary on the official forum—the Shadow Dragon!

However, the size of this Shadow Dragon was even more terrifying than the one previously exterminated by Divine Favored Zero, and the aura it emitted far exceeded that of the legendary monster at that time.

At its appearance, the few people couldn't even think of resisting, as if the palpable dragon's aura nearly knocked them to the ground...

And the last time they felt such oppression was in Fengye City.

That day, as the True Divine Power descended, the Dragon of Despair, Nigrod, and the Demigod Avatar of the Lord of Eternity, Yteo, fought in the sky, and the aftermath that the players felt was exactly this sensation...

Undoubtedly, this was a Demigod-level Shadow Dragon!

Including Hu Lu, the faces of the five players instantly turned pale.

Feeling that doomsday-like pressure, the players even stopped breathing, fearing they might unintentionally attract the dragon's attention.

Of course, although they stopped their bodily movements and held their breath, their minds were instinctively operating the game system.

They skillfully opened the recording function, documenting the appearance and movements of the Shadow Dragon.

Recording newly encountered monsters, or even BOSS-level monsters, was a habit for players.

Organizing and uploading this information to the game's monster bestiary would earn them a certain amount of contribution points.

Their small actions did not attract the dragon's attention.

This Shadow Dragon seemed not to have noticed them, seeming just to pass by.

Or rather, even if she noticed the players, she didn't take them seriously and only roared past above their heads.

And it wasn't until the dragon's figure faded into the distance, and that terrifying aura gradually disappeared, that the players finally breathed a sigh of relief...

"Hiss... That feeling was terrifying! 'Elf Kingdom,' this game's great in every way, but the intimidation of BOSS-level monsters like this is just too strong. I don't know how they do it..."

Watching the direction the Shadow Dragon flew, Hu Lu shivered, saying with lingering fear.

The feeling that monster just gave him truly made his heart pound.

Even knowing it's a game, he still inexplicably felt a sense of fear.

Of course, he didn't know this was a natural suppression from a superior being to an inferior one. This oppression brought by the gap in extraordinary power was something creatures on Bluestar couldn't comprehend.

"Is that a Demigod-level monster? It feels much more terrifying than Rose. Are there really wild Shadow Dragons in the Underworld? I heard from NPCs that such powerful shadow monsters only exist in the Netherworld!"

The carefree player asked in confusion.

"I don't know... But it was truly terrifying. I almost thought we were going to die. Sigh... Even leveled up to 40, encountering such beings still makes me feel insignificant. The top-end power in this game is just too daunting."

Chopin said, thumping his chest to calm himself.

His face was still pale, seemingly with lingering fear.

Of course, everyone's expressions were more or less the same as his.

The relaxed chatting atmosphere just vanished, leaving a heavy mood for everyone.

*Because they realized that even at max level, they were just bigger fish in 'Elf Kingdom,' and powerful beings were still plentiful.*

*In fact, the higher their level, the more they knew how strong the Eve Goddess was. Beneath that holy and beautiful exterior, she was also a terrifying powerhouse...*

"I wonder... when we'll have that kind of power."

I'm Unbeatable Youyou sighed.

"The higher levels should open up later, I think. And for BOSS monsters like this, you either defeat them in groups, or they're dealt with by a big BOSS like the Goddess, or they're simply plot kills. We're just weak adventurers..."

Hu Lu shook his head and said.

Finishing, he looked towards Hu Lu, "Right, Captain?"

Hu Lu didn't respond, but instead, looked thoughtfully in the direction the Shadow Dragon had gone.

"Captain?"

Hu Lu called out to him again.

This time, Hu Lu reacted.

He hoisted his backpack and said succinctly:

"Upload the information, let's follow and see."

"Follow and see?!"

The few players were taken aback.

Hu Lu nodded, saying in a deep voice:

"Try to trigger a quest."

Trigger a quest?

Upon hearing this, all eyes lit up, instantly grasping Hu Lu's intention.

Different hidden quests and main storylines in 'Elf Kingdom' had their various triggering forms; however, after players' summaries, there were two most common situations to trigger hidden quests.

One was exploring a new map, and the other was encountering a powerful unfamiliar BOSS!

Undoubtedly, this time... it was most likely the second kind.

Fortune favors the bold, after all! At worst, they die once!

Anyway, they had saved enough resurrection coins these days.

And if luck truly favored them, they'd end up on the "wall" again and earn a massive reward!

Quickly figuring it all out, the players decisively uploaded the information they had recorded to the system, marking it as an "Unknown Suspected Demigod-level Shadow Dragon."

Then, they carefully followed the direction in which the Shadow Dragon flew away...

...

In the Divine Country of the World Tree.

"Hmm? A suspected Demigod-level Shadow Dragon?"

Looking at the newly added entry in the game's monster bestiary, Eve, who was watching players' "role-playing" in the game sandbox with great interest, slightly raised an eyebrow.

The game system was under her control, and all news of a legend or above strength presence appearing in the system was immediately fed back to her.

Therefore, as soon as Hu Lu and the others uploaded the information, Eve received news of a Shadow Dragon appearing in the Underworld.

And when she opened the video uploaded by the few players and saw the creature zooming by in the video, her eyebrow subtly lifted:

"A Shadow Dragon with clear consciousness?"

Shadow monsters were inherently violent, and there shadow powers possessed a corrosive nature towards the material world. The more powerful the shadow monster, the stronger this corrosive force.

Yet this Shadow Dragon, whose strength reached Demigod level, didn't spread its shadow power while flying through the sky.

This indicated the dragon's mind was clear and controlled.

And there was only one situation where such a shadow monster could exist, implying it was subdued by some great presence.

"Could it be... a clansmen of the God of Darkness and Shadow?"

Eve pondered with curiosity.

Thinking for a moment, she promptly located Hu Lu and the others on the sandbox and focused her gaze on them.

"Hmm? They're in pursuit? And they actually dare to chase a Shadow Dragon?"

Seeing the players' activities and overhearing their conversations during their progress, Eve was slightly taken aback.

But soon, she overheard more and suddenly realized:

"Oh, I see... They think they might trigger a hidden quest."

Upon seeing this, Eve touched her chin:

"Indeed curious, appearing solo in the Underworld, a suspected clansmen of the God of Darkness and Shadow, a Demigod-level Shadow Dragon—whatever its activity, it likely isn't without purpose."

"Hmm... Since they want to pursue and test if they can trigger a hidden quest, let me grant them a hidden quest. Just as well... I'm also curious about the actions of this Shadow Dragon."

After a moment of pondering, Eve adjusted Hu Lu and the others' area of activity, temporarily removing their five hundred-kilometer boundary, and then using her divine power to issue them a mission to track the dragon...

————

There's only one update tonight, no need to wait, sorry.

I'll make up for the missing second update tomorrow.