Elf Kingdom: Game of the World Tree

Friday night.

For many online games, this was often a peak time for player activity.

Office workers returned home, students finished school, and with the next day being a rest day, they could naturally indulge in entertainment without any worries.

"Elf Kingdom" was no exception.

However, unlike a typical weekend, the Chosen City was unusually quiet today; the originally bustling city had almost turned into a ghost town.

Even the occasional appearance of players was just them hurrying, anxiously rushing to the city's Teleportation Array and disappearing in a flash.

But if you gradually shifted your gaze south, you would see more figures appearing one after another.

Rivendell, Dark Mountain Range, Death Desert…

If viewed from the God of Elves' Divine Country sandbox, you would find that players' light spots were mostly concentrated in these three places.

Among them, Death Desert had the most, Dark Mountain Range followed, while Rivendell had the least.

Moreover, the light spots in the latter two locations were rapidly decreasing.

In a particular area of Death Desert, however, light spots were constantly increasing…

On the sandbox, the mass of gathered players formed a bright patch of light, so dazzling that no details could be seen.

This was once a small Half-Beast tribe in the northern area of Death Desert.

It had already been breached by the players several days ago and was now the site where the Elf Army was stationed.

The long-distance Teleportation Array to the Dark Mountain Range was also established here.

The three spots of light on the sandbox were actually just the teleportation points of the three places.

At this very moment, in the area of the former Half-Beast small tribe,

the former tribe had almost been reduced to ruins, replaced by densely packed tents and a sea of black, endless Elf Army.

New elves occasionally emerged from the tents, stretching and equipping themselves as if they had just woken up.

They were players who had just logged in.

More players were methodically dismantling the tents and organizing supplies.

The entire camp was lively.

All the players' faces were filled with excitement and anticipation, their eyes bright with expectation.

The rallying horn had already sounded in various camps, and some faster teams had begun to assemble in formation.

The second-round offensive was about to begin.

The entire Elf Army was like a gigantic war machine just awakening, slowly starting to operate…

"Hey, Han Han, have you noticed there are more people now?"

On a relatively high hill, the player Dongdong, riding her Red Copper Dragon, looked at the player camp below, which was noticeably larger than during the first-round offensive four days ago, and slightly raised an eyebrow as she asked.

Beside her, the Silver Druid player Meng Zhihan, also riding a dragon, looked around, glanced at the battlefield channel, and gently nodded:

"There are indeed more people; the battlefield channel is up to 130,000 now."

130,000!

It should be known that, in the first-round offensive, although the total number of players participating in the battle reached 120,000, the peak of the battlefield channel's population was only about 110,000.

After all, not everyone was interested in joining the battlefield channel.

During large-scale army operations, especially in this kind of virtual game, some players who didn't care to follow commands or just wanted to hitch a ride for mission rewards found that it was enough to fight with the trend.

A battlefield channel reaching 130,000 meant that the number of players engaging in battle might exceed 140,000 and could possibly even reach 150,000…

The total number of players in "Elf Kingdom" was only about 160,000.

In other words, this time the players of "Elf Kingdom" truly turned out in full force…

This was quite normal.

It had been several days since the first battle, and the rewards for the second-round offensive were so abundant that they naturally sparked strong interest among the players.

Those 40,000 players, who hadn't yet reached Black Iron Upper, were just a step away.

The various brilliant moments in the first-round battle had been made into videos and uploaded online by some diligent individuals, causing a public sensation. Many lower-level players who watched the livestreams became thoroughly motivated…

To participate in the night's second-round offensive, many typically lethargic players had turned into hardcore gamers.

They squeezed in time to log on and grind levels, and indeed, within these three game days, they forced themselves to advance to Black Iron Upper.

It could be said their potential had been unleashed.

At this moment, there were fewer than ten thousand players in the entire server who hadn't reached Black Iron Upper.

Most of them were unlucky individuals who had to attend school or work and couldn't manage to level up despite their intentions.

But more than the noticeable increase in task numbers, what surprised Meng Zhihan was the players' overall strength, which had grown even more.

She noticed that compared to when they had just joined the battle, the players' overall strength had improved significantly.

"Death Desert really is a great place to level up. In just a few days, everyone's levels have noticeably increased."

She sighed slightly.

"Oh, it's all because of the high kill count. You weren't online for these three game days, so you wouldn't know how insane these dudes are when leveling up... The few small tribes Brother Mu had his eyes on were completely wiped out by them! They called it troop rest, but their fighting was even crazier than before, especially those mid-sized guilds."

Dongdong shook her head.

However, hearing her words, Meng Zhihan glanced at her speechlessly:

"Listening to you, did you skip class again today, you top student at Imperial Capital University?"

"Ahem… It was an elective anyway, so it doesn't matter if I miss it."

Dongdong blushed slightly, her 99-point face slightly red.

Meng Zhihan: …

"I suddenly feel like bringing you into this game was a mistake."

She rubbed her temples.

Just as Dongdong said.

The three days of rest hadn't made the players idle.

Although there weren't any major military actions, small-scale battles were extremely lively.

To make themselves stronger for the second-round offensive, many players formed small teams, learning from the previous vanguard groups to clear out nearby Half-Beast small tribes…

And the results were impressive.

The average level of Black Iron Upper players went up by nearly two levels in three days.

The nearby Half-Beast tribes suffered, with approximately a 30-kilometer radius becoming a no-man's land…

After venting about her friend, Meng Zhihan continued scanning the surroundings.

She had space equipment and had long since packed her luggage, waiting for the guild to assemble.

However, when her gaze swept towards the Teleportation Array, she paused slightly:

"Hmm? Are the Elf NPCs not joining the battle this time?"

In the first-round offensive, several hundred Elf NPCs also participated in the battle.

Most of them served as archers, their archery exceptionally accurate, each of them a Divine Archer. They played a very important role when players were attacking cities.

At this moment, Meng Zhihan saw those elves leaving the battlefield through the Teleportation Array one after another.

"They've been summoned back by the church. Not only these Elf Archers, but it seems Alice and El also have to return, leaving only the Big Sister behind. Um… the NPCs seem to have other tasks; I guess it might be related to subsequent plots."

Dongdong glanced towards the Teleportation Array and said.

"You sure know a lot."

Meng Zhihan was a bit surprised.

"Hey, as a Silver Priest, I naturally know quite a bit of insider info. I even know that the Oros Half-plane is also in action, and it seems all the Believer NPCs have been mobilized."

Dongdong said with a hint of pride.

The Believers have been mobilized? Could it be related to the Goddess?

Meng Zhihan was thoughtful.

And after speaking, Dongdong continued:

"Actually, it's not a bad thing for the NPCs to leave the battlefield. The upcoming battle will definitely be unprecedented in scale, and they can't be resurrected. You know that for every NPC that dies, all nearby players participating in the battle will suffer experience and contribution penalties."

"Moreover, the elves' training effect has also been achieved. You see that each of them has changed a lot compared to when they first arrived."

Meng Zhihan nodded in agreement:

"Indeed, they feel different, like they've experienced blood and fire, and they seem more resilient now."

However, she hadn't said the latter part of her observation.

That was not only the Elf NPCs, but even the players themselves, whose overall demeanor had changed quite a bit.

*How should I put it…*

*There's a sense that the players have somewhat taken on the aura of true warriors.*

*Though players had fought plenty before, it always seemed like there was something missing.*

*But just rallying for one fight had led to quite the transformation…*

*Perhaps it was the effect of the battlefield.*

*Like how a Hunter can never possess the presence of a soldier…*

*It's rather interesting.*

And at that moment, the Heart of Nature guild group also began to call its members to assemble.

At the same time, the battlefield channel started playing the battle anthem.

The chief commander, Li Mu, also began speaking on the mic:

"The mission is about to begin, notify the brothers and sisters in each guild to form up. Copy the text I put on the public screen and send it to the world channel, reminding those not in the channel to join the battlefield channel!"

Shortly after he finished speaking, the world channel started a collective spamming.

If you looked around, the screen was filled with messages saying, "The second-round offensive is about to begin, everyone get in the battlefield channel, ID ********."

This was a traditional skill of online games.

As a result, the number of people in the battlefield channel started a second increase, quickly surpassing the 140,000 mark, setting a new record in "Elf Kingdom."

Dongdong and Meng Zhihan quickly got into action, joining the ever-gathering ranks of players.

With the experience from the first time, although there were more players this time, the assembly speed was even faster.

The army, with a total strength of 150,000 players, formed completely in less than twenty minutes.

"The four army groups maintain a ten-kilometer distance! This time… we push directly ahead!"

"All units, advance!"

"Target—Sandstorm City!"

Li Mu commanded in the battlefield channel.

With his order, the Player Army, which had already refreshed and eagerly awaited war, immediately sprang into action.

The 150,000-strong army turned into four parallel torrents, majestically surging deeper into the Death Desert…