Elf Kingdom: Game of the World Tree

Jiang Shang shook his head and looked at the event page again.

With the first three rewards in front, he wasn't really interested in the consolation prize anymore.

Now, all his attention was drawn to the first prize.

"Thirty thousand RMB... I have to get it! I'm going to grind like crazy this week!"

Jiang Shang clenched his fist.

With this thought, he quickly sent a message to his best friend:

"Akai! Want to team up to grind? The event starts today!"

Akai replied, "Wake up, I've got a full schedule today."

"I'm skipping!"

Akai: ...

"There's no hope for you."

...

*Just as Eve had anticipated, the war gaming event she announced on the official website was like pouring a bucket of gasoline on a raging fire, pushing the players' enthusiasm to a new peak.*

*Players were engrossed in enthusiastic discussions whether in the forum or in the game.*

"Whoa! Thirty thousand prize money?"

"Thirty thousand? That's not much..."

"Take a closer look! It's a regular event! One with a short cycle too! And look at the number of slots..."

"Wow... so many? The chances are really high!"

"Amazing... throwing around millions like it's nothing, has the company made it back yet?"

"Who knows..."

"I'm grinding! This week, even if I have to take leave, I'm grinding!"

"Hey, whoever's taking leave, careful not to get fired!"

*The players' enthusiasm was completely ignited.*

*Almost every player opted to sign up for the event.*

*Moreover, when the time on Blue Star reached Monday morning, although the "Elf Kingdom" online numbers slightly decreased, it consistently remained around 120,000!*

*It was known that on typical weekdays, daytime online numbers would at least be halved!*

"The power of money is strong indeed..."

Looking at the online data in the game system, Eve shook her head.

*For this event, she had given away almost more than half the income of the month from players buying memberships.*

*And judging from the effects, it wasn't bad at all.*

"Hmm... in the future, we can hold more of these events, at least one every month. Not only can they boost player enthusiasm, but they can also help me train some full-time players..."

"The pity is that the current number of players is limited, and the prize money offered isn't much. Otherwise, I could give out even more."

Eve shook her head.

"After this war ends, and once the first wave of beta players fully adapts to the game rhythm, I'll open up the second wave of beta players."

...

*Death Desert, Sandstorm City.*

*Half-Beast soldiers equipped with sophisticated gear went to and fro in the city, enveloping the entire city in a tense atmosphere.*

*As the news of the Elf Army's siege spread, the air in the city grew even more solemn.*

*However, despite the solemnity, the expressions of the city's residents remained calm and steady.*

*That was because the ones living here were either Half-Beasts who saw war as routine as eating or some daredevils...*

*Moreover, with Sandstorm City being surrounded by mountains on three sides, its easily defensible terrain, fortified walls, and massive army, along with the supply routes connected to the Underworld, they were filled with confidence in the war.*

*This place wasn't only the economic center of the Death Desert, it was also its most fortified stronghold!*

*In the center of Sandstorm City, towering high above stood the Sandstorm Tower.*

*As a magnificent building left behind from the Dwarf era, the Sandstorm Tower was both a famous landmark of Sandstorm City and a grand lookout tower.*

*At the same time, it was also the central node for housing the Underground City's core and enshrining the statues of the Gods of Winter and Hunting.*

*Indeed, the underground city core.*

*Being a city that remained from the Dwarf era, Sandstorm City inherited the city core not unlike those of the Underworld city-states, capable of initiating an almost perfect Divine Arts defensive barrier.*

*And as the core of the Divine Arts barrier, the Sandstorm Tower itself was built from the famous Death Desert mineral, Obsidian, pitch-black and shiny, yet indestructible.*

*This was another reason the Half-Beasts believed that this city was unassailable.*

*Thus, there was a saying that circulated in the Death Desert:*

"With the Sandstorm Tower standing tall, Sandstorm City remains unfallen. If the Sandstorm Tower collapses, Sandstorm City collapses. If Sandstorm City collapses, the entire Death Desert would crumble..."

*At this moment, atop the Sandstorm Tower.*

*Prophetic King Bazan stood on the high tower's lookout, gazing silently at the distant desert.*

*In the distance he peered, about twenty kilometers from the city, a vast campsite was gradually taking shape.*

*That was where the Elves had set up camp.*

*Four days had passed since the Elf Army besieged the city.*

*In these four days, the Elves hadn't launched an attack on Sandstorm City but had instead set up camp.*

*This was somewhat unexpected for the Half-Beasts.*

*In the strategic planning of Prophetic King Bazan and the High Priest, since the Elves were so eager to penetrate Death Desert and had triumphed along the way with increasing morale, the most logical move would have been to continue the offensive, riding the wave of victory.*

*After all, it should have been their peak of morale!*

*However... they had halted.*

*If they were merely resting and regrouping, it would have been understandable.*

*But upon careful observation, the Half-Beasts discovered that the Elves seemingly had no intention of attacking Sandstorm City!*

*This left the Half-Beast leadership bewildered.*

*Now that the Elves had ventured deep into Death Desert, the longer they delayed, the less advantageous the situation should have been for them...*

*The Elves' actions were quite peculiar.*

*This strangeness left Prophetic King Bazan feeling uneasy.*

*He furrowed his brows slightly, staring at the Elves' camp.*

*As a Gold Professional, his eyesight was excellent.*

*Coupled with the far-seeing telescope purchased from Sorren Commerce, he was able to see the Elves' every move clearly...*

"They're actually building stockade walls? No... that looks more like city walls! What on earth are they planning to do?"

"Moreover... I have a feeling their numbers are somewhat thinning..."

Bazan furrowed his brows.

*Strange.*

*Extremely strange!*

*Although rationality told Bazan that this standoff was advantageous for the Half-Beasts, for some reason... he'd been restless for the past two days, a constant nagging feeling that he was overlooking something...*

*And just as he continued to observe the Elven camp, suddenly, a Half-Beast soldier stumbled onto the high tower.*

"King! King! There's terrible news!"

*His voice was filled with urgency.*

Prophetic King Bazan frowned slightly, a hint of displeasure in his expression.

*He put down the telescope and turned around, looking at the approaching soldier.*

*The soldier who clambered up was drenched in sweat, face pale, expressions filled with fear and panic, along with a subtle trace of perplexity...*

Bazan's brow tightened.

He snapped, "Why the panic? The sky hasn't fallen yet!"

The soldier trembled in fear and immediately knelt to apologize.

Bazan snorted lightly, then asked, "Speak, what on earth has happened?"

The soldier, while wiping his sweat, answered haltingly, "Broken! They... they've broken through!"

Broken through?

Bazan was slightly taken aback.

"Where did they break through?"

He instinctively glanced at Sandstorm City's walls, looking puzzled.

"Shafeng Tribe, Sandstone Tribe, both have been breached!"

The Half-Beast soldier replied in a hoarse voice.

Shafeng and Sandstone Tribe?

Prophetic King Bazan was astonished.

*These two Half-Beast tribes were medium-sized tribes near Sandstorm City.*

*They were located on the other side of the mountains surrounding Sandstorm City, and couldn't be observed.*

However...

"What exactly happened!? How could they be breached? They are at our rear! And the Elf Army has been camped here all along!"

Bazan asked gravely.

The soldier swallowed his saliva, an expression of dread and disbelief on his face:

"It's... it's underground! Those Elves... they suddenly emerged from underground! They appeared directly within the two tribes, Shafeng and Sandstone were breached from within before they could react!"

Underground emergence?!

Prophetic King Bazan's eyes widened in shock.

*Just then, a flash of insight shot through his mind, recalling certain intelligence that had come in from the front lines earlier...*

*His expression changed dramatically:*

"Not good! It's that Earth Cave Spider!"