Game of the World Tree

?GREAT DEFEAT

As the well-equipped Elven Legion entered their field of vision, the mercenaries fell into a state of turmoil…

No one had foreseen that the initial attack from over two hundred Elven Cavalry was just the beginning and an even more larger Legion of Elves would come forth to join their brethren.

And… the sheer number of opponents on the elven side was staggering!

At least a thousand Elves charged forward with wild abandon, armed to the teeth and brimming with unwavering resolve as their forces steadily closing in on the mercenaries’ encampment.

Such spectacular scene left the mercenaries deeply impressed but also incredulous, as if they were in a dream.

As a medium-sized mercenary group operating on the Empire’s borderlands, the Crocodile Mercenary Corps had encountered large-scale battles before. They had once subdued a thieves’ guild boasting over a thousand members and had been hired by imperial nobles several times in the past as well to quell insurrections…

But whether it was a guild of thieves or a human army of insurrectionist, none had ever inspired the same reverence as the current spectacle they are witnessing right now.

Elves!

Not humans, let alone orcs!

But a whole Legion of Elves!

In their everyday lives, many mercenaries within the Crocodile’s group had not seen Elves in years, if ever. In fact, it only had been yesterday that many amongst them had even laid their eyes upon these legendary, noble, and beautiful beings for the very first time…

Yet, the experiences of the past two days was an eye-opener for many of them.

Yesterday, after capturing over fifty Elves through a surprise attack had already left the mercenaries amazed…

But today, they were witnessing an even greater sight!

On the road leading back to the Empire, numerous Elves stretched as far as the naked eye could see, with their gorgeous towering figures even discernible amidst the dense foliage on both sides…

From the mercenaries’ perspective, it felt as though there were more of these Elves than members in their own mercenary group!

By the Eternal Lord above, had all the Elves in the world somehow gathered here?

Since when had Elves become such a common sight?

Of course, the appearance of the Elven Legion merely caused a commotion among the mercenaries, not fear.

After all… although the number of Elves seems staggering, the mercenary forces also amount to thousands.

Moreover, these Elves, in their loose formation, appeared considerably more disorganized than the mercenaries had expected. Looking at the more closely, they seemed more like an unruly bandits about to plunder a village than a properly disciplined army…

In contrast, the Crocodile Mercenary Corps, although they were mercenaries by trade, still had some semblance of organizational skills no less than a professional army and possessed the most rudimentary discipline due to their past experience of dealing with insurrections.

But these Elves were different.

While they managed to maintain a semblance of formation, it was painfully clear that their leadership lacked significant experience in large-scale battles, thus rendering their ranks highly disorganized and improvised.

And their already fragile formation keeps descending even further into chaos as they move more closer to the mercenaries camp.

One could say that the appearance of these Elves is nothing like the noble elegance they were supposed to have, as depicted in the old legends.

However, the mercenaries had no time to think about such matters…

Because, just after the Elven legion appeared, a dragon’s thunderous roar tore through the heavens, rendering the mercenaries immobile as they stood completely frozen in place, as if they were seeing death itself from above.

“A…D-Dragon! It’s the Bl-Black Bragon!”

Seeing the menacing black silhouette hovering in the sky, the mercenary group was instantly gripped with fear, as their morale further plummeted.

A dragon!

Amongst the most legendary of the golden races in the world of Saigües, the tales involving dragons were renowned far and wide.

And amongst all dragonkind, the black dragon in particular had forever been depicted as the epitome of malevolence upon such tales.

Hell, one could even argue that humanity has a deeply rooted and ingrained fear of black dragons due to growing up and listening to these tales…

Not to mention, the mercenaries were well aware that their leader had recently led an operation to infiltrate a dragon’s lair just the day before, and their rather abrupt, forceful march overnight was an attempt to evade the black dragon’s potential retribution.

It was evident to everyone in the group that the black dragon had finally caught up with them, and it was here for revenge!

If the reinforcement consisted solely of elves, then, despite being shaken, the mercenaries still had confidence that they could mount a resistance.

On the flip side, if it was only the black dragon alone, then although it was still just as terrifying, the mercenaries could likewise attempt an organized defense.

Yet, when both of these formidable foes appeared simultaneously and joined forces, it completely exceeded the psychological threshold of what the mercenaries could tolerate.

Being confronted with a seemingly inevitable defeat, if not utter destruction, the majority of the mercenaries would not sacrifice their lives in vain unless they possessed unwavering resolve.

Under the hardened gaze of Crocodile, he witnessed most of his subordinates trembling, and their formation was already teetering on the brink of collapse even before the Elven Legion could reach them!

At the end of the day, mercenaries are, after all, just that—mercenaries.

They didn’t have the honor of knights nor the resolve of batlle-hardened soldiers. Moreover, the Crocodile Mercenary group couldn’t be regarded as one of those famous legendary mercenary corps.

While they had a certain degree of organization, they lacked the discipline of a regular army.

Fighting when the odds are in their favor is their forte, but, on the contrary, when faced with adversaries they clearly could not contend with, most mercenaries would falter and retreat just to save their own skin.

In the midst of this uncertainty, the two sides finally clashed.

Amidst the resounding dragon’s roar overhead, whilst being accompanied by a thrilling symphonic background music, the Elven Legion charged forward and descended into sheer madness, a stark in contrast to the mercenaries who had lost their courage..

Their excitement reaching into new heights just after the players listened to the voice chat being constantly flooded with messages from the Spider Cavalry members as they keep boasting about how much EXP they were accumulating…

Killing these mercenaries…yields huge experience points!

Kill them all!

They must get as many kill as much as possible!

With bloodshot eyes, the players’ morale surged to unparalleled heights!

They brandished their swords and axes, shouting “Ur-la! Ur-la!” like a pack of frenzied wolves, chasing off their prey with wild abandon and slashing at any mercenary within reach, whilst vowing to continue until their targets lay lifeless!

Their formation by this point had completely fallen apart.

Yet their morale was off the charts!

The players, charging one after another like a raging torrent, ruptured the already faltering mercenary formation with ease!

And the mercenaries, under the combined pressure of the black dragon and the Elven Legion, finally lost their will to fight…

The shield wall that was originally indestructible under the siege of more than two hundred spider cavalry now disintegrated like fragile paper, obliterated in an instant by the players onslaught!

The mercenaries witnessed the Elves charging recklessly, unleashing their skills with abandon and cutting down any foe in their path, as though reveling in the carnage…

Blood splattered everywhere, particularly noticeable after it sprayed onto the faces of the Elves, who wore bloodthirsty grins as if reveling in the wanton act of slaughter…

Such unbridled madness even made the most hardened mercenaries, which was accustomed to killing, felt fear gripped their hearts.

“T-They’re insane… they’re all insane!”

Finally, one mercenary broke down.

He threw his shield to the ground before turning around and running away…

With the first one fleeing, soon the dam broke as one after another started following suit.

Gradually, as the Elves pressed forward, the entire Crocodile Mercenary Corps succumbed to a mass rout!

And this rout further aggravated the chaos within the mercenary formation.

Soon enough, nearly half of the mercenaries turned around after discarding their armor, and fled without ever looking back…

In any case, their defeat was now inevitable!

So what’s the point of staying?

Meanwhile, Crocodile, whose watching his force crumble in an instant, simply stood there in stunned disbelief.

However, this was not the end of it.

Seeing the mercenaries shedding their armor and exposing their backs as they fled, the players’ morale once again surged.

“They’re running! Quick, chase them down! Kill them!”

Li Mu excitedly gave the command.

And the players on the forefront followed suit, roaring as they pursued the fleeing mercenaries…

Leaving your back exposed to the enemy was the most foolish action in the battlefield.

However, discarding one’s armor was even more foolish!

The Elves were naturally agile creatures with many of them even wearing boots with [acceleration] properties added.

Therefore, even if the mercenaries had discarded their armors, they still didn’t get far that much.

They were swiftly overtaken by the players in pursuit, before being cut down with ruthless efficiency!

Then afterwards, the equipment the mercenaries had abandoned would be picked up by the players coming from behind before being carried on their backs.

The entire battlefield rapidly deteriorated, with one side collapsing and turning into a one-sided massacre!

Under the players’ frenzied onslaught, the mercenary corps had completely collapsed. Almost everyone had lost their will to fight and began scattering in all directions!

And at this moment, the Spider Knights stationed on the outskirts of the battlefield finally began to move.

They started to encircle and intercept any mercenaries who were fleeing, specifically targeting those who looks more stronger than the others…

Crocodile watched this scene with a hollow gaze, with his heart growing more colder.

Even with his intermediate silver-ranked strength, he still couldn’t change the reality of this situation.

The grim reality was that their side suffered a devastating defeat today.

—No

This was more than just a simple defeat.

Worse yet, the Crocodile Mercenary Corps might very well be entirely wiped out after this!

Why were those Elves so ruthless!?

Crocodile clearly saw that some mercenaries sought to surrender, yet even their pleas were met with naught but the laughter and savagery of the Elves!

“C-Captain, we need to escape quickly! The Black Dragon hasn’t attacked yet; there’s still hope for us!”

At this moment, a few trusted subordinates rushed over to his side, with their faces drained of all colours.

Hearing their words, Crocodile’s bitterness intensified.

Indeed, the Black Dragon…had not attacked yet!

It was merely circling in the sky, leading the Elves.

However, these Elves had managed to defeat the force that Crocodile had worked tirelessly to build over the years, all on their own.

At that moment, his heart reached its freezing point.

Now, Crocodile deeply regretted succumbing to his greed, regretted infiltrating the Black Dragon Castle, and regretted capturing of those accursed Elves!

Alas… it was all too late!

Crocodile’s hands trembled slightly.

He then gritted his teeth hard and, with bloodshot eyes, he exclaimed,

“We’ll use those captured Elves as hostages and make a break for it!”

The Black Dragon wielded unimaginable might, a force Crocodile could not challenge at his current strength.

Furthermore, his sole trump card, the Level 7 Teleportation Magic Scroll, had already been used up by him in yesterday’s operation.

By escaping alone, he feared he that couldn’t evade the Black Dragon’s pursuit…

Those captured Elves were his last glimmer of hope!

The Black Dragon had mobilized so many Elves to rescue its kin.

This clearly indicated it attached great importance to these Elves Crocodile had captured!

And this… might be the sole path to salvation for the entire mercenary corps!

Having said that, Crocodile, along with few of his most trusted subordinates, returned in a disheveled state to where the captives were being held.

Then, upon the Crocodile’s orders, the mercenaries pulled out over fifty bound Elves and gathered them all together.

Afterwards Crocodile himself selected the most elegantly equipped, presumably the highest-ranking female Elf amongst them, and placed his longsword at her throat…

Then, with his eyes filled with conviction, Crocodile summoned all his strength and shouted towards the Black Dragon in the distance:

“Black Dragon! If you want to save your captive kins, command your Elven Army to cease their assault!”

“Otherwise, even if we die, we’ll take all these captives along with us to the grave!”

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