Chapter 20: Winter and the Hunting God (Please Vote!)

Goblin priest?

Eve's heart sank.

Normally, it is impossible for a goblin to become a priest because they have neither totems nor faith.

But once a goblin priest is born, it means that this tribe is very likely to have developed a racial totem or to have sought refuge with a deity…

If it's the former, it's not too bad, but if it's the latter…

Considering the Berserker's deliberate concealment, Eve already had some speculations in her heart…

Only by seeking the aid of a deity would the Oak Guardian be holding back in fear!

"Who?"

The grand voice echoed in the mind of the Berserker, but this time, it carried a hint of seriousness.

The Berserker instantly understood what the Mother Goddess was implying. He took a deep breath and replied respectfully in his consciousness:

"Based on my observations, it should be the God of Winter and Hunting — Uller."

As expected!

Eve felt somewhat heavy-hearted.

This was exactly the being She had speculated about!

She knew that the Half-Beast Tribe had established a settlement near the Elf Forest.

As the major source of believers for the God of Winter and Hunting, the Half-Beast Tribe also meant the eyes of Uller.

From the inheritance of the World Tree, Eve already had a certain understanding of Uller.

Uller was a relatively young deity of faith, said to be born from an original totem two thousand years ago, possessing the peak strength of faint divine power.

His divine office was of winter and hunting; since the ancient times, He was at odds with the World Tree, which controlled nature, life, and the elves. In the war among the gods, He was also an enemy of the World Tree.

After the fall of the World Tree, this brutal deity did not give up on persecuting the elves, and He is currently the greatest enemy of the Elf Clan.

Therefore, He is also on Eve's list of deities to slay, whether for seeking vengeance for Her predecessor or for Her own security and empowerment...

And now, it seems that this deity is also collecting Divine Blood Crystals of the World Tree!

To find His target, He even recruited goblins!

Though goblins are creatures with low intelligence, providing only meager power of faith, they are fearful of the mightier and well-suited for hard labor. Hence, it was not surprising to Eve that they were chosen by Uller.

However, Uller's collection efforts probably hadn't started long ago, as the Divine Blood Crystals were sealed before and quite difficult for creatures to discover.

Thinking of this, She began to speculate:

"Could it be... that the God of Winter and Hunting, Uller, has discovered the change in the Divine Blood Crystals and wants to decode the collected Divine Blood Crystals to obtain the divine offices of nature and life?"

The divine offices of winter and hunting that Uller possessed were both secondary, a rank below primary divine offices like nature and life, and naturally, His power was somewhat weaker.

And the very reason Uller has been lingering at the level of faint divine power for so many years is precisely because of His poor divine offices.

Moreover, winter and hunting inherently relate to nature and life.

Therefore, it was no surprise to Eve that Uller sought to analyze the Divine Blood of the World Tree to gain the divine offices of nature and life.

After all, for a True God, analyzing Divine Blood Crystals is the most direct method to obtain information about other True Gods' divine offices.

However, Eve didn't think that Uller would immediately associate the change in the Divine Blood Crystals with the revival of the World Tree; He might at most think that the curse magic had faded.

After all, a thousand years had passed, and it would be normal for a masterless divine art to disappear...

In addition, Eve wasn't worried that Uller's plan would succeed.

She has now been resurrected as the World Tree, regaining control over nature and life.

And since divine offices and control are unique, even if Uller fought to His limits, He couldn't hope to decode the desired divine office.

Uller's real intent was nullified the moment Eve was resurrected.

But even so, absorbing the Divine Blood Crystals of the World Tree would still provide Uller with a certain amount of divine power, making Him stronger.

This was not something Eve wished to see.

After all, the Divine Blood Crystals of the World Tree were meant to belong to Eve, the successor, also signifying an opportunity for rapidly regaining strength!

With this in mind, Eve continued to ask:

"How strong are those goblins?"

"Most are above level 5, with a few elites at level 10, but the goblin priest has the strength of Black Iron Lower tier at level 11. The exact number of priests is currently unclear."

Berserker replied.

Their strength is not considered strong.

Eve nodded to herself.

If it weren't for the concern that they might be discovered by Uller, Berserker could wipe them out with a flick of his finger.

"The priest leader is at level 11, the elites at level 10, and the others range from level 5 to 9..."

"This level is quite suitable for players to train and strengthen."

Eve muttered to herself.

After several days of quests, the strength of the three hundred players had also changed dramatically, with the vast majority advancing to above level 7.

Not only that, but daily grinders and top designers, relying on questing, have already advanced to the final apprentice level of 10, just one step away from the Black Iron Rank job change.

With this strength, it's difficult to confront other powerful Black Iron monsters, but it's more than enough to deal with goblins, even the Black Iron Lower tier priest at level 11 could be overcome if the players unite.

In these days, although players have been diligently completing quests, similarly, the repetitive work over a long period has also caused some to grow weary.

As of now, quite a few daring players have ignored the system's newbie tutorial and attempted to explore beyond the safe zone.

Now, the best course of action is to find them some fun.

Initially, Eve had planned to have Berserker drive some suitable monsters from outside the safe zone for players to entertain and level up, encouraging them to venture out after reaching level 11.

But the appearance of the goblins presented Eve with an even better option.

"Berserker, after all, is a Druid who reveres nature. Although he doesn't say it, if I really had him herd beasts, it would inevitably impact his faith... But goblins are different."

"Goblins belong to a hostile faction, and with their weaker strength, hunting them won't affect the view of native believers and their threat to players isn't that significant either."

"Moreover, having players hunt goblins can also disrupt Uller's plans and indirectly gain favor with the Elf Souls."

"Besides, players can help me search for Divine Blood Crystals! Allowing me to recover more quickly from my near-death state!"

"Heh, it seems I will soon receive my first return on investment from the players!"

With that thought, Eve already had a plan in mind.

He prepared to devise a subplot, to develop the game's first "instance quest" on the ruins of the Holy City of Feilengcui to confront the goblins!

Players are different from Berserker.

Berserker is Eve's adherent and believer; striking at Uller's pawn priest would draw the latter's attention.

But players are not.

Although they bear the appearance of elves, they aren't believers.

And not being believers means their souls don't bear the mark of divinity.

In fact, even if the players were believers, it wouldn't matter; their souls are on Blue Star, and only their consciousness is here. If Uller wants to investigate the presence of the mark of faith, he'll have to visit Blue Star first.

The God War of a thousand years ago was witnessed by the gods themselves, the fall of the World Tree... And they were convinced without doubt.

The players' intervention would at most make Uller suspect that some faithless elves have returned to the Elf Forest, and would not prompt Him to question the revival of the World Tree.

Moreover, the goblins living in the ruins of the Holy City of Feilengcui are an insult to the proud Elf Clan, so it's not unexpected for enraged elves to act.

Under these circumstances, the absence of divine believers implies that even if some goblins were exterminated, it wouldn't attract too much of Uller's attention.

Eve did not believe the goblins of Feilengcui were all that Uller had recruited; given their presence here, the ruins of other Elf Cities around the Elf Forest must have been infiltrated by Uller as well.

Of course, Eve did not expect to keep things hidden for long.

Since Uller had already discovered the Divine Blood Crystals had lifted the seal, he would eventually realize that the curse on the World Tree had been broken, too.

In that case, sending His adherents to investigate the World Tree was only a matter of time...

So, Eve's exposure was inevitable.

Fortunately, the only True God who had noticed the Divine Blood Crystal for the time being was Uller with his weak Divine Power.

Eve must improve her own strength as quickly as possible...

And for that, taking some risks is justified.

With that decision made, Eve had her plan set.

"Berserker, I have a task for you."