The Path to Lordship Begins in the North

In the Goggle Empire, although the elves have always been peaceful and detached from worldly affairs, since the collapse of the tower, they no longer rely solely on rangers who have left the empire to gather intelligence, but have truly begun to step into the secular world.

Avelia stood atop the highest treetop, overlooking the world.

Even for many long-lived elven elders, the First Continental War was already a hazy memory, let alone Queen Avilia, who was still a little kid in the eyes of the elven elders.

Elves are completely inept at warfare because, from the moment they were created, they have been tasked with being observers and protectors. Therefore, the dominant faith of elves has always been in the god of nature. Elves were not born for war—of course, this is only in comparison to humans.

Fortunately, just like in the last continental war, one human force chose to side with the elves. This human force was even stronger than the previous ones, so much so that the elves didn't have to fight themselves; they only needed to help this human force with logistical issues.

But this time, the challenges the elves face may be even more severe than before.

Generally speaking, the closer a war is to, the more active the world's faith becomes. But as this storm is brewing, the elves have fallen silent about their long-held faith in the god of nature. When they go to the surrounding areas, they not only stop proselytizing, but they even begin to forbid other races from worshipping the god of nature.

To understand why, we must mention Avilia's prayer not long ago.

After the tower was covered by a black rain curtain, the elves kept an eye on the state of the god of nature.

Avelia assumed the role of a saintly representative, praying to the god of nature daily.

Avilia will never forget that day when she entered a meditative state, a rare occurrence for her, and saw the divine kingdom that many believers dreamed of. The divine kingdom was just as everyone imagined, an eternally green forest.

However, in the divine realm, the god of nature was bound by lines woven from black mud. These lines were intricate and complex, as if they were forming an ovary to completely envelop the enormous god of nature.

Within this divine realm of illusion, the enormous stag slowly opened its eyes, looked at Avilia, and asked her in the language of the post-Golden Age: "Anastasia? Didn't I let you escape?"

Although Avilia couldn't understand the language, for some reason, she could completely understand what the stag in front of her meant.

“Great God of Nature, I am your subject, the current Elf Queen, Avelia.”

Avilia bowed reverently. This was the kingdom of the gods, and it was the first time Avilia had ever been here in a meditative state, let alone with such a clear consciousness. Even Avilia herself felt that something was wrong and incredible.

It's as if some boundary between believers and the Kingdom of God has become thinner.

Especially the lines woven from mud on the God of Nature's body, the aura emanating from them could only fill Avilia with fear and despair, filled with all sorts of negative emotions. Just looking at them made Avilia feel breathless.

"Oh, Anastasia's descendant? No wonder the aura is so similar."

After saying this, the giant stag stood up and used all its strength to shake off the mud that was woven into lines, but the mud seemed endless and wrapped around the giant stag again.

Avilia could clearly feel the pain of the nature god before her, and this pain was even reflected directly in the spirit of Avilia, a devout believer.

"I can feel that my condition is getting worse and worse."

"The Outer Gods used the human power obtained through sacrifice to entangle us tightly."

The giant stag did not speak, but instead transmitted its consciousness directly into Avilia's mind.

"I shouldn't have feelings, but now I actually miss my former colleagues."

The god of nature was a giant stag, and shouldn't have been able to make a self-deprecating smile, but Avilia clearly sensed that emotion.

“Listen up, descendants of Anna. My functions have been damaged. I may not be able to respond to your prayers with my own consciousness. I may be devoured, possessed, or sealed away. So from now on, do not pray to me anymore, absolutely not.”

"Even if I issue a new divine decree, you must never listen to it."

The stag spoke calmly, but Avilia sensed an unyielding authority.

The stag, once again entangled in the black mud, used its last strength to stand up and said, "Otherwise, those who pray will fall into the depths of the ocean of consciousness like you are now, and may never be able to return, just like those tower members who can no longer return and have become wanderers in the ocean of consciousness."

Seeing the stag struggling in pain, Avilia asked anxiously, "Great God of Nature, is there anything we can do for you?"

The black lines that clung to the stag were shattered by a powerful force, and finally, the stag stood up completely, shaking off the black mud and shining with a divine radiance, just like the nature god imagined by all believers.

"Live on, Anna's descendants, live on with humans and elves."

This was the final oracle of the God of Nature that Avilia heard—clear, bright, unambiguous, and full of hope.

Finally, under the immense radiance emanating from the stag, Avilia returned from the depths of the ocean of consciousness.

After regaining consciousness, Avilia felt a significant fluctuation in her emotions, unable to distinguish whether it was pain or sadness.

Afterwards, the elves of the Gorg Empire held a meeting. No one knows what the elves discussed in the council, but after the meeting ended, the Gorg Empire quickly passed a bill that suspended all prayers and offerings to the God of Nature, with the specific date for resumption to be announced later.

......

When Herbert sent a message through a simple communication device—a message from a girl who had undergone surgery in Anjou and claimed to be able to see the Kingdom of God—to Lind's desk, Lind was actually a little scratched his head.

Regardless of whether it's true or false, the information Herbert brought back about the Church of War was already very valuable. Moreover, a girl who had been surgically modified by Anjou would allow Lind to see just how advanced Anjou's technology had become.

However, the encirclement within the Iron Ring is not yet over, and Linde can hardly spare any more resources to forcibly bring Herbert and his group back.

It wasn't until Avelia's handwritten letter arrived in Lind's hands that the situation changed.

Lind felt his palms sweating.

The god of nature is really in trouble.

So, regarding Herbert's conjecture about the god of war...

The elves can unite and suspend their prayers and offerings to the god of nature, but can humans? Can Anjou cease its worship of the god of war?

“Lucanos, inform Judith to find a way to bring Herbert and the caged girl back.”