I, the prince in distress, send money

Chapter 576 Unexpected Changes
The relationship between the Bagnians and the elves is rapidly cooling.

The battle in Mooncrown City continues, but players are trying to avoid areas associated with elves and are advancing towards the Demon Grove outside the city.

The player is trying to raid the demon's lair and farm monsters at the source.

However, this does not mean that the elves in the city will be relieved of their pressure, because the number of demons has not decreased, but is increasing rapidly.

This is because there is now more than one spawn point for demons.

The downside of the sky splitting open is that meteorites containing demons and portals to the abyss fall everywhere like bird droppings, covering the entire Mooncrown Isle.

The World Tree, Tear of the Sky, had done its best. Pale green light shone on the towering tree, but it could only suppress the speed at which the demons appeared; it could not completely shut down these teleportation arrays.

The battle situation in Mooncrown City is slowly crumbling.

However, the mastermind behind all this is not satisfied with the current progress.

……

In the city of Mooncrown, in the shadow of a half-collapsed arrow tower, a man who specializes in silencing crying children, with a dry grass stalk in his mouth, idly rubs his bloodstained machete with a whetstone.

"Tsk, boring."

he muttered.

Most of the players went to the Demon Forest outside the city to fight fiercely with the new demon forces, while the one who specializes in curing children's crying did not follow, and continued to stay in the city as a proud lone wolf.

Every player has their own gaming habits. Some people like to team up and fight big battles, while others prefer to treat crying babies.

He prefers to act alone.

Although the main force had left Mooncrown City, in his eyes, it was full of "gold".

He moved like a seasoned urban hyena, slithering along collapsed streets and abandoned courtyards.

A cowardly little demon, who had accidentally wandered nearby and was peeking around, was spotted by the one who could cure a crying child. The demon pounced on it with lightning speed and killed it with the enchanted machete he had just acquired. Just as he was about to move to another spot to continue "camping out", he suddenly felt an unusual tremor coming from the ground beneath his feet.

It wasn't a sporadic explosion, nor the heavy footsteps of a giant beast, but a dense tremor, as if countless claws were simultaneously digging into the earth.

"What kind of plane are you doing?"

He cautiously peeked out from the arrow tower.

Upon seeing this, he almost dropped the dry grass stem in his mouth.

The streets, which had been chaotic but still maintained a basic defensive line, were now teeming with demons, several times larger than before, like a flood bursting its banks.

This was no longer a scattered small team, but a well-organized, overwhelming force.

The berserker roared as it smashed through the ruins, while the winged demons blotted out the already gloomy sky, hurling corrosive energy balls. There were also some new types of demons he had never seen before, with more twisted forms and exuding a stronger corrupting aura, mixed in with them.

The barricades and magical traps meticulously set up by the elves were easily torn apart like paper in the face of this raging tide.

The elven warriors' silver armor shimmered fiercely in the dark red tide, like candlelight flickering in a storm, but their defenses were crumbling and retreating at a visible speed.

"Holy crap...whoosh, the mob spawner exploded!?"

He was stunned by the fact that he could cure a child's crying, which was completely different from the "bargain hunting" scenario he had envisioned!
The torrent of demons encountered almost no effective resistance; their target was terrifyingly clear... the world tree, Tear of the Sky, standing tall in the city center, radiating a soft green light, and the elven palace at its foot!

"Holy crap, is this the final battle cutscene...?"

It's a cure for a child's crying, retracted neck, and uncontrollable heart-pounding.

He subconsciously touched the several round, wooden-handled grenades hanging at his waist. These were used to deal with groups of small monsters, or to create chaos and then take the opportunity to escape.

But now, looking at that wave of demons, he felt that if he threw those few lumps of iron in, they probably wouldn't even make a sound.

The elven defenses retreated again and again, the mournful elven war songs mingling with the roars of demons and the wails of the wounded, playing a lament for the fall of Mooncrown City.

The once magnificent buildings collapsed in large numbers under the ravages of demons, flames and thick smoke soared into the sky, and even the light of the World Tree seemed to dim.

Specializing in treating crying children, he crouched low, relying on his familiarity with the terrain, mainly the various alleys and dog holes, and darted through the chaos like a frightened mouse. He dared not think about any "harvest" anymore; only one thought filled his mind.

"Quickly notify the others to send the main force back to reinforce!"

However, the demons advanced at an unimaginable speed.

He had just climbed out of the back window of an abandoned tavern when he nearly crashed into a group of horned demons chasing after wounded elven soldiers.

"Your sister!"

He cursed under his breath, reacted swiftly by rolling behind a pile of junk, grabbed a grenade, bit off the pin, and threw it in the general direction of the horned demon without even looking.

"boom!"

An explosion rang out, accompanied by the roar of the horned demon and splinters of wood.

It's designed to stop babies from crying; I don't expect to kill many, I just hope it can block their view.

So, taking advantage of the smoke from the explosion, he ran frantically in the opposite direction from the palace without looking back, the machete in his hand more like a stick used to clear obstacles.

His agility and speed were on full display at this moment; nothing was more important than his life, no matter what his image or demeanor.

He glanced back and saw that the last barrier surrounding the palace was teetering on the brink of collapse under the demons' frenzied attacks, and the light of the World Tree flickered like a candle in the wind.

The elves surrounded the giant tree and the palace, forming the last tragic and desperate line of defense.

"Damn it, this game experience is terrible!"

It's a cure for a child's crying while running and complaining.

"We were supposed to be grinding monsters, but it turned into defending the city, and so suddenly!"

……

Inside a luxurious treehouse in the Elven Noble District.

The stench of blood mingled with the fragrance of ancient wood and books, creating a nauseatingly sweet aroma.

Ilúvatar stood by the enormous arched window, entwined with living tree branches, her cold eyes reflecting the hellish scene outside.

The crimson tide of demons surged like a filthy flood, crashing against the last crumbling line of defense surrounding the palace.

The light of the World Tree "Tears of the Sky" swayed violently under the intense bombardment of magic, like the last gasp of a dying giant.

The elven warriors' silver armor was constantly being swallowed up by the tide, and their tragic war songs were mercilessly swallowed up by the roars of demons and the sound of collapsing buildings.

She's late.

Ilúvatar slowly turned around, her gaze falling on the elven elder lying in the center of the room, a large pool of dark red blood spreading beneath him.

He wore an elder's robe adorned with mithril threads, and his aged face still held the shock of being discovered, along with a hint of... eerie relief.

Beside his body lay several parchment documents written in Elvish and bearing an official seal… These were orders concerning the troop movements and rotations along the defensive lines that night, as well as the maintenance schedule for the magical barriers. Ilúvatar had found this place while tracking the final link in Hobert's trail.

This elder, known for his conservatism and loyalty, is actually a key figure in the shadowy network behind the Mirror Sea Brigade!
When she burst in, he seemed to have just finished dealing with something. Faced with her questioning, he first tried to argue, then attempted to resist, but all resistance quickly ended under her merciless spear.

She picked up the documents and quickly scanned them.

On the surface, these mobilizations seem reasonable, involving rotations, rest, and fixed-point maintenance, all aimed at maintaining the long-term operation of the defense line.

However, considering the precise and ferocious attack rhythm of the demons outside the city at this moment, these orders cleverly created several brief but deadly "weak periods" and "blind spots" on the defensive line.

The demon's weaponry, cutting through these meticulously calculated gaps, ripped through the elves' defenses like a hot knife through butter!

If... if it could have been earlier.

If we could have found Hobert sooner, if we could have severed this dark hand before the demonic wave appeared... perhaps this disaster could have been avoided.

At least, Mooncrown City's defenses wouldn't be so vulnerable, like a dam hollowed out by insects, collapsing the moment the flood peak arrives.

For the first time, a cold venom called "Regret" slowly seeped into Ilúvatar's rock-solid heart.

She excels at hunting, at finding and eliminating enemies in the darkness, but she's not good at... nipping a conspiracy in the bud before it fully takes shape.

She was a sharp knife, but she couldn't sever the thread that led to disaster.

Outside the window, a huge explosion was heard, and a tall tower on the east side of the palace slowly collapsed amidst thick smoke and flames, triggering a frenzied howl from the demons.

Ilúvatar gripped the document in her hand so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

She carefully put the documents away; they were evidence pointing to a higher-ups who were the traitors.

She took one last look at the elder's corpse, her eyes no longer filled with anger, but with a deep, unyielding chill.

The mastermind remains hidden in the deeper shadows, enjoying the "fruits" of Mooncrown City's fall.

But the hunter has not given up.

She turned, her cloak slicing through the stagnant air in the room, her figure once again blending into the chaotic and desperate backdrop outside the window.

The royal palace and the World Tree may soon fall, but her hunt is far from over.

The true eye of the storm may have only just begun to emerge. Before that, she must find her next target and, in the only way she knows how, avenge this fallen land.

……

Deep within the Demonwood, the Overlord Tiger Legion, which had originally planned to strike at the heart of the enemy, was now rushing towards Mooncrown City in a completely different, disheveled state than when it set out.

"Faster, faster!"

As Xiao Dao stabbed his buttocks, he struggled to push aside the tangled demonic thorns, then turned back and roared at the group, his voice distorted by his rapid breathing.

Not long ago, they ventured deep into the woods and were just about to find a demon altar, preparing for a night of intense combat, when an explosion from Mooncrown City, along with communication fireworks, made Little Knife Stab Butt and the other players realize something.

The demon stole the World Tree!
Without any hesitation, Xiao Daozha immediately ordered the abandonment of the original plan, and the entire regiment returned to provide support at the fastest speed.

As for the demon altar, we'll have to leave it for now.

However, the demons clearly did not intend to let them leave so easily.

This return journey was practically a demonic version of the "Ten-Mile Farewell," the kind with both swords and spears, and an overly enthusiastic "tender" that was almost deadly.

At the same time, as if receiving some kind of command, the demons that were originally scattered throughout the woods converged on them from all directions like sharks that smelled blood.

This was not an isolated incident, but an organized interception.

Small groups of berserker demons charged from the flanks, wielding giant axes. From the treetops, winged demons and other winged monsters swarmed down like locusts, hurling corrosive liquid or emitting piercing mental shrieks.

"Don't stop, don't linger, clear a path! Use grenades to blast a way through for me!"

"Little Knife stabs buttocks!" he roared.

Under his orders, the Tiger Overlord players started throwing their explosives around like they were free.

Hand grenades with wooden handles, explosive charges... all sorts of explosives with a rugged industrial style bloomed among the demons, and severed limbs and charred dirt flew everywhere.

Players charged forward, braving the shockwaves of the explosion, wielding swords, axes, and even carrying tiger-shaped cannons. They fired as they ran, unleashing a fan-shaped barrage of bullets that tore a gap in the demons' encirclement like a giant wedge.

The players' breakout was fierce, but it was clear that the demons' preparations went far beyond that.

After they rushed to a clearing on the outskirts of the woods, the demons' "farewell ceremony" escalated.

Several enormous trolls, like moving mountains of flesh, blocked their path, surrounded by a group of horned demons wielding rough bone shields.

These trolls roared and hurled the rounded boulders around them like baseballs.

"Scatter and avoid them!"

Someone shouted a desperate reminder.

Huge boulders crashed down with a whooshing sound, creating deep craters in the ground, and shards of rock flew everywhere like shrapnel.

Several players who couldn't dodge in time were smashed into a bloody pulp on the spot, or were hit by rubble and bled profusely.

"Damn it, aim for the legs of those big guys and rip their legs off!"

The dagger stabbed the troll in the buttocks, picked up a large-caliber musket, and fired a shot at the troll's knee.

Other ranged players also threw arrows, bullets, and even siege spears at them.

The battle became exceptionally fierce.

Players could no longer rush through as they had before; they had to stop and confront this demonic force, which was clearly there to delay them.

However, the players were ultimately more skilled. They wiped out all the trolls in just five minutes, but at a great cost, with more than thirty people dying.

After defeating the trolls and horned demons, and with the outline of Mooncrown City just ahead, the ground beneath the players' feet suddenly churned violently.

"Be careful underground!"

Amidst gasps of alarm, several enormous, worm-like burrowing demons burst forth from the earth, opening their massive jaws filled with rings of sharp teeth. They instantly swallowed several players who had charged ahead, and before the players could retaliate, they retreated back into the ground, leaving behind empty holes!

These demons did not engage in direct combat; instead, they constantly emerged, devoured, and retreated, greatly slowing down the advance of the group.

"Go around them, ignore them, and use all the mines we brought!"

The knife stabbing my butt is roaring.

They don't care whether the elves live or die, but the World Tree is the main quest, and it can't just fall like that.

"Damn it, these long-eared creatures are such useless trash. They have magic but can't even last one night. I thought they were so awesome because they looked so arrogant before!"

(End of this chapter)