Sylvanas’ bribe wasn’t successful, as her bribe of one million Renminbi was too high to be believable.

The members of the Pioneer Alliance started attacking the Stronghold that was holding Sylvanas.

Sylvanas heard the explosions and occasional footsteps outside.

As the Stronghold was far from the Revival Point in Eternal Kingdom, the members of Changan City weren’t able to replenish their dead members.

If the members were killed in battle, there was no chance of rejoining the battle since they had to pass through the Sighing Wilderness and walk through a long tunnel. If they didn’t travel in a group, they could be killed by Underground Spiders and Dire Wolves.

This was advantageous to the members of the Pioneer Alliance.

At the forest Stronghold, as the Revival Point was nearby and the way to the Stronghold was relatively safe, both Changan City and the Pioneer Alliance were able to replenish their dead members quickly.

That was why the forest battle lasted for a long time.

NotWearingPants led his members in a fierce attack against the Changan City Stronghold. They used Bladder Bombs and new weapons that were designed by Hemp Rope Technology, such as the Rune Mana Bombs.

It was a Bladder Bomb that had a Rune Mana enchantment. The enchantment increased the power of the explosion and allowed delayed detonation.

The power of the new bomb was a few times stronger than the original Bladder Bomb, but the cost was much higher. A Rune Mana Formation was required, and it required Mana materials to create.

Even rich gamers like Arthur, BurningChestHair, and Sylvanas didn’t have much money to create such Rune Mana Bombs.

Their only stock of Rune Mana Bombs was used to bomb the Changan City Stronghold at the Sighing Wilderness to rescue Sylvanas.

The walls of the Stronghold weren’t able to withstand the bombs of the Pioneer Alliance and were destroyed within seconds.

NotWearingPants led his members into the Stronghold and killed the Changan City members.

The members of the Pioneer Alliance were all First Beta Gamers.

Their equipment and combat experience were superior to the Changan City members. The elite Pioneer Alliance members charged into the Stronghold and demolished the defenses of the Changan City members.

When NotWearingPants thought he had won, he heard battle cries coming from outside the Stronghold.

NotWearingPants didn’t know what happened, but the members of the Pioneer Alliance behind took a look.

“They’re from other Guilds. Changan City and the other Guilds formed an alliance!” someone yelled.

NotWearingPants was surprised that Changan City had used this tactic, but he could only brace against the incoming attack. They couldn’t escape or retreat.

The battle that he was sure of winning had become a precarious situation.

“If we fail, prepare to execute Plan B!”

Plan B was to kill Sylvanas before they committed suicide. They might lose equipment, but if they weren’t imprisoned, the loss of equipment wasn’t a huge problem.

…

The tied Dragonborn was dragged by a Fairy. Beside him was Tomato, who was also tied up.

The Fairies didn’t make things difficult for the two Forest Wolves since they weren’t enemies of the Fairies. The Fairies only captured the Humans. Even the young Wyvern was released. The young Wyvern had no intention of leaving and followed Dragonborn throughout the journey. The two Forest Wolves also followed the contingent at a distance and didn’t make any rash moves.

Dragonborn walked behind the Fairies for a long time. The Fairies were familiar with the forest, going left and right as they traveled in the forest.

The Fairies chatted while walking. However, Dragonborn was unable to understand their language.

He could guess that they were discussing him and Tomato, as well as the Magicians and mercenaries that they had killed.

“Mentor, where are these Fairies taking us?” Dragonborn asked Tomato, who was walking behind.

A Fairy flapped his wings and moved over to Dragonborn. He slapped Dragonborn’s head and said, “Don’t talk, Human. You’ve broken the agreement and intruded into our territory. We’re taking you to stand trial.”

Trial? It wasn’t a nice word considering such trials always ended in a death sentence.

Dragonborn hoped that his Strange Encounter Mission wouldn’t end this way.

It was highly possible for Dragonborn to be killed this way. If he continued and learned Tomato’s assassination skill, then the other gamers had no way of surviving Dragonborn’s attack. Even if Arthur had powerful equipment and combat skills, it was of no use against Tomato.

Currently, there was a balance in the game. Whether they were rich or poor, the gamers depended on their combat strength during a PK. Even though equipment could help, it was quite limited. If he learned such an assassination skill, equipment would have no effect against him. The game wouldn’t allow him to obtain such a good bonus. It would be very unfair to other gamers. If there was no balance in the game and he could fight against ten gamers, the other gamers wouldn’t enjoy the game, and that would be fatal for the game.

That would also mean that Tomato could die or be separated from him. Dragonborn felt sad since he hadn’t learned the assassination skill.

Perhaps he would have other missions that allowed him to meet with Tomato.

Tomato pondered. He saw that Dragonborn was also deep in thought and was pleased with him. Though they hadn’t been together for a long time, Dragonborn’s willpower and training progress were excellent. He was happy that Dragonborn was composed, but he would never know that Dragonborn’s mind was in turmoil.

Tomato also considered escaping. However, there were too many Fairies. There were even Fairies on the tree branches.

If he made any strange moves, the Fairies would spit saliva at him. His brain would be penetrated, and he wouldn’t have any chance to resist. The Fairies were led to them due to the battle with the Magicians and mercenaries. He had set up a barrier around his small house, so the Fairies shouldn’t have felt any Mana ripples.

After hearing about the trial, Tomato became very grave.

As a Human, he didn’t want to go through a trial because his life would be decided by a plant that was the symbol of the world’s Mana focus point.

Yggdrasill was the Fairies’ homeland.

As they advanced deeper into the forest, the surroundings became different. There were more Fairies appearing in the dense forest, and there were treehouses on the tree branches.

This was the Living Quarters of the Fairies.

Dragonborn noticed a great tree that was like a huge building. Dragonborn was like a small ant in comparison. The leaves were lush, and the branches were thick. The foliage looked like a huge umbrella that covered the sky.

That was Yggdrasill, which the Fairies depended on for survival.

The Fairies were busy moving around. Some Fairies set up shops with signboards on the branches, while some Fairies poured dirty water from wooden basins down from the tree. The Fairies below would lift up their heads and complain in anger.

The scene was full of life.

However, something was amiss. Should the Fairies not be different from the mortal Elves?

Recalling the actions of the Elf gamers, they weren’t different from the mortals in this world.

Dragonborn knew about Yggdrasill from many movies and animes, but this was the first time that he saw a real Yggdrasill. The physics engine of the game created ultra-realistic sensations. The awe-inspiring feeling couldn’t be described using language.

They were brought to the foot of Yggdrasill, where an elderly Fairy waited.

“Are they the intruders? I remember there being more intruders,” the elderly Fairy said, looking at Dragonborn and Tomato.

“Elder, the rest are dead. When we arrived, the rest of them weren’t breathing,” replied a Fairy who brought Dragonborn and Tomato to the Yggdrasill.

The eyes of the elderly Fairy lit up. He adjusted his brows and said to both of them, “So, both of you protected our great forest. Though your violence towards the intruders was excessive, I’d like to express my gratitude…”

The elderly Fairy walked over to them. He wanted to grab and shake Dragonborn’s hand.

Dragonborn felt that the elderly Fairy might be teasing him, but the elderly Fairy was serious, so Dragonborn couldn’t tell his thoughts to the elderly Fairy.

The elderly Fairy was earnest. That was what Dragonborn thought when the elderly Fairy was about to grasp his hand.

Another embarrassed Fairy walked to the elderly Fairy and lifted his hand to cover his mouth as he whispered to the elderly Fairy.

The elderly Fairy looked shocked. Then he looked gravely at Dragonborn and Tomato as he said, “So it was a rebellion by both of you. Yggdrasill was furious about your intrusion.”

The elderly Fairy walked towards Yggdrasill and said, “Your fate won’t be decided by us. You will stand trial before Yggdrasill. Let’s see if you’ll be punished.”

The Fairies pushed Dragonborn in front of Yggdrasill before shoving him towards it.

Dragonborn’s back leaned against Yggdrasill. When he touched the tree branch of Yggdrasill, vines wrapped around Dragonborn and tied him up in the tree.

The Fairies looked curiously at the tied Dragonborn. It was their first time witnessing a trial of an intruder by Yggdrasill.

“Ah, Great Yggdrasill, we pray for your miracles. We hope you can give a trial to the sinful Humans. Please show us the way!” the elderly Fairy raised up his hands and shouted.

Yggdrasill didn’t respond. Dragonborn felt the vines around him draining his Mana.

The draining wasn’t rapid, but Dragonborn felt his Mana flowing towards Yggdrasill.

Yggdrasill only drained a little bit of Mana before stopping. Then the vines wrapped around Dragonborn were released.

Dragonborn didn’t know what happened. He saw the befuddled expressions of the surrounding Fairies. It was the first time that the elderly Fairy encountered such a situation, so he was dumbfounded as well. However, he coughed twice and said to all of the Fairies, “Yggdrasill doesn’t think that the two Humans deserve the death penalty, but I can hear the words of Yggdrasill. They are spared the death sentence, but they can’t escape punishment. I sentence the Humans to work for our community for 100 years!”

The surrounding Fairies applauded and cheered loudly. They were very satisfied with the sentence.

“Wait, what is the meaning of working for 100 years?”

Dragonborn was taken aback as he looked at the Fairies. Tomato sighed and said, “It means that we work for the Fairies for 100 years.”

…

At the Merchant Alliance’s manor that was located far away in the Underworld.

Sherlock learned from the black muddy monster that the Ancient Gods army intended to revive Michelangelo. He was pondering his next move in his room when he suddenly felt his Mana being drained by a huge pool of Mana in a faraway land. Though it was only for a short period of time, the capacity of the Mana source gave Sherlock a fright.

“Bru, check the conditions of the gamers. Tell me what they are doing,” Sherlock ordered Bru.

“Please wait a while, Lord Sherlock.”

Bru replied quickly and became silent. Before long, he said to Sherlock, “Changan City, the Pioneer Alliance, and other small to medium-sized Guilds are battling at two different locations. The gamers have good imaginations. They actually captured their opponent and imprisoned her in a cage. They made sure the prisoner didn’t die in order to destroy her gaming experience. They are so talented at creating new gameplay.”

“At Victoria City, Lancelot and Guinevere are leading a small contingent of gamers to the York Territory. They will arrive at the boundary in about two days. Before long, the gamers of Victoria City will launch an attack on the Duke of York. It will be an exciting battle. They are carrying out the first step of Lord Sherlock’s conquest of the world,” Bru said. Suddenly, he was astonished.

Bru spoke excitedly, “Wait a moment, Lord Sherlock. I noticed a strange phenomenon happening to a gamer…”

“That gamer seems to be in the vicinity of Yggdrasill!”