Deep within the heart of the elven forest, numerous small green energies of life continuously pulsed like flickering butterflies as these tiny orbs of light aimlessly drifted through the air.
And wherever these ‘butterflies’ went by, any withering branches within that area would immediately sprout new leaves, as vibrant green grass broke through the surface of the ground.
Due to Eve’s divine power, the landscape had transformed into a lush, spring-like paradise, with flowers blooming abundantly, even though it was already late autumn.
Evé stood at the center of this verdant expanse, encircled by a sea of vibrant greenery and resplendent flowers, much like a reigning monarch.
Radiant light constantly emanated from her body, and her appearance had reverted back to her original form.
Instead of the full black armor Zero had worn, she now wore her iconic divine regal dress that’s adorned with floral patterns which exudes profound purity.
The supreme divine crown atop her head which symbolized her authority over life, nature, and spirits, graced her countenance with regal sanctity.
Her platinum hair cascaded all the way down to her waist, and her bright amethyst eyes still shimmered with dazzling majesty.
However, in comparison to before, a slightly eerie blemish now somewhat marred her usually pristine appearance…specifically, the skull-shaped mark placed at the center of her forehead.
Nonetheless, despite the ominous symbol, all the flora and trees within the vicinity still paid homage to her as if greeting their sovereign.
However, Evé paid no heed to them and simply gazed in a particular direction with a solemn expression.
She tried to directly called out his name moments ago, yet her words did not immediately yield any results.
Seconds turned to minutes as Evé slightly tilted her head and her lips formed a curt, amused smile.
“Did you think you could really hide from me? Don’t forget, this land is my domain.”
Evé declared with a voice brimming with unwavering certainty, a hint of playful teasing, and boundless confidence.
After uttering those words, the surroundings then swiftly began to change.
In the direction at which Evé was looking at, the originally green plants were suddenly covered with layers of frost!
A cold aura then spread moments afterwards, causing the thriving plants in the vicinity to wither under the shroud of cold breath.
Out of thin air, a void suddenly manifested, and a tall figure slowly materialized from it while being accompanied by a radiant silver light.
He stood nearly three meters tall, and swathed in a resplendent silvery leather coat that shimmered in the moonlight. Atop his head, a magnificent thorned crown rested like a symbol of his untamed frost power.
With a formidable physique and rugged features that seemed to have weathered countless battles, there was a hint of wariness within his gaze as his eyes locked onto Evé.
Evé raised an eyebrow slightly.
This individual’s appearance was something she had seen countless times in the World Tree’s inheritance!
The God of Hunt and Winter—Uller!
This patron deity of the half-orcs, had actually intervened personally.
In fact, Evé had already guessed that this arch-nemesis of hers’ would not only send mere legendary-rank experts when she learned that Uller had planned to use a divine artifact to seal her powers.
It is often said that, Demigods and above cannot directly intervene in war of faith…
What a joke.
Such ruling is only applicable during times of peace!
The mana reserve in Saigües has once again shown signs of recovering after a thousand years of drought.
Therefore, as a result, those long-slumbering ancient beings will inevitably awaken one after another, and those experts who have been stuck in their rank advancement for a long time will undoubtedly also soon break through their bottlenecks!
The Covenant was enacted to preserve the peace within the mortal realm but everyone knew that Saigües is about to experience a radical change!
In this case, can Uller truly resist the urge to dispatch his most powerful minions when even Evé herself couldn’t resist intervening covertly?
Can Uller, who was inherently impulsive and unwavering in his obsession towards acquiring the Divinity of Life and Nature really deny his greed and obediently follow the covenant?
Evé clearly didn’t think so.
Furthermore, Uller knew that she has the strength of a True God. And True Gods cannot be easily be captured by those of lower ranking such as legendaries or below…
So, ultimately, dispatching only three legendary totem guardians and merely sealing her powers wasn’t the full entirety of Uller’s plan.
Henceforth, in order to successfully subdue her and obtain her divinity, Uller will undoubtedly use some of his higher-ranking minions covertly, while those three legendary totem guardians, as well as the Half-Orc army, are merely being used as cannon fodder to enact the initial stages of his plan.
And according to Eve’s speculation, Uller would likely send one of his remaining two Demigod envoys.
Or perhaps… both Demigods would come together!
In fact, back at the moment when her incarnation was sealed by the Withering Heart, Evé had already faintly sensed a formidable presence hiding somewhere within the enemy forces.
The Chief Shaman who offered herself was just a precursor…
And the true manipulator of the Withering Heart was this hidden individual and the mastermind behind this entire operation!
Initially, Evé believed it was a hidden demigod.
However, she hadn’t expected that it would actually be Uller himself!
When Evé lured the three totem guardians deep into the Elven Forest, manifested her domain, and directly “saw” the figure that came out of the void, even she was astonished.
It was only thanks to her self-control and diverting her attention towards the skull mark, that she resisted the impulse to attack instantly right there on the spot.
Of course, the interdimensional passage between realms hadn’t been fully opened yet and this tall figure right in front of her was just one of Uller’s incarnations.
Due to Saigües lacking in mana, true gods often needs to split their divine essence apart just to create incarnations of themselves so that they can walk within the mortal realm.
For the most part, a deity’s true self would mostly remain within the confines of the heavenly realm and would not even take half a step outside unless it were a real life-and-death crisis.
Some deities even rarely use their real bodies and let it simply slumber in heavenly realm and mainly use their incarnations instead as their primary body for interaction.
The strength of incarnations may vary, but generally speaking, incarnations utilized by true gods possess a minimum level of power equivalent to that of demigods.
Even at the demigod level, true god incarnations are stronger than regular demigods.
The Hunter God is the same in this regard and his current appearance was that of an incarnation with a substantial reservoir of divine power!
Realizing this, Evé looked at him with a curt smile.
However, when Uller met her eyes, his expression showed slight bewilderment.
“Yggdrasill… it’s you? You’re not dead…?”
His voice was deep and rugged, filled with uncontrollable surprise and even a hint of fear, despite his efforts to suppress it.
Though he was doing his best to control it, Evé could still sense his apprehension.
“I should have known… to gather the elves so quickly…and to gain control over the divinity of life and nature so quickly… aside from you, who else could have done it…”
“N-No… wait, perhaps those strange elves were created by you…indeed, only you and Hela could’ve made an undying army!”
Uller’s expression was one of anger.
Hela?
Evé was slightly startled.
I’m not taking the blame for this one.
She muttered to herself within her mind.
Then, she turned her attention back to Uller and Evé expression gradually took on an amused look.
“Since you’re already here, don’t leave just yet. I shall devour this incarnation of yours without any courtesy.”
When an incantation passes through the interdimensional passage, their memories are also cut off from their true selves…
Thus, only when an incarnation returns to its true self will the main body regain the memories of the incarnation.
That’s why, whether to preserve her own secrets or to consume the divine power within Uller’s incarnation, Eve was determined to hold onto him!
Hearing Eve’s words, Uller’s expression showed a trace of anger.
“Hmph! I never thought you, who once been revered by the gods, would fall this low! Do you think I’m the same as I was two thousand years ago!?”
With that, his body suddenly shimmered with silver light, and a thunderous divine axe appeared in his hand.
He roared and swung the divine axe towards Eve…
The formidable power of a demigod condensed within the divine axe, forming a devastating energy storm that struck Eve in an instant!
In an instant, the world changed its colors!
However, Evé in response just nonchalantly uttered a single word:
【Vanish】
With this seemingly single word, Uller’s previously terrifying energy transformed into nothingness in an instant!
However, just as Eve was neutralizing Uller’s attack, this temperamental God of Winter and Hunt suddenly took advantage of a moment when Evé was distracted and—
—swiftly turned around and sprinted away.
At that moment, Evé was left completely bewildered by this unexpected scenario.
— 251 —
【 Uller follows his Heart 】
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