Elf Kingdom: Game of the World Tree-Chapter 167 - 162: We’re Going to Get Rich!

Chapter 167: Chapter 162: We’re Going to Get Rich!

Hive mind, also referred to as swarm thinking or insect consciousness.

This kind of mind is a collective consciousness, frequently seen in various science fiction novels on Blue Star.

Creatures with hive minds are all group organisms.

In this group, each individual entity had its own thought consciousness, but their thought consciousness was not independent, sometimes even incomplete.

Above them, there was an even more powerful mind controlling them, like a monarch.

And the supreme mind that controlled the thought consciousness of all independent entities was the hive mind.

In many science fiction works about the Insect Race on Blue Star, the devouring Insect Race was considered a kind of swarm-thinking lifeform, and their supreme mind was their Insect Queen.

And when Eve examined the Earth Cave Spiders’ corpses, she also found some similar characteristics.

Unlike other independent creatures, these Earth Cave Spiders did not have complete souls; their souls were unformed. In the strictest sense, they were fundamentally unable to sustain the normal operation of a living body independently.

This indicated that above them, there was also another more powerful consciousness or soul controlling them.

And when these Earth Cave Spiders entered the Eve Divine Country, all their connections to the outside world were completely severed.

Relying only on their own incomplete souls, they could not survive normally.

So… after struggling for a moment, they naturally experienced soul collapse and death.

Moreover, when these Earth Cave Spiders struggled, Eve could even vaguely sense that some unknown being from afar seemed to be trying to emit some sort of thought signal to reconnect with them…

And the source of that signal was located in Rivendell!

However, it was quite clear the attempt could not break through the barrier of the Divine Country and ultimately failed.

“So, it seems… there truly was a more powerful existence behind these Earth Cave Spiders, or an individual. The consciousness I sensed at the last moment was probably it, somewhat similar to the Insect Queen!”

Eve’s heart stirred.

At this moment, she also understood why Black Dragon Mairrel was unwilling to help the players deal with the Earth Cave Spiders.

The scheming “Silver Dragon,” who had been freshly painted, must have known the secret of the Earth Cave Spiders.

She probably already knew that the giant spider of the silver rank was just a minion, and that behind them lay an entity that even the Little Black Dragon dared not provoke!

It seemed Mairrel was not foolish either.

“Spider Empress?”

Eve developed a slight interest.

If it was indeed as she analyzed, the Insect Queen commanding so many Earth Cave Spiders would undoubtedly be incredibly powerful…

At least… at the gold rank!

Eve sank into deep thought.

However, back to the topic, how did these Earth Cave Spiders end up in her Divine Country?

Hmm… right, she just received a player’s sacrificial request.

Sacri… sacrificial request.

Eve: …

She vaguely guessed what might have happened.

Thinking of this, Eve absorbed all the remaining life force from these Earth Cave Spiders and then delved into her consciousness to locate the player who had recently prayed, investing in their vision…

Soon, she saw the scene through Hu Lu’s eyes.

The entrance to the Underworld at Rivendell.

The deep caves of the Underworld had already become empty by now, with the subterranean scenery faintly visible further below and no Earth Cave Spider in sight…

Four players were gathered around a giant sacrificial array not far from the cave, their expressions filled with excitement.

“Damn! Lunchbox, it actually worked!”

“Oh my! We sacrificed a big one, and plus over a hundred minions, the system actually gave each of us 1000 contribution points!”

“Hahaha… Really sacrificed the boss, hahaha… So, this is also another way to play!”

“Amazing, from now on, when we encounter bosses we can’t defeat, let’s sacrifice them!”

“Hahaha, the Goddess’s sacrificial array is truly versatile!”

“Keep it low-key… low-key… this is our trump card from now on!”

“Hahaha! If we find any wild monsters we dislike, we’ll just sacrifice them to the Goddess!”

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“Don’t celebrate too soon! Not all living things might be sacrificable.”

“Hahaha, anyway… monsters we can’t defeat usually have good stuff on them, and if they have good stuff, the sacrificial array will definitely take them, what’s there to worry about?”

“Hmm… What you said seems to make sense!”

The players discussed excitedly as if discovering a new continent.

While hiding on the side, Nightingale was dumbfounded:

“They actually… actually succeeded in the sacrifice…”

“But wait… someone was killed by a spider! Aren’t you guys sad?”

She seemed disorganized.

“Miss Nighthawk, don’t worry. We’ll be resurrected. The one who died is likely in Chosen City now. Don’t believe me, look, is his body still there?”

“Hahaha, you’ll see him once you return to the town!”

Other players laughed and said.

Nightingale: …

She stood stunned, looked in the direction of the array, and found that the Elf Warrior’s body had indeed disappeared, leaving only a bloodstain…

“Gone… indeed.”

She spoke in shock.

“Wait… was he also sacrificed?”

The Elf Girl’s face suddenly turned pale.

“Hahaha! Impossible, the sacrificial array doesn’t consume players, someone tried it before.”

Other players responded.

Nightingale: …

However, soon, her face revealed confusion again, murmuring to herself:

“Those sacrificed spiders… are they really prime fertilizers? Does the Mother Goddess need fertilizer?”

Eve: …

Fertilizer? Seriously?

What bizarre knowledge have the players transmitted again?

She was utterly baffled.

Nevertheless, as she saw the giant sacrificial array on the ground, Eve also confirmed her suspicions.

Indeed, it was the players’ sacrifice!

She felt somewhat amused yet helpless.

Who would’ve thought, while Eve originally intended for believers to offer her the Divine Blood Crystal through the array, the players played it this way.

They actually sacrificed the monsters they were supposed to fight!

Should it be said that players were indeed beings accustomed to finding game glitches?

From initially giving scraps to now directly sacrificing monster bosses…

Wait… won’t they end up sacrificing living creatures every day now?

She imagined the scene of players tossing a bunch of living creatures into her Divine Country daily, running rampant across the Divine Country…

Eve: …

No, no, this loophole must be plugged.

Though creatures sacrificed to the Divine Country had their life and death controlled entirely by Eve, who could even extract all life force from the offerings, the risk was too great.

Because once this door was opened, the players would likely never cease.

In the future, upon encountering difficult enemies, they might scheme to sacrifice them…

If their sacrifice succeeded, it would be fine, and Eve would accept it gladly.

But if the sacrificial failed, exposing the sacrificial array to the enemy, and if the enemy happened to be Eve’s adversaries, her existence would be entirely exposed…

The sacrificial array worked on the True God itself; as the World Tree, Eve’s sacrificial array carried Her unique markings, recognizable by those in the know.

Moreover… such a cheat-like operation was not beneficial to the players’ growth, nor to Eve’s image among believers.

Accepting living sacrifices… that was something only an Evil God would do!

Generally speaking, newly ascended gods would not accept living sacrifices.

This was a demonstration of respect for life, a guideline among the True Gods on the Segis Continent since ancient times.

Otherwise, if everyone began practicing live sacrifices, the Segis World would have long plunged into chaos.

As Eve pondered, she already had an idea for a “patch.”

At this time, players continued their discussion.

“Wait… since that’s the case, how about we head back to that mine path? There are so many Earth Cave Spiders in the spider nest there… If we sacrificed them all… just imagine the contribution points we’d get!”

A player had an idea, turning attention to the underground nest.

Hearing him, the other players showed signs of readiness in their eyes.

Even Lunchbox’s eyes lit up.

Sacrificing a metal spider leg would only earn a measly 5 contribution points from the game system.

Typically, players would choose to deliver the spider legs to the elf NPCs.

Because as long as one helped in the forge, the Elf Blacksmith Carlos would agree to forge this kind of spider leg into a powerful arrow, which could then be sold to other archer players for 15-20 contribution points!

Even selling to Carlos himself, he would offer players 10 contribution points!

But… in that nest, there must be thousands of Earth Cave Spiders.

Ten thousand Earth Cave Spiders, with each spider having eight legs, sacrificing one leg would give 5 contribution points…

If they were all sacrificed, that was 400,000 contribution points!

Not to mention the higher contribution points from larger spiders’ legs, and the giant spiders’!

If all of them were drawn out and fully sacrificed…

Hmm…

That… That would be an unimaginable amount of contribution points!

Oh my… A full set of gold gear wouldn’t just be a dream!

“Damn! I feel we’re gonna strike it rich!”

All players came to their senses, filled with excitement and elation.

“Do we have enough paint for drawing the array?”

“There’s still plenty…”

Lunchbox clenched his fist, slapped his thigh, and made a decision:

“Let’s do this!”

After saying this, he turned to Nightingale:

“You head back first. It’s going to get dangerous, and we can’t bring you along.”

His tone was not open to discussion.

After speaking, he turned with the group, surging towards the underground mine path…

Watching Lunchbox and other Chosen Ones excitedly dashing towards the mine path, Nightingale was stunned.

She stomped angrily, cursing:

“This self-absorbed blockhead!”

Witnessing the players enthusiastically heading to the mine path, Eve felt a peculiar emotion.

“Did they discover the Earth Cave Spider nest?”

“They… still don’t know there’s a big guy behind these spiders, do they?”

To be something providing an awareness signal subtle enough for Eve to sense, it must be at least at the Gold Rank!

The Gold Rank was truly high rank!

And if it was a hive mind lifeform, it might also have thousands of little underlings.

In Eve’s view, these guys were just money-crazed.

Indeed, A bunch of players willing to risk anything for money…

Wait, they hardly feared death anyway.

Eve silently shook her head.

However, since Lunchbox discovered the Earth Cave Spiders’ nest and planned on continuing their reckless endeavors, she did not intend to stop them.

“This… might be an opportunity to bring forth the matriarch behind it.”

Eve readied herself to incarnate at any moment.

“If they truly manage to draw out the Earth Cave Spiders’ matriarch, offering me a chance for control, what’s wrong with rewarding them with some contribution points?”

Capturing the Spider Insect Queen behind their actions would allow Eve to command the entire Earth Cave Spider tribe.

And being a force entrenched in Rivendell for who knows how many years, those Earth Cave Spiders must be well-aware of the surroundings.

Not to mention, they were a substantial force!