God-Tier Extraction Talent: Reincarnated in a Game-like World!

Chapter 659: You Want to Get In? Then I’ll Let You In [2]

At the mention of that name, Edgar’s expression visibly changed.

He took a deep breath and said, “She’s fine.”

“Just fine?”

Gabriel quickly caught the problem.

Edgar was silent for half a second before he started speaking again. “The Sacred Tree responded to her.”

Matthew abruptly raised his head.

Although he had already heard about it once from the patrolling elves, receiving direct confirmation from Edgar still left him unable to remain calm.

Gabriel merely asked, “To what extent?”

“The natural mana throughout the core region is gathering toward her location. The Sacred Tree’s roots voluntarily formed a path in front of her, and…”

Edgar paused.

“She said her consciousness traveled along the underground roots and reached deeper into the World Tree, where she saw its true condition. Large numbers of leaves are losing their luster, and some of the roots have even turned grayish black.”

A subtle change finally appeared in Gabriel’s eyes.

Whatever was hidden within Sophie’s body was clearly more complicated than he had initially judged.

He had long known that Sophie had once come into contact with a still living fragment of the World Tree beneath the royal capital. That fragment had reacted to the vermilion bloodline within her before ultimately merging with her body and bloodline, establishing a connection between Sophie and the World Tree that far exceeded that of an ordinary person.

But now, it seemed the connection between Sophie and the World Tree might not have truly begun with that fusion.

It was far more likely that some bloodline that had existed within her since before her birth was the true reason that fragment of the World Tree had willingly accepted her.

Even in his previous life, all that many top players knew regarding Sophie’s true birth and bloodline origins were scattered rumors.

Now, it seemed everything might have begun before she was even born.

“Is Aelira preparing to tell her the truth?”

“She was originally preparing to take her to meet that woman.”

Edgar replied, “But this sudden attack interrupted them. For now, Sophie can only remain in the safe zone. They’ll continue once the current situation has been dealt with.”

Gabriel nodded. This really was not the time to stand around discussing secrets from many years ago.

Just then, another explosion suddenly came from the distance.

Boom!

This time, the sound was much clearer than before.

Immediately afterward, a pale green beam of light shot into the sky.

Edgar turned and glanced toward it.

“A distress signal from the Fifth Outpost Sector.”

“Is the situation serious?”

“Eight hundred was only the initial estimate.” Edgar’s voice gradually became solemn. “There are at least fourteen hundred now, and among them are large numbers of goblins wearing human standard armor. There are even special units capable of operating magic ballistae.”

Gabriel smiled. Equipment, mana crystals, potions, and now even magic ballistae.

The Chain of Veylor and the Holy Church had clearly invested a massive amount of resources into this war.

But to Gabriel, better equipment on the enemy did not necessarily mean greater trouble.

Quite the opposite. The more resources they committed, the more it proved that they truly intended to enter the Sacred Forest’s core tonight.

Otherwise, there would have been no reason to expose so many hidden methods at once.

“Edgar.”

“Hmm?”

“How many routes are there in the Sacred Forest that can bypass the outer outposts and enter the core region?”

Edgar narrowed his eyes slightly.

“Under normal circumstances, none.”

“I’m not asking about normal circumstances.”

The two stared at each other for several seconds before Edgar finally spoke.

“Three.”

Several nearby elves turned toward him simultaneously. Clearly, even they had not known these routes existed.

Edgar did not explain. He simply continued.

“The first is an underground root passage. It was originally constructed to evacuate our people during massive forest fires or barrier collapses. Only those with elder level authority know the location of its entrance.”

“The second is beneath an ancient altar in the northwest. There used to be an old passage beneath that altar connecting the inner forest to the outer root region of the World Tree. But several decades ago, root corruption appeared in that area, so both the altar and the passage were sealed. Ordinary elves never approach it.”

“As for the third…” At this point, Edgar’s expression visibly worsened.

“It lies directly beneath the World Tree’s core region. It’s an extremely ancient passage, older even than the current elven settlement.”

Edgar said solemnly, “No one knows what it was originally built for. Later, as the World Tree’s roots continued growing, most of the passage was completely sealed. In theory, it should be impossible to pass through now.”

“In theory.” Gabriel repeated those two words.

Edgar gave a bitter smile. He already knew what Gabriel was thinking.

Gabriel looked toward Matthew on his shoulder.

“Does the Holy Church know about these routes?”

“No.” Matthew answered almost without hesitation. But the moment the word left his mouth, his expression gradually became ugly.

He had clearly realized that he had answered too quickly, so he said, “I really don’t know.”

“Then that means someone does.” Gabriel’s eyes flashed.

Killing intent instantly appeared in Edgar’s eyes as he connected the dots.

“An elf leaked the information?”

“Not necessarily.” Gabriel shook his head.

“They might not need an elf to tell them.”

How long had the Holy Church existed?

How long had the World Tree existed?

If this forest had already been connected to certain gods, churches, or even more ancient forces long before the current generation of elves established their settlement here, then it was hardly impossible for the Holy Church to possess knowledge of routes that even modern elves had forgotten.

Especially when the World Tree Sophie had just seen was already losing the luster of many of its leaves, with even portions of its roots turning grayish black.

Gabriel narrowed his eyes slightly.

“Where is the ancient altar in the northwest?”

Edgar immediately understood. “You suspect that place?”

“It’s the most likely.” Gabriel said, “Of the three routes, the underground root passage requires elder level authority within the elven race. We can’t completely rule it out, but it would be inconvenient for outsiders. The ancient passage leading directly beneath the World Tree’s core is far too dangerous, and most of it has already been sealed by the roots.”

“Only the ancient altar in the northwest has been abandoned by your people for decades. Ordinary elves never approach it, and an old passage leading into the inner forest still exists beneath it. For outsiders who prepared in advance, it’s obviously the most suitable entrance.”

At this point, he looked into the distance again.

“Besides…”