The players were also puzzled as to why a non-human race had suddenly appeared, but after realizing that the person standing with the monster was Ed, they gradually relaxed their guard.
After all, Ed was the leader of the Second Holy See, their chief, and the Son of God in the game's lore. How could he possibly harm himself?
Ed looked around and asked a player who looked somewhat familiar:
"[ Lettuce Priest ], what is the current situation of the battle in Fir City?"
The player seemed to have been given a shot of adrenaline and immediately straightened up:
"Reporting to the Son of God, we have captured the area surrounding the tunnel exit and are currently engaged in fierce fighting with the Half-Tree Enemy forces."
Duma was somewhat surprised upon hearing this. It wasn't that he had never seen such a scene before; after all, he had received a similar reaction when he called out the name of a certain Goblin hundreds of years ago. What surprised him was that Ed, as a newly born Tree God, was actually given the title of " Son of God " by these humans, and Ed himself did not seem to object to it.
The demon fell into deep thought; the so-called " Son of God " must be a name for this incomplete state.
As Tree God that has not yet fully returned to its former glory, its current situation can indeed be described as " Son of God ".
No wonder when I addressed Ed as the Tree God, he replied, "That's too much to bear right now." So that's what the Tree God was thinking!
"Okay, take me with you."
Ed was satisfied with [ Lettuce Priest ]'s answer. After all, this was the first time Duma had met these players as an ally, so the occasion had to be a bit more formal.
If a Master were to appear at this moment, the other party's first impression of the Soul Returner might be greatly diminished.
[ Lettuce Priest ] began leading the way, while Ed became engrossed in the occasional serious fantasies of the Soul Returner, until player [ Chosen of the Four Gods ] jogged around to Ed's side and loudly asked in some dialect:
"Boss, where did you find such a huge sweet potato?"
Sweet potato? What sweet potato?
Ed glanced around and finally focused his gaze on Duma.
After Duma revealed his true form, he was about two meters tall, and because he had four arms, his shoulders were exceptionally broad.
He was following Ed with his hands hanging down, his whole body resembling a huge spindle-shaped object, and from a distance, he really did look somewhat like a freshly harvested sweet potato.
This nickname is somewhat similar to that of a certain "purple sweet potato spirit" from another world, but Ed wasn't quite sure what Duma thought of the title.
Duma seemed to realize that this was referring to him. [ The Chosen of the Four Gods ] hadn't turned off translation mode just now. Although "sweet potato" was a word simply spelled out in the Kingdom's language, it wasn't difficult for a demon to understand its meaning.
But the demon showed no displeasure; he patted his chest and said:
"My name is Duma, and I am currently responsible for protecting the Son of God's safety."
It turned out to be a bodyguard. Upon hearing this, the players nodded in agreement, saying that this bodyguard was indeed a very bodyguard-like figure.
They weren't particularly surprised by the new NPCs that appeared every now and then.
From the distant Seraphina who reappeared after a day of server downtime, to the Willow who suddenly appeared one day, to the Soldier Bee that could suddenly transport them into Fir City...
These NPCs always appear suddenly, sparking discussions among players. At this point, interested players will try to find out how these guys got to the Second Holy See, and then post their findings on the official website's forum.
If all of this is true, it might even be included in the encyclopedia.
It's a pity that very few of the NPCs' origins have been found so far, giving it the feel of a puzzle game with fragmented narrative.
Just then, a player from the back of the crowd suddenly said:
" Duma? I know that person well."
[ Mysterious Goblin ] said, pushing through the crowd, and looked up to see a tall, four-armed demon.
"No, it might just be a case of the same name."
The Mysterious Goblin paused for a moment, then left the crowd dejectedly.
Duma then waved his hand:
"It's me. Don't you recognize me just because I changed my form?"
The [ Mysterious Goblin ] showed a shocked expression again. He pointed at Duma, then at himself, silently asking if the other was talking to him.
Duma nodded in agreement.
The players are currently outside Fir City. Duma doesn't have a semi-transparent floating ID above his head, indicating that he isn't a player.
While in Fir City, Duma never seemed to reveal his ID.
Could it be that... he was never a player at all?
The Mysterious Goblin is lost in memories. What did Duma do in the past?
He burned down military camps, stole intelligence, fought against the Holy Crusaders, and roamed freely through Fir City at night...
Players can do these things, but can a giant sweet potato—no, a giant demon—do them?
It seems possible.
Furthermore, he has never openly admitted to being a player, so...
This giant sweet potato in front of me is really Duma!
I was actually discussing with [ Dark and Heavy Secret ] which language family the other person's ID came from, when in fact it turned out that this guy wasn't a player at all.
No wonder they couldn't type the ID "Duma " no matter how hard they tried...
Having figured everything out, the [ Mysterious Goblin ] was momentarily speechless.
He didn't tell anyone about meeting Duma, treating it as just normal contact with a player from a foreign server.
But now it seems that if I publicize this, the label of "low-IQ gamer" might stick with me forever.
After hesitating for a moment, he reluctantly greeted the demon and then disappeared into the crowd.
After the brief interlude, [ Lettuce Priest ] continued leading Ed forward, and the group soon arrived at the entrance to the tunnel outside the city.
After [ Zhong Lele ] suggested "one person, one shovel of soil", players would scrape some soil off the tunnel walls every time they entered or exited. At this point, the tunnel had become very spacious, and even Duma could stand upright inside. It could now be described as a "tunnel".
Ed, emerging from the cave, immediately saw a large number of half-tree beings locked in combat with the players. These half-tree beings had ferocious expressions on their faces, and their entire bodies had clearly become Tree Transformation.
This gives them immense power and extremely high defense, often requiring nearly ten players to work together skillfully to defeat a single half-tree.
In the middle of the battlefield, a player who had been knocked away turned around unintentionally and caught a glimpse of that distinctive white hair and the sapling in the eye socket.
A blush rose to his face, and he rolled to his feet, shouting:
"Brothers, the boss is here!!!"