Chapter 247. Golden Sap Forest Aftermath. Liu Shu's Ridiculous Harvest.

Liu Shu was currently waiting for Flor and the others to return and inform her of the battle situation. She wasn't very nervous even when she didn't know what was happening. The main reason for that is that her Aether Mana consumption was relatively stable. This meant that none of her serpents had died.

Looking at the numbers going up and down, Liu Shu decided to check her surroundings. During the battle in her forest, many things had been destroyed. While the trees in the Golden Sap Forest had become much more resilient and healthy thanks to her skills and presence, the combat was between several <Second Energy Cycles>. Moreover, with her own bombardment of the area, many trees had been heavily injured by her own attacks.

'Hm… How is everyone doing over there~?'

Several hundreds of voices reached her right after. 

'Hurt…'

'Branches have fallen…'

'My trunk has burned…'

'Cousin has died…'

Liu Shu commented. 'Okay, okay. I know that it hurts, but you need to be stronger! Try to spread your roots and plant your seeds where others have died! Repeat after me! We! Are! One!'

Those hundreds of voices suddenly coordinated and spoke as one. 'We… Are… One…'

Liu Shu giggled. 'Wow! That sounded super creepy! If you all learn to speak to intelligent people, crossing this forest will be maddening… literally.'

While Liu Shu was laughing, if a normal creature had received all those messages at once, they would've probably had a stroke as their brains would've shut down from overstimulation.

Liu Shu just found it interesting and moved on. She looked over toward Tree. Seeing the gorgeous Willow tree safe and sound, Liu Shu felt a sense of peace and comfort. She asked softly. 'How are you doing, Tree?'

Tree's slow voice reached her, sounding relaxed and happy. 'I am doing fine… How are you, Liu Shu…?'

Liu Shu answered Tree happily. 'I'm doing great! My Aether Mana is starting to run out, though… I hope they can deal with it before my summons are forced back.'

Tree's voice reached her, sounding slightly worried. 'Don't push yourself… You need to put your own safety first…'

Hearing those words made Liu Shu feel happy. 'Oh! By the way, Tree. I never really asked, but how old are you?'

The Willow Tree didn't answer straight away. After a few minutes of thinking, she said. 'Many years… Many winters…'

Liu Shu hummed. 'I see… No wonder you sound more clever than those trees in the surroundings.'

Liu Shu then focused on the area where the most destruction happened and saw Ignatia standing in the middle of the battlefield, looking around while caressing the corpses of the ants in the surroundings.

Her gestures were gentle as if she were walking in a sacred place. Her face didn't show any negative emotions; it was calm and accepting. She would pause occasionally when she recognized a high-level ant and gently leaned forward to kiss their heads.

Liu Shu couldn't help but observe her movements in a heavy silence. After a few moments, she spoke to her in her normal voice, which she only revealed to those close to her: "Thank you."

Liu Shu didn't apologize. She had done what she did with Ignatia's approval. The sacrifice of the ants allowed them to entrap the enemies in a close area and bombard them, killing thousands. Without the ants using their bodies as barriers, the large army would've dispersed across the forest and attacked the city after crossing the forest. Her defensive measures would be much less useful, which would've limited her ability to send the serpents as reinforcements in the first place.

The primary reason Liu Shu's side won this war was, without a doubt, the ant's sacrifice. 

Ignatia heard Liu Shu's ethereally gentle and profound voice, and her lips arched. She spoke softly. "You are welcome, love."

Liu Shu remembered a song that Ignatia had once sung to her, and she started humming it. It was similar to a lullaby, with a slow and gentle tone that relaxed the soul. Ignatia paused and looked around her when she heard Liu Shu's humm. The humm came from everywhere, making it sound ethereal and straight out of a fable. 

It sounded like the forest was singing for the ants. It was as if the forest was thanking them for their sacrifice and wishing them a peaceful, eternal rest.

Ignatia smiled and continued walking around the battlefield, looking at the battlefield with Liu Shu's hum in the background. "This scene is very familiar for us, Ant Queens." Ignatia started speaking. "As ants, our main strength is our numbers. Our ability to overwhelm our enemies with a wave of beings that they just can't defeat fast enough before they are swallowed." 

Ignatia looked at one of the biggest ants around and recognized her as the ant that guarded her against Wert the day they first met. This one was her highest-level ant and her oldest child other than Solaria. "You fought really well. I saw how you held back Elowen for almost an entire minute just by yourself. Many little ones will live thanks to you."

Liu Shu's roots started surfacing and surrounding all the ants. Ignatia saw it and nodded. "Now, my children. Rest and become nourishment for the… no, for our forest. For this place we now call our nest, our home."

The earth slowly shifted while the roots dragged all the ants underground. Ignatia noticed how Liu Shu didn't do the same with the other corpses. Instead, the roots were moving them away to bury those people in another place. It was as if no other corpse was worthy of nourishing this place other than them. 

[Congratulations! You've gained the title <One With The Forest>!]

Ignatia looked at that title and tilted her head. 'What's this?'

<One With The Forest>: Your race's unwavering determination to protect the forest has increased your affinity with nature. From now on, your children have a chance to be born with one or various of the World Tree's attributes you unhesitantly decided to sacrifice for. 

Egg-laying efficiency +30%

All ants that descend from you will have a 50% increase in Experience Point gain until your previous <Energy Cycle> (Currently until Level 0).

Ignatia was dazed for a long time after reading that title. Strong would not make it justice. For example, the egg-laying efficiency alone would allow her to increase her egg-laying speed and production while reducing the resources she needed to produce them and the time they needed to hatch by thirty percent.

While it said thirty percent more, it was much more than that. Then, the second part of the title was even crazier. Currently, it did nothing. However, when Ignatia reached Level 25, that would change to Level 10, and when she reached the next major <Energy Cycle>, the effect would last until Level 25!

Don't forget Ignatia's <Born To Rule> and <World Tree Ant Queen> titles! They all buffed the ants' growth. Writing all three titles with just the effects would look like this.

<Born To Rule>: All ants under your rule receive a 10% Stat boost and Experience Point gain.

<World Tree Ant Queen>: There is a 5% chance for your children to <Tier Up> at birth. 

10% Stat boost while fighting in an area dominated by the World Tree (Tianlian Liu Shu). 

+10% Growth rate for all your children. +20% Lifespan for all your children and yourself. 

<One With The Forest>: Egg-laying efficiency +30%. All ants that descend from you will have a 50% increase in Experience Point gain until your previous <Energy Cycle> (Currently until Level 0).

In short, when Ignatia reached Level 25, her children would earn an extra 70% Experience Points until Level 10 and 20% afterward. Moreover, they would all have Fire Affinity thanks to Ignatia's <Fire Aether Body> title and an extra one that Liu Shu possessed due to the newly acquired <One With The Forest> title. 

Ignatia laughed and shook her head. "If my predecessors knew that loving a World Tree would result in these kinds of things, they would've probably been mommy number one to a World Tree in the past."

"No!" Liu Shu stopped humming and protested. Ignatia tilted her head, confused. "Huh?"

Liu Shu said with a pouting tone. "If you knew, you would've tried to find another World Tree instead of choosing me!"

Ignatia paused and then burst into laughter. "Don't worry, darling. You are my biggest baby, okay? That won't ever change."

"Hehe~, good! That's how it should always be!" 

Ignatia looked around her and saw that the place had been cleaned. She asked. "Will the trees in this area grow differently?"

Liu Shu answered with a tone showing that she didn't care much about it. "Who knows? The trees might grow differently because of all the death and blood, but I am unsure. I hope they grow strongest in the forest, though."

Ignatia asked, confused. "Why do you want that?"

Liu Shu hummed. "If the trees in the north area are the strongest, armies won't dare come through there, so Tree will be safer!"

"Oh~!" Ignatia smiled. "That makes sense." Then, the Ant Queen looked at her system and commented. "I have gained quite a lot of Experience Points during this time. I will go to my nest and start laying eggs now. When I have enough to Level up to Level 25, I will do so. How about you? You've killed a few thousand people, so you might have enough Experience Points to Level up several times, no?"

Liu Shu looked at her messages and almost got dizzy. "Um… Many messages indeed. System, summarize it, and tell me how much experience I have gained!"

[You've eliminated 6541 beings during the war!]

'Huh?' Liu Shu read that message twice because she didn't really process the first one. 

[Calculating Experience Point reward for the killing of 6541 beings…]

[Congratulations! You've earned 463,251 Experience Points!]

'HUH!?'

Liu Shu looked at that number, absolutely baffled. 'H-How!? Explain, System!'

[You've eliminated around 2513 Ants. You've eliminated around 4028 enemy soldiers. Trees eliminated won't give you any Experience Points because they belong to your domain. After calculating each creature's Experience Points for being eliminated by you, you've gained a total of 463,251 Experience Points. Do you want to see the full list of System Messages?]

'NO!' If she saw more than 6000 messages telling her about Experience Points, she might as well use that time to laze around; it would be more productive!

Liu Shu looked at that number of Experience Points several times, not knowing what to do with it. Suddenly, she felt a few thousand creatures entering her perception range and noticed that it was Eila's army of several thousand. Liu Shu tensed as they circled around her forest.

They were close to her forest because they didn't want to deal with the <Dark Aether Swamp> creatures. Of course, Liu Shu didn't know that, and seeing her Aether Mana and Anima Energy about to drain out, she was a bit nervous. What if they suddenly attacked her? She probably would be unable to hold them back. Moreover, she was basically alone since she had sent most of her army to help Sirol City.

Thankfully for her, she felt the Serpents entering her detection range right after, making her exhale a sigh of relief. 'With them, I will be safe for a while.'

Of course, Liu Shu didn't have to worry since Eila and the others would eventually just circle around the Golden Sap Forest and return to Fortuna City. 

Flor's group arrived shortly after that, and Liu Shu was informed of everything that had happened.