Chapter 103. Flor and Human.

After seeing the powerful Sylvan fall, the place welcomed silence and the end of the battle. Only the sound of the moving structures returning to their original position was left, accompanied by the rapid breathing of many people. 

The battle could be said to be relatively controlled, and thanks to Liu Shu, the death toll was kept at an impressive 0. There were several creatures with grave injuries, but overall, nothing that Liu Shu's berries couldn't heal. 

The reason for the lack of deaths during the battle was simply Liu Shu's intervention and ability to keep the long-distance aether mana humans occupied. 

While the sub-level 10s were constantly keeping the shield bearers in place, Liu Shu was free to attack the backline with her perfect aim while controlling <Mother Of Thousand Flower Field>. 

The ones to suffer the most were the structures. After they came to life and started attacking, the humans naturally focused on them because they were so close by. 

This left three of the nearby houses in shambles while the soil had been filled with craters, burn marks, and other types of marks.

The wall suffered the worst, which they literally blasted open. Even though the damage didn't reach 15% of the town, it still made Liu Shu slightly sad. 'This will take a while to heal…'

The good thing about her structures was that when they were damaged, they didn't need extra materials to be rebuilt. Because they had become living beings under Liu Shu's domain, the structures could regenerate their damaged parts without problems, even the furniture inside; they just needed time.

Flor looked around and quickly spotted Amapola. She flew toward her and asked. "How are our losses?"

Amapola smiled, her face pale from exhaustion. "We… Haa… Managed to lose nobody." 

Flor's eyes flashed with surprise. "Really?" 

Amapola nodded a few times with a smile. "There are heavily injured people, but thanks to the Myconid leader bearing a large part of the strain, we were able to properly defend the injured before they were killed and use the berries to heal them." 

Flor sighed in relief. "That's good. These six months weren't in vain."

Amapola nodded. "We were able to bother the Level 10s a lot. Most of us also gained plenty of experience points from this battle." Amapola smiled. "I will probably be able to Level Up in a few weeks' time." 

Flor blinked. "Oh? You will be the second fairy reaching Level 10 after me, as expected of you, Amapola."

Amapola nodded with a large smile, even through her exhaustion.

Then, Flor looked at Liu Shu and flew over. "Liu Shu, how are you feeling?"

Liu Shu said with a pouting tone. 'Angry. Why did they attack me? They were also quite strong! If I were alone… They could've taken me down.'

Flor sighed and hugged the World Tree's trunk. "Right, right. Don't worry, Liu Shu. We are here to protect you at these times. Just grow stronger and become a better and sturdier World Tree. Expand your roots and get stronger." 

Liu Shu felt warmth from the tiny body of the Rose Fairy Queen. It was not a physical warmth but as if Flor's presence could envelop her in a sense of security. 

Ignatia's voice reached them. "Flor! The one without legs is waking up!"

Flor remembered. "Ah, right. Liu Shu, I have a few snacks that you will like!" Then, the Rose Fairy Queen flew and took both muscular legs, throwing them at the base of Liu Shu's trunk. "These are the legs of a Level 15! I am sure they are filled with nutrients." 

Liu Shu looked at the amputated legs with curiosity, and the roots in that area began moving. The earth around her shifted, and flexible and powerful roots coiled around the legs, dragging them underground and making them disappear from sight. 

Ignatia looked at that and chuckled. "That's quite creepy, isn't it?"

Cinderielle and Verdantia instantly denied it. Cinderielle protested. "How is that creepy! Isn't it endearing to see her roots wiggle around!?"

Verdantia nodded a few times. "Right, right. Moreover, Liu Shu's roots are so pretty and special. Her eating a few snacks is cute and adorable. There is nothing creepy about it!"

Ignatia looked at them with a deadpan and heard a groan from the man she was stepping on.

Looking down, she asked. "Hm? Good evening, human. How are you feeling?" 

The man opened his eyes and looked around, taking in the surroundings until the last detail. He could see the Earth Sylvan, filled with heavy injuries, lying on the ground a few meters away from him. 'Tsk, even they got captured? Useless. Wasn't the information we received from the Rose Fairies that the World Tree was Level 6?'

Ignatia commented. "Hey, thinking of ways to escape? I can tell you that it is impossible for you to go. Remember that you have no legs." 

The man snorted and said, trying to be firm. "Why didn't you kill me, monster? Are you going to feed me to your children? Regardless of what you do, barbaric creature, I will not yield."

However, because he was in a very sorry state and dirty, his attempt to look imposing only looked like a wounded animal trying to make themselves bigger and scare their predator.

Ignatia was stunned for a few moments and then burst into laughter. "You are the one who came here and tried to kill us all with no apparent reason at all. We are the barbaric ones? What about you?"

The human male looked at her coldly while twisting his neck and said coldly. "What is wrong with clearing a monster nest that has taken root around a World Tree? Rather than monsters taking advantage of it, it's better if humans do."

Verdantia hummed. "Oh? You say humans, not intelligent races."

The man looked sideways and looked at Verdantia with a frown. "Sylvan, what are you doing here, either way? Helping monsters goes against everything you were taught!"

Verdantia blinked. "I am here because of the World Tree. Why else? I want to-." Verdanita paused, remembering that they were in the hearing range of Liu Shu. "...Spend my time with her and become close. So, of course, I will help her whenever I can."

Liu Shu's voice spread around them. 'Hehehe. Thank you, Verdantia!'

Verdantia secretly wiped a bead of sweat. 'That was close. I almost blurted out my real intentions without a filter.'

The man was stunned when he heard Liu Shu's ethereal, gentle, and young voice. "The World Tree can speak already?" 

Liu Shu spoke with a condescending tone. 'Heh, of course I can. Did you think I was stupid? You are the stupid ones! Why attack me, eh? Did I do something to you? Were you friends with one of those trees I uprooted? Well, sorry, but they were in the way, attacking me because that is not fair! Moreover, they are stupid trees, and I am a clever World Tree!'

The girls and the man felt their eyebrows twitching. There were so many loopholes in those words that they didn't even know where to begin with.

The man ignored Liu Shu and asked. "So, what are your plans? I have no legs, and my Phoer is so low that being awake already feels like a hurdle."

Flor landed in front of his face and asked. "What power are you from?"

The human male lifted the corner of his lips. "Why should I tell you?"

Flor tilted her head. "Why wouldn't you tell me? Do you want to become tree fertilizer that eagerly?"

The man laughed. "I am going to get killed either way. Do I care what you do with my body?"

Flor smiled. "Well, I can throw you to her alive or dead to be eaten. I can guess that being eaten alive by a World Tree, who takes their time, is quite an experience you will have to go through if you are not honest."

The man's face changed slightly. Because of his physique's strength, dying of suffocation was quite difficult, and it would take a while. Moreover, during all that time, thinking about how trees ate made his body chill.

World trees ate like normal trees, meaning they dissolved the nutrients with water and other substances until they could be absorbed by the roots and into the blood system. He would probably be tied between roots for hours or days until his Phoer reached zero.

Of all the ways to go, being eaten alive by a World Tree was classified as one of the worst. 

The man spoke, his voice low. "Even you are monsters. You should know how World Trees eat. You wouldn't throw me to her alive to be eaten unless you have no heart."

Flor laughed and crouched in front of him. "Heart? You want to know my heart?" Flor smiled. "For you people who come here and attack Liu Shu without seemingly any rhyme or reason, I have no heart. On the contrary, I hate you so much. I hate you so much that I wish the worst would happen to you." 

Flor's smile was bone-chilling. "I am giving you a chance to pacify this anger and hatred by giving me information about who is messing with us. Without knowing, I will slowly become more furious until I have enough strength to unleash this anger toward the outside world." 

The man looked at the Rose Fairy Queen with a deep expression and sighed. "At the end of the day, you are a monster. No better than any other beast in the forest. When you are attacked, your first course of action is destroying and killing."

Flor found his words ridiculous. "As Rose Fairies, we are creatures of nature who defend the environment from people like you. If we were left alone, would we want to retaliate? What are you insinuating, that if you come and try to kill us, the second you want to go away, I need to let you go out of politeness? Do I look like a pushover to you?" 

Flor slapped his face with her hand. "Disgusting human. You are creatures born with greed, intelligence, and cunningness that surpasses any race. Yet, your entire race fails to understand what it means to work as a whole instead of for the individual. Others must follow your rules, but when it is your time to abide by them, you make 1000 deviations and twist everything to your favor."

Flor took a deep breath and approached the Earth Sylvan. "I've been learning to read by reading human history. And all I can say is that the discrimination toward your race is more than deserved. To be honest, the fact that Sylvans and other creatures haven't tried to purge your race from this world is a mystery to me."

Cinderielle coughed and said with a mutter. "Not all humans are that bad-."

Flor looked at her and remembered that her father was a human. She sighed. "Cinderielle, your parent being an exception to the rule doesn't mean that other creatures aren't as they are. Would you let a wild tiger enter your house because you saw that someone in another place had domesticated one?"

Cinderielle didn't speak anymore, and Flor rubbed her forehead. "I am a bit angry. Sorry if I am too blunt." Then, she kicked the face of the Earth Sylvan and spoke. "Wake up. We need to talk as well."