Chapter 96. Starting the search.

Ignatia was walking back from the nesting area after placing down her daily set of eggs. Thanks to her Level Up to 13, she was able to lay more of them daily. 'My little darlings are growing in numbers~. Also, thanks to Liu Shu, I can lay more eggs than usual.' 

Her finger touched the glowing wooden necklace around her neck with a smile.

[Level 6 Vitality Ant Necklace (Basic-Grade Flawless Level)]

+36 Aether Mana

+126 Phoer

+36 Anima Energy

Aether (+6), Physique (+18), Anima (+6), Willpower (+6).

[Phoer Surge (Active)]: You can increase the Phoer efficiency used on skills for 10 minutes.

[Ant Vitality (Passive)]: If you are from the ant race, your Phoer regeneration is increased by 6. 

Notes: A necklace created from rough materials which fulfills its purpose. It was created by World Tree Tianlian Liu Shu to help Ant Queen Ignatia with her daily egg-laying endeavor. While the overall quality is low, the effects are more than decent, showing thoughtfulness about the recipient in the creation.

Igantia's lips arched softly when she read the note. 'That little World Tree is really cute, isn't she? Hm~, should I find a good prey and hunt them to create yummy fertilizer as a reward?' 

While Ignatia planned a mass murder to feed Liu Shu, Flor arrived. "Ignatia, I need you."

Ignatia's thoughts were blasted away like the wind as she looked at Flor intensely. Her lips arched, and even her insect-like compound eyes seemed to gleam with profound emotions. "Oh~? What do you need me for, dear Flor?"

Flor, completely unaware of the double meaning of her words, spoke seriously. "There has been a breach through our perimeter, and neither your ants nor my fairies informed me before the intruders were too deep. I think that something is wrong."

Ignatia showed an openly disappointed expression. "Oh, you need me for that."

Flor was dumbfounded. "What are you sulking for?" 

Ignatia walked toward her, and, with incredible familiarity, she used her arms to bury Flor's body into her ample bosom. Having been accustomed, Flor didn't dodge and allowed herself to be hugged by the Ant Queen. Ignatia looked down with a satisfied smile. "Well, three months have gone by since then, right?"

Flor blinked. "Well, not quite. It has been eighty-one days since then." 

Ignatia would've rolled her eyes if she could, but, having compound eyes, she just sent a complete deadpan that even Flor caught. The Rose Fairy Queen coughed, embarrassed. "Sorry. Continue."

Ignatia walked toward her chair, built from unknown materials by her children, and sat comfortably while caressing Flor's body. "Well, whatever. You are too cute for me to reprimand."

Flor muttered with reddish cheeks. "I-I am not cute."

Ignatia smirked and didn't answer, starting to explain her thoughts with a serious expression. "Listen, Flor. Since they didn't answer, I will tell you not to be optimistic." 

Flor's face sank, and Ignatia commented while patting her back. "To be honest, I had a few scouts around the area that I didn't tell you about. Their stealth abilities are really strong, being at the E- Rank. So, unless a creature overwhelms them in either Level or Tier, they are really hard to detect."

Ignatia pointed at a corner of the ceiling and smiled. "Even you didn't notice her existence. Although that one is a bit stronger than the rest." 

Flor blinked and followed Ignatia's finger. Squinting a bit, she could see a fist-sized and completely still ant that melded with the chamber's environment. The level of camouflage stunned Flor. "Wow, your child is almost invisible." 

Ignatia felt happy when Flor complimented her children and laughed. "Thank you, Flor. Let's continue the topic." 

Flor looked at Ignatia again, still with a large part of her body buried in Ignatia's ample chest, and asked. "So, have you received any interesting information?" 

Ignatia used two fingers to pat Flor's little butt. "Don't be hasty."

The Rose Fairy Queen blinked a few times, not expecting such action, but since she was accustomed to Ignatia's touch, she didn't find it weird. Ignatia made a secret triumphant smile and continued. "As I was saying, my little ones have managed to get a few traces of people walking around the grove."

Flor frowned. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Ignatia tilted her head. "Well, it's not really necessary. After all, I managed to get their identity and deduced that they are from the Sirol City."

"Sirol City… The one that's to the east?" 

Ignatia nodded. "You've been focused on Fortuna City, but my little cuties have been exploring the surroundings, and I learned that there are quite a few interesting places much closer than Fortuna City." 

Ignatia continued. "Since the west is blocked by that annoying World Tree that would eat our cute Liu Shu like a snack if given a chance, I thought, why not expand on the rest of the directions before we deal with Fortuna City's World Tree?"

The Rose Fairy Queen nodded and asked. "But, what happened to the young ones that have yet to return?" Flor blinked and said softly. "I am worried."

Ignatia looked at Flor and sighed softly. "Flor, I already sent my scouts, but… as I said, there were traces of people moving around the forest while avoiding most of my scout's surveillance. Most likely, they are first-cycle creatures. So, those fairies have probably been either captured or killed." 

Flor opened and closed her mouth, looking a bit lost for a few seconds. She muttered. "More deaths…" Flor shook her head and pushed against Ignatia's soft chest, separating. "Well, we need to get rid of these annoying bugs, then." 

Then, Flor flew away while Ignatia leaned on her fist and looked at her departing back. 'She is a strong leader, powerful warrior, and an excellent protector, but…' Ignatia smiled softly. 'With her compassionate heart, she is really not qualified to be a "Queen" and govern.' 

Ignatia slowly stood up, and her throat started making clicking and screeching sounds that echoed throughout the entire ant nest tunnels. 'Since you made my little fairy make such a sad face, I should uproot your city, shouldn't I?' 

Looking at her system page and the stats she had, her lips arched. 'Really, the Little One's berries are marvelous. After eating the <Breakthrough Berry> they gave me, I managed to reach the E- Rank much faster than expected, which is nice. My quest rewards will be much better now~.'

Meanwhile, Flor returned to Liu Shu's side. Once she could see the World Tree, she realized that Cinderielle and Verdantia were sitting by her side with smiles and speaking aloud. 

Seeing Flor approach, Verdantia, and Cinderielle waved their hands in her direction. Flor nodded and asked. "What were you three doing?"

Cinderielle grinner. "We were asking about the process of creating those items. It is fascinating to know how Liu Shu's way of craftsmanship and the usual way differ so much."

Flor nodded. "I heard that it is quite different from Liu Shu before."

The soothing and natural voice of the young World Tree reached her. 'Right, right! Also, I make things cheaper than them! Hehehe.'

Flor smiled and asked, her face having relaxed a bit. "Liu Shu, it seems that there are intruders in the grove, and some of the Rose Fairies have disappeared… probably because of them. Can you help me scan the grove for other creatures? Your roots reach quite far, don't they?"

Liu Shu hummed. "Well, my roots currently reach 220 meters… From what I heard, the grove is a few kilometers across, right? How can I reach that far?" 

Flor frowned and asked. "Can you communicate with the trees and ask them about it? They are not all without intelligence, right?"

Liu Shu looked at Flor's frowning face and got thoughtful. 'Well, I can give it a try, but…' 

The women looked at Liu Shu with curious eyes. "But…?"

Liu Shu bluntly said. 'They are all very stupid. So they might tell me something wrong.' 

The three women's lips twitched, finding that quite plausible of an option. Even then, Flor shook her head. "It doesn't matter. If we can get a clue, all the hassle will be worth it. I really don't like being hunted in my own territory. Especially by non-forest creatures."

Verdantia asked. "What about the disappeared Rose Fairies? Are we going to try and recover them?" 

Flor looked at Verdantia for a few seconds, struggling with how to answer. "They are not our priority. Our objective is to find these people, or by the time we save a few, more Rose Fairies will disappear. Once we get them, we can start searching around for them… If they are alive."

Verdantia frowned, and although she found that option logical, she couldn't help but feel that they could perhaps do a bit more. After thinking about how to help, she commented, "Flor, can I go out and try to search for clues?"

The Rose Fairy Queen didn't have any problems with that and nodded. "Sure, go on." Turning toward the orange-eyed sylvan, she asked. "Can you stay by Liu Shu's side and act as a protector? I will also be patrolling the area to search for clues." 

Cinderielle patted her chest. "Count on me. I'll protect her."

While Verdantia felt a bit jealous of Cinderielle's "duty", she understood that it was not time to be childish about these things and went her way. Of course, not before getting her daily dose of skinship. 

She opened her arms and closely hugged Liu Shu, making the World Tree giggle. 'Your body is so soft, Verdantia~.' 

Verdantia laughed. "Do you like it?"

Liu Shu felt very comfortable having her trunk hugged by the Life Attributed Sylvan, so she naturally answered enthusiastically. 'Yes! It's very nice.' 

Cinderielle naturally pulled them apart as she said. "Verdantia, you need to go. Look, Flor is already on her way."

Verdanita snorted, giving the Fire Sylvan a side eye, but she listened. "See you later, Liu'er! And…" Verdanita said flatly. "See you later, Cinderielle."

Cinderielle's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. "Hey, can you put a bit more enthusiasm into it? It feels like you are sending a rock away!" 

Verdantia turned around and theatrically made an elegant bow, holding the sides of her dress, with her face still holding an indifferent expression. "Have a fantastic day, Miss Cinderielle." 

Cinderielle said, dumbfounded. "Can you not make fun of me with perfect etiquette!?" 

Verdantia laughed and left, making Liu Shu giggle. 'Verdantia is so fun!'

Cinderielle sighed and looked at the World Tree. "So, Tiantian, do you think you can communicate with those trees?" 

Liu Shu moved a few of her roots that she moved to dodge other tree roots and sent a pulse of energy, trying to communicate. Speaking with other trees was slow since the information they could send through the roots was not fast or meant to communicate anything similar. 

So, Cinderielle sat there for around two hours before she got an answer from Liu Shu. 'This tree said it doesn't know.' 

Cinderielle nodded and asked. "What more did it say?" 

Liu Shu asked, confused. 'What do you mean? That's all it said.' 

Cinderielle blinked repeatedly. 'You spoke with it for two hours, and that's all it answered?'

Liu Shu looked at Cinderielle strangely. 'It's just two hours. What more do you want a stupid tree to say?'

Cinderielle realized that she had gotten accustomed to Liu Shu's speech response level, and now, the rest of the tree population felt like quite a sorry bunch. "So… That tree was in your vicinity, right? What about trees further away? Do you think you can communicate by using that tree as a medium to speak with trees further away?" 

Liu Shu gave it some thought and found it doable. 'I think I can do that, but it might take a while for you.'

Cinderielle shrugged. "The sooner you start, the sooner you will finish. Try to ask around."

'Okay~.'