Chapter 238. Commotion and Decisions.

Elowen arrived at the forest without any kind of trouble, making her doubtful. 'Why is the World Tree not attacking us? Her roots should extend this far.'

"Hey, what are you doing?"

"Shut up!"

Elowen started hearing people in her army speaking increasingly more aggressively and frowned. She looked back and asked. "Is there something wrong?"

The person who seemed somewhat nervous looked at Elowen and opened his mouth. However, he stopped and stuttered. "N-Nothing's wrong, Lady Elowen!"

Confused, Elowen looked around and saw that there was some unrest between her people. 'Are they feeling nervous?' 

"We are going to fight a young World Tree! She is strong, but she is not a menace that can threaten us! We need to speed up and arrive before enemy reinforcements arrive! If we breach the walls and close the distance, our victory is nothing but guaranteed!"

Elowen's words were supposed to increase morale, and although her words worked on many, some people's faces started becoming uglier. Elowen didn't notice due to the helmets some people were wearing, but she was sharp enough to feel that her words weren't as effective as usual. 

Moving an army of 10,000 through the forest was not easy. A formation divided into melee soldiers, ranged soldiers, and cavalry dragged for more than 300 meters wide and 200 meters long. Due to dense vegetation, those at the back could not see those at the front. So, Elowen's words reached them like an echo, which was not too inspiring. 

Moreover, the soldiers were currently receiving whispers, and unlike the other time, Liu Shu was focusing on the weaker ones and those with the least <Willpower > stat. 

The effects took a while to truly start showing, but they were exceptional in the most isolated units. 

A man suddenly snapped at the person walking by his side. "Can you stay further away!? You are basically bumping into me all the time!"

The soldier that was shouted at didn't even touch that person, so she became upset. "What are you talking about? I haven't touched you!"

Unexpectedly, the man swung his fist. 

BANG!

The sound was loud and clear in the silent march, startling the <Second Energy Cycle> beastkin leading this group. "Hey! What are you two doing!?"

BANG!"

"Don't look at me like that!"

Another shout came from another place, and almost instantly after that, another one. "You really want me to die before you!? I always knew that you hated me!"

BANG!

Chaos suddenly erupted in the army, and the second the people were distracted, silent roots that had been moving in the outer perimeter of the army swiftly moved and dragged people away relatively silently. With the commotion occurring, not many were noticed, and those who did were quickly slapped by a root, making them lose consciousness. 

The sound of the flashing roots hitting the soldier's chin was very similar, so when one of them fell, the people around thought that someone around them had also gone insane and became wary.

Amapola's eyes flashed coldly and quickly as she stealthily moved in the surroundings with the 200 Rose Fairies, using their sharp and silent wind to pick up those stragglers created by Liu Shu.

Even if some seconds had just passed, the number of missing people reached a few hundred already.

Elowen turned around with a confused expression and looked to her side. "Go and see what is happening behind us. Even if we are a provisional army created from many powers, this level of undiscipline is… frankly unbelievable." That person nodded and quickly moved to the back. In the meantime, the Level 29 spoke. "I need ideas. What might be the reason? Is the World Tree involved in any manner with what's happening?"

A military man at the side, wearing heavy armor, snorted and mockingly said. "Lady Elowen, they are just from lowly powers. Blaming the World Tree for everything is foolish. Lady Elowen should've allowed me to discipline them as I recommended."

Elowen frowned, unconvinced. "That's not an answer I want right now, Horlrus. I need other ideas!"

Some ideas started flying out, but Elowen didn't find them convincing. Someone suddenly spoke. "What if the World Tree is using mind control?"

Elowen blinked and looked over at the male soldier who suggested it. "Explain. How did you reach that conclusion?"

The male soldier straightened in surprise and explained his thought process. "While we don't know exactly what type of World Tree Tianlian Liu Shu is, we know that she is proficient in summoning arts due to that <Summoning Blessing> we've heard about. This provides a strong argument for her being an anima-focused World Tree like Lady Fortuna. If so, she might have already started an attack by making our soldiers' minds unstable."

Elowen shouted, her voice booming outward. "Deploy mind-clearing <Soulspells > at once!"

Everyone who knew quickly deployed them in the conflict areas. However, this approach had a problem. Liu Shu wasn't manipulating anything. She was using <Mind Echo> to communicate with her powerful voice in the minds of weak-minded people. 

She wasn't influencing them with any energy, just words. Therefore, mind-clearing <Soulspells > did nothing to influence the situation favorably. Elowen frowned and clicked her tongue. "Is it really a lack of discipline? Don't they know that we are on a timer here!? Useless! How much time have we lost already!?"

A person at the side spoke loudly. "Seven minutes, Lady Elowen!"

"Seven!?" Elowen gritted her teeth and looked at Horlrus. "Go there and-"

"LADY ELOWEN! BAD NEWS!"

Elowen glared at the person. "What now!?"

The soldier who came in on a horse-like mount spoke quickly. "Lady Elowen, we have missing people! I think we are being ambushed!"

Elowen's lips arched, but her eyes were blazing with rage. "World Tree, I don't know what you are doing, but I am going to make sure you burn down in agony!"

Liu Shu looked at Elowen indifferently and continued picking up people and dragging them into the lush vegetation toward Amapola and the others. 'Amapola, how are your group's Aether Mana reserves?' 

Amapola's sword drove right between the eye-slit of a female soldier, piercing into her brain and creating a wind burst into the soldier's head, making the helmet balloon. Then, she answered. "I am doing well. However, my sisters are feeling the strain. Their Aether Mana reserves are being sucked dry quickly due to our need for stealth. While the armors you created increase our stealth capabilities, they drain too much Aether Mana to maintain."

Liu Shu commented. 'When their Aether Mana hits forty percent, retreat. You've all done enough already.'

Amapola asked. "Understood. Do I stay behind until I hit 40 percent as well?"

'Yes.' Liu Shu answered. 'I'll throw you a gift here and there. Just remain hidden in the meantime.'

"Understood."

Time passed, and five minutes later, Liu Shu couldn't find any more sneaking points. Looking at the army, she pondered. "The <Second Energy Cycles> have started moving outward. I can't drag anyone without being noticed by them. Moreover, the conflict within the army is being solved. Sadly, they didn't kill anyone as a warning, or I might've been able to escalate the conflict much further. Well, we managed to kill around 800 soldiers."

Elowen heard the report right as Liu Shu was thinking about it. "Lady Elowen, there are many missing. We estimate that the numbers are close to 1000 soldiers."

Elowen blinked and asked, incredulous. "How many?"

The person reporting saw Elowen's face, and his heart jumped. 'O-Oh branches above, please let me survive this…' He cleared his throat to avoid stuttering and repeated the number. "O-One thousand are missing, Lady Elowen. The internal conflicts also left around 100 people injured…"

Elowen blinked twice, trying to process those words. When they clicked, her face twisted like a demon's, and she glared at the army. "We lost one thousand people, you useless WORMS! We are going to fight a World Tree, and we lost one-TENTH of our people before even seeing her! Are you MORONS satisfied now!?"

One of the people that Liu Shu KO-ed snapped out of his sleep and rubbed his head. Looking around, his mind quickly reactivated, and he shouted. "L-Lady Elowen! There are roots dragging people around us-WAHH!"

"AHH!"

"HELP!"

Several roots suddenly coiled around two dozen people and dragged them all into the forest. Liu Shu snorted. 'Since I have been discovered, there is no need to hide anymore.'

Elowen saw that and commanded. "<Second Energy Cycles>! Surround the army and slice off any roots trying to approach us!" 

She herself moved quickly and approached one of them, taking out a beautifully curved blade and channeling her Aether Mana through her sword. "Ha!"

SLICE!

Liu Shu's root was sliced off, saving the person who was about to be dragged. However, Elowen didn't look happy. Her eyes were on her own sword, looking incredulous. 'How can these roots be so tough!? I almost couldn't slice it off!'

Feeling that, Elowen looked around the forest and squinted. 'She is dragging them away, but what does she do later? There must be something else…' 

"Groups 78, 79, and 80, separate and look around us for potential ambushers!"

Hearing Elowen's shout, Liu Shu instantly informed Amapola. 'Retreat, they are looking for you. You've done more than enough. Now join the rest on the wall and rest until then.'

Amapola used her Aether Mana and blew a strong wind outward. That was a signal for all Rose Fairies to retreat, which they swiftly did. 

Although Liu Shu was hurting each time one of her roots was cut off, she continued dragging people away. She could finish them off herself if they were weak enough. However, her killing pace quickly slowed down without the aid of the Rose Fairies. 

On average, each person she killed gave her around 40 Experience Points. 

Elowen quickly guided the army forward again and sped up. "Whenever someone is dragged off, their group should send 20 people to protect them! After recovering them, regroup with the army! We will stop at the nearby area of the Golden Sap City!"

Elowen's decision paid off, as Liu Shu's freedom to continue with her actions quickly became very restricted. Now, she was killing only one person every ten seconds or so. 

The next trap in the forest would've been the Ant Nest tunnels. Liu Shu was not confident that Elowen didn't have someone who could dig up the place and enter into the Ant Nest, causing heavy damage to the ants. 

Even then, the World Tree's gaze quickly locked on the people above those pitfalls, and her <Land Modifying> skill started working. 

"AH!"

"Hauh!?"

Elowen asked. "What's wrong!?"

"Holes are opening in the ground and swallowing us!"

The Midnight Foxglove Sect Master frowned and shouted. "HALT!"

Then, she looked down coldly and spoke. "Dig up this place and see what's below. I don't believe that she is just entombing people."

Liu Shu looked at Elowen with a frown and then felt a terrifying surge of Earth and Nature Aether Mana coming from several people and surging into the land. Liu Shu sent a powerful wave of energy, solidifying the group and trying to stop them. However, regardless of how strong she was or how deep she was connected with the surroundings, she was one being against several hundred.

Elowen snorted. "Useless resistance, World Tree. You are not omnipotent in your domain."

Liu Shu groaned as the floor was torn open, revealing the dense root net underground. Then, around 30 meters down, they saw a carved path. 

Elowen looked at the roots with a hint of surprise. After all, while some were normal, Liu Shu had glowing blue lines that carried her powerful sap and energy. Even when Liu Shu did her best to hide her roots, that was not an easy task.

Elowen hummed and commented. "Should we explore?" 

Liu Shu heard her and sneered. '<Land Modifying>, <Root Manipulation>.'

Elowen felt the floor below her tremble and cave in at several places as she stopped supporting the Ant Tunnels, creating a significant collapse that blocked many tunnels.