Chapter 104. Threats Uncovered.

Flor's kick was quite effective, making the woman lying on the ground twitch and snap out of her unconsciousness. 

Seeing the Earth Sylvan's eyelids flutter open, Flor went straight to the point. "Which group are you from? Why are you attacking us? What are your intentions?"

The Earth Sylvan looked at Flor and quickly moved, trying to attack her. However, as if she had been expecting it, Flor used her terrifyingly high stats to dodge easily and sent a wind crescent that sliced her arm off. 

The Earth Sylvan cried in pain, grabbing the stump as blood poured out. "You little monster won't have a good end if we are not released!" 

Flor snorted and picked the Earth Sylvan's arm, throwing it toward Liu Shu. 

Liu Shu looked at the flying arm with an intense gaze. She had tasted the Level 15s legs, and it was honestly super nutritious and delicious. Sadly, it was not much, as the legs were really small compared to her body. So, it was like just having a bite of a really delicious dish.

The leader and Earth Sylvan followed the trajectory of the arm, and their eyes widened when roots burst from the ground, coiling around the arm in midair and dragging it into the ground in a silent yet terrifyingly swift manner.

Flor chuckled. "It seems that she has taken a palette for high-level Flesh." 

The Earth Sylvan's face paled, and she shouted. "Are you crazy!? Feeding a World Tree flesh when they are young is nothing but a foolish action! She will grow and become a bloodthirsty carnivore that hunts creatures as sustenance instead of just to protect themselves! This will only change the World Tree into a predatory creature instead of a ruling being! Other powers will never accept such a World Tree and will slaughter her!" 

Flor raised her eyebrow and looked at her. "Oh? Your description is quite… specific. Are you speaking from experience?"

The face of the Earth Sylvan became ugly, and even if she didn't answer, Flor knew she guessed correctly. Flor shrugged. "To be honest. I don't care. I actually would prefer if Liu Shu became aggressive than being on the defensive and eventually being controlled and swallowed by the rest." 

The Earth Sylvan asked, bewildered. "Aren't Rose Fairies supposed to protect nature? What kind of way of thinking are you having?"

Flor laughed. "Aren't Sylvans supposed to defend nature? Why have you become corrupted enough to become rootless?"

With her face twisting in pure fury, the Sylvan screamed. "DON'T YOU DARE CALL ME ROOTLESS! YOU BRAINLESS MONSTER!"

Flor laughed when she saw the Earth Sylvan struggling to stand up while throwing profanities her way. She was, after all, tied down by Verdantia's summoned roots, so she couldn't move properly. 

Liu Shu didn't like how the Sylvan was speaking, so one of her roots burst from the ground and coiled around her neck, squeezing tightly and blocking her airway. 'Why are you being so mean to Flor? A corrupted Sylvan like you has no right to say anything bad to her!'

The Earth Sylvan's face changed when she tried to take air in, but the powerful roots were completely cutting off her airflow. She couldn't expel or inhale air, making the situation extremely asphyxiating and stressful.

Her vision flickered as she clawed at the powerful roots. However, the sturdy bark surrounding them only gained a few scratch marks and did not loosen in the slightest. Feeling the blood vessels in her head swelling as the sensation of death approached made her want to call for help. However, the ruthless World Tree only increased her tightening, threatening to break her spine. 

Ignatia raised her eyebrow and said. "Liu Shu… Well, first of all, release her before she suffocates to death. You've gotten a bit strong, little one."

Liu Shu's pouting tone reached Ignatia, acting cute as if she wasn't strangling someone to death. 'But she insulted Flor…' 

Ignatia smiled softly. "I know, little one. Trust me with this, okay?"

Liu Shu looked at the smiling Ant Queen and stopped squeezing her neck. 'Okay…' 

As soon as she was released, the Earth Sylvan opened her mouth wide and took in a deep breath between coughs. "COUGH! COUGH! COUGH!"

The feeling of air entering her lungs again was not as satisfying as her brain was still lacking oxygen, and her vision kept flickering. The sensation of slowly approaching death was much more terrifying than she could've ever thought of, leaving her trembling as tears leaked and streamed down her cheeks.

Ignatia looked at Liu Shu and asked. "So, you can tell she is corrupted?"

Liu Shu answered as if it was a matter of course. 'It's easy to tell. Look at her aura! Instead of nature-like, it is human-like. A Sylvan with such an aura is the worst kind because they've lost their ancestral protection as a result of heavily harming nature one way or another.'

Liu Shu giggled and teased Ignatia. 'Don't tell me… You can't tell at a single glance? Even with those strange eyes, you are so blind, Ignatia~, hehehe.' 

The Ant Queen would've rolled her eyes if they hadn't been compound insectoid eyes. Then, she asked. "Anyways, rootless Sylvans, other than being quite hated, what's the deal with them?"

Verdantia explained. "A 'Rootless' Sylvan is one that, as Liu Shu said, has harmed nature in a significant way. Not only is all flora antagonistic toward them, their abilities to reproduce also significantly lower when interacting with plant-creatures. Hence, they are called 'Rootless' as a way of judging their inability to take roots in a literal and metaphorical way."

Verdantia showed something from her system page. "Look, I have had this title since I unlocked the system, and almost all Sylvans have one that's similar."

<Nature's Friend>: As a Sylvan, you have an innate affinity with plant beings. However, this title will disappear the moment you harm non-hostile plants with malicious intentions.

Verdantia further explained. "However, what it doesn't say here is that if the damage is large enough, this title becomes <Nature's Betrayer>. If I could analyze this woman's entire System page, she probably has 2 or three titles and skills that have transformed into something similar to <Nature's Betrayer>. That's also why Liu Shu has zero qualms about killing or eating her, even if she is a Sylvan." 

Ignatia snorted. "Liu Shu has zero qualms because she is who she is. Even if she was a proper Sylvan that attacked us and then insulted Flor, she would've reacted similarly."

Cinderielle smirked while pointing at herself. "You sure?"

Ignatia opened and closed her mouth, unable to answer with the living example of Liu Shu actually forgiving a Sylvan for attacking Flor and even defending her. "Hm… I might need to reevaluate some of her thought processes." 

Flor asked. "Can I continue the questioning?"

Ignatia coughed, feeling the piercing gaze of the Rose Fairy Queen. "Please, do."

Flor looked at the Earth Sylvan again and asked. "At least, give me a name. I don't want to continue calling you 'Hey,' 'Woman,' 'Sylvan,' or anything else."

The Earth Sylvan glared at Flor, but seeing Liu Shu's root wiggling by her side, she answered with gritted teeth. "Ferial." 

Flor nodded. "Good Ferial. Now, speak to me. Why did all of this have to happen."

The Earth Sylvan spoke flatly. "Because-."

The leader's deep voice reached her. "Ferial, don't."

Flor looked over and sighed. "You had to interrupt, right? I am already holding myself back from finishing you off. Yet, you still push my buttons." Flor looked at Ferial and commented. "I am going to start beating him and slicing him as carefully as I can not to kill him. If you ever feel like speaking, I'll stop." 

Then, she looked back and called the Myconid leader. "Thallus, help me with your spores and make him feel pain more harshly. I am done playing nicely. Since they take us as monsters, let's act as one."

Thallus approached and released a green mist that latched around the leader and sunk into his body.

[You've been affected by <Acute Spores>; all senses are magnified for one minute.]

The leader frowned, feeling like this was a buff instead of a debuff. However, once Flor spoke, he realized how wrong he was. 

"Let's begin."

Such a simple phrase exploded in his head like a gong, making his brain hurt. His hearing sense was so amplified that even normal tones sounded like people screaming right into his ears. 

The small hand of the Rose Fairy that should've felt soft and velvety felt as if it was more rugged than bark. His sensitive skin felt all the faint folds of her skin with such intensity that it hurt just being touched. Then, the most hellish one minute of his life began, being accompanied by his wailing screams.

"AHHHHHH!"

He couldn't even form coherent words as Flor kicked him around and summoned sharp wind crescents, slicing his skin.

Ferial looked on with horror while Cinderielle and Verdantia felt uncomfortable. At the end of the day, they were young 19 year olds. 

While they had fought to the death and killed a few creatures, purposely torturing them like this was not something they had ever done. So, the screeching man was a bit over their sensitivity limits.

Ferial shouted, not being able to take it anymore. "We are from the <Void Witherwood Exharts>!"

Flor stopped and turned around, her eyes clearly ordering her to speak further. The man was naturally suffering from tremendous pain, so he was in no position to stop or even register what Ferial was saying.

The Earth Sylvan sighed and confessed. "We came here to investigate the disappearance of one group that investigated this place a few months ago. When we discovered traces of a World Tree, we thought that if we managed to capture it, we could get a promotion, so we planned on ambushing you. Our plan was to use the disappearance of a few fairies and the presence of a human group as a distraction while preparing a tunnel and traps."

Ferial gritted her teeth. "Everything was going well, but somehow, you four managed to escape the trap, and you…" The Sylvan looked at Flor intensely. "How did you beat our leader!? He is two Levels ahead of you!"

Flor asked, ignoring her questions. "After killing every… Let's call us monsters. What would have been the procedure with Liu Shu? It's not like you can move a World Tree around."

Ferial spoke flatly. "It's not impossible. World Trees are incredibly resilient. With her size, we can just cut the roots around the trunk and transport her somewhere else.

Flor's mind flashed with the image of Liu Shu being uprooted to be planted in some forsaken hellhole, and her entire body felt sick as her stomach twisted. "Anything else?"

Ferial smiled mockingly. "If we don't return, they will send real experts to investigate."

Flor oh-ed, completely uninterested, and asked. "Where is your base?" 

Ferial didn't speak, and Flor nodded. "Good. Now, it is time to feed the World Tree you wanted to uproot."

The Sylvan's face changed, and she stuttered. "But I answered! Y-YOU CAN'T DO THIS!"

Flor lifted her eyebrow. "I can't? Watch me." Flor smiled sinisterly. "Do you think that confessing your wrongdoings makes them any better? Stupid. Liu Shu, they are all yours, have fun."

Ferial's face paled and shouted. "W-Wait, World Tree listen-HMMPH!?"

A root coiled around her face and started dragging her body underground, a similar thing happening to the leader. 

The woman's legs kicked in the air while half her body was dragged underground, and her Aether and Anima energy surged, trying to resist. However, even when she was at her peak, her strength was similar to Liu Shu's. Now that she lacked limbs and her energies were almost depleted, she was nothing but helpless prey doing a last struggle against a primal predator.

Both beings were buried alive slowly, gradually, and patiently, like trees usually are. For the following two days, the World Tree would dissolve them and eat them in a terrifyingly slow and painful death. 

Because the prey was unable to resist, this event didn't give her Experience Points, but it provided a few positive outcomes. She increased her proficiency in various skills and even managed to get plenty of nutrients, helping her roots expand further and her body grow for a few centimeters.