Chapter 73. Arrival of Human Caravan.

Author Note: I'm really sorry for the lack of uploading yesterday. My head was hurting a lot, enough that I went to bed at 9:20 PM. We are still in daily uploads! Yesterday was a bit of a hiccup, so don't worry. Again, I'm really sorry.

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After she investigated the surroundings, Flor returned to Liu Shu's side and spoke to her. "Liu Shu, are you there?"

She didn't know if she had gone on another trip through her thoughts, so she checked. But her wording created a bit of confusion for the young World Tree.

The gentle, nature-like voice, both childish and ethereal, reached Flor with apparent confusion. 'Huh? Did you become blind, Flor? The system said that it is quite a big problem for creatures to get blind! Hm… I wonder if I can heal it somehow.'

Flor looked speechlessly at her before laughing. "No, no. I'm not blind, Liu Shu. Because I can't tell if you are in your thoughts or attentive, it was a way of checking if you could hear me. Nothing more, nothing less."

Liu Shu was confused and answered. 'But I can always hear you.'

It was the truth. Even when Liu Shu went on her thinking trips, her surroundings were still clear to her. It was just that unless it was related to what she was currently pondering, she didn't consider answering it and listened.

Unlike normal beings, Liu Shu didn't have any problems communicating with various people at the same time while understanding the conversations. It just needed more of her thinking power.

Flor shook her head, not understanding this fact about tree beings in general. "I mean it like, perhaps you are distracted or something. So, you can't hear me."

Liu Shu answered again, puzzled. 'But Flor, I can always hear you.'

Flor struggled to think of ways to communicate what she wanted, feeling that their conversation got stuck. "Ah! For example, those times you went silent for a while after I asked something."

Liu Shu answered with a puzzled tone. 'Do you mean when I went to think?'

Flor somehow felt that saying yes would be strangely rude. She didn't want to make it seem that Liu Shu taking too long to think was a bad trait. Unless the situation called for it, taking her time to think was a good trait. It was much better than rashly thinking and acting without taking consequences into account.

Since the conversation was not advancing, Flor coughed and commented, deviating the subject away from that topic. "Anyways, it doesn't matter much. You can build wherever you want and however you want, Liu Shu. We are in the open, so just place it somewhere you like."

Liu Shu looked around her with her <World Tree Eye> and pondered. 'Wherever I like? Hmm…'

Flor smiled. "Even though you might not be able to cover everything, you can start from somewhere and expand slowly, right? As you do with your roots, your defensive perimeter also needs time to encompass more land and become sturdier."

Liu Shu's mind flashed with ideas after hearing that. She exclaimed. 'Ohhh! That's very clever! You are very intelligent, Flor!'

Flor laughed softly, internally feeling delighted at Liu Shu's praise. "I'm glad I could help, Liu Shu." Then, she asked. "So… Have you thought in which area you will build it? I can ask the Rose Fairies to clean that area so you can start your construction."

Liu Shu commented. 'All around me!'

Flor blinked a few times, not understanding. "All around you? But didn't you say that you only had one structure?"

Liu Shu giggled. 'Yes! But if I create a flower field instead of a tree, I can encompass more land with the same materials and create a bush-like structure!'

Flor was confused. "But, you want something to kill things from far away, right? How will you achieve this with that design?"

Liu Shu explained. 'Well, there are several plants that are able to defend themselves by throwing things, right? Like you do with wind! So, I thought. I want to reach faaaar, so can I not make a plant that launches seeds faaaaar and quickly? Like, BANG! Do you understand?'

Flor nodded. "I guess I do? But I will have to see the results before I make any further comments."

Liu Shu nodded, and Flor reminded her. "Also, the caravan will arrive today. So, in case they come with bad intentions, prepare yourself."

Confused, the innocent World Tree asked. 'Why would they come back with bad intentions? Aren't they friends because they fought together with us?'

Flor struggled with how to explain this. "Well, you see, people sometimes are very selfish and can disregard friendship for profit. Humans are a race that is quite adept at doing that. They are really good at reading emotions and controlling others with facades. That's why, even though they are not the strongest race, they are the most numerous. They know how to… survive. Forest races like us normally avoid mixing with humans because, to be frank, they outsmart us."

Liu Shu pondered. 'So, humans are bad?'

Flor shook her head for a few moments before pausing. "They are not… bad. They are just… Hm… complicated? Making a deal with a Sylvan, for example, you can rest assured that they will fulfill it and very rarely go back on their words. However, humans are fickle and often change their mind at the smallest trigger."

Hearing those words was a bit complicated for Liu Shu to understand. After all, these concepts were new to her. If she said something, Liu Shu always meant it other than the few pranks she did. However, she never really thought of saying one thing and then doing another.

Those actions felt wrong.

So, until now, Liu Shu had always taken everything they told her at face value. However, these words that were still a bit too complicated to understand were remembered by the World Tree, and they would eventually be understood by her.

Placing the complicated thinking aside, Liu Shu decided to start working.

Inside the <Lignified Vault>, the stacks of materials she needed to create it were already stacked into piles. So, Liu Shu just needed to move everything with her roots.

Similar to when she was assimilating the <Lignified Vault>, this process was energy-intensive, consuming rivers of energy to modify everything to her will.

Her other functions stopped, leaving her entire energy pool to create the structure. The sub-processes all around her body gradually came to a halt, leaving only those related to her survival and energy functioning.

As her focus increased, the aura around her also became increasingly concentrated.

Even though her Ternary Essences were not at Flor's level yet, because of how concentrated and pure her energies were, the effect was astounding and imposing.

The roots filled with neon-like veins, glowing enough that those too close to the surface managed to leak a bit of their colors. The air of mysticism and wonder around the enchanting World Tree increased together with her concentration, forcing everyone to pause and look at her.

Meanwhile, inside the closed Vault, energies leaked from her roots and covered the entire room, allowing Liu Shu better root control in the energy-filled environment.

With everything set up, her roots at the 60-meter mark around her began shifting and making space. She was thinking of creating the ring of flowers around that far away. As she grew in size and reach, the ring would expand with her growth since her intent was for it to become one with her own body.

<Lignified Vault> was of the same nature, and as Liu Shu leveled up, the vault would expand. Speaking of which, the vault was around 200 cubic meters. Big enough for what the Rose Fairies had and big enough for Liu Shu's current needs. 

Liu Shu's roots moved away from the walls of the vault and approached the materials, gently grabbing them and moving them into the earth. Using her affinity with her environment, she could transport things with her roots through the ground. Moreover, because the dirt was something Liu Shu had practically molded for her needs, she could easily control the movement through it as if it were a viscous liquid instead of solid ground.

So, gradually, all materials prepared for the defensive structure were moved into the ground and spread apart by following the design she had imagined.

From the outside, the sound of the earth shifting was heard, telling people that Liu Shu was modifying her surroundings with her powerful roots. The sense of power and awe it gave was enough to make many of the Rose Fairies pause to look at the marvelous creation of nature work.

Ignatia had decided to come today and meet again with those cheeky humans. Moreover, Flor had gone to her and shared her worries, so she had come with another 100 ants. 

The group was stronger than her previous one, thanks to the ants having several breakthroughs after the battle.

When she arrived, she was immediately captivated by the mysticism created by Liu Shu's work. She quickly spotted Flor and approached her. "Flor! What is happening?"

Flor looked at Ignatia with a smile and floated to her side. "Welcome, Ignatia." She looked at Liu Shu and laughed. "Well, she is creating something. World Trees are truly impressive, aren't they?"

Ignatia saw how Flor looked at Liu Shu and blinked. 'Hm? The gaze is quite affectionate. Did something happen in the days I was gone?' 

"So, good news or something? You are looking at the young one quite… differently."

Flor blinked and looked at her with confusion. "Am I?" Flor pondered. "Well, Liu Shu has recently learned how to communicate more appropriately, so I'm happy. I guess it is that?" 

Ignatia hummed, giving Flor a long stare. "Nothing more?"

Flor looked at the large Ant Queen with a strange gaze. "What more can there be?"

Ignatia's smile returned. "I see. That's indeed good news."

Flor stared at her, speechless. "You are so strange sometimes." 

Ignatia laughed and caught Flor between her hands, placing the relatively tall woman on her shoulder. Flor was a bit bigger than the other Rose Fairies, reaching around 45 centimeters in height, so when sitting on her shoulder, Flor looked like a large doll being carried around. Flor asked as she grabbed onto Ignatia's hair. "Don't you find it bothersome?"

Ignatia smirked. "Why should I?" Then, she quickly changed subjects. "So, when are these humans arriving?"

Flor shrugged. "Who knows?" Then, Flor explained her fears, and Ignatia nodded. "Well, that's really well-thought. It is not completely impossible." 

Flor sighed. "Sorry for involving you in another dangerous matter."

Ignatia grinned, her compound eyes shining with amusement. "Don't worry about it. We are all protecting that little one with hopes of her giving us protection in the future when she grows, so I'm well aware that we'll need to sacrifice a bit before the tree bears fruits."

Flor laughed. "That's quite a way to put it. Well, it's quite right as well."

Ignatia giggled. "Right? So, be bothersome with me. I will help you as much as I can."

Flor softly smiled while looking at the Ant Queen. "Thank you, Ignatia."

As they spoke, an ant carrying a young Rose Fairy approached, and they both spoke using their own languages. "We've spotted the humans!" 

Flor and Ignatia looked at each other with deep gazes and turned around. Just to be secure, Flor also called for the combat Rose Fairies and waited. 'Let's see, humans. Did you, or did you not fulfill your side of the promise?'