Chapter 171. Confession and Hunt.

Flor's shout and the sound of people being killed quickly alerted everybody else in the camp. The Rose Fairy Queen didn't really bother hiding her presence, so the higher levels opened their tents after the short commotion and quickly appeared outside. 

The Level 15 shouted as he evaluated the situation. "Turn on the lights and quickly regroup. We are being attacked by Rose Fairies!"

Then, he shouted. "Rose Fairies! Why are you attacking us!?"

Flor appeared before the Level 15 and extended her hand. "Why are you in this area of the forest?"

The man's face changed as a wave of pure air blasted forward, rushing at him with tremendous momentum.

Bang!

[-5410]!

He crossed his arms in front of his body and received the blow, which sent him flying backward for several meters. The heaviness behind the attack made some of his bones crack while his internal organs suffered. 'So strong!? It feels like I've been hit by a metal plate!'

The man spoke quickly, seeing that a few people had already died. He thought swiftly and shouted. "Rose Fairies! Are you willing to give a wrong impression from the start!? You are already monsters, which people won't accept, and with this behavior, you are exacerbating the issue!"

Flor asked, torrents of winds swirling around her figure. "Why are you roaming this area? Explain that to me, and some of you might survive."

The Level 15's face crumpled. "We are not that weak to surrender to some Rose Fairies!"

Flor raised her eyebrow and looked behind her. "Are you sure?"

The man looked over, and his facial expression involuntarily transformed into disbelief. One of the Level 10s had already died to the Rose Fairies and the rest were injured enough that they couldn't even move. 

Looking around, the man noticed that two people from his group were missing, so his eyes flashed for a second. "Even if you capture all of us, we won't ever tell you anything!"

Flor hummed. "Is that so?" She flapped her wings and moved forward, reaching a dangerously close distance with the man. "You are part of the <Void Witherwood Exarchs>, right?"

The Level 15 didn't react, but Flor ignored him. "You've been roaming the forest for at least three days. Not only that, I know that you intend to get information on the <Golden Sap Town>." The Rose Fairy Queen commented. "You and the people behind us will die quite a horrific death if you don't tell me exactly what's happening."

The man raised his eyebrow. "And why would I do that?" He smiled mockingly and spat at Flor, who quickly dodged. Then, trying to use that small distraction, he ran. However, to his dismay, a root tangled with his feet, and his body fell over. 'Really!? There wasn't a root there a second before!'

Flor looked at the root and raised her lips in a smirk. Then, she looked at the man and mocked him. "What a pathetic attempt. You spit at me, and then you trip? Honestly, you looked much more intimidating a few seconds ago when you just sat on the ground like a beaten-down animal."

The man gritted his teeth and looked at Flor. "You will regret this."

"Will I?" Flor asked with a flippant tone. "I feel like you and the ones behind are the ones who are regretting it. Look." 

The man looked over and saw that some of the Level 9s that were captured were crying and struggling to take off their mouthstraps. Flor's question reached him. "I wonder… How much do they know? Will I have more answers from them or from you?"

The Level 15 looked at the group of Level 9s and threatened. "If you dare speak a single word, I want to see who can save you under these skies!"

The Rose Fairy Queen laughed and looked at them, who were confused and filled with fear. "You all have one chance each. If you blow it, you will die. So, it doesn't really matter what your chances are if you survive. After all, if you don't comply with me, you will die. So, think it through. Do you want not to die here and have a chance at survival? Or do you want to be fed to the trees?"

Her words made everyone here pause. Flor smiled. "The only reason Trees don't eat meat is that they can have everything from the ground. However, that doesn't mean that living beings are not nutritious for them."

The Rose Fairy Queen said slowly. "If I bury you between the roots of a tree, you will be slowly constricted, and the roots of the tree will dig into you…" 

Liu Shu controlled her roots to send very thin but sturdy tendrils that coiled around each of their legs, causing their bodies to burst into chills of fear. 

Flor continued. "Then, those roots will absorb your bodily fluids at a very tamed pace. At first, your own regeneration will probably be enough to overcome the damage that those roots do. Of course, escaping at that time will be impossible, as tree roots are solid and very hard to break. A tree's roots need to excavate the hard ground, you know? They are really robust."

The people who had been captured moved their legs, but Liu Shu tightened her tendrils, blocking their movements. One of the women in the group was feeling so much fear that she started urinating while moving around and trying to speak. 

Flor looked at that woman with a shadowy smile that was faintly illuminated by the bright moon in the sky. "Let her speak."

The woman's gag was removed, and she screamed. "PLEASE! PLEASE! I WILL TALK! I WILL TALK! DON'T FEED ME TO THE TREES!"

Flor asked. "Who are you?"

Crying and trembling, her face covered with tears and snot, the woman quickly answered. "W-We are from the <Void Witherwood Exarchs>! W-We are here to s-s-scout the area for our su-superiors!"

Her quivering voice made it more than clear how afraid she currently was. Flor flew over, ignoring the silent Level 15. "What are you scouting for?"

The woman shook her head quickly. "D-Don't know! I swear! I swear I don't! We are just Level 9s!" Then, she looked to the Level 15 and shouted. "H-He knows! He is the leader! He was given instructions from Lord Alaric!"

"Alaric?" Flor asked. "Who is Alaric?"

"He is the current leader of the <Void Witherwood Exarchs>!" The woman answered swiftly, sniffling between words. "He is the current leader of the <Void Witherwood Exarchs>! A Level 20 Powerhouse!"

The Rose Fairy was unimpressed. 'Ignatia is Level 21 at the moment. A Level 20 is nothing to her, who is a D Tier Ant Queen.'

Flor asked. "Is there somebody else?"

The woman nodded many times, but after this time and recovering her bearing a bit, she realized that the Level 15 was silent. 'Huh?' She looked over, but it was too dark to see. She could only see his figure leaning against a distant tree.

Flor asked again. "Remember, you only have one chance. Is there somebody else? Answer carefully."

The hovering Rose Fairy Queen looked terrifying under the bright moonlight. While her figure was beautiful and her only "monstrous" part was her jewel-like red eyes, the aura of suppression that came from the Level 18 creature was enough to suppress the Level 9 human woman.

"Y-Yes! There is Lord Eldric, Lady Jolie, and Lord Finnian!"

Hearing the familiar name, the Fairy Queen frowned. "Eldric… That's the man that guided those birds…" The Rose Fairy asked. "What about their levels?"

The Level 9 shook her head and stuttered, fearful that Flor wouldn't believe her. "I-I don't know. They are from other powers! I don't know! I just joined not too long ago. I've only heard they are stronger than Lord Alaric!"

"Hmm…" Flor looked at the rest of the tied-down Level 9s and 10s and asked. "Any of you know?"

Because it had been a while, the fear that Flor had previously incurred on them had diluted greatly. There was still some lingering fear, but human nature was a forgetful one. Therefore, no one answered.

Flor laughed. "No one's answering? Good." Flor looked at the Level 9 woman and said. "You can go."

Then, she freed her. 

Two Rose Fairies lifted the Level 9 woman, and her hands and feet were liberated. Stupefied, the woman looked at Flor and asked. "H-Huh?"

Flor repeated again. "What's wrong? I said I would let you go if you told me what you knew, didn't I?"

The Level 9 nodded quickly. "Right, right, right! M-Miss Rose Fairy is just and-."

"Shut it." Flor waved her hand. "I hate that kind of flattery. Go before I change my mind."

The woman left, and everyone saw her leave without being stopped. Then, Flor approached a Level 10 man and took off his gag. "Well, your turn. Will you become fertilizer, or will you leave like your friend?" Flor smiled widely. "You choose~."

Meanwhile, in the Forest, the Level 9 was running like the evilest creature was right at her heels. 'I-I need to go back. I need to go back to the sect and tell everyone about this!'

*Crack.*

The sudden sound made her heart jump in fright, and she looked over. 'W-What was that?'

It was deep into the night, and the only light around was the moonlight. While it was enough to see the nearby surroundings, the dense forest around her was engulfed in darkness. 

Knowing that staying here was far from safe, she continued running. The Golden Sap Forest was very hard to traverse deep into the night or any forest in this regard. After all, the deep vegetation in addition to the tall and wide canopies complicated navigation.

Still, this Level 9 had a very good sense of direction, and she constantly made progress toward the outside. 

*Crack.*

The woman looked around as she moved, but she really couldn't see anything. "I-Is there someone there?"

*Crraaack.*

The prolonged sound was clearer this time, and she realized that it had been coming from above her. Her hands and feet trembled, and her legs almost gave up on her. Her thumping heart didn't calm down as she looked upward very slowly.

Then, right above her, a pair of verdant green, glowing snake eyes looked at her. A serpent massive enough to cover almost her entire field of vision was looming right above her. 

The woman's eyes started pouring tears, and she opened her mouth, wanting to scream. Still, nothing but a muted sound came out of her mouth as her legs lost strength. "Ah…" 

The enormous serpent opened its maws, revealing a dark void. With a swift movement, the serpent bit down and coiled back. The Arboreal Winged Serpent swallowed the woman's body whole, not leaving her any chance to retaliate. 

It blinked twice and looked around, the voice of his summoner reaching his mind. 'Great job! Another snack is going to be released soon by Flor~! You can eat all of them, so have fun!'

The Arboreal Winged Serpent hissed and smiled, stealthily disappearing into the darkness of the forest. 

That night, the forest had become its hunting grounds.