Ascension of the Sylvan Cosmos.

Chapter 277. Flor’s and Ignatia’s Reaction. Ant’s Overwhelming Superiority!

Flor was resting in Liu Shu’s canopy when the news reached her.

“You’ve started Fortuna’s assimilation?”

The surprise in her voice left it quite clear that Flor was really not expecting something like this. Liu Shu answered her question with a carefree tone. “Yes! Although I first need to envelop her domain with my roots, so we’ll need to wait around one or two weeks before we start the actual assimilation!”

“Oh…” Flor didn’t really know how to answer this sudden information. However, she knew that she needed to speak with Eila soon and make plans for that time. After all, the chances of the event being silent were near zero. Curious about how she found the motivation to start, Flor questioned her. “Love, why so suddenly?”

The annoyed voice of the World Tree reached her, making her smile faintly. “You can’t believe how stubborn Lakeborn Forest is! Since she thinks that it is impossible, I’ll show her otherwise! She just needs to wait for a little while, and she’ll witness how great I am at assimilating things into my domain!”

“Sure, sure~.” Flor coaxed her, a clear smile showing on her lips. “You are the best at assimilating things. What is another World Tree for the great Liu Shu, eh?”

“Hehehehe.” Liu Shu giggled happily. She knew that Flor would answer that way. She was always very supportive of her decisions, after all. Liu Shu informed more people other than Flor, and one of them was not too happy. “Oh… Ignatia is calling me reckless…”

Flor raised her eyebrow, surprised at Ignatia’s reaction. “Why is she saying that?”

Meanwhile, Ignatia gently scolded Liu Shu while she lay calmly on her nest. “Love, I understand that you want to prove Lakeborn Forest wrong. However, you can’t be so impulsive. You need to tell us first because this event is something that will cause a big chain reaction. Thankfully, you didn’t start right away, so we have some time to prepare.”

Liu Shu answered softly, feeling a bit guilty while closely listening to the Ant Queen. “Sorry… I understand now. I can delay it more if you want. I am just advancing and trying to reach as far as I can with my roots into Fortuna’s domain.”

Ignatia sighed and poked at one of Liu Shu’s roots, which was by her resting site. “You silly girl, I know that things have somehow worked in your favor until now. However, remember how close it was every single time. Also, no need to delay it. Since you’ve started it, finish it.” Ignatia added. “Oh, and don’t rush, eh? Just be careful, and if you are going to go into unconsciousness, tell us.”

Liu Shu moved one of her roots and gently coiled around Ignatia, making the Ant Queen’s heart almost melt with sweetness. She gently caressed the root and kissed it. “There, there. I won’t continue scolding you, okay?”

“Hehe~. I don’t mind!” Liu Shu continued softly. “I like it when you scold me because I know that you care for me~.”

Clicking her tongue, Ignatia commented. “Alright, silly girl. Remember to internalize what I say, okay?”

“I will!”

Ignatia then looked toward the entrance and made a strange vibrating and clicking sound with her throat. From the entrance of the nest, a few ants stepped inside, all of them with massive bodies and auras that clearly belonged to <Second Energy Cycle> creatures. 

Liu Shu was somewhat surprised. ‘It has been so long since I looked at Ignatia’s nest closely… They all grew so much!’n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Ignatia then spoke with the ants. “Stop advancing in all directions except toward Fortuna City. Keep the guards at the other sites at a minimum for protection and focus our efforts on reaching the undercity of Fortuna City as fast as we can.”

The ants turned around, not questioning her decision for a second, and her words spread like wildfire throughout the entire colony. Liu Shu observed with awe as all the ants reorganized in perfect coordination, and the tunnels toward Fortuna City were excavated at an accelerated speed. ‘Wah! At this pace, they will reach faster than me!’

The ants continued advancing underground when Liu Shu suddenly realized that one worker ant was actually digging toward the nest of another group of creatures. ‘Oh… They are about to hit the underground nest of another creature!’

“Ignatia! Ignatia! Your children are about to meet with an underground nest of strong creatures. They look like… moles? But tall, bipedal, and with strong claws! Do I help?”

Ignatia asked, her long antennae bobbing cutely. “Are they as strong as the Terragore below us?”

“Not even close… They have a few <Second Energy Cycle> creatures, though.” 

“Then, don’t help them.” Ignatia said calmly, her lips arching in a confident smile. “You’ll see soon why I don’t worry about the little pests roaming around the underground,” Ignatia added softly. “Also, if any of them are about to die, don’t protect them. The Cycle Of Life is something that all creatures benefit from.”

While she was somewhat surprised, Liu Shu answered affirmatively. “Understood~.”

When Liu Shu looked over, what she saw left her speechless. 

The second the wall fell down and the two races made contact, the mole-like bipedal creatures rushed backward, and some went to call stronger members of their nest. 

Meanwhile, the organized ants were several times faster. The second the worker ant saw another creature, she secreted a wave of danger-pheromones that other ants quickly repeated. 

The Soldier Ants standing not too far back picked them up less than ten seconds later, and a few of them rushed forward to help.

In less than half a minute, the Soldier Ants had arrived at the place where the worker ants were barely holding on against the moles. The moles, who at first thought they found easy prey and were about to start killing the worker ants, suddenly saw the mature Soldier Ants appearing, and their entire bodies burst into chills.

The Soldier Ants that appeared were at least three meters tall and more than seven meters in length. 

Silent, like all ants, they rushed forward and collided against the relatively low-level moles like carriages running over a human.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

After pushing all the bipedal moles off the worker ants, the soldier ants used their fire skills and started an absolute massacre of every single one of the few dozen moles they encountered.

Meanwhile, the Worker Ants returned to their task and continued excavating, trusting that their bigger sisters would protect them. Some did so even when they were injured by the bipedal moles, leaving Liu Shu breathless at their will to just get the job done. 

However, they were not done. After all, some of the moles had gone to get help. Those returned around two minutes later, and the ones that did make Liu Shu feel a bit fearful for the ants. ‘Wah… There are four <Second Energy Cycle> moles in that group of 200!’

Still, that fear would soon turn into awe as she noticed that through the cave systems, the Soldier Ants at the back had similarly arrived. Their numbers? Over 2,000 of them.

‘... This is bullying. My little sisters are going to bully these poor moles!’’

The ant army that rushed forward and silently and methodically proceeded to slaughter and dismember the opposition. Only the sound of Ant Mandibles sinking in flesh and the high-pitched screams of the bipedal moles filled the cave system. Their fire Aether Mana control helped them in myriads of ways, like covering themselves in fire, shooting fire waves, or creating piercing and exploding fire projectiles. 

While the soldier ants slaughtered the other side, including the <Second Energy Cycle> creatures, the ant workers didn’t even flinch and continued working on the tunnels. 

The mole-like creatures were overrun by sheer numbers. ‘10 to 1 in favor of the ants… What a carnage…’ Looking at their absolute dominant display, Liu Shu couldn’t help but feel a rush of pride and cheer them. “Go, go, little sisters! You can do it~ You have no deaths yet! Woooh!”

The ants couldn’t help but feel a bit strange. In their limited intelligence, Liu Shu’s words actually reached them and seeped into them. Feeling the support from who their Mother Queen called her eldest child, they all redoubled their efforts.

“Woah!” 

The ants rushed through the enemy nest’s tunnels, torching their way through, and in just an hour, the enemy creatures were pushed so deep into their nest that the ants lost interest in finishing them all off. Instead, the soldier ants called a few worker ants and crumbled their tunnels, returning to their posts.

“That was awesome! But…” Their final action surprised Liu Shu. Curious about it, she went and asked Ignatia. “Ignatia! Ignatia! Why didn’t your children exterminate that nest?”

Ignatia asked back, confused. “Why should we kill our Experience Point farms?”

“...”

Liu Shu looked at Ignatia and wondered in her mind. ‘If I decided to fight Mommy Ignatia back then instead of allying with her… Would I have been able to survive?’

She honestly had her doubts. Ignatia’s ability to produce thousands of troops, her personal strength, her ability to plan for the far future, and her overall intelligence were honestly terrifying. Looking at Ignatia’s compound insectoid eyes, Liu Shu couldn’t help but feel that those eyes could look everywhere: past, present, and future. Li Shu excitedly squealed internally. ‘Mommy Ignatia is so cool~!’

Of course, now that she had been basically adopted as Ignatia’s daughter, all these traits were not things to fear; instead, they were traits that made Liu Shu puff her canopy in pride. “Ignatia! Ignatia! Can we make a small tour through your nest? It has been soooo long since I looked at it closely.”

Ignatia laughed softly and slowly stood up, walking to the side to put on the dress Liu Shu had given her in the past. Unless she was in public, she preferred being naked and relaxed in her nest. 

Once she had her clothes on, she asked with a half-complaining, half-pampering tone. “Also, can’t you just look at everything with your vision? Why should I, a little mortal being, do a tour for you?”

“Hehe, I like it the most when you explain things~. I don’t know what the most important parts are, after all!”

“Sure sure,” Ignatia called for an ant and gently jumped on her back, sitting on the thorax. “Well, let’s go show the eldest our farms, water systems, and buildings~.”

“...Buildings?”

Liu Shu was about to look around when Ignatia’s voice reached her. “Hey! Eyes on me!” 

“Wah! How did you know that I would look around?”

Ignatia smiled proudly. “I have adopted you. How could I not learn and understand my eldest? What kind of mother would I be!? Just follow me with your gaze and look away only if you need to! This will be Mommy Ignatia’s Personal tour!”