Chương 365: Location for the Avatar and Ignatia Speaking With the Leaders.

The four Sylvans didn't go out right away. Instead, only Harmonixia went out, who wasn't doing much to protect Liu Shu from the physical corruption filling the Core Room. Once out, she took a deep breath of the fresh air outside and then jumped. With her Level 50 Physique, gravity couldn't accelerate her enough to damage her. BOOM! Her body slammed against the ground powerfully after falling for a few seconds from the almost 600-meter height.

Her muscles contracted and protected her internal organs and then, Harmonixia pushed forward. Whoosh! Her body flashed forward, speeding toward the Endless Library. She took less than a minute to arrive and called aloud.

"Mariane! It's urgent, come out!" The mothkin appeared in the air, her giant wings gently flapping and making her float. She was holding a book with one of her four arms, while the other three held a notebook and writing tools.

"What's wrong, Harmonixia?" Harmonixia was confused seeing her like this.

"You didn't accept the Quest to help Liu Shu?" Mariane floated down in front of Harmonixia and shook her head.

"Naturally, I did. While I can't go to the frontlines to fight since I am this town's guardian, I used a few array formations to slow down the Corrupted Sap from entering Liu Shu's main body. The natural array around her is usually unchangeable, but since my connection with Liu Shu is close, she allowed me to do that…" Mariane paused and frowned.

"That's not important. Why did you suddenly call me out?" Harmonixia snapped out of her shock. She didn't know that Mariane had been working in the dark in this manner.

"Mariane, I need you to reinforce one of the Tree Houses and make it a perfect Hospital area. Liu Shu's <Avatar> will come down from the Core Room and needs a place where she can't be woken up, and she can receive our best healing." She then shared the <Sylvan Quest> she received with her. Mariane read it carefully and nodded.

"That's easy. Once Flor and the others return, I'll set everything up. Give me Liu Shu's Avatar in the meantime, and I'll use my moth scales to keep her asleep." Harmonixia didn't lose time and quickly returned to the Core Room. She took five minutes to climb all 600 meters and deliver the news. Meanwhile, Mariane flew to one of the empty Tree Houses in the inner area and set a beacon light so that the Sylvans knew where she set up the room.

"Tree House, your mother's avatar needs to be here. I'll create Arrays and Rune fields to induce sleep, and I will use your natural vitality to fill the room. The reason I chose you is because you are one of the only three tree houses in the inner area that have yet to come into contact with corruption." The Tree House didn't even hesitate to sacrifice its vitality for Liu Shu and quickly opened the door to let Mariane in. Flor and the others didn't stay in the <Dark Aether Swamp>.

After Liu Shu used <Curse Cleansing Aurora>, all healing and supporting teams hastily returned to pour their effects into the World Tree. Nobody spoke during the return trip as they rushed back without rest. Speaking of the rewards, Level 49s were fairly common in the armies. After all, this threshold was too hard to push through, and using the <Terragore> nest as an Experience Point farm and Liu Shu's <Delicious Berry>, Leveling Up was not that complicated.

Of course, the core area of the <Terragore> nest was off-limits. According to estimates, the nest spread around for hundreds of kilometers, and what they had been fighting was nothing but an outer colony. It was estimated that the number of <Third Energy Cycle> Terragores deep inside the nest reached the thousands or even tens of thousands. They had nothing but scratched the surface of the terrifying underworld monster empire.

Regardless, all of this was to say that after the Level Up, there were almost 2500 newly born <Third Energy Cycle> powerhouses, 1300 from Liu Shu's army, with the rest belonging to the independent groups that joined. Also, this was without taking into account the ants. Almost 2, 000 ants had become <Third Energy Cycle> monsters inside the ant group. Ignatia's nest was, by far, the one that benefited the most from the Quest Rewards. After all, every single ant had accepted Liu Shu's quest under Ignatia's orders!

With the title <Gratitude> now on their System Page, betraying or turning against Liu Shu would be impossible, and every single one of them, ants, intelligent races, and Liu Shu's soldiers were faithful to the World tree. Overall, Liu Shu gained a terrifying fighting force of 4, 500 Level 50 people! Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. When Thalgryn, who had stayed behind to organize everything, was given the data, her heart trembled with excitement.

"While we lost around 20% of the people that had participated… the gains are just too many to feel as if it was a loss…" She couldn't help but laugh and shake her head. Then, taking a deep breath, a gaze with a hint of concern was directed toward the Golden Sap City.

"Little Liu Shu, you better recover this time around, and you'll have an army to conquer the Wild Continent." Flor and Ignatia rushed back with Galia and the other leaders. As Ignatia ran by their side, many people glanced at her. The Ant Queen was not flustered and glanced back without fear, making many people flinch. Even the Sacred Trees of the main powers feared Humanoid Ant Queens, so being near one after the heat of the battle had calmed down was truly nerve-wracking.

"We've fought together. Why are you all still afraid of me?" The people by her side almost cursed.

'You are a natural disaster with legs that grows stronger as time passes! How am I supposed to feel calm!?' Galia took a deep breath and spoke solemnly.

"Ant Queen… Ignatia was your name, right?"

"That's right," Ignatia smirked and spoke somewhat proudly.

"A good name, right? Although I initially wanted to name myself Mother or Mommy, I felt it was too corny. In the end, as the Queen of the <Fire Ants>, I called myself Ignatia!"

'... You wanted to name yourself Mommy!?' Galia didn't comment on that oddity. Instead, she continued speaking seriously.

"Are you truly not a threat to the world?" Ignatia looked at Galia and smiled coldly.

"Of course, I am a threat." Everyone's body tensed, but seeing that the Ant Queen was not done talking, they decided to wait for her to say the rest of her sentence. Ignatia continued.

"I am a threat to a World that doesn't accept my daughter Liu Shu. I am a threat to all the people who dare make her cry or feel pain. I am a threat to anyone who dares stand in my Liu Shu's way to supremacy." Igantia's compound eyes shone with the monstrous aura of the terrifying Ant Queen.

"To all that goes against my darling, I am their nightmare." Everyone's hearts quaked under the Ant Queen's royal pressure. The Humanoid Ant Queen, a being considered even more catastrophic than High Tiered Dragons and World Trees, was now serving under a World Tree and benefited from it. The result of this combination made everyone feel that in the future, Liu Shu would inevitably become an overlord.

Galia took a deep breath and asked, hardening her resolve and curving down her innate fear of this terrifying creature.

"... Proof. Please, show me proof that you'll never betray Lady Liu Shu. I know that your current strength and army are enough to kill me many times over and silence all of us who have gathered here, but I am still asking." Ignatia looked at Galia for a few seconds, feeling slightly surprised in her heart. The higher-leveled a person was and the stronger their background, the more powerful their fear of Ant Queens was.

The reason was that while the general population took the Ant Queen as a story to scare children, the higher-ups had all the events of past appearances of Ant Queens recorded and taught to their descendants. For Galia, Ignatia's presence was like a nightmare materializing in front of her. A sight that she would rather never witness. Even Fertalia and Cestia were holding back their natural instincts of just attacking and trying to give up their lives to kill Ignatia. Ignatia chuckled and smiled.

"Sure." Then, she shared her <World Tree Ant Queen> and <One With The Forest> titles. <World Tree Ant Queen>: Having allied yourself with a World Tree, there is no need for your rule to be absolute. Instead of fighting against the World Tree for dominance, you've chosen to become allies with it and live under her domain as a protector. There is a 5% chance for your children to <Tier Up> at birth. 10% Stat boost while fighting in an area dominated by the World Tree (Tianlian Liu Shu).

+10% Growth rate for all your children. +20% Lifespan for all your children and yourself. <One With The Forest>: Your race's unwavering determination to protect the forest has increased your affinity with nature. From now on, your children have a chance to be born with one or various of the World Tree's attributes you unhesitantly decided to sacrifice for.

Egg-laying efficiency +30% All ants that descend from you will have a 50% increase in Experience Point gain until your previous <Energy Cycle> (Currently until Level 25). After everyone read the titles, their faces were a mix of relief, fear, and amazement. They were relieved because they understood that Ignatia was truly loyal to Liu Shu. They were amazed because of how powerful the titles were. They were afraid because of the same reason: The titles were just too powerful. Ignatia spoke calmly.

"If that can't convince you that I am Liu Shu's ally, then this one might!" <Loving Mother>: Your love for your children is palpable, which will make your children loyal to you. You give an innate soothing aura to all those you don't bear animosity with. You can give birth without the need for a reproductive act. Everyone's eyebrows twitched. Ignatia said very seriously.

"I am Liu Shu's Mommy, so of course I will protect her with my life!" Suddenly, the Ant Queen seemed somewhat cute. However, they quickly shook their heads.

'Don't let her deceive you! She is THAT Ant Queen! She can't be cute!' Galia still caught the last sentence of that title and couldn't help but sigh.

'No wonder there are so many ants. This Ant Queen is basically constantly fertilized and can lay eggs daily… According to what I know, Liu Shu is almost 18 years old, not counting the time before transforming into a World Tree. Eighteen years of constantly laying eggs, even if her initial children might've died of old age already, the numbers must be terrifying.'

Galia knew that Zero Energy Cycle ants had a life span of around 2 years, First Energy Cycle ones could live up to 5 years, Second Energy Cycle ones up to 15, and <Third Energy Cycle> ones up to 35. Moreover, their life spans would reset once they reached these thresholds since they did something similar to molting.

'Still, these numbers are only for normal ants… How long can an ant under a World Tree's care live?' Just thinking about it made her feel sick in the stomach.

'I don't know if allying with Lady Liu Shu will bring glory or disaster to our <Celestial Lotus Empire>.'