Chương 379: A Flower Fairy's Wrath Is Like Nature's Itself.

Flor rushed through the tunnel system at her top speed, following the traces of Forma's army. She moved swiftly, not stopping even for a single second and weaved through them like a shadow.

'I need to hurry and catch up!' Behind Flor, other strong people barely managed to keep up with the Flower Fairy's pace. The fairy was using her Light Aether Mana to increase her own speed, making it hard for others to chase after. The group followed, and after a few turns, they saw Flor floating mid-air, completely motionless while looking at the side with a stiff look. Following her gaze, the subordinates couldn't help but feel their hearts skip a beat.

The place was filled with rubble and dust, but below it all, bloodstains marred the walls like an ominous painting. The corpses that filled the surroundings were not that many compared to what you usually saw in wars. However, the small bodies of several of the corpses were too conspicuous to not know who they belonged to. One of them, of similar height to Flor, was particularly noticeable for everyone. When Flor turned the corner and saw the corpses, her heart was not moved.

After all, there were too many corpses strewn around the caves. However, once she took a closer look and saw a Rose Fairy, her heart almost stopped for a second.

'... This.' She quickly glanced around, and then her worries manifested in a single tragic and heart-wrenching image. Near the wall, a creature slightly taller than half a meter was lying down motionless. There was a massive gash that ran from her shoulder to her waist, the leaking fluid creating a striking and messy blood pool. The face of the fairy was pale-white, but there was no suffering. What gently connected her facial features was a peaceful expression.

Flor flew down slowly, falling to her knees in front of the dead fairy. Her voice was hoarse as she choked out the name.

"... Amapola." Her eyes stung as tears gathered in them. However, she didn't cry and held it back. She knew that she couldn't lose time here. After all, Amapola had probably used her own life as a way to gain others time. Hence, she took a deep breath and looked upward.

"Wisdom, please take care of their bodies. I want to bring them back home." Ignatia arrived just in time to hear Flor's words, and she quickly glanced at the side. Seeing Amapola's corpse, her heart dropped.

"Flor-""Let's go." Flor slowly floated up, interrupting Ignatia and not even looking at her. Her face slowly became cold enough to give everyone around them a chilling sensation.

"No one will survive." Then, the Flower Fairy shot forward, creating a terrifying booming sound as she broke the sound barrier. Everyone was given a fright.

'W-What kind of speed is that!?' Breaking the sound barrier just from the initial acceleration was something difficult to achieve, even for powerful Third Energy Cycles! Ignatia quickly led everyone through the tunnels, chasing after Flor. Meanwhile, the Rose Fairies just managed to reach the place Wisdom led them to. Fortuna glanced around and was confused.

'Isn't this a dead end? My roots are not spread around in this area, so I am having trouble detecting anything…' There was a massive water reservoir in front of them, and behind them, a single tunnel leading to them. Rose Fairies were not good swimmers, so they were reluctant to go into it. Alba looked around and finally spoke, her mind a mess from the message she read before.

"Wisdom, what do we do now? Do we go inside the lake?" [Wisdom: No. Wait here and create a defensive line. Remember to stay close to the water.]"What!?" Alba became slightly angry.

"Lady Amapola went back to give us time! Do you really want us to waste it here!?" [Wisdom: Without them, Forma would've already caught up. Your group would've probably been exterminated quite resolutely before any help arrived.] Alba knew it, she knew it with her head, but her heart was not reconciled. She couldn't help but shout somewhat emotionally.

"If it were Liu Shu's main consciousness, she wouldn't have allowed this to happen! It's your fault that Master had to…" She didn't want to continue because some fairies still hadn't guessed Amapola's fate. Wisdom answered her unexpectedly. [Wisdom: … You are correct.]"Huh?" [Wisdom: <World Tree Wisdom> can't control a big part of Tianlian Liu Shu's power. The grand majority of it is focused on helping Tianlian Liu Shu level up. Unless Tianlian Liu Shu is in personal danger, I have no way of using more power than I am allowed to. Hence, with my current capabilities and Fortuna covering the rest of the battlefield, Rose Fairy Queen Amapola had to slow down your enemies.] Alba felt as if a bone was stuck in her throat, wanting to say something but unable to. As Amapola's successor, she knew that Wisdom was not Liu Shu. She also understood that Wisdom was not able to use Liu Shu's strength freely, making her much weaker than Liu Shu.

After looking around at the worried Rose Fairies, her face became resolute, and she bit down her grief. With a powerful shout, Alba revealed everything.

"Line up! The bastards who killed our Queen are coming over!"

"Eh?"

"The Queen was killed?"

"... Queen Amapola?" Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"How is this possible?" Alba shouted fiercely.

"LINE. UP." The terrifying hurricane surging around her carried an inexorable majesty, startling everyone. After they lined up, they heard several steps, and soon, a group of people appeared at the entrance of the tunnel. Alba's face turned ferocious as she spread her arms and summoned a massive wind sphere above her head.

"<Endless Wind Orb>!" Countless wind blades shot from Alba and the other Rose Fairies toward the entrance. Explosions occurred all around, kicking up a dust storm that made it difficult to see the effects. Alba could see the damage numbers appear one after another. However, no notification of Experience Points reached her, making her heart thump heavily.

"Well, well, well. So it was your fault that I lost a few aces." The enemy group pushed through the tunnel, a strong barrier at the front of the army swallowing the wind attacks from the 1500 Rose Fairies. In the middle of the formation, a tall man with a lean but powerful build walked slowly, his face quite cold.

"You really caused us trouble. However, now that we've caught up, don't think of escaping. The price for killing our Earth Aethermancers is not cheap." Alba's heart almost twisted from the anger she felt.

"YOU STILL DARE SPEAK LIKE SUCH!? DIE!" The wind orb above her doubled in size and started rotating like crazy, sending out several sharp wind blades per second. The whistling sounds created by the wind blades were terrifying. Forma glanced at Alba seriously.

"You are quite strong. Still, seeing your size and anger…" His lips arched.

"Was the fairy I killed someone important for your race? What an irony, the prey becomes the hunted. Now, you will all die, making the sacrifice of that tall Rose Fairy worthless. A meaningless death, quite appropriate for a monster. Attack." Elemental attacks burst forth like a light show, illuminating the dark caves. The pressure from the attacks quickly overwhelmed the Rose Fairies' wind attacks, making Alba bite her lip until she bled. [Wisdom: Now.]"... Noisy."

Suddenly, the water exploded before the Rose Fairies' attacks were utterly crushed, or a single wound appeared on a Rose Fairy. Countless vines shot ahead, creating shields everywhere and soaking up all the enemy spells. A chorus of myriad voices echoed in the room gloomily.

"You want to touch little Liu Shu's people? First, you need to ask for our permission." Fortuna and Alba were surprised, both speaking at the same time.

"Lakeborn?" When seeing the towering algae in front of them, shielding them from all harm, Fortuna finally understood Wisdom's plan.

"No wonder…" Forma's expression quickly shifted, becoming solemn.

"You… Who are you?" The myriad voices answered, the echoes filling the entire place with ridiculous pressure.

"We are many things: The lakes, the rivers, the forest… Regardless, our identity is only one for you..." When Lakeborn's voice fell, the water plants she manipulated rushed forward.

"We are your end." BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! The people setting up the barriers took several steps back as Lakeborn's attacks made them cough up blood. Forma was startled and quickly ordered.

"Start the defensive rotation!" His face was ugly since he quickly understood that the wall of aquatic plant life was overwhelming them.

"We are fighting a powerful World Tree!" Unlike Fortuna and Wisdom, who were spread thin trying to help everyone, Lakeborn could only manifest here. Hence, her entire strength was focused on a single location. From the World Tree's core, endless Aether Mana and Anima Energy flowed through her, filling the lake's plant life with endless strength. Alba and the other Rose Fairies looked on from the protective embrace of the World Tree with awe in their eyes. However, they didn't want to just be protected.

Alba shouted.

"Lady Lakeborn, we want to fight!" The myriad voices changed the tone, becoming incomparably gentle compared to when she spoke to Forma.

"Worry not, little one. You'll have your chance soon. Wait patiently in my domain for now." Alba and the other Rose Faires nodded obediently, feeling compelled and secure in Lakeborn's embrace. Forma looked through the uncountable aquatic plant life at the Rose Fairies and frowned.

"At this pace, we will become tired before we can deal a severe blow to them." After thinking for a moment, he shook his head and sighed.

"Returning and delivering the information we've gathered should be a priority. There is a terrifying force growing in this place without anyone knowing. Retreat!" BOOM! Before he retreated, an explosion from behind them blew him back several steps. Forma's face flickered with surprise, quickly turning around and looking at the source. It was then that he saw a creature descending. Not tall in height, the creature was surrounded by countless elements.

Her bright red hair danced around like a flame, reflecting her emotions. The Flower Fairy had arrived.

"Retreat?" Flor looked at the Nexus soldiers in front of her with enough anger to make some take a step back in fear.

"You want to retreat after taking my friend's life?" The earth around Flor started to tremble as if the world itself was afraid of the Flower Fairy's anger.

"The only palace you are allowed to go to is to your graves! <Myriad World Elemental Manipulation>!" Earth, Light, Space, and Life Aether Mana burst outward in a multicolored vortex. Flor was using all her buffs, and at that moment, her Aether Mana stat had become ridiculous to the point that it could rival World Trees. If one looked at Flor's system page after getting all the buffs, it would look like this.

Name: Flor Tier: B- Level: 56 Aether Mana Cores: 603/654 (65, 402, 229) Phoer Body Cores: 154/154 (15, 441, 839) Anima Energy Cores: 202/202 (20, 264, 447) Attributes: Aether 32, 714 / Physique 11, 684 / Anima 15, 140 / Willpower 11, 345 / Destiny 1, 250 Affinity Percentage: Aether Resonance (257) / Physique Refinement (136) / Anima Affinity (139) / Mental Palace (15) With over 32 thousand <Aether>, Flor looked as if she was made out of Aether Mana for her enemies.

The over six hundred and fifty Aether Mana Cores gathered around her, together with her elements, emitted a pressure that made everyone feel as if they were about to suffocate. Forma's face paled, his heart trembling in fear.

'W-What kind of monster is this!?' However, the only answer he received was Flor pointing forward and uttering a single chilling sentence.

"Once you all die, I'll exterminate the Nexus from the face of the world. Everyone will die with Amapola." Flor's spell was released forward, and the world then lit up like the sun, blinding all that looked over. In Flor's eyes, countless messages appeared. [Congratulations on defeating…]! [Congratulations on defeating…]! [Congratulations on defeating…]! [Congratulations on defeating…]! [Congratulations on defeating…]! [Congratulations on defeating…]! [Congratulations on defeating…]!

[Congratulations on defeating…]! [Congratulations on defeating…]! [Congratulations on defeating…]! [Congratulations on defeating…]! …