Ascension of the Sylvan Cosmos.

Chapter 279. Fortuna’s Panic.

The world continued to advance, waiting for no one. Every side was planning their move in the increasingly restless continent. However, the creature everyone was still underestimating when considering the grand scale of things was about to take a step so powerful that it would shake the very foundations of the entire world like an earthquake. 

Liu Shu’s roots had advanced fast enough that they completely covered Fortuna City's underground and even beyond it. Fortuna gave up trying to understand the ridiculous spreading speed of the younger World Tree. 

“Fortuna. Your city is quite pretty! I didn’t expect it.”

The older World Tree couldn’t help but feel a bit helpless at that comment. Sometimes, she failed to recognize if Liu Shu was praising her or looking down on her. “Thank you, Liu Shu. What are your plans now that you are here?”

Liu Shu giggled. “I don’t know~. Go with the flow, I guess?”

“Oh,” Fortuna answered flatly. “Do I need to reconsider then? Doing things without a plan is really… Not good, to not say other things.”

Liu Shu harrumphed, answering with quite an overbearing tone. “Hmph! If you think that you can now change your mind, you are very wrong! I’ll assimilate you now even if you don’t want to! Also, making complicated plans is something other creatures need to do! As a World Tree, I need no plans to do what I want!”

Fortuna commented with a laugh. “Right, right. All those intelligent plans in the wars and when creating your Golden Sap Forest were done by other people, right? You just stayed on the sidelines and went with the flow~.”

Liu Shu exclaimed, stammering. “There are exceptions! Those were thought primarily by me! Tsk, tsk, you are very bad, Fortuna…”

The older World Tree laughed again, finding it refreshing to have someone to talk to in this manner. Conversing with another World Tree was quite easy, in her opinion. ‘Well… It might be Liu Shu. Who knows if things would’ve gone in the same manner if a more common World Tree was in Liu Shu’s place?

“Oh!”

Fortuna heard Liu Shu’s exclamation and asked, curious. “What’s wrong?”

“My roots reach around me in a circle!... Well, almost. The Dark Aether Swamp below is a place I have yet to touch…”

Looking at her domain, our World Tree became quite happy. Her roots extended for dozens of kilometers in all directions around her, having also arrived at <Mareful City> and the <White Flower Forest>. For now, there had not been any interesting occurrences in those places, so she was methodically and slowly spreading them around. 

In <White Flower Forest>, the trees were a fraction of how defensive they were in the <Lakeborn Forest>, which made her advance effortless. Assimilating that forest would be no more difficult than assimilating Golden Sap Forest.  

Fortuna suddenly felt a strange chill as her roots were being tickled in many places at one location. ‘Hm… Is there an underground creature being mischievous?... Eh?’

“Ants!?” Fortuna panicked and sent a pulse of energy toward that place, attacking the ants. “Why are ants so far into my domain!? Die you pests!”

Liu Shu, who was already quite deeply interlocked with Fortuna, felt the energy pulse and sent one of her own to block her. “Woah there!”

BANG!

Both attacks collided, sending a wave of pain to both World Trees. Then, the World Trees screamed the other one simultaneously.

“Hawah!? FORTUNA! DON’T ATTACK MY CUTE LITTLE SISTERS!”

“Ouch! LIU SHU! WHY ARE YOU STOPPING ME FROM ATTACKING THESE PESTS!”

“Eh?” Both sides paused, making a similar sound 

“Your… Little sisters?” The older World Tree prayed that what she heard was not correct because she was about to flip half the landscape if it was.

Liu Shu scolded her, feeling quite a bit of anger. “Who are you calling pests!? They are so good and hard-working, always protecting my root net from the REAL pests! If you insult them again, I won’t be gentle with you anymore, Fortuna!”

“Wait, wait, wait. Let me process this.”

Liu Shu calmed down slightly, but Fortuna could feel the accusing glare coming from the other World Tree. Fortuna’s roots tangled as she thought of the situation. ‘Okay, I heard Eila tell me that Liu Shu’s town had SOME ants residing in it. But…’ Looking over to the place where the ants were still relentlessly advancing, she exclaimed in pure disbelief. “WHY ARE THERE TEN THOUSAND ANTS DIGGING TUNNELS MY WAY!?”

“Of course, because they are creating tunnels together with my root net system!”

Liu Shu’s answer came to her with a matter-of-course tone that she could not really accept. Fortuna cried back. “Oh, branches above. Liu Shu, how many ants are there!? Our best estimation was that the Ant Colony had around three or four thousand members by now!”

Liu Shu giggled. “Wow~, you are missing a zero!”

Fortuna almost fainted. “T-Thirty to Forty thousand ants…”

Liu Shu said proudly. “Mommy Ignatia and her princesses are very hard-working! Of course, the numbers will be very high!”

The name “Ignatia” and the term “Princess” made Fortuna’s fear and shock skyrocket and she asked with trepidation. “You named the Ant Queen…? Also… Princesses?”

“Hm? She named herself! Also, princesses are like smaller queens!”

Liu Shu’s answer made Fortuna dizzy. “Oh… Oh my… I think I am about topple down.”

Liu Shu’s core jumped at that declaration. “Hwah!? Why!? Are you being attacked!? Tell me where and I will beat the baddies up!”

Fortuna started smacking Liu Shu’s roots wherever she could. “Everywhere! I am being attacked everywhere by an ant-controlled World Treee! Wahhh!”

Liu Shu looked at the older World Tree’s temper tantrum, feeling flabbergasted. There was no pain since Fortuna’s <Physique> attribute was around half of Liu Shu’s. Still, the constant banging everywhere felt somewhat annoying, so Liu Shu used one of her main roots to spank Fortuna’s tree base.

Bang!

Fortuna stopped, and Liu Shu sighed. “The ants are not controlling me. We are living with each other. Anyway, you’ll understand more later. Just accept their presence near you.”

“...”

Not hearing an answer, Liu Shu looked at the World Tree’s main body and asked, confusion. “Um… Fortuna? Are you okay?”

“... You spanked me right below my core… Pervert.”

Liu Shu exploded. “WAH! WHAT PERVERT!? YOU ARE THE ONE WHO WAS TOUCHING ALL AROUND!”

Fortuna went to Eila and sniffled. “Eilaaa, Liu Shu is invading me with an army of ants and is now spanking meee! She is bullying me!”

Eila’s lips twitched as she held back her laughter from bursting out. Clearing her throat, she spoke like always. “Just a few ants. Don't make an oak out of an acorn!”

“A FEW!?...” Fortuna was going to continue her tirade when Liu Shu’s voice spread in the same room. 

“Hey~. Hello, Eila!”

Eila blinked a few times and asked, surprised. “Your influence has already spread this far?”

Liu Shu commented with a giggle. “Farther than this~, all of Fortuna City is under my influence already!”

Eila rubbed her forehead and stood up, walking outside her office and looking at the city from the ceiling of the building. “... Everywhere?”

“And beyond!” Liu Shu answered with certainty. 

Eila sighed, impressed. “You spread fast… Like an invasive species.”

“WAH! WHO ARE YOU CALLING INVASIVE!?”

Eila’s lips arched slightly. ‘Teasing World Trees is so amusing~. Their reactions are always so pure.’ Then, she asked aloud. “So, Fortuna. How many ants are coming our way?”

Fortuna answered, resigned. “Ten thousand…”

Eila’s smirk froze, and she asked again, her tone incredulous. “I… I think I misheard. How many did you just say?”

“You didn’t mishear, stupid Eila!” 

Liu Shu giggled. “Hehehe, stupid~, stupid~. Serves you right being called stupid! Heh!”

Eila looked skyward and sighed aloud. “I can somehow feel my peaceful days slipping away between my fingers…” 

Both World Trees looked at the Sylvan, and Liu Shu asked. “Peaceful? Weren’t we at war a bit less than three years ago?”

“...” 

Eila ignored that question and asked aloud. “So… When will I be meeting the humanoid Ant Queen?”

Fortuna’s powerful mind almost froze at Eila’s words. “H-H-Humanoid… Ant Queen!?”

Liu Shu was utterly baffled. ‘How did she know? I have not leaked anything about Ignatia!’

Eila could predict her thoughts, so she explained with a smile. “Don’t overthink. I have no information about it. However, there was a massive massacre of ants during the war. And yet, their numbers have already far outpaced those during the War. Moreover, from Fortuna’s panic, their strength must not be low. A normal Ant Queen can’t do this. The only explanation for this and the incredibly organized ants is that their Queen’s intellect is profound and developed, a characteristic only shown in Humanoid Ant Queens.”

Liu Shu answered with a hum. “Interesting~. A humanoid ant queen is a very scary thing!”

Eila’s eyebrow raised, and she couldn’t help but silently praise Liu Shu’s answer. ‘She neither confirmed nor denied it. That answer blocks my attempt quite masterfully.’

They were about to become allies, so pushing here was not really something that Eila wanted to do and sour their relationship. After all, Liu Shu’s roots were already spread out throughout Fortuna City. In a way, Liu Shu had the city as a hostage if Eila decided to do something. 

Naturally, moving for Liu Shu was also tricky. If she committed mass murder in Fortuna City, her reputation would take a big dip, and classifying her as a “threat” would be easy for other powers. 

Summarizing, they were in a stalemate. 

Eila spoke to both World Trees. “Well, as long as the ants don’t surface, I won’t mind. However, I want access to their nest as well. They are a wild card that I don’t want to deal with, eventually betraying everyone.”

Liu Shu protested. “They wouldn’t betray us!”

Eila smiled faintly, explaining her position. “Perhaps you have something to feel sure about that. However, Tianlian Liu Shu, you need to understand that ants are a race that is considered worse than wild beasts in our world. Each time an Ant Colony appears, they are either exterminated or brought to near extinction by constant attacks.”

Her reasoning was fair, and her point stood. If she had revealed it from the start, Liu Shu didn’t know if Wert would’ve even bothered trying to ally with them. Hence, she understood what it meant for people who were not accustomed to them. Therefore, this time around, Liu Shu took a step back and agreed with Eila’s proposal. “Okay, I’ll tell Ignatia about it. Later… You can speak with her if you want and make further decisions between you two.”

Fortuna muttered from the side, feeling a bit left out. “Is my opinion not even worth listening to…?”

Liu Shu and Eila looked at the World Tree strangely. Eila commented. “Fortuna… You are about to become part of Liu Shu. Her decisions are your decisions, no? I mean, sure, you’ll be able to influence some of them. However, if Tianlian Liu Shu is dead set on doing something one way, you’ll need to compromise, not her.”

Fortuna sighed. “I know, I know… I was just… Nevermind.”

Liu Shu looked at Eila and giggled. “You are really dense, Eila~. Quite interesting!”

Fortuna interrupted. “L-Liu Shu, you should start the assimilation already!”

Eila blinked twice, confused. “Dense? How am I dense…?”

Liu Shu ignored Eila’s baffled tone and commented. “Okay~. Let’s start with the assimilation when the ants arrive!”Nôv(el)B\\jnn