Ascension of the Sylvan Cosmos.

Chapter 227. Underground Threat.

Then, the soldier ants parted, and Ignatia walked forward with a smile. Wert's pupils shrunk, and his body flinched, almost reacting by pure instinct and rushing to kill Ignatia. 

The Ant Queen felt the momentary flash of killing intent, but instead of getting scared, she smiled wider. "Afraid~? Is my figure so terrifying? I think I look quite nice, though."

Wert's lips arched wryly. "You don't know how scary you currently look for someone with knowledge, like a nightmare that has taken shape into the real world."

Ignatia laughed, looking at Wert with a large grin. "Let's talk~."

Wert paused, looking at the humanoid Ant Queen with a deep and hesitant gaze. He really didn't want to give this abomination a chance to live and turn her fangs against humanity. The fear that Humanoid Ant Queens have created in the past is enough to classify them as a "kill on sight" being. 

Ignatia sighed with a smile. "It seems that it was a bit too early to show myself… However, Wert, I really do want to live peacefully. I am tied down with Liu Shu, voluntarily tied down. As long as she stands, then I will only move thinking about her first."

Wert asked with a sneer. "And if she falls?"

"Are you asking what I would do if the being I take as a daughter gets killed?" Her lips arched cruelly, and she didn't mingle her words. "Whatever faction that did would become food for my colony and disappear."

Wert tensed, and Igantia laughed mockingly. "What? How am I wrong if that occurs? If you had children, you would understand my position and feelings. While these darlings around me are all cute little children of mine, Liu Shu is different. She feels more special. I love all of them, but whoever dares to mess with my Liu Shu will face the full force of my entire species!"

After Ignatia's words, Wert hesitated and relaxed slightly, surprising Ignatia. "Oh? You won't strike? I can tell you that I won't fall easily even if you do, though."

Wert crossed his arms and snorted. "My ancestors are probably cursing at me from wherever they are, but that answer is something I appreciate."

"Huh?" Ignatia tilted her head and then understood. "Oh…! You tested me in such a clever way. Tsk, tsk, that's better than I expected. It seems that you are not all muscle and have quite good brains."

Wert sighed. "If you answered something like forgiving the enemies that killed Liu Shu, that would be an enormous red flag that you are just being manipulative." After staying silent for a few seconds, he ruffled his own hair and said. "Okay, I'll bite. Show me how you intend to prove that you are not dangerous."

Ignatia looked at Wert and smiled. "Wow. I am really impressed. You have a very broad mind for a human. To be honest, me appearing here was a gamble that I expected to fail."

Confused, Wert asked. "Did you really expect that you can kill me if I intend to go for your head?"

Ignatia nodded. "I would need to sacrifice most of my top-level ants, even little Solaria standing behind you, but I would indeed be capable of killing you." 

Wert paused and looked at the Ant Queen up and down. "You should be Level 23 or 24, right? Your aura doesn't come off as a Level 25 creature to me."

"You are right," Ignatia admitted honestly. "However, underestimating me because of that is silly. The second you attack me, you are already done for. The reason for it is as simple as one of my titles~."

"A title?" Wert hummed. "Well, go ahead and impress me."

Ignatia walked confidently forward, approaching Wert, and smiled. "Well, the title that gives me practical immunity against you is this one."

Wert saw a message in front of his eyes.

[Ignatia wants to share something through the System interface. Do you accept?]

Wert nodded. "Accept."

[Title: <World Tree Ant Queen>]

Wert looked at those four words for a long time, his body frozen and his mind convoluted beyond belief. "What? What does this mean? How did you get something like this?"

Ignatia stopped in front of Wert at a distance so that Wert would just need to unsheathe his ax and cleave down to split her in half. She smirked. "Well, as I said, Liu Shu is my little darling. I love her lots and lots, and sincerely enough that the System decided to give me this title. Do you understand why you would be in trouble if you attacked me?"

Wert looked at the woman standing in front of him, and his heart chilled down with apprehension. "If I had attacked, all of Liu Shu's buffs would've disappeared, and I would be classified as a traitor… You, on the other hand, would have her buffs together with basically endless soldiers. I would probably be unable even to leave this room."

"Correct!" Ignatia clapped and grinned. "You would've become quite a nice snack~."

Wert laughed dryly. "No wonder your species is classified as a kill-on-sight race."

Ignatia shrugged. "To be fair, I agree with that classification. My species can become extremely dangerous. Very few match our ability to multiply, expand, and gain strength."

After digesting everything, Wert scratched his beard and then sighed. "This is really not something I thought I'd sign up for when I decided to protect a Life Tree town. First, a super talented World Tree, now a unique Humanoid Ant Queen that's linked to said World Tree… Together, you two make such a dreadful combination that, if known, you would've probably been razed to the ground already. I feel that I am aging faster lately… Say, do I have white hair?"

Ignatia looked at the man's temples and coughed. "Not much, don't worry…"

Wert asked, flabbergasted. "Are there actually!?"

Ignatia extended her hand, patted his shoulder, and smiled. "Don't worry. Humans are bound to age quickly. Nobody will judge you."

"You know…" Wert added. "Even if you try to cheer me up, those big black compound eyes of yours are so unsettling that I can't feel any better."

"Tsk. My eyes are something that Flor fancies a lot! So, you better not comment more than necessary in front of her!"

Feeling that the warning was said quite seriously, Wert raised his eyebrow and asked. "Don't tell me… Do you fancy that Rose Fairy Queen?"

Ignatia harrumphed. "Any problem with that? She is so cute and pretty, and when she tries to act queenly, she is so adorable that I want to squish her in my arms forever! Is that not enough to want to cuddle her and kiss her to sleep daily!?"

Wert deadpanned and started to walk away. "I was worried for nothing. You are probably the strangest Humanoid Ant Queen in existence."

"Walking away? Don't you want to ask things like my plans?"

"Your plans?" Wert waved his hand. "I'd prefer if you didn't tell me. Just don't get caught, okay? I am honest when I tell you that the day your existence comes out into the open and spreads around is the day Liu Shu dies." 

Back in the present, Flor glared at Wert and scolded. "Did you really say that to her!? You are too mean!"

Wert leaned back on the chair and looked at Flor speechlessly. "Is that where you focus after our talk?"

Flor blinked and glared at Ignatia. "Who is adorable when trying to act Queenly!? I am imposing, alright!?" 

Ignatia nodded. "Of course, of course, my Flor is the most imposing Fairy Queen in the World!"

Flor sighed and looked back and forth between them. Then, she asked. "Now, tell me the truth, did you two really not fight?"

Wert shrugged. "Ignatia is right. If I fought at that time, I would've been killed by her. Moreover, the armor she is wearing looks anything but common. Similar to yours, Queen Flor. What's that? I've seen you and her wearing it quite a lot lately."

Ignatia bragged, her smile cocky and bragging. "This is something my dear Liu Shu made for us~. A Level 20 Low-Grade armor? Envious? Jealous? Drooling with desire? Sorry, you should become someone more important to her before she builds one for you, hohohoho."

Wert felt the veins on his forehead bulge as he kept his smiling expression. "You are so dead the second I can put my hands on you."

Ignatia grinned wider. "Let's hope it isn't more than 50 years away, or you might be so rusty that you can't pick up your ax."

Wert almost cracked the armrest of his chair. Flor coughed. "Alright, you two, stop being childish. Anyway, it is good that you know almost all the secrets of this town!"

"..." Wert looked at Flor and asked with a deadpan. "Almost all? What's worse than Ignatia? A treasure that can destroy the World?"

Flor shook her head. "Where is something that dangerous? We know nothing about that. The only thing left for you to know is that below the mines below us, there is some kind of species that is trying to break free and attack us. They were there from a long time ago, but who knows what they are."

Wert smiled. "Ah. Perfect. An unknown nest of monsters is ready to surge upward like a tide at any moment, while Fortuna City has an eye on us and is ready to strike. Such refreshing pieces of news, aren't they?"

Flor rolled her eyes. "Cut the sarcastic tone; it really doesn't suit you."

Wert snorted, but he got serious. "All right, now, seriously." His face became pondering, and he asked. "Do you want to keep that problem there until it explodes by itself? The more Liu Shu fights, the more likely they will be to surge from where they are due to the vibrations. It is risky." 

Flor commented. "The main problem is that we know nothing about them, Wert. They are creatures that live in absolute darkness several kilometers underground. What if they are part of a massive underground nest of monsters? Their numbers could be a thousand, ten thousand, a hundred thousand, or even more! We really don't know."

Wert agreed with that. "Has Liu Shu killed any of them?"

Ignatia nodded. "She has. I sent a few ants down there as well and managed to kill a few as well. The creature's name varies, so it is not just one race. Still, they are all from the same species. Something called <Terragore>. The ones my ants dealt with were a <Terragore Scryer> and a <Terragore Burrower>."

Wert looked at Ignatia with a blank face and then hit his forehead against the table. "I am going to start losing hair for real. Of all the things, they had to be <Terragore>, the most lethal underground species recorded to date."

Ignatia giggled. "Are they really that bad?"

Wert sat up with a sigh and looked at Ignatia. "Second only to you!" He said to Flor. "Don't provoke them. If any path toward them has been opened, close it and have it guarded 24/7. I also want those guards to rush up the second one of them breaks through. The Scryer that your ants killed, describe it in detail and set a kill on sight notice."

Flor blinked. "Kill on sight? We are telling others about this?"

Wert smirked. "Not now, but I think that Liu Shu can make good use of these things… It can become one of our main sources of resources and Experience Points because while extremely dangerous, <Terragore> are honestly quite… stupid."

Seeing the devious smirk on Wert's face, Ignatia and Flor doubted that he would lose hair and wondered if his black hair would become more brilliant and lush in the future.