"Leader has gone already. Do we attack?"

"I think we should wait. What do you think, sub-leader?"

The woman at the front crossed her arms thoughtfully. "We've already received reports about them, and we know that their highest-level people are those four that Leader is going to deal with. I think we can go ahead and start the siege, but…"

Her voice trailed, and one of the subordinates added. "It is a surprise for a World Tree to appear here all of a sudden. Moreover, while it is young, someone has already built a small town around it."

The sub-leader nodded. "Yes. That's quite a surprise. Do you think it is above Level 10?"

"I don't think so, sub-leader. If it was Level 10, we should be able to see it from here. World Trees grow quite a lot at those Levels."

Another man, colder in personality and aura, spoke flatly. "The aura is very pure, though. It must be Level 9 at least."

The rest didn't say anything this time, proving that they agreed with him. The woman flicked her brown hair, revealing a pair of pointy ears, and commented. "Be attentive, the leader must be about to give us the signal."

Another woman who had been silent in their group of 5 spoke mockingly. "What are you flicking your hair for? To show that you are a plant woman?"

The brown-haired sub-leader frowned. "I am a Sylvan, not a plant woman."

The other woman snorted. "What's the difference? You are just a corrupted tree lover. You even lost all your titles related to being a 'Friend' of nature because of how much you've injured it. Quite a failure, aren't you?"

The brown-haired Sylvan looked at that woman with a frown. "Do you need to do this in every mission we are together? Your jealousy is showing."

The blonde woman's face twisted, and she was about to lash out when a piercing whistling sound came from their right.

The Sylvan ordered. "Move out!"

With her words, they all rushed forward toward Liu Shu's town.

Meanwhile, Liu Shu was peacefully managing her root system and energy when an aura of danger appeared toward the East. All her senses sharpened as she released a warning to the Myconids, Rose Fairies, and Ants in the area. 'Level 7 and below, enter the Town Hall! Only those with the amulets will fight!'

Amapola, who had been appointed as the sub-leader when Flor was absent, quickly reacted and followed Liu Shu's warning. "You heard her! All those who have no amulets quickly go to the Town Hall!"

Clavel approached Liu Shu and asked, her voice sounding rushed. "What's wrong? Enemies?"

Liu Shu answered. 'Danger to the East. Go to the walls and prepare to defend.'

Amapola moved with the rest and asked aloud while organizing the Rose Fairies and Ants. "Liu Shu, do you want to take leadership?"

The World Tree was quick to deny it. 'No. Flor appointed you, so I trust your decisions. Tell me what to do or where to focus my defensive structures. If the wall falls, retreat back to my side, where my branches can reach.'

Because of the situation, activated for everyone while surrounded her structures, increasing their power by an additional 20%.

This allowed the living organisms to have a 10% stat increase, while her structures had a 30% stat increase.

Amapola saw a few Myconids approaching, their large mushroom heads bobbing up and down as they ran in her direction. "What are you doing here? We are about to battle!"

The Myconid elder, a Level 10 Myconid, spoke. "We are warriors too. We will help."

Amapola heard the bushes being moved, so she stopped paying attention to them after she gave them a nod of acknowledgment.

"Prepare your spells…"

All creatures gathered energy, and behind them, they could feel the aura of the World Tree surging.

The profound life energy surrounding the walls gave them all courage, as they knew that they had a strong defender behind them.

Even before the five enemies appeared out in the open, Liu Shu's vision surrounded them as her was not impeded by visual obstacles. Her gaze was firmly locked on the five of them, and their information was analyzed in an instant by the powerful mental processing abilities of the World Tree.

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'Two Level 11 Aether focused, One Level 11 Physique focused, One Level 12 Physique focused, One Level 13 Anima focused. The weakest main stat is around 130, strongest around 150.'

Seeing the five of them standing there motionless while looking around, Liu Shu realized that they were waiting. Hence, she warned Amapola and made a probing barrage shot with the flowers of the that could reach the furthest.

Her Aether Mana and Anima Energy were spent and traveled through her roots, enveloping those flowers. The relatively loud sound of the flowers firing followed right after.

In the bushes, the five of them were looking at the large wall with towering trees on it and wanted to make a plan. "We need to find the entrance because breaking through with force might prove to be difficult."

The Sylvan was about to continue giving instructions, but the faint sound of something firing made her senses tingle with warning signs.

"Move out!"

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Like small meteors, the seeds that Liu Shu's defensive structure fired fell and exploded powerfully because of the compressed flammable gasses inside them, igniting and bursting outward. The effect was created by the heated seed impacting and making the gas inside unstable enough to combust.

The four humans and one Sylvan were quick to react. As soon as Liu Shu fired and the faint sound reached them, they rushed forward. However, some of the attacks landed on them thanks to Liu Shu spreading her aim in a wide area around them.

Liu Shu's vision was filled with several numbers ranging from [-80] to [-200].

Even the weakest of them had around 8000 Phoer Body Shards, so it wasn't something to get worried about. However, because of the quantity of seeds, the faces of the five attackers became worried.

"Rush forward. The World Tree can see us already! Eliminate the smaller threats and debilitate the World Tree so that we can capture it!"

While they would love to have a plan, they miscalculated the World Tree's visual range, which left them with no time to plan anything.

The two Aether Mana users and the Anima user went behind the Physique-stat-focused humans who had a shield and a sword.

As soon as they left the covers of the forest, the Aether and Anima user's energy surged in a hurricane as spears of fire and rocks surged forward while the dirt around the walls moved, and three humanoid golems materialized, measuring up to 3 meters each.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The powerful attacks struck the wall like demolition hammers, creating large damaged areas. While the wall's defensive capabilities were strong and buffed a 30%, it was a at the end of the day. Resisting too many attacks from First Cycle creatures was too much.

The Rose Fairies and ants weren't intimidated by their speed or attacks, and the second they became visible, everyone released their own attacks.

In total, there were around 40 ants and 30 Rose Fairies. Because the other party was too high level and they didn't want to use mob tactics and lose too many people, they gathered the top elites.

The Fire Ants were all born with the ability to spit acid, and this ability evolved as they gained levels, becoming an Aether ability that allowed them to spit fireballs by using their Aether Mana.

Amapola's wind energy surged as she attacked without holding back anything. "Kill them!"

For the Rose Fairies, whoever attacked Liu Shu was an enemy to be slaughtered. There was no need to hesitate. The ants similarly followed Ignatia's orders to "protect," so they similarly didn't hold back at all.

Seeing the almost hundreds of projectiles coming their way didn't intimidate the five people as they continued rushing forward. The man and woman at the front with shields raised shouted. "!"

Their shields glowed and created a semi-circular glowing shield in front of them.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The sound of their shields blocking the projectiles became the main cacophony of the battlefield while the three golems raised their arms and struck the wall.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The large fists collided like cannonballs, creating dents in the sturdy root wall. The Earth Sylvan's eyes flashed, and was about to buff them when a whistling sound was heard above them.

Rising her eyes, she saw a mass of seeds creating a perfect parabola while aiming at the golems. Her eyes widened as she sent a mental order. 'Move!'

However, she realized after hearing the whistling sound. So, it was too late.

BANG!BANG!BANG!BANG!BANG!BANG!BANG!BANG!BANG!

rained death from above onto the golems, creating several craters in their bodies and also sending several chunks of golem flying.

Her senses, which were connected and allowed her to see their Phoer Body Shard reserves, saw them plummeting and hitting zero. 'One attack wave, and they are dead!? How is this possible?! Even if they are Level 9 Golems, their defense can hold back a Level 10 for a few moments!'

That was not all. She suddenly heard the blonde woman carrying the shield in front shouting. "CAREFUL WITH THE TREES!"

Looking over, they saw the trees adorning the walls be surrounded by energy as their drooping branches suddenly whistled like whips as they split the air with their strength.

BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!

The shield bearers that appeared unstoppable came to a halt when the heavy strikes landed. They felt like a giant had punched their shields, making even their insides tremble. 'What kind of strength do these trees have!?'

While they didn't lose Phoer Body Shards because their defense was high, the weight behind the strikes was enough to make them feel dangerous. The Earth Sylvan shouted. "Their attack range is around forty meters, and- Careful! Another barrage is incoming!"

The shield bearers stomped the ground and tensed their bodies as their translucent semi-sphere defense solidified.

In the next second, their vision was covered with the explosive gasses created by the seeds, and their ears rang with the constant and rapid sound created by the small but numerous shockwaves.

The Earth Sylvan's face became tense and asked. "How are your Aether Reserves?"

The Blonde woman, frustrated and angry that the creatures they considered weak were proving to be much tougher than expected, answered with a snarling tone. "How do you fucking think they are!? Getting lower and soon zero if you fucking don't do something about it!"

The Sylvan frowned but didn't answer; now was not the time to enter a discussion with her. "I'll use my Anima energy to create as many golems as I can as shields instead of offensive! Use them to advance! Once we pierce through the wall, it will become easier!"

Inside, she regretted agreeing with their current leader to try and get the most benefits for themselves without informing their power. 'At least the leader will be able to come and help us eventually. There is no way those four weak women can beat him.'