Chapter 14. Froorar’s Might.

Chapter 14. Froorar’s Might.

"Tell me, Rose Fairies, where is my son?"

After the Thornstride leader asked that question, nobody answered. All of them looked at him with wary eyes as they prepared for a battle of endurance until Flor arrived.

Even if the odds were 12 against 1, the fairies would not have much of an advantage. Even the strongest Amapola had these values as her ternary essences.

Aether Mana: 2174/2174

Phoer: 675/675

Anima: 990/990

If we then added her primary attribute, Aether, which is 21 points, it would not have been nearly enough to fight the Level 11 powerhouse.

Amapola, as the strongest, took the lead in the conversation.

"Tribe Leader Froorar, we know nothing about your child. Leave this place before our leader, Flor, arrives."

Froorar squinted, his vertical pupils thinning. "Amapola, you should already know that the little group you have gathered is not nearly strong enough to fight me."

Amapola spoke indifferently. "Remember what's our advantage. If we go into an all-out war, you might end up as the last Thornstride alive. We might be unable to kill you, but the rest are easy prey for us. We've maintained peace for more than four generations. Do you really want to break the peace our ancestors worked hard to bring to the Golden Sap Forest?"

Froorar laughed in mockery, his throat making strange noises. "Peace is what made our Forest weaken to this extent. The nature of the world is to fight. If not, why would the ancestral voice make us stronger through slaughter."

Amapola's face twisted, her red hair blowing with the Astral Wind. "YOU DARE!? The system promulges peace through nature's many resources to increase our strength! Strength is to protect nature, not to raze it to the ground! You all would disappear from existence without the protection Nature gives you, and yet, you are ignorant enough to not only not protect but EAT trees!"

Amapola wanted to keep berating, but Froorar lifted one of his feet and stomped it down.

BANG!

Liu Shu internally grunted as the shockwave traveled through the earth and hit her roots and core like a maze.

[-2]

Froorar was not too far away from Liu Shu's current position. That's why it damaged her slightly. However, her body quickly healed this kind of damage.

Froorar growled. "Amapola, do I look like I came here to listen to your ramblings!? Tell me where my child is, and I'll leave your pathetic tree-hugging race live!"

Amapola raised an eyebrow. "Is that supposed to be an insult? Chief Froorar, as I said at first, we know nothing about where your child went."

Froorar snorted, looking around with curiosity at the gathered Rose fairies. "However, how did you find me? Moreover, almost all of you are around." He smiled coldly, the stiff lips arching. "Did I come here leaving plenty of hints? Why could you follow me or even find me so soon?"

Amapola frowned. "Did you think we would answer?"

Froorar sneered. "No. But, even though I won't kill you yet, I can have some fun."

While Amapola was going to order to prepare to attack in his landing spot, Froorar used the tree behind the fairy and smashed onto it, bending the trunk backward slightly and using that like a sling to land on the floor firmly again.

Amapola's face changed. "Be careful with the Trees! Don't get close to them!"

Froorar licked his lips, looking around with predatory eyes and ready to pounce at the slightest chance. 'That first fairy should've died, but I haven't received a notification of her death... How could she survive with such heavy wounds? The second fairy I hit is probably out of combat as well. Sadly, I couldn't catch any of the Level 8 ones or Amapola...'

When Froorar was about to pounce again, a powerful voice was heard from the side. "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING, FROORAR!?"

Like a small hurricane, Flor descended, her bright red hair fluttering around as her face warped in anger. The pressure Flor released was even superior to the ten fighting fairies, making her look majestic and noble.

Froorar paused and looked over with a severe face. He could play around with these Level 9 and below beings, but Flor was someone who could kill him if things went south.

"Flor! I'm going to ask you one time. Where is my child!?"

Flor descended right before him, unafraid of his powerful body. Although she was 30 centimeters tall, a doll-like being compared to the almost 2-meter-tall Froorar, her presence was no less impactful.

"Froorar, I've never bothered taking care of your race because you never touched my bottom line. However, if you dare act as you will in my territory, I'm going to slaughter all Thornstrides from the Golden Sap Forest, even if it is the last thing I do!"

Froorar gritted his teeth, looking at the tiny fairy with a dangerous gaze, but then he snorted. "Whatever. I'll be going. It's not worth it fighting all of you over this."

Froorar looked at the surroundings again as if trying to memorize them and then left.

Amapola asked. "Leader Flor, why didn't we attack him as one?"

Flor looked at Amapola and used her hand to chop down at her forehead. "Ouch!"

"Did you forget why we are here? Do you want a full-scale battle to unfold so close to that little thing? Even if it is sturdy, look! She has received damage more than once!"

Amapola rubbed her forehead and looked over, seeing a few leaves falling around it. When Froorar was fighting, he naturally moved all over the place, and moving by Liu Shu's side was a matter of course.

In the aftermath, she lost around 20 Phoer, which is nothing to be worried about, but the fact that she was damaged to this extent was telling of what would happen if they dared fight here.

Flor approached Liu Shu while speaking. "Take care of the injured ones. Use the berries we've accumulated to heal them. They should work really well for deep wounds, as their vitality and healing properties are really powerful."

Then, she caressed the trunk of the tree and smiled. "Don't worry, little one. They are gone. Were you scared?"

Liu Shu's branches swayed as they moved very lightly toward Flor. Flor reached out and caressed them with a smile. "Okay, everything is all right. The bad guy has left."

While Flor didn't know Liu Shu's exact age, she could tell by how she behaved until now that she had an extraordinarily naïve and young mind.

Meanwhile, Liu Shu was looking around, unsure as to how to react. She had never felt this much fear in her short life.

The feeling coming from that Thornstride was extremely palpable. She knew that one wrong move would mean death. And, as a World Tree, while she was a creature connected to the Cycle of Life in an extremely deep level, she also feared Death.

There was an instinct, very deep inside, that told her to survive, no matter the cost, that she needed to continue pushing onward.