Chapter 109. Nine Months.

Chapter 109. Nine Months.

"No news about them?"

"No, sir. They have disappeared like the previous group."

It was afternoon, and they were in an open garden with beautiful white flowers and vibrant green grass. The place was peaceful, with cute critters running around.

The man receiving the report was tall and handsome, with very rare penetrative violet eyes, jet-black hair, and an air of shadowy elegance. The atmosphere around him was phantasmal, yet with an underlying momentum that felt physical.

The person reporting was a human woman wearing a black uniform. She was extremely respectful toward the man before her because he was the leader of the <Void Witherwood Exharchs>.

Even when she herself was Level 17, and the person before her was three levels ahead, the difference in strength was significant enough that she didn't dare disobey.

The man stopped swinging his sword, becoming thoughtful. "The first group that went to investigate the recent movements of the Golden Sap Forest was made of a Level 10 and a few sub-level-10s, right?"

The woman nodded. "Yes, Sir."

The man hummed. "Them disappearing can be attributed to being careless. After all, there are a few Level 10 monsters in the Golden Sap forest. So, to recover things and also investigate if something is happening there, we sent a group with one Level 15 as the leader, a Level 13 Sylvan, and three Level 11s, right?"

The woman said stoically. "There was a Level 12 and two Level 11s, sir."

The leader smirked. "Well, almost the same thing. Moreover, the Sylvan knew how to transform, right?"

The woman nodded. "Yes, sir. She was an awakened Earth Sylvan."

"A Level 13 Sylvan, while transformed, is very strong. Even an average Level 19 human could have trouble dealing with her."

The woman internally agreed, and the man asked. "Do we have higher-level Sylvans that had developed their transformation skills?"

The woman shook her head. "No, sir. She was the highest level Sylvan in our organization. The reason she even agreed to join us was because we could implant some extreme ideals and feed them to take root in her heart. She would ignore almost anything else without listening to reason."

The man looked at the woman and smiled. "And we just lost someone like that? Probably someone who could've grown to become my right-hand woman?"

The woman saw that, although the purple-eyed man was smiling, his eyes were glowing quite ominously. Before answering, she needed a few seconds to regain her composure and avoid a tremble in her voice. "Yes, sir. We lost contact with them."

"Oh, Really? Well, then go and come back as quickly as possible. I want to know what is going on."

The woman made an elegant bow and quickly left, making Malachai blink. "Am I that scary?" He touched his angular jaw and commented. "I think I am quite good-looking, though. Well, perhaps she is a strange human woman who prefers plants... Human woman... What was her name again?" The man frowned and realized a bit later. "Ah, Aeiliana! She is the only woman with brown skin in our place, so she must be Aeliana."

Somewhere in the Golden Sap Forest, the energy was gradually becoming denser. During the last months, the grove where the World Tree lived had undergone noticeable changes.

All the trees in that nearby area looked tame, and some looked tired. Their branches and trunks were bending because of a lack of nutrients, and a few others had blue roots piercing through their bodies and slowly moving as their Phoer Body Shards slowly dropped.

Going deeper into the grove, a tall and menacing wall formed of powerful and solid-looking roots could be found. Unlike nine months ago, its shape and size had undergone a magnificent transformation.

It was taller, and the roots were orderly, giving it a complex form.

Moreover, one could see that the wall had moved outward as the being that created it became stronger.

If someone analyzed it, they would see that the wall had reached an impressive Level 8. Moreover, the trees on the wall had increased by one after the circumference expanded. That was not all, as those defensive trees on the walls had grown longer branches, increasing their range.

Going further in, a flourishing town appeared. The residency area had expanded from 10 to 20 houses, and there was even a new area with a bunch of wild animals. These animals were animals similar to chickens, and they could be used as a source of meat and eggs. They were called <Milkfruit Chicken>.

They were a domesticated species that had evolved to become one of the main sources of meat for the whole population. The best thing about them was that, since Sylvans had certain empathy, the way it was genetically changed made it similar to a fruit. What did this mean exactly?

The <Milkfruit Chicken>'s meat tasted quite horrendous until they died of old age. This was because, like fruits, they took time to ripen. In the meantime, during their lifetime, they would lay eggs. There were two types: non-fertilized eggs, which were also used as a source of food, and fertilized eggs, which would become the next generation.

This created farm animals that lived as they pleased, and when they died of old age, they could contribute their bodies to the cycle of nature.

It was also a race with a naturally short lifespan of around 4 years and able to multiply quite quickly. Sadly, their potential was even lower than that of Rose Fairies, and all of them were born as F-Rank monsters with almost zero chance of becoming F Rank.

In recorded history, only a singular F+ Rank <Milkfruit Chicken> existed, which evolved after accidentally eating a powerful fruit from a World Tree. That chicken lived for 8 years, and its corpse was sold to a powerful Sylvan for the birthday party of their child.

The most interesting fact about them was their size. Unlike what one would expect, they were taller than a human when standing straight, reaching around two meters in height. Their bodies were also quite efficient at producing milk, which was why they were so widespread. It was as if nature created them to be the perfect farm animals.

Besides the farm, the town's structures had all become slightly more refined. While they all maintained their tree shape, the canopies were beautifully arranged, and their trunks were more stylized.

All these changes were caused by the World Tree living in the middle of the town, which had developed and reached Level 8, growing to nearly 17 meters in height.

On this day, as Liu Shu was doing her daily routine of checking her surroundings, she noticed a creature approaching from the sky. 'Hm? A bird... no. A Sylvan?'