Ascension of the Sylvan Cosmos.

Wert's group consisted of 30 people: twenty Level 15 to 19s, nine Level 20 to 24s, and Wert himself. So, while Flor felt uncomfortable at what Wert was saying, she didn't say anything. The last thing she wanted was to start a battle with the group with so many powerhouses.

As a Level 18 creature, she could feel the threat of some of them, and she knew that in a 1 vs 1, she would lose against four people on the other side, including Wert. If she had so much difficulty, she could already imagine, from experience, how many deaths would follow an all-out battle with them.

Wert asked. "So, tell me more about this place. You found the Life Tree, then, you took room here, and thanks to the Life Tree, your race evolved, right?" 

Flor nodded. "Yes. That's a good summary."

Wert pondered. "I heard about a Beast Tide that occurred a few months ago. Was that related to you?"

Flor blinked. "Beast tide?"

Realizing that he was speaking to a wild creature, Wert explained. "Sorry, I meant, like, a large group of beasts of different races that would usually not gather, gathered and traveled together."

The Rose Fairy Queen remembered the Thornstrides and nodded. "That's right. That was related to us. There was a group that wanted to eat the Life tree, so we fought and protected it."

Wert nodded. "I see."

"Wert, there are traces of larvae in this path."

Flor frowned. "Don't go near the incubation area. The Ants will get agitated if you do. They are very protective of their young."

Wert looked at Flor and nodded. "Listen to Queen Flor. We are here to investigate this Ant Queen's Nest, not to start an all-out war. There must be a few thousand ants in this hole, so if we fight, we are not guaranteed to make it out alive." 

"Understood, Sir."

The man sighed and crossed his arms while looking at the complex cave system surrounded by the roots. "This Life Tree sure has deep roots. It is large, but it shouldn't be able to cover this much area with its roots, no?"

Flor didn't know the exact differences between World Trees and Life Trees, so she was honestly confused. "Really? Aren't Life Trees like World Trees?"

The man shook his head. "Different. Their roots do not stretch far. Their aura does. That's why they are called Life Trees because their existence brings life to the forest without touching the environment. Different from World Trees, which, by dominating the environment, make everything around them change." 

Flor nodded, having heard some of this information before. "I see. I learned something new."

"Found the traces!" An Explorer came back from one of the tunnels and pointed into it. "There are a few Ant Queen traces toward there." 

Flor looked over and saw that it wasn't the tunnel section that led to Ignatia's nest but to the Ant Princess. She almost sighed in relief. Wert nodded after giving Flor a look. "Go on." Then, he asked. "Are we going in the correct direction, Queen Flor?"

Flor looked at Wert, confused. "What do you mean? Didn't you want me to not say anything about the path?"

Wert laughed. "Well, I am asking now. So, how about you answer me?"

Flor sighed. "You are really… Unpredictable." 

The man shook his head. "Look at things from my perspective, and it will be quite easy to know why I am doing these things."

Flor snorted, but she eventually answered. "Yes. Their Queen is down that path; you then turn to the left and take the path that goes down. There, you will find her breeding area. Approaching that will probably trigger her, so I hope you all understand. This is like going into the crib of your child and poking around without permission; the human parent would become agitated, don't you think?" 

Wert hummed and nodded. "Okay. That's a fair comparison. We'll be understanding and not attack." He then shouted. "You've heard the Rose Fairy. Don't attack when she appears! Just form a defensive encirclement. If anyone attacks before I give any order to do so, they will be heavily punished!"

Their group advanced, and soon, they walked down the slope. When they were halfway, one of the Explorers with Earth Aether affinity felt the ground trembling faintly and shouted. "Something's approaching!"

Wert tensed and shouted. "Remember, don't attack!"

Flor spoke. "I'll go to the front so that the Queen recognizes me."

Wert nodded quickly. "Go!"

Flor flew forward, and just as she did, ants started appearing around them. One after another, they appeared from the ceiling, ground, and everywhere, surrounding them. 

Many of the Explorers tensed and felt their hearts accelerating while grabbing their weapons. Wert shouted as he looked around. "DON'T ATTACK!"

One of the lower-level explorers almost cursed as he looked around. "They are massive!"

The ants around were Ignatia's strongest ants, with a few dozen above Level 10 and being high-tiered. Their size reached more than four meters in length and almost one and a half in height. 

There was one Soldier Fire Ant especially, Level 15 and E+ Tier, that towered above the rest of the ants. Its presence was also quite menacing among all the ants. However, even this ant proved to be not that big compared to the last ant that arrived, surrounded by worker ants.

Wert bit his cheek and smiled wryly. 'That's a heck of a big bug.'

The <Ant Princess>, being Level 18 and having recently arrived at the D- Tier thanks to Ignatia's and Liu Shu's nourishment, was big enough that she almost occupied the entire ant tunnel. In raw stats, she was even above Flor. 

The ant tunnels were semi-circular and nearly 4 meters in diameter. The fact that the monster ant in front of them occupied more than half of it was enough to make many of the Explorers take a step back.

Flor looked at the giant ant with a bit of awe. 'To think that this is just one of Ignatia's children. She is growing at a tremendous pace since she was fully accepted by Liu Shu and gained that title.'

The enormous <Ant Princess> looked at the Explorers and clacked her mandibles loudly, creating a sharp sound that made some of them flinch. 

Flor spoke at this time, flying in front of the giant ant. "Easy there, they are not enemies. They just wanted to check on you. I'll lead them outside after they make sure of some things, don't worry. The children won't be in danger."

The <Ant Princess> looked at Flor with her giant compound eyes, and knowing that the creature in front of her was her Queen's favorite Rose Fairy, she complied and relaxed her menacing stance. Flor blinked a bit. 'Hm? She looks much more intelligent than I expected. Didn't Ignatia say that all her children had no hope of gaining wisdom?

Wert's eyebrows twitched. 'So… she wasn't lying…' Wert approached carefully. "Queen Flor, I am getting closer to look, okay? Tell her not to do anything strange."

Flor was a bit reluctant, but remembering how Ignatia told her to trust in her, she nodded. "Okay. As long as I am here, she won't become violent." She told the Ant Princess. "Tell everyone not to attack. He is approaching to do a harmless thing."

The Ant Princess looked at Wert and felt anxious. While small, the being in front of her felt like it had a furnace inside of him, producing tremendous amounts of ternary essences. It felt even more dangerous than her Queen. Still, with her limited intelligence, the Ant Princess tried her best to control her body reactions.

Flor told Wert. "She is VERY agitated, so please don't do anything extreme. She is not the most clever."

Wert nodded and focused on the Ant Princess. 

The sensation was naturally not pleasant, so the Ant Princess squirmed around, her legs stomping the ground. This movement was taken as discomfort from the rest of the ants, and clacking sounds began sounding in the surroundings. 

One of the Explorers became tense and asked loudly. "Wert! How much time is left? The ants do not like their big momma feeling that uncomfortable! They are getting agitated!"

Wert clicked his tongue. "Twenty more seconds! Flor! Do something!"

Flor frowned deeply, a trace of coldness flashing in her eyes. 'This is Ignatia's child, and you are making her feel too uncomfortable… Wouldn't it be better to just…'

But Liu Shu's voice reached her before more dangerous thoughts materialized in her head. 'Speak to the ants and tell them to calm down. Ignatia told me it will work, don't worry.'

Hearing the soothing and gentle voice of the World Tree, Flor's agitated mind also calmed down, and she shouted, her aura carrying a deep authoritative feeling. "Relax! She is doing well! Nothing will happen!"

Stunned looks appeared on the Explorer group's faces when the ants really calmed down. Many of them looked at Flor and had a change of mind about the powerful Rose Fairy. 

Wert did as promised, and twenty seconds later, he stopped. When the Ant Princess felt that penetrating and uncomfortable feeling leaving, she relaxed, but she still clacked her mandibles at Wert a few times.

Wert lifted his arms. "Okay, okay. Sorry! It is my fault! I know that it feels horrible."

When the Ant Princess clacked her mandibles three more times and looked sideways, Wert chuckled a bit. The Explorers blinked twice, not understanding what was happening. Even Flor was confused.

Wert turned around and explained with a smile. "Completely inoffensive ants! This Ant Queen is Level 18, and her stats are incredible. However, her intelligence is extremely limited. There is a bigger chance of a meteor suddenly smacking us on the head and killing us than this big bug becoming a True Ant Queen."

One of the higher-ranked Explorers almost choked. "That doesn't make ants inoffensive! What if these…!" The Explorer pointed around exaggeratedly. "...Go rogue and start attacking people!?"

Wert grinned. "That doesn't make them inoffensive, that's right. However, how about them being tied to the Life Tree by a Title?"

"Huh?" 

Wert waved his hand and shared a title with them. "Look at this."

<Ant Queen Blessing>: You are bound to Tianlian Liu Shu, and as long as she lives, you will share the same values that she has. You are bound to live as a protector, and in exchange, you and your children receive:

There is a 5% chance for your children to <Tier Up> at birth.

+10% Stats in the area dominated by Tianlian Liu Shu

+10% Growth rate in the area dominated by Tianlian Liu Shu

+20% Lifespan in the area dominated by Tianlian Liu Shu

Wert shared the title with everyone, Flor included, and saw the difference from the one they had discovered before. 

Wert commented. "The other was <Queen's Blessing>. This one is <Ant Queen Blessing>. So, she is the one giving the title to the ants. There can't be a higher realm title, so to speak. Moreover, if you read, it says that they are bound to live as protectors. So, as long as no one provokes them, they will be docile." Wert's eyes flashed with many ideas, and he spoke. "In short, completely harmless ants. A never before seen case."

One Explorer frowned. "But what if someone provokes them?"

Wert snorted. "Oh, fu-, I mean, frick off. As if any race doesn't react aggressively if anyone tingles their balls." He waved his hand. "Anyway, let's go back up again. We must find a good location to set up the Explorer Association building."

Meanwhile, Flor looked at everything with a stunned face. 'Wait, he misunderstood the Ant Queen as referring to the <Ant Princess> instead of being a title coming from another Ant Queen?' 

Flor looked at the enormous Ant Princess and smiled wryly. 'Well, I mean, I would've also confused her if I didn't know Ignatia. This princess is really… imposing.'

The <Ant Princess> looked at Flor and tilted her head, making her long antennae flop around. Flor cleared her throat and caressed the Ant Princess's head. 'A bit cute as well… Hm, wrong, very cute. Hmhm~.'