Ascension of the Sylvan Cosmos.

Chapter 214. Checking on the Fire Ant’s Progress.

When Liu Shu finished their armor, she decided to look outside and noticed that the town was more silent than usual. The population had stopped growing at a very high pace, and some people left because of the war. 

This did not bother her in the slightest. Liu Shu kept track of the Rose Fairy, Myconid, and Fire Ant populations. Those three had been doing great during the last year due to the lack of wars. Not only were they increasing due to their new training and Liu Shu's berries, but several high-level ones had appeared. 

The Fire Ants were constantly working underground, expanding almost at the same rate that Liu Shu's roots were doing it. Ignatia would occasionally call Liu Shu to help reinforce tunnels and to help cover certain exit areas her large nest had.

They needed a lot of food to help feed so many thousands of ants. To do that, Ignatia was not resourceless. First of all, as an Ant Queen, she had the ability to assign certain roles to different ants. 

For now, they were more like verbal roles than ones recognized by the system due to the relatively low level. First of all, Ignatia's worker ants had cleared a large area underground and dragged down a few of the farm animals they bought outside. Then, Ignatia assigned another set of worker ants to take care of those animals by creating a fertile land where pasture grew. 

Being underground, it was challenging to grow plant life due to the lack of sunlight. This was easily fixed with a few techniques and species that didn't need as much sunlight. The first technique to deliver natural sunlight was creating a series of holes and reinforcing those holes with solid material. That created a very narrow place where sunlight fell in and had a difficult time getting out, fostering a greenhouse effect. It even worked as a natural irrigation system after reinforcing the soil above them to avoid collapsing due to rain or other natural events. 

It was clever engineering that Ignatia semi-invented, combined with her inherited memories. Ants were not too intelligent, but that was usually the case for Level 0 ants. While Ignatia's children were not the brightest regarding interactions, everything else that could be done following a set of specific instructions was no challenge. 

Strong leadership was necessary for ants to perform military, construction, mining, farming, and similar labor. Thankfully for this colony, their queen was Ignatia.

A worker ant approached Ignatia and moved her antennae, releasing pheromones to communicate. Ignatia hummed. "I see; Little Liu Shu is done with her things. Liu Shu?" 

The World Tree, who was observing the complex and magnificent ant tunnel system, looked over and praised. "Hello, Ignatia! Your children have done a super nice job! It's soo big and, and, you even have farms of both animals and crops! It's awesome! It's awesome!" 

Ignatia's facial features softened and she laughed happily. "Thanks a lot, love. How have you been doing recently? I have heard that you had a problem with Fortuna?"

Liu Shu complained like a child would to their parent. "That Fortuna is looking down on me, Ignatia! I spoke with her and attacked her, but Fortuna's resistance was so easy to overcome. She is mocking me and holding back! I might not be up to her caliber, but even then, I don't think I am much weaker than her! And yet, when I attacked her, she even allowed me to break soo many roots, attacking me back with quite a weak soul pulse!" 

Ignatia could perfectly imagine that, if Liu Shu had a humanoid body, she might be rolling on the ground from pure indignation. That image was cute enough that she laughed aloud, prompting Liu Shu to pause and complain to her. "Why are you laughing, Ignatia? This is serious!" Before Ignatia could defend herself, Liu Shu jumped topics. "Oh, by the way, I crafted an armor for you! I hope you like it!"

Ignatia burst into laughter and opened her arms. "Come here, you little mischievous girl. I want to give you a good squeeze!"

Liu Shu blinked and extended a few roots that were caught in Ignatia's embrace. "How about you let me answer everything you spoke to me about in this little rant, hm?" 

Taking Liu Shu's size into account, the section Ignatia was hugging was something like a hair. However, Liu Shu felt comfort in her soul from Ignatia's hug. She hummed and agreed softly. "Okay~."

Ignatia nodded a few times. "Okay, okay. So, let's start. First of all, I don't think Fortuna was holding back, dear."

Liu Shu commented, incredulous. "Impossible! Her roots were so… Squishy? I could break them apart quite easily! She only damaged me when she took me by surprise."

Ignatia smiled faintly. "You are quite an all-rounded World Tree. Still, your main attribute is <Physique>, right?"

Liu Shu blinked and commented. "Well, number-wise, yes. But growth-wise, my strongest attribute is <Willpower>."

Ignatia tilted her head, her long antennae flopping sideways. "Really? How many points per level?"

"Ten!"

"Ten…" Ignatia repeated, incredulous. 

Liu Shu bragged. "Right, right! Aren't I awesome~?"

Ignatia nodded honestly. "You are, darling. That kind of growth is C Rank growth." 

"Huh?" Liu Shu's root twisted in a question mark symbol. "How do you know?"

Ignatia smiled. "Well, some of my ancestors were C Rank and above, so I know a little." 

Liu Shu exclaimed. "Ohhh! Your ancestors were strong!" 

Ignatia faintly laughed. "Well, indeed." She then shook her head. "Sadly, they were too aggressive. Since the very beginning, all Ant Queens have probably been aggressive, forced by ghosts of the past to be suppressed by all others. I hope I can create a different future with you, Liu Shu…" Ignatia paused for a second and smiled again. "Enough about me, love. I think that you are physically stronger than Fortuna. From what I heard, Fortuna is an anima-focused World Tree. Her strong suit is soul attacks." 

Liu Shu hummed. "But… She only did 5000 damage or so with one soul attack. Did she hold back there as well!? HMPH! Not taking me seriously…" 

Ignatia smirked and spoke softly. "Liu Shu~, to resist soul attacks, we don't use our physical bodies but our willpower and our soul, right? How much resistance do you have against those types of attacks?" 

The World Tree looked at her system and muttered. "Oh… around sixty percent for both…" 

Ignatia's lips twitched. 'I thought she would have around 40 percent… Even then, Fortuna did 5000 damage? I might go stupid for the rest of my life if I receive that attack. I'll need to tell the others to be more careful.'

She cleared her throat and commented. "So, it's not that Fortuna was holding back, Liu Shu. I truly believe that she was fighting you seriously. The thing is… You are just superior. As simple as your numbers are bigger than her numbers."

Liu Shu stayed silent for a few moments and then muttered. "Am I really that strong? I know I am strong, but I don't believe I am 'capable of overwhelming another World Tree eight levels above me' levels of strong!

Ignatia asked. "Eight? Isn't she Level 27?"

Liu Shu spoke, confused. "That's what she said…" 

Ignatia rubbed her chin. "So she secretly Leveled Up. I wonder how? You always make the world around you go crazy when you Level Up." 

"Hey! Last time, it was an important milestone! It is normal for me to at least cause some kind of… I don't know… event!" 

Ignatia snorted. "I have not heard of other World Trees causing as much ruckus! Tsk, tsk. My little darling sure is loud when doing her business." 

Liu Shu complained. "I am not! Also! Why does that sound so wrong!?"

Ignatia giggled, caressing the roots in her arms gently. "Anyway, love. What armor are you talking about?" 

Liu Shu hummed. "Well, this one…!"

Hearing the extended tone in the last word, Ignatia asked. "What's wrong?"

Liu Shu hummed. "I was going to carry it over through the ground, but it is a bit far… Well, never mind, I guess I can create a hole in the Vault and throw the armor down to this level. Tell your children to go over and get it!"

Ignatia looked sideways and commented. "Go get me an armor that will appear in this level soon. Also, don't worry about the nest's integrity. Liu Shu is the one doing it." 

The ant tilted its head, wondering what her mother was speaking about. Then, the earth rumbled when the World Tree opened a hole directly into Ignatia's floors, making the ant almost scream 'Help!' to her other sisters when she remembered Ignatia's words. 

After going out, the ant saw a hole open in the ceiling further ahead and approached curiously. Her large ant head tilted, and she watched as several roots extended in a net-like structure. 

The armor fell from the sky, slowed down by a net of roots on each level, and eventually landed on the intended floor. Liu Shu hummed happily. "Done!"

Ignatia clicked her tongue with a penetrative tone, and the ants received the message. They picked up the armor and carried it over to Ignatia. When she saw the armor, she instantly fell in love with it. 

The armor was mainly red, with darker and brighter tones. It had gorgeous golden shoulder guards and a beautiful red flowing skirt. The fabric looked smooth and easy to break, but when Ignatia pulled a bit, she noticed how tough it really was. 

Ignatia squealed. "Is this really for me, Liu Shu?!" 

Liu Shu giggled. "Read its name."

Ignatia analyzed the armor, and she screamed in happiness. "Ahh!! This is so nice! I love it so, so much! <Ignatia's Flaming Carapace Armor>! I love it!!" She turned it up, down, around and around, looking at all the details. 

She threw the armor onto her makeshift bed and glomped Liu Shu's roots in her arms. "You are the best, Liu Shu! I love you!"

Liu Shu giggled and answered. "I love you too~. Did you see the stats?"

Ignatia shook her head. "I just read it was Level 20~. Let me read, let me read~."

[Level 20 Ignatia's Flaming Carapace Armor (Low-Grade Flawed Level)]

+2100 Aether Mana Shards

+4400 Phoer Body Shards

+2100 Anima Energy Shards

Aether (+100), Physique (+200), Anima (+100), Willpower (+100).

Skills:

<Exoskeleton Fusion>

<Ant Queen's Distress>

Note: An armor that increases the <Ant Queen>'s defense to another whole new level. It was clearly created with the intent to protect her against all attacks and hastily rescue her in a worst-case scenario.

Reading the note, Ignatia was touched and rubbed her cheek with the roots. "Thank you so much, Liu Shu. This is one of the best gifts I've ever received." 

"Hehehe~. You are welcome!"