Chương 453: Above The Land Of The World Tree, Below The Hoofs Of A Thousand Beasts.

Inside the Wall Forest, the four groups continued their secretive actions, unaware that they'd been discovered.

"I wonder when they will recall us? We've been here for almost 2 months already. It is quite a dangerous location to keep sneaking around."

"I agree. The Wall Forest has quite a few powerful beasts and flora. Moreover, everything feels interconnected and much stronger than before."

"Right, right. Sadly, we can't see the new Titles that have appeared all around the forest. It seems to be protected by the System to some extent. Forcing us to uncover it might trigger someone or something." The leader of the group sighed and looked at them.

"I know that the runic rings protect our voices, making it so they can't be detected. But even then, a smidge of carefulness wouldn't hurt anyone. Will you continue flapping your lips and revealing all our plans for all to hear? Are you that bored?" The three people looked awkward, and one of them answered.

"But, leader, we are bored. We've been without new stimuli for so long that there is nothing else to talk about." Their response was enough to make the leader understand. He was a human being as well, after all. In the end, the lack of entertainment and seeing the same forest for so much time was making his mental health deteriorate at a rapid pace.

"Even then, we are trained troops. It's not like this is your first spying mission. Why is it so hard this time around?" There was a flash of sarcasm in the eyes of one person in the group.

"Well, I don't know." One member started with a sarcastic voice, only to continue.

"Perhaps because we are not hiding from people but from a World Tree that can see us from hundreds of kilometers away? Perhaps the fact that the World Tree can ambush us at any moment after discovering our location is a bit worrying. Or, hear this, what if we are currently being surrounded by an army after being discovered? That might be a few of the extra small details that are making our minds break little by little." When he finished the sarcastic speech, everyone, including the leader, was silent for a moment.

He naturally understood the dangers of their current mission. Regardless, he couldn't return without disposing of the few bags of seeds he carried with him. If they wanted to ensure the mission's success, they needed to plant as many seeds as possible. The leader sighed.

"I understand, I understand. Just… Even if you try to distract yourselves, try not to speak about confidential secrets." But as he was about to continue encouraging them, one of the hidden scouts patrolling the surroundings returned at high speed and with a pale face.

"Leader, there are big problems! There is a Beast Tide coming our way!"

"Ha?" The leader looked at the new arrival with a baffled expression.

"How is that possible? A Beast Tide should make the floor tremble and alert the birds around us."

"Leader!" The scout spoke with a solemn expression.

"Would I lie about something so serious and easy to verify!? Let's move out of their way first, and then you can suspect me as much as you want!" Everyone tensed and looked at their leader. It was clear that they supported the scout's words, as some were ready to fly off the second the leader nodded his head. The reason for his hesitation was that the event was very odd. How could there be a Beast Tide without a small earthquake? Therefore, he needed to evaluate if the scout had been compromised before deciding.

Nevertheless, looking at the way the scout was anxiously sweating and looking at him, he quickly discarded those thoughts. If the scout's acting skills were good to this extent, he could only blame himself for lacking the ability to discern deceit and truth. Therefore, he nodded solemnly and shouted.

"Move out! We are closer to the enemy's side exit of the Wall Forest, but we can only risk it." Everyone sighed in relief for a second. Then, one woman shouted.

"Leader, I know a few natural caves in the area! Going to those will be much quicker than trying to traverse the hard terrain of the Wall Forest!" Her words were like a small light in dark times, lifting everyone's worries for a moment. Without hesitation, the leader shouted.

"Lead us!" Their group began to move quickly, ignoring everything other than their objective. The woman ran to the front, traversing the Wall Forest with familiarity, her eyes moving around and quickly remembering the path toward these caves. Sadly, the woman didn't notice that below them, the World Tree's roots were wriggling as if laughing at her. A cave? What cave could there be when a World Tree controlled the forest? If Liu Shu didn't want there to be a cave, there would be no caves!

Within a minute, the group arrived at a location with a small cliff. The cliff was full of vines, with some trees hanging from it as if they defied gravity itself. The woman smiled while looking up.

"I found the cave the day I fell from that cliff while exploring. You can see that it has a large green foliage at the top. However, it's extremely fragile; stepping on that surface is like stepping into your doom. I was lucky in my fall, though. I got caught by the suspended trees on the walls before being able to safely climb down." If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it. The leader nodded after he looked up and asked.

"So, where is the cave?" The woman pointed diagonally to her right.

"Over there, past the twin trees that split like a 'V'." It didn't take long to arrive at that place. However, when they were there, there was no cave entrance—only the rocky base of the cliff.

"Where is it?" A man asked with a frown, looking around, trying to spot the entrance. One person looked at the woman's face and saw confusion flashing in her expression. That hint of stupor made his stomach sink.

"Huh? How could it be?" The woman looked back, checking if the twin trees were those she remembered. She even approached them to check the marks she had left in the past, and soon, she found them.

"The marks are here… Where is the cave?"

"We have no time for hesitation! We are at the bottom of a cliff with little to no space to flee if the Beast Tide catches us!" The Leader shouted.

"Where is the cave!? At least, where do you think it was? Quickly!" The woman snapped out of her momentary daze and became nervous. If something happened because she told them the wrong hiding location, her future would be quite grim.

"L-Leader! The cave should be over there! I remember it very clearly! Look, the marks I created that day are still here on this tree!"

"Earth Aethermancers!" The leader shouted and pointed at the cliff.

"Send a pulse and see if there are any cave entrances. There might've been a landslide, hiding it below a mass of dirt." No one really believed those words. If a landslide had happened, the trees growing on the cliffside would've similarly followed. But they were still there, making it impossible for something like that to happen. Still, they didn't say those words and started investigating the area. Their group had two Earth Aethermancers, a man and a woman.

The man had light brown hair and a slender body, and he wore a black and dark green outfit. The man frowned once he placed his hand on the wall with his female companion.

"Leader, I can feel some kind of obstruction. My energy can't seep through this wall."

"What?" The leader instantly felt that there was some hidden plot. A Beast Tide, the disappearance of a cave, and now the Aethermancers being obstructed. The first two could be classified as bad luck. But the third one was artificial unless some kind of incredible treasure hid here. From what his subordinate said, such a thing should be impossible. After all, any treasure that could've been hidden in the cave would be in his subordinate's pocket.

"There is something wrong here! Let's move out and try to find other places to hide!"

"Leader, since we've reached this point, we could start digging a hole to hide underground!" The man checking on the cave shouted. Nevertheless, his words were quickly shut down by the leader.

"No! You couldn't even scan if there is a cave, and now you want to create one? Quit dreaming!" The woman suddenly spoke, her eyes shining with confidence.

"Leader! Above!"

"Above?" The woman nodded and pointed at the cliff.

"We can create a platform there for us to hide! There won't be any problems supporting our group for a little while, even if the ground trembles quite severely. Only a landslide would give us trouble! But the walls were very solid when I checked." The leader nodded at her proposal, and their group quickly climbed and waited for the beast tide to arrive. The platform was around 14 meters above the ground and covered from the sides so that they were invisible to creatures running below them.

The Beast Tide arrived not long after. In just four more minutes, they could see the treetops in the distance swaying as the sound of thousands of galloping monsters reached their ears. Leaning slightly over the platform, everyone's face paled. The land below was utterly covered by thousands of monsters of all sizes, colors, and forms moving together like an ocean. Some weaker beasts would occasionally trip, but the stronger beasts stomped on them, breaking their bodies and killing each other.

Even then, the numbers only increased as time passed. At that moment, an ominous sound reached them. Crack~. Everyone blinked and looked sideways. There, a small root with blue energy veins was waving at them.

"Have a good time~." Together with the gentle and soothing voice, the platform was separated from the cliffside. As their eyes widened and the other side of the cliff revealed itself, they saw a mass of glowing blue vein roots wiggling. The leader's eyes bulged in rage.

"WORLD TREE!" But his scream was swallowed by the mass of beasts below while Liu Shu looked down mockingly.

"What is this?" Inside a botanical workplace in the Golden Sap City, 12 people gathered around a table with a few seeds placed in a glass cage. The seeds were violet in color, and they had strange and unnatural markings you usually didn't find in nature, resembling small runes. Verdantia was among the 12 people.

"You are the best of the best we could gather related to botany in the Golden Sap Country. As you've probably heard, there was a Beast Tide a few days ago, which dealt with an unknown group." That event was somewhat tragic. From what they heard, quite a few groups had gone missing. Moreover, since the Wall Forest had become agitated, exploring the place was highly dangerous, forcing many to stop their activities for the moment. Verdantia continued.

"These seeds were part of what they carried, which World Tree Tianlian Liu Shu recovered and gave to us. She recovered other tools and items, which other professionals are now investigating. We've been chosen to investigate what these seeds are for." After she spoke, the botanists were thoughtful. One of them asked, confused.

"Since she has recovered them, why have you urged us to drop everything else and focus on this?" The female expert frowned.

"It is very inconvenient for us to drop our work because botanical research requires constant attention. Missing one situation that might mark the main difference in plant behavior might be the edge that pushes otherwise successful research into failure." Verdantia sighed and rubbed her face in frustration.

"Would we call you people if it wasn't something urgent? I can't deal with some of you, really. Even if your skills are good, your brain is just too strange. Anyway, let's start the research. I'll explain your roles in a moment."