Once the Manta Ray descended, the group of 200 powerhouses and Ceperet leaders lightly jumped down. The place the Manta Ray used to put down those riding it was above where Flor specified.

Veyra looked around and, as the voice of diplomacy, spoke up. "This city is gorgeous. The trees acting as buildings are not only mighty but also enormous. Moreover, since they are well spaced, walking around doesn't feel stifling. On the contrary, it feels like walking around a forest with sparse flora." Her lips arched faintly. "Whoever planned out the city architecture is a genius."

While Flor wanted to feel proud and happy that someone on Veyra's level praised Liu Shu, she was too tense to feel any positive emotions.

Not minding the silence from Ceperet leaders, Veyra looked at Liu Shu's figure. The rest also followed her gaze.

For the first time, the being made out of thorns and branches spoke up. His voice, an echo that seemed to spread from within the creature's stomach, was masculine but clear. "Verdant Skyflower must've confused some data points. Is this truly a World Tree that's younger than a century?"

Veyra glanced at Orwen lightly. After looking back at Liu Shu's gorgeous figure, she opened her mouth. "Flor, tell me truthfully, what Level is this World Tree?"

Flor was confused and spoke, her words cautious. "Lady Veyra, Liu… Lady Heavenly Willow is Level 99, currently advancing into the 100th Level."

Orwen snorted and moved his head made out of thorns to glare at Flor. Inside two voids placed where eyes would normally be, two light red lights shone brighter than before. "Flor, just because Lady Elyne can't pierce through her defense, your lies are too easy to discern. There is no way that a World Tree that is in the middle of advancing to its first Ascension would reach such heights."

Flor's eyebrows gently scrunched, puzzled about the strange hostility in his tone. 'When did we offend this thorny creature?'

"Lord Orwen." It wasn't Flor but Ignatia who finally opened her mouth. "I am unsure of the reasons for your attitude. Nevertheless, we will not lie to beings whose strength is far beyond what we can even discern."

Orwen's gaze pinned Ignatia, and he spoke lowly. "Ant Queen, the fact that you are still alive even after so confidently coming out of your nest is due to Lady Elyne's mercy. Otherwise, your life would've been ended right as we discovered you."

Ignatia's mind flashed with many thoughts. 'Ho~? Humanoid Ant Queens are a source of fear even among interstellar powers?' She was not worried that this man would lash out and kill her. 'That woman, Veyra, is constantly keeping an eye on Orwen. It seems that this person is the one with the least amount of influence among the five main envoys.'

She had been closely looking at the five people, and now she completely discerned their dynamics. 'Elyne is the leader, the wolf-plant person appears to be a protector, Lysara is a support and supervisor of some sort, Veyra is the spokesperson, and Orwen is a follower of some sort with no real influence. That being the case, Veyra should…'

"Orwen, cut it. I told you to behave yourself. What do you gain by antagonizing them?"

As Ignatia expected, Veyra spoke up, her tone curt as her purple eyes locked Orwen down. 'Great, this can work.'

She patted Flor's back lightly and smiled. "Let me lead."

Veyra, Cael, and Lysara instantly glanced at Ignatia, their eyes flashing with different emotions. Flor felt a sense of relief when her reliable wife spoke to her, and she nodded obediently. "Alright."

Seeing through Flor's emotions through her body language and tone, Veyra's eyebrows rose imperceptibly. 'Those two don't have a common relationship.'

Ignatia, therefore, took the lead as Ceperet's representative. "Lords and Ladies, I will be guiding you from now on. I do not mean offense, but Lady Flor is currently not at her best. To avoid mistakes and misunderstandings, please allow me to interact with the Lords and Ladies."

The main envoys looked at Elyne, asking her with their eyes if that was okay. Elyne's eyelashes fluttered, and slowly, she opened them. The previously pristine green eyes had a few streaks of red on them, showing the damage she received a few moments ago when trying to spy on Liu Shu.

A gentle smile spread on the woman's lips. "Go ahead, Ant Queen. You are someone who is trustworthy and won't do something to hurt Lady Heavenly Willow, are you not?"

Ignatia's smile deepened, her insectoid eyes leaking no emotions. "That's right, Lady Elyne. For that child, I can do anything."

Orwen quipped. "Even destroying your own nest?"

Elyne frowned. "Orwen."

Ignatia didn't mind, though. Her body remained steadfast as she answered her honest feelings. "I won't give up my nest, because without it, my ability to help her would basically disappear. My strength and my nest's strength are two interlocked attributes. Moreover, while I dearly love all my children, I only have one Tianlian Liu Shu."

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

Whatever conclusions they drew from those words were left up to interpretation. Orwen, who thought Ignatia would find herself torn, felt uncomfortable with Ignatia's great response.

Veyra's lips gained an amused arc before she spoke lightly. "Sorry for this. Lady Heavenly Willow is too large for a Level 100 World Tree. Therefore, we were doubtful. Usually, Level 100 World Trees are half her current size. And that measure is for those World Trees who have reached the S Tier. While the profundity and aura of Lady Heavenly Willow are incredible, the quality doesn't seem to reach that of an S Tier."

Ignatia used her hands to gesture in the direction they should walk and spoke after the group started walking toward the <Town Hall>. "Our Lady doesn't really like formal titles, so later, when communicating with her, I recommend addressing her intimately as Liu Shu." Setting up a friendly mood, Ignatia moved towards explaining some peculiarities of our big girl.

"Liu Shu has always been rather tall compared to her peers. Her strength similarly surpasses that of her peers at the same cycle."

Veyra hummed. "That's interesting. Although I would recommend you not to expect… Liu Shu to continue that trend. The difference between a Fifth and Sixth Energy Cycle is 50 levels. Surmounting all those would mean for Liu Shu to have more stats than someone who goes through 5 <First Subcycles>, 2 <Second Subcycles>, 1 <Third Subcycle>, and 1 <Fourth Subcycle>."

Ignatia tapped her chin and eventually nodded. "I understand." Then, she slightly veered the conversation off of Liu Shu. "Liu Shu managed to conquer the world rather swiftly, so our information and foundations are still light. I am unsure as to what your superiors want from us. May you resolve our curiosity?"

Veyra smiled lightly, almost forcefully pulling back the focal point where she wanted it. "Well, our leaders were interested in the information letter Verdant Skyflower sent. In that letter, details about Liu Shu were explained at length, assuring us that allying with her would be a great opportunity that we couldn't pass up. Those who received the communication were skeptical until they read one piece of unreal information."

Ignatia answered with a smile. "What could that be?"

Veyra's smile became more prominent, and she didn't answer. Instead, her two purple eyes glowed lightly as they glanced at the colossal World Tree.

The silence stretched for a few moments before Ignatia had to give up. 'Other than Liu Shu's specialness, there is nothing much that can move an Interstellar power… Sigh. She wants to force it out of my mouth to see if they are missing information.'

Ignatia read Veyra correctly. The woman left everything vague because it was sensitive information. So, if Ignatia was not careful, she would reveal more than what Veyra had. And if she didn't? That would give Veyra leverage while asking her why she lied or hid information.

Overall, this placed our Ant Queen in a cornered state if she wanted to keep important details hidden. '...Why didn't Skyflower send us a copy of the letter? Now I am walking blind!'

"Lady Veyra, while I am unsure what Lady Verdant Skyflower spoke about in the letter, there might be some inaccuracies with reality. So, please excuse me if what I said differs from the knowledge you have."

Veyra internally clicked her tongue. 'Masterful cover. This Ant Queen is really intelligent.'

"Our Liu Shu's abilities are plenty. Among them, she can profoundly influence the skills, experience gain, and stats of those living within her domain, among many other effects. Other than that, what made Liu Shu's conquest several times faster and have so little resistance from the world's inhabitants is her ability to assimilate large flora in her domain."

Orwen wanted to speak at this moment, but Lysara put pressure on him. Veyra ignored the small altercation. "That's indeed impressive. You should have a list of Liu Shu's blessings for those living within her domain, right? May I take a look?"

Ignatia paused, confused and thrown out of rhythm for a moment. 'She didn't push further on the ability to assimilate large flora?'

Still, she didn't have much time to think, so she answered straight away. "While we do have a list. I don't have it on me right now." Ignatia showed a slightly apologetic expression. "Once we arrive at the meeting location, I will ask a secretary to sort it and give it to us."

In their position, hiding the information they asked for was not really an option. Even if they were currently in talks to become allies, it was more of a subordinate position. After all, when someone had a weapon and the other side was unarmed, every single claim was bound to be advantageous for the former.

So, amid word battles, Veyra tried to squeeze information while Ignatia put effort into hiding as much as she could. The only advantage Ignatia had in their conversations was that the other side was there to become their allies. So, they couldn't be too rude and be blatant in their information search.

Flor looked from behind as Ignatia battled with words, with Veyra not showing a single trace of weakness, and her ruby-like eyes glittered like gems. Even amid the suffocating tension, Flor's mind could only admire her wife's poise. 'Ahhh! My wife is so attractive!' She really wanted to reward Ignatia with a thousand kisses and mark her with her pollen!

Meanwhile, Elyne, Lysara, and Cael glanced at Ignatia with faint surprise in their eyes. They had not expected Veyra, who usually extracted almost every single piece of information she wanted in a few minutes, to struggle with this relatively low-level Humanoid Ant Queen.

Lysara frowned lightly. 'Were Humanoid Ant Queens this intelligent? While they aren't stupid, their intelligence is usually focused on war tactics and expansion, not on diplomacy and wisdom…' She felt a hint of threat from Ignatia. 'With such profound intelligence… she is more dangerous than I gave her credit for.'

At the same time, Elyne looked at Ignatia's back with curiosity. 'So different from others of her species… Does becoming the mother of a World Tree have so much influence on them?'

With her skills, she was able to examine the status pages of others in detail. It was something almost insulting, but Elyne was forced to do so for her own safety. A multitude of skills enabled low-level beings to kill high-level ones, and some envoys fell victim in the past. So, being careful overshadowed any uncomfortable feelings.

Once they arrived at the <Town Hall>'s highest floor, one with expansive windows covering all four sides, the five main envoys and the leaders moved toward the circular table in the middle.

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