The top floor of a <Town Hall> was usually sorted out to look like a large ballroom. There were wooden pillars symmetrically lined up, while a large circular table occupied the middle. The best feature of these rooms was neither of those details, though. What caught the eye was the ability to look out of the windows and look far beyond to the horizon.

The <Town Hall> structure was the second-tallest one, excluding the defensive <Guardian Trees>, Life Trees, and Liu Shu herself. The only structure taller than them was the gigantic colosseum that could be seen from almost anywhere in the city.

That building, now an integral part of the city's power balances, continued to deliver even more than what it was intended for.

However, neither of those things impressed the five envoys. What made them gasp in surprise was the single figure far in the distance.

"Is that…" Lysara squinted her eyes, the green glowing veins gaining luminosity. "A World Tree?"

While such a discovery was usually not a cause of surprise, they were currently on a planet with a <True World Tree>! Other than some lucky Life Trees, World Trees shouldn't be appearing on Ceperet.

And yet, standing tall and proud at a distance, a gorgeous World Tree, much smaller than Liu Shu, could be spotted.

Ignatia smiled faintly and nodded. "Yes, Lady Lysara. That's Lady Fortuna, a neighboring World Tree, and also the first World Tree Liu Shu assimilated."

Orwen's expression was dark as he looked at the being far away. With his powerful senses, it was easy to distinguish whether the large tree was a World Tree or just a giant tree of an unknown species. "...That's impossible."

Ignatia blinked twice, looking at Orwen's expression for a little bit. Then, she shook her head and gestured towards the table in the middle. "Let's sit."

"Don't ignore me, bug!"

Orwen's aura exploded outward, damaging the floor and ceiling as he glared at Ignatia. Before Ignatia could register what was happening, her entire body was slammed against the ground.

Flor shouted, frightened. "Ignatia!"

Thankfully, before the pressure crushed Ignatia's body, Veyra stepped forward.

"ORWEN!"

Veyra's voice erupted outward with even more strength, blasting Orwen's aura back. Orwen frowned at Veyra's words, and he growled. "What is wrong with you? We are the envoys of the Covenant! How dare a little <Fourth Energy Cycle> ignore the words of a <Sixth Energy Cycle>?"

Veyra was about to thrash him when a ripple full of strength and life energy engulfed the area like a deep ocean.

"Enough."

Everyone felt as if their bodies were held in place for a second, and all gazes moved towards the woman emitting such a monstrous aura.

Elyne's gentle and smiling face was now indifferent as she looked at Orwen. "This is no place for you to wield your strength at will. Remember that the floor you are standing on is a living being."

Orwen couldn't even open his mouth, his body fringed by the raw aura of the priestess. Ignoring him, Elyne crouched down and gently caressed the wooden floor. "Sorry, little one. That hurt a lot, didn't it?"

Her healing energies sank into the ground, spreading to Ignatia as well. In a single instant, everything was healed back to how it was before Orwen's emotional outburst.

Ignatia coughed up old blood twice from the internal wounds before taking in a deep breath. As she calmed Flor with her hand, she noticed someone approaching and looked over.

Elyne smiled apologetically and extended her hand. "Sorry, Ignatia. It was so sudden that I couldn't block him in time. Are you alright?"

Ignatia swallowed her complaints and forced a smile. "Yes. Thank you, Lady Elyne."

After grabbing Elyne's hand and standing up, Ignatia patted her dress and breathed in and out once to calm her feelings. 'That was dangerous. Even if Orwen killed me, the other side would probably end it with just a scolding. No matter how much I look down on that being, I should be more courteous just to not fall victim to his random emotional outbursts.'

Looking at Orwen, Ignatia bowed once and spoke softly. "I am sorry for my rudeness, Lord Orwen. I thought that, since you could easily see Lady Fortuna, Lord Orwen's words were of astonishment."

After straightening her back, Ignatia's mind flashed with cold emotions. 'You wait until I am stronger than you. When that happens, you'd better pray that you are not in my vicinity. Otherwise, you'll become food for my young.'

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Elyne suddenly spoke. "Ignatia, please don't resent him."

Ignatia's lips twitched once. 'It seems that who I needed to be the most careful of was not Veyra but this woman.'

Elyne, as if reading her thoughts, smiled lightly. "We are not your enemy, Ignatia. Please let it slide this once. I promise that Orwen won't be able to deal any more damage to his surroundings." She looked sideways and spoke lightly. "Cael, walk by his side. If he dares to attack others like before, subdue him."

"Yes, Priestess."

The tall and muscular wolf-plant man walked to Orwen's side and looked down at him. "You'll be punished once we return. For now, stay silent and continue listening to Lady Veyra and Lady Ignatia's conversation. Try to learn one or two things while you are at it."

Ignatia's lips twitched, but unexpectedly, Elyne spoke up before anyone. "No. I will take charge from here on."

The four envoys blinked and looked at Elyne with puzzled eyes. The woman smiled faintly. "Veyra's probing nature was getting on my nerves. So, we will ask directly and receive honest answers. If we want to trust each other in the future, playing word battles will only result in planting seeds of resentment in each other's hearts." Looking outside the window at Fortuna, Elyne chuckled. "That little flower's presence is more than enough for us to treat Ceperet as a potential superpower."

Ignatia honestly felt pressured when facing Elyne. While Veyra was intelligent and powerful, cunning and able to put traps every other sentence, she was still someone whom Ignatia could somewhat read.

However, with Elyne, Ignatia was blind. 'She looks like a gentle and sincere woman. However, there is a feeling of overwhelming power that lingers beneath her calm surface, unnerving me.'

Elyne sat on the main seat for the guests while Ignatia took the main seat for the leaders. After sitting down, Ignatia took a silent breath and smiled. "Lady Elyne, please speak. What do you need from us?"

Elyne tapped her round chin, her large and beautiful green eyes looking thoughtful. "I want to ask… What are the conditions for Little Liu Shu to swallow a World Tree in her domain? Are they complicated? Do you need powerful resources or enchantments?"

Ignatia shook her head lightly, her long antennae bobbing from side to side. "Neither of those, Lady Elyne…" Ignatia paused and spoke carefully. "I am going to be honest. However, none of us is sure how she can do that. From our knowledge, such actions should've been impossible from the start. Yet, Liu Shu did those impossible actions as easily as if she were breathing."

With a sigh, Ignatia smiled wryly. "Liu Shu is… Someone I hold very dear in my heart. She is someone I am willing to die for. Yet, at the same time, there is always this sense of mystery surrounding her. When I try to peer into her, I am stuck in a mist of unknowns and questions. The more I answer some mysteries, the more complicated it gets to understand her as a whole."

Ignatia sincerely looked at Elyne and chuckled. "I love her to bits, but I never really understood her core existence. Still, I can assure you. Liu Shu is one of the most gentle and loving beings towards those who don't go against her."

Elyne listened to Ignatia's confession and smiled softly. "Great. That's all I wanted to hear. You, who have gained a title that places you as Liu Shu's mother, are someone whom I can trust."

Her words struck the minds of the other four like a loud thunderclap. Veyra looked at Ignatia with widened eyes for a second before she controlled her expression and smiled. 'Interesting.'

Meanwhile, the other three were full of disbelief, especially Lysara. She couldn't help but ask, looking at the Humanoid Ant Queen with a complex expression. "You… How? How were you able to achieve that?"

Ignatia was not flustered. She just smiled and answered as simply as possible. "I just love her to bits. Down to her last leaf, I adore her with all my heart."

The five envoys became silent and looked at the motherly expression on the Ant Queen's face. Even when her insectoid eyes would usually show no emotion, at this exact moment, they could somewhat feel a soft glow in them.

"..."

Silence descended in the room for a few seconds before Elyne chuckled. "Right. There doesn't really need to be any other feeling."

Leaning back on the chair, Elyne sighed softly. "This will get complicated."

Veyra and Lysara frowned at her words, not really understanding her reasoning. As if reading them, Elyne asked aloud, her eyes glancing sideways toward a certain individual. "Having such a loving mother, what do you think the reaction of the child will be when she learns that someone almost killed her mother?"

At that instant, not only Veyra and Lysara, but also Orwen's expression fell slightly. Orwen opened his mouth lightly. "Even if she is angry, I can just block her attacks for a little while until she calms down. I doubt her strength is enough to damage me."

Elyne looked deeply at Orwen and warned him. "You will only defend. If you dare retaliate, I will get angry."

"Understood, Lady—"

BOOM!

Everyone in the room suddenly felt their hearts constrict as an endless aura surged from the center of the city. The power behind it was such that the <Fifth Energy Cycles> standing on guard outside quickly rushed inside and surrounded the five envoys warily.

Elyne and the other five looked out of the large window towards the gargantuan World Tree and saw its eyes slowly flutter open.

As they looked up, Liu Shu's eyes fully opened, and the world stopped. Not figuratively, but literally.

As everyone felt their very beings frozen in time, they saw her look over. Her verdant green eyes, shining with endless ternary essence, locked onto them.

"...Who are you? And why are there bloodstains belonging to my Mom on the ground?"

Elyne's heart jumped as she felt control of her body returning. 'I… I was locked down by the aura of a Level 100 World Tree? Just how absurdly high are her stats!?'

Seeing the face of the World Tree gain a touch of anger, they wanted to speak up and clarify. However, before that, they saw a single root pierce through the window and latch around Orwen. The speed of the root was so fast that the <Sixth Energy Cycles> barely reacted to it.

Then, Orwen was flung outside the room and thrown into the sky.

"You will pay."

A single sentence full of murderous intent dominated the whole area. The World Tree was furious.

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