Ascension of the Sylvan Cosmos.

Chapter 285. Terrifying Lakeborn Forest.

Once inside the forest, maintaining the marching lines was much more complicated. Forests in the Ceperet World had very tall trees, averaging over sixty meters in height inside mid-level zones. That wasn’t the only problem since the wildlife that lives in those forests wouldn’t allow their terrain to be invaded without a fight.

Naturally, like all living beings, survival instinct would prevent them from attacking large-scale armies such as Lorbase’s army. 

“Lord, there are no sights of local fauna!”

Baron Lorbase looked around and nodded, showing that he had heard the report. “If that’s the case, continue marching forward.”

Elenara spoke up, still not entirely convinced about Baron Lorbase’s actions. “Lord, if we continue forward, the right part of our army will go dangerously close to the giant lake of this forest. We must not underestimate nature!”

Before he answered, Evangeline interrupted, continuing to guide Lorbase according to her plans. “General Elenara, you are worrying too much again.” Evangeline kicked the side of her quadrupedal mount and approached. “Our army is strong and won’t be crippled by the forest. And if it tries to… Well, we’ll show it why it shouldn’t.”

Elenara protested with a harsh tone. “The forest doesn’t have a will, and it will see any large group of beings that gather as an enemy! It is our responsibility to avoid such things from happening and protect nature!”

Baron Lorbase raised his voice, glaring at Elenara. “You shouldn’t speak like that to Lady Evangeline, Elenara. She is someone important!”

Elenara’s expression twisted as if she had eaten a bug. She looked once at Lord Lorbase and then switched her gaze to the front.  ‘... When has this woman become someone that important? She must’ve done something when I wasn’t looking!’

Jolie, marching at the side on a fantastical brown beast, looked at this with an interested face, learning quite a lot from it. ‘Control… Mother does it in a slick way. Why try to control the animal's entire body when, by controlling how the head thinks, you can manipulate the rest of the body to your will.’

Still, she was not very sure about her mother’s tactic. She brought it up when Evangeline returned, speaking low so that nobody else listened. “Mother, why are you trying to weaken their army? We are facing a World Tree at the end of the day. Shouldn’t we use our own army to come later and sweep in?”

Evangeline fanned her face, making her silvery locks wave in a fascinating manner. “Isn’t this army a bit too strong? I fear that, at this pace, they will be the ones sweeping everything.”

“But…” Jolie trailed off on her words. Evangeline looked at her thoughtful daughter and smiled. “Love, I understand that you are worried. However, I’ve fought World Trees many other times in the past. Believe me, this time it won’t go too differently…” Evangeline paused. “Still, since you are worried. How about we avoid participating in the assault? We can look at everything from a distance and then see if your fears are right or wrong.”

Jolie didn’t have any more complaints. She smiled faintly. “Okay, Mother. Thank you for trusting my strange feelings.”

Evangeline laughed softly. “Worry not, dear. You are my daughter, so I rather trust your senses and worry. If we fail…” Evangeline shook her head. “Well, we’ll see what we do when that time comes. Let’s not be defeatists.”

Meanwhile, deep inside the lake, a being was awakened by the rhythmic steps of the large army.

“Hm…? What now?”

The algae all around the lake started twitching, communicating with the forest around it. Soon, it understood. 

“An army is crossing our forest? Why is this the case? Did we get discovered?”

It curiously started spying on the army, but what it learned was not what it expected. “... An army that wants to attack a World Tree? We guess they are speaking about World Tree Liu Shu.” 

While pondering about what to do, the being remembered what she felt a few days ago. Back then, there was a sudden aura that came out of nowhere from Liu Shu and covered her entire existence. The feeling was deep and powerful as if it came from a creature of a higher status than itself. The compelling force was such that even when Liu Shu didn’t know it, many trees at the edge of the forest had actually become more attuned to Liu Shu, escaping her control. 

“Attacking Liu Shu…” Somehow, when it said that, there was a sense of uncomfortableness that came from deep within its being. “... We should intervene as much as we can.”

The being’s aura changed from a peaceful one to a slightly more active and menacing one. The shift was small, and no one noticed. However, the forest around the army started rustling.

Jolie’s heart twitched, making her frown and look around in inquiry. ‘Am I being too paranoid? Why are all these bad feelings coming to me?’

She wanted to tell Evangeline again. However, what if nothing happened afterward? Her mother would probably start labeling her as a coward. That was a situation that she really didn’t want to be in. She had other half-sisters and brothers who were constantly fighting for attention from her mother, and she wasn’t about to fall from favor because of these strange paranoid thoughts.

The army continued advancing slowly and in a carefree manner. There were some attacks from creatures, but nothing they couldn’t deal with. Elenara, though, still had this hunch that something was about to happen. ‘The army's right wing should be at the lake level by now… Let’s hope that I was truly being too careful about it like Evangeline said.’

They continued advancing, but soon, Elenara, Lorbase, and the other high-level people heard the clash of weapons in the distance.

Elenara’s face dropped, and she quickly urged her mount. “Go! Go! Go! Army Section One! With me!”

A few moments earlier, the enemy army was approaching the lake, and some people started feeling a strange attraction toward it. It was as if someone was singing a charmful song in whispers, inviting them to approach and listen closer. 

A Level 31 in charge of this area looked back and frowned. He approached with his mount until their hooves were basically touching the water. “Where are you going, soldiers? Fall back in line!”

The soldiers blinked a few times and looked at their superior with confused expressions. One of them scratched their head and asked. “Huh? Captain, why are we here?”

While his first instinct was to think that they were being stupid and trying to act to avoid punishment, the army captain couldn’t help but feel a hint of surprise when the soldiers looked genuinely confused. He decided to answer honestly and see what was happening. “You came here by your own two feet, Soldier! Are you trying to avoid responsibility?”

The faces of the group of soldiers looked similarly shocked and bewildered. The gestures were just too genuine to be an act. One of them answered to him. “Captain, I… I have no memory of it! I swear that I am not lying!”

The army captain was about to speak again when, suddenly, several algae shot from the coast of the lake and latched around all of them. The faces of the captain went from confused to one filled with terror. ‘I couldn’t react to their speed!?’

Before he could even move, the Level 31, together with any and all soldiers within 20 meters of the lake, were violently pulled into the water.

SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH! 

Underwater, the soldiers tried to fight for their lives. However, the algae were either too durable or too many. They cut, and they broke them. Still, for each one they broke, five more would appear, all pulling them into the deceptively deep lake.

The Level 31 couldn’t believe it. He was using all his skills, creating massive cuts in the water, and yet, it was not nearly enough. ‘What is this!? What is this!? Why is there no information about a monster living in the lake!?’

Deep underwater, where the pressure started to affect him and light barely reached, the Level 31 looked upward and saw just a few rays of the sun piercing down as he fell. However, as if those rays represented his hope of survival, they were soon blotted out by countless algae rushing at him.

His face twisted with anger, and he shouted underwater. “RAAH!!”

However, as he was preparing to take his last stance, the voice of a thousand creatures echoed in his mind. 

“...Noisy.”

“Gah!?”

The impact of the single word made his eyesight flash white as if a ten-ton hammer had hammered his mind. Several algae coiled around his body and dragged him down at a terrifying speed. As darkness swallowed his sight, he muttered, water entering through his nose and throat as he did so.  “What… Are… you?”

The last thing he heard was a chorus that seemed to come from the deepest hellscape, burning his mind from the overcharging of his senses. 

“We are the Lakeborn Forst… Now, silence.”

On the other hand, several messages of Experience Points appeared in the Lakeborn Forest’s mind, making it curious. ‘Oh? While most are giving me zero Experience Points… There are a few interesting preys between all of them… Some actually gave us some Experience Points.” 

Looking outside the lake, Lakeborn Forest noticed that many people were looking over the edge of the now-silent lake—their varied emotions encompassed from deep fear to morbid curiosity. 

Lakeborn Forest looked between her Accumulated Experience Points and the people over the edge a few times. “... We should protect Liu Shu… It is our generous effort to protect her as a former World Tree.”

And so, the water broke again, and a massacre unfolded. 

When Elenara arrived, she saw not a carnage but an imagery that looked much more terrifying. Several green plants were speeding from the lake at frightening speeds, yanking her people into the lake in the dozens and creating loud splashes. Those fighting could barely resist until they were inevitably dragged with the rest. 

Her first intention was to fight whatever that thing was. ‘I need to protect them!... Huh?’ Just when she was about to leap forward, her entire body and senses as a Sylvan screamed danger, forcing her to jump from her mount. 

A millisecond later, several dozen vines surrounded her mount and dragged it into the water. Her heart tightened with fear. If she was on her mount, forget about fighting; she might’ve been dragged helplessly like the rest. ‘W-What is this creature?!’

Elenara, still mid-air, looked at the Lake as if it were the maws of a terrifying creature. Using her entire strength, her voice boomed outward. “DON’T FIGHT! ESCAPE! GET AWAY FROM THE LAKE!”

Whatever was hiding in that lake, it was strong enough to make her, a Level 32 Sylvan, feel like she would be helpless to resist. This was not a being that they should fight. 

Lakeborn Forest heard the woman shout, and her mood worsened. “... Noisy. Should we grab her? She looks somewhat strong; she should be good fish food.”Nôv(el)B\\jnn

However, knowing that if she pursued them now, they might become actually motivated to attack her, Lakeborn Forest decided to snatch away only those who didn’t reach the treeline surrounding the lake.

That distance was not small, though. At the end of the day, the lake of the forest was enormous. Hence, the range it spoke of was a massive stretch that claimed many more lives before everyone was outside of its range.  

The number of losses as people tried to save others and got tangled instead was terrible. When Baron Lorbase arrived, she saw Elenara looking around with a pale face and a group of terrified soldiers who didn’t even dare look toward the lake.