Ascension of the Sylvan Cosmos.

Chapter 272. Kaedric Gets to Know Golden Sap City’s World Tree.

While Liu Shu was advancing through the Lakeborn Forest, her roots slowly opening a path patiently and little by little reaching the middle, a person arrived at the edge of her domain who set her alarms off. “Hm?”

Turning her gaze away from the Lakeborn Forest, the World Tree’s gaze fell on a caravan that was approaching Golden Sap City. In one of the trailers, there was a tall man wearing torn clothes with a large sword by his side. The sword was covered in dirty rags, but its aura could not be completely hidden.

Liu Shu quickly caught his presence because he was traveling with people who were too different from himself in terms of strength. So, where most groups would have a relatively homogeneous aura, this one had a bright sun in the middle of faintly lit fireflies. The man was probably hoping for those around him to hide him, which couldn’t be further away from the truth.

“Who are you…?” Liu Shu pondered for a few moments, finding the person’s aura somewhat familiar but different. “Hm…” Usually, she wouldn’t have cared much, but this person’s strength was very high. “He is probably between Level 30 and 40, right?”

Her curiosity about high-level individuals was always quite high and with reason. After all, these people could be either spies or dangerous beings who could threaten her domain. 

Meanwhile, the man was pondering how to gather the information he needed. ‘Usually, there are information networks in each city. However, Golden Sap City is too young to have a well-established and hidden information network. I guess I’ll need to collect information the traditional way.’

Looking out of the window, he could see the expanding forest in the distance. From being one of the smalles ones, Golden Sap Forest had transformed into the biggest forest in the province. This was both good and bad for people wanting to enter the city. 

It was good for those with enough strength since the surroundings provided a natural barrier for low-level bandits that wouldn’t dare enter it.

On the other side, with the forest’s basically unstoppable growth, creating paths was difficult and costly, naturally isolating Golden Sap City from lower-level merchants.

Nowadays, caravans that didn’t have at least one Level 20 would not dare traverse the Golden Sap Forest. Still, where there was danger, there was opportunity.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Once they approached the edge of the forest, Kaedric leaned out of the window and looked ahead, spotting a group approaching them. The man at the lead smiled and said. “Welcome to the edge of the Golden Sap Forest, merchants. We are part of the mercenary group <Fleeting Leaf>. We offer our protection in exchange for a fee. What do you think?”

The leader of Kaedric’s caravan was not new to this journey, he had completed it several times before. And the reason for his success was actually these mercenary groups. The man leading the caravan spoke with a smile. “I can pay up to 500 <Lir> for the escort, gentlemen.”

“500 Lir?” The mercenary shook his head with a sigh. “That’s too low, mister. It costs quite a lot to move around these places, don’t you know?”

“Oh, I do.” The merchant laughed. “However, the journey is just four hours, right? I don’t think your group is worth much more than 100 <Lir> per hour.” 

Seeing the man’s cunning smile, the mercenary clicked his tongue. “You are a veteran around this zone, aren’t you?” Sighing, he pondered and said. “I can accept those rates. However, if we make the journey faster than your estimate, I want a little extra.”

The merchant nodded seriously this time around. “I understand that. As long as you help us reach in three hours or less, I promise that I will add an extra 200 <Lir>.”

The mercenary’s face lit up slightly, and he extended his hand with a toothy smile. “Deal.”

Kaedric looked at the interaction with curiosity. ‘Does Golden Sap City not regulate these people? If they are too overbearing, they might start making access to the city much more complicated, no?’ However, just as he thought that his pupils shrunk as his eyes moved toward the forest. ‘Those are… ants?’

Kaedric rubbed his bearded chin and squinted. ‘Perhaps things are not as simple as I think they are.’

The caravan moved forward and arrived at Golden Sap City in less than three hours, and as promised, the caravan leader gave 700 <Lir> to the mercenary. The journey was neither peaceful nor dangerous. With the mercenary group’s protection, all wild beasts approaching the vicinity were pushed away, and no beasts managed to make it closer than fifty meters from the merchandise. Still, there was some fighting since the large groups of people and beasts that a caravan such as theirs had attracted a few top predators of the <Golden Sap Forest>. 

Kaedric couldn’t help but be somewhat impressed. ‘From the reports, this forest was a sub-Level-10 zone no more than five years ago… I’ve noticed a few Level 20 beasts already.’

By the end of the journey, the wall of trees opened up, and the Golden Sap City entered their sight. Kaedric’s face couldn’t help but change to one of shock. “This… Is this really Golden Sap City?”

Towering root walls protected by almost 100-meter-tall massive trees spanned the entirety of his vision. The strength that each of those Guardian Trees gave off was enough to intimidate the average <Second Energy Cycle>. Not to mention, the walls looked like unbreakable heaps of roots interconnected to stop any and all enemies. 

And even with these towering beings, Kaedric could still see the canopy of another being beyond the walls. The massive World Tree in the middle of the city reached heights that could be seen from anywhere as long as you stood in the vicinity of the Golden Sap Forest. 

A woman walked by Kaedric’s carriage, saw his shocked expression, and smiled. “Is this your first time in Golden Sap City, Sir?”

Kaedric glanced at the woman and nodded honestly. “Indeed. I was really not expecting…” Turning his eyes back at the towering walls, he muttered. “...this.”

The woman chuckled. “Your reaction is between the milder ones, sir. I’ve seen people falling to their knees in awe and others so intimidated that they actually turned around and left.”

“Leave?” Kaedric asked, confused. “Who would leave and why?”

The woman’s eyebrow raised. “People who come here do not all come with good intentions.” Looking at the giant World Tree in the distance, she laughed. “If I were someone wanting to do evil and saw Lady World Tree, I would turn around and flee as well. Who dares to cause a ruckus in her domain?” She shook her head with a sigh. “Only fools would dare to do wrong after seeing Lady World Tree.”

Kaedric couldn’t deny it. This place was terribly imposing even for him. ‘No wonder people didn’t want to aid us in attacking this place. Our army is severely lacking. To siege this, you need at least a Level 40 and a few dozen Level 30s… Even that might not be enough…’

“Halt!”

The loud voice of the guard gathered everyone’s attention. The leader of the caravan was somewhat confused as well. Usually, they would nod at him and let him pass. The man stepped forward and spoke, taking something from his pocket. “Hello, Sir Guard. We are from the <Green Dandelion Merchant Group>, here is the permit.” 

The mercenary leader at the side spoke, somewhat wary. “Um, we were just escorting them. Do we need to remain here?”

The armored guard shook his head. “Go. Our business is with them.”

The mercenaries didn’t dare disobey and quickly left. If the Golden Sap City guards had done business with you, those people would usually be in trouble, and they didn’t want to be part of that trouble.

Meanwhile, the armored guard took the man’s permit card and nodded. “Indeed. You are who you say. However, we’ve received orders to check your entire caravan from above. We are similarly unsure of what is happening. However, as long as you cooperate, I promise that there won’t be any problems.”

The Merchant leader quickly nodded twice and shouted, looking back. “Hey! Move your asses out of the carriages! We are receiving an inspection.” He then added. “Oh, and if you have something that can hurt Golden Sap City, you better turn around and run now before you are caught!”

The woman chuckled. “See? This is what happens when… Hm?” Not receiving an answer, the woman looked sideways and realized that the man was missing. “Mister?” 

Meanwhile, Kaedric had rushed out and hidden back in the forest, his face severe. ‘Have I already been noticed by the World Tree?’ He couldn’t help but feel his palms getting sweaty as he looked at the massive World Tree in the distance. A nervous chuckle escaped him. “I haven’t been nervous since my first days when I went to war…”

Looking at his hands, he could feel the slight trembling together with the rapid beating of his heart. The sensation of fear and nervousness slowly growing in him made him look at the World Tree with another expression. ‘There is no need for me to continue. Our campaign is a complete suicide mission. If we really want to make a dent in this place, we’ll need to involve the neighboring <Provinces>. Local cities and sects are already too weak to even threaten this World Tree.’

He suddenly saw a small glint in the distance that made his danger sense flare up. A chill climbed up his spine, and he quickly jumped backward. 

BANG!

A dust cloud surged upward from where he had previously stood. “What!?” Looking over, he saw a massive ghostly thorn stuck in the soil that slowly dissipated into Aether Mana. His lips arched, but his eyes were trembling in fear. “So… You really know that I am here.”

A voice that made the pressure of the surroundings increase severalfold descended, simultaneously coming from nowhere and everywhere. “You people really don’t learn. You are in the forest. You are in my domain.” Liu Shu’s voice gained a touch of coldness. “You are in my body, as I am the Forest. How could I not notice a little beast roaming my body?”

Kaedric looked at the hole that the ghostly thorn left behind and swallowed his saliva. “I am not your enemy.”

“Lies.” The World Tree instantly exposed him, her echoing voice carrying disdain for his cheap lie.  “Someone of your strength sneaking around in rags and traveling with an honest merchant group as a cover can be nothing other than an enemy.” 

Kaedric could feel his heart rate increasing by the second. He knew that if the World Tree decided to eliminate him right here and now, his chances of leaving this place alive were basically zero. Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, he spoke stoically. “Lady World Tree. I am here to gather information about you.” 

The World Tree paused, and Kaedric could feel the gaze of the powerful being looking at him closely. “Oh? You actually dared reveal your intentions?”

Kaedric licked his chapped lips and spoke. “Hiding them from you insults your intelligence, Lady World Tree.”

After saying that, the man could feel a droplet of sweat falling from the side of his face. He, a Level 35, acted as if he was a small rodent being looked at by its predator. If he were not in his current tense situation, he would laugh at the irony of the ongoing events. 

The World Tree asked, her powerful voice gaining a touch of amusement. “Are you trying to coax me so that I let you leave with your life? That’s quite cute.” Kaedric’s face dropped. “However, I had no intention of killing you in the first place.” 

This surprised the man, instead, he heard the World Tree asking him about something that made him start thinking that being killed was not that bad. 

“Tell me, what are the <Azure Rose Confederation>’s thoughts about my existence? You are the army commander of Baron Lorbase, right?”

‘S-She knows me!?’

Kaedric’s lips arched in a wry smile as his pupils trembled. He mustered the strength to answer, his body being flooded with adrenaline. “I-I can’t answer that, Lady World Tree. I will be executed if I-”

“That’s not an excuse~, Kaedric. You either die here, or you tell me and live to tell the tale. You want to take information out about myself, right? Then, pay for it and tell me information about those who want to gather it. It’s that simple~.”

Kaedric’s forehead was perspiring quite badly, and suddenly, he noticed something tightening around his legs. He saw two roots with glowing blue energy veins when he looked down. “A gentle yank and…” The World Tree whispered softly and playfully. “Nom~.”

That gentle whisper felt more terrifying than anything else Kaedric had heard in his life. Under such psychological pressure, the Army Commander decided to tell her everything he knew and Lorbase’s plans of attacking her due to his convictions.

“I see~. Now, go, Kaedric. I hope that if you ever return, it’s not with an army… Well… perhaps… I wouldn’t mind it that much~, hahaha.”

The soft and ethereal laugh echoed around him as the presence and roots of the World Tree receded, and the place became calm again. Without a single second of hesitation, Kaedric turned and left.