Ascension of the Sylvan Cosmos.

Chapter 267. Nexus Branches In Sirol City.

In a hidden room in a remote part of Sirol City, there was a group of people gathered. All of them had frowns on their faces, while many looked on with angry and confused faces. A tall and burly man slapped the table and asked aloud to the silent group. “What is happening!? Can someone explain to me where we had the leak and how!?”

His angry shout made a few flinch while others remained calm. One of those who was calm looked over and spoke. “Beartol, we’ve investigated, and no one seems to be compromised.” 

“Fuck you!” The man spat sideways, and he sneered while pointing at the one who spoke. “If nothing had been compromised, my brothers and sisters wouldn’t have been caught by that snake, Taro!”

The man being pointed at sighed and took a cup of wine in front of him, swirling it a few times. “I told you, nothing has been compromised. Taro has redoubled his efforts, that’s all. He must’ve found an important lead, and he is following those tracks.”

Beartol frowned and looked at him for a few seconds. “This is not like you, Calef. Usually, you would be either planning or trying to hide your tracks. You look too relaxed.”

Calef shook his head. “I don’t know what’s happening or why Taro suddenly decided to start cleaning the city. So, of course, I am completely lost on how to tackle this situation. I tried sending a few of my people through secret underground tunnels, but all of them got caught.” He smiled sarcastically and sighed. “Luck doesn’t seem to be favoring us. The first location Taro sent people to investigate, and they found one of our most hidden lab rooms.”

Beartol was surprised and asked, his face showing disbelief. “Impossible! Those labs are hidden with countless runes and arrays. Finding them by chance is like finding a needle in a stack of hay on the first try!”

Calef stood up and shook his head. “Tell the <Echoing Abyss Harbingers> that we are going to retreat from Sirol City. It is not worth to continue trying to create an underground society now that Taro has grabbed our tail.”

Beartol asked, confused. “Should I tell the <Void Marigold Wardens> the same?” 

Calef nodded. “I heard that this place is going to become a middle-level ground, our powers will be stationed in other provinces were we are effective.”

Beartol raised his thick eyebrows. “Who is coming to this province, then?”

Calef smiled. “From what I heard, the branch directly above them, the <Abyssal Nexus Zealot Sect>.”

Beartol’s face changed slightly. “Those crazy people are coming here? What about the place they were in before?”

Calef shrugged and walked away while talking. “From what I heard, they’ve managed to convert an entire province to the south, including a World Tree, to follow our purpose. Now that they are done there, they are about to come here and deal with World Tree Tianlian Liu Shu.”

The rest of the people at the table looked between them, and one of them stood up urgently. “Wait, wait, wait! What about us?”

Calef paused and looked back. The other people here were high-charges of Taro’s government that had defected toward their side. Of course, now that Taro was following their tracks, their involvement being brought to light was just a matter of time. 

Beartol looked at them as if they were bugs and sneered. “What about you? You, of course, will die! We can’t have useless people like you living, can we?”

Calef walked to the side of the room and touched the wall. Suddenly, the walls illuminated, and a dense orange smoke filled the room. The ones in the room became alert and tried to leave, however Beartol stomped the ground, sending a powerful shockwave that smashed all of them against the walls. 

Then, both of them turned around and left the room, locking the doors behind them. A few moments later, the people inside started banging on the enchanted door, but without being able to do anything about it.

“Help!”

“Please! I don’t want to die!”

“I will continue listening, please!”

“We haven’t betrayed your trust! Why are you doing this!?”

The desperate screams didn’t affect the both people from the Nexus branches. Beartol asked, impatient. “How long will that thing take to work?”

Calef shrugged. “Who knows? Between one or three minutes, I would say. However, this is something that Jolie made…”

“Jolie…” Beartol frowned. “Is she leaving as well?”

Calef shook his head. “How could that be? She is Leveling Up like a crazy woman. I heard that she is close to Level 30 already.”

Beartol scratched his head. “Who is she, really? Her background seems a bit more complicated than I expected.”

Calef sighed, his arms crossed. “Who knows, Beartol.” Patting the big man’s shoulder, he continued. “The best thing is not poking our nose in her business. Otherwise, you will end up like Finnian… My previous leader.”

Beartol nodded in understanding. He had a bad temper, but he was not stupid. Messing with Jolie was the last thing he would do. ‘A scary Sylvan…’

“That was an interesting conversation. It seems that I have been underestimating you, Nexus people.”

Startled by the man's voice, who appeared practically out of nowhere, Calef and Beartol looked sideways. Seeing the elegant man with narrow eyes smiling at them, Calef uttered in disbelief. “Taro? You… How!?”

Taro smiled and shook his head. “That’s something beyond discussion. Anyway, this place is completely surrounded. Your people have been mostly apprehended as well. It has been an eventful month, but now, there is truly nowhere to hide… her eyes reach everywhere.” n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

The way Taro said “her” made Calef and Beartol frown. Calef looked around, and he smiled faintly while sneakily walking toward the wall with Beartol. “So, since you’ve got me trapped, how about you reveal who this woman is? Did you get some sort of seer in your ranks now?”

Taro looked at them with indifferent eyes, and he shook his head. “No, a seer is someone inferior in comparison. Either way, do you want to fight until the end, or will you surrender and be killed swiftly?”

Beartol snorted. “Dying without fighting? You are daydreaming.” He grinned murderously and spat. “I’ll take a few of you with me before I die.”

Taro shook his head. “You won’t take anyone with you. I know your skills and strength. Our group is more than enough to suppress both of you.”

Beartol raised his foot. “We’ll see about that!”

When he initiated his action, a man behind Taro tapped the ground with his staff, creating a transparent film on the ground. 

BANG!

Beartol stomped the ground, but to his surprise, nothing happened. Right after, three people rushed forward from behind Taro, starting a brutal melee against Beartol. Taro ignored that battle and focused on Calef. “So, what are you going to do? Face us and die, try to flee and face a fate worse than death… It’s up to you, really.”

“A fate worse than death?” Calef laughed. “You don’t know what those words mean, Taro. You might be intelligent, but I was able to dance below your nose for a few years, and without that stroke of luck, many more would’ve followed!” Calef shook his head. “You are too arrogant for your intelligence.”

The City Lord’s lips arched faintly. “I’ve known about your presence for years already. I just wasn’t too sure of exterminating all of you without leaving bothersome remnants until recently. Moreover, the worst thing your people did was make criminal gangs kill each other.” Taro mocked. “A pitiful image for someone who wanted to destabilize Sirol City, don’t you think?”

His words made Calef feel faint anger. However, soon, his lips arched in mockery, and he tapped the wall, opening a secret passage. “See you later, Taro.”

He then fled, the wall closing behind him. Taro looked at the closed wall and shook his head. “He seems to have chosen the fate worse than death… Liu Shu, he is entirely yours.”

A gentle and soothing female voice echoed in the room like a chorus, adding an imposing presence to the otherwise peaceful voice. “Okay~! So many silly fertilizers running around, it makes it quite interesting!”

Beartol, who was fighting tooth and nail with the three attackers, couldn’t help but look sideways in surprise. “Did you just say Liu Shu!? The World Tree!?”

Taro laughed faintly. “Do you really have the time to look my way?”

BANG!

The shield of one of the fighters struck right on Beartol’s temple, making his vision flash white. He tried to recover, but those attacking him wouldn’t let the chance go, and two swords and one spear pierced his body.

Beartol felt his body’s nerves ignite in pain. However, he kept a fierce expression as he looked at Taro. “This is not enough to kill me!” 

Taro stepped forward, instantly appearing in front of him, and sliced his head off with his thin sword. In the same motion, he gently spun the sword and made a sudden wrist movement to splatter the blood on the sword on the ground. Finally, with a gentle twist, he sheathed his sword. 

[Congratulations on defeating <Level 27 Steel Skin Barbarian (D- Tier)>. You've gained 57 Experience Points.]

Taro just gave the finishing blow, so he didn’t receive much experience. If he would’ve killed him alone, he probably would’ve earned ten times that amount. Still, Taro didn’t mind. “How are you doing with Calef, Liu Shu?”

Liu Shu commented happily. “He already lost his leg and arm! Now, he has started knowing that it is me and is shouting many interesting things…”

A few moments ago, Calef ran through the door and began planning his next movements. ‘Now, I need to exit this place through the seventh sewer channel…’ Calef sighed. ‘That place is quite nasty, but well, I can’t really complain- Huh?’

BANG!

His feet got tangled by something, making him trip forward and fall on his arms. Looking back, he saw a small root growing on the floor. “Huh? A root?”

Calef shook his head. “Well, this place was built quite long ago, and only I knew about it…” Standing up, he patted his robes and sighed. “I guess it’s normal for some vegetation to grow, but…”

Looking at the roots again, he frowned. “What are those blue energy veins?” Calef pondered and decided that he didn’t have time to investigate the owner of the root. “What a shame. I am sure that it is a valuable plant.”

Liu Shu giggled. ‘Indded~, I am very valuable! Ignatia always says that I am the most precious~.’

Calef continued forward through the passages, and when he saw the exit toward the sewer area, a gross scent reached him. ‘Ugh…’

Before continuing forward, he moved his robes up to cover his mouth and nose. He continued forward, and as soon as he exited the passage, he felt his foot being caught onto something again, making him fall. 

SPLASH!

“SHIT!”

Calef cursed as he, well, literally fell into the shit river of the sewers. Looking back angrily, he saw the same type of root. This time, though, it wasn’t just trapping his foot; his entire leg had one root coiled around it. “This plant again…?” As he asked, he felt a slight increasing pressure, and his eyes widened in fear. ‘Wait-.”

CRACK!

“ARGGH!”

Calef’s leg was squeezed by Liu Shu’s roots without mercy, making all his bones shatter. Liu Shu saw Calef bend backward in pain, his head being submerged in the water for a second before he resurfaced with a nauseated face full of pain and hatred. “DIE!”

He unsheathed his sword and slashed Liu Shu’s roots. But, instead of slicing the root off, his sword pierced the surface and got stuck. 

Liu Shu spoke at this time, her tone upset. “Hey, it is rude for fertilizer to attack! Look, you made me bleed a little!”

Calef forgot about everything else when he heard this voice. His eyes widened in realization and terror. “World Tree…!? How have you expanded until here already!?”

“Moving my roots through the ground~.” Liu Shu giggled. “Anyway, time to come to me~. <Land Modifying>~.”

Calef felt the ground below him change to something like mud, and then, he was dragged down. “WAIT-”

Splash!

His voice got stuck as mud and other substances entered his mouth and nose, creating a sense of suffocation. He tried to struggle, but the roots around the ground latched onto his limbs and slowly coiled around his entire body. Even if he wanted to resist, it was impossible, and as fear and helplessness invaded his mind, his consciousness was slowly swallowed by the eternal darkness. 

[Congratulations on defeating <Level 26 Ceperet Human (D- Tier)>. You've gained 179 Experience Points.]