Chapter 470 - Chapter 470. Thalric's Escape.

Thalric's group had been reduced to 150 people as they fled. However, since they had overcome the most intense section of Liu Shu's bombardment range, they managed to regain some calm.

"Lord Thalric, we are five minutes away from the Wall Forest! What are your orders?"

Thalric looked behind them before answering. When the floor exploded a few moments earlier, he had lost his communication tool, and many of the beasts were injured to the point that running was faster than mounting them.

Now, after running for several hours, they finally arrived near the edge of the Wall Forest.

"Tianlian Liu Shu probably has eyes on us. If we dare stop or rest before we get out of her domain, we'll be in trouble!"

Rumble!

As they ran, ternary essences surged in the surroundings, making their faces pale. The reason was that the same thing had happened before when the World Tree somehow manifested in front of them. Thalric ordered, his voice gaining a faint tremble. "Don't miss a single patch of land! If anywhere the land starts bulging, say it and we'll flee in the opposite direction!"

The chances that the World Tree would manifest by their side again were slim. After all, in Thalric's opinion, the World Tree would much prefer to appear in places with many people to eliminate more threats and protect the domain.

"Flee into the Wall Forest! Once inside, the World Tree won't be able to reach us easily. Her offensive power will also become limited. After all, if she dares to cause a great commotion inside the Wall Forest, the flora of that place will attack her."

The group of elites easily accepted Thalric's words as they accelerated their march. Instead of stopping to rest in front of the Wall Forest tree line, the group of 150 rushed into the forest without a shred of hesitation.

Liu Shu observed them enter the forest, and a bubbly laugh erupted from her.

"People delivering themselves into my strongest locations around the domain is always quite the treat~."

In the meantime, the manifested in the other three battlefields together with the ants, winged serpents, and the reinforcements from the Olive Vine Fortress.

After the enemy's defeat, only hunting groups were left behind to clean up the area. Liu Shu guided these groups, and whenever the enemies entered the domain of any other World Tree, they would be in deep trouble.

All the World Trees that received the unwelcome visitors were ruthless and efficient with the matter. Once a group touched a relatively deep part of the domain, the earth would burst up as gargantuan roots coiled and smashed around the place.

Trying to flee in a World-Tree-heavy land was like trying to escape a spider by climbing around the web it created. You'd only be telling the spider about your location, making it easier to become food.

Back to Thalric, the man was unaware of the ensuing chaos on the battlefield, and he continued traversing the Wall Forest for a while. One of the scouts spoke to him. "Lord, we are a quarter of the way inside. Around this location, we should've seen some animal population. However, we've encountered nothing. I think there is something wrong with this area."

Thalric frowned and raised his hand. The quick march slowed down as they looked at the surroundings warily. "Tell me, what is your suggestion?"

The man who spoke looked around and replied. "I think we should move north or south until we find some fauna. Locations where fauna don't dare step inside are because the flora in that place is too strong and also carnivorous. When we were in a large group, we had no reason to fear those areas. Our numbers were just that high. Moreover, we chose open paths to travel. Now, we are evading those because Tianlian Liu Shu might've prepared an ambush over there. So, we are in danger of entering an aggressive flora area."

"What if we find nothing?" Thalric asked. "You are asking us to lose too much time in something that might only avoid some complications. I think that traversing the Wall Forest as quickly as possible is what we should do."

The scout partially agreed. However, there was a sense of unsettling peace in the surroundings, as if it were the calm before the storm. Honestly, he was just speaking more out of a hunch than real evidence. 

Some of his colleagues noticed as well, and one spoke with a snort. "You are being too paranoid. While your words make sense, you can see some animal activity around us. For example, broken branches there, feces over there, and you can see a few feathers on those branches above us."

The man pointed around, and while the traces were barely noticeable, once one focused, they became clear. With that in mind, Thalric scolded the first man.

"I won't punish you severely because everyone is scared. However, once we return, you'll receive punishment for interrupting the highest priority retreat. Move on!"

The group advanced, and as the second group began to move, the trees behind them slowly shifted. Their roots climbed upward, creating a convoluted wall that spread quickly in a large circle. Liu Shu was now processing many things at the same time, trying to control her while also making sure no one escaped. This forced her to use 100% of her processing power to the point that her Avatar was lying limply on the leaf bed without a single movement, like a puppet whose strings had been cut.

Thalric's group noticed something was wrong after a few more minutes. "Hey, where is Johan?"

Johan was the person covering the retreat path. Looking back, they saw that no one was following them from behind. Everyone became solemn and stuck together while warily looking at their surroundings.

"Lord Thalric." The same scout who warned about the possible dangers spoke with an ugly tone. "Please, analyze the trees we are surrounded by."

"The trees?" Thalric focused his gaze, and the System Page popped into his eyes. Most things were covered. However, there was one