Chapter 411. Terrifying Terragore.

[<Sylvan Quest: Terragore Empire> activates!]

[Golden Sap Country’s prosperity continues to evolve as myriad races gather under the all-encompassing canopy of World Tree Tianlian Liu Shu. However, the increase in activity above the ground has awakened a sleeping evil that could destroy all that has been achieved. The rise in essence purity, thanks to the abundance of World Trees under Tianlian Liu Shu’s domain, has made it possible for the fearsome <Terragore> to approach the surface.]

[Optional Personal Objective: Kill or assist significantly in the death of at least 100 <Terragore> of your same level or above.] 

[Objective 1: Suppress the <Terragore> threat.]

[Objective 2: Avoid World Tree Tianlian Liu Shu’s death.]

[Objective 3: Control all colonies and make sure no <Terragore> groups are left unchecked.]

[Optional Objective 1: Capture the <Terragore Empire Capital>.]

[Optional Objective 2: Capture the <Terragore Queen> and <Terragore King>.]

[Optional Objective 3: Capture the <Terragore Nesting Grounds>.]

[Personal Reward: 10 <Sylvanium Ingot>, and 10 <Ingot> of your choice from <Etherium>, <Celestium>, <Ascendium>, or <Cognium>.] 

[Reward 1: +1 <Level> up to Level 74.]

[Reward 2: +1 <Tier> up to <C- Tier>.]

[Reward 3: <Title: Terragore Slayer>.]

<Terragore Slayer>: When fighting any type of monster, you’ll have a menacing aura around you that will cripple your opponent’s stats by 5%.

[Reward 4 (Complete Optional Objective 1): Crafters in the <Golden Sap Country> will have their highest-tiered skill upgraded by one minor tier, (Up to <C- Tier>).]

[Reward 5 (Complete Optional Objective 2): Evolve title <Terragore Slayer> into <Monster Monarch Slayer>.]

<Monster Monarch Slayer>: When fighting any type of monster, you’ll have a menacing aura around you that will cripple your opponent’s stats by 5%. Additionally, your own stats will be increased by 5%.

[Reward 6 (Complete Optional Objective 3): Monster Tamers will receive <Title: Expert Monster Tamer>.]

<Expert Monster Tamer>: Your chances of domesticating monster species are increased by 20%.

[Failure Condition: World Tree Tianlian Liu Shu dies.]

[Failure Condition: 5 World Trees other than Tianlian Liu Shu die.]

[Failure Condition: 10 years pass without completing the three main <Objectives>.]

[Punishment 1: All creatures in World Tree Tianlian Liu Shu’s domain will gain <Title: Fallen World Tree Empire>]

<Fallen World Tree Empire>: Stats -10%. Experience earning rate -15%. You will give out an aura of defeat wherever you go, making raising the morale or leadership almost impossible. 

[Punishment 2: -5 Levels.]

[Punishment 3: -1 tier down to E+ Tier.] 

This mission was thrown out to everyone participating. You could either accept it or not. Of course, once you accepted it, you would be stuck with it until it was completed. There was no way of “cancelling” a <Sylvan Quest> that you accepted. Of course, one could “cash out” when the main objectives were completed; you were not forced to go all the way, that’s why they were called Optional Objectives. More often than not, the Optional Objectives were several times more difficult than the main objectives. 

The <Explorer Association> bases strewn throughout the land notified the Explorers about it, and naturally, all armies under Liu Shu moved out after accepting the quest. Individual and organized groups set out to kill <Terragore> underground. 

Ignatia had prepared for a similar situation, and the hidden tunnels her ant colony had created from this situation opened all around the land. These tunnels were separated from the true Ant Colony tunnels and connected the surface with the <Terragore Nest> underground. 

Wert was the one to give the information to the <Explorer Association>, and as a former worker with incredible achievements, they were marked as official entries toward the <Terragore Nest>. In this way, Ignatia’s nest would remain hidden while people scattered around underground. 

Of course, other than the tunnels created for “public use,” Ignatia’s children dug out tunnels for Liu Shu’s armies. 

When everyone went to participate in the <Terragore Empire> Sylvan Quest, the surface became strangely peaceful. The bustling cities and towns were much more peaceful, and merchants noticed the absence of the top buyers. Therefore, moving merchants began appearing everywhere, carrying their wares deep underground to make money while assisting the people.

Everything was like a domino effect that led to an extremely organized expedition from an entire country to fight a common threat. Of course, Terragores were not a joke, and their ability to resist was horrifying. 

A group of 20 people, formed by six women and fourteen men, was advancing deep underground. They had already passed by the tunnels excavated by the ants and had entered the ones dug by Terragore. One could easily tell by how the walls were arranged. 

Ants were systematic, and their tunnels were even and smooth. The walls felt as if they had been processed by machines instead of creatures, and the ants even placed some natural light, be it with luminous underground plants or harmless insect colonies with similar functions.

Meanwhile, the <Terragore> caves were dark, damp, and full of jagged rocks and corners. Therefore, illumination was of the essence when diving deep into a <Terragore> tunnel. 

These twenty people were led by two <Third Energy Cycles>, while the rest were around Level 40. “Pay attention to the walls. <Terragore Ambushers> might be lying in wait. Remember that if we see a <Terragore Scout>, we need to eliminate them without fault, even if we rush forward.”

This was the second month since the War against the <Terragore Empire> had begun, and people had learned the many types of <Terragore> that lay underground.

One of the women, a Sylvan with earthly yellow hair, spoke with awe. “To think that we were completely unaware of such a massive and complex cave system extending underground. It is really fascinating.”

A bull man at the side, looking closer to a bull walking on two legs than a human, spoke with a calm tone. “From the information I gathered in the <Explorer Association>, the main nest of the <Terragore> is straight below the <Dark Aether Swamp>. No one dared face that corrupted forest, so it is more than normal to remain unaware. If anything, I am more impressed by the ants’ antics.”

By then, almost everyone knew of the existence of the large ant colony working for the World Tree. While many people were wary, there had been absolutely zero incidents of ants going rogue, so people were relatively comfortable even when living with such dangerous creatures.

The Sylvan laughed. “You are right on that. I never imagined that we would one day be helped by those beings. Ants have always remained the number one enemy of intelligent creatures for millennia…”

One of the two leaders spoke with a reverent tone. “That’s Lady Tianlian Liu Shu for you! She managed to domesticate such aggressive beings with her boundless gentleness and purity.”

The woman by his side spoke, interrupting him. “Hubby, please don’t start again. I also love and adore Lady Tianlian Liu Shu, but you speak about her so much that my head ends up hurting each time.”

The others laughed slightly. 

The man muttered. “It was because of the Sylvan Quest back then that you managed to break through the bottleneck and reach Level 50. That’s why I am so happy about it…”

The woman’s eyes softened, and she approached to kiss his cheek once. “Don’t be like this. You also know how grateful I am. However, now we need to focus. <Terragore> territory is not something we should take lightly.”

A man scouting ahead turned around with a grin. “That’s right! Leader, you can’t be so—”

The leader’s eyes sharpened, and he shouted. “DUCK!”

The person scouting couldn’t react, and a shadow shot from an area without illumination near him. With a bulking body over 2 meters tall, flexible and long limbs that ended in terrifyingly sharp and long claws, and muscles with ridiculous explosive power, the <Terragore> opened its mouth and bit down into the side of the scout.

“ARGH!”

Unable to resist the ridiculous power of the monster, he was dragged away far into the nest while shouting in pain.

The leader shouted, his emotions agitated. “AFTER IT! WE NEED TO SAVE HIM!”

Everyone didn’t hesitate and rushed ahead, their speed fast enough to keep up with the fleeing <Terragore>. A man by his side with rather large eyes and feathers flowing in between his arms spoke. “Leader, it is a <Terragore Ambusher>. It is in the <Third Energy Cycle>, and it has an injured leg. If we speed up, we can catch up in less than a minute!”

The leader of the group nodded and shouted. “Speed up!”

The 19 people quickly rushed through the tunnels, but as they were rushing forward, the ambusher turned around while flinging the prey it had in its mouth to the side.

BANG!

The loud sound echoed around while its deep black eyes and monstrous body surged with essence. The leader shouted. “It seems that he understands that he can’t run, so he will fight us. Be careful when—”

GRAAHH!!

The Terragore screamed, and the hearts of all 19 people dropped. Then, the walls at the side crumbled and 5 <Terragore> rushed out from each of the sides. The leader shouted, his face pale. “ERLIA!”

The yellow-haired Sylvan reacted when the leader shouted her name, and she quickly transformed into her arboreal form. Right after, she punched the ground. “<EARTH VINE SURGE>!”

As the ten monsters, all around Level 40 as well, rushed forward, mud-brown vines shot from the ground toward the ceiling, creating something akin to a cage around the group. “Aethermancers, attack! Be careful with the <Terragore Strikers>! Their arm strength is no joke!”

Fire, Lightning, Earth, and Light elements surged from seven people and burst forth, striking some of the <Terragore> and blasting them against the walls. That stabilized the situation, and they started a fight against the ten Terragores. 

Meanwhile, the leader unsheathed his sword and rushed forward with his wife. The <Terragore> ambusher glared at them while growling, his muscles squirming as if they had a life of their own. 

GRAAAH!!

When the second low roar echoed, both leaders stopped their charge and quickly looked around. However, the <Terragore Ambusher> shot toward them the second they looked around. His speed was ridiculous as his body approached like a black shadow. The man’s face twisted, catching its movement in his peripheral vision. ‘It deceived me!?’

Seeing the long, sharp claws approaching his wife, he tackled her with his shoulder and used his sword to block the attack. The wife, who was caught by surprise and almost unable to reach, was suddenly pushed aside by a strong hit. Her eyes followed the exchange closely as her heart rose to her throat with anxiety. 

CLANG!

BOOM!

Her husband’s body was pushed back several steps, long gashes appearing near his hand because of the claws sliding down. The <Terragore Ambusher> didn’t give him a chance to recover as it pushed forward and swung both long arms like crazy. 

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

The man was barely able to block the barrage of attacks, his eyes barely following the ridiculous attack speed of the monster. 

The wife, recovering her stance from her husband’s tackle, retrieved her spear and lunged forward while shouting angrily. “GET AWAY FROM MY HUSBAND! <LIGHT SPEAR RUSH>!”

The husband noticed the <Terragore> looking away for a second, and he took the advantage. “<Flash Sword>!”

The <Terragore Ambusher>’s skin suddenly changed colors to a deep metallic red, and his monstrous mouth gained an expression similar to a sneer. Then, it swung its arm toward the man, ignoring both attacks.

<Terragore> were creatures that grew depending on the minerals they consumed, other than their natural characteristics, which they gained according to the type of <Terragore> subspecies they were from.

To reach Level 50, the <Terragore> needed to eat very hard minerals, and they also could harden their skin to match those materials.

The spear of the woman stabbed into the <Terragore>’s body, breaking the superficial defense. However, her face was far from happy. Instead of piercing through and dealing large damage, her weapon became stuck in the dense mass of muscles and bones below after losing momentum.

The sword similarly landed against the <Terragore>’s body, but the blade was unable to slash deeply, reaching not even the bone.

Two damage numbers appeared.

[-1,648,500]!

[-2,170,500]!

A total of 38 <Phoer Body Cores> of damage could not injure such a being heavily, so his attack continued on the intended path. Meanwhile, the Terragore’s claw was already by the man’s side. 

SLASH!

[-5,541,000]!

Three massive gashes appeared on his stomach, and the force of the strike threw his body against the cave’s wall, violently splashing blood. The woman’s face turned pale as her eyes followed his figure. The second she looked sideways, she felt a tremendous force pulling her spear.

The <Terragore> twisted his back while clenching the muscles, taking the polearm from the woman’s arms. When the spear slipped from her grasp, the woman’s heart sank. ‘I am dead…’

CHOMP!

[-4.458.500]!

“AHH!!!!”

The mouth of the monster latched onto her shoulder. Then, it pushed her body while pulling back its head. The clenched jaws didn’t let go as a gruesome sound of meat and bones being ripped apart echoed together with the woman’s scream. 

“AHHH!!!”

[You’ve been heavily damaged! Losing 200,000 Phoer Body Shards per second.]

[-200,000]! [-200,000]! [-200,000]! 

The man stood up, his stomach open from the slash, and he tried to fight the <Terragore>. Sadly, from the corner of his eye, he caught three more of those monsters arriving. Looking up, he saw the monster looking at him with its mouth stained with the blood of his wife. 

***

Back on the surface, a receptionist looked at the documents in front of her and sighed, planting a stamp on a document titled <Flashing Sword Spear Mercenary Group>.

The stamp read [Annihilated] in blood-red letters.

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