197 Elder Tree (1/2)
Leon gazed at the path ahead silently and did not issue the order to set off immediately. Undoubtedly, the path beyond the ant holes will be treacherous. It was a miracle that they had managed to advance this close to the ant nest without triggering another army of ants hunting them down.
”Awaiting your orders, Your Highness,” Zorbek said patiently. Throughout this trip, he was supposed to be in command of the expedition. However, he did not mind that this role was passed onto Leon, the prince.
He believed it was a good opportunity for the young prince to gain experience in leading others before he takes the throne and leads the kingdom. But little did Zorbek know, Leon was not interested in the throne.
”Distribute these evenly among yourselves.” Leon pulled out a few pill bottles and passed them to Zorbek.
”This is…?”
”Fasting Pills and Poison Cleansing Pills. As the names suggest, the Fasting Pills can satiate your hunger in place of meals, while the Poison Cleansing Pills can cure any low-level poisoning. We don't know what lies ahead. It's better to be prepared.” Leon explained. He didn't expect for these pills to be required so soon, but it was good that he refined them.
Zorbek widened his eyes in surprise. He has never heard any of these pills before, but more importantly, the prince was much more prepared for this journey. The prince didn't lack anything and was fully capable of taking care of himself. To begin with, he never heard of an Awakener wielding so many elements. He felt like the prince had a bottomless abyss of secrets and made him felt unfathomable.
”Yes, Your Highness,” Zorbek answered firmly. He must hug firmly onto the prince's thighs. Only by following the prince would he have a bright future. As the saying goes; when a person achieves a great way, even its dogs and chickens will ascend.
Leon had refined plenty of pills, but when they are divided, they didn't amount to much. Nevertheless, everyone was able to receive 3 days' worth of Fasting Pills, 3 Tier-1, 2 Tier-2, and 1 Tier-3 Poison Cleansing Pill.
Once the preparation was complete, the group set forth immediately. Under Leon's instruction, the group must keep contact with the intertwined roots to a minimum and only tread on the earthen parts of the ground.
Leon had a nagging feeling that the roots were even more of a threatening existence than an entire colony of ants. However, he also felt that this danger wasn't directed at them, which caused him to be confused.
The roots of the unknown plants stretched endlessly into the deeper parts of the underground. The deeper they went, the thicker it was. From this, Leon was made aware that there may not be a sea of plants. Most likely, all the roots stemmed from one ridiculous large plant and there were no larger plants than perennial plants like the trees.
Different to normal trees, elder trees are sentient and could grow anywhere between 1000fts to 3000fts. In storybooks, they are usually depicted as guardian spirits, worshipped by certain sub-human races such as the elves.
From what Leon knew, there weren't any elder trees in the Human Domain, but at least one existed in the Wildlands. The roughly 1500ft elder tree stood proudly within a certain forest and could be seen from the top of the great wall at the western frontier.
Leon strongly doubted that the tree roots belonged to the elder tree in the west. It was simply impossible. Although they were underground, Leon had not lost track of his sense of direction. They had been heading east this entire time.
If the terrain of the 2nd Underground Floor had not been on a downward slope all this while, Leon would have questioned why such large elder tree had not been seen by anyone in the Human Domain. It turned out that the Human Domain had its own elder tree. It's just that it had always been hidden underground.
How can such a big tree grow underground with neither sunlight nor water?
”This is strange.” Lilith suddenly said.
”What is?”
”These ant holes. There are far too many in one place to be the entrances to the ant colony. It's almost like we are already…”
”Inside the ant colony?” Leon shook his head. ”If that was the case, we would have already been swarmed by an army of ants.”
”That's why it's strange,” Lilith stated.
”You seem awfully familiar with the habits of ants.” Leon pried with a smile. Seeing Lilith's silence, he shook his head and asked, ”What if I said all these ant holes weren't created by ants alone?”
Hearing this, Zorbek raised an eyebrow and asked, ”If an ant hole isn't created by ants, what else could have created it?”
”Why do you think I instructed everyone to keep contact with the tree roots intertwining the ant holes to a minimum?” Leon did not answer Zorbek's question directly but answered it with another question, engaging him to think.
The group became startled once this question was raised and began to distance themselves from the roots.