Academic gathering with a lich-Chapter 864 - 804: Lady of Joy

Humming a tune, stepping on the soft grass, her fingers grazed the rough bark of the trees, briefly touching that golden moment before letting go. Her direction was not in a straight line, but rather drawn by the placement of plants, circling around tree trunks as if on a picnic excursion.

As her fingertips touched the stamens, the flower blossomed forth unreservedly and irrationally, eliciting a light laugh from the lady, and in that laughter, it closed back into a bud. A dense fog drifted over, and the beautiful woman looked up, her lovely eyes holding a depth far beyond her exterior age.

From within the fog emerged flying figures. Weavers of Illusion, with wings larger than their bodies, were adult-sized lepidopteran Worm Men, and the fog that cloaked the entire Dream Forest was a hallucinogenic scale powder dispersed from their wings. The edges of their blue butterfly-shaped wings were furry, and the eye-like patterns on them flowed and transformed with each flap, creating a beautiful spectacle in flight, resembling a shifting kaleidoscope from afar.

Weavers of Illusion appeared as some kind of friendly intelligent creatures, hardly distinguishable from the fairytale Elves. But that was merely a disguise; inhaling the scattered scale powder would sink their prey into dreams they wove, and as the prey fell into nightmares and their spirit died in the dream, they would extend their "straw" to suck out the soul from the dreamscape.

Setting up illusions and driving the dense fog to engulf the entire Dream Forest, letting enemies die in their dreams, that was the original plan of the Weavers of Illusion. However, the intruders walking out of the forest had already alerted the swarm.

The limbs of the Worm Mother were slightly more slender than her kin, her features occasionally showing emotional expressions, and her enlightened mind had learned much from absorbing the spirituality from hunting Elves, such as the pastime of conversations. Her clumsy Elven language, childlike yet demonstrating confidence, highlighted the swarm’s self-confidence.

"Your scent... you are their leader, their mistress..."

The appropriate title made the woman smile, her girlish charm fading with the smile, as the noble mature woman flicked her golden hair, casually flaunting her charm under the sun, provoking a hint of feminine jealousy in the Worm Mother. Moving her long legs, the Elven Lady approached the swarm at a steady pace.

"With you gone, this farce will end, won’t it?" Completely disregarding the Worm Mother’s guards, disdain filled the Elven Lady’s eyes, her arrogance sharp as a needle, provoking the swarm’s ire. They awaited the Worm Mother’s command to tear apart their foe.

"You might be powerful, Elf, but no one enters the Hive with ease and leaves unfazed; you will pay for your arrogance," the Worm Mother screeched, diving with the swarm, their jointed saw-teeth becoming deadly weapons.

Faelga raised an eyebrow, her triumphant smile brightening the sunlight a bit more; lightly stepping on the ground, vines uncoiled from the soil, twisting towards the flying insects. Her provocative tactics compelled the Weavers of Illusion to lower their altitude, exactly what Faelga wanted. She was a Druid, the spokesperson of the forest, where there were no plants in the sky.

"Naive." The Worm Mother moved her body through the dancing vines, her size substantial yet not allowing any vine to trap her. Even though surrounded tightly by plants, the Worm Mother could incredibly slip through. The flying Weavers of Illusion were uncatchable, their fluffy wing scales detecting changes in air pressure, always evading with the wind. As the swarm’s navigator, her exquisite flying ability helped the swarm to smoothly avoid any storm.

The Weavers of Illusion had believed so, until their joints were completely bound by the vines, still unable to accept what had happened. They followed the wind, crashing into the net Faelga had woven, like moths to a flame. Before they could comprehend the reason, the scene before them further baffled the Weavers of Illusion.

Their Worm Mother was now kneeling beside the Elf Queen, looking up at the Elf, showing a fervent expression.

"I’ve done it, Mistress." Like a dog waiting for reward and praise, the Worm Mother affectionately nuzzled Faelga’s foot.

Faelga pinched the Worm Mother’s antennae, lifting her head, her face brimming with a smile, watching in dismay as the Weavers of Illusion praised their Worm Mother.

"You did well, little worm." The brighter she smiled, the more intense the fear grew in the hearts of the Weavers of Illusion; they could not perceive the Elf before them as a threat even though she appeared entirely harmless. Joints crushed and torn by living plants, the Weavers of Illusion screamed in defiance against the horrifying victor, whose beautiful face they now equated with that of a demon.

"What have you done to the Worm Mother... Have you tamed her?!"

Faelga laughed as she bent down, hooking her hand under the Worm Mother’s chin, as if admiring a fresh flower.

"She entered my dream and thus became a part of me. This isn’t taming, it’s control," Faelga reminisced about that dream, remembering everything she experienced in it. The Worm Mother had delved deep into her dream, trying to take control but failed. In return, Faelga took control of the Worm Mother and misled the Weavers of Illusion, sending half of their species to their graves. Also, she had the worms on the front lines, facing the Elf troops. To prevent further harm to her people and end the war sooner, Faelga opted for a decapitation strategy.

"You are... a Dreamwalker..." This was the last phrase uttered by the Weavers of Illusion before being buried completely, and Faelga was quite grateful for it. Cradling the Worm Mother’s cheeks like a mother, she whispered gently, "Little worm, and the front-line troops, let them come back too. Find an excuse, like an attack on the Hive. After it ends, I will grant you a merciful death."

"As you command, my mistress." The Worm Mother faithfully executed her command.

"That’s wonderful, dear. You are the Worm Mother, how fortunate."

There seemed to be a spark of intelligence in the hazy eyes of the Worm Mother as she opened her mouth and honestly responded, "Worm Mother is not permanent. The hive consciousness selects members based on efficiency to become the Worm Mother. Upon the death of a Worm Mother, a new one will emerge from the population. The hive consciousness has already sensed the severe losses due to my mistaken commands, and my status has been stripped. Calling the Pupa Warriors back is the last command I can give."

"It’s okay, it’s okay, little worm, you have done well enough." Faelga cradled the Worm Mother’s head, speaking lovingly as she began to hum a lullaby again, a soothing cradle song. The Worm Mother closed her eyes to the gentle melody and fell into an eternal slumber during Faelga’s humming. New sprouts broke through the shell, growing on the kneeling Worm Mother, green covering her, leaving only Faelga and the plants to remember what this potted plant originally looked like.

Noisy sounds poured from the forest, Faelga straightened her back, smiling at the approaching swarm, "I was just planning to create a floral arrangement called the Alien Queen, and it seems another piece of material has arrived."

The transformed state of the Weavers of Illusion resembled a crescent with long legs, their bodies were curved dark brown pupae, with three pairs of moving ventral legs, and two pairs of mutated bladed arms. The hardened chitin provided defensive and offensive capabilities, a fully sealed structure that could block most attacks, even psychic impacts. By dispensing with feeding organs like mouthparts, Pupa Warriors were closer to killing machines; with a large force approaching, the stimulating scent of blood made Faelga’s gaze colder.

"Monster!" The candid fear allowed Faelga to easily recognize the freshly promoted Queen, but the insulting title did not anger her. The trembling body of the Worm Mother somewhat surprised the Elf Queen.

"It’s unexpected that you could inherit the memories of the previous Worm Mother..." Just a glance had the Worm Mother in an attacking stance, and Faelga laughed once again.

The potted plants turned into two.

"Twin Queens."

"I like this."