Two fireballs whizzed past, brushing against their cheeks, and the residual heat wave startled the mercenary leader. The two man-eating plants that were originally fighting him took the chance to pounce.

With his thick arms spread out, one on each side, he grabbed them and pulled them out from the ground. Only then did the mercenary leader have a moment to catch his breath and complain, "Hey! Pay attention when you're fighting! Those fireballs just now almost blew my head off!"

"Well, even if they hit you, you wouldn't die."

Shuma retorted in one sentence, cutting off the flaming flower that was preparing to attack with a flame ball.

As they attempted to break out of the siege, the types of plants appearing gradually increased. Besides the man-eating plants, there were also flame flowers that could shoot fireballs from a distance, mushrooms that could hide and explode upon touch, as well as trumpet-shaped floral vines that spat out toxic mist and corrosive fluids, all causing a headache in this natural battlefield of the forest.

By this point in the battle, both of them had expended a significant amount of energy, especially Beinrich, who was still in a berserk state without a weapon. Although he could almost ignore the attacks of the surrounding plants in this state, he was still overwhelmed by what seemed like endless methods of attack. As time passed, his boiling blood gradually cooled, and the areas that had been attacked on his body began to ache faintly.

"Hey, we can't afford to be trapped here any longer!"

Taking a moment to catch his breath, Beinrich swung his fist and smashed the crown of another flame flower that looked disgustingly alive, causing it to completely stiffen.

"I know their attack patterns now. As long as we..."

"No need to make it so complicated. Who knows what's waiting for us after we break through this ring? Why not just be straightforward and burn down this whole forest?"

Grinning, the mercenary leader approached a well-grown tree, and with Chi infused in his hands, he plunged them directly into the trunk. His body seemed to expand another circle under the dual reinforcement of Chi and berserk state.

"Wait, you're not thinking of..."

Shuma felt uneasy and quickly backed away.

"Charge!"

Utilizing the strength enhancement from his berserk state, Beinrich effortlessly uprooted the tree and wielded it as a weapon. With a single sweep, he sent the surrounding man-eating and flame flowers flying like fallen leaves.

Seizing the opportunity, Beinrich aimed directly for the gap he had created in the defenses. However, at that moment, the plants that had been constantly besieging them seemed to receive some sort of signal and began to retreat in an orderly manner. Before Beinrich could catch up to a few of them, they had completely vanished without a trace.

"What's going on? Did they get scared off?"

Dropping the tree he was holding, the mercenary leader breathed heavily and the berserk state on his body dissipated.

Shuma, who had been protecting their flanks, also arrived by his side, still alert despite the apparent safety of their surroundings.

"I'm not sure, but they did retreat."

"Haha, looks like these guys are afraid of death too."

"I'm more inclined to believe that the manipulator hidden away has given up on attacking us. These plant attacks were probably just a coincidence. Their target in this castle must be Prince Tiran and Princess Vivian."

Shuma furrowed his brow with concern.

"Prince Tiran? He's a Holy Rank, isn't he? Frankly, we shouldn't need to worry about him, right?"

Beinrich shrugged.

"Let's hope so. I just..."

Before Shuma could finish his sentence, his expression turned grim.

The ground began to tremble.

Just like when they were initially attacked, they could clearly feel something like plant roots growing and violently surging underneath the soil. This caused Shuma and the mercenary leader to tense up once again.

But this time, there were no apparent danger signs around them, except for the roots that continued to grow and the trees around them shivering along with the ground.

Silently, Shuma drew his sword and cleaved the ground in front of him.

A High-ranking Knight's sword was enough to cleave through boulders, and the soft ground made of vegetation and loose soil was no challenge. However, as the sword delved only half a meter underground, it encountered an astonishing resistance.

"These are also plant roots?"

Beinrich saw the entangled mass resembling tree roots under the breach. Shuma managed to sever a portion of it with his sword, but the remaining part swiftly repaired itself and continued to surge forward, resembling a large group of entwined giant earthworms crowded together, a sight that felt nightmarish even with a brief glance.

"They seem to be spreading in a certain direction."

Following the direction of the root growth, the two figures in the forest were frozen in shock.

...

"What the hell! What kind of nonsense is this in my own place... Yuan, you scoundrel! This lady will remember this grudge!"

Tiran's gaze turned towards a scene in the distance, almost spitting out blood.

A towering giant tree was growing.

With lush green foliage, sturdy and coiling roots, and a trunk that had already surpassed the height of the castle's main tower but was still growing. Countless vines hung down from the treetop like tentacles, swirling about to drive away the approaching birds.

"Hehe, it took me almost a month to sow the seeds in the castle sufficient enough to support the growth of this child. Well, how does it look, spectacular, isn't it?"

"Spectacular, my foot!"

Hearing Vera's mocking laughter from some unknown place, Tiran was so angry he wanted to punch someone.

She was quite familiar with this thing, having encountered a World Tree before, a Mistwood Dryad. As an urban siege-grade behemoth, dealing with it wasn't too difficult for Tiran with a bit of unleashed fighting. However, Vera decided to grow this thing in the residential area at the rear of the castle!

"Justice, I leave this to you! Little Angel, Aya, let's go take down that thing!"

Calling out, Tiran leaped onto Aya, who had transformed back into her dragon form, while Little Angel unfurled her wings and followed alongside.

Apart from everything else, Vera's expertise in Magic plants was truly frightening. Even with a month of preparation to arrange the seeds, guide the earth's energy, and imbue the air with Magic elements, it was unimaginable to birth a city-scale behemoth in such a short time.

If the Magic Guild were to find out, their first reaction would definitely be to come to Vera for advice on the relevant technology or at least to study the Dryad.

But Tiran wouldn't give them that opportunity.

The towering tree had already taken shape, its massive roots occupying half of the residential area, completely destroying half of the buildings. The only saving grace was that due to Tiran's birthday celebration, the people in the castle were either at the beach for the party or in the main building organizing a later banquet. Apart from economic loss, the casualties weren't too severe.

However, allowing this thing to rampage unchecked would be disastrous.