If Zerrek and the others had to describe the Moon Cities, they would probably use words like nature-like, orderly, and with many sky-high structures. Lignified houses grew to around 100 meters in height, and since it was the most widespread structure Liu Shu used, most of the city's landscape looked quite imposing to human-sized creatures.
Insectoids, for the most part, were taller than average humans. You'd find that, due to their complex anatomy, their bodies would stretch up to two meters most of the time. Most of them had compound eyes, while very few inherited more human-like hues.
Any insectoid of a winged insect species would develop them as well, but it was not a certainty. The most important quality that insectoids and beastkin shared was that they existed in a very wide spectrum of bloodline influence.
There were some that were basically like beasts walking on two legs, while others were mostly human with just their ears, a tail, or some extra fur or paws to signify their beastkin or insectoid heritage.
Xalis was close to the latter. Her body had human-like female curves, and her mouth was a mix, having two retractable mandibles that she could show by opening the flesh of her cheeks, while most of the time, her mouth looked human-like.
In terms of limbs, Xalis had six, like most insectoids. Two legs, two arms, and two wings. Her skin was pinkish and soft, but some parts, like her upper chest, lower back, front thighs, shins, and the side of her neck, grew orange-striped carapaces.
With over two meters in height, she looked like a sensual predator, even when taking the insect parts into account. Her aura was also powerful and imposing, more so now that she was somewhat on the edge due to hormones. Some males felt as if they would be abducted by the dangerous insect girl and be forced to pump out tons of babies with her.
Rhex noticed Xalis's restlessness and looked at her. "Control your aura. You are scaring some of them."
Xalis glanced over and spoke with contempt. "If a male is scared of me, then what do they need to fear? Do they think I am so desperate as to mate with weak-willed beings?"
Rhex sighed and then chirped once, recollecting his mood. His gaze moved toward the relatively short Ignatia and bowed respectfully. "Your Majesty Ignatia, it is a pleasure to see you in person."
Most insectoids were looking at Ignatia and the many ants around with confusion. They thought that they would be… stronger. Even when their auras were thick and the threat they emitted was potent, any
Ignatia didn't care about their thoughts. With Liu Shu's buffs, she didn't fear them in the slightest. "Lord Rhex, right? The two people by your side should be Lady Xalis and Lord Zerrek. It is a pleasure to meet others from my species, as there are none in Ceperet besides my children and me."
This very obvious hint pointed out to them that they should be careful. While the populace was accustomed to Ignatia and the other ants, that might not be the case when dealing with them.
Rhex naturally understood, so he chirped once in agreement, nodding right after. "Understood." His gaze moved toward the middle of the city, where Liu Shu's
He didn't think that the World Tree would speak to them. After all, it was common knowledge that World Trees ignored everything unless they were being threatened.
Ignatia didn't correct his erroneous thoughts. Instead, she spoke calmly as she walked forward. "Follow me. This is one of the few cities that have become habitable not too long ago on the Moon. Fret not, as there is enough farmland and cattle to feed hundreds of thousands within the city. We were thinking about who to allocate to these Moon Cities, and your arrival solved quite a big headache."
Ignatia chuckled and looked at the following group while pointing up. "After all, who would like to live here when we have there?"
Following Ignatia's finger, the insectoids could see Ceperet in the distance. The gorgeous planet, mostly green, brown, and blue, had swirling clouds on the surface that made it look like a finely crafted marble.
Xalis, for once, spoke sincerely without her usual scathing tone. "It's a beautiful world. It's also quite large for an inner system rocky world."
Ignatia agreed. Then, she added. "As you've most likely observed while landing, the city is divided into inner and outer circles. The inner circle is off-bounds. Food, cattle, and many other basic necessities are produced there. So, besides the required personnel and those who receive special permits, no one is allowed to enter or fly over the inner circle. To separate the inner and outer circles, a city-circling flowerbed runs between them. Please be warned that the flower bed is not just a decoration. Whoever dares to enter without proper means, they will be attacked."
Zerrek spoke up, finding the environment quite proper for now. "What about combat areas? Are there any that our fighters can use to Level Up and practice?"
Ignatia smiled. "As a matter of fact, there is a
"Adjust?" Rhex spoke, his voice somewhat confused. "The
Ignatia summarized it. "The
Her words pricked at their curiosity. They were part of the Explorer Association, so they had naturally dived into quite a few
Xalis asked, her voice full of interest. "Is it prohibited to try the last two trials?"
Ignatia slowed for a moment, looking back at Xalis. Even when her Level was much lower than Xalis's, Ignatia's presence carried a royal pressure that made the insect woman tense up. "Lady Xalis, it's not prohibited. But I don't want to hear any complaints from your coworkers when whoever challenges those two final trials ends up inevitably dying."
Ignatia's reason for this evaluation was that they had explored only up to the fifth trial. Using the word exploring was generous, though, as Elyne and the other Level 175s who tried it fled the second they entered.
They didn't even have a chance to look around because a dreadful sense of danger enveloped them upon entry. Not wanting to risk it, they decided to flee.
As for the sixth, seventh, and eighth trials… Arven told them that they should forget about them for now. Their power was not developed enough to afford
Zerrek and the other two didn't speak anymore. After so many warnings, they were not stupid enough to challenge it unprepared. Even then, there was a seed of curiosity planted in their hearts that would grow slowly over the following years.
"We are here."
Ignatia spoke, looking up. The others followed her gaze, and they couldn't help but exclaim. The tree structure in front of them was fundamentally different from the others. Having reached an incredible height of 300 meters, its canopy towered over the others around it.
"This is a
None of them found anything wrong with this. To be fair, what they were seeing was several levels more advanced than what they initially expected. So, they were becoming increasingly fonder of this
Ignatia paused here and warned them. "One thing. The structures in our society are alive. They are an exotic tree species that evolved in our world and are now linked to us. Therefore, treat your houses with some respect. I am not asking not to dirty it or not to use it to just relax and have intimate moments. They are houses, and you should treat them as such. What I am asking is that you don't bother the structure itself or hurt it."
Rhex crossed his arms, speaking with confusion. "What about remodeling? Don't get me wrong, I am sure that the houses are lovely. However, our species is quite large, so I fear that the ceiling would be too low. Moreover, having windows to fly out instead of using stairs or other methods feels more natural for us."
What he asked was more than reasonable. Ignatia smiled. "Remodeling is naturally not a problem. Their default setting is 32 floors with quite a few apartments inside. This can easily change, though. As a tree species that has developed to live symbiotically with its inquilines, it naturally has the ability to transform its inwards at will."
Her words took many of them by surprise, and Ignatia smiled. "That's why we are coming first to the
"..."
Everyone's lips twitched, keeping in mind not to be bossy with the houses. How shameful would it be to be thrown out of your own house by the building itself? Just thinking about it made them squirm in embarrassment.
Xalis asked, curious. "What do you do to those that hurt the
"Death," Ignatia answered instantly and with a tone that felt colder than the Moon's surface. "Whoever dares insult these pure and precious children will die the most ruthless death I can think of. Which, most of the time, is becoming their food for bothering them."
Xalis and the others stiffened for a second. They had expected some kind of harsh punishment, but becoming fertilizer? If being thrown out of the window felt embarrassing before, now they felt pressure just on the thought of living inside them.
Ignatia, noticing this, clarified. "I will tell you that their patience is similar to that of a saint. Doing something that angers them is difficult to the point that sometimes my heart aches for them." The Ant Queen finished gently. "So, just live your lives as you normally do and behave like normal people."
While they nodded, their caution still lived within them. With these peculiar structures and the mysterious
For now, though, the Moon received its first visitors, and Liu Shu's society became a notch more complex.