Liu Shu was slowly taking care of the nearby Solar Systems, expanding and strengthening her root net. Even though she couldn't cover all the void, she had to make the areas with roots thicker and interconnected so that killing one root wouldn't cause the collapse of who knows how much of her root net. Creating interconnected loops with other, more complex 3D structures helped with this.
She hummed a song as she happily expanded her domain. "Hum, hum, hum~, we grow a few here and there. Then another little tiny bit over there."
The space she already dominated became more stable, and thanks to her own abilities and the perfect energy cycle, the Solar Systems became increasingly sturdy. "Oh, right. I needed to move a few of my Moon Soul babies over here and over there…
Space and dimensions twisted violently as she scattered her grown babies to other Solar Systems. While she was looking at a recently conquered Solar System, she suddenly felt incredibly powerful dimensional energies, and looking over, she saw her baby Stella working.
'Oh, she is already dealing with this Solar System? My baby is so hardworking~.'
Back in Ceperet, Liu Shu squeezed and pampered her big baby, making Stella giggle happily. As structures, Liu Shu's hugs were delightful. The feeling of their internal support pillars and other parts being pleasantly squeezed made them feel happy and fluffy inside.
After observing Stella's masterful work, Liu Shu continued as usual… Until she found something different.
A very deep and powerful presence.
Liu Shu's relaxed mood tensed up, and her gaze quickly moved toward Deadly Petal's Solar System and the nearby ones. Using her sensing ability,
There, she saw it.
Liu Shu observed with her system page
***
Name: Balaya
Level: 325
***
Her stats were not low either. Liu Shu's own base stats, with no boost other than her equipment, were around 21 million, while her ternary essence pools ranged around 730 stars. That was before her
Remember that Liu Shu was an SS- Tier World Tree, so she had a good stat advantage. Even then, Balaya quite literally overwhelmed even that her in raw stats.
32.2 million Aether and 1,480 Aether Mana Stars.
31.4 million Physique and 1,420 Phoer Body Stars.
23.6 million Anima and 980 Anima Energy Stars.
3.6 million Willpower
12,100 Destiny
As a Level 325 World Tree, her numbers were truly ridiculous. After her own buffs, Balaya's number went even higher.
However… Liu Shu didn't feel too afraid. 'The difference between Ascensions makes it so that individuals with similar stats will be very different. Someone at Level 300 with 10 million Aether is always going to overwhelm someone at Level 200 with 10 million Aether with little to no effort.'
So Balaya, after receiving her own buffs, skyrocketed her stats to around 45 to 63 million and became a powerhouse, showing why she could suppress and rule her domain.
Even then, Liu Shu glanced at her own stats after the buffs, without her defensive buff.
82.8 million Aether and 3,270 Aether Mana Stars.
82.9 million Physique and 3,275 Phoer Body Stars.
82.8 million Anima and 3,268 Anima Energy Stars.
32.3 million Willpower.
88,872 Destiny.
If it were a defensive battle, the numbers would go completely out of control and nearly reach 135 million, and her ternary essence pools soared to over 5,000
So, even with the difference between Ascensions, Liu Shu was not afraid in the slightest. 'However, I must never underestimate her. Someone like Balaya, who had been alive for so long that records of her date back over 50,000 years, is not someone I can face with a light heart.'
So, Liu Shu quickly informed everyone with a simple sentence. Something they had all been anticipating for a long time. "Balaya is moving our way."
Zaros, Flor, and everyone else who had been in a relaxed mood tensed up, and messages began flying between military and government branches. They didn't know if the Covenant would send an army together with Balaya, but if they did, it could get really dangerous.
Liu Shu analyzed it far more deeply than other World Trees would. 'If they had the leisure to gather an army as they are right now, the Nexus could very easily take advantage. We are a threat, but there is no way the Nexus would give up on their archenemy's weakness.'
If Liu Shu was a thorn in their side, the Covenant was the sword pointed at their neck. At least, from their perspective. So, Liu Shu read that the Covenant would not send an army just yet.
'From their point of view, Balaya should be more than enough to deal with us. A Level 325 World Tree is a force of nature that only armies with several Level 300+ individuals can stop. So, Balaya is very likely to come alone.'
Reaching this conclusion didn't mean she would not guard against a possible helping army. Even if the Covenant doesn't seem to have one of its main armies, some kind of force must always accompany Balaya and support her to a certain degree.
That force also existed in the Golden Sap Empire, but since Liu Shu hadn't had problems, they never really attacked where she targeted. Liu Shu's overwhelming strength overran every place she targeted.
'Balaya's objective is clear. Destroy Deadly Petal and push me out of her nearby zone. If she finds me threatening while fighting, there is a high chance that Balaya will continue to push to kill me.'
Therefore, Liu Shu's objective was one. "I must show her that I am not someone she can easily bully. For that…"
"Zaros."
Zaros, who was preparing to set off with the army, heard Liu Shu's call. "What's wrong, Lady Heavenly Willow?"
"Don't move the army."
Zaros paused his movements, and the advisors in the room also froze for a moment. He didn't jump in surprise. Instead, Zaros's clever mind began spinning. After a while, he managed to see Liu Shu's objective, more or less.
"Does Lady Heavenly Willow want to make a show of strength?"
Liu Shu smiled, satisfied. It was because of this that Zaros was at the very top. His mind worked quickly, and his talents were exceptional. "This is my intention and what I thought about…"
The people in the room were all of a very high rank, so Liu Shu didn't bother hiding anything.
After she finished, Zaros crossed his muscular arms and looked around. "What do you think?"
Being the leader didn't mean thinking about everything alone. A good leader used the resources within their reach with perfect efficiency. Anyone seated in the room was an asset who had clawed up to their position through sheer effort and talent.
One Sylvan with white hair and green eyes spoke, her voice cold but clear. "Lady Heavenly Willow's tactic is not bad or wrong. Nevertheless, what if Lady Heavenly Willow loses?"
Such words would've sounded insulting in other empires. However, the people in the room didn't even flinch. Zaros hummed. "That's a good point. Lady Heavenly Willow, Lady Balaya is strong. Are you sure you can beat her? We've gathered information about her, and Lady Balaya is quite a troublesome World Tree to deal with."
If Deadly Petal was a powerful Biomancer who could snowball and take over entire battlefields alone, Balaya was an unstoppable juggernaut. Physique and Aether Mana covered her roots as she closed distances and became physical.
If Balaya were humanized, she would be a War Aethermancer who wielded a massive mace, heavy armor, and a giant shield to push forward and crush her enemies.
Her roots were ridiculously sturdy and her vitality was monstruously deep.
She used her Aether Mana entirely for buff-type skills that added defensive and offensive qualities to her attacks.
She even had some healing skills to spend her Anima Energy on.
A force of nature that didn't die even if you killed her.
That… was Balaya.
That was the true face of the World Tree that had ruled the Covenant for tens of millennia and, before that, had torn down the previous True World Tree that had ruled the Covenant alone.
So, these military advisors were worried, even knowing that Liu Shu was no slouch herself.
Liu Shu, though, answered confidently. "A juggernaut? That's more right up my alley than the usual fighting style I deploy."
In wars, Liu Shu had mostly relied on her Elemental Catastrophe and Force Essence Manipulation skills to completely take over battlefields. Her summons were similarly very characteristic of her combat kit.
So, people guessed that Liu Shu's own roots were not that sturdy. After all, didn't the Nexus and Covenant manage to gain quite a bit of terrain while fighting Liu Shu?
Reports said Liu Shu's roots were destroyed far more easily than other World Trees'. Even Deadly Petal managed to push through quite deeply!
So, people confused Liu Shu for a World Tree that had mastered Elements, Space, Summoning, and Support Buffs. Strong, incredibly so, but weak at close combat.
Oh, how wrong they were.
Liu Shu's strongest fighting methods had always been, since she was reborn as a World Tree, durability incomparable to similarly leveled World Trees. Her first offensive skill,
Back then, as a Level 1, she could stomp much higher-level creatures and crush their bones with her steel-whip-like branches. Even her thin trunk had been so durable that beavers and thornstrides, creatures specialized in hunting trees, could barely damage her.
Now, elevated to an incomparable position, her main strength had not changed. "I will fight and win."
Liu Shu just said that sentence. No bragging, no extensive explanation, only overflowing confidence.
Zaros and the rest fell silent and finally nodded. Zaros spoke. "If you are able to win, it will help us tremendously. We might even start having talks with Lady Danlier face-to-face. However, the condition is that you stop Balaya's advance by yourself, Lady Heavenly Willow."
Liu Shu also knew how important this was, so she nodded. "In a defensive battle, I am an impenetrable fortress."
Meanwhile, a few light-years away, Balaya was somewhat confused. "Hm… System, analyze her again."
***
Name: Tianlian Liu Shu
Titles:
???
???
???
…
Race: ???
Energy Method: ???
Level: ???
Aether Mana Stars: ???
Phoer Body Stars: ???
Anima Energy Stars: ???
Attributes: ???
Affinity Percentages: ???
Resistance Percentages: ???
Summoning Affinity: ???
Talents:
???
???
???
…
Passive Skills:
???
???
???
….
***
"...I can't see? Not even her Level?"
Balaya had an S+ Rank
What Balaya didn't know was that she could see the name because Liu Shu hadn't bothered hiding it. That way, when her roots appeared, everyone, even a Level 1, would be able to easily see it was her and not freak out… or completely fall into despair.
"Hm… she is not simple indeed. Regardless, her Level was reported to be around 250 a few decades ago. Her essence is also not one of a
So, without doubting their own victories on either side, both World Trees began advancing into the void between the stars to fight, their roots quickly expanding with their domains.
The battle between World Trees was about to start!