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Chapter 520. Nexus' Despairs. The Weight Of Life. [AotSC]
🕑 Added 2025-08-27 19:06:35 +0000 UTCWhen Liu Shu’s attack manifested, everything became silent. Those looking at it through Liu Shu’s roots were frozen in place, while those <Fourth Energy Cycles> that barely escaped its attacking range were trembling in fear, and the rest who felt the ternary essence fluctuations barely held back from fleeing in the opposite direction of whatever happened.
Dain looked toward the horizon with a solemn expression. “Sylwen, what happened?”
A communication rune device transmitted his voice over a long distance, reaching Sylwen in a matter of seconds. After asking, there was no answer for ten seconds, so Dain asked again. “Sylwen? Do you hear me? Answer me. What is happening? What was that Ternary Essence Fluctuation?”
On the other side, Sylwen was floating mid-air, her body trembling like an aspen leaf. Her back was soaked in sweat, while her pupils were dilating, and her heart was pumping crazily. She had seen plenty of powerful, wide-area-of-effect attacks during her entire life. As a <Fourth Energy Cycle>, she naturally knew and saw more things than a normal person.
However, never in her entire life had she felt so… small.
When Liu Shu’s attack enveloped all five thousand square kilometers and shattered space, everything inside had crumbled to pieces. Mountains fell, the city’s defensive system collapsed, and all creatures living inside crumpled or shattered.
A few <Fourth Energy Cycles> inside were barely alive, as 5,000 <Phoer Body Cores> of damage was not enough to one-shot some of them. But the injuries were so severe that, unless they received medical assistance immediately, they would end up dead in a matter of minutes.
If Sylwen and the others dared to go back into the area Liu Shu just flattened, they would’ve probably been saved. Nevertheless, Sylwen didn’t even want to come close to that area. So, they eventually died of their heavy injuries, leaving officially no survivors inside Liu Shu’s attacking range.
“...Sylwen! Answer me!”
Sylwen snapped out of her daze and quickly answered. “L-Lord Dain! We need to retreat! We need to reinforce and retreat to our major cities right away! Tianlian Liu Shu’s strength is far beyond whatever expectations we had!”
Dain relaxed after he received an answer. He thought that one of his Level 99s had fallen. “Relax, take a deep breath. You are speaking so fast that I barely understood what you said.”
Sylwen shouted, her nerves and emotions clearly agitated and sensitive. “Dain! If you do not command a retreat and fortification of our cities, I’ll flee this planet!”
While Sylwen was a <Ceperet Human>, that didn’t mean that she didn’t have connections with extraplanetary powers and connections. So, after seeing Liu Shu’s attack, she knew that their only choice to win was to do the following: “Dain! Listen to me well. Tianlian Liu Shu is not a World Tree we can defeat with <Fourth Energy Cycles>. I don’t even think that 10,000 <Fourth Energy Cycles> are able to face and raze that monster to the ground. We need the Abyssal Void Nexus to send someone who has completed the <Fifth Energy Cycle> and <First Evolution>!”
Dain didn’t disregard her words. The Ternary Essence Fluctuation that he had felt was ridiculous, after all. So, after deeply pondering, he spoke through the communication device. “Sylwen, gather all <Third Energy Cycles> and <Fourth Energy Cycles> and return to the capital. If there are talented <Second Energy Cycles>, you can contact them as well to return.”
“Huh?” Sylwen was confused. After calming down slightly, she took a deep breath and began asking questions. “What do you want to do, Lord Dain?”
Dain spoke with a sigh. “What you asked for is almost impossible.” Sylwen’s heart sank, and the lord explained further. He looked out of the balcony of his office and spoke slowly. “Ceperet is a world that’s somewhat remote. It doesn’t have much strategic value, and the Solar System it belongs to only has another planet with life. The only value of this Solar System is its star. The Sun of this Solar System is young and full of energy, and it is bound to become a relatively high-level star in the future.”
Sylwen had some idea of outer space politics and resource values, so she understood where he was going. “So… Abyssal Void Nexus wanted to keep Ceperet under control because they didn’t want a World Tree to become a True World Tree.”
“Correct.” Dain continued. “Now that Tianlian Liu Shu has reached her current strength and height, it is clear that stopping her would need a lot of resources. The Abyssal Void Nexus doesn’t have the resources, time, or energy to send <Fifth Energy Cycles> and above to this remote place.”
“Not even one?” Sylwen was in disbelief. “I understand that they are rare. However, there should be tens of thousands in that level, no?”
Dain shook his head. “While that’s not entirely correct, the reason is that our enemy, the Verdant Sanctity Covenant, has as many people as us, if not more. We are losing the interstellar battle.”
“Then! With more reason, we should completely dominate Ceperet!” Sylwen was reluctant to give up the world so easily. Her previous words were due to the fear and panic she felt, but her true heart was reluctant. “We can’t let the Verdant Sanctity Covenant gain more power through Ceperet and its Sun!”
Dain also thought so, but what could he do? Those above had long given up on Ceperet. The only reason they were even sending people here was to participate in low-scale battles and nurture <Fourth Energy Cycles>. After all, in the multistellar empires, <Fourth Energy Cycle> was a bare minimum to become a foot soldier. They were, in a way, the cannon fodder.
If they lost Ceperet, there were another 20 or 30 Ceperets they could send their people. This world was a minor island in the vast ocean named <Lily Felgrana Spiral Root Galaxy>.
Dain spoke, his tone serious. “Tianlian Liu Shu has grown too far. We will leave the Ceperet Solar System and inform the Abyssal Void Nexus upper echelons. They will be the judges on what to do with Tianlian Liu Shu.”
Sylwen was silent and asked, her tone a mocking one. “What if history repeats itself? Giving Tianlian Liu Shu more time is nothing but a suicide.”
Dain chuckled. “You are still ignorant, but even if she reaches Level 100, things won’t be easy for her. In the grand scheme of things, she is nothing.”
Sylwen disagreed, but she didn’t fight too much about it for now. Instead, she went to collect people all around the continent.
Meanwhile, Liu Shu had become the Natural Disaster she was bound to be for the Abyssal Void Nexus in the Ceperet World. Her stats, reaching an absurd degree through all her buffs, were enough to slaughter anything and anyone that dared step in her way.
Cities were upturned, fortresses were destroyed, and entire mountains crumbled under her strength. The aftershocks of Liu Shu’s brutal advance triggered volcanic eruptions on land, creating a layer of ash and clouds that cast darkness over the entire continent.
During this time, Liu Shu’s core had become numb. Her face was cold, her entire being was indifferent, and the aura around her had changed from a gentle and soothing one to a chilling aura full of murderous intent.
The people in Golden Sap City gazed at their World Tree’s gradual change with heavy hearts, unsure of what to do and pleading with the administration to take action.
Flor and the others also noticed, so they sent Cinderielle, Verdantia, Tempestria, and Harmonixia into the <Core Room>.
The four tall and beautiful sylvans opened the Petal Door and stepped inside. Unlike her usual self, Liu Shu’s avatar was standing, looking in the direction of the Abyssal Void Continent with a cold face.
While she kept her nakedness, those looking could not even start to feel any desire, as her presence was like a vortex of coldness and death.
Verdantia and the other three were not scared, though. They only felt pain in their hearts. Even as a World Tree, committing such massacres was not easy. How many screams did she hear? How many families did she break? How many innocents fell under her advance?
For the Abyssal Void Nexus, Liu Shu’s actions were a confirmation of the teachings they’ve heard since they were children. Of course, Liu Shu didn’t mind; after all, if she left them alone, they would be the ones doing the same on her continent.
Her mercy ran out the day Amapola and the others were killed during her sleep. And her empathy disappeared when the only World Tree that was left uncorrupted beyond the Wall Tree was Warlya.
Now, she was delivering their judgment.
While thinking about those things, she felt a pair of gentle arms enveloping her petite avatar. Due to her short height, when Verdantia hugged her from behind, her head was smushed against the Life Sylvan’s prominent chest.
Verdantia placed her chin on top of Liu Shu’s head and spoke softly. “Is it hard, love?”
Liu Shu blinked twice, wanting to erase the coldness around her. However, even her smile felt slightly stiff. After all, her roots were constantly sharing the screams of those she killed. “It’s not hard. I am a bit uncomfortable, that’s all.”
Cinderielle leaned down in front of her, smiling gently and giving her a quick peck on the lips. “My pretty Tiantian. Who are we, hm~?”
Liu Shu answered, slightly confused. “You are my wives… Why?”
Cinderielle’s sharp eyes softened. “Right? Then, why are you trying to hide what you are truly feeling from us, eh?”
Liu Shu paused, her eyes shaking for a moment.
Verdantia chuckled. “Silly Liu’er. Do you think you can hide your discomfort when your aura is basically screaming that you are suffering? Everyone in the city and beyond is worried about you, don’t you know?”
“Worried?” Liu Shu smiled, her lips arching self-mockingly. “They are not worried. They are scared.”
After she showed her strength, how could she not feel the increased wariness of all the creatures who saw it? Liu Shu had always been the strongest in the root net. Nevertheless, her strength was not overwhelming to the point of feeling suffocated. However, now that Liu Shu had developed skills that matched her level and tier, she could finally unleash her true strength.
That attack she did on the fortress didn’t need any cooldown. The only requirement was the casting time and the large amounts of Aether Mana and Anima Energy. Now, with all her efficiency buffs and such, it was more than possible to shoot that skill ten times in a row.
Tempestria patted Liu Shu’s fair and round shoulder, and the girl looked over. Then, the Wind Sylvan, like a soft and fresh breeze in summer, leaned down and captured her lips. After a gentle kiss, Tempestria smiled tenderly. “We are going to pamper you until you are laughing and smiling again, so prepare yourself, Shu’er~.”
Then, the four Sylvans carried Liu Shu to the bed and showered her in tender love.
Comments
Plateworm
Tftc
Minerva
*curb your enthusiasm theme plays*
Rizeres
" I think we are underestimating her." " No no no. You're overestimating her." * Clown music starts playing* Someone should etch their conversation in stone and send it back to the headquarters. That way they can reference it as their home planet gets crushed in a couple years.
