Back on the ships, Altherion and Vaarn were constantly giving out orders. It had already been 16 days of constant harassment, and they could see Nualis in the distance. "How much longer?"
The one operating the radars answered swiftly. "No longer than a day, Lord Altherion. The ship calculates 18 hours, but with all the attacks around us, I can assure you that it will take longer. My estimate is around 30% longer."
Altherion nodded as he observed their surroundings. The nine Moon-Type Ships that remained were battered. Some attacks managed to make it through, damaging them. Even then, with the World-Type Ship's abilities, dragging these nine along was no problem at all.
Marisella and the others recovered from most of their injuries, so they didn't look as pale as before. They had even taken turns showering and cleaning themselves for a mental reset.
Marisella asked, her face full of worry. "How far do you guys think Tianlian Liu Shu's domain stretches? It must go beyond Nualis, right?"
Draevin shook his head. "Even if it stretches that far, the root net will become weaker eventually. Remember that a World Tree's root net becomes increasingly weaker the further it extends. So, we just have to reach that threshold when Tianlian Liu Shu's attacks don't affect our shields anymore."
Selkor glanced at one of the screens and asked with a frown. "What about the Arboreal Winged Serpents? They are still right behind us. Moreover, they don't look tired. It is as if they are taking their time."
Altherion spoke this time. "I've been thinking about it this time. If Tianlian Liu Shu summoned those beings, they are probably not bona fide Arboreal Winged Serpents. Summoning skills do have the ability to call living creatures, but do you think calling an Arboreal Winged Serpent is easy? I've met a few others who managed to link with an Arboreal Winged Serpent."
As he said that, he recalled past memories. "Nevertheless, the most they could summon was one or two of them. The other summoning slots were filled with typical summons. Remember that these beings are terribly arrogant and don't make contracts easily."
"That makes sense." Draevin nodded. "If they were true Arboreal Winged Serpents, it doesn't make sense that we would be able to come this far. Those monsters are terrifyingly quick through space. So, by now, they should've caught up to us."
Mariselle asked. "So… Once we leave the World Tree's boundaries, they will stop as well?"
"Yes. I believe that's the case." Draevin nodded.
With that conversation ongoing, they noticed a large energy gathering near one of the surviving Moon-Types. No one panicked, as they had become accustomed to the occasional large-scale attack of the World Tree.
The World-Type moved, its body appearing in the middle of the location and pushing the Moon-Type away. Right after, the space around them shattered like glass.
"Shields at 32.1%! We've received 0.6% in damage."
Draevin snorted. "Her attacks are as vicious as always. Thankfully, our shields do have regeneration qualities. How much accumulated shield have we lost until now?"
The person ordered to keep up spoke solemnly. "During the last weeks, we've lost over 110% of our total shields. If we couldn't recover, our defenses would've long been breached."
Altherion nodded, his face solemn. "Just one more day. After Nualis, the World Tree's root net integrity must become flimsy, so that's our chance to escape quickly. Are the acceleration boosters prepared?"
"They will be in seven hours, Star Lord."
Altherion ordered. "Use them as soon as we pass Nualis's confines. Communicate with Vaarn to match our activation."
"Understood."
Time passed quickly, and soon, they arrived at Nualis's orbit. Altherion shouted. "Prepare, the World Tree's final struggle is here!"
They had received no attacks for the past few hours. They knew that the World Tree was planning something. Therefore, everyone was on high alert.
As expected, a few moments later, all energy detectors started beeping and going crazy. In front of their fleet, massively large portals appeared in the thousands. The first thing Draevin did was check behind them. 'If we can't push through, there is the option to circle around them.'
Sadly, all scanners noticed strange spatial fluctuations behind them. Not to mention that the Arboreal Winged Serpents were there to meet them if they were too slow.
"Protect the Moon-Types inside the formation. Follow everything we've planned. We know Tianlian Liu Shu's attack patterns, so we just need to proceed as we've always done."
"Understood!"
While they were preparing, suddenly they felt a strange energy enveloping their surroundings. Right after, they noticed that the roots' passive waving movements had sped up.
Altherion quickly checked the system.
[You've been affected by
"Show me
[Unable to do so.]
Altherion grimaced. Even then, he didn't linger on it. Instead, he asked around to see if anyone could see the description. Some people had greater access to information, so it wouldn't be unusual for someone to read something about it.
To his disappointment, no one could read the effects. Not even on Vaarn's side.
Draevin revealed a scowl. "Tianlian Liu Shu's ability to hide information is top-notch."
Altherion nodded, but soon, his attention was back on the roots. Even when it took a long time to explain, no more than a few seconds had gone by. Communication was done swiftly, after all.
"Roots to the left are preparing to attack!"
Altherion's World-Type was to the right, so he left that to Vaarn. "Focus on the right side and front."
"Understood."
"The roots on the right side are moving."
"Our scanners are detecting large amounts of light Aether Mana gathering around them."
"Attacks incoming!"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Beams of light pierced the void, impacting against the sturdy defenses of the World-Type Ship.
"Report! Losing shields at a rate of 0.1 per second!"
"Report! Slow talent has lost its effects."
"Report! Slow talent has been reapplied."
"Report! Our anti-debuffers can't dispel Slow. The ability is composed of a complicated and unknown essence."
"Report! The roots are attacking physically! Prepare for impact!"
BANG!
Everything trembled as the massive root slammed on the World-Type's shield. Altherion was constantly looking at the shield as Liu Shu released a final desperate barrage.
Still, no one was nervous. On the contrary, they grinned. Draevin chuckled. "It seems that even her all-out attacks are too weak this far away. We can push through!"
Altherion nodded, his tense face slowly relaxing. "Activate main cannon at maximum capability. We will give her one last parting gift."
A charging sound was heard in the main control room. This was a sound cue created so that everyone knew the charge levels, not the actual sound of the cannon.
A small sun was born in front of the ship. Then, Altherion pointed forward and ordered. "Fire."
WHOOOM!
The white beam tore through the void, landing on the roots several hundred thousand kilometers away.
BOOOM!!!
A muted explosion engulfed the void, a white fireball manifesting for a few seconds. Where the white ball appeared, no roots remained intact, most of them looking as if they were about to crumble to dust.
Altherion ordered. "Activate speed boost. Use the World-Type's shields and smash through the damaged roots in our way."
The ship accelerated, carrying the Moon-Types with it. When the ship struck the roots, they broke apart, and they finally tore through the last line of defense.
Draeving quickly looked at the rear cams and saw the persistent Arboreal Winged Serpents stop. This made his lips arch widely. "We are out of bounds!"
"YAH!"
"FINALLY!"
"WE DID IT!"
Altherion didn't relax, but his lips still arched faintly. He let them celebrate for a few moments before he ordered solemnly. "We are not out of bounds until we are one hundred percent sure. Do not relax in the last stretch. Once we are sure that there won't be any more attacks, we can stop and repair our ships as much as possible. Our objective is returning to
While they escaped, Liu Shu looked at everything coldly. Her gaze was still following the ships, and there were many times when she was tempted to just use
But she was patient. She would gather strength, and eventually, she would take her revenge. Either way, the Nexus and she were enemies. So, she was not going to let those people live in her vicinity.
'The day I am strong enough to face
With that, Liu Shu closed her eyes and stopped looking at the ships. Her subconscious kept an eye on them, making sure that they left. Otherwise, she just returned home. Her eyes opened, and she looked down.
Glancing at the people returning to Golden Sap City and helping deal with the mess, Liu Shu was silent. Honestly, her closeness to her population was becoming increasingly fuzzy as the years passed.
She cared for them; she would always care. When everything was said and done, she was still their World Tree. Otherwise, she wouldn't have evacuated the city and used them as meat shields for her children.
Would Altherion dare attack like he did if there were thousands of low-level people in the city? Naturally not. The threat of losing Experience Points and Levels was too high for even the cruelest and sickest person in the head to carry out such an indiscriminate slaughter.
What was called the Safety Measure of the universe was not named as such because of nothing. Without that, the number of deaths would be incalculable.
Still, while she would defend them, her participation was less active than in the past. For example, she had stopped intervening in minor crimes. Theft and such, she left it all to the system she built.
With everything at their disposal, the number of people who managed to get scot-free after a crime was ridiculously low. The ants were constantly patrolling the city, the trees were keeping an eye on everything, and Liu Shu's presence was naturally a large deterrent for most.
Even then, there were some people who thought they were "too unimportant" for a World Tree to care and dared to do evil.
As Liu Shu glanced at everything from above, she wondered how she would look at the same scenery a thousand years later. While pondering, she heard Mariane call her. "Liu Shu, we've finally sorted out all the Moon-Type remains. Thankfully, some of them were brought down by the flowers, or they would be a mess like the others. Whenever you can, please teleport those from Nualis."
Liu Shu snorted. "I do not have that ability."
A voice, ancient and gentle like a spring breeze between mountains, spoke up. "Thankfully, I can do that."
Liu Shu blinked and looked toward the gorgeous Willow Life Tree. "Mom?"
"Yes, child. I am awake."