Carter's army, or what remained of it, finally arrived at one of their two Solar Systems. This Solar System was the nearest of the two and chosen just for that single reason. After all, the longer they delayed it, the worse the losses would be.
Carter's entire atmosphere was solemn, and his eyes were a touch lifeless. Receiving negative reports almost two years straight even as they retreated was, to put it mildly, mind-numbing. Now, unless the report had a few hundred thousand deaths, he wouldn't even flinch.
"Did we make enough distance?"
"Yes, Commander."
This was the only saving grace. As they retreated, thanks to their superior Starships, they managed to open enough distance to stop harassment. This happened a few months ago, and during this time, the Nexus's army has been taking a well-deserved rest.
The morale, though, was rock bottom. Their initial almost 300 million troops had been reduced to a little over 80 million. That could be easily classified as annihilation in most reports. There were even a few deserters among the VIPs. Those people thought that it was better to be marked as wanted by the Nexus than to face the Golden Sap Empire's army. Plus, some of those VIPs came from families strong enough that a single desertion was, to a degree, affordable.
Carter didn't care. His duty remained the same: Retreat, create a defensive line using the Solar System, and wait until either reinforcements or an order to fully retreat arrived. He had already sent the message back, so he was waiting for an opinion from the higher-ups.
"What is the situation back in the Solar System?"
The defeat was already known through unofficial channels. No matter how much they wanted to hide it, all the VIPs that fled must've already informed others. The result was so out of the norm that it became viral and spread quickly among the shared network.
The Nexus higher-ups interfered, but it was hard to stop word of mouth. So, the Solar System that would become the most affected was bound to be affected.
"There have been several movements from most privileged individuals. They moved their assets, shifted headquarters, and investment toward these two Solar Systems had dropped dramatically. This has caused somewhat of a downward cascade, and an economic crisis is imminent. Civilians who can't move as freely are uneasy, and there have been protests here and there."
Carter sighed deeply. He was not surprised. In the Nexus, it was taught that being under the rule of a World Tree was the same as being ruled by a selfish tyrant. How could they be happy that their Solar System was about to be invaded by one?
No matter how much an army had promised to defend, the fact that it was badly beaten was well known. No amount of propaganda could cover it, and distractions only worked until Liu Shu herself knocked on their doors with her ever-extending roots.
"Commander! Urgent news from the Seaplace Solar System!"
"What now?"
Seaplace Solar System was the one Carter had not moved his army towards. It was further away than Azure Star Solar System, their current objective. So, Carter guessed that if Liu Shu were to attack any, it would be the Seaplace Solar System.
"There is news that the main worlds of the Seaplace Solar System are under attack!"
"...What?"
***
Meanwhile, Liu Shu had finally managed to extend her roots and circle them around enough to reach the Solar Systems from the "back," so to speak. The empty space that the Corrupt Church and Carter managed to create while pushing into Liu Shu's domain finally became the center of Liu Shu's donut strategy.
Now, Liu Shu could perfectly see the four active worlds of the Seaplace Solar System. They were all within reach of her roots.
'The Covenant's retreat has already started, and most of my personal efforts are now focused on dealing with Deadly Petal. Even then, I have more than enough leisure to target these worlds.'
How do you target the worlds controlled by the Nexus? Liu Shu had thought quite in depth about it. She couldn't act as she did back in Ceperet. Back then, with no better choice, Liu Shu decided to purge everything for a better beginning.
One act of ruthlessness for the sake of a cleaner future without internal disputes. If she had not cleared up those people before she conquered Ceperet, Liu Shu couldn't even imagine the amount of trouble they would've given her. Resentment toward World Trees was not something easy to cure.
So, while she was sorry, Liu Shu didn't regret the brutal purge from back then. She was actually glad that she steeled her nerves and became the villain that one time. The same with her decision to culturally murder the Star Chart Newts.
As a normal individual, those decisions would've been condemned. As a leader, steeling oneself and ruthlessness were a must if you didn't want to be swallowed because of your kindness.
But the Abyssal Void Nexus was an empire over 300 Solar Systems wide. If you added their allies and those like-minded… the numbers were far too many. If Liu Shu were to exterminate all life in those worlds, it would be beyond what Liu Shu permitted herself.
'If I really go on and do it like Deadly Petal, who completely takes over fauna, flora, and civilization, I feel as if I will lose part of my true self.'
Speaking of Deadly Petal, she wondered how she swept through so many worlds. Didn't the System penalize her?
Liu Shu didn't know, but Deadly Petal had an "exterminator" group. She herself would deal with the top powerhouses, and once they were gone, an extermination army with Levels ranging from Level 10 to Level 199 would sweep the world.
It was also one of the ways Deadly Petal rapidly grew the Levels of her own population.
There was a reason why Deadly Petal was called a crazy World Tree by most, even when her personality was clearly not strange.
Either way, after Liu Shu thought it over, she chose the same assimilation method she used for the merchants, mixing it a bit with what she used for the Star Chart Newts.
First, let her culture spread. Then, educate the young through special schools. Lastly, make sure that the internet environment is imposed with censorship.
Many other smaller details would be applied over time, but that was the general idea. Among them, there was, naturally, the complete replacement and overhaul of the law and government officials.
'It will be a slow endeavor, and it will take time. Therefore, I must ensure that population movement in Nexus Solar Systems is limited and controlled. In a way, I just need to pour water into the cup of milk until it overflows and becomes only water.'
Like letting it below the faucet and letting water run, that was the intent. The faucet was Liu Shu's changes, the water was the education and culture change, and the milk poured were the old Nexus residents.
'But, gentle means will only work so much. First and foremost, I need fear.'
It was inevitable. Without a proper amount of fear, the process would be lengthy to the point that it might last for millennia. After all, with increased lifespan and elders holding onto resentment and passing it down to younger generations, a lack of enforcement power and fear was a direct recipe for a future revolution.
So, Liu Shu looked at four worlds through her Divine Tree Eye skill and then… she acted.
***
It was a rather normal day in the Seaplace World, the capital world of the Seaplace Solar System. People just walked through the streets, and while there was a certain gloom due to the war, ordinary people went about their business as usual.
Worry was one thing, but people needed to live.
A father and child walked down the streets hand in hand. Their objective was a nearby clothing store. "You had to play in the mud. Didn't I tell you not to do that? Look at what happened to your favorite clothes."
The boy answered with a pitiful voice. "Sorry."
The father was not having it, though. "Sorry doesn't help, does it? I will punish you when we go back home. No access to the internet except for homework for a while."
"Dad! You can't do that!"
"I can't? You think that…"
"D-Dad. W-What is that?"
"Don't interrupt." He wanted to continue speaking, but his son's face full of terror caused him to look up warily. Once he did, he froze.
Above them, the sky was breaking down. Massive rifts appeared, and from them, roots far too large to describe properly appeared. Their sleek form and powerfully pulsing blue-glowing veins imposed respect and awe in all who looked.
Those roots, defying the natural law for things to fall and seemingly growing in the very sky, suddenly plunged down vertically.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The world shook with terrifying sounds, people screamed, and earthquakes large enough to cause the tall buildings to start collapsing hit the earth. The man lost his footing, hugging his son, but part of a nearby building was falling toward them.
Some nearby police moved quickly, punching the falling buildings and protecting them. "Stand up! Move to the safety zones as quickly as possible!"
As the father and son were standing up, the voice of a woman boomed throughout the world, reaching every single corner. The voice was imposing, but it carried a trace of gentleness. It was like that of a stern nature goddess.
"People of the Abyssal Void Nexus, I am the Heavenly Willow. From today on, this world will become part of my Golden Sap Empire. Those who resist will be purged."
The words [Heavenly Willow] were something everyone who had any minimum social interaction knew about. The True World Tree that the Nexus's army set out to defeat, and in the end, was pushed back in turn.
Now, that very horrifying creature had arrived and plunged her sky-piercing roots into the world itself. That very fact was something that the people in the world couldn't accept. After all, once a World Tree sank its roots into a world, it could be considered their territory and completely conquered.
The damage Liu Shu caused by plunging her roots into the world was serious. However, not many died. Buildings collapsing could kill most people below Level 25, but once you reached Level 25 and evolved your ternary essence shards into cores, resistance and strength reached a superhuman level high enough to defend oneself.
There were plenty of Level 50+ people to act around the worlds and protect low-level people.
Still, some deaths occurred.
[Your actions across the four worlds have caused you to lose 2,450,000 Experience Points.]
It was a loss Liu Shu could accept for the effects of her actions. 'For now, I won't hide my roots from plain sight. Keeping them there as a reminder will be good until I completely take over the higher ranks of these worlds' societies.'
Liu Shu glanced at the several thousand people rushing toward her roots, and Liu Shu nodded to herself. She had already expected this reaction. 'Now, the start of their last resistance will start, and… I will do nothing.'
There was absolutely nothing and no one across all these four worlds who could damage her roots. The effect of their futile efforts would hit a thousand times harder than any defensive attacks Liu Shu could initiate.