บท 223: Chapter 223. Battle Climax!
With the massive World Tree in front of himself, Greth was very sure that his victory was near. After he weakened the World Tree enough, the army fighting his people outside would stop. However, before fighting, trying to make the World Tree surrender was worth a try because it would be faster.
Greth spoke loudly, ignoring Liu Shu's previous insult. "World Tree! You can't deal with us; you are not strong enough. Our skills are anti-World-Tree, specialized against plant life. I'll give you thirty seconds to surrender peacefully."
Liu Shu giggled. "Are you not scared that I could call for backup?"
Greth shook his head. "Your bluffs mean nothing. There is no reason why you wouldn't send everyone to the front. Without your top combatants there, the other Second Energy Cycles would completely obliterate the front line."
The World Tree looked at the six creatures standing below her with an amused expression. "I guess you might be right. However, what makes you think I am weak enough for you to take down? Do you even know my Level? What about my Tier? If you were an intelligent strategist, you should know that information is what can tilt the battle in an equal battleground."
Greth sighed. "You are just too young to know anything about warfare. It seems that you are not going to surrender. If so, you leave me with no other choice but to cut you down."
Liu Shu hummed. "A Level 27 with five Level 24 thinks that they can face me? You might have 900 Physique points and almost four <Phoer Body Cores>. Still, your friends around you barely have 600 points in their highest stat!"
Greth's face dropped, and he looked at the World Tree with a heavy expression. "You… You can see through?"
Liu Shu giggled and answered, her tone somewhat mocking. "You think I spent all that time doing nothing while you were all coming here? Since you entered the forest, I've been observing all of you. I've given your information to the rest: your talents, your titles, your passives, your stats, your resistances~. Everything is known to Flor and the rest. Do you really think I sent random people after each of your top fighters?"
Greth looked at the World Tree's swaying branches and felt an ominous sensation run all over his body. Liu Shu chuckled and asked, her tone low and somewhat threatening. "Did you really think that sneaking around like a sewer animal would hide you from my all-seeing gaze? If you really think that you can hide from my gaze, Greth… I would be disappointed in you."
Greth felt the gradually increasing aura of the World Tree, and his heart sped up. As Liu Shu spoke, the enormous World Tree's presence seemed to engulf everything around them, as if they were in a net as sticky and inescapable as a spiderweb. Her size and aura somewhat shadowed the light around her, making everything seem darker, more… grim.
Then, she spoke to Greth, her words falling like an inescapable judgment. "Greth, now it is your chance to face the enemy I prepared for you…" Liu Shu paused and chuckled faintly. "Myself."
Greth's threat senses flared up, and he quickly shouted. "Disperse!"
The six people jumped away from the place they were standing and a bunch of massive roots burst out of the ground, engulfing the place where they previously stood.
"Greth, your army is nothing but fertilizer to aid my growth."
<Mind Echo> exploded outward from Liu Shu, sending a terrifying pulse of energy against them and making their vision flash white while their ears rang. Greth clenched his teeth, quickly dispersing the dizziness, and rushed toward Liu Shu. "<Fire Spear Charge>!"
A powerful torrent of fire Aether Mana surrounded him, lighting up the surroundings. The other five people saw that and felt a surge of hope, like a candle lighting up on a dark night.
"Slow and weak. <Weeping Willow's Aether Barrage>."
Several dozen phantom branches materialized and rushed toward Greth with ridiculous speed, each of them breaking the sound barrier with deafening sonic booms.
While flying mid-air toward Liu Shu, Greth was surrounded by them, and his flame was snuffed out. The five people preparing to attack right after Greth looked at that ball of branches with blank faces, failing to understand. "Now get crushed."
CRUNCH!
[-87,510]!
"ARGH! <FLAME SWIRL>!"
A large ring of flames cut the phantom branches in half, liberating him. Outwardly, he didn't look too bad, but internally, many of his bones got fractures. Before he started to fall, he stomped the air, creating a large fire explosion that launched him forward and allowed him to arrive by Liu Shu's side.
The World Tree looked at Greth and internally smiled; if she had a face, the grin would look malicious and mocking.
"<Fire Spear: Seven Spear Surges>!"
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
Fiery explosions engulfed the World Tree, partially swallowing Liu Shu's massive trunk. Greth grinned victoriously and laughed. "That's what you get for underestimating me!"
Then, he turned his gaze toward the damage he did, and his grin froze.
[-2,120]! [-1,720]! [-2,420]! [-1,980]! [-2,000]! [-1,410]! [-2,270]!
In total, his barrage of attacks did around 14,000 Shards of damage. It was nothing compared to the total value of Liu Shu's Phoer pool, which was nearly 700,000 shards in value. When the flames disappeared, he saw a slightly charred trunk with white streaks that just scratched the surface of the massive trunk.
Liu Shu's defensive values were crazy for her level. For starters, her <Physique Resistance> percentage was 62. So, almost two-thirds of any physical attack would be blocked by her innate defense. Then, her own body had over 2,000 <Physique> stat points.
To heavily damage Liu Shu with any attack, the total power behind an attack would need to have around 2,500 stat points behind it.
Since Liu Shu managed to create the <Essence Cores>, average <Second Energy Cycle> beings had not been a threat to Liu Shu. If there had not been a town she needed to protect around her, she would've probably been able to allow the 1,000-person strong army to come near her and then eradicate them.
Liu Shu spoke to the shocked man that was slowly falling down. "As I said. You never were in control. You never had a chance. At the end of the day…" Liu Shu chuckled. "You are just my fertilizer. Now, let me go all out~. <Root Manipulation>, <Weeping Willow's Aether Barrage>."
Instead of a few tens of illusory branches, Liu Shu's actual branches began moving while combining with the phantasmal ones. However, Liu Shu didn't target Greth. Her branches bypassed him and rushed behind. Greth turned around and saw a stomach-revolting situation.
The branches lashed like whips, blurring as their speed was too fast for even Greth to properly follow. The five Level 24 people could barely react and create defensive spells before the giant branch fell like a heavenly pillar.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The earth trembled with each strike of the World Tree. With each blow, everyone hiding in the town couldn't help but look over in horror and awe at the might displayed by the massive being.
At first, they had been worried after the World Tree burst up in flames. However, when the flames disappeared, revealing a small patch of black and white, they felt some relief and incredulity.
Now, seeing those branches acting like arms and smashing the ground with enough strength to create tremors, they couldn't help but feel small. Every single being imagined being on the other side of the attack, and their hearts just squeezed in fear.
[Congratulations on defeating <Level 24 Leaf Catkin (E Rank)>. You've gained 116 Experience Points.]
[Congratulations on defeating <Level 24 Earth Fist Bearkin (E+ Rank)>. You've gained 257 Experience Points.]
[Congratulations on defeating <Level 24 Ceperet Human (E+ Rank)>. You've gained 257 Experience Points.]
[Congratulations on defeating <Level 24 Ceperet Human (D- Rank)>. You've gained 546 Experience Points.]
[Congratulations on defeating <Level 24 Ceperet Human (E- Rank)>. You've gained 48 Experience Points.]
Greth looked at the place where his previous comrades stood and only saw patches of red filled with several unrecognizable meat chunks and deformed armor that looked like squeezed cans. Liu Shu looked at Greth and hummed. "Well~, this is unexpected. I thought you would either go crazy with rage and try to attack me or flee in fear. It seems that you are just paralyzed… Or perhaps in shock. Either way, time to die."
"I surrender."
Liu Shu paused and asked, confused. "Excuse me, what? Did you just say you surrendered?"
Greth fell to his knees and begged for his life. "I don't want to die, Lady World Tree. It was stupid of me to gather you in the same group as other World Trees. I heavily underestimated you, but I ask for forgiveness. I promise I can convince the others to stop fighting now and leave! We were unaware that we had been set up! We won't ever come to bother you again! I can convince the merchant alliance to become your ally against Fortuna City, too!"
Liu Shu looked at the man for a few seconds and laughed. "Hahaha. Oh, this is hilarious. Since you were the strategist and most intelligent, I thought you would like, I don't know, 'Fight until my last breath'. Or, or, you know how those heroes say: 'I will never surrender, even if the odds are against me!'"
Liu Shu looked closely at Greth and realized that he was actually trembling. "Oh wow~, you are really scared, eh? Give me a moment to think about it! Let's see~..."
Liu Shu pretended to ponder while sending a surge of energy toward the battlefield, summoning her roots at her full strength and massacring people left and right. The attack was so sudden that Torran failed to react and block Liu Shu's attack.
In an instant, dozens of roots coiled around enemies and squeezed them like fruits in a very stomach churning change of events.
Even Tharn, Vaya, and Torran were targeted. They didn't fall to that so easily. However, because of that, those fighting them gained a tremendous advantage.
First, Ophion managed to close the distance with Vaya, slamming her against the ground and finally entering melee range. This basically sentenced Vaya to death,
Of course, the woman didn't surrender and looked at the massive serpent hovering over her with a furious gaze. "This is not over!"
Ophion hissed, his lips arching in mockery. The meaning of his hiss? "No, this is completely over. It was over the second you decided to attack Liu Shu."
Torran was not in much danger due to the lack of burst strength Verdantia and the others had. Still, she was forced into a defensive position. Looking around, She couldn't help but sigh. 'We lost, didn't we?'
She knew that escaping was a pipe dream with a World Tree's gaze over her, so she did her best until those on other battlefields started collapsing on her.
Tharn, on the other side, almost got killed in the first instant. The second Wert saw the roots exploding around, his grin widened, and he shouted. "Thank you, big girl! <War Ax Maelstrom>!"
Tharn got his leg grabbed by Liu Shu the second Wert arrived, and his face dropped. He didn't have enough maneuvering room to avoid him. 'He caught me!'
He tried to defend himself, but a moment of distraction in a battle between equals was a death sentence. Not to mention, Liu Shu's intervention was a bit more than "a moment of distraction".
Wert's attacks pierced through Tharn's defense, slicing off his arm and opening his chest in a burst of blood.
Finally, on the main battlefield where most of the people were fighting, Liu Shu's surprise attack was devastating. Of the remaining 200 or so people, almost half died, and the remaining 100 got injured.
Liu Shu's intervention completely shattered any chance at winning that they had.
After doing that, the World Tree looked back at Greth. She spoke happily. "Now that your army is dealt with, I thought about your offer! You will love my answer."
Greth looked upward, the towering tree filling the entirety of his sight. That picture made him question how and why he ever thought that attacking this place was a good idea.
"I decided that your Experience Points will be very useful in increasing some of my skill levels! You will faithfully serve me with that contribution~! Become my fertilizer!"
Instead of using her branches, the World Tree opened the soil because Greth was by Liu Shu's side, and her roots latched around Greth like iron chains, dragging him underground. "No. WAIT! I CAN GIVE YOU MY ALLEGIANCE, PLEASE!"
"Nop~." Liu Shu giggled. "Now… NOM!"
BANG!
The land around Greth closed with a loud sound, and Greth was swallowed by the World Tree. Liu Shu's roots were going at him, eager to have a feast.
[Congratulations on defeating <Level 27 Ceperet Human (E+ Rank)>. You've gained 469 Experience Points.]
Liu Shu blinked. "Oh? That D- Rank Level 24 gave more experience than him! That's quite… funny, haha."
Ignatia stepped out from Liu Shu's branches and laughed. "In the end, I didn't need to intervene at all. That was quite the show, love."
Liu Shu answered cutely. "Hehehe. Thank you for guarding me, Ignatia! Oh… Should I have left one of them for you? They gave quite a lot of Experience Points!"
Ignatia caressed the World Tree's bark and kissed it. "Don't worry about that, dear. Just eat and get nourishment. I will be happy as long as you grow big and healthy, love."
Liu Shu used a small branch to latch around Ignatia's arm affectionately. "I love you, Ignatia!"
Ignatia smiled, sitting on the branches while looking at how the battle ended in the distance. "I love you too, my big darling."
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