Chapter 779: Chapter 779. Covenant and Nexus Reactions. Xakira’s Advice.

Since the Covenant and the Nexus were currently at a full-blown war, news cycled much more quickly due to the active spies sent to several powers. Although moving information at an interstellar range was difficult, it was not impossible. There were various methods, some using nodes set in deep space, some using physics with quantum information sharing, and some using rune fields or arrays for the same use.

However, despite the use, the truth remained that communication beyond light speed was impossible using normal means. Even if you use quantum information traveling, the state of both interlocked particles would remain random until they sync. This synchronization obeys information traveling speed, with the top being light speed.

To put it in simple terms. Quantum interlocked particles are like rocks in a lake that mimic each other’s states after the wave they cause in the water reaches the other side. This water wave travels at the speed of light, and until it touches, the states of both particles remain random.

So, how did civilizations overcome this limitation? Essence.

Aether, Anima, and Phoer, the three new ternary essences and building blocks of the universe, allowed for the deformation of the basic rules. Moreover, the methods were plentiful.

In the node case, the ripple they caused to transfer information propagated through sub-dimensions where distances were massively compressed.

In the quantum transposition case, the ripple of particles added ternary essences to completely ignore its basic limitations to a certain extent.

To summarize, while expensive and needing a lot of resources, instant communication across stars was not completely impossible. Still, one must know that even for societies of the Nexus and Covenant level, this feat was difficult.

Thankfully, for the Covenant, they had a World Tree that covered dozens of star fields, and a few others in the outer perimeter. World Trees, being creatures that completely merged with the cosmos with sheer instinct, could be used as intermediaries for important matters.

Of course, World Trees were aloof, so unless utterly necessary, they were not allowed to be used as messengers. Hence, the popularity of more science/essence-based long-range communication.

And right now, be it the Covenant or the Nexus and their allies, they all received surprising news. "The Star Emperor who went to attack the remote flank of the Covenant had been defeated."

For the Nexus, knowing this news was normal, as Rhazor’s death was discovered days after the fact.

For the Covenant... Liu Shu stretched her roots to poke at them. Was Liu Shu resentful of the Covenant’s choice? No. In truth, Liu Shu was utterly indifferent.

If they had helped, Liu Shu would’ve been happy and become close to them. If not... well, that was all. Liu Shu would treat the Covenant as a neutral force in the future and nothing else.

If they behaved, she would slowly absorb them without causing too much damage. Again... If they behaved.

So, what was the short-term plan for Liu Shu? Two things. The first was causing a large ripple on the battlefield.

Rhazor’s death was made public. Hence, the Covenant would be surprised but also would, by force majeure, need to intensify their attacks on the Nexus.

The Covenant, even when helped by their allies, did not have the leisure to deal with Liu Shu. At most, they would send some envoys to try to investigate what was happening.

’While this is a bit risky, as I am exposing myself to the interstellar community, it will also place a veil of mystery on me. Did the Covenant secretly help? Do I have a trump card? People will think this way because my opponent was not a random Interstellar Empire, but the Abyssal Void Nexus, which specialized in dealing with World Tree-Type civilizations.’

Therefore, Liu Shu gained one thing she very desperately needed by throwing this stone and placing herself in the eyes of the public: Time.

Liu Shu severely lacked development time compared to basically ALL Interstellar Empires, not to mention anything above, like Globular Star Cluster Empires or Nebula Empires. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

So, the veil she threw over herself would spark curiosity and draw traffic, but above all, it would spread caution.

"A Star Emperor Army died."

"An army like that should be able to easily corrupt a World Tree like her, but it didn’t."

"A Star Emperor alone should’ve been enough, but they died."

And as Liu Shu wanted, the leaders on both sides were currently utterly confused and bewildered about the situation.

Of course, being leaders, they didn’t lose their cool. However, this was an event that basically neither side had taken into account, not even in the remote "what if" cases.

Ironically, due to the fear of ambushes, the Nexus was actually more mentally prepared for Rhazor’s death than the Covenant, which basically threw Liu Shu as bait to gain advantage in the overall war.

Danlier, the current leader of the Covenant, read the report, and her tapping fingers paused. "...Hm. What?"

Even as the leader of the Covenant, seeing the report state that Rhazor’s 10 million-strong army had, on top of their power, called for 1.5 million reinforcements just in case, and still lost, made Danlier momentarily unable to believe her eyes. "Are you saying that a True World Tree that stretched her roots out around 40 years ago has defeated a Star Emperor army with Corrupt Church support and reinforcements?"

"Lady Danlier, the report doesn’t say they were defeated..."

Danlier had paused reading due to astonishment, and hearing those words, she read everything.

"...Annihilated? Not a single survivor left?"

Suddenly, the World Tree’s figure that was like a small sapling in her head grew mysteriously to resemble a towering, mysterious tree. For a second, Danlier felt a slight chill in her heart.

’...She is probably not happy.’

An imperceptible wry smile clung to the corner of her lips. Who knew that at the rare time she decided to give up on a World Tree, she suddenly turned out to be such a bizarre existence?

Her mind began spinning, her powerful mind remembering the information about this new World Tree. ’Golden Sap Empire... Less than 40 years of age... Surprisingly fast development... and that’s all.’

Basic. It was too basic. It was as if the information were being silently choked by someone and only allowed to speak superficial facts. "We basically know nothing other than what can be deduced by simple common sense."

She remembered some reports stating that the buffs granted by that World Tree were impressive, but the details were not released. ’Why is that? That’s just too odd.’

Danlier’s brain spun, and soon, she found a plausible conclusion. ’The buffs are so powerful that once you get them, you are reluctant to part with them. The other side should’ve placed a ban or punishment on anyone who spreads detailed descriptions.’

Clever. Allowing superficial facts that leaders would usually disregard while keeping the details secret. This caused people to think the "very strong buffs" were ordinarily strong buffs.

’However, to defeat a Star Emperor Army of ten million, the buffs must not be simple.’

That kind of army, on the outskirts of the Covenant, could very easily conquer five to ten solar systems in just a decade or two. While there were some other <Second Ascension> powerhouses, Star Emperors were called as such because of their exceptional talent among <Second Ascension> people.

Individually, fighting five to ten at the same level, or even higher, was not a problem for them.

Danlier sighed deeply and spoke. "Send one of our spy units. Tell them to receive the buffs that True World Tree... No, what was her name? Right. Heavenly Willow. Anyway, tell them to receive the buffs of Lady Heavenly Willow and send back a detailed description."

"Understood."

Danlier added. "Also, send a new delegation party. We can conclude that the previous one has either betrayed us or been assimilated by the other side. This time, the delegation party should have a normal <Second Ascension>. Send... a grand elder from the church. For details, go to the diplomacy bureau."

"Understood."

Once everyone left, Danlier looked out of the window with a sigh. ’Problematic... But I can’t spare much more than this. Was this war hasty?’

Experience told her there should be no problem... but instinct told her something was definitely wrong.

Meanwhile, at the Nexus, the leader read the report with deep, calm eyes. After he stopped reading, a deep hum left him. "Ignore it."

"Huh? But Lord Arleus..."

Arleus interrupted him. "Ignore it. An army as large as Rhazor’s just died. The Experience Points they just received will boost them tremendously. New powerhouses will be born there, and if we send forces rashly before dealing with the Covenant, the only result will be us spoon-feeding them. Dividing our forces is unwise. So, starve them of Experience and conflict, deal with the Covenant, and then we can launch a large-scale assault and get rid of this problem."

"...Understood, Lord."

Arleus commented. "Send a few spy units and investigate them in detail. Once we can liberate more power, we can deal with them. If it takes too long, we can ask one of our allies to deal with them instead."

Back in Ceperet, as Arleus had very well predicted, the returning army was currently absorbing Experience Points crazily and Leveling Up. While normal soldiers didn’t receive much, the <Titles> and other permanent buffs increased their battle strength by a permanent 10% at the very least.

However, the normal soldiers were not the ones who benefited the most. Liu Shu’s Golden Sap Empire, being a fresh Empire, had plenty of talents wishing to prove themselves.

These elites had proven their worth on the battlefield, earning millions of Experience Points.

For Ignatia, Flor, Verdantia, and the rest of the top combatants, the number was already in tens to hundreds of millions.

However, Liu Shu had stopped them from rushing to Level 200. So, for now, around 40 individuals were waiting at Level 199, awaiting Liu Shu’s go-ahead to cross this major breakthrough point.

The reason Liu Shu delayed them was to perfect the Sap Pool she previously used to help Xakira break through. Xakira was very insistent in this matter.

"Liu Shu, when I ascended and reached the <Seventh Energy Cycle>, your help probably boosted my completion percentage by 10% and my species by one or two ranks. I am telling you, if you can create that lake, you will not create <Second Ascension> powerhouses. You will be creating Star Emperors."

This was what Xakira told Liu Shu, earnestly and seriously. So, Liu Shu was currently pushing the skills that needed to be used for the lake to S- Rank.

’I now have a few years of peace, and Xakira has Leveled Up to Level 210. Moreover, I have Obsidianis and Seraphina. So, unless an army two or three times as strong as Rhazor’s comes, I am basically worry-free.’

Of course, this didn’t reduce her sense of urgency. Until her Level 199 individuals could cross, Liu Shu would not be at complete ease.

So, for the near future, Liu Shu abandoned all projects and focused on developing the necessary skills to make <Ascension Willow Lake> a reality.