Chương 355: Attacking the Sleeping Dragon.

After talking for a while, Galia's group and Liu Shu's side came to an agreement. Galia took into account the potential Liu Shu had after getting an explanation about the Temples, fruits, auras, and also her ability to not only create buildings but create living buildings with innately carved runic fields. A single apartment in such a structure would go for several <Bren> a month, not to mention the low price of a few <Tyn> they were currently charging.

Of course, Liu Shu explained that she was taking into account their inability to truly buy the house, as it counted as a life-long renting. Galia saw the few stacks of paper prepared by her subordinates in front of her and smiled, satisfied.

"Great. Now that we have everything planned, I need to know what your plans are, Liu Shu." Liu Shu said calmly.

"I am going to declare war on the <Dark Aether Swamp>. I want to take over the territory." Everyone in the room became silent, not expecting such an answer to come from the World Tree. They had thought she would answer like always, speaking about spreading and such. On the contrary, Liu Shu seemed to be eager to go on the offensive against one of the "Forbidden Territories" of the <Wild Continent>!

The reason these zones remained wild and nobody bothered to conquer them was due to the large amount of resistance they naturally exerted. In the <Dark Aether Swamp>'s case, the most terrifying part was not the wild monsters that roamed it. It was the fact that the soul and plant life had been tainted, and purifying such an extensive patch of land would be an investment that would take centuries to yield a return in profits.

No one wanted to risk such an operation, even among the long-lived Sylvans or other species. Galia tried to convince her otherwise.

"Lady Liu Shu, I have an objection. I won't speak about the difficulty of creating settlements in that zone, since that's more than obvious. Just the number of brutal and wild monsters gathering in that swamp should be scary enough for you to reconsider." Liu Shu answered faintly.

"The entire <Dark Aether Swamp> is not united. Monsters and plant life react based on the reactions of the surroundings. Usually, the creatures in the Dark Aether Swamp hunt each other. Interestingly, when an outside threat appears, they gather to fight it off. It's like an ecosystem protecting itself from outside interference, but once that is resolved, the internal conflict would develop in a brutal way." Liu Shu paused and explained, her voice full of interest.

"It's like a giant immune system." Everyone listened silently and was somewhat shocked. Perhaps their perspective hadn't been as broad as Liu Shu's in a literal manner, so no one really thought of the <Dark Aether Swamp> in that way. For Explorers and other types of adventurous people entering it, the <Dark Aether Swamp> was like a massive net of brutal creatures trying to devour the people who breached in. Cestia was still unconvinced, and not wanting Liu Shu to get into danger, she asked.

"How are you so sure, Lady Liu Shu? It's not that I distrust your strengths. However, you need a bit more development time! If you manage to reach Level 50 during the next two decades, your position in the Wild Continent will solidify." Fertalia asked Cestia, curious.

"What makes you think like that? Level 50 is just a threshold for Lady Liu Shu to become influential, not invincible." Cestia shook her head.

"Lady Liu Shu's raw stats are ridiculous, even though she is just a C Rank World Tree. The few B- Rank World Trees I've met didn't have as many stats when they were between Level 40 and 50 as Lady Liu Shu currently has." Liu Shu's tier had always been high relative to the place where she was born. However, she wasn't high enough to be considered the strongest. Not even close. Almost all World Trees or Life Trees that had reached Level 50 and above were around the C Tier, with quite a few having reached B Tier.

And yet, Liu Shu's stats were ridiculous enough to make people despair. The secret to her superiority was two. Firstly, Liu Shu's Energy Cycle Completion was 100%. A <Perfect Cycle> was an advantage that allowed one to overcome people at the same Tier. Secondly, her <Five Essence Branches> gave her a terrifying boost, almost 3000 extra points for each attribute and 15% for each refinement stat. Galia also noticed the abnormality in Liu Shu's strength.

While they didn't have the exact numbers of her stats, they had methods to measure an average. In their readings, Liu Shu had an average of 7500 points per stat, which was rather accurate. Liu Shu's current raw stats, adding the five branches, were as such: <Aether> 6931, <Physique> 9051, <Anima> 8555, <Willpower> 5950, and <Destiny> 4500. Moreover, her refinements were all over 100% except Mental Palace.

After unlocking most of her true potential and adding her titles and other advantages like the literal fortress around her, dealing with creatures with higher stats than hers was not a problem for Liu Shu. By now, the average Level 50 was not even considered a problem for Liu Shu. Even a group of them would have difficulty fighting Liu Shu head-on! After Cestia's declaration, Galia felt slightly less concerned. However, she just couldn't accept this young World Tree entering such a brutal war.

She was, of course, knowledgeable about Liu Shu's past struggles, and it was because she knew that Galia wanted to give Liu Shu a safe space to grow leisurely and be protected like most World Trees. To put it in blunt terms… Galia just wanted to pamper Liu Shu!

"Lady Liu Shu, if you are so determined, at least let me send back a letter so that we can have a small army come from the main continent. With their help, breaching through the <Dark Aether Swamp> will be much easier." Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

"Hm?" Liu Shu commented.

"But this attack, I'll do it by myself." This time, it wasn't only the delegation, but even those of the Golden Sap Alliance were stunned. Flor frowned and looked up.

"What do you mean, Liu Shu? How could we let you fight an entire forest by yourself!?" Tempestria nodded quickly and spoke up.

"Our armies might not be that strong compared to a superpower like the Celestial Lotus Empire. However, we are not so weak that we can't protect our World Tree!" Her tone was firm, and many shared Tempestria's feelings. How could they let Liu Shu fight by herself? That was nonsense! However, Liu Shu just chuckled softly and commented.

"The Nexus people are moving. It is clear that they are preparing a big move. Once they do so, the entire continent might fall into a state of conflict. I need all of you to protect the outer cities, not Golden Sap City." Liu Shu noticed several scowls, so she said something that silenced most protests.

"Look outside of the window." The <Lignified Town Hall> was 200 meters tall, so this room that was at the top had a broad and clear view of the entire place. When they looked outside, they saw a relatively sparse forest stretching around Liu Shu for several kilometers. This was the several hundreds of Tree Houses and other structures that filled 60% of the city's area.

Once their sight went beyond the enormous, thick walls protecting everything, they could easily see another shorter but much denser and vaster forest spread outward beyond the horizon. It was an actual sea of green, making the entire place appear like a natural fortress. Additionally, the combat power of each Tree House, Guardian Tree, etc, was not low, and Liu Shu had a way to summon those massive serpents to protect herself.

If someone wanted to invade and conquer this place, they would need a few hundred Third Energy Cycles! Liu Shu was very confident in that. Galia pointed out, her face still unconvinced.

"What about air attacks? World Trees are relatively vulnerable to air strikes." However, when Galia asked this question, she didn't see agreement from the Golden Sap Alliance people. Instead, everyone had wry smiles. Flor sighed.

"Her anti-air capabilities are probably stronger than her land combat capabilities. Liu Shu had two <Mother Of Thousand Flower Field>. The one that circled her entire town and the other one that protected the lake where her Mother Tree was. If there was a stupid group that tried to attack her from the air, they would be turned into a sieve before they even thought of touching Liu Shu's canopy. After pondering for a few moments, Flor sighed and asked one more time, her tone serious.

"Love, I want you to tell me without a single hint of a lie about how confident you are. Not half-truths, nothing. I want the blunt truth." Galia was surprised when she heard that.

'Even Lady World Tree Mother is taking a step back?' Meanwhile, Liu Shu glanced at Flor and spoke slowly.

"My confidence… I couldn't tell you an exact percentage. I am unaware of many things related to the <Dark Aether Swamp>. However, if we are talking about confidence in avoiding failure, I can say for sure that I won't fail!" Flor sighed and pondered seriously.

"I will accept it but with one condition." Liu Shu was happy and asked.

"What condition?"

"I want a report of your daily activities on my table! If one day you fail to deliver, I will get angry!" Liu Shu chuckled.

"Sure~, sure~. I will have a trace of consciousness constantly writing my actions… No! I can have my Avatar do it! Cinderielle and the others can get whatever I write and show it to you."

"Avatar!?" Galia and the other nine people stood up with wide open eyes and opened mouths. Liu Shu was confused.

"What's wrong? Is it that uncommon?" Cestia's voice trembled with awe and excitement.

"U-Uncommon!? In the Celestial Lotus Empire, there are three World Trees that have developed a juvenile Avatar!" Liu Shu was confused again.

'Juvenile?' Cinderielle asked aloud the same question.

"What do you mean by Junevile?" Cestia explained, her voice somewhat rushed.

"An Avatar will appear in an infant form, and they slowly grow as the World Tree ages. Right now, the oldest one is Lady Celestial Lotus' Avatar, who looks like a 20-year-old woman. The other two look like a human 12 and 8-year-old, respectively." Tempestria and the others, who knew that Liu Shu manifested as a mature woman right as she was born, didn't know how to react. Of course, knowing that Liu Shu would never let strangers enter that sacred place, Cinderielle lied without a hint of nervousness.

"Oh! I always thought that Lady Liu Shu appearing as a five-year-old child straight away was strange! It turns out that her growth is slightly accelerated." Liu Shu knew that the conversation was going to derail, so she disconnected her mind and left a lingering consciousness: if someone wanted something for her, they could call her name. Meanwhile, she shifted her attention to the Dark Aether Swamp.

Her roots had created a barricade that stopped the advance of the Dark Aether Swamp almost until the coast from her current location. According to Liu Shu's estimates, the Dark Aether Swamp was a massive stretch of land covering millions of hectares, similar to her current influence. Knowing that this large piece of land was under the influence of a corrupted World Tree, Liu Shu had it very clear in her mind that her opponent was stronger than her current self. However, that's what she wanted.

A small but savage grin grew on Liu Shu's lips as the essence around her body started condensing and flowing, rising up a gale.

'I am Level 45, <Dark Aether Swamp>. Will you resist our battle until I reach Level 50? Or will you become a defeated foe even before that?' Everyone in the meeting room stopped their discussion and looked at the enormous World Tree solemnly. Feeling the ternary essences gathering from everywhere around them toward the World Tree, their bodies shuddered with a chill.

'Such a deep presence.' Then… Boom! A muffled sound and a faint earthquake occurred as Liu Shu's energy traveled toward the edge where the <Dark Aether Swamp> and Liu Shu met. In the middle of the Dark Aether Swamp, the Corrupted World Tree slowly awoke from her slumber. As the energies around it rotated, a terrifyingly profound aura shot skyward, creating a pillar of green and black light that could be spotted from several kilometers away.

Together with the light, the wails of a thousand souls echoed as the Corrupted World Tree awakened.

"I gave you a chance… Since you don't appreciate it, I must devour you!"