Chương 896: The Nexus's Messy Politcal Environment After the War.

A few years before Danlier got news of the Nexus's attack, the Abyssal Void Nexus got entangled in something quite nasty. Losing 300 million, together with several VIPs and Second Ascension individuals, created ridiculous backlash against the ruling party. Unlike in the Covenant, where Balaya more or less served as a balancing force, the Nexus saw different Level 300+ individuals competing for power. The number of Level 300+ powerhouses in the Nexus was more than in the Covenant, but with a caveat.

The Covenant's Level 300+ individuals were mostly self-made with no support. Around 60% of them could be classified as <Star Hollow Monarch> individuals. In the Covenant, that percentage dropped drastically to less than 25%. It was a comparatively large percentage range compared to Globular Star Cluster civilizations, but that was a matter of those civilizations crushing them with numbers and methods that allowed more people to cross that hurdle. Regardless, in terms of overall combat power, the Nexus was superior.

As mentioned before, the Nexus would've won long ago if it weren't for Balaya holding the front in several areas by herself. So, the current leader of the Nexus, named Artos Sparlun, was under heavy attack from his opposition. The opposing leader was named Galaya Gloomsky. She was a rare draconic beastkin, basically a descendant of a dragon and a human. Dragons were rare in the galaxy. They were also not classified as beasts, but as an intelligent species.

The reason was that all dragons gained a polymorph ability by instinct and could perfectly merge with society. Despite their low numbers, though, their immense innate talent placed them on par with Sylvans. Battles between a transformed Sylvan and a transformed dragon were always a precursor to massive catastrophes. Being on par with Sylvans meant that they were below World Trees. World Trees could be considered the apex species of the universe, after all.

Galaya, having picked up the grand failure of the always steady and perfect Artos, latched onto it like a predator that finally saw the neck of her prey. Truthfully, Galaya and Artos had quite a special background. They were individuals who came from the Abyssal Void Nexus's backer.

While talented and powerful in this section of the galaxy, the reason they were thrown this way was that they lacked compared to their peers and couldn't stay in their families Sparlun and Gloomsky, two rather powerful families, therefore sent them here in hopes that these two descendants would gain something and return changed. Sadly, their hopes were dashed. Artos became the leader of the Abyssal Void Nexus, and his talents were high.

Yet, with a lack of truly powerful treasures found back in the main family, he fell behind in level compared to his competitors. He, a Level 330 super-powerhouse, could not match up to a few of his same-age family members who had already crossed the Level 400 hurdle. Galaya was the same. Being born from the mix of a true Dark Dragon and a talented human man, she was expected to achieve great things. Sadly for her, the bloodline triggered and gave her A+ Rank passive skills at first.

While she had now developed most of those to at least S- Rank, the family chose other same-age talents with innate S Rank and S+ Rank talents. Therefore, neither of them managed their true desire to return. Since that was the case, the biggest "pie" available to them was the Abyssal Void Nexus. Galaya, the Level 325 draconian, and Artos, the Level 330 pure human. Both fought tooth and nail, using their resources, and eventually Artos gained the advantage.

Everything about them was identical, but sadly, the Nexus was quite human-centric. They didn't discriminate against beastkin. Only those of plant descent were looked down upon. However, the general sentiment was that a human was preferable to a beastkin. In daily life, you almost didn't feel it. When it came to politics, where the votes were anonymous, Artos got the edge. Galaya crossed her long legs, her black-colored dragon tail behind her swishing as she smiled darkly.

"You messed up badly this time around." Looking at the reports, Galaya came to know why Artos focused on Liu Shu. Someone anonymous from the Shattered Ring tipped them off, so he sent a large army to crush the creature whom he thought was a small flower.

"Who would've thought that on the other side there was no little flower, but a man-eating carnivorous plant? Haha!" Galaya was not sad that 300 million soldiers died. For her, they were Artos's followers. So, if they died, it was better for her.

"Even Carter got done? That guy was quite annoying." Rubbing her crown-like curved horn, Galaya squinted.

"The Covenant was heavily damaged as well. Deadly Petal is in danger, so they will need to send support… If that's the case, this area will get weaker, won't it?" The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Galaya didn't even consider attacking Liu Shu. Was she a threat? For sure. However, Galaya's sight was not on what was a threat. Her sights were on the seat Artos sat on.

'Once I get there, I can send Artos himself to deal with that annoying plant, heh.' Artos couldn't really order her that way due to the failure. It would cause backlash from many parties if Artos suddenly sent an even stronger army to the place where the annihilation of 300 million just occurred. So, he would not need to focus on repairing his damaged popularity. How?

"War with the Covenant and going to the frontlines himself." Artos and she were pinned down by Danlier. Annoyingly, Danlier, the leader of the Covenant, was strong enough to face both of them to a stalemate once she used her Sylvan Transformation. If she was aided by Balaya, things could even get somewhat dangerous.

"Annoying Sylvans." The true descendants of World Trees. The one humanoid species that could fight all top-tier apex predators in the universe. Some of them grew to the point of rivaling weak World Trees in terms of sheer firepower. There was a reason why, even when discriminated against, the Nexus didn't straight up eliminate Sylvans from their midst. If taught properly and kept under control, they were essential assets in many sectors, such as agriculture, woodcrafting, and forestry, among others.

Galaya felt even somewhat jealous because Sylvans were comparable to Dragons. She, who only had half-dragon blood, felt slightly inferior to them. Shaking her head, Galaya sighed.

"I am not a kid anymore. Let's put my useless feelings aside." She focused on the matters at hand and, having already consulted her strategic advisors, chose a path of action.

'Do you think you are the only one who can take advantage of this situation, Artos? I will show you this time around.' Her black eyes with golden-slit pupils sharpened as she grinned.

In another part of the Nexus, not too far away, Artos was signing some documents as well. As he did his work calmly, he spoke in a low, heavy voice.

"What are Galaya's movements?" A woman by his side placed a few documents as if she had been waiting.

"Here, Lord Artos." Artos nodded and read what they discovered. The accuracy of the information was around 60%, so he could get an inkling of what she was planning. Both sides were keeping each other in check, so it was not rare for each other to more or less discover their opponent's intentions.

"Reckless…" Artos grumbled. Galaya's plan to gather support was not bad. However, the Nexus and Covenant were in the middle of a grand war until not long ago. If you recall, the reason Rhazor invaded Liu Shu's territory in the first place was to open a pass during a big conflict with the Covenant. That conflict started because of Galaya back then as well. Galaya managed to ambush and kill a Level 300 powerhouse from the Covenant, and that sparked a large-scale war.

Even when the war started, people were praising Galaya for doing a good job, and she gained quite a lot of popularity. Artos was not worried back then; during the War, he could contribute personally and gain support as well. His plans went well, and he managed to maintain his position. Yet, while he looked ahead, something tripped his foot and caused a big accident. That accident was none other than Liu Shu's two consecutive victories against the Nexus.

Rhazor, sent by Artos to open the conflict in another direction, was 100% annihilated. Meanwhile, Carter, once more sent by Artos with the intent of crushing Liu Shu, had their army 99. 9% annihilated. Two strategic catastrophes. In the meantime, Galaya's tactics worked, and she even managed to snatch 11 Solar Systems from the Covenant, while Artos only snatched 3 back then. The popularity votes for both leaders were tilting heavily.

'It's a problem.' Artos understood in detail how strong Carter's army had been. He had handpicked generals and church members himself with the help of Asadja, the Grand Commander of the Nexus.

"Asadja is also a neutral party. He helps the Nexus, not the leader. So, he will welcome Galaya if she shows better results than me." Artos felt some hatred bloom toward Liu Shu.

'That World Tree struck where it hurt twice. Annoyingly, I can't retaliate. If I send another army and something unexpected happens again…' Twice bitten, Artos had begun to feel some intimidation toward Liu Shu. It wasn't that he was afraid of her. Nevertheless, since he couldn't really move large armies to conquer her, he was in a position of being stuck between a rock and a hard place.

'I shouldn't have been swayed back then.' He regretted it deeply. If he hadn't attacked, the Covenant would've been the one antagonizing that annoying True World Tree. Right now, he would be sneering and rejoicing at the Covenant's disaster.

'If there is anything to salvage, it is that the Covenant moved incomprehensibly this time.' Truthfully, he and Asadja had expected the Covenant army to be Liu Shu's reinforcements. Even with Deadly Petal approaching, they didn't believe the Covenant would make such a strange move. Balaya's influence was something neither of these two top-tier strategists could predict. So, when they received the report, they just shrugged and believed Liu Shu was finished. What was the result?

One Level 260 True World Tree and 500 million soldiers from both sides, with almost 10, 000 Second Ascension powerhouses supporting them… completely annihilated. Over 99. 9% casualties on both sides, while the enemy had around 40% casualties at worst. Worse of all, the numerical difference between the two sides was over 10-to-1. The adjective catastrophic didn't do the mess up justice. Artos sighed and leaned back.

"Prepare for war with the Covenant. We need to give the people something before Galaya completely sways public opinion." To think that he would think battling the Covenant was easier on his mind than facing the Golden Sap Empire… Artos felt, quite honestly, speechless.

'Perhaps I need to meet with Danlier and try to do a pact…'