Dain, the leader of the Abyssal Void Nexus, looked at a holographic image of a city with a giant Corrupted World Tree in the middle. In the distance, one could see the land wiggling; clearly, Tianlian Liu Shu had already arrived at the edge of this city's domain.

"Lord Dain." By his side, Thyra spoke with a solemn expression. "Are you sure that we shouldn't attack with Noxilva? If we mount a defense around her, we might be able to stop Liu Shu's advance."

Dain asked, his tone neutral. "What about the rest of the continent?"

Thyra couldn't answer. Unlike a normal and healthy World Tree, a Corrupted World Tree's ability to extend its roots was very limited. For reference, it would be comparable to a World Tree one entire Energy Cycle below.

With that in mind, the thought of using a corrupted World Tree to protect an entire continent was nothing but a pipe dream. Only in more developed worlds would it be possible for a single Corrupted World Tree to cover such large distances.

Thyra commented. "Then… What does Lord Dain plan to do? We can't stay with our arms crossed while Tianlian Liu Shu ravages the entire continent. Our current losses are high, but we can recover within 30 years. We only need to keep Tianlian Liu Shu at bay."

"Only…?" Dain looked at Thyra with a mocking smile. "How do we contain that monster? We've been observing her strength, and from what I've seen, her strength is just utterly ridiculous. She is probably comparable to a <Fifth Energy Cycle> that has received no buffs whatsoever."

Thyra wanted to say that it was absurd to say that. There was a qualitative jump between the Fourth and the Fifth Cycle. After all, with the Fifth Cycle also came the <First Evolution>. Nevertheless, the words couldn't leave her mouth. Liu Shu's strength was that absurd.

"Still… We can't give up Ceperet just like that. We've spent thousands of years trying to take over this world!"

A somewhat passionate response escaped the usually calm and indifferent woman. She was a Level 99 with her main attribute being A+ Tier. In terms of talent, she was second to none within the Abyssal Void Nexus domain. Her talent and strength placed her as the major commander who led the attacks against the Verdant Sanctity Covenant.

Nevertheless, that arrogance has been sapped away during the last months. Seeing Liu Shu utterly bulldoze her way into the continent was nothing but a crushing experience.

Dain was silent. He was naturally reluctant to give up as well. He was the currently appointed leader, so if he lost Ceperet, he wouldn't escape unscathed. However… His gaze moved toward the moving images.

There, Tianlian Liu Shu had already started her attack. The giant, sleek roots moved through dirt as if it were air, destroying, tearing, and quite literally flipping the landscape with her strength.

The Corrupted World Tree, a Level 99 Corrupted World Tree that the Nexus raised, counterattacked. A dark aura enveloped the land Liu Shu took from it, corrosive to the point that even the rocks were starting to melt.

And yet, Liu Shu's sleek roots only sizzled slightly without losing much strength.

Thyra's face crumpled. "She can resist the <Mountain Melting Mist>? It's an A Tier offensive technique from a Level 99 Corrupted World Tree! How is it possible for her roots to be only somewhat damaged!?"

It was then that multicolored light filled the sky. Dain's eyes were incredulous as he observed the aurora that covered the sky. "What… is that?"

Rain began falling even when the sky was cloudless. It was clear that this rain came from the aura that manifested from nothing. Thyra pointed at the group with a pale face, "T-The ground! Look at the color!"

The grayish-brown dirt didn't become darker when rain hit it. Usually, dirt darkens when it becomes wet. However, as the rain from the multicolored aura continued, the grayish tint melted away. What the rain left behind was a yellowish, healthy dirt, completely opposite of the previous sickly ground.

Dain spoke with a sigh. "Purification… She is a World Tree who has learned purification."

Thyra's face contorted as her mood exploded. "That's impossible! How many eyes do we have in the entire continent!? Whenever a single World Tree with even a slight sense of purification appeared, we've gotten rid of them all! There is no way for a World Tree with such skills to escape our sight and become a <Fourth Energy Cycle>!"

Dain leaned on his fist, his gaze blank. "Yet there she is. Look at Noxilva's roots. It looks as if it is Tianlian Liu Shu who deployed the corroding mist instead of Noxilva."

The Corrupted World Tree's roots were quivering in clear pain, black smoke constantly rising to the sky as parts of the bark fell off like rotten wood.

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While they spoke, Liu Shu's roots had already advanced more than five kilometers. Each time the robust and healthy roots entangle with the corrupted ones, the latter would end up exploding like dry wood.

It wasn't even a competition; Tianlian Liu Shu's attributes were just superior in every sense of the word.

Thyra fell limply onto her chair. Her eyes looked with disbelief as Liu Shu approached the Corrupted World Tree with relative ease. "It's almost as if Noxilva was not there… A Level 99 Corrupted World Tree is just… an inconvenience."

Dain sighed again. He didn't even know how many times he sighed just today. "Now you understand? If we are stubborn, we will all die. She is just too strong. Ceperet has been lost, not to the Verdant Sanctity Covenant, but to a single native World Tree: Tianlian Liu Shu."

Thyra's eyes were vacant. No thoughts crossed her mind as the force of nature known as a World Tree changed the landscape like a kid would play with sand on the beach. Mountains crumbled, forests were upturned, hills tore open, and the tremors spread like an earthquake throughout the continent.

Overwhelming. That was the only evaluation Thyra could muster with her shocked mind.

"...What do we do?"

Thyra was stubborn but was not stupid. She knew that resistance was useless. It was not a matter of numbers; only if over 10,000 <Fourth Energy Cycles> descended would Thyra start considering attacking Tianlian Liu Shu's domain. Even with those numbers, she would not be sure if she could win.

After all, what they were currently seeing was the "edge" of the World Tree. How much stronger is the main body? She heard that Tianlian Liu Shu was also massive, reaching over 5.5 kilometers in height.

Dain spoke flatly. "We retreat. We'll use the emergency spaceships and return to inform the main power about Tianlian Liu Shu. Perhaps, with luck, informing them about a World Tree of her caliber will be enough to lessen our punishment.

Thyra laughed once, her lips arching slightly. "Thankfully, my family is somewhat influential."

"Tsk." Dain snorted. "You are a lucky one. I had to rise up until here all on my own."

"Right…" Thyra muttered. "Your parents are middle-class citizens, aren't they? You basically have no inheritance." Looking at the man sitting on his chair with calm and acceptance, Thyra smiled faintly. "Hey… If you want, you can come to my family."

"Hm?" Surprise flashed in Dain's eyes, and he looked away from Liu Shu for the first time. He saw Thyra scratch her cheek somewhat awkwardly.

"You know… You are quite talented. So, I thought it would be a bit of a shame if your career ended because of that unavoidable disaster."

Dain's surprise face relaxed as a faint smile appeared on his lips. "Sure. I'll take you up on that offer."

Thyra secretly clenched her fists happily. She looked as Liu Shu arrived 30 kilometers from Noxilva and then stopped. This confused her for a moment. "What is she doing?"

Dain crossed his arms. "From what I've seen… She might be preparing to do one of her elemental attacks."

"Huh?" She looked at him with a stunned expression. "Isn't she over 30 kilometers away? Not even our best artillery can aim accurately that far away."

Dain moved his chin. "Look."

The screen showed the land splitting. From there, roots thicker than mature trees soared upward impossibly. The blue-glowing, pulsing veins made the air twist, creating a mirage effect.

Then, those imposing roots gathered ternary essences from the nearby area. The sucking of energies was such that whirlwinds were forming around each of the giant roots looming above ground and pointing in the distance.

When that aura swelled to the point that it felt like it would explode, Dain and Thyra were witnesses to Liu Shu's true attacking power.

White scorching beams streaked through the sky, all aiming at a single point in the distance. Dain quickly moved their view and changed it to the Corrupt World Tree City.

There, Noxilva's aura was soaring to the sky. Her ternary essences created a black pillar of light that pierced the clouds above her. The power that this World Tree wielded was incredible, but currently, it was desperately pouring everything it had into a defensive dome that covered her gigantic figure.

A moment later, the white beams arrived and collided.

BOOM!!!!

A flash of white light illuminated their moderately dark room, forcing them to squint their eyes. Thankfully, the vision was only blinded for a second or two. What they saw made both powerful Level 99s want to flee as fast as possible.

The dome had been destroyed, and the city around the World Tree was flattened. Noxilva's body was burning in several places, as large chunks of her body fell down below her. Branches broke and descended in seemingly slow motion. The visual illusion happened because of Noxilva's ridiculous size.

Noxilva's aura swelled and exploded. Clearly, she was furious because of the damage, and her mana was going berserk. However, as she was about to attack, a gorgeous aurora appeared right above her.

Looking up, Dain and Thyra saw how a multicolored light pierced Noxilva's pillar of ternary essence, descending and quickly enveloping the entirety of the giant Corrupted World Tree.

The branches of the World Tree thrashed around, creating whirlwinds and splitting the earth. Clearly, Noxilva was in immense pain. However, as the multicolored aurora enveloped the land, Noxilva's struggles started to cease.

Not only that, the previous withered body began blooming.

Flowers sprouted, life returned to her body, and her gorgeous appearance was revealed to the world. She was a gorgeous cherry blossom.

The pink petals filled the sky and fell down, almost just as quickly as they appeared.

This view somewhat shook Dain and Thyra's hearts.

However, this was not the World Tree blooming, but a final flash of splendor before her fall. Noxilva's petals began falling, and her trunk started creaking. A few moments later, the giant Cherry Blossom leaned sideways and fell down, crashing onto the ground below and shaking the entire continent.

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