The female Silver Corrupt Elder looked coldly in front of her. She had received the report about this one Arboreal Winged Serpent at the beginning of the war. The reports showed that its strength could only be described as catastrophic.
"Even then, is the Heavenly Willow underestimating us too much?"
Their presence here was a telegraphed way to say that they had been ambushed. Still, the opponent's numbers were 121. Theirs, as 20% of the remaining Corrupt Church, reached as high as 5.5 million.
It was not a matter of number difference. Just with their spit, they could probably drown the 121 individuals in front of them without much effort.
The white serpent glanced around, its glowing green snake eyes observing the nearly 500 starships carrying the army with a calculating gaze.
As an
Back in the home dimension, talks about Liu Shu had been growing increasingly popular. Ophion, one of the most talented children in recent years, was personally appointed by their God Ancestor to a small Level 10 World Tree. Level 10!
For the Arboreal Winged Serpents, Level 10 was the level infants of their race reached. And yet, their God Ancestor blocked Ophion's Leveling Speed and even
Now, Ophion had been let off to do as he pleased and managed to unlock his potential as a natural S Tier Arboreal Winged Serpent. With just a bit of training and a few natural encounters, his chances to reach SS- Tier were more than enough.
As a very young Arboreal Winged Serpent, his talent was certain. Therefore, curious about this World Tree, he decided to apply as one of her summons.
Even among a universal apex predator species like the Arboreal Winged Serpents, someone of his talent—SS+ Tier—was rare and precious. Still, he applied because he thought there would not be a chance for Tianlian Liu Shu to summon someone like him for a while.
He was wrong.
The day when the force very unique to Liu Shu began pulling on him as a summon, how startled had he been? Either way, he accepted, full of curiosity, and was thrown in the middle of what he could only describe as a buffet.
A free-choice buffet with relatively weak creatures. That was not all, though. As he passed through the dimensional tunnel, he very clearly recalled the blessings pouring onto him and the system almost going haywire as buff after buff attached themselves to it.
The, no other way to put it, LIST of buffs was so large that he wondered if the World Tree that called it was not a
Either way, now that the pull tugged at him once more, he took exactly 0.001 seconds to accept the call.
In front of it, starships similar but with a different vibe from before stretched out. In terms of army and support, he knew that the battle would be much more complicated this time. The reason was Liu Shu's gentle, ethereal voice seeping tenderly into his soul.
"Sorry to call you here. This battle is against the Corrupt Church, so you won't be at a disadvantage. The problem is their numbers are far too large. I will do my best to support you, so be sure not to die. As long as you have one breath within you, I will heal you back to life."
The white serpent with red streaks hissed softly. "Don't worry, Tianlian Liu Shu. Your call is for us to answer. Your growth, ours to prioritize. Order what you need from us, and we will complete it."
Liu Shu responded with gratitude. "Thank you. Then, from now on, I will buff you further. I need you to destroy that central World-Type Mothership and the individual within it. I've seen her performance, and she is bound to step forward arrogantly as long as you show some weakness. So, please play a little defensive at best. Once the target appears, I will give the signal."
The 100 S- Tier, 20 SS- Tier, and 1 SS+ Tier Arboreal Winged Serpents nodded as one.
With the white serpent at their core, the 121 summons moved out. There were 20 healers, 40 melee tankers, 15 positive supports, 5 debuffers, 20 Aethermancers, 20 Soulmancers, and the strongest, which had a peculiar mix of Light Aethermancy and Blood Soulmancy.
"First…
[You've been affected by
[T-T-Ti… Message has been hidden.]
[Your recovery speed has been increased by 53%!]
[Your action speed has been increased by 53%!]
[Your skill cooldown speed has been accelerated by 53%!]
[Your senses have sharpened and the world flows slowly around you.]
[Time remaining: 64 seconds.]
At that moment, all the Arboreal Winged Serpents felt everything slow down as if the half-speed button had been clicked for the rest of the universe.
"
As her words boomed around, the enemy starships, which were already looking slow, were basically stopped.
Some of the Arboreal Winged Serpents were not too surprised by these events. However, the white colored serpent couldn't help but be momentarily flustered. 'This… is not acceleration, isn't it?'
As an SS+ Tier monstrous individual, his senses were sharp enough to put Liu Shu's to shame. So, he could feel it. It was the sensation of Liu Shu's Eternal Energy gripping tightly at the ethereal yet untouchable time strings and modifying them forcefully.
'Time manipulation…'
Something even his revered God Ancestor couldn't even begin to attempt. Something that was considered taboo not because it was wrong to do it, but because all who tried it ended up dead, regardless of strength.
Time was considered the only universal force that could not be artificially twisted. It was an immutable flow… Or so the white serpent had thought.
His ruminations didn't even take one second, though. When the timer ticked down to 63 seconds, all the buffs from the supports enveloped his group. Then, spreading the white, leafy wings with red-tipped leaves, he moved.
Blood Soulmancy burst out, tightly binding the instincts of the 121 Arboreal Winged Serpents. Now, they would all more or less feel a tight connection and a sense of what those around them wanted to do.
Then, using the same Blood Soulmancy, the white Arboreal Winged Serpent locked onto the largest concentrations of life. Those were the World-Type Motherships.
As his wings flapped down, pushing not air but the very essence of the universe below them, all Arboreal Winged Serpents shot forward with phantom-like speed.
The enemy had already left their ships and gathered before Liu Shu used her skills.
Time ticked, and the timer went down to 57 seconds. It was enough for the 121 individuals to reach the very front of the enemy's frontline.
Seeing the millions of individuals, the Arboreal Winged Serpents didn't feel fearful; they felt excited.
BOOM!!
Space rippled as their monstrous presences inflated the world around them. Then, the white serpent activated one of his attacks.
Light gathered above him like a small sun, and a second later, it created a distinct, low, yet loud humming sound.
Whoooommm!!!
Hundreds of white lasers streaked across the void, cutting the darkness open like endless blades of light.
The system messages went haywire.
[You've defeated…]
[You've defeated…]
[You've defeated…]
[You've defeated…]
[You've defeated…]
…
[You've defeated…] x 354,742
51 seconds were left.
Almost a tenth of the 5.5 million army disappeared with his attack.
The rest of the Arboreal Winged Serpents didn't fall behind in the slightest. While he was the strongest, there were a total of 20 SS- Tier powerhouses just behind him! All of them but five had full offensive capabilities.
Those 15 twisted the ternary essences around them, churning the Aether Mana and Anima Essence to create monstrous attacks that sliced through the countless individuals.
Over 700,000 died.
43 seconds were left.
On the other side, the cold-looking female Silver Corrupt Elder reacted. "Scatter and retreat! Activate all main weapons and bombard them with long-range spells!"
Darkness Aether Mana, together with a few other similar attributes, unleashed millions of attacks toward the Arboreal Winged Serpents. Massive cannons from the starships also tried to engulf their surroundings.
Sadly for them, Liu Shu was not standing still.
Before the Arboreal Winged Serpents could react, Liu Shu's roots manifested from the void, stopping in the way of the attacks.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Even in the void, the muted explosions could almost be heard due to their violence. Liu Shu's bark collapsed, her roots crumpled, and the World Saint Bloodsap spilled.
That sight caused the 121 serpents to feel their pupils thinning as their cold blood pumped through their hearts, heating up.
With ear-piercing hisses, the serpents transformed into a storm of death as they tore through the army and closed the distance toward their objective.
The world around them was lit brightly with multicolored lights, elemental attacks flooding the space as starships and people were destroyed. Their massive figures, all of them larger than some mountains, slammed against those trying to block their way and burst them like a speeding vehicle would a powerless human.
The female Silver Corrupt Elder frowned deeply, somewhat afraid. They were only 121 individuals, but their power was truly too exaggerated.
Her eyes turned toward the few dimensional teleportation devices. 'Their objective is me.'
It was clear from the way they were moving that their final objective was her. Moreover, the army in front of her was clearly not strong enough to stop them.
"Lady Silver Corrupt Elder, we need to choose now."
There were many other Level 200+ powerhouses around her, waiting for her decision. Moreover, they didn't have much time. At the speed the enemy was moving, they would arrive where they were in less than 40 seconds.
"...Send a message to Carter. Tell him to think of retreating soon. It seems that we kicked a steel plate this time around."
She hated World Trees, but her intelligence was not degraded because of that. Seeing the absolute monsters tearing through the battlefield, it was clear that the enemy had some trump cards they had yet to see.
'We also have some trump cards we have not used yet, but those were supposed to be reserved for when we meet with the Heavenly Willow's main body…'
Shaking her head, the woman crushed the item in her hand, space around her distorting.
Liu Shu saw all of that with a helpless expression. Even if she stopped time, it was only six seconds. In that time, she had no strength to destroy the World-Type, tear through the hull, reach the control room, and then deliver a killing blow.
Even stopping the destruction of the World-Type was out of the question.
With a grumbling expression, Liu Shu spoke to the Arboreal Winged Serpents. "Stay away from the starships. They are about to explode. After that, clean up everyone left behind."
They all listened, moving upward and creating distance. A second later, all 360+ starships turned into small stars, exploding violently and brightening the dark void.
Liu Shu sighed, feeling that it was truly a pity. 'Well, at least we've hurt them badly. Still, it seems that we need to start accelerating the war's pace. The Silver Corrupt Elder's escape is bound to cause ripples.'
She had expected it. Killing someone in that position was far too difficult in a war of their scale. Moreover, the enemy had no intention of stepping out during the ambush, showing great restraint. So, in the end, she settled for the second-best option.