With the Corrupt Elder gone and the World Trees actively participating in the war, Liu Shu felt that she would soon be able to unleash all her trump cards and strengths to deal a massive blow to the Nexus's army.
'It has stretched for quite a bit of time, but I should wrap it up soon. Lingering for more will only invite unexpected situations.'
Moreover, some of the Star Emperors had already retreated and must've informed the Nexus's higher-ups. The chances of reinforcements coming this way were high.
"Hm…?"
Liu Shu's focus shifted to the other side of her domain. The consciousness there had pulled her main attention over. "...Ha?"
As she checked what was happening, a baffled sound escaped her. "The Covenant is actually attacking?"
To be honest, this was completely out of her predictions. Yes, it had been over a year since Deadly Petal arrived and Liu Shu delivered a political blow. Nevertheless, a year is not nearly enough time to pacify the war attempts.
She quickly checked with her roots the state of the Covenant's main worlds. "...The population is still against it. While it is not a main subject, it has lingered like background noise."
Puzzlement flashed in her eyes. "Choosing to fight here is like trying to pick at a scab and reopening the wound…"
The PR progress during the last year of Liu Shu's silence showed that the Covenant's government was good at shifting the population's attention. Nevertheless, her remarks had become viral in the past, and even if they were now deleted, she just needed to speak again to cause another disaster.
Unlike normal individuals, Liu Shu had the advantage of being able to forcefully make everyone listen to her words, whether they liked it or not. Picking a political fight with someone who could basically talk over all of them and reach individuals who didn't even have access to mainstream news was nothing but political suicide.
'Do they think my previous words were a fluke? An involuntary genius move?'
That can't be. Liu Shu had been dealing with the Covenant's delegation for years, so information about her unusual way of thinking must've already reached them.
"...Then what?"
She couldn't find the reasoning for the attack's initiation. 'At their advancement pace, they will reach my outer domain in just two or three months.'
As close as she was, the opposite was also true. Some of their starships were already inside her domain because the only advantage Liu Shu had to give to the Covenant was initiative. Unless they attacked, Liu Shu had her roots tied and unable to advance.
Only Deadly Petal and her army were staying at a certain distance from her domain. Deadly Petal was even gathering and multiplying her roots and strength in preparation for her attack.
Stretching her senses and essence, Liu Shu reached out to communicate. "Deadly Petal, what is the meaning of this?"
"What do you mean by what we are doing? We are going to attack and take you over."
Deadly Petal's sneering voice reached her. It was a truly peculiar tone that left Liu Shu unsure whether to laugh or cry. "Attack? Deadly Petal, must I repeat what I said over a year ago? I am being attacked by the Nexus. Are you truly going to join hands with them to destroy a fellow World Tree?"
Deadly Petal's answer was unusual. "That trick won't work anymore."
Liu Shu blinked. 'Trick?'
The problem with her "trick" was that it was the plain, undeniable truth. That was why her direct approach was essentially uncounterable. Her words, while somewhat twisted to garner sympathy, were the plain truth.
"Deadly Petal, I don't know what you've heard, but I am not playing any tricks. The Nexus's army is attacking my roots right as we speak."
Deadly Petal answered, her usual sneering sounding a touch more realistic. "Hehe. A Corrupt World Tree acting clueless. Truly impressive."
"..."
Liu Shu frowned deeply. Her mind instantly understood what the other side was attempting to do from that sentence alone. Proving that you were not a Corrupted World Tree was rather easy, though. So, how was the other party going to fill that inconsistency?
"Corrupted? Deadly Petal, you have reached that conclusion through inaccurate assessment."
Deadly Petal answered with a strange tone. "Oh? Do you think that Lady Balaya and the Central Covenant Government have reached the wrong conclusion? You are just a Corrupted World Tree that's able to hide her nature perfectly. If you are not, you just need to allow our Covenant army to reach Ceperet and help you defend against the Nexus. It is that simple."
Liu Shu finally understood the ploy. Everything Deadly Petal had spoken was clearly not her will, but something someone had told her to say. And, annoyingly, they did not falter in their wording.
However, that didn't mean Liu Shu had no way of counterattacking. If this conversation had happened right when they first met, things could've been problematic. Now, though, their previous encounter and her current battlefield situation were going to become the very foundation for a perfect counterattack and eventually her reason to attack the Covenant.
This was a continuation of Liu Shu's previous masterstroke.
First, she spoke silently to Deadly Petal and those advisors. "Those guiding Deadly Petal, you've made a mistake. If you had chosen to help, things could've gone differently. Sadly, you pushed to attack an innocent World Tree. You chose this outcome yourselves."
The people in the strategic meeting frowned for a second before Liu Shu's voice boomed out and echoed within Covenant territory.
"People of the Verdant Sanctity Covenant, this is the Heavenly Willow."
No longer a gentle tone. Her voice boomed with divine resplendence.
"Today, the Covenant marches against a World Tree already fighting the Abyss, forgetting their own teachings."
No longer a victim's momentum. Her tone was charismatic with a touch of both hurt and acceptance. As for stopping her words? How can you stop a worldwide voice that echoed using the very sky as its medium?
"The Covenant accuses me, the Heavenly Willow, of corruption. They accuse me, whose roots are being torn apart by the Abyssal Void Nexus and the Corrupt Church, of betraying my nature."
Her words made everyone pause, looking at the sky with confusion and attention. Among the billions of individuals, there were also many information brokers and spies from other powers who arrived at the front lines to gather intelligence.
"Were I corrupt, would there have been a need for the Covenant to push their armies to the heart of my empire? If I truly were Corrupt, guiding them there would only amount to them stepping into a deadly trap."
Reaching this point, Liu Shu's powerful tone softened. "Even when fighting this war against the Nexus over several years, holding off an enemy that vastly outnumbered us through endless sacrifice, I never complained. Not because I was at ease. Much less because I didn't need help. I stayed silent because life is precious, whether it is my Golden Sap Empire inhabitants or your Covenant's soldiers."
"During this year, no help came."
"No healers were sent."
"No starships offered to aid."
"No supplies were spared."
"No one even asked if we still stood…"
"But I've held off… and I've managed to show enough strength that the Nexus is hesitating. And today…"
Having reached this point, the strategic room was in full-blown panic. What was more impactful than an underdog finally fighting back and fulfilling their wish? Someone coming to stomp down the struggling underdog just before the hard-won victory arrived.
"And today!" Liu Shu paused, as if she were hesitating to speak. "And yet… Not when the Nexus first invaded."
"Not when my worlds burned."
"Not when billions feared extinction."
"Only now…"
She didn't specify much, but her words lingered. The wording was vivid enough for most of the population to understand that "sending their army her way" was not for simple help.
Liu Shu glanced coldly at the pale-faced people who dug their own graves and stomped down her authority. "I, the Heavenly Willow, leader of the faithful Golden Sap Empire and Eternal Church, won't fall."
Her tone returned to being her gentle one. Her voice was soft, but also firm. She spoke without resentment, only a deep wish for them to reconsider, but also to inform them of the consequences. "So, People of the Covenant, if you truly come when I am down, do so with the mindset to fight a desperate World Tree. Do so knowing today is the day you chose this battlefield. My fellow World Tree sisters and I will resist."
Over 99% of those who heard Liu Shu's final words would probably fail to grasp their full meaning. However, among all, it was probably one of the most impactful.
Liu Shu was showing that she had the aid of several other World Trees, something hard to understand until information about her battle with the Nexus truly spread. But once it did, Liu Shu would become politically delicate to handle, for lack of a better word.
After speaking her piece, Deadly Petal glanced at Liu Shu with a frown. She glanced at the strategist who told her to speak those words before with a true sneer. 'In the end, entangling yourself in these matters is truly a waste of time. What can be attacked with words can also be defended by them. Do they want to have a conversation or a war?'
Ignoring those people, Deadly Petal spoke, her voice booming out with intensity. "Today, we attack the Heavenly Willow. She is blocking my expansion path, and that's enough reason for a war to occur. Your situation matters not. If you didn't want to be attacked while at war, you should've chosen your enemies better. Advance the army!"
No complicated rhetoric, yet her words got the job done ten times better than the political rhetoric the Covenant tried to use.
Liu Shu blinked and internally smiled. 'Well, it is not unexpected. To begin with, I had not spoken those words to avoid the fight with the Covenant. I just wanted justification, and now I have more than enough. As long as I don't go too far when conquering from now on, expanding my territory will be much less grating.'
Glancing at the Nexus's army situation, Liu Shu spoke softly. "Over a month has passed. Verdantia, Seraphina, use your
From now on, Liu Shu's counterattack was going to accelerate. 'Covenant and Nexus, thank you for helping me set up my foundation for the interstellar stage. I will use you both as stepping stones with a grateful heart.'