Chương 360: Downwards Spiral. Losing Control.

Losing Control.

Four days had passed since Liu Shu's corruption started to take effect. During these four days, the army, the serpents, and Liu Shu had been making progress and advancing toward the center of the <Dark Aether Swamp>. They crossed the inner section of the swamp and arrived at the Core area relatively smoothly. There were casualties during this time. However, most of the people who died were low-level and also reckless people who didn't follow commands. Hence, the loss was not that big.

Still, Liu Shu didn't like people dying because she decided to attack something. The situation was different from other times. When she fought in the past, it was always to protect herself. The battles were basically inevitable and therefore the deaths that occurred, while weighing on her, they didn't affect her that much. This time around, it was different. You could use many types of rationalization that would justify her attack on the Corrupt World Tree. Regardless, in Liu Shu's mind, they were all excuses.

The reality was that she chose to attack, and she got into trouble, and now there were people dying due to her actions.

'Strength…' Liu Shu moved her roots as fast as she could, attacking and surrounding the Dark Aether Swamp.

'If I had more strength, nothing like this would've happened!' Liu Shu glanced at her experience points, and her mind became determined.

'I need strength!' BOOM! Her aura skyrocketed as her levels started to increase. Level 46! Increasing normal levels without fainting was already not a problem for Liu Shu. The increase in stats was relatively small in comparison to her accumulations, unlike when she was basically doubling her stats per Level Up. Hence, even though she was fighting, Liu Shu was able to pour her energy directly into her level and break through! BOOM! Another aura explosion increased, and her Level increased to Level 47.

'I can't increase to Level 50, but at least I should be able to reach Level 49 with the remaining 600, 000 Experience Points!' The number of trees she had killed while invading the Dark Aether Swamp was in the hundreds of thousands. Even though most of them gave her between one and five Experience Points, Liu Shu's accumulation was ridiculous. Not to mention, she had killed high-level beasts in the meantime, which gave a few hundred Experience Points.

Fighting a forest was difficult and risky, but with risk came opportunity. The accumulation was truly ridiculous! BOOM! Level 48! Liu Shu's Experience Bar was increasing without fault, a few tens of thousands of Experience Points pouring inside per hour. As her body grew with her Leveling Up, her strength reached new heights! On the sixth day since the fight started against the <Dark Aether Swamp>, Liu Shu finally made her final breakthrough. Level 49! After reaching Level 49, Liu Shu's stats became monstrous.

Her Phoer Body Cores had reached an incredible 110, just as a base value before any buffs were applied! Her regeneration and ability to attack similarly increased with her vast energy reserves, and the benefits of Leveling Up also refreshed her tired mind. Her height in the Golden Sap city grew accordingly, reaching 1100 meters of height! Even then, the advancing speed at the Core of the <Dark Aether Swamp> was too slow! Liu Shu couldn't help but feel slightly more anxious.

'My Corruption Level has reached 48%... I have been avoiding communicating with anyone or listening at all so that I don't have strange thoughts. However…' A strange sense of disdain spread in her heart for a second, pushing negative thoughts into her mind.

'What use do I have for these people when their help is so minimal? They are helping in less than 20% of the total battle area! I still have to deal with more than 80% of everything myself.' Noticing the way she was thinking, Liu Shu quickly snapped out of it with her heart trembling slightly.

'Nono! They are all helping me. They are here to help; I should be grateful. I should be grateful… Grateful…' A dark impulse that came out of nowhere attacked her mind as she glanced at the tired army resting on top of her roots.

'But, if I devour them…' The dark temptation grew uncontrollably for a second as Corruption seeped into her core for a second. Her roots started to wriggle, ready to swallow those people.

'So many Experience Points… I might reach Level 50 and deal with every-NO!' Her Cerulean Bloodsap and willpower exploded out of her body, clearing her mind, and quickly circulated around her core to cleanse the corruption that had sneaked into her core. A feeling of dread invaded her heart.

'W-What kind of thoughts am I having!? No, I can't keep receiving their help, or I might go against them one day.'

"Flor!" Flor was startled when she heard Liu Shu. It was the first word she had communicated since they had arrived. Honestly, the silence during the last six days have been very nerve-wracking. They didn't know how she was doing, if she was holding on well, or if Liu Shu needed help with something. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

"Love? What's wrong, tell me." Hearing Flor's gentle voice and thinking of what she was about to do previously, a deep sense of self-disgust grew in her heart. The World Tree that was supposed to be an umbrella for the living creatures actually had the thought of harming those helping it!

"Flor, leave." Flor's smile froze, her eyes widening with both confusion and a slight sense of unease.

"Huh? What do you mean, love?" Liu Shu's temper was currently very volatile, so when Flor didn't hear her, she felt a sense of deep, uncontrollable anger.

"I told you to leave!" The shout of the World Tree was different from usual. Inside the calming and gentle voice of the majestic creature, the people could hear a strange distorted sound. It was as if she was speaking through a malfunctioning microphone. The voice was clear, but the undertone made people uncomfortable listening to it.

"Liu Shu, calm down and don't get angry. What's wrong? Tell me." Liu Shu would naturally not explain rationally at this moment. Her corruption had already gone beyond 50%!

"If I tell you to leave, you leave! I don't want any of you to remain here! I don't want your help, so scram!" The more Liu Shu's voice spread outward, the uglier Galia's face became. She glanced at the mission and noticed the Corruption ticking up. [Corruption Level: 54%] Galia's heart was heavy and she quickly stopped Flor from speaking.

"Flor! Wait. Look at the mission meter." Flor, who was feeling confused and anxious, did as Galia said. Her face instantly became pale. Her heart couldn't help but beat painfully.

'Already!? Didn't it say that we had 17 days? Only six have passed, and Liu Shu is already at 54 percent!' Verdantia heard them, and her face was a mix of murderous intent and worry. She couldn't wait to go and dismember the Corrupted World Tree, but at the same time, she wanted to return and hug Liu Shu in her arms to comfort her. Verdantia paused. Once that idea flashed in her mind, she quickly stopped attacking and gathered the other three Sylvans.

"Why aren't you leaving!? Are you all deaf!?" The High-level people naturally understood what was happening, so nobody left. Instead, their faces became more solemn, and their attacks against the <Dark Aether Swamp> gained a touch of hastiness and brutality.

'We won't let you Corrupt her!' After fighting for six days straight, many gained a new understanding of Liu Shu from conversations with each other. They all understood how kind and accepting this World Tree was. She was welcoming to the point that even some monster races gained intelligence and became her citizens, acting even more civilized than some other races.

Hence, nobody listened to the World Tree and continued attacking silently, their weapons flashing with powerful spells that could destroy tens of trees per strike. Meanwhile, Liu Shu saw the people not listening to her, and a mix of anxiousness and helplessness filled her heart. She felt so stifled that she wanted to cry.

'Why don't they leave? Why does nobody listen to me? I am becoming a bad World Tree, and if they don't leave, I will hurt them!' Verdantia approached Galia and the others, who were unable to think of a single solution, and whispered a few things. Flor and Galia listened, and their eyes lit up, and they quickly nodded. Flor shouted.

"Ruby!" The Ruby-colored Arboreal Winged Serpent didn't have a name, but after fighting for so many days, they decided to give her a simple and straightforward nickname. After all, calling her "red serpent" was not practical. Ruby approached and looked at them. Flor quickly flew upward and whispered in Ruby's ears. Afterward, Ruby nodded solemnly and lowered one of her wings.

"Hiss!" Verdantia and the other three understood that this was a gesture to mount the giant serpent. Without a shred of hesitation, they jumped onto the serpent's back. Ruby took off and soared through the sky back toward the Golden Sap City. Liu Shu was confused.

"Huh? Where are they going?" Seeing that the ones leaving were her lovers, Liu Shu felt a mix of gladness and pain.

'Why did they leave even though the others are staying? Do they not want to fight for me anymore?' Even though they were complying with what she said, Liu Shu felt a sense of loss and sadness. The Avatar in her Core Room hugged her knees and buried her face between her legs, tears pouring down from her eyes. It was at this moment that things became even more convoluted. Liu Shu's mind suddenly noticed a large group appeared at the edge of her domain, far away from the <Dark Aether Swamp>.

Quickly glancing over, she noticed a massive army of 50, 000 people led by an elite group.

'Huh? Where did this army come from?' Looking closely, she noticed that the aura around them was very similar to what she was already quite familiar with.

'Nexus people?' The minotaur Orin quickly pointed forward and shouted.

"Attack the World Tree! Topple it down!" Liu Shu was frozen for a second. The convoluted feelings inside of her together with this attack quickly made some of her sanity crumble. BOOM! Her aura skyrocketed, but instead of the usual pure and gentle feeling, a few wisps of black smoke gave her presence a sense of ominous foreboding. Above Orin's army, Liu Shu's voice boomed like the wrath of a thousand spirits.

"YOU DARE ATTACK ME!? DIE!" Orin suddenly felt the ground tremble like an earthquake as the floor exploded and thousands of roots rose up above the army. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! The roots descended and slammed against the army of 50, 000, disregarding everything else. No tactics, no thought, just pure violence. Orin was not flustered, a hint of a smile at the corner of his lips.

"Hm. That voice… She is being corrupted quite nicely. With a push from our side, it will be quite easy to make her fall. Use the defensive shields and continue advancing! We can afford some casualties." However, as he was advancing, he noticed a group of people mounted in different beasts in the distance. At the front of the group, a tall and valiant bear woman was holding a massive war glaive. Thalgryn's face was terrifyingly cold.

"I didn't expect that after returning, our little Liu Shu would be bullied to this point! Exterminate them!" The three hundred people mounting in powerful beasts unfurled their auras, shaking the sky with their <Third Energy Cycle> strengths. Thalgryn had arrived with 600 Third Energy Cycles powerhouses as reinforcements!