Chương 440: Situation on the Other Side of the Wall Forest.

It has been around 5 years since the war against the Abyssal Void Nexus began. The people in the main cities of both the Celestial Lotus Empire and the Azure Rose Confederation were suffering from diminishing resources. After all, with the advantage that the Nexus forces had over them, and with part of their borders breached, food production plummeted at an unsustainable rate.

It was to the point that some outer edge villages didn't even fight with the Nexus as long as they were given food and other essential resources. The leaders of the capital for both sides were currently gathered together in a relatively secretive location. They were Level 74 powerhouses that only needed a surge of inspiration to break through that layer, which stopped the grand majority of the world. The man leading the Azure Rose Confederation capital in the Wild Continent spoke rather bluntly.

"What is your power doing? We are being stomped on both sides, with over fifteen World Trees dead already. Only the strongest ones remain!" The woman leading the Celestial Lotus territory looked at the black-haired, brown-eyed man. She herself was a beastkin, an avian one who had wings. Her hair was blonde, and the white feathered wings gave her a saintly aura. Her voice was cold when she answered.

"What am I supposed to do, Valkan? Create reinforcements from thin air? I've already received the message from the Capital that they are giving up the territory beyond the Wall Forest."

"Oh, don't be a smartass, Hana." The man sneered.

"We both know that beyond the Wall Forest, you have powerful allies. You need to gather their forces and come here to help us resist, or else, the Nexus will gain more power and become unstoppable!" The woman paused and sighed.

"I can't. They have their own troubles to deal with. Asking for aid now will probably result in nothing."

"Ha?" Valkan was stumped. He knew that while this woman was cunning, she was not one to lie in important situations. His eyebrows furrowed, and he asked.

"So, are you seriously going to abandon Warlya?" Warlya was the World Tree that the Celestial Lotus Empire was nurturing. It was also the World Tree that Galia's group was initially going to support before the Celestial Lotus Empire sent them toward Liu Shu. That change occurred when the <Oracles> in the Celestial Lotus Empire viewed that something or someone beyond the Wall Forest was going to rise soon and become a powerful influence. <Oracles> were rare, and most of them were Sylvans related to <Destiny>.

If Fortuna's skill sets were focused in that direction, she could become one herself. Naturally, their abilities were extremely limited and weren't accurate most of the time. Therefore, not many would invest in nurturing an <Oracle>. Hana shook her head.

"Warlya won't fall. She is too powerful for them. She will become the last World Tree, and our territory will return to just a city, the surrounding forests and towns. Everything within her root-net, basically. It is not the first time that this has happened." Valkan crossed his arms.

"Look, I am not aware of things that happened two centuries ago. I wasn't even born yet. Heck, even my great-grandmother might not have been alive then! Still, this time they have a few very annoying and powerful <Cursemancers>. Evangeline, that witch especially, is a pain in the branches." Hana gently flapped her wings once and started.

"I am a beastkin, not a Sylvan, so don't overestimate my lifespan." She ignored the man's rolling eyes and continued. Regardless, Warlya won't fall. It doesn't matter what trickery they have. She is just too strong. If she…" Hana paused and shook her head.

"Either way, we will go back and bunker down in her domain. We'll see each other if Destiny and Fate allow it."

"You are leaving just like that?" Valkan was stunned as he saw the group of men and women in robes stand up.

"Hana! You can't underestimate their threat this time around!" Hana didn't answer and left the location. Valkan fell back down onto his chair, sighing and rubbing his forehead.

"I don't understand long-lived creatures. Why take things so… lightly always? Is it experience or dullness? I don't know anymore." His secretary approached and placed a cup of tea on the table. The man sighed and looked at the white fog floating from the hot beverage.

"Do we really have no other choice but to surrender to their brutality?" A man at the side, someone from his side, spoke after clearing his throat.

"In truth, Lord Valkan, we could always surrender to the Abyssal Void Nexus. They do not treat humans badly, and the other races can live… with…" The man stopped speaking as everyone in the room looked his way. Valkan grabbed the hot tea, breathing out to cool it down a bit before taking a sip.

"Spies are becoming sloppier as time passes by…" The man's face changed, and he blurted out hastily.

"L-Lord!? I am not a spy!"

"That's even worse." Valkan gave him a side-glance.

"To truly believe that those murder-loving animals are even comparable to a human, my condolences for you and those who have been influenced by your mindset. Jail him. He will be judged two weeks from now. According to law, anyone sympathizing with the Nexus will receive at least ten, and at most a few centuries' worth of punishment. Although, since we are in war times… you'll probably be sentenced to death to avoid complications."

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"Wait! Lord Valkan! Have mercy!" A few guards came from the side and dragged the man away. Everyone else ignored his retreating figure. Meanwhile, Evangeline was sitting on the tall branches of a <Corrupted World Tree>. She looked at the landscape stretching in front of her with a frown.

"Why have the spies I've sent not returned yet?" She sighed and leaned on the trunk behind her. The leafless tree below her was the World Tree nearest to Warlya.

"That one… She is truly a monster, isn't she? A B Tier World Tree is usually not that scary, even if she is Level 74. Yet… This one is different." Recalling the information about Warlya, Evangeline felt a headache coming.

"The reason she is Level 74 is not that she has yet to break through into the <Fourth Energy Cycle>. On the contrary, she was already a <Fourth Energy Cycle> World Tree. However, in the war against the Humanoid Ant Queen that dominated the Wild Continent in the past, she got an irreparable wound and lost levels and tiers, becoming a Level 74 B Tier World Tree." Evangeline chuckled at the absurdity.

"Humanoid Ant Queen… What a terrifying monster. Even a <Fourth Energy Cycle> World Tree can be permanently crippled when facing them." She paused and brought up her mission, <Snuffing Out The Light>. [Objective 1: Conquer or Vanquish the <Celestial Lotus Empire> in the west of the <Wild Continent>. (40% Completion)] [Objective 2: Conquer or Vanquish the <Azure Rose Confederation> in the west of the <Wild Continent>. (59% Completion)] [Objective 3: Conquer or Vanquish the <Verdant Sanctity Covenant> in the west of the <Wild Continent>. (Completed)] [Optional Objective 1: Conquer or Vanquish the <Golden Sap Country>.]"Golden Sap Country…" She muttered.

"She has gone from being a little tree that I could defeat personally to a behemoth with enough strength and influence to become the <Optional Objective> of a <Sylvan Quest>." <Optional Objectives> were optional because the chances of completing them were rather slim. They were, as a matter of fact, several times harder than the main objectives. Still, the rewards were usually the best. And the one for completing this particular <Optional Objective> was, in Evangeline's honest opinion, ridiculous.

[Additional Reward 1: Become <A+ Tier>. +5 Levels. <Title: Snuffing Out The Light>. <Title: Overlord>.] <Snuffing Out the Light>: You who have managed to snuff out the last candle have become the bringer of darkness. Affinity toward Darkness Aether Mana +1000%. Affinity toward <Curses> +500%. Stats +30%. <Overlord>: You've come, one who rules over all lords, an <Overlord>. You emit a natural aura of dominance. No one will dare to look at you lightly. Stats +30% when fighting to protect your title as a ruler.

Stats +20% when fighting against other rulers. Evangeline became silent.

"Liu Shu… My little Liu Shu. Will you be my ticket to supremacy?" Jolie looked at her mother's chuckling expression and tilted her head.

"Why are you speaking to yourself, Mother?" Evangeline glanced at her daughter and grinned.

"Nothing, love. I am just excited for what's about to come." Jolie hummed.

"Have you planned on how to deal with Warlya?"

"We won't," Evangeline answered simply, confusing Jolie.

"You don't understand?" Jolie didn't answer right away. Instead, she crossed her arms and looked at the branches of the World Tree.

"You… Want to cut her connection with the Celestial Lotus Empire? But why? Whether the terrain she controls forms part of the Celestial Lotus Empire or Warlya herself doesn't change much, right? Or does she have a <Title> that helps her?" Evangeline smiled.

"It matters more than you can imagine." Jolie sighed. Lately, her mother has been a bit mysterious in some regards. Not that she minded, Evangeline had never been one to tell her about many things. For example, Jolie knew that she was the child of a World Tree and her mother. But which World Tree, or if she was still alive or not, was a complete mystery.

'A World Tree and Mother…' Looking at the Corrupted World Tree they were standing on, she just couldn't understand.

"Love. Have any of your spies who went to check on the Golden Sap Country returned?" Jolie sighed and answered her mother's question.

"None. They all enter the Wall Forest, and then, they never return. I even asked one of them to cross the Wall Forest and return immediately with whatever information he could gather with just his sight, but no one returned."

"You also had no luck…" Evangeline muttered.

"Is it Luck? Perhaps the Wall Forest has an anomaly?" She was honestly confused by this. Jolie commented.

"What if they've prohibited anyone from crossing the <Wall Forest>? Perhaps they have guards at the edge and kill anyone that crosses over." The mature Sylvan instantly denied that suggestion.

"Impossible. If it were a Nexus territory, that option would be open. However, Liu Shu is far from a ruthless World Tree. On the contrary, while indifferent to many matters, she can be considered a benevolent one. Cases of her intervening randomly and saving lives here and there happened often enough when we were there that even we heard about it."

"Then, I am out of ideas, Mother. Do you have any clue of what's happening?" Evangeline chuckled.

"I do have a clue… Probably Liu Shu has grown quite a lot and managed to cover the upper section of the East Side already."

"Entirely?" Jolie crossed her arms.

"I understand that you are overestimating her. However, is it really possible to cover such a vast land in such a short time? Even for a World Tree, they would need a few decades to cover such large distances." Evangeline shrugged.

"Although she is a C- Tier World Tree, she has always been especially strong among those at the same <Tier>. So, I rather overestimate her. Moreover, since she dealt with the Dark Aether Swamp, her protection against <Curses> must be very high. We need to prepare something really special for her." The silver-haired Sylvan stood up and stretched her alluring body. Then, she jumped from the high branch after speaking one last sentence.

"Before that, we have a powerful World Tree to deal with. Call Eryndis; we need to plan things out before our troops run dry. Five years of fighting are stretching our military resources thin."