Chương 461: World Tree Terror Tactics.

Fortuna and Prarya were somewhat confused at Liu Shu's orders. Fortuna spoke as she observed the armies reorganizing and ready to march.

"Why didn't you let us make more chaos, Liu Shu? With our abilities, we would've been able to kill at least five times more people!" Prarya agreed.

"Right. We only pinched their army forces, not much more than a surface wound." Hearing their words, our World Tree chuckled.

"An attack at night might be effective, but if we are too brutal with it, it will create anger in our enemies. That's not my objective~."

"Then…" Fortuna frowned, her mind spinning but unable to come up with anything.

"What is your objective?" Prarya was slightly more experienced, but even she couldn't really understand their little sister's intentions. Liu Shu didn't keep them waiting.

"Look at their army. Look at their faces. Look at how they are marching. Look into their eyes and energy. Then, you'll have the answer to what I am trying to do." Liu Shu's words made both World Trees pay more attention. Then, they realized. All soldiers who were marching with steady steps the previous day were now more silent. Their footsteps were careful, and their eyes and energy were somewhat restless. Fortuna muttered, her branches waving in thought.

"They are… fearful?" Prarya was still confused.

"Why are they fearful? The number of people we killed is not that high, right?"

"And that's the problem." Liu Shu chuckled.

"We killed only a few of them, which will make the leaders think that preparing against another similar attack is a waste of time. Even if we attacked like we are for a month straight, we would only make a dent in their <Second Energy Cycle> army. That doesn't make guarding against night attacks efficient. So, the leaders won't feel the need to use extra protection at night. As such, the soldiers understand that each night is just a gamble. They will think…"

"Will it be me next time?"

"What if I don't sleep? But some of the guards also disappeared."

"It is clearly the World Tree attacking us. Those that disappeared have been devoured by them!" Liu Shu was not making up those sentences. She was repeating the words she heard the soldiers whisper to each other. This made Fortuna and Prarya pause and look at the giant World Tree with a different expression. Liu Shu continued, her voice carrying a hint of ominous laughter.

"Fear is a strong deterrent. However, we must never allow that fear to transform into rage. No, fear must develop into terror, a phobia so strong that they would rather desert the army than face us. And, as luck would have it, Abyssal Void Nexus people are the perfect target~." Fortuna and Prarya, together with the few other World Trees listening, couldn't help but feel a tingle in their roots. Fortuna asked, not realizing that her probing tone had a tone of caution.

"Why… Why are Nexus people the perfect target?"

"Because the Abyssal Void Nexus taught their people to hate World Trees. And when that thing they hate manifests as an unavoidable fate and uncontrollable force, it transforms into the deepest soul-depth terror a creature can have. One can hate spiders, but what if they are in a house filled with them in every corner? A house where they can't kill them since alerting them would mean being overrun by thousands of them?"

"Ah…" That example made it quite simple to understand. Whoever was in that situation would probably feel such helpless terror that their body might shut down on its own.

"Their attack is a siege. Something that will last. Hence, we'll make them know that, at night, they can't sleep. Those who rest, even if it is a small chance, will have a chance to die before they wake up. Closing their eyes means that there is a chance of never opening them~. Even if our attacks are just a few hundred each night, who would like to be part of those few hundred?" The other World Trees felt both relief and trepidation.

Relief that Liu Shu didn't decide on exterminating them as normal World Trees did, and trepidation thinking about what they would've done if Liu Shu was not as gentle-mannered as she is towards them. The difference between the Liu Shu who calls them "Big Sister! Big Sister!" sweetly and the current one was just too jarring. Still, they weren't sorry for their enemies. Those people were the ones who came to Liu Shu's territory with the intention to conquer.

Receiving the full force of Liu Shu's schemes was not only deserved but also an unavoidable fate.

'Sadly…' Liu Shu thought to herself.

'... My mind's speaking abilities are too low-tier to be effective. They will put them on more guard than anything else.' Meanwhile, the four armies advanced and finally crossed the Wall Forest. The World Trees, under Liu Shu's orders, attacked one or two people from time to time. Inside the few hundred thousand, the damage was negligible. However, the mental state of the army kept deteriorating as people were literally swallowed by the ground they stepped on.

Thalric was the first one to arrive at the <Olive Vine Fortress>. This fortress was close to the Wall Forest. Close enough, in fact, that it was visible once they stepped out of the forest. It was located on a distant mountain, the structure surrounded by tall walls, and the back of the city defended by mountains. Thalric spoke solemnly.

"Today, we take over the fortress! This fortress is—" Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. A scream interrupted him.

"AH!" Everyone was silent on an open field, so when Liu Shu glomped another person to the ground, the scream echoed around quite clearly. Thalric frowned for a second but continued, his face stoic.

"This fortress is protected by a high-level Life Tree! So, we mustn't fear it. We—" Another scream.

"NOO!"

"... will fight the forces of nature! We will remain victorious like we've always been!" A cry for help.

"HELP!"

"... And we will chant courageously that…" An exclamation of desperation.

"AHH!"

"... The Abyssal Void Nexus can overcome even Mother Nature herself!" A cry of sorrow.

"Not me! Please!!!" Once Thalric stopped speaking, there was no one clapping. Everyone was moving in place, their muscles tense and their expressions under their helmets dripping with sweat. Thalric's gentle facial features were stiff, and even the soil below his feet felt somewhat soft. However, he shouted, trying to rally everyone up.

"Prepare the artillery! We will attack the city from a distance and show them why we are the superior race!" Liu Shu's real lips arched maliciously as her root poked out of the ground and grabbed Thalric's leg for a second before scurrying back underground. Still, the second she grabbed him, the man's face turned pale, and he jumped upward.

"Protect me!" However, once he looked down, there was nothing. So, the guards that moved didn't even know what to do, standing stiff and looking around carefully. His overreaction to Liu Shu's small poke made everyone in the army feel a myriad of emotions. Of course, none of those were positive ones. Tap-tap. The sound of his boots landing on the ground was loud and clear, and his back became soaked in cold sweat.

'This World Tree! Making a fool out of myself! I'll see what you do when all the cities and structures surrounding you are conquered!' His face twisted, and he jumped onto the back of his mount.

"ADVANCE!" His shout, full of anger, was accompanied not by a motivated chant, but by another howl of a soldier Liu Shu swallowed into the ground. Still, Thalric shouted again.

"I said. ADVANCE!" The army started moving, but their march was disorderly as everyone looked at their feet instead of ahead. Liu Shu, however, didn't attack them again. What happens when you are expecting an attack but it never comes? Tension. A terrible feeling of anxiousness starts spreading throughout your limbs, making your throat dry and accelerating your breathing. Once they were around 20 kilometers from the fortress, Thalric shouted.

"Prepare the artillery!"

"AHH!" One of the personnel who approached the large columns carried by the all-terrain wheeled platform suddenly disappeared with a scream, and everyone around him jumped in fear. Then, they realized something: each time Thalric spoke, someone would disappear. And Liu Shu solidified these thoughts when Thalric gave the order to aim and swallowed another person. How many people had Liu Shu swallowed since she started? Perhaps not more than 50. In an army of nearly 300, 000, that was nothing.

And yet, all 300, 000 remaining people were so tense that even the clattering of armor was barely heard while they marched. Their steps were so light that one would think they were walking on eggshells and trying not to break them.

"Prepare the artillery!" Thalric shouted as another three people were swallowed. The artillery took a few moments to prepare, and during all this time, Liu Shu never said a single word. Imagination was quite powerful, and leaving some things unclear would amplify one's feelings. Still, at that time, inside the fortress, her voice sounded softly.

"<Mother Of Thousand Flower Field>... Take aim." A gorgeous ring of flowers surrounded the Life Tree, and with her words, Aether Mana and Anima Energy surged all around and into the field of tall bell-like flowers. As ternary essences rushed into the flowers, they all raised their heads. Tens of thousands of flowers looked up as if they were sunflowers searching for the sun. The Life Tree in the Fortress asked, a bit nervously.

"Liu Shu… Will the citizens be okay?" The World Tree looked at the beautiful Life Tree gently.

'Life Trees are truly the gentlest plants. Instead of worrying about themselves, they always try to take care of their surroundings. They are such beautiful and selfless beings.'

"Yes. I will protect you and them. Don't worry, the artillery on the other side won't be able to fire. From the very moment they arrived, they've always been within our shooting area." The Life Tree relaxed when she heard the powerful World Tree's words.

"I see… Be careful as well. If you need healing, tell me! I'll do my best to keep everyone alive and well!"

"Thank you." Liu Shu's gentle tone then changed as she ordered with an ice-cold bearing.

"<Mother Of Thousand Flower Field>, hide the sun and annihilate the enemy artillery." Aether Mana and Anima Energy surged as several elemental energies transformed into projectiles. Then, as Liu Shu ordered, the sky was shrouded in tens of thousands of projectiles. The people in the enemy army frowned when the clear sky became somewhat dark and looked upward. A person asked, confused.

"What is that? A cloud?" Thalric focused, and suddenly, a person with good sight shouted.

"INCOMING BARRAGE!" Instantly, everyone's face changed. Thalric shouted.

"Protect the sky!" But the sky was not their only enemy.

"<Speed Roots>, <Roots Light Burst>, <Roots Strike>." BOOM! The floor exploded with thousands of whip-like roots slamming around the place aimlessly. The sight of those roots slamming some people while dragging others into the ground made the tense army's feelings explode, and screams of fear appeared everywhere. Naturally, the armies were not completely untrained. So, there were some people who were courageous and protected the sky. Still, these protections were far from enough.

With the whistling sound of air being pierced, the thousands of projectiles fell from the sky with terrifying strength. Shiuuu~ BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! With those two attacks, the war in the <Olive Vine Fortress> started.