Chương 465: Explooosion! Fortuna's Serenity.

Fortuna's Serenity.

Eryndis looked up with a surprised face and roared an order.

"What was that? Someone report!" The firepower delivered from the creatures beyond the clouds was truly terrifying. From the individual energy signatures, around 50 different creatures fired. These 50 creatures could pierce the defenses of several thousand and even destroy two Artillery Monoliths. While people scrambled to inform Eryndis, the woman didn't stop shouting orders.

"The air army needs to be deployed! Go above us and deal with the threat before they fire again! Focus more on the defense of artillery while spreading out the overall defense for the bombardment from Prarya city! Hold out until the artillery is deployed!" When the 200 serpents flying above saw several shadows separate from the large army and fly upward, they didn't lose time and reported it to Liu Shu. The World Tree instantly told Ignatia about it.

"Prepare yourself, Mom. Also, be careful. The enemy is too numerous for you to get caught." Ignatia nodded solemnly.

"Don't worry. I have not yet pampered you enough. How could I die in this kind of place?" Her words spread like sweet honey into Liu Shu's heart.

"Hehe~, I love you." After that short wholesome moment, the World Tree ordered the <Mother Of Thousand Flower Field> to change the cadence of shooting. Instead of a large volley, she told it to have constant fire using the flowers in order. When she did so, the flower ring around Prarya began shooting, using flowers in a clockwise direction. Prarya saw with awe how the flowers began firing in a circle around her, creating a serpentine figure in the sky and a constant cacophony of explosive sounds.

Sensing the power behind the myriad of shots, Prarya suddenly understood that, while these flowers were her protectors, they could probably heavily damage her at any time. Even then, there was no worry in her heart.

'Little Liu Shu is such a gentle darling. She wouldn't hurt me.' BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! In the enemy camp, the constant bombardment proved easier to defend, but that didn't mean that it was less tiresome. Before, they just needed to worry about the periodic attacks. Now, there was constant harassment with no apparent end or aim. This caused the barrage of seeds to fall scattered all around the battlefield, causing the defenders to have a headache.

The randomness of the attacks meant that if the defensive groups lost concentration, a few of the powerful seeds could sneak past and create casualties. Thalgryn stood on top of the Living Wall, looking at the distance with a cold and calm expression. The enemies were so far away that she couldn't see them as they hid beyond the horizon. Even then, she was one of the people closest to Liu Shu—thus, she had been informed of most of the big lady's plans.

Her lips arched in mockery at the struggling army in the distance.

"Going against Nature that has been nurtured by war… Foolishness. You can't even deal with one Warlya efficiently, and now you want to deal with our Liu Shu and the subordinate World Trees. Not knowing how special our Liu Shu is will be your downfall… Not like you ever had a way of knowing. She grows faster than you can even fathom." Liu Shu was not even 30 years old yet. To put into perspective, World Trees that were 30 years old would usually be at Level 25 if they were talented!

Naturally, it also depended on many factors, but in the wild, such advancement was considered a fast-growing World Tree. Meanwhile, Liu Shu was a Level 67 World Tree dominating half a continent and many other World Trees and Life Trees. She was a true powerhouse in the world besides the few <Fourth Energy Cycles>. Back to Eryndis, a new obstacle appeared right below her. Before anyone could react, the floor around six of the remaining 10 artillery monoliths suddenly crumbled.

Everyone looked with wide eyes as the large monoliths plunged down into the ground and were unable to react appropriately.

"WHAT ARE YOU ALL LOOKING AT!?" Eryndis roared like a raging beast.

"GO AFTER THEM!" However, as she spoke, the sky was lit up again, and the Arboreal Winged Serpents bombarded them from the sky. Eryndis almost popped a vein from how much anger she was feeling.

"Is everyone useless!? You can't deal with the bombardment, you can't deal with the air threat, you can't deal with the underground threat, and you can't deal with the harassment of a World Tree! You can do nothing, you useless pieces of fertilizer!" She wanted to keep a cool head. She wanted to stay calm and give commands without throwing insults. However, one's nerves could only take so much. Liu Shu's constant harassment tactics were making her feel so suffocated that even breathing became laborious.

If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. Tianlian Liu Shu saw several people trying to follow the tunnel the ants created to swallow the artillery, and she used her Aether Mana and Anima Energy to throw roots to fill up the holes. The army people saw the roots and hesitated, but Eryndis' constant roars that mixed orders and insults were quite effective at making them follow orders.

So, without much delay, a few thousand people dove into the holes, brandishing their weapons and cutting down the dense root network blocking their way. It was at this moment that Eryndis remembered something, making her stomach drop.

"OUT OF THE HOLES! OUT! I SAID OUT OF THEM!" But it was too late.

"<Root Explosion>." KA-BOOM!!!!! Bright light flashed everywhere before the very floor below them swelled and erupted with such force that it sent a large chunk of the army flying up. Eryndis shielded her face with her arms, resisting the powerful wind the shockwave created. After being pushed back several steps, she lowered her arms and squinted to look at her surroundings. Around her, there was a hellish landscape. Wails of pain could be heard everywhere while a thick brown dust covered everything.

Seeing even a few meters ahead was a struggle, and involuntary coughs could be heard everywhere as the dust particles in the air irritated everyone's lungs. Eryndis shouted between coughs.

"Wind Aether, COUGH, mancers! Blow away the, cough, cough, dust cloud! We are still being bombarded, and we need to see! Cough, cough, cough!" Powerful wind currents started spinning everywhere and lifting the dust cloud, revealing the extent of damage Liu Shu had created. Eryndis gained a dark expression. The bombardment of the enemy was claiming lives left and right, but the few defensive aethermancers were barely keeping up even after the giant explosion.

If they hadn't, the number of deaths would be in the tens of thousands, not a few thousand. Still, what made Eryndis hurt the most was that the artillery was gone. The explosion had blown everyone around them away and left them unprotected. Then, seemingly taking advantage of this, whatever was in the sky struck accurately and got rid of them. Glaring upward, she could only see the dust cloud they cleared.

'... Now those things above us have a natural cover! Good, very good tactics! Fuck!' Even then, 300, 000 soldiers was not a number that would fall or collapse after a few waves of attacks. Eryndis spoke to everyone by amplifying her voice.

"Now that the enemy has shown most of their cards, it is our chance! We have no artillery left to protect, so we will do it like in olden times! Go forward in Nexus Defense formation and besiege the walls! Avenge your people!" Liu Shu couldn't see what was happening on the Eryndis battlefield because, well, she had blown up many of her roots there. Moreover, with their anti-spying measures, damaged roots had a lot of trouble piercing through the veil.

"Big Sister Prarya, I leave the rest to you. I'll go help Big Sister Fortuna now; it seems that Evangeline's army is doing quite well over there." Prarya laughed, somewhat incredulous at Liu Shu's way of doing war.

"You are truly awesome, baby Liu Shu! I'll give you tons of root hugs later as thanks~. You won't escape this big sister's pampering! Hohoho~." Liu Shu giggled, hiding the pain she was feeling. Exploding so many roots was naturally neither healthy nor easy to do. The aftershock of blowing up a piece of land felt as if she had taken a sword and plunged it into her thigh. Even then, Ignatia and Prarya should be able to defend the rest after that, making Liu Shu somewhat comforted.

"Ophion, guide your sisters and brothers to Fortuna City! We'll do the same over there. While you travel, I'll go check on the fortresses' situation." Evangeline's army was, without a shred of doubt, the most problematic. Unlike Eryndis, who chose to get slightly closer before planting down the Artillery Monoliths, Evangeline decided to do so in the camp.

The reason was not only to ensure the safety of the monoliths, but also, once planted, their defensive rune fields and arrays secured the ground of the encampment. It was a defensive move that created a rather safe space for Evangeline's army to retreat. Liu Shu became essentially unable to harass Evangeline as much as she would have liked during the night, and the restful sleep helped recover the morale of most soldiers. It was a brilliant move.

Moreover, with the corruption shenanigans going on, she feared that Fortuna would be overly affected.

'I might need to use the <Soulseed> against Evangeline faster than planned. Thankfully, they couldn't really communicate easily during this time. If every single army followed Evangeline's plans, it wouldn't have been that easy.' Meanwhile, Fortuna looked at the brilliant light beams rushing at her from a distance with a calm expression. When the war started and her city was part of the enemy army's primary attacks, she thought she'd be nervous or worried.

Instead, she felt calm and placid as if the waves coming her way would be unable to pierce her serenity.

"Are you worried, love?" Fortuna looked at Eila. The black haired and purple-eyed Sylvan was inside her <Core Room>, which you entered through from the heart area of her World Tree body. Fortuna smiled gently and hugged Eila in her arms. Her soft and curvy body accommodated the slender and athletic woman like a mattress meant for her.

"I am not. With you and little Liu Shu defending me, I feel at peace. Regardless of what plans Evangeline has, I am not afraid." Eila looked at the gorgeous Avatar and smiled softly. The usually stern woman's facial expressions were gentle and loving to the point that if anyone saw, they would be in disbelief.

"Good. We will protect you. You are our Tree of Destiny, and nothing shall happen to our big lucky lady." Fortuna laughed and lowered her head to capture Eila's lips.

"Go to the walls. I know you want to soothe me, but seeing you there is even better than you being here. Our fight has already started, and Liu Shu will make her presence known soon. When she does, she must receive our full support. Little Liu Shu can't be the one who shoulders everyone's difficulties."