Chương 622: These Are Not Asteroids!

After the babies were born, time passed quickly once more. Since there weren't any important matters that required all of Liu Shu's attention, she left a big chunk of her conscience to spend time with all of her family. The Sylvan babies went to her <Core Room> as well, spending time with her <Avatar> and interacting with her. This experience was relatively new, as Liu Shu was not really accustomed to interacting with children whom she didn't birth. Still, even if it was a new experience, it was a welcoming one.

Liu Shu fed, took care of, and started creating defensive treasures for them. With the world's entire economic power and resources at the tips of her roots, the last thing Liu Shu lacked was materials. As such, two more years passed. During this time, the <Dungeons> that spanned from Level 75 to Level 99 awakened as well, recovering most of the hunting spots for the Explorers. Liu Shu noticed an oddity, though. The Terragore Empire and Rumbling Earth Domain stayed closed, even when the rest opened.

This confused her, so she asked the Dungeon System. [Dungeon System: After the evolution, the <Terragore Empire> and <Rumbling Earth Domain> dungeons have gone through different evolutions. The <Boss Monsters> have evolved past their limits, their threat level reaching over Level 100. To contain the power of the new evolved monsters, it is necessary to keep the <Dungeons> closed for a while longer.]"Oh. That's… surprising but understandable.

I mean, the potential of the final <Boss Monsters> in those two dungeons far outstrips any other <Dungeon>." Speaking of <Dungeons>, Liu Shu found three of them in <Nualis>. All of them were Level 50~74, though.

"I wonder if the lower-level ones are located further away. Hmm. Now that I think about it, since most of the world is an ocean, I might find them underwater." Liu Shu was about to investigate when she felt something strange deep in space.

"Hm? This movement is not like that of asteroids." The number of asteroids roaming the cosmos was so many that Liu Shu had long gotten accustomed to them. It was not difficult to distinguish them if she mapped the movement of everything in her mind. Now, instead of orbiting her Solar System's star, these objects were coming forward in a straight line.

"Are they <Astraelis>?" She zoomed through the cosmos and her vision changed to that particular patch of space.

"Huh… What is this?" She had never seen something like it.

"They are made of… metal? Yeah, it's a type of metal. There are so many as well. Two large ones and many little ones. Is this a new type of <Astraelis>? But… I have never seen anything like this in Elyne's books." Puzzlement was apparent in her tone, her eyes getting closer to them to analyze them in detail. However, looked at from the outside, they were just massive chunks of metal, so she couldn't figure it out.

"What's their trajectory?" Quick estimates and calculations made Liu Shu frown.

"These things are heading straight towards <Nualis>. Why is that? Let's try to analyze it instead." World Tree Wisdom activated, piercing all defensive and anti-spy measures as if they were crusty leaves.

[Level 150 Obsidian World Type Mothership (World Grade Flawless Level)] … Skill: The mothership has an external barrier able to absorb up to 10 Phoer Stars of damage, with strong regeneration that can be accelerated by consuming Aether Mana and Anima Energy. Skill: The mothership… … Note: This is a spatial ship created with the efforts of thousands of crafters. These crafters spend decades and mountains of resources to put it together, creating an interstellar ship that can traverse the stars.

Its attacking and defensive power are large enough to leave some <Sixth Energy Cycle> beings helpless. Moreover, it can enhance and control massive fleets of Moon-Type and below spaceships.

Liu Shu was instantly speechless. The number of skills was enough to create a massive list. Thankfully, she was not lazy and read everything, eventually reading the note. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

"... Oh. It's not a living being. It's a spaceship." At times like this, Liu Shu really felt that World Tree Wisdom was quite overpowered. After all, any and all hidden effects of equipment could be instantly revealed. Only those that were too strong were probably out of her sight.

"A spaceship… Didn't Elyne tell me that there are no Solar System and above powers nearby? The only one that's relatively close is the Nexus's branch… powers… Oh." It was like a zap of lightning, her mind quickly understanding what she was dealing with. Her mind quickly shifted gears, going from curious to cautious. While she was strong, she was not arrogant enough to think that she could fight with the Nexus's main branches of power.

'If there are any Seventh Cycle beings, I might need to prepare to evacuate people. I can die with the world, but others won't survive the invasion.' With that in mind, she quickly called all the top influential people in the world for an urgent meeting. She gave them only five hours to appear in Golden Sap City and gather in the main meeting room. Many internally complained, feeling that Liu Shu was being too arrogant and arbitrary.

Still, even if they dared to complain inside their heads, no one dared to vocalize it. Of course, Liu Shu didn't care about them in the slightest. In the time that the meeting was being prepared, Liu Shu informed those closest to her.

"I've just spotted a few Nexus ships coming over. I am not sure what type of people they are carrying, since I can't look inside without being discovered. Nevertheless, things can get really ugly." The Sylvans were startled, their hearts thumping with worry. Elyne and the other envoys, who rushed over as fast as they could, got put up to date in an instant. Elyne frowned and looked at Cael for an opinion.

"You are the most knowledgeable about Nexus forces and their usual strategies. What is your opinion?" Cael was the tall half-plant, half-wolfkin man who came with them. He was tall and sturdy, his face cold, and his body marred by scars from the battlefield. Back in the Covenant, he led armies on the front lines, battling the Nexus forces constantly. Therefore, among all the people present, he was by far the most knowledgeable.

"I do know why Lady Liu Shu is worried. However, what you are thinking should be almost impossible to happen. The <Seventh Energy Cycles> are too occupied protecting or attacking locations with other <Seventh Energy Cycles>. They are the spearhead in many battlefields, and the absence of even one of them can cause a whole battlefront to collapse. Unless Liu Shu becomes a real threat to the Nexus, no <Seventh Energy Cycle> will appear to clean up this remote part between our territories."

After Cael's reassurance, Liu Shu sighed in relief. Cael didn't want her to relax, though.

"Still, you've said that there are two World-Type ships and a few dozen Moon-Type ships, right? That's quite a fleet for a world like yours, Liu Shu. Each World Type must be led by a Level 175 or above <Sixth Energy Cycle>, and they usually have other members at that level to help them." Orwen at the side frowned. After living a few years here, he had become quite accustomed to the lifestyle and enjoyed it. Most of his biases were already gone, and he had even started to like Liu Shu a little bit.

"Level 175 and above are considered Star Lords. How many <Sixth Energy Cycles> are you estimating, Cael? There is no way that a Star Lord moves without their most trusted subordinates." Cael pondered and commented.

"There should be at most ten of them: the two Star Lords, and each should have two to four followers. If they've come to conquer or eliminate Liu Shu, the reason is clearly those stragglers Liu Shu told us about." After conquering the Nexus's continent, Liu Shu noticed the signs of people leaving. Back then, she was a bit confused. But later, when she understood more, she realized there were escapees. Not to mention, the number of <Fourth Energy Cycles> that she encountered back then was far too few.

So, the only explanation was that they fled from the planet. Liu Shu frowned.

"So, those people managed to convince a Level 175 that I am a threat? Isn't this an overkill for a recently leveled-up World Tree?"

"More than overkill." Cael shook his head, not really understanding what was happening.

"For comparison, this is like someone saying that they want to fight with you, but they eventually show up with a World Tree that's above your Level to help them. They are using a hammer to smash an ant." Ignatia at the side tilted her head, but she knew that it was a saying, so she didn't comment. Elyne also found it bewildering.

"While our Covenant also sent us, that's because we had inside information from Skyflower. There is absolutely no reason for a Star Lord to come personally to eliminate a Level 100 World Tree." Veyra's intelligent eyes flashed.

"Not even a Level 100 World Tree. Do you really expect them to know that Liu Shu already completed her Level Up? A World Tree takes at least a century on average to Level Up from Level 99 to Level 100. So, they are using this firepower to deal with a hypothetical Level 100 delegation and a sleeping Level 99 World Tree. It makes absolutely no sense." The envoys were confused. Flor commented.

"If the ones who left are the leaders of the Nexus, they must have the documents of all their defeats against Liu Shu. I am sure that the leader who was eventually defeated has warned repeatedly, so they eventually sent this fleet to make sure that there are no possible accidents." Veyra hummed and nodded.

"Even then, this particular Star Lord must have a personal vendetta. There is otherwise no way that any Star Lord would take several years to make a journey to lose experience points. After all, if they killed a Level 99 Liu Shu, the penalty would be really harsh." Liu Shu wanted to cry a little.

"What personal vendetta? I've never messed with…" She suddenly stopped, a very vague piece of information resurfacing from many decades ago. Flor blinked.

"Did you think of something?"

"Yeah… I remember seeing one Nexus document that spoke about juniors partaking in wars in Ceperet for training. Did I perhaps kill the daughter or son of that Star Lord during the wars of the past?" The envoys were silent, but they all showed a flash of realization.

"That must be it."

"Ugh…" Liu Shu grumbled.

"If you can't afford to lose a child, don't send them out of your sight! Annoying…" Everyone smiled awkwardly. Regardless, they needed to plan to defend against the incoming threat.