Chương 650: Explorer Association Working Methods. Initial Clash.

Initial Clash.

After waiting for almost nine days, Liu Shu started her attack. Her initial intention was to eradicate the party and leave no survivors. The reason was her acquired knowledge through the books and other items that the Covenant's envoys had gathered and given her. As far as she knew, these people should be mercenaries from the Explorer Association. They were no different from paid bandits that completed missions with certain rewards.

The Explorer Association, being a completely neutral force, accepted all types of missions as long as the compensation was proportional to what was being asked. Someone could even post a mission called "Destroy the Abyssal Void Nexus Empire," and as long as the compensation was proportional, it would appear in the Explorer Association hub. Of course, one would need the strength and motivation to take on such a daunting task.

'These people have not arrived here as a coincidence. They probably took on a mission related to us. There is no one other than Altherion or Ceperet's Nexus survivors who has the resources and reasons to reveal our solar system.' Liu Shu muttered to herself.

"Because we are an unexplored and remote space, I am sure that the Explorer Association wouldn't need much compensation for any mission related to them." This time, though, Liu Shu's reasoning was flawed. Because the Explorer Association existed on their planet, the superpower had a sense of their strength and of what happened in Ceperet. There might be discrepancies with the real state of Ceperet, but they could evaluate it to an extent.

Regardless, Liu Shu's thoughts, while not entirely correct, were not that far off from the truth. The Ceperet Solar System was considered an <Open Coordinate>, unregistered within an official database of the Explorer Association. Hence, anyone who came and conquered the "open" location could label the space as their territory. Before, since Covenant and Nexus were fighting here, no one dared to come.

However, after Altherion gave the green light, the coordinates managed to catch the eye of those weaker mercenary groups who previously felt it was not worth it. Mercenary groups with certain levels of fame all had a few solar systems under their dominion. It not only made it easier to recruit and nurture new people, but it also earned them benefits, fame, and even ranking among the endless groups in the Explorer Association and other smaller hubs.

After waiting and observing the ships, Liu Shu finally made sure that they were traveling in Nualis' direction. After all, until now, she had held that slight doubt that they might be passing by. But after they arrived at a distance of around two days from Nualis, Liu Shu could tell without a hint of doubt that their direction of travel was moving with Nualis, basically chasing it.

'Since you want to harm us, then there is nothing to talk about. Moreover, since you've left that Starry Phantom Trail behind, ready to inform others, you will be giving me the chance to penetrate into the intergalactic society and start spreading my roots.' Her plan was what she didn't dare do with the Nexus' army. She would show her strength and basically force the Explorer Association to acknowledge her.

While she was somewhat tied to the Covenant, even if not entirely willing, this step would help her slowly connect her isolated Solar System to the rest of the world. By the time she absorbed every fleet that came to challenge her, her strength would reach a level that the Nexus would find difficult to deal with, and the Covenant difficult to ignore.

"That powerful person told Elyne that he would give me 300 years to conquer my solar system, didn't he? Heh." Liu Shu's gaze pierced through the void, locking onto the Starry Phantom Trail.

"Let's see what I can do to subvert your expectations. Later, you'll have to support me even if you don't want to… I'll make sure of it." Her Aether Mana surged, transforming into Spatial Aether Mana. Then, she controlled it and enhanced it, all her buffs and the new <Realm Blessing> boosting her dimensional manipulation abilities far beyond her current Level.

What Liu Shu was manifesting was neither a <Talent>, <Passive Skill>, nor a <Title>—it was pure and raw Aether Mana and Anima Energy manipulation and transformation. The people inside the Starry Phantom Trail frowned for a second, and a moment later, alarms blasted off, startling everyone.

"Captain Dolvert! We are detecting absurd amounts of Spatial Aether surrounding our spaceship! Our shields can't resist, and we are being dragged!" Dolvert frowned deeply for a second, but that second of hesitation was all that Liu Shu needed. An instant later, the Starry Phantom Trail disappeared, falling into the sub-dimension Liu Shu created.

"Activate all sensors! Flare up all screens and give us an omnidirectional view of our surroundings." With Dolvert's words, the cabin changed, becoming a starry void. The walls and even the floor became "transparent," simulating their surrounding space without much difficulty. This was done through a complex coordination of cameras and other electronics. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Everyone looked around them, cautious.

The outside was eternally dark, with not a single speck of light. The only lights in the cabin were those from the screens and other devices.

"Over there!" Following the crewmate's cry, they noticed blue light manifesting very slowly. Their curiosity soon manifested, but it only lasted for a few moments. As the blue light spread, manifesting all around them, that curiosity transformed into fear.

"Those are… roots?" When a Sylvan on board spoke, doubtful, Dolvert's heart jumped with fear, his face blanching.

"True World Tree! We've fallen into the domain of an unknown True World Tree! Quickly activate our distress signals and send a message to Lord Helgor to retreat as fast as possible!" His frantic tone made everyone jump into action, and the ship's devices kept trying to send help signals.

"We've been moved into a sub-dimension! Our normal signals do not work. Asking Captain to allow use of the dimensional signal." Dolvert's face showed a painful expression. The things used to charge the dimensional signal were mighty expensive. Still, he gritted his teeth and nodded.

"Do it." It was when he said that that the roots around them finally moved. Ridiculous amounts of Aether Mana and Anima Energy manifested, mixing with a strange, unknown essence. Then, an all-encompassing female voice boomed in the subdimension.

"<Eternal Void>." CRASH! Space shattered, the shields receiving thousands of <Phoer Cores> of damage. Dolvert was scared to the point that even his lips turned white.

"Did we encounter a rogue <Sixth Energy Cycle> True World Tree? What kind of strength is this? She has permanently shattered the void!" Knowing they were at much greater risk than he initially thought, Dolvert quickly used his personal console to activate a communication device. It used Ternary Essences to transmit sound rather than air, enabling space communication.

"L-Lady World Tree, we don't have anything against you! Please let us go and let's talk calmly! Our leader will retreat immediately if you give us a chance!" Liu Shu was surprised to hear a voice, the words making her frown. One of the roots moved quickly, wrapping around the Starry Phantom Trail.

"Allow this root to enter the ship so that I can communicate." The <Eternal Void> was still damaging the shields, slicing around 50% of the reserves per minute. Even if the shields had strong regenerative powers, they would collapse in just two and a half minutes at most. Hearing Liu Shu's voice, which carried a complex yet pleasant mix of gentleness and strength, Dolvert fell into a dilemma.

'Do I trust it? What if we allow the root to enter and she causes our destruction?'

"Let's talk as we are. There is no need for direct contact." Hearing that made Liu Shu dissatisfied.

"How can I tell that you are telling the truth and not making time? I know that you've sent a signal out; I could sense the fluctuation. So you might be trying to buy time until your reinforcements arrive. You have 10 seconds to let me in, or I'll destroy your ship." Dolvert wanted to curse, his eyes flashing with many thoughts. As he struggled, time quickly slipped by, and soon, Liu Shu's voice enveloped them, the tone a notch colder.

"Time's up." Her roots moved, the endless void suddenly feeling cramped as they entangled around the Starry Phantom Trail.

"Captain! Shields are falling even faster! Forty-six seconds until depletion!" Dolvert finally cursed under his breath, quickly recovering.

"Activate weaponry! Attack all the roots around us! We must destabilize this space as best as we can!" The stealth ship suddenly glowed faintly for a moment, and turrets and other machinery poked out of the otherwise sleek surface. Liu Shu noticed and saw light gathering around the few hundred weapons. A second later, lasers, projectiles, explosive ammunition, and guided missiles spread in all directions, bombarding the roots. Her sturdy roots were damaged, the surface cracking where the weapons impacted.

The explosive ones left large craters, but Liu Shu didn't feel much other than a slight pain. The number of roots here was nothing but an insignificant part of her whole. Only, with her <Perfect Energy Cycle>, the strength she could manifest was basically borderless. As long as they were inside her domain, Liu Shu was basically omnipresent.

'The sturdiness of this ship is lower than the Moon-Type. The weapons they are using are slightly more potent, though. I guess it makes sense, since the Moon-Types are ships made to transport troops safely, not for spatial combat.' The main cannon was another matter, though. When the Starry Phantom Trail's main cannon finally fired, Liu Shu used three roots to block it. BOOM!! The muted explosion was blinding, but compared to the oppressive strength behind the Moon-Type's main cannon, it was sorely lacking.

'I see. This ship is perfected for spatial travel and skirmishes. The Moon-Type is perfected for travel and world conquering.' Of course, if another spaceship were to take a direct hit from the Moon-Type's main cannon, they would be in trouble.

'Still, compared to the World-Types, these are nothing but pretty fireworks.' She still remembered how they almost managed to scorch her main body, which was the sturdiest part of her existence.

"Hm?" As she thought that, she noticed 10 flickering signals rushing toward them.

"What are…" BOOM!

"UGH!" Liu Shu felt the space she was controlling become so chaotic that it escaped her control. The backlash made her head hurt, as she momentarily tried to overcompensate using her ridiculous processing speed. Still, the ten <Spatial Anchoring Missiles> were too strong, and soon, she lost control and revealed the subspace. Her gaze moved over, a frown appearing on her real face as she looked up to the sky.

'They reacted much quicker than I thought… This might be a bit more difficult than I initially expected.'