Chương 850: Initial War Developments.

The date for the first true clashes was arriving quickly. Zaros, together with the rest of the top military personnel, had created warfronts and several lines of retreat so that they could hold the Nexus's advance. Liu Shu, according to the strategy, harassed and moved her roots in clusters for the army to avoid.

Each time they approached a rather large cluster of roots, Liu Shu would bombard them with elemental catastrophes, creating a strange balance where the Nexus's army moved through the path of least resistance like water flowing down a slope. Carter glanced at the army movements with a thoughtful look. It had been over four months since they had started the battle, and with enough data, he had noticed that Liu Shu had been somewhat selective in her attacks.

"There is a plot here we have not deduced yet." He compared the root clusters that were not there before the first analysis and those that appeared later. He also analyzed the paths the army had been taking while fighting. While he was missing the core information as to why Liu Shu acted this way, that didn't prevent him from seeing the pattern.

"The Heavenly Willow is trying to… group some of our army paths?" Using an artificial intelligence to do quick calculations and simulations, Carter could somewhat predict the future paths of his army.

"Seven to nine paths… That's what the Heavenly Willow is allowing instead of our first eleven paths." As he spoke these words, he noticed the strangeness in them.

"... Allowing. Yeah. Why did I use that word?" He revised the reports of the collisions with Liu Shu's roots and crossed his arms.

"Her strength… is high." It was not only high. Carter also noticed that very few times did their army gain a clear advantage, even when their numbers were staggering.

"Is she pretending to be weak?" This notion couldn't help but form. As absurd as it was, Carter was not someone who would discard such notions just because they felt too improbable. If they had analyzed the enemy in detail, as they had with Deadly Petal, then they would dismiss such thoughts. However, their enemy was the mysterious World Tree that appeared stronger each time they met. Looking to the side, Carter asked.

"Have the appraisal team deciphered the World Tree's Tier?" From the reports they gained in the past, Liu Shu was supposed to be a World Tree between A and S Tier. Some reports specified A+ Tier, but Carter didn't really believe them after fighting Liu Shu. Now, several appraisal teams that traveled with the army inside the motherships were working together with some of Liu Shu's broken roots and trying to analyze their rank.

When something was low-ranked, or your system analysis abilities were high, telling straight away was not a problem. Liu Shu could look at a material or equipment, and most of the information would unfold 99% of the time without hiding anything. World Tree Wisdom was an SSS Rank passive skill with that power and much more. However, if World Tree Wisdom had been an A Rank skill, analyzing Liu Shu's own roots would have shown the following. <???? World Tree Root (? Rank)>: A powerful and mystical material that can create even small miracles. It is sturdy yet flexible, sporting many more material properties that would usually not appear in any individual material. That was the most detailed description Carter had gotten to date from the analysis group after working for four months straight with Liu Shu's roots. At the beginning, it showed the following. <??? Root (? Rank)>: A powerful and mystical piece of wood from an unknown being.

That was all, and the person who deciphered that was someone who had an S- Rank analysis skill.

"There are no new results, Lord Carter. It seems that the Heavenly Willow's roots need to be analyzed back at headquarters if we want all the details." Carter was not upset. The more difficult it was to unravel the secrets, the more value the root had.

'Even if she has some anti-spy functions, it can be analyzed the modern way, without relying on the system.' Traditional methods were all that focused on the system interface and information. Sometimes, these methods failed, so societies developed non-system methods that could reveal some of the hidden properties. Of course, such methods were several times more expensive, so they were only used in extreme situations.

"What about the sap?" The analyst showed a shameful expression.

"This is all we have for now." If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. <??? Sap (? Rank)>: A mysterious yet incredible sap from a wonderful being. It has healing properties among many.

"Healing properties among many…?" Carter was speechless. That and saying nothing was almost the same. The analyst smiled awkwardly.

"Sorry, Lord Carter. The sap is much more difficult to analyze." This left Carter somewhat confused. Usually, the sap was easier to analyze than the root or bark of the World Tree. Having the opposite happen was a first.

"Still… Have you tried the effects in the test subjects?" As a large empire, there were plenty of criminals in the prisons. With so many people, the amount of money needed to keep prisoners in prison was so high that, at one point, corruption was abundant in the judicial system. To save money, they would let petty criminals out, and even those with severe punishments would get lighter sentences. In the end, the backlash was tremendous.

Not because the people protested, which they did, but because the empire had started failing and crashing due to the rampant criminal activity. So, what was the solution? Criminals who committed severe crimes were stripped of most of their rights. Test subjects, forced labor, and many more "unethical" posts were created for them, depending on the crime's severity. To apply these rules, there needed to be a reward. Those who went through forced work would lighten their sentence.

This way, the government made the terrifyingly large red numbers created from operating prisons lighten by over 94%. It was still in the red in terms of finances, but it was bearable. The analyst spoke with a serious expression.

"The effects are… miraculous. Although the system messages are hidden because it is a forceful and unauthorized ingestion, we've noticed revitalization, healing of wounds and diseases, increased physical and mental performance, recovery of ternary essence, and, in some cases, strange reactions that increase cell activity. The Heavenly Willow's sap can only be described with one word: Panacea."

"Panacea, you say…" Carter rubbed his chin and asked.

"Can it be used raw?"

"It can. We've thought that it may have some mind-controlling agents, but the readings in brain activity had only been extreme relaxation and peace. Only…"

"Only?" The analyst brought a rather large container with Liu Shu's blue sap and explained.

"The Heavenly Willow's sap, if ingested directly, has some narcotic properties. Not chemical ones, but the brain and body are so soothed and in peace that, when not taken, the normal state becomes your agitated state. If you further become agitated, there have been cases of test subjects demanding the sap, screaming that their thoughts were too loud." Carter was startled, and the analyst continued.

"These cases only occur in those who drink severe amounts, though. If you ingest it diluted in water, it has not shown any signs of addicting properties. If I had to explain it, it is a very powerful medicine that needs to be consumed in specific amounts."

"What is the recommendation?"

"Too few trials have been made for us to know, lord. I do recommend a single drop in a cup of water at most. As long as you keep that ratio, drinking as much as you want should not cause any problems. Still, I already explained that we are in trials, so we are unsure." Meanwhile, Liu Shu observed all of this happening in one of the motherships within her domain.

"Ugh… that's why I self-combusted previously. Seeing them test my body around as they please is unpleasant!" With the war at full throttle, doing so again was impossible. If she did, she would tire herself out and be left with nothing but embers to deal with the Nexus. Moreover, as the armies spread out and continued to attack her, Liu Shu had begun to feel significant strain in her ternary essence usage.

'I've even cut down on most of my berry production. While my regeneration boost is tremendous, there is too much to do."

"Still, I've managed to merge two of the paths, so now there are only nine. It is not the perfect eight, but it's much better than before." There were the five small armies moving toward the external solar systems, and then four moving toward Ceperet.

"If I destroy one of the external armies, I can reach the quota Zaros deemed perfect." She also agreed with his plan, so she had been planning for a while how to destroy one of the "small" fleets.

"If I have to destroy one, I should destroy the one going toward Etheria's Solar System." Of the five Solar Systems she had conquered, Etheria's Solar System was more than a level above the others. Even the two Solar Systems that had recently accomplished True World Trees and Level 100+ powerhouses were less appealing to Liu Shu than the others.

"Speaking of those two…" Liu Shu glanced over at them. These two had been very stubborn at first. However, since she was overwhelmingly superior in strength, Liu Shu just crushed their roots and pushed them back for a while. After feeling the chasm between their strengths, those two became more docile and entered talks with Liu Shu. She had yet to truly convince them, but at least they were slowly coming around.

Moreover, only one of those two had become multiplanetary, while the other had only reached their nearby moon.

"Hum. Hum. I won't stop those going your way that easily. I will see if you remain that stubborn once you feel the power of the Nexus." It was a bit petty, but Liu Shu was doing it for their own good! She had seen their empires, and these two World Trees had yet to become completely indifferent to the lives of their inhabitants. So, she had a little bit of a soft spot for them.

A normal True World Tree achieved its position by killing all World Trees and Life Trees besides itself and covering the entire world's surface with its roots. It was a brutal fight for the top, but to complete that, the World Tree would usually need the aid of local powers or external ones. For example, if the Nexus and the Covenant had not been fighting in Ceperet with each other, Skyflower would've long become a new True World Tree.

It was because of the Nexus's interest in Ceperet as an anchor world to approach the Covenant through this outer flank that the war lasted for several thousand years in Ceperet. Worlds like Ceperet were abundant at the boundary between the Covenant and the Nexus, or any two opposite superpowers. They served as perfect training grounds for young talents as well. Liu Shu glanced at the army of around 15 million going toward Etheria's Solar System, her gaze turning somewhat cold and calculating.

Meanwhile, the Golden Sap Empire's army had also split into eight groups and was preparing to clash with the Nexus in two months at the latest.