Chương 866: Sarlos of the Shattered Ring.

The war in Liu Shu's Solar System began to gain traction and attention from larger powers. At first, when news came from different sources, the spies and informants in charge just thought it was the end of another young World Tree that provoked more powers than it could deal with. So, they placed a few people on the matter, small teams, and left it as an afterthought.

No matter how extraordinary Liu Shu's buffs and existence were, being squished between two exceptionally developed transitional Star System Powers with over 350 Solar Systems each was a death sentence. Transitional because Star System Empires usually had between 10 and 100 Solar Systems, while the next level, Globular Star System Empires, governed between 1, 000 and 10, 000 of them. But even after several years had passed since the first report about their clash arrived, reports kept piling up.

As the informant was about to check, someone burst from the door with an urgent expression.

"Boss, come quickly. There is someone the Boss needs to meet." He didn't act arrogantly and moved quickly. There were far too many hidden super-powerhouses to allow arrogance in his trade. As an informant, he just needed to keep the lines tight and smile when someone who looked important arrived, even if they were fake. The times an information business went to ruin because they treated someone who appeared in disguise badly were far too many to ignore.

As he arrived at the VIP welcoming room, the man who sat calmly drinking an expensive variety of coffee almost caused him to stumble.

'W-What is someone like him doing here!?'

"Sorry for the delay, Lord. I hope you didn't wait for too long." He put on the most amicable smile he could. This person was part of one of the five "reigning powers" in this outer part of the galaxy. In this section of the galaxy, there were five Globular Star System Empires. These five were the <Radiant Accord>, <Crimson Dominion>, <Astral Fold>, <Shattered Ring>, and <Umbral Imperium>. These five powers were not simple Globular Star System Empires. They were almost at the Transitional Level.

Meaning they each governed over 10, 000 Solar Systems, with forces stretching for several hundred light-years. Lately, these five forces have dominated the area and kept it relatively safe from cosmic threats. Cosmic threats ranged so varied that summarizing them was almost a futile endeavor. However, lately, from what the informant knew, a large and powerful Hive had been causing problems and being kept in check by these five forces.

The man in front of him was part of the <Shattered Ring>, the head of a quite large family with a territory spanning just shy of 100 Solar Systems. So, his territory alone was already enough to compare to powerful Star System Empires. If we included the army's quality, his territory alone would be enough to give the Nexus and Covenant trouble. What was most ridiculous was that his standing, while high, was by far not at the very top.

If we were to place him in terms of medieval standing, he could be considered a count. Above him there were still marquises, dukes, princes/princesses, and naturally the rulers. The man smiled at the informant's welcoming.

"I've come to inquire about a nearby Solar System's situation. I've visited other information networks, but they didn't have what I needed, so I made the trip here." The informant smiled amicably.

"Understood. Would you mind giving us the name of the Solar System? We will see if we have the data and the cost of the inquiry." While smiling, his body was soaked in sweat.

'If others don't have it, how could I!? What is this man thinking!?' The man nodded and spoke.

"Ceperet Solar System." The informant blanked out for a moment.

'... What Solar System?' He was utterly lost. While the name somewhat rang a bell, it didn't come to mind.

'Think! Think! I've heard that name somewhere! How could I forget!?' As he stood up silently and went to the inquiry platform, he suddenly froze as a light of dawning flashed in his muddled mind.

"Ah!" An involuntary exclamation escaped him, and behind him, the man smiled and asked.

"Did something come to mind?"

"Yes! Sorry, Lord. Give me a moment; that information is somewhat obscure so it might take a little bit to gather. As for the price, we can talk after I am done."

'Ceperet Solar System… Isn't that the Solar System of that reckless World Tree? The one that's about to be destroyed… Destroyed? Hm?' Puzzlement flashed in his eyes as he organized the documents.

'Wasn't that World Tree being attacked by the Nexus and Covenant? Why are reports still arriving?' Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. Feeling the oddity, he even called some of his secretaries and the person in charge of delivering information about it. The team he used was small compared to what he usually used to spy on high-priority targets, so the needed workers gathered quickly. It took less than 30 minutes to gather, organize, and price the information they had gathered.

As they did, everyone's expression became more and more odd. After all, while organizing, they were also reading to make sure that no strange information slipped into the documents.

'Branches in the sky… what in tarnation is going on in that place!? A single World Tree is not only resisting, but also pushing back the Covenant and Nexus? There is even a similarly leveled World Tree, Lady Deadly Petal, involved!' He returned with a smile, but if he could express himself honestly, he would've been showing a baffled expression and sounds full of admiration and incomprehension.

"Here, Lord. As for the cost… This is it." He was not too sure if he asked too much. However, this type of information was a gold mine, and it needed to be expensive. As usual, the other side made a deposit first and read a brief summary that didn't really capture the essence but more or less summarized it. After reading the summary, the Lord of the Shattered Ring nodded.

"I'll pay in full. I'll also give a tip for having such niche information." He inwardly cheered, but outwardly, he didn't show anything.

"It was a pleasure doing work with Lord. Please visit us again. Does the Lord want to pay extra to send a personal spy group to keep a close eye on Ceperet Solar System?"

"No need." After he took all the documents, the man left and disappeared. After a few spatial jumps, he arrived at his personal starship and boarded it, reaching his personal study room in just a few minutes. Back in the information network, the Boss very quickly increased Ceperet Solar System's spy team size. While mixing personal curiosity in these matters was considered taboo, he couldn't hold back.

'This is so juicy!' If he had a projector able to see what was happening in real time, he would've brought a few snacks and sat to see the mess over there. Meanwhile, the Shattered Ring's Lord sat down and read all the documents. As he read, his lips arched faintly, and a laugh escaped him.

"Well, look at this, you actually survived the small storm I brought your way? I guess that's more than enough to forgive you for killing Darius." Darius was the merchant who tried to open an underworld market and bring out drugs and other sketchy goods into Golden Sap City. He arrived together with Aurelius, Cassian, Selene, and Virelya. Speaking of these four merchants, they were now very successful business owners of popular brands in the Golden Sap Empire.

They had perfectly adapted to the environment and had also made impressive progress through the competitiveness they learned from their days doing business outside. Darius, the only merchant Liu Shu executed, was part of this Lord's merchant fleets. He was a small leader, but not so small to be unknown by him. So, when he felt his death, he was baffled. Who was so daring to kill one of his people? After investigating, he came to know Liu Shu. This happened several decades back.

Since he didn't really want to be too petty, he decided to just tip the Nexus that Liu Shu was an "interesting" World Tree. A simple message without anything extra. Just a sentence saying exactly this: "The World Tree in the Ceperet Solar System is quite interesting." With his name signed in the message, it would naturally cause the Nexus's focus to fall onto it and send a probing but fully developed army. First, it was Rhazor.

His presence was both the Nexus testing the waters and also intending to develop that area and create a new front. When the army was annihilated, with zero survivors, the higher-ups finally noticed the oddity and prepared Carter's army. This army was sent with the intent of fully destroying the small seed before it developed. Sadly, they were too late. Allowing Liu Shu to reach Level 200 was the final and most important mistake they could've ever made, and now, they were paying for it dearly.

He leaned his elbow on the wide and beautiful desk, his gaze full of interest.

"What should I do with you, hm?" He had gathered other information, and the more he read, the more interested he became.

"She is not someone who bends, so recruiting her is out of the question." The Shattered Ring was a mainly merchant superpower. Most of the local spatial stations located between Solar Systems were built by them. He, Sarlos, was naturally a merchant at heart as well.

"Exploiting her… also seems short-sighted." After pondering, he questioned himself.

"Does she have the potential to surpass the Shattered Ring?" It was an objective question, and as he pondered, he surprisingly noticed that he couldn't answer.

"I can't… answer?" This meant that some kind of hunch told him that discarding that option felt wrong. His eyes couldn't help but open in shock. Then, he chuckled.

"I guess… I'll have to think of ways to communicate and make amiable relationships with Liu Shu." While he triggered the war, he didn't feel guilty, nor did he need to. The interstellar environment was brutal, and Sarlos sending a small notice to the Nexus could be considered a minimal retaliation for destroying part of his merchant fleet. If other lords looked at his actions, some would consider him far too merciful. So, he stood up and prepared.

"Let's see… What must she be lacking the most? Starships and technology. Especially interstellar-level technology. Teleportation between Solar Systems is not easy. Also, networks that stretched for the same distances are quite hard to create." He paused here and pondered.

"Now… What do I want from her? Amiable relations is a must, but it is not nearly enough to compensate for what I am selling. A gift or two to show friendliness is not bad, but too much and the other side will become wary of my intentions. Since that's the case… she is a World Tree, so she should grow some kind of fruit, right?" World Trees growing fruit in their canopies were normal. Most of the time, World Trees grew one or two varieties, and exceptional World Trees grew up to three or four varieties.

"I wonder how many varieties she has?" It was a story for another day how he choked on his usual coffee the day he learned that Liu Shu grew a total of 14 berry varieties in her canopy, each terrifyingly powerful and with a wide range of effects.