Chương 872: Carter's and Asadja's Communication.

Carter arrived at Azure Star Solar System's capital world and settled the army in a defensive formation. Once he was there, he used the infrastructure to connect with the higher-ups and have a short real-time communication. These people were dozens of light-years away, so it required considerable resources. Nevertheless, it was important. So the other side accepted Carter's request.

"Elder Asadja, I would like to say that I will be brief. Nevertheless, I need to explain many matters in detail." Asadja, on the other side, was a human man with a light lilac skin tone and faintly visible red veins. Maintaining a pure human-looking aspect as Ascensions advanced became paradoxically more and more complicated, especially if those Ascension choices were powerful or unique. Of course, there were powerful Ascensions where a human would recover a perfect human-looking body.

As long as one continued the human ascension path, bouncing back and forth was not unheard of… at least for higher Ascension powerhouses. Nevertheless, for Second and Third Ascension powerhouses, some specialness was, on average, much more common. Asadja was a Level 300 powerhouse, and one of the few who had reached that Level in the Nexus. He was considered one of the high-ranking elders, despite his youthful appearance. Behind him, through the communication screen, Carter could see several military maps.

Asadja was, after all, the grand commander in charge of the whole Abyssal Void Nexus army. A true top-tier influential individual and also a powerhouse who gained the title of a <Hollow Star Monarch>. Titles in each Ascension were given only to the gifted. One such individual could usually fight ten or more average individuals at their level without much effort. It was the same for <Star Lords>, and it was also the same for <Star Emperors>. Asadja glanced at Carter with deep, calm eyes.

"Speak, Commander Carter. What is your current true situation?" Carter nodded and explained everything without holding anything back. Now was not the time to hold back for personal achievements. At the current pace, Carter might lose his neck after returning, regardless of his value. Losing 300 million soldiers, the members of the Corrupt Church, and the numerous starships and Second Ascension powerhouses was not as simple as a pinch for the Abyssal Void Nexus.

Asadja's calm expression couldn't help but gain a faint frown as he listened, but he quickly eliminated all emotions and continued listening.

'... What a massive miscalculation.' After listening to Carter's condensed report in length, speaking for one hour straight, Liu Shu's threat level in Asadja's heart shot up and settled right below Balaya. What shook him the most was that, when Carter spoke about the time they were out in the expedition, something entirely different was marked in Asadja's table. At first, he had thought that it was a mistake, but then he corrected himself.

'If the mistake is a few months, it is possible. If the mistake amounts to several years, something was wrong.' Following the pattern was not hard, and he soon discovered that the difference was almost exactly three times. Even then, that was speculation. What he could say with certainty was…

'the Heavenly Willow is able to manipulate time within her domain to a certain extent. Or… more than manipulate, she probably has a <Passive Skill> or <Title> that affects time in a fixed manner.'

"... Therefore, we think that the collective berserk skill has a cooldown ranging from around three to five months. It has fluctuated between shorter and longer timeframes. So, our best guess is that instead of a time-type cooldown, it is a burden-type cooldown. That burden is most likely borne by the Heavenly Willow. When the berserk skill is activated…" Asadja continued to listen to Carter's report with rapt attention. He had long started recording the communication as well to later dissect it in detail.

"I understand. We will communicate again shortly, Commander Carter. Make sure to last until then. I had not planned to speak for such length, so the resources are running low. When I have enough leeway, I will give you another call. Is there anything else urgent that you must communicate?" Carter shook his head.

"That is all the peculiarities we've noticed, Lord Asadja. There are a lot of reports to make about more detailed descriptions, but they are not urgent." Asadja nodded and closed the interface. After he did, the man leaned back onto his chair and released a breath from his nose. He was pondering deeply about what he just heard.

"... Another monstrous World Tree is on the rise, and her momentum feels unstoppable. They are truly like pests. No matter how many you destroy, another one pops up from somewhere." Asadja had, across his entire life, destroyed dozens of True World Trees. Under his command, the only World Tree that truly escaped him around the Nexus's territory was Balaya. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

That cunning World Tree grew slowly at first, and through one decisive battle, she managed to gain enough Experience Points to break through into the <Third Ascension>. Once at that level, Asadja became hand-tied. To push back a <Third Ascension> World Tree until the core and take her down, the sacrifice needed was enormous. The Covenant was also supported by other powers, making its defeat even more difficult to achieve.

With that in mind, he slowly leaned forward and replayed the communication with Carter, digesting it and creating a high-security folder for other high-ranking people to read. He took around two days to compile everything and add his thoughts as the supreme commander of the army.

"Let's hope those sitting in their comfortable chairs see the severity and react appropriately. Right now, overreacting is lethal. We must ignore her as best as we can for a while, make sure we keep the Covenant in check, and then I will be able to go personally." If he moved now, it would be disastrous. All Level 300+ individuals were stationed at different strategic points across the Abyssal Void Nexus. They usually didn't fight, acting more as threats than active military force.

It was like saying, "Hey, attack us here, and you will be slapped in the face by a humanoid nuke." In this way, the Nexus could protect and expand the Empire without fearing retaliation as much. The same was the truth for the Covenant and Balaya. No matter how strong Balaya was, her edge roots were much, much weaker because of <Energy Cycle> loss. Therefore, her roots at the edge of her domain could be repelled by strong <Second Ascension> powerhouses.

Asadja glanced at the incredibly complicated battlefield spanning several dozen Solar Systems with familiarity. For someone seeing it for the first time, it would look like an absolute mess of colors, unrelated sentences, and moving images.

"Let's see… If we add the Heavenly Willow's pressure coming from that front… It would move like this, then like that. Hm… Is she really this strong? But I'd rather overestimate than be taken by surprise." Too much overestimation led to unfounded fear, but just a touch could serve as a preventive tactic.

'Deadly Petal… No, let's assume the Heavenly Willow is 15% as strong as Balaya. I think that's a good assessment.' If any other person in the Nexus had heard him, they would have called him a madman for giving Liu Shu such a high label. How could a <Second Ascension> World Tree be as strong as 15% of a <Third Ascension> World Tree? It was madness. As he was walking around the battlefield, which extended widely in a large holographic room, he received an alert from his communication device.

Such an alert could only come from either his wife or those equal to him.

"... Ho? Lord Artos?" Artos, the top of the top of the Abyssal Void Nexus. He was something akin to a ruler, an existence on the level of Danlier, the Covenant's leader, and Balaya. Even Asadja had to treat him with respect. The message was slightly lengthy, but if one were to summarize it, it read as such: "Give up those two Solar Systems and retreat. Try to salvage as much of the remaining army Commander Carter has taken with him. Then, reinforce a new defensive frontline with a <Star Hollow Monarch>."

Asadja's eyebrow jumped. After a while, he looked at the holographic battlefield around him and smiled wryly.

"Let's change the evaluation from 15% of Balaya to 25%. Otherwise, there would not be a need for a <Star Hollow Monarch>." He sent a few direct messages to Carter, hoping it would arrive on time. If the Heavenly Willow was truly at that level, Carter's remaining army was in danger.

Meanwhile, Carter was looking at his own local Solar System holographic starmap with a crumpled expression.

"... When did they arrive at our rear?" The Godlen Sap Empire's army was approaching not only from the "front," but also from the "back." Once again, in terms of numbers, the other side didn't amount to much. Carter knew better than to evaluate them like that.

"Pincer attack…? How? It has only been a few months since we arrived at Azure Star Solar System, and less than two months since we docked on the capital world…" This was impossible to happen unless…

"They predicted it?" Carter grabbed his forehead, trying to make sense of what was happening.

"No. Even if they predicted it, how is it even possible for the Heavenly Willow to extend her roots behind us?" Part of the enemy army appearing behind them was a shock, but it was something Carter could admit with a "they got us." As for Liu Shu sneaking up behind them…?

"Did they manipulate space-time through a wormhole or something to sneak past us!?" An impossibility. For Carter, seeing Liu Shu's roots in the locations the starmap indicated was a complete and utter impossibility. He would've accepted it better if the Golden Sap Empire manifested a <Star Hollow Monarch> powerhouse from absolute nothingness than what he was seeing right in front of his eyes. As he was in agony and losing his composure, a message arrived from Asadja. Reading it, Carter laughed hollowly.

"Retreat? It would've been nice if you told us a few months ago." Closing his eyes for a moment, Carter used all his experience to try and find a breakthrough point. He opened his eyes and scanned the Solar System: enemies, allies, units, military infrastructure, and space weapons. Everything that could be of aid, Carter was constantly evaluating and placing in the battlefield. He ran simulation after simulation in his head.

"... Collective berserk would defeat it."

"... Arboreal Winged Serpent group would be a problem."

"... The Heavenly Willow's roots are far too strong."

"... Corrupt Church would become useless and cause our annihilation."

"... Strategic Class Level Sylvans would infiltrate too easily and destroy us from within." One after another, his ideas suffered under the experiences he had already gone through. With a heavy heart, Carter didn't retain delusions and admitted with a defeated sigh.

"We've been completely got. Annihilation is our only path. Let's clean up as much military, technological, and political information in these worlds before they arrive." With a heavy heart, Carter began giving out commands for their final, yet futile resistance.