Chapter 826: Chapter 826. Ordering the Mercenaries. [End Of Volume Volume 11]
After giving Etheria the duty to expand the Eternal Church together with all the tools she wished and Liu Shu deemed necessary, she finally stopped intervening with this Solar System’s worlds.
"Alright, the first mission for Farian, Amira, and their bandit group is due."
She had spent time and effort gathering the few bandit groups scattered across her surrounding structure fields, and now, it was time to see if they were honest or not.
Farian was in a room together with another 10 mercenary leaders. None of them had good expressions, but they didn’t show much on the surface. While waiting in silence and scanning each other, Liu Shu’s wooden avatar appeared in the empty seat.
"It is good to see that you have gathered without many conflicts. As for those few fights... I’ll overlook them."
Bandit and mercenary groups living in the same area would naturally have some conflicts, and when they arrived with their subordinates, the resentment built among them acted like a spark pouring into an oil spill.
Some came to blows, others even used their weapons, but, having some sense, there were no deaths.
Farian, one of the most logical and tranquil leaders among them, spoke up. "We wouldn’t dare go against what Lady Heavenly Willow told us."
Liu Shu chuckled. "Good sounding words, I am pleased. Now, jokes aside, I have a mission for all of you. I’ve mostly conquered the Solar System in these coordinates. I want you to go there and observe the leaders. I’ve given orders and also shown my might, but arrogance in those who have ruled for far too long can be... lethal. Not for us, of course, but for them."
Hearing her words, a female bandit leader spoke with a slightly rude tone. "Are you asking us to act as guard dogs until your forces arrive to assimilate the Solar System?"
Liu Shu smiled at that woman and spat with a cold tone. "Since you want to put it that way, let’s go with that. You will act as my dog and do my bidding. I am, after all, your master. If you don’t, I won’t be a nice master who gives you a few disciplining hits, though. I’ll make you into fertilizer for my children. Is Miss Moody happy with this answer?"
The woman’s lips clamped shut as she looked down, nodding.
"Good girl, keep that resentment inside you like your bowed head, and make sure it doesn’t spill over while treating the locals. I will be watching your actions. If you want to vent, go roll around with those captives of yours."
After spitting those words, Liu Shu’s smile disappeared, and she looked around indifferently. "You are all lucky I decided that killing you lot was too much of a bother, and I am giving you a chance for repentance to join my cause. I only give second chances, though, so don’t mess it up."
With those words, her presence disappeared. As for the details, these people could discuss them among themselves; Liu Shu was not their nanny.
After she was gone, the woman kept her head bowed, her fists tightly clenched. Her hidden gaze because of her hair was burning with fury, but she didn’t dare raise her voice or act up.
Farian glanced over and spoke coldly. "Her words are harsh, but the truth. No other True World Tree acts with her considerations. In those beings’ minds, things are divided into two: beneficial and non-beneficial. True World Trees like Liu Shu, who give second chances, are too rare."
A man near him leaned back and spoke with a sneering tone. "Still trying to buy brownie points with your words? True World Trees are cunning. Since they are virtually immortal until they are killed, they think in much longer timeframes than ours. They do not kill non-beneficial groups because they bother them; they do so because in 1,000 years. After all, by then that location would be theirs, and whatever power grows in the vacuum will form part of their domain."
A woman with a scar on her face looked at him and laughed. "Are you not scared our... Master will blow your head off?"
The man leaning back shrugged. "Why would she? I am speaking the truth. Lady Heavenly Willow only wants one thing: to transform our group into a law-abiding military group. Follow that broad frame, and she will overlook whatever else you do."
The only Sylvan in this room spoke softly. "True World Trees are not so simple. They are more cunning than you can think. As you said, they look at the world through a different lens. Conflicts that last less than 10 years are nothing but passing fireworks for them."
Farian looked around once more and spoke. "Whatever. We have 10 groups, but that planet has only five worlds with lifeforms to surveil. Since that’s the case, five of our groups will go check on them and make sure nothing goes wrong. Here are the details Lady Heavenly Willow gave. If any of you want to go to any of these worlds, say it. Otherwise, stay here and wait for Lady Heavenly Willow to send us to the next Solar System."
With that, everyone began checking and moving.
***
After secretly checking their talks, Liu Shu nodded and glanced at the Sun in the recently conquered Solar System. While the system had already updated the 1/100 to 2/100, Liu Shu was not satisfied.
’Conquering a Solar System is not this simple. I need to perfectly integrate the lifeforms while also taking over the entire Solar System like I did with my own. Perhaps not as thoroughly as reaching out to the edge of the Oort Cloud, but at least to cover the distance to their furthest planet.’
As for the most important Sun at the middle, Liu Shu used the resources from nearby Moons and other asteroids together with her own bark and underground resources in the local worlds to build a local <Eternity Of Stars> Rune Array.
"Hm... I can build one at the lowest rank in around 5 years. Not bad. The construction doesn’t need much of my detailed attention besides when it needs to be fully completed. So, I can easily use my subconsciousness for it."
After evolving the major skill to her current <Interstellar Rune Array Lignified Arborarchy> and the boost from her new titles, building it from scratch was several times easier than before.
Not to mention, she had never really stopped researching the subject. ’Being able to multitask so much is all thanks to my new strengthened <Titles> and new <Passive Skill: Mind Lake> as well...’
The skills, surprisingly, acted multiplicatively. So, while one multiplied her thought-speed process by x100 and the other was at x43, the total was not x143; it was x4300. A surprising synergy Liu Shu had never expected when she got it back then.
"Hm... Now that I’ve finally reached out beyond my own Solar System, the attention on me will skyrocket. The <Open Coordinates> have long disappeared from the Explorer Association, and the name of the Golden Sap Empire has appeared in very small letters in the interstellar map."
Well, if she had wanted to hide forever, she might’ve chosen the Abysroot path instead of the Axis path.
"Speaking of its skills... I’ve been testing, and they are utterly ridiculous. Especially the momentum shift and inertial manipulation skill."
The gravity and pressure manipulations were strong. However, the last two were currently a league above those two.
Liu Shu manifested one of her roots near two pieces of asteroids. Then, she lashed at one asteroid.
The root swung like a giant whip, its speed blinding, and landed on the first asteroid. The second she felt her force being transmitted, Liu Shu activated <Force Essence Manipulation: Momentum>.
The root that was about to dig into the destroyed asteroid, acting as if it had suddenly bounced off something, changed directions and struck the other nearby asteroid with lightning speed. The shift of direction was as if Liu Shu had hit enter to change the direction from a "+" sign to a "-" symbol.
Seeing the two almost simultaneously destroyed asteroids, Liu Shu was silent. As for inertia, it was the tendency to resist changes in motion. To say it simply, the ability to accelerate and slow down.
So, if she combined both... Liu Shu used inertia manipulation, allowed her root to go from zero to 100 incredibly quickly, and a second later, she activated momentum manipulation.
Her root acted as if glitching through reality. It changed direction, accelerating, slowing down, and striking several structures in quick succession without a single moment’s pause.
"..."
Liu Shu gave a glance at <Force Essence Manipulation (S+ Rank)> and gulped. ’It’s too strong.’
The consumption was, naturally, no joke. But for Liu Shu, who had over 1,100% poured into regeneration? Liu Shu honestly felt that it was not that big of a deal.
"Speaking of skills, many of those A+ Rank skills are already at Level MAX. I guess I’ll have to do a few more Rank Ups soon."
As mentioned many times before, Liu Shu didn’t rush straight to Rank Up so she could better understand the skill and reduce the cost in Experience Points. It was much harder when it came to going from an A+ to an S- Rank. However, with so many newly upgraded skills and the feeling that came with the process, she was becoming much more proficient over time.
’In the future, I might be able to transform A+ Rank skills more often to S- Rank.’
It would not be her first time, but back then, they were more accidental than purposeful Rank Ups. "Either way... I wonder if the next Solar System will have some challenges?"
She was not expecting much. After she breached Level 200, her strength was at a level where she would remain unchallenged unless a True World Tree or a semi-large power appeared.
Sects and such existed, and these powers took over very few Solar Systems more often than not. Even then, finding one here would be quite... improbable.
Liu Shu focused on her Avatar. She was standing in front of two small trees, her arms akimbo, her chest puffed with pride.
"Look! Aren’t they pretty!?"
Seraphina, Obsidianis, and the rest of the family gathered in front of the two new trees that appeared there at some point and clapped. "Very pretty!"
One was silvery white, and the other was deep black. Seraphina and Obsidianis couldn’t help but truly feel like they finally made it.
In front of them, there was their first child with Liu Shu. It took a bit, but Liu Shu created the two seeds for the <Lignified> babies. Now, they had grown to become over 5 meters tall and were going to soar to 100 meters like their four other nearby sisters.
Seraphina and Obsidianis’s eyes were endlessly gentle as they caressed their bark. Their touch, careful as if they were handling something endlessly precious and fragile. Both muttered, their voices somewhat emotional and filled with affection. "My... child, Silver/Black."
After thinking, they had decided to follow the naming of the other four. So, Silver and Black were born today. Their roots gently reached out and coiled around their arms, showing closeness.
