Zaros quickly analyzed the combat strength of the fortresses, and soon, he began the true siege with the rest of the army. The Sylvans were strong, but they wouldn't be able to take the entire fortress by themselves. No matter how strong, fighting millions would eventually drain their ternary essence reserves, even in their Sylvan Transformation state.
With the deployment of the rest of the Golden Sap empire army, the other two fortresses became unable to support the one the Sylvans were bombarding. Liu Shu spoke with Zaros, causing a last-minute strategy change.
"Let me deal with one of the fortresses myself."
Zaros quickly manipulated and sent the corresponding messages. He was the Grand Commander, but he also trusted Liu Shu's judgment. Therefore, he regrouped the army in two parts, sending 35% to support the Sylvans and 65% to tackle the other fortress.
If he switched the numbers, Zaros was sure that they would manage to take one of the fortresses down quickly, but the cost for the swiftness would be many more lives than he needed to sacrifice. It was better to balance both fields so they could better resist the attacks.
Meanwhile, Liu Shu manifested her roots near the third Fortress. Space twisted, her limbs manifesting with the beautifully ethereal blue-glowing veins pulsing with deep power.
The fortress activated, and the army in that zone became incredibly tense. Cannons from starships, long-range attacks from soldiers, and many other attacks soared across the void, impacting the massive roots.
Liu Shu activated the darkness Chaos and Universal titles, increasing her defense by 120%. Then, all her other passive damage reduction and defenses further toughened her roots. Finally, her own defenses, reaching over 98%, dissipated the remaining attacks, leaving a pitiful amount of them to strike her and do damage.
The large explosions against her roots did basically no damage. With their first volley blocked, Liu Shu began her offensive.
"
Her roots moved at a speed that no structure of Liu Shu's roots' size should. They tore through the void, shortening the distance before they could register it, and struck several World-Type Motherships.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The shields wobbled precariously, almost collapsing in a single hit. This was but the beginning, though. Now that her roots managed to infiltrate, she began moving them.
"
The root hastily moved backward and then, as if the direction had been shifted from "-" to "+," moved back.
BANG!
The root bounced back, and then attacked again.
BANG!
And again.
BANG!
Again.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
The soldiers looked at Liu Shu's violence with trembling hearts, many of them wanting to flee. Yet, where could they flee?
To the world behind them? That was about to be invaded.
To the starships? Liu Shu's roots were currently pummeling them and destroying their shields, only to later sink into their hulls like someone smashing a thin metal plate with a sledgehammer.
To the fortress? It didn't look like it would last long!
Starships exploded in the middle of the void, and Liu Shu's roots moved through the wrecks and targeted others.
"
"
Her ternary essence manipulated the surroundings, taking it over mercilessly. Any humanoid in the way of the roots would not have a good end either.
"
"
If the impact strength they carried was not enough, now the roots began sucking ships and people in with crushing pressure.
If one had someone calibrating the orbit of the nearby world, they would've noticed a milimetric but certain shift. Something that would go back to normal soon, but it was gravitational pull that, if even for a moment, managed to shift the world's orbit.
Liu Shu didn't care nor notice. Instead, her sight was fixed on the large fortress.
'Push through the army and attack it.'
Becuase of her ridiculously tough roots, she was able to ignore most of the desperate attacks and arrive near the fortress.
Once she did, Liu Shu didn't hold back in the slightest. "
Her roots, instead of swinging, began to spin, creating a circular void in the middle. In a matter of three seconds, all nearby soldiers and even Carter felt their eyes widen.
A massive, truly gargantuan asteroid appeared between the moving roots. Once that gigantic rock appeared, Liu Shu's roots were placed behind it and spread out like flower petals.
"Go.
With its inherent acceleration multiplied by the negative inertia, the giant rock basically disappeared from where it stood in a fraction of a second.
Those looking from afar were, thanks to the distance, able to follow the absurdly quick trajectory of the Earth Catastrophe. This attack, put crudely, hurled a gigantic meteor with enough kinetic energy to cause a massive extinction event if it hit a planet.
The meteor struck the forcefield of the fortress. The invisible barrier became visible due to strain, and it vented inward like a plastic bubble being pushed inward.
CRAAACKKK!!
White cracks covered over half of the fortress's solid defense.
Those inside shouted. "Shields are down by 37%! We can't bear another two attacks of the same magnitude!"
Liu Shu, naturally, didn't care.
"
"
"
"
Her several roots spun in four large groups, her Aether Mana and Anima Energy draining rapidly. 'Thankfully, the battle with the Covenant has come to a faint lull. Otherwise, I would never use essence so recklessly.'
Seeing the four meteors manifest one after another, everyone's heart thumped with despair. Moving targets were annoying to hit with this attack, but for a relatively stationary one like the space fortress? They were the perfect target.
Carter had a ruthless order to the remaining few World-Types. "Block it."
The Motherships moved without anyone's input, standing in the very way of those attacks. Liu Shu's preparation was short, and soon, she released everything.
What happened next made not only Nexus soldiers but even Zaros and the others observing Liu Shu's battlefield wince.
The giant meteors crushed the World-Type's shields, causing its hull to dent inward like a tin can being stepped on. Those meteors continued onward, but their strength was certainly greatly reduced.
When the four meteors impacted after destroying one full World-Type each, the impact reduced the shields to 12%. The sacrifices had been successful, but the fortress's shields were in the red.
Liu Shu, as if she had been expecting something like that, smiled coldly. 'The defensive trump card is somewhat different from what I expected, but I've damaged it enough.'
What was the best way to kill everyone inside the fortress without destroying the fortress itself?
"
Heat.
Immense, unbearable heat.
A brilliant glare manifested, and as it did, Liu Shu's Eternal Energy gripped the creation of the elemental catastrophe.
"
And kept it running.
Those in the control room were blinded by the blinding brilliance of Liu Shu's makeshift mini sun. Some of the higher-level officials gingerly opened their eyes, trying to look at the numbers.
"Huh? One percent…?"
CRASH!
"ARRRGHHH!"
Unbearable heat pierced the structure. All the people running around, the delicate circuits, and many other structures were instantly enveloped in the True Sun Catastrophe's destructive heat.
As if that was not enough, Liu Shu channeled her Anima Energy, and her voice boomed out within the fortress.
"
Anima Essence channeled into a massive-scale soul attack, causing the people burning to feel as if their souls burst into flames. The screams inside the fortress were like a cacophony of death that would make anyone listening have their hair stand on end.
Carter looked at one datapoint with a blank face.
"Percentage of life in Sky World Fortress Number 2: 99%...84%...61%...38%...15%...3%...0%... All individuals inside the fortress have died. Changing operation to automatic defense. Error: circuits are damaged. Alert! Communication is staggering; reestablish proper communication. Error… Alert!... Error…"
Liu Shu seemed to feel that all people had died as well, so she stopped the True Sun Catastrophe. The result was chilling.
The surface of the metallic fortress was shining like a dim star, red heat emitting from the metallic plates that made up its external armor. Outer ports and passageways with less structural integrity had become a molten slush, while the nearby, low-level starships that moved people around became liquid and orbited around the fortress.
Carter could only look. How do you stop a literal Sun from manifesting? The shields were already broken, so all he could do for that fortress was… look.
The defensive structures on land had been aiming and attacking Liu Shu from the surface of the world. But again, what good could they do? Liu Shu had breached the defenses with a giant sun.
You can't block or shoot down something like that. Even bringing down the roots was complicated, not to mention intercepting her attacks.
Liu Shu nodded quite happily, and her roots advanced forward.
"...monster."
"W-What do we do!?"
"A-Attack it! Give your lives for the Nexus!"
The soldiers shouted with trembling voices as Liu Shu approached the desolate fortress. However, how could one stop hundreds of giant roots from advancing? Even if they were millions, in terms of size, they were like dust motes trying to stop an arm from reaching out!
The Level 200+ powerhouses had long given up on Liu Shu's side, using their teleporting devices to flee. So, only a few dozen honorable Level 200+ powerhouses remained. Such a low number was far from enough to deal with Liu Shu's focused attack.
"Now that you are soft and squishy… I should be able to infiltrate."
Her roots plunged into the molten fortress, taking root. Then, she focused intensely. "This will… cost quite a lot of essence."
BOOM!
Spatial energies manifested around Liu Shu, twisting the fabric of space and dimensions. While everyone was stunned and confused, Liu Shu's roots suddenly began sinking into their original dimension.
Like an enormous kraken dragging a ship into the sea, Liu Shu pulled the heated fortress down and "sank" it into her own dimension.
Carter sent several orders to stop Liu Shu without a moment's rest, but she was unstoppable. "And with this, you are mine~."
Liu Shu smiled happily, and the fortress disappeared from where it previously stood, leaving an empty void. The roots, as if they had done their job, also sank back down into space, disappearing like a dream.
Because the Nexus had no tools to force them out due to the defenses gained during her Eternal Axis Ascension, the battlefield returned to calm, leaving behind the wrecks and deaths caused by Liu Shu's rampage as the only proof of her attack.
Both Carter and Zaros stared blankly for a moment, and Zaros, with expert ease, reached out and took a deep sip of the Eternal Tea placed on his table. The sound of tea sipping was quite loud inside the Golden Sap Empire's control room.
Verdantia blinked and asked. "Um… Did that fortress SINK into space?"
Harmonixia coughed, her usual melodic voice carrying a faint tremble. "Let's not bother with whatever our Liu Shu is doing and finish this place off. We must go help Cinderielle with the other one."
After that, Carter went on an absolute rampage, using the fortresses with no care in the world so that they would be destroyed.