Liu Shu had already fought other World Trees. Still, she noticed a difference before the battle even began. Balaya felt strong.
With all her sensing skills, Liu Shu could somewhat accurately determine if an opponent, at least apparently, was either strong or weak. Even when Deadly Petal came, she had never really felt a sense of threat from her.
After Liu Shu breached Level 200 and improved all her
Later, when she gained the title and the effects from all those skills, a faint sense of invincibility overflowed within Liu Shu. She knew that she couldn't underestimate others, but she was also incredibly confident in her strength.
Balaya's presence changed her precognition of how the following fight would go. 'Even with less raw
Both sides advanced, covering the astronomical distance between them across a vast territory. Their advancing speeds were similar, and this was a first for Liu Shu. In terms of expansion speed, Liu Shu had never really met her match.
What she didn't know was that Balaya had conquered only 350+ Solar Systems because other World Trees had blocked her for most of her life. Even then, the Solar Systems under her domain were all strong, and most of them had belonged to former Star System Empires.
If it were for expansion speed alone, Balaya would've long covered this sector of her galaxy with her roots. She just couldn't, because others kept blocking her insane advance long after she showed just how much of a monster she was in her early days.
The astronomical distance between them shortened, and in what felt like a few minutes for the two World Trees, their domains were nearby.
Balaya didn't talk.
Liu Shu, knowing Balaya wouldn't listen until she proved herself, also kept silent.
Instead, both sides activated their cores, ternary essence burning inside them as their main bodies were immediately coated in a gargantuan aura of raw energy. Even with tens of light-years separating them, it felt as if both World Trees turned their heads to look into each other's eyes, their gazes crossing regardless of distance.
Their battlefield, being observed by the nearby cosmos and many other information and even interstellar live-streaming platforms, began.
The first clash was, at first, invisible to the public. Two gigantic domains that could swallow solar systems in a matter of months rushed at each other, both sides feeling they could crush the other, at least in terms of domain strength.
BOOM!!!
Space rippled like water. The dimensional layers hiding their roots became faint within those ripples, revealing two seemingly endless domains with countless roots.
One side had greyish roots with sturdy, plate-like surfaces. The other had gorgeous, smooth dark brown roots lit by blue-glowing, pulsing veins.
The sight of two True World Trees of Balaya's and Liu Shu's power clashing was breathtaking, even when the fight had just started.
As the domains clashed with each other, Liu Shu's Eternal Axis evolution, with all the bonuses to domain sturdiness, shone brilliantly. While Balaya's domain was powerful, she couldn't overpower Liu Shu and was soon pushed back.
That result shifted Balaya's indifference to faint surprise. 'My domain is weaker?'
Balaya's gaze took in their battlefield, which stretched wide enough to cover several astronomical units. It wasn't just a fluke that Liu Shu attacked her domain at a weak point. Everywhere she looked, Liu Shu's domain pushed and crushed her own. 'One of her
Balaya's energy pulsed through her massive root net, arriving at the edge of the battlefield in an instant.
Liu Shu, just moments before, felt some of her tension ease after the first clash. 'Good. I am winning. However, I can't lower my guard—'
It was as she was thinking exactly that when Balaya made her move.
Ternary essence bloomed in certain spots, and one of Balaya's roots flashed so quickly that it looked blurry even to Liu Shu's superior dynamic vision.
BANG!!!!
For the first time since Liu Shu became an
Liu Shu was shocked. 'H-How strong?'
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
The void trembled as Balaya's front roots moved and struck the dimension itself, cracking Liu Shu's domain under her monstrous assault. Liu Shu quickly snapped out of it and began preparing countermeasures.
She couldn't just use her domain as she usually did. So her own
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Liu Shu's energy moved through her roots and reached across the entire battlefield. In what felt like a moment, the void shifted from silence, with momentary visuals of Balaya's roots striking Liu Shu's domain… to a nightmarish scene.
Elemental catastrophes manifested in countless shapes and forms, interlocking as they targeted Balaya's roots. Some of Balaya's roots were burned away. Others collapsed, and some were torn to shreds.
Balaya hadn't expected this level of attack intensity, but she wasn't deterred. 'Just as I've heard, it seems that the Heavenly Willow is powerful in long-range confrontations. I need to close in.'
Without any extra hesitation, Balaya started pushing forward. Her massive roots advanced through the hellscape Liu Shu created across the massive battlefield.
A Void Catastrophe struck a section of her roots, collapsing them along with the spatial distortion. Even then, new roots manifested and filled the space where those roots were destroyed.
Some roots were covered in incredibly powerful fire. However, Balaya ignored it and used her healing abilities to counteract the fire, even snuffing it out.
In other zones, massive meteors Liu Shu summoned impacted on Balaya's roots, creating massive craters but lacking enough strength to truly sever them.
Liu Shu was astonished. Zaros had described Balaya correctly. Her entire tactic was to push through whatever came her way and close the distance. Liu Shu didn't rely only on her elemental attacks.
Since this was a situation where she had to go all out for a decisive victory, Liu Shu held back nothing. After a few hours of back-and-forth, the testing stage ended, and Liu Shu unleashed her entire arsenal.
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Liu Shu's gentle voice became ethereal and mysterious, and then she chanted.
"Ahhhh~."
Balaya was struck by her voice as if soul fire had enveloped the deepest parts of her roots. Then, while Liu Shu's voice permeated the void at a beautiful, shifting, song-like cadence, space broke and the Arboreal Winged Serpents descended from their portal.
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Their numbers were greater than before, but with still only one
Balaya ignored them. They were strong, but the real threat was Liu Shu. 'A summon can't make a difference. They will eventually die off from the collateral shockwaves.'
Aether Mana coated Balaya's massive, serpentine roots as she moved swiftly and tore through the storm of attacks. Her figure, piercing through the cataclysm Liu Shu unleashed, caused chills to break out in the spectators.
"Ahhhh~."
Liu Shu was not done. Her chant continued, and when everyone thought that Liu Shu's attacks were already crazy enough, she added the effects of her Light-related titles to increase her range, manifesting phantom extensions to all attacks.
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Then, as her
Balaya looked at them and felt a sense of danger equal to the elemental catastrophes bathing everything in their light. As single-target threats, they felt even more dangerous.
"Ahhhh~."
The spears shot forward as Liu Shu chanted, and the Arboreal Winged Serpents slithered at ridiculous speeds, tackling and destroying some of Balaya's roots.
A rogue planet exploded, asteroids streaking across the void disintegrated, and rogue moons collapsed into space dust.
And yet, Balaya was relentless. Her roots crossed the distance under the bombardment of everything, even as her soul felt as if it were on fire.
The Arboreal Winged Serpents fought with Liu Shu, their serpentine faces colder and more serious than ever. Even for them, who were Level 299, this battle was far too dangerous and catastrophic.
At first, those watching had been commenting, but now everyone observed in silence and awe. Danlier, sitting back in her seat, couldn't help but lean forward and straighten, her eyes fixed on the screen before her.
"...Incredible."
She knew Balaya's strength, having fought by her side plenty of times. However, this was Liu Shu's presentation card to the rest of the galactic sector. A Level 280 World Tree fighting head-on against a Level 325 World Tree, and not losing.
She was, even for the untrained, an absolute catastrophe worthy of the feats she had accomplished to date. An absolute outlier in terms of strength, talent, and even dimension of attacks.
A true, living catastrophe. A creature that intelligent creatures could only look up to as Divine.
Danlier's face, though, had some worry. 'Once Balaya crosses the distance, the battle situation will change. Balaya is unable to counterattack for now… but she is getting closer.'
Balaya's roots, even as they were constantly destroyed and regenerated, came very close to Liu Shu in several sectors. Even though Liu Shu's attacks and summons were still effective, Danlier believed Balaya was almost unmatched at close range.
What they didn't know was that Balaya was actually struggling. 'What kind of soul attacks are these? I wasn't informed about them.'
Liu Shu, who had quite literally over 10 times the Willpower of those at her level thanks to one of her S Rank passives, could amplify her soul attacks tremendously.
Willpower mostly worked defensively. But if it was high enough, it also amplified the depth of soul attacks. If
Still, Balaya tightened up and, with a ferocious charge, broke through the barrage of attacks Liu Shu created in between.
With her voice booming all around for the first time, even drowning Liu Shu's chant, Balaya spoke fiercely.
"Enough. Come here. It's time for a melee."
BANG!
Liu Shu's domain collapsed at the edge, and Balaya's roots finally arrived. The people watching held their breath.
Even if Liu Shu lost now, they would never dare say that Liu Shu was weak. She was, after all, at an incredible disadvantage in terms of levels and even overall size as a World Tree.
But what happened next made everyone's eyes widen.
Balaya's roots swiftly accelerated, targeting one of Liu Shu's closest roots. Everyone expected Liu Shu's roots to explode on contact. They had seen it plenty of times before in the battles against the Nexus and Covenant.
However…
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The silent root, which had been channeling the elemental catastrophes, suddenly blurred and targeted Balaya's first approaching root.
BAAANGGG!!!
The collision sent all uninhabited worlds, moons, and structures around them scattering from the ternary essence shockwave. Danlier's eyes widened. "...She blocked it?"
Even Balaya froze for a second. 'Hard. So incredibly hard. How is this possible?'
Liu Shu's voice answered Balaya, the soul waves that carried from it feeling more imposing than ever before.
"As you wish, Balaya. From now on, it is time for a melee."