Danlier knew that she had to move now. Liu Shu had shown that if they had been at an equal Level, this wouldn't even have been a fight.
As Danlier moved toward one of the teleporters, she kept her eyes locked onto the battle on her portable screen. In the images that only showed small sections of their massive battlefield, a clash of raw physical power was ongoing.
Liu Shu, after blocking that first attack, rushed forward to meet with Balaya in a head-on match. No tricks, no tactics, pure violence.
One of Liu Shu's roots accelerated, using
The coiled roots clenched, and using both gravity and raw physical power, Liu Shu crushed the root and ripped it away.
Balaya was startled, but she was not deterred. Her own skills bloomed into existence, her roots gaining a coating of greyish ash and green energies. Then, she attacked Liu Shu's roots back, impacting against them and causing their surface to sink and crack, bloodsap spilling everywhere.
Both sides were relentless, not giving a single inch of terrain to the other.
The Arboreal Winged Serpents and Liu Shu's constant, ethereal, and beautiful chant burned through Balaya's toughness,
"Ahhhh~."
Balaya grunted, but her healing abilities bloomed one after another, recovering the damage Liu Shu caused at a staggering speed. "Don't think this is all I can do, Heavenly Willow!"
It was then that her ash-like coating revealed its purpose. The roots Liu Shu either destroyed, ripped apart, or even crushed through violent spatial distortions turned to ash and flowed back like grey, brilliant starlight toward Balaya's roots.
Danlier's face tensed up. This was one of Balaya's characteristic skills, and it was also why some empires had labeled Balaya's roots Phoenix Roots.
Balaya's chant boomed through the battlefield with intense ferocity, a polar opposite from Liu Shu's almost divine, symphonic voice.
"From ashes, I arise!
Stardust is my essence.
And through death, I renew my presence.
From stardust, I. SHALL. RISE!"
"
Liu Shu knew she couldn't let this skill complete easily, so her own ternary essences flowed until her roots felt like they were about to burst.
"Not so fast."
Liu Shu used her current ethereal tone to chant within her very echoing voice.
"
"
"
"
Her
As time itself shrieked and halted, massive areas of space froze, their time standing still.
That caused large zones of Stardust Ash to fail to return to Balaya, which counteracted part of her skill. Even then, the efficiency comparison between the two skills was far too large.
Liu Shu's skill, even with all her buffs, was an S- Rank skill. Balaya, casting her only SS- Rank skill, needed only a single cast to cover the entire battlefield.
Even then, Balaya couldn't help but frown at Liu Shu's tactic. 'Annoying pest!'
Using the returned Stardust Ash, Balaya reformed about 60% of the roots Liu Shu had destroyed during their recent exchange. It was not a perfect rebirth, but it was enough to cause Liu Shu trouble.
Her newly reformed roots, once again boosted by Balaya's strength, healing, and defensive buffs, rushed forward and once again entangled with Liu Shu's in close range. The clash tilted in Balaya's favor, and Liu Shu's roots were pushed back.
Balaya's monstrous physical strength caused Liu Shu's sturdy roots to collapse and break, some of them exploding into gargantuan splinters.
Liu Shu's face tightened. Balaya was no easy foe, not in the slightest. 'Push more essence even if it feels as if it would burst! Regenerate it! Attack! Attack! ATTACK!'
"Ahhhh~...!!"
As if putting Liu Shu's emotions into sound, her soul chant rose in tone, like a divine being singing for those in war. Emotional, powerful, lingering.
The spectators were all breathless. Even Zaros and the people from the Golden Sap Empire were seeing this face of Liu Shu for the first time.
Many times during their wars, Liu Shu was the one who had to become the glue holding everything together. Therefore, her presence was everywhere, but never as powerful as it was this time. After all, Liu Shu had to tend to weak battlefields, heal people, make sure
This never really allowed Liu Shu to just… let go.
Now, Liu Shu was using 110% of her battle strength, holding absolutely nothing back, and pouring everything into just one battle against another similarly strong individual.
Still, Balaya's thoughts were no different from Liu Shu's. The absolute monster that the Universal Tree was caused Balaya's very own confidence to shake.
Even then, among all of Liu Shu's skills, what annoyed Balaya most was not Liu Shu.
'Those Arboreal Winged Serpents! Stop moving around and causing trouble!'
Their size, compared to the two titanic creatures battling in the middle of the void, was so tiny that even comparing them to dust motes would be too generous.
Even then, their strength was not low. Not in the slightest.
Their group of over 100 slithered through the void with perfect coordination, intertwining and leaving mesmerizing trails behind them.
They avoided, blocked, and healed any collateral damage from Liu Shu's and Balaya's clash while coordinating with Liu Shu's attacks and raining absolute hell on Balaya.
Their elemental abilities would bloom in key areas of the battlefield, severing, destroying, and burning some of Balaya's thickest roots.
For Balaya, it felt like an incredibly sharp magical needle poking here and there, hurting her where it mattered the most while she fought her opponent.
"I'm done with you lot, Arboreal Winged Serpents! I'll kill you first!"
Several of her nearby roots changed target, shifting their pathways and rushing toward the Arboreal Winged Serpents with incredible speed.
When the serpents were preparing their countermeasures, Liu Shu moved. She would naturally not allow Balaya to do as she pleased with her dear summons.
Using
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Roots against roots clashed, and the serpents used the gigantic shield Liu Shu created using herself to reposition and become slightly more cautious. They couldn't help but glance at Liu Shu's roots once before refocusing on the battlefield.
"Balaya. Don't get distracted. You have no such leisure. Also, you are not the only one who can recover."
"
Liu Shu's voice boomed throughout the cosmos, once again painfully searing Balaya's very soul. Then, hundreds of
This time, her
Scattered wood flowed back into place, roots reforming everywhere, and bloodsap refilling the damaged roots.
In what felt like an instant, Liu Shu's thinned-out roots now refilled the battlefield, ready for the second round.
Balaya looked at that and glared at Liu Shu. "That skill… it is not recovery."
Liu Shu answered, her voice ethereal and imposing. "It is time reversal. Now… Fight."
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Their battle continued, going back and forth, both sides almost evenly matched. Still, no one knew who had the advantage yet.
Danlier finally arrived at Deadly Petal's domain. Although they were now part of Liu Shu's domain, there were still several methods for the Covenant, who had ruled these locations for thousands of years, to arrive in case of an emergency.
Not to mention, Danlier had built an extra assurance not long ago to make sure Deadly Petal didn't fall before Liu Shu arrived. So, her ability to appear there within hours was not surprising.
Her own essence bloomed, causing Liu Shu and Deadly Petal to notice straight away and look in her direction. Liu Shu's core seized up when she noticed that the new arrival was Danlier.
Even though she had never met her, she had seen plenty of reports on her appearance. So, it was easy to distinguish her.
A Level 310
Danlier was a true monster, with some of her stats reaching SS- Tier.
Danlier, knowing that Liu Shu and Deadly Petal would notice her powerful presence straight away, spoke with a solemn tone, her strength pulsing to the point that Deadly Petal felt intimidated.
"I am here to talk, Lady Heavenly Willow. I promise not to raise my weapon to those nearby as long as you and Lady Balaya are entangled in a fight."
Liu Shu pursed her lips back in Ceperet. Her mind spun at speeds far beyond any intelligent species, balancing the risk and reward of trusting her.
If she didn't trust her, Danlier would join Balaya and Liu Shu would be defeated. She wasn't afraid of facing both Balaya and Danlier at the same time, but now was not the time. Balaya already had most of her attention, showing resilience she never expected.
If Danlier was thrown into the mix, Liu Shu's battle might stretch for far too long.
If she trusted her and then Danlier betrayed her, the damage would be ridiculous. Zaros could die, Sarluce could die, and many other core individuals would be in trouble. So, the best option was only one.
She sent a quick message.
"Zaros, gather your fleet and prepare. You are going to face Danlier. She has arrived at the outer zone of Deadly Petal's zone. Deadly Petal, aid as you can if it devolves into a battle. I will try to assist as much as I can if that happens as well."
Zaros, who had been observing Liu Shu's battle with a solemn look, nodded. He spoke aloud. "Prepare for battle! We are facing an incredibly strong opponent!"
"Danlier is not here to fight, or so she says. Evaluate properly. I trust you." Liu Shu quickly clarified, then refocused on her battle against Balaya.
Feeling as if an hourglass had suddenly been flipped, Liu Shu intensified her attacks.
"Balaya! We are just starting!"
"
"
Adding to the already chaotic battlefield, Liu Shu began adding her elemental catastrophes and other ranged attacks, despite hitting her own roots several times with the area-of-effect skills.
Even if her
Meanwhile, in another zone, a gorgeous, elegant Sylvan woman floated alone in space before a massive starship fleet. Her face didn't even look nervous or worried as her eyes scanned everything.
"I am Danlier, Leader of the Verdant Sanctity Covenant. I come here to speak."
Zaros, the highest-ranking officer present, answered. "I am Zaros, Grand Marshal of the Golden Sap Empire's army and the highest authority present. I hope to have a pleasant conversation."
Danlier's lips arched faintly.