Sarlos had been waiting for Liu Shu's fleet. Just in case, he even sent a small guardian fleet to make sure the Golden Sap Empire engineers and everyone Liu Shu sent to build the promised cities arrived safely.
Six leading individuals from the Golden Sap Empire led this expedition. One of them was in charge of overseeing everything, while the other five would take care of the cities for a little while as they developed.
Sarlos oversaw it because it was a large transaction he had made with Liu Shu, even for him. Just in case, he asked for one of the cities to be built under his supervision before the rest became functional.
The Sylvan in charge, named Pallyra, greeted Sarlos with a smile and no nervousness. Sarlos noticed her slightly ceremonial clothes. "Welcome, Pallyra. I will be in your care for the following few years."
Pallyra smiled at him. "Thank you for doing an exchange with Lady Liu Shu, Lord Sarlos. We will be under your care as well. I ask that you be slightly patient, as our laws regarding
Sarlos pondered. "Avatar. I learned about it. They are those with the second-most influence in the entire
Pallyra smiled. "I would say the third. Apostles and Lady Liu Shu herself are the two echelons above us."
Sarlos laughed. "Right, right. I forgot Lady Heavenly Willow herself is quite an active World Tree. If I may ask, why do you call Lady Heavenly Willow by her name?"
Pallyra explained as they walked toward the area Sarlos had vacated so that the Lignified City could be built. "It is something Lady Liu Shu hopes for. If someone becomes an Avatar, it means that we are close enough to Lady Liu Shu to be somewhat familiar. Lady Liu Shu is someone who doesn't really like excessive respect. She feels much more comfortable when being called by her name. If Lord Sarlos continues to interact with Lady Liu Shu, I am sure you will receive her good graces. Our Divine Tree is somewhat soft in some regards."
Sarlos blinked and asked, curious. "Is it okay for you to tell such things to me?"
Pallyra smiled. "It is not something that's particularly difficult to find out about. The few people Lord Sarlos sent to gather information to the Golden Sap Empire will easily be able to find out about it."
A wry smile appeared on Sarlos's lips. "You are quite direct and forward."
Pallyra nodded. "There is no need to be cunning. I am here to carry out Lady Liu Shu's will and guide the Lignified Cities so that they can become as prosperous as the ones back at home. Nothing more, nothing less. Beating around the bush or trying to hide my thoughts will only interfere with my future actions."
A look of interest flashed in Sarlos's eyes, but he didn't comment on it. Instead, he pointed at the large, empty area. "As you requested, this is the place we vacated. Since you told us that the city will act like a giant forest, we deforested this place. I hope you don't betray my expectations. The forest here was a good source of some common materials."
Looking at the empty space and fertile land, Pallyra nodded. "I won't make empty promises. Instead, I will show you what we can do and let you evaluate it. One thing: because we are not under Lady Liu Shu's influence, the Lignified Trees and other structures will grow at a normal pace. Therefore, they might take from forty to fifty years to become habitable. Do not worry. By then, we will make sure this place is as lush as the previous forest that covered this area."
Sarlos nodded. "We will follow your instructions."
***
Meanwhile, Liu Shu kept expanding in the direction of Xakira's empire. Her roots were also constantly moving in Deadly Petal's direction.
'Previously, I was somewhat hesitant. However, now that Stella has shown her abilities, I feel that I have a chance to help Deadly Petal better.'
Because of the war between the Nexus and Covenant, Deadly Petal's side would be temporarily safe. Nevertheless, no one could predict when Balaya would flip out and decide to deal with Deadly Petal.
With that in mind, Liu Shu's domain expanded quickly and progressed in the direction she expected. The Nexus and Covenant were quite surprised that Liu Shu had not attacked either of them.
They had been preparing for Liu Shu's retaliation, but to their surprise, the direction of expansion was neither of them but a neutral zone. It was, of course, welcome news for all of them.
After receiving the reports, they could put aside many of their worries. If Liu Shu had decided to attack, they had planned to finish the war early. After all, they couldn't attack on one front with peace of mind, knowing that someone was poking around at their backyard.
Liu Shu had not really known about it, so her decision was quite a lucky stroke of genius derived from Xakira's advice.
Meanwhile, the Hornet Queen chose to move together with Liu Shu's expanding domain. Since they were returning to their home world, she chose to go with Sarish and Chost, the two Kings of the Mantis and Cicada species.
The first years of expansion went without a hitch. The Solar Systems were either too weak to stop Liu Shu's advance, or they quickly surrendered after having heard of the news of Liu Shu's expansion.
The smooth-sailing advance was halted soon, though. Not everyone was as willing to surrender, having a kill-or-be-killed attitude. Among them were the
There was a reason that Solar Systems with
Liu Shu found four different Sect Solar Systems and two small True World Trees that had taken over between two and five Solar Systems.
"Hm…" A pondering look appeared on her face. "Sarish, Chost, you go meet the
Liu Shu gave out orders to everyone forming part of the expedition. Zaros had stayed behind this time around in case there was an emergency, so Liu Shu had taken over.
As for her girls, they were heavily pregnant and about to give birth to new baby Sylvans, so Liu Shu naturally didn't allow them to participate.
As for Ignatia and Flor, they were far too busy taking care of internal affairs.
Liu Shu took about 30 million soldiers, 12 million non-ants, and 18 million ants on this expedition. There were also normal starships mixed with Star Reaching starships. It was their first real battle situation.
'Some of the Star Reaching babies have already reached Level 200, so they can participate while taking care of their little sisters.'
As explained before, the Star Reaching babies were quite varied. Since each of them was alive and could go through
There were a total of 1,200 of them, which was not too many, but also not too few. After all, over 30% of them were Level 200+, with the highest level being a Mothership Class Level 270 Star Reaching Starship.
Back at home, there were around 80 Moon Soul Lignified Space Stations who had also fully matured, and other than the 60 or so left to orbit around each world of the Golden Sap Empire, the rest were on standby to cover for Liu Shu's recently conquered territories.
In terms of fighting capabilities, they were closer to a Fortress Class spacecraft than they were to a space station. Being Liu Shu's babies, they understood that their mother needed a mix of fighting power and livable space in her space stations, not a cozy but easily breached space station.
Unlike the Star Reaching starships, which mostly had quite sleek and maneuverable forms, their Moon Soul sisters were incredibly varied. Some took a disk form, others a more cubic one, and others became spherical or hexagonal…
Their main powers were also incredibly varied. Some excelled at elemental attacks, others at physical attacks, others could summon armies far exceeding what any summoner at their level could…
Overall, Liu Shu's experiment for both Star Reaching Starships and Moon Soul Fortress Stations had been wildly successful. Her babies were strong!
Now, the Star Reaching starships were about to show their space superiority in a frontal battle with the
Xakira, sitting in a comfortable and soft wooden seat, smiled as she gently caressed the surface. "How are you feeling, dear? Nervous?"
The one who answered was the starship itself. The voice of a mature, solemn woman reached her. "My sisters and I are not nervous, Aunty Xakira. We are prepared to engage in a frontal assault if necessary."
Xakira smiled softly, and the rest of the people in the main control room also smirked, giving gentle pats to the wooden surfaces of an incredibly advanced control system that used both technological and biological computing.
"Since that's the case…" Xakira's smile disappeared as she looked forward. The wall in front of them was transparent, created through a complex screen and sensor mix to make it look as if their cabin had open windows to everything around them. "Engage combat mode."
The Star Reaching Starship's engines ignited fiercely, ternary essence flowing through them as they acted like the starship's very heart. A weighty thud echoed through the void as shields deployed, and the sleek, massive starship's form shifted like a living creature.
At the sides, four massive elemental cannons manifested, each of them attached to an axis that allowed almost perfect multidirectional aiming. The front of the starship opened like the maw of a living creature. As the massive wooden and steel plates shifted and opened at the front, the bluish cannon hummed so intensely that the entire structure vibrated for a few seconds before everything clicked into place.
The mature voice of the Star Reaching starship echoed to all the people in it. "Combat mode engaged. Weaponry on standby. Shields in perfect condition. Maneuverability increased by 10,000% for close-range combat. Maximum speed decreased by 10,000% due to the shift to close-range combat. Recovery modules are in perfect condition. Anti-stealth modules fully activated. All systems fully operational. Level 270 Sarluce, Light Of Dawn Mothership Class Star Reaching Lignified Starship, ready for engagement."
Xakira grinned. "Fire main cannons."
"Firing main cannons."
A piercing noise echoed in the void as the starship's systems pulsed like veins carrying bloodsap. A second later, five massive beams tore through the dark expanse of space, using dimensional layering to cover long distances, and struck the enemy fleet faster than a light-speed attack would usually allow.
Five massive white suns manifested in the dark space, accompanied by a space-shaking explosion and system notifications of countless deaths.