Chapter 917. Liu Shu and Deadly Petal.

Chapter 917: Chapter 917. Liu Shu and Deadly Petal.

Taking over the Solar System to use as an advanced base was no problem at all. The biggest problem would be if someone found Liu Shu’s Origin Root, the one connecting her root cluster to her main body, and destroyed it. If that happened, the rest of the roots would die off together with it.

Was it easy? Of course not. Liu Shu didn’t just create one or two Origin Roots. There were several intertwining paths that crossed from time to time, supporting all paths in a complex network. Truthfully, even if one of them was cut, it would be difficult to destroy anything more than a few of the roots on the battlefield.

Not to mention, Liu Shu would not just sit and watch.

Still, the people who wanted to screw Liu Shu over while still getting a penny for the information had already set off. People like mercenaries, information guilds, etc.

Was Zaros worried? He wasn’t. Liu Shu’s presence was the one that flipped the balance of the war in their favor, almost single-handedly. Now, Liu Shu was much stronger than back then. Zaros would only start to worry if Level 300+ individuals got involved.

Zaros glanced at the information about Deadly Petal’s situation with a pondering look. As the Golden Sap Empire’s Grand Commander, he had to weigh the risk and reward of this expedition before setting off.

At first, he was not too thrilled. Yes, Deadly Petal was a monumental asset. A World Tree that had lived for a very long time while also having successfully conquered several worlds. Her <Titles>, skills, and influence would help the Golden Sap Empire tremendously.

However, was it worth it, knowing what it would start?

The Covenant would gain certain justification, even if they were letting Deadly Petal silently die off, to attack them. ’Someone like Danlier is far too clever not to use it. Moreover, there is also the risk of the Nexus attacking us back at home while we are here trying to save Deadly Petal.’

Even then, the information would take a while to travel. So, having arrived without alerting anyone was good for their plans.

Either way, the reason that made Zaros agree to Liu Shu’s plan was Deadly Petal’s location. Even if they just got Deadly Petal’s home Solar System, its strategic position would help them with the Covenant a lot.

As mentioned before, Deadly Petal was somewhat at the edge of the Covenant’s territory. Deadly Petal was, after all, a frontier World Tree that was expanding by itself in the name of the Covenant.

Even then, Deadly Petal’s domain was basically touching Balaya’s, so her situation was very different from Liu Shu’s. For them, now, that kind of position was an advantage.

"Lady Heavenly Willow, have you talked with Lady Deadly Petal?"

Liu Shu answered him. "Not yet. I am still gathering some roots and getting some information. Deadly Petal is holding the line, and with our arrival, it seems that everyone has become guarded."

Zaros nodded. "I understand. We will rest here for about a month and then set off toward Lady Deadly Petal’s domain. Of course, if Lady Heavenly Willow prefers us to delay, we will. The government officials are taking over rapidly and smoothly, so we can stay here indefinitely."

Liu Shu nodded and then glanced toward Deadly Petal’s territory. From their perspective, there was only one Solar System in the way of Deadly Petal’s main world. Knowing the star map and where she was mainly attacked from, Zaros had chosen to take over the Solar System opposite to them.

This way, they would have a choice to retreat if Deadly Petal remained stubborn like Chestnut.

After about a week since their arrival in the <Flower Pearl Solar System>, Liu Shu and Deadly Petal finally made contact.

Deadly Petal’s peculiar sneering tone reached Liu Shu. "Hm. You’ve come."

Liu Shu couldn’t help but smile faintly when she heard her. It sounded as if Deadly Petal was mocking her, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Liu Shu could feel a faint sense of closeness from Deadly Petal.

"I have. I see that you are in a bit of trouble."

Deadly Petal’s tone didn’t change much, accepting her situation as it was. "I am in trouble. After you killed most of my army and my starships, I could only fight back with my roots. Sadly, it wasn’t enough. While I had pushed them back, I didn’t really manage to get many of their important individuals. They are slippery, which is the main cause of our extended war."

Liu Shu listened silently. Deadly Petal was reciting what happened more than complaining. As a World Tree, she glanced at everything with faint detachment, even when her death was involved.

Once again, World Trees were not emotionless, far from it. However, they viewed life and death and their own mistakes with a much calmer outlook than most other species.

Liu Shu smiled. "You did your best. With Balaya pressuring you from nearby, you managed to survive and continue your fight for a long while. I believe you’ve done great until now."

Deadly Petal hummed at Liu Shu’s assessment. She neither agreed nor disagreed. She had committed many mistakes, and that was the truth. Still, it was also right to say that she managed to make the best out of her situation.

While both of them spent a little time in a comfortable silence, Liu Shu finally asked the question. "Have you thought about it, Deadly Petal? Will you join me? I have now expanded, and there are hundreds of smaller World Trees that are in my domain from other worlds. They are all weak compared to us, but they have received my blessings and are slowly adapting to their newfound strength and talent."

Deadly Petal listened to her words. Unlike in the past, Liu Shu noticed that she was much more receptive. Perhaps, having a few decades to think about it and seeing her own end approaching, Deadly Petal thought that she had nothing much else to lose.

Some World Trees felt like death was their natural end, so they were stubborn about it, like Chestnut.

However, many other World Trees felt that, as death approached, accepting whatever their fate was would follow their natural order. That was why World Trees didn’t self-immolate when they were about to be corrupted.

Many thought that it was another form of beginning, even if twisted.

So, unlike her staunch stance when they first met, Deadly Petal was now much... at peace. Her empire was clearly crumbling. People in her empire were leaving her domain if they could, moving inward toward the Covenant, and the government was slowly collapsing as those in charge grew scared and left their posts.

So, Deadly Petal knew that what was happening now was a last resistance. The <Sky Meteor Empire> was strong enough to push her back until her core and eventually kill her.

Perhaps that was the main reason Balaya didn’t even bother with Deadly Petal. As a failed World Tree, at least in Balaya’s eyes, Deadly Petal would meet her natural end even without her intervention.

Seeing that Deadly Petal didn’t jump to reject her like before, Liu Shu felt a light of hope light up. "Do you think you can give it a try, Deadly Petal?"

Deadly Petal glanced over at Liu Shu’s roots and thought about how the situation had flipped around in just a few decades.

A few decades ago, it was Deadly Petal who crossed the stars with her army to defeat Liu Shu. Back then, she was considered the senior World Tree, with more Solar Systems, a bigger army, and stronger technology.

Now, everything had flipped on its head. Liu Shu had come not to defeat her, but to aid her. She could be considered a senior World Tree, as the number of Solar Systems in her possession was almost ten times her current seven. As for the rest, there was little else to say other than that the Golden Sap Empire was just better.

Even with the aloofness of a World Tree, Deadly Petal was not blind to the point of not seeing the obvious. What World Trees lacked perception for was short-term development, but when it came to analyzing how something could develop for the next 1,000 years, they were masters without equal.

So, Deadly Petal understood. Liu Shu was different and in the middle of incredibly rapid development. Moreover, the World Trees that fought by Liu Shu’s side during the war didn’t show oddities, at least in Deadly Petal’s eyes.

’Even if she is absorbing us as a hive mind, that’s another form of living.’

A tree, in the end, could be considered a hive mind of countless roots. Becoming a node in a new root network didn’t sound that bad. So, Deadly Petal didn’t show any meaningful resistance or pride.

Having already accepted the result, she would not act like an intelligent species that was too prideful to go back on her words after speaking so much against it. Instead, she readily accepted Liu Shu’s words. "...Alright. I will be in your care from now on, Heavenly Willow."

Liu Shu giggled. She still found it funny how she sounded like a grumpy, sneering woman when speaking. Still, she felt happy. "Hehe. Since you’ve accepted me, no more Heavenly Willow title! Call me Liu Shu, Little Liu Shu, or however you want! You are muuuuuch older than me, after all! So, you are my Big Sister! OwO!"

Deadly Petal glanced at Liu Shu strangely, but a laugh couldn’t help but escape her. "Haha... Alright then. I’ll call you Liu Shu. So, what do I need to do?"

"Nothing!"

Deadly Petal hummed, confused. "Hm?"

Liu Shu smiled. "You don’t need to do anything. Just let my roots enter your domain. I’ll take care of everything else."

Deadly Petal pondered and agreed. Since she said okay, she would go all the way. If this was Liu Shu’s tactic to ambush her and kill her, she would just accept her death quietly. ’But Heavenly... No, Liu Shu, while somewhat scheming for a World Tree, doesn’t seem the type to deceive others like that."

Liu Shu’s cheery voice reached Zaros. "Hehe! Straight into Deadly Petal’s domain! She accepted. Hohohoho! Hehehehe!"

Zaros couldn’t help but chuckle. "It’s great to see you happy, Lady Heavenly Willow. We will set off in three weeks. I want to let the soldiers rest first before we move on."

Liu Shu agreed without complaint. "Alright! We’ll do as you say. As for those <Sky Meteor Empire> people... We’ll see how they react. Hmph. Hmph. Daring to bully my Big Sister? They are asking for it!"

Zaros smiled and shook his head. ’For them to accept, they would have to be crazy. In a desperate moment, a faint ray of light appeared thanks to us, and they managed to push Deadly Petal back. Now, we come and crush that very hope we gave them. If we don’t become their archenemy or something similar, I would be surprised.’