Chapter 854. Battlefronts. Dimensional Corruption Array.

Obsidianis’s battlefield was not the only active one. The Nexus had coordinated its attacks, so all attack areas started at the same time.

Liu Shu supported the Solar Systems with 100 Arboreal Winged Serpents each, while placing another 100 under Zaros’s command.

The battlefields targeting Liu Shu’s outer Solar Systems were four, and the commanders chosen for them were Obsidianis, Verdantia, Seraphina, and Cinderielle. These four were strong individually, with plenty of ways to compensate for the lack of numbers through either summons or massively large area-of-effect attacks.

Meanwhile, the four fronts advancing toward Ceperet were met by Harmonixia, Tempestria, Flor, and Ignatia. Each of them was a top powerhouse in Ceperet, their bodies affected and transformed due to their close connection with Liu Shu.

Zaros deployed them as strategic weapons. Once they appeared, Carter would be unable to focus on much else. Moreover, Zaros, while not as strong, was participating in the same battlefield as Harmonixia together with the 100 Arboreal Winged Serpents. Choosing Harmonixia was a matter of logic.

The rest were strong, and Verdantia might’ve been a powerful choice as well. Nevertheless, when it came to supporting a large number of troops and tilting the balance, Harmonixia’s support was the very best.

Zaros looked as the blue and violet Sylvan woman moved around the battlefield like a fantasy fairy. In her arms, a gorgeous zither played, its cords creating an aether resonance that produced music even in the void of space.

As her slender fingers moved agilely, a gorgeous melody tugging at the hearts of both allies and enemies, the 100 Arboreal Winged Serpents danced together with her. It truly felt as if a goddess had descended with her divine guardians, rampaging on the battlefield and brutally cleaving through thousands of enemies.

Zaros murmured with a faint chuckle. “Truly, Lady Heavenly Willow’s wives are not in their positions for nothing.”

He admired them from the very bottom of his heart. Zaros was actually someone who grew after Liu Shu had already conquered Ceperet. He had grown with Liu Shu’s education system and become an exemplary man. Naturally, he was also religious. It was not a fanatical devotion, but the kind that gently seeped into everyday life.

So, he had been aware of the Heavenly Willow’s wives. With his intelligence, he couldn’t help but doubt them when he first met them. Were they at the top because they were Liu Shu’s wives? Or was it due to their own efforts and talent?

He got an answer when he tried to aim for the very top of the military position. The one holding that position before him had been Liu Shu because there were not really suitable talents. Still, even if Liu Shu was at the top, the ones carrying out her orders were the Sylvans during important moments.

So, while fighting for his position, he first needed to surpass them in military prowess. Even fully knowing that the six Sylvans, Flor, and Ignatia were not really focused on military matters, it took him an ungodly amount of effort, sweat, and sleepless nights to reach his current position.

Until he reached below them, Zaros’s rank-up had been rather smooth sailing. Yet, those eight were truly like giants looking down from the sky.

“In the end, I did manage to get my current position. However, it was more luck than anything else.”

Those eight existences and Liu Shu were more focused on running the country than leading the military. Compared to him, who was fully devoted, they were unable to keep up. So, he considered himself lucky and fully respected the eight pillars of the Golden Sap Empire.

Even as he thought of these things, his mouth and hands didn’t stop. Refocusing fully, he scanned everything and gave out orders. “Group C-2-121, move down and follow the leadership of Group C-2-1. Do not deviate. Group A-1-1, don’t lag behind Code S-04.”

Code S-01 to S-08 were the strategic powerhouses, Harmonixia and the others.

Other than controlling the battlefield in front of him, Zaros made sure to pay attention to the other three Ceperet battlefields. They had around 14 million individuals and 11 million ants divided into four groups and fighting the Nexus’s almost 190 million-strong army.

So, even when Liu Shu’s buffs made them incredibly strong individually, the sheer difference in army size strained their response activities to the very limits. If even one battlefield failed to halt the advance of one Nexus group, Zaros could already predict a disaster.

As he was speaking and checking signals, someone by his side spoke hastily.

“Lord Zaros, Corrupt Church activity has been detected.”

Zaros was not surprised. “So it has come. Lady Heavenly Willow, please proceed as we planned.”

Liu Shu’s gentle voice echoed in the control room. “Understood.”

The Corrupt Church was a power that Zaros would leave for Liu Shu to deal with in its entirety. Absolutely no support was going to be given. Carter’s army was that dangerous. ‘As long as we equalize the battlefield and halt their advance, we can slowly grind down their numbers.’

For this, the largest responsibility fell onto Liu Shu. She needed to become the canopy that protected them from the tactics the Nexus was most proficient in: World Tree corruption. A responsibility Liu Shu needed to complete as a World Tree herself.

It was like throwing the perfect prey against the perfect predator. Most World Trees would do the opposite of what Zaros was doing.

Yet, Zaros knew that the Heavenly Willow was different. He had read her biography, and he was familiar with most of her combat-related <Titles>. So, Zaros understood just how resistant to corruption Liu Shu truly was.

After hearing Zaros’s command, Liu Shu expanded her senses and quickly registered her targets. There were many, and the scale of their activities compared to what she experienced with Rhazor was like comparing the work of a child with that of an adult.

‘Do not get complacent. Focus.’

***

A few moments back, the man leading the Corrupt Church accompanying Carter’s army looked at the large screen in front of him. On this screen, there were three colors. The background was black, the red color covering estimated locations of Liu Shu’s roots, and several purple nodes.

“From what we heard, <Corruption Of Stars> was used and failed. Even if it was the lowest-grade <Corruption Of Stars>, it was unable to pierce the Heavenly Willow’s defenses.”

A woman wearing similar purple-green robes spoke to the short, handsome man. “Yes, Lord Corrupt Elder.”

There were many Corrupt Elders, and most of them didn’t even have names. However, the badges in their religious robes could distinguish them from one another. For example, the woman was wearing purple-green robes, signifying her high rank. However, the man in front of her wore purple-silver robes. The silver color was also easily distinguishable.

In terms of grades, they were divided into purple for general robes and then an extra color for rank. The lowest rank among Corrupt Elders was blue, followed by red, orange, green, bronze, silver, and gold.

Those purple-gold-robed Corrupt Elders were the ones who fought Balaya frontally, while the silver colored ones helped them with support. In Carter’s army, there were three silver, eleven bronze, and a mix of 300 other Corrupt Elders.

The short, handsome man was the one in charge of the main battlefield. “Now, activate the <Dimensional Corruption Array>.”

Liu Shu, who had been prepared, was bombarded with several system messages.

[You’ve been struck by <Dimensional Corruption Array (S+ Rank)>!]

Liu Shu’s face hardened.

[<Title: Young Dimensional World Tree> triggers. Your resistance toward dimensional attacks is increased by 500%.]

[<Passive Skill: Immutable Foundation> triggers. Your resistance toward dimensional destabilization is increased by 10,000%.]

[<Title: Universal Tree> grants you increased resistance toward corruption.]

[<Passive Skill: World Saint Bloodsap> grants you increased resistance toward corruption.]

[<Dimensional Corruption Array (S+ Rank)> attacks your <Realm>.]

[<Dimensional Corruption Array (S+ Rank)> corrupts your <Realm>.]

[<Dimensional Corruption Array (S+ Rank)> destabilizes your <Realm>.]

These were just the first few messages. Effects from her skills and residences triggered, and a second later, the backlash finally struck.

Her realm, which now spanned several stars, was struck strongly, causing Liu Shu’s roots to tremble. From all corners, several holes appeared that poured corrupted Darkness Aether Mana.

Liu Shu looked at everything with a calm expression. She had not expected to be immune to all their effects. While her existence was innately incorruptible, the corruption level the Nexus used was not true corruption. Instead, it was like a powerful Darkness attack that used its corrosion properties.

So, the immunities and other similar effects failed to trigger. Ironic that a lower-level type of corruption could affect her, when superior corruption techniques would’ve failed to even take effect.

Even then, Liu Shu didn’t panic. The dimensional structure of her <Realm>, reinforced by Liu Shu for several years and all of her dimension-related skills, was not that easily collapsible.

Moreover, Liu Shu had been waiting for this attack, an attack with corruption-type spells. Her Aether Mana and Anima Energy surged through her complex root network. Ternary essences churned under her control.

The Silver Corrupt Elder noticed several high ternary essence signals flare up, and a second later, Liu Shu’s voice shook the very void with a sacred and divine tone.

“<World Purity>.”

Auroras covered the black void, illuminating several dark corners of the universe. These auroras clashed and coiled around the corruption holes like endless cosmic streams, devouring them.

Then, Liu Shu used the two effects <Curse Cleansing Aurora> lacked and <World Purity>, its evolution, gained.

[Curses purged will be reversed and affect allies within the skill range.]

[Enemies within range receive soul damage equal to the corruption cleansed.]

Liu Shu, manipulating hundreds of <Aether Mana Stars> and <Anima Energy Stars>, opened her eyes and looked up, her senses enveloping the areas with Corrupt Church members and nearby allies.

“Bloom.”

The aurora that swallowed part of the corruption shone brilliantly, and a second later, several Corrupt Church members screamed.

“AARGH!”

“M-My skin!? W-What?!”

“My insides burn! They burn!”

[You’ve defeated…]

[You’ve defeated…]

[You’ve defeated…]

…

Even the Corrupt Elders frowned as they felt the stinging pain. Looking at their <Phoer Body Star> reserves, they noticed a rather large chunk missing. It ranged from two to four, and for them, with over a hundred of them at minimum, it was not much. However, for normal members, whose residences and vitality were much weaker than theirs, this attack was like a wide-area-of-effect bomb.

The Silver Corrupt Elder asked, his tone solemn. “What happened?”

“Our <Dimensional Corruption Array> struck, and there is damage. We can now see weaknesses in the previous immutable domain. However, when that aurora appeared, our <Dimensional Corruption Array>’s effects were somewhat negated… and reversed.”

“…Reversed?”

The Silver Corrupt Elder, hearing such absurd words, could only blink in confusion. It was then that Liu Shu’s voice, laced with soul damage, boomed across the very void.

“Corrupt Church, if you think I will fall easily to your tricks, you will be disappointed. Now, let’s receive the second volley. <World Purity>.”

The Silver Corrupt Elder’s face changed. “Activate defensive measures! If we are hit by the attack, those injured will suffer too harshly!”

However, when he looked around, he noticed some of the low-level personnel bleeding from their nose, eyes, and ears. Liu Shu’s soul was heavy and powerful, causing massive damage everywhere.

“Tsk. Corrupt Elders, move!”