Ascension of the Sylvan Cosmos.

Chapter 342. Liu Shu’s Decision. Prarya’s Condition.

‘It is tempting.’

Liu Shu admitted that Thalgryn’s offer was tempting. Without a doubt, Thalgryn had the largest influence on this area of the continent. The other provinces had leaders of other major powers. Nevertheless, they were far up north. According to the maps, Liu Shu knew that besides the nearby six provinces, there were around eight more further north; these eight were where the other major power representatives had their bases. 

‘If what Thalgryn said is the truth, then I am not at any disadvantage joining the power. The <Celestial Lotus Empire> seems to put particular attention to the potential of World Trees. It is also the power with the most Sylvans… Now, whether that’s an advantage or not is another question altogether.’

The World Tree balanced everything and finally decided. She looked at Thalgryn and spoke, her tone solemn. “Thalgryn. You’ve been singing praises for them, and I am going to give you a vote of confidence. I know that there will always be voices of dissension since factions are bound to appear in large powers. There will be numerous people who don’t want me to succeed. What I don’t want to see in the future is you becoming one of them.”

Thalgryn’s face turned serious. “Liu Shu, my intentions toward you have always been good after I knew that Prarya would not be in danger coming into contact with you. I will admit that I was initially in a wait-and-see approach, even hesitating whether to attack preemptively. Yet, the miracle you pulled off with Lady Fortuna completely overturned my mindset.”

Liu Shu hummed. “I see. It's good that you are honest. Alright then, I will join the Empire. But I want you to fulfill your promises. My freedom will be untouched, and as long as it is a domain owned by the Empire, I will spread my roots inside without a hint of hesitation. Regardless of the reason, the World Trees that resist will be met with hostility.” She paused and allowed them to digest her words. Then, she added. “Of course, I am far from merciless. If the World Trees or Life Trees come around and want to come under me, I will always be willing to trust them. I rather trust and regret than be always unwilling and regretful.”

Thalgryn smiled faintly, liking that kind of attitude very much. It was a relief knowing that if the other party took a step back, Liu Shu would be willing to listen. “Understood. I will send a message back so that they send an envoy.”

Liu Shu acknowledged and spoke to Prarya. “Prarya, you are unconvinced of my strength, right?”

Prarya admitted it readily. “Indeed, I am.”

“Then let's fight. You against me with no armies in between. Whoever manages to spread a kilometer in either of our directions is the winner.”

Prarya was surprised. She didn't expect Liu Shu to make such a proposal. “Hm… If you win, I guess that I will need to accept you entering my domain and be under your influence. Right? However, what if you lose?”

Liu Shu chuckled. “I don’t know~. What do you want from me? I have a few interesting fruits, but I will give them to you the second you become my subordinate, so I really don’t know what to give you.”

Hearing her words, Prarya was curious and asked. “Fruits? What do your fruits do?”

“Many things! I will tell you once you form part of my domain! Hehe.”

Thalgryn chuckled. “I heard from Eila that they are very powerful. Her strength took quite a turn after eating them.”

Liu Shu was happy that someone was praising her fruits. They were her pride! “I am sure you will like them, Thalgryn!”

Thalgryn smiled gently. “You can call me Aunty Thal if you want~. I won’t be against it!”

“Heh.” Liu Shu chuckled and answered mischievously. “Nop! Until Prarya forms part of my domain, I won’t call you that way!”

Thalgryn clicked her tongue and crossed her arms. “Prarya, lose quickly for me.”

“Ha!? Y-You actually dare say that!?”

Thalgryn burst into laughter and then sighed with contentment. “Teasing World Trees is soul-healing. Why are all of you so adorable?”

Prarya said shrilly. “W-Who is adorable!? I am already well over 200 years old!”

“Wah…” Liu Shu muttered. “So old.”

While she said it whisperingly, everyone could hear it clearly, making the people accompanying Thalgryn also chuckle. 

Meanwhile, Prarya chuckled once. “We should start, right?”

Liu Shu somehow felt a terrible feeling and then noticed Prarya’s energy traveling from the World Tree to the place where their roots were meeting. 

BOOM!

The earth cracked and split apart as Prarya’s roots attacked Liu Shu’s violently. Liu Shu was surprised at Prarya’s ridiculous strength, but she counterattacked quickly. 

Thalgryn and the others had long since fallen back, leaving the terrain to the two World Trees. The Ternary Essence undulations were terrifying, making many people turn serious. 

A man spoke to Thalgryn. “Lady Prarya is not holding back a single bit. Look, she is attacking all across the border between them.”

They looked around and noticed that the entire earth was trembling as if an earthquake was occurring. The scale of the battlefield was so large that they needed to turn their heads right and left to see the entire stretch. Thalgryn was also quite surprised. “Isn’t Prarya afraid of hurting Liu Shu?”

While Thalgryn had been messing around with Prarya, she was utterly convinced that Liu Shu could not resist her. After all, the difference between the Second and Third Energy Cycles was too big. 

However, as Prarya attacked and pushed, Thalgryn noticed several roots with glowing blue veins bursting from the ground while coiling around Prarya’s roots. The strength of these roots was no less than Prarya’s! Her eyes widened slightly, and she muttered. “No way, right? Liu Shu can actually fight back the Third Energy Cycle Prarya by herself?”

“Lady Thalgryn… Look.”

A woman pointed toward a place with a trembling voice, and when Thalgryn looked over, she saw several of the gorgeous blue-glowing roots ripping a few of Prarya’s roots apart. Everyone felt goosebumps spreading on their skin. 

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The sound of World Trees colliding was terrifying, making all land suffer from the aftershocks. In one place, nothing could be seen except cracks, signifying that the combat was occurring deep underground. Yet, on other locations, the World Trees had taken their fight to the surface. 

Prarya was similarly stunned. She had noticed that Liu Shu’s aura was deep and powerful, but she always thought that Liu Shu was a paper tiger, having a strong aura but a strength relative to her level. Yet, she was proven wrong. “You… How do you have so much strength?”

Liu Shu’s attributes were terrifyingly high since she had five accessories that grew with her level and had a high tier for this place. Flawless Level Low-Grade items were scarce, much more so if they were related to World Trees. 

Moreover, a person could only carry so many items on their bodies. Otherwise, everyone would be adorned with fifty rings, twenty necklaces, and several earrings. Prarya also had a few items related to World trees, but they were four Level 30 Complete Level Low-Grade items. The difference in stats was incomparable. 

Then, while Prarya had lived for a long time, she didn’t have many titles. A World Tree would usually have one or two powerful titles, incomparable to Liu Shu, who had many more. Not to mention, <Galactic Overlord> gave her 20% extra raw stats. That number didn’t appear as much, but 5000 points would become 6000 under that effect. 

Finally, Liu Shu was considered a very strong existence Tier-wise in this world. As a C Ranked World Tree, Prarya’s D- Rank was really not much in comparison.

The results of all the advantages and disadvantages resulted in Liu Shu’s ability to face a Third Energy Cycle World Tree. Naturally, the combat was far from easy. Liu Shu chuckled, hiding her tensed feelings, and answered Prarya’s question. “You ask how I gained my strength? I ask you back, without having this kind of strength, how would I dare face you, Prarya!”

Prarya’s core shuddered as Liu Shu’s aura skyrocketed; her roots were like underwater snakes, pushing forward and coiling around hers, destroying as many as possible. Prarya counterattacked with a skill. “<Dance Of The Underground Coil>!”

A large chunk of Aether and Anima energy flowed through Prarya’s roots net, speeding toward the frontier between them. The energy faintly dissipated as it traveled the distance, showing the effects of not having a perfect <Energy Cycle Completion Rate>.

Still, even while it was weakened around thirty percent, the effects were not something Liu Shu could resist. 

After the energy arrived, Prarya’s roots were coated in energy and then started moving around as if the hard soil was air instead of rocks. 

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Liu Shu’s roots collapsed one after another, the small distance she had gained being quickly overturned. With this one skill, Prarya advanced several hundred meters into Liu Shu’s domain. Her voice sounded slightly tense and cold, knowing that the enemy she thought was easy was far from it. “Liu Shu. I admit you are strong, but you still need a few years to face against me!”

Liu Shu grunted in pain as Prarya struck her roots, causing her sap to spill and splatter around. Back in the main city, Liu Shu’s face was faintly contorting in pain. The attentive people noticed and quickly notified the higher-ups. The news quickly reached Flor and the others. Flor asked, her face looking anxious. “Love?! What is happening? Why are you in pain?”

Liu Shu answered all of them with a restrained chuckle, holding back from making any pained sounds. “D-Don’t worry. I am just exchanging pointers with Big Sister Prarya, nothing more.”

Hearing that, they knew that even if they wanted to worry, they couldn’t. The frontier between Prarya’s and Liu Shu’s domain was around 150 kilometers away. Even if they used the Arboreal Winged Serpent’s fast speeds, they would take around 20 to 30 minutes. 

As Liu Shu was being pushed back by Prarya’s powerful roots, her soul was unresigned. ‘Losing against a World Tree? How could I lose? I refuse to lose!’

The energy around Liu Shu went berserk, creating a terrifying hurricane of ternary essences around her main body. Everyone watching felt their jaws slacken at the torrential downpour of energies. “GO!”

The energy sank into the ground and quickly traveled through the ground. Unlike Prarya’s, Liu Shu’s energy didn’t diminish at all during the transporting, reaching the edge of the battlefield in just a few seconds. 

Prarya felt the terrifying wave of energy incoming, and her core tensed. Then, Liu Shu counterattacked. 

BOOOOOM!

Thalgryn’s group looked wide-eyed as a massive cloud of dust surged upward all around, followed by brutal clashes between the World Trees. Thalgryn laughed in disbelief. “Is this the strength a Second Energy Cycle World Tree should have? Hahaha, ridiculous.”

“Prarya! GO BACK!” Liu Shu’s shout exploded outward like a soul bomb after she used <Mind Echo>. 

Prarya’s soul trembled when she was struck by Liu Shu, making her mind ring. Taking advantage of her momentary daze, Liu Shu’s roots brutally assaulted Prarya’s, and she regained the terrain lost! 

Snapping out of her daze from the pain of having her roots torn into pieces, Prarya quickly regained the initiative, but Liu Shu did not move back a single meter, falling into a stalemate. Prarya laughed delightedly. “Good! Good! Good! If you were not this ridiculous, how could you have the qualification of making me, Prarya, submit! Show me your strength, Liu Shu!”

Liu Shu shouted in retaliation, pouring her all into the battle. “HAAA!”

BOOOM!

The combat between the World Trees raged on, changing the landscape with their brutal assaults and with no winner in sight.