Ascension of the Sylvan Cosmos

Author Note: Scheduling went wrong for some reason. Again. I don’t know what is happening lately with Webnovel.

***

Liu Shu didn’t leave straight away after completing the deal. Instead, she kept talking with Sarlos about miscellaneous topics. Even when it was just common topics, Liu Shu learned plenty. For starters, she learned who was supporting the Nexus’s activities.

Surprisingly, it wasn’t a Globular Star Cluster Empire. It was a force deep-rooted in the center of the Galaxy. That was why, even when there were plenty of World Tree civilizations wanting nothing more than for them to disappear, not many fought back.

The Covenant did so because they were a True World Tree civilization and had to resist or they would be conquered. So, Sarlos told Liu Shu that she was in a similar situation and didn’t need to worry too much.

The Covenant, surprisingly, was an independent force. They had connections and such, but they didn’t have a stronger backer that was supporting them like the Nexus. The reason they could face the Nexus was that World Trees were just very strong, natural space fortresses.

Balaya’s existence, for instance, was more than enough to make the Nexus reluctant to fight an all-out war. Instead, chipping away slowly at the World Tree while the Corrupted Church analyzed Balaya and found countermeasures was a much better approach.

Liu Shu was quite surprised when she learned about all that information. As for the name of the big backer the Nexus had, Sarlos didn’t act mysterious and told her straightforwardly. ". That’s their name. They are strong enough to mingle with central civilizations, so their label is above Nebula Class Empires. Even our Shattered Star Ring would avoid provoking them at all costs."

Liu Shu was not too surprised. It was clear that there would be strong forces trying to eliminate World Trees so that they could take over. World Trees were a far too neutral existence that could flip the table of an entire interstellar sector if they had strong enough powers.

"Even then, it is still surprising that there are no Globular Star System Empires nearby that outright hate World Trees."

Sarlos laughed."Well, our six Globular Star System Empires are rather old. We’ve been here for long enough to see several Covenant and Nexus rise and fall. Of course, I am not that ancient at a personal level. However, my family has kept records, and they are all resting in a library back in my main state."

It was something Liu Shu hadn’t expected. To be honest, she had thought that after sinking her roots into the Nexus, a "Big Brother" would jump into the fray from the Globular Star System Empires to face off against her. Sarlos heard her guess and laughed. "If that were the case, said force would start to get involved now. To be honest, you have gained enough strength to face the Nexus to a large degree. So, after surpassing them, you should focus on the next threat."

"The next threat?"

Sarlos nodded. "That’s right. There are many other threats besides civilizations in the depths of our galaxy. The nearest one is a Hive-Type nest. They have been expanding and kept at bay by us. But we see no end to the conflict. The core area is heavily guarded, and the Queen of the hive-mind is a Level 399 super powerhouse that gets stronger the more allies she has around her."

A look of horror flashed in Liu Shu’s eyes. "What kind of absurd skill is that? It’s like one of those BOSS Monster type skills but brought into reality."

Sarlos sympathized. He had a similar reaction the first time he heard it. "The saving grace is that such a powerful skill has a big drawback... that Queen can’t move outside her main nest. And the nest’s movement speed is rather slow. Even then, as long as she is in the nest, that monster is basically invincible."

Liu Shu frowned deeply. But after a second, she focused. ’That’s a matter for the future. I have plenty to do before I target that thing. The later that thing knows of my existence, the better. First, deal with the Covenant and Nexus while also absorbing Xakira’s and the other two’s insectoid empires.’

Beyond those, she needed to target nearby Solar Systems from weaker civilizations as well.

’Also, I need to make sure to save Deadly Petal if possible.’

That worry she had placed at the back of her mind was also important. She just didn’t do anything yet because her roots were still moving in Deadly Petal’s direction. Unless she managed to arrive fast, she might be unable to prevent Balaya from dealing with Deadly Petal.

Shaking her head slightly, Liu Shu continued speaking with Sarlos for a while. After the productive conversation, Liu Shu untangled her roots and brought back the technology while informing Flor of the deal they made.

From here on out, Liu Shu would be in charge of giving Flor and the like. As for the layout, transportation, building, etc, Liu Shu would leave it to them.

Speaking of seeds, Liu Shu glanced at her System Page. ’Oh...? My last skill has finally reached A+ Rank Level MAX!’

This last war had not given her many Experience Points. Nevertheless, the amount of proficiency points she had earned for all her skills was tremendous. Each and every skill had gone through many changes, and after spending plenty of Experience Points, they had all finally evolved to S- Rank.

There was not a single skill left below S- Rank on her system page, and the changes were astounding. Her strength, even without much stat number changes, had gone through monumental shifts.

[You’ve completed a difficult achievement for someone at your Level!]

Liu Shu blinked, and then her eyes widened. ’This message... A new