Chapter 125. "TODAY, YOU ALL SHALL PERISH!"

After Liu Shu heard Ignatia's tale, the entire place was silent. The World Tree absorbed the words Ignatia said as her anger grew by the second. She hadn't expected that the person she wanted to communicate the most with was now lying on an uncomfortable-looking bed, her limbs severed and in a state that she never expected to see her in. 

'Humans…' 

Liu Shu's experiences with them have been mixed until today. On one hand, there was Ariel's group, which was not completely good, but at least they were reasonable people.

Other than them, the other humans she'd met were always trying to do something to her and those around her out of greed. 

Ignatia looked at the roots that had surrounded their hiding place and asked carefully. "Liu Shu… Can you heal Flor?"

The World Tree's thoughts, which were becoming darker by the second, stopped for a moment when she heard that question. "Have you tried my <Phoer Berries>?" 

Ignatia nodded. "I've fed her around 16 of them during this time. Because we fled quickly, we couldn't really go to the vault to get more resources. Everyone that arrived here was injured one way or another, so we had to rationalize the resources so that everyone survived." Ignatia paused and said. "Also… Your voice is now echoing physically? I can hear it with my ears instead of my mind."

Liu Shu hummed softly. "Yes." Then, she said, her tone soothing and protective enough to calm everyone there; even the ants felt a sensation of safety and peace. "I'll deal with the people above from now on. Stay in here for a while." 

Ignatia was about to speak, but Liu Shu's changed, mature, and soft voice reached them first. "No need to fight. You've suffered enough; let me protect you."

"... Liu Shu." 

The World Tree was startled at the weak tone of the person calling her. Looking over, she saw that Flor had opened her eyes, revealing an exhausted and tired look. "Flor?"

The Rose Fairy Queen smiled when a root reached out before her. She extended her good arm to caress it and said. "It seems that I couldn't protect you."

Liu Shu felt uncomfortable hearing that. "It doesn't matter." 

Flor sighed sadly. "I was weak. I didn't expect this day to come so soon."

Liu Shu answered firmly. "I don't care."

"Huh?" Questioned Flor. "What do you mean?"

Liu Shu had gained much more than strength during the <Energy Cycle>. Her Intelligence and emotional awareness had also increased during this time. 

"Flor, you are my guardian and will always be. I don't mind the resources I need to spend to feed you and make you stronger."

Flor looked at the World Tree's root with bewilderment. "Why…"

Liu Shu laughed softly as her roots gently caressed Flor's face. "Well… You are important to me, Flor. You've dedicated your life to me, at first because of your race, but that changed. Now, you did so not because I am a World Tree but because I am Liu Shu. Your affection for me hasn't gone unnoticed Flor, and mine is as strong."

As a gentle and soft green energy poured from Liu Shu's roots and seeped into the Rose Fairy Queen. Flor's eyes suddenly read a notification.

[Title Evolved! You are the first creature to gain World Tree Tianlian Liu Shu's affection while your feelings for her remain pure. <Friend Of The World Tree> evolves into <World Tree's Mother>!]

<World Tree's Mother>: As an intelligent creature, you've managed to put your greed and interest aside, wholeheartedly dedicating your everything to a World Tree. Your act of selfless righteousness to defend her has touched the World Tree's core, making her acknowledge you and your race. You and your race will receive bonuses as long as they remain loyal: 

If you are in an area dominated by the World Tree, your stats will increase by 25%.

If your race is fighting in an area dominated by the World Tree, their stats will increase by 10%.

The Hidden Stats <Intelligence > and <Wisdom > are significantly increased. 

While your race's system page continues to be <Monster Type>, you will now be affected by <Completion Rate> in the energy cycle. (Current Completion Rate is 40%)

Regeneration will heal you until you attain peak condition as long as you are under the shade of the World Tree. 

Flor was stunned when she read the title. 'Mother?' When she read that word, her heart thumped strongly. As her mind cleared, thanks to the title giving her increased intelligence, the feeling she had always had for Liu Shu but was challenging to put into words became clear. 'Motherly love…'

The Rose Fairy Queen couldn't help but reach out to caress the World Tree's roots as a smile appeared on her exhausted expression. "Liu Shu. Be careful, okay? Those people are strong."

The World Tree's nature-like voice spread around, the tone soothing and clear with an added obedient touch. "Hm. I will." 

Flor chuckled softly. "Good. Now go."

Liu Shu returned her vision outside and looked at Malachai. The Level 20 human felt the gaze of the enormous tree falling on him and felt pressured. 'As expected of a World Tree. If I didn't know she was a Level 10 youngling, I would've never tried this.'

First of all, Liu Shu remembered what Malachai told her. 

"World Tree, you are finally awake. We've waited for a while to discuss some things. We are the <Void Witherwood Exarchs>, and I am the leader. It seems that you were being held captive by monsters against your will, so we've made sure to liberate this area." 

Thinking of these words made her bubbling energies want to surge outward and thrash everything within her reach until all was broken. However, she wanted to not let anyone leave her range, so first, she needed to win a bit of time while trapping all the people in her buildings. 

After evolving, Liu Shu's town's capacity to house people had grown to around 450 population. Hence, her buildings were crammed with people. 'There are a few other houses over there, probably built by them… There are around 800 people.'

Liu Shu analyzed the Level 20 human, revealing his main attributes.

***

Malachai Nightshade

Level: 20

Aether Mana Shards: 38,420/38,420

Phoer Body Shards: 69,690/69,690

Anima Energy Shards: 38,872/38,872

Attributes: Aether 170 (112+58), Physique 303 (191+112), Anima 172 (114+58), Willpower 96 (96), Destiny 80 (80)

Affinity Percentage: Aether Resonance (13), Physique Refinement (15), Anima Affinity (13)

Resistance Percentage: Aether Resistance (30), Physique Resistance (34), Spiritual Resistance (30), Mental Resistance (27)

***

Malachai approached as Liu Shu's voice echoed around for the first time, descending onto everyone like a mountain of pressure. "You just said that you liberated me, human?"

Malachai's relaxed face couldn't help but harden, and he paused his approach. 'Even though she is low level, her presence is incredibly deep. Regardless, we are too many for her to fight. Eldric is missing, but there are still more than 100 Level 10+ here, with a few hundred Level 9 and below. 

Malachai answered. "Yes, World Tree. There were monsters who had taken root in your town while you Leveled Up. We, the <Void Witherwood Exarchs>, have managed to push them away and make them flee!" 

Liu Shu's anger increased as she listened, her tone getting more profound as it converged with nature around her. "Did you ask me how I felt about those beings, human?" 

Malachai answered. "World Tree, they are monsters. There is nothing good about having such creatures around you."

Liu Shu laughed coldly. "An insolent human that has come to my domain and now wants to school me? The creatures you said you 'liberated' me from have been taking care of me, human. Moreover, the one you almost killed…" 

The body of the World Tree started creaking as several messages appeared in Liu Shu's vision. 

[Do you want to use 2595 Experience Points to Increase <Willow Strike (F+ Rank level MAX)> to ?]

[Do you want to use 2595 Experience Points to Increase <Willow Strike Barrage (F+ Rank level MAX)> to ?]

[Do you want to use 2595 Experience Points to Increase <Mind Call (F+ Rank level MAX)> to <Mind 1 Echo (E- Rank Level [0 3900])>?]

<Mind Echo (E- Rank Level 1)>: It allows the user to create echoes of their thoughts. When actively used, Anima Energy is used to increase the range and penetration power and it can damage creatures with low mental resistance.

Accumulated Experience: : 9,740 ->1,955

As Flor's mangled body flashed in her mind, Liu Shu's aura skyrocketed as she ordered. 'Upgrade them.' 

[<Willow Strike> and <Willow Strike Barrage> combine into <Weeping 1 Willow's Aether Barrage (E- Rank Level [0 3900])>] 

<Weeping 1 Willow's Aether Barrage (E- Rank Level [0 3900])>: The World Tree can summon phantasmal branches to strike everything in a radius double her height. The strength behind each strike is a combination of her Physique and Aether stats. Other than that, the World Tree's ability to manipulate Aether can help her create Aether Mana Thorn projectiles to target things up to 5 times her height. 

Malachai shouted. "NEUTRALIZE THE WORLD TREE!" 

Liu Shu used her <Mind Echo>, and her words boomed out to the surroundings. "NO ONE WILL TOUCH FLOR UNDER MY PROTECTION! PERISH <MIND ECHO>!"

BOOM!

A terrifying wave spread outward as her terrifying 543 points of Anima and 664 points of Willpower combined to create a pressure wave that assaulted everyone in the town. 

Creatures with less than 50 points of Willpower felt their brains swelling as blood burst from their ears and eyes. 

[Congratulations on defeating <Ceperet 9 Human Level>. You've gained 6 Experience Points.] x 354

[Congratulations on defeating <Ceperet 8 Human Level>. You've gained 3 Experience Points.] x 241

[Congratulations on defeating <Ceperet 7 Human Level>. You've gained 1 Experience Points.] x 189

A Level 9 and below human had an average of 20 Willpower points. Hence, Liu Shu's mental attack of a combined 1000+ stat points was devastating and terrifying.

Among all World Trees, those with an aptitude for mental attacks were the ones that people feared the most, as numbers usually meant nothing against them.

Moreover, her massively large Anima Energy Shard pool was reduced by just a few thousand, leaving her with more than enough to repeat such an attack.

However, while the people with low levels were exterminated in the hundreds, her area of effect attack lacked effectiveness in dealing with people with a certain level of Mental Resistance. 

A Level 10 human with a 40% completion rate usually had around 60 Willpower points and around a natural 20~25% Mental Resistance. 

These numbers were enough to avoid death and significant amounts of damage. The worst damaged Level 10 had lost around 15% of their Phoer Body Shards with her attack. 

However, Malachai was naturally not happy. He just lost hundreds of people. While the survivors had a blurry vision because of Liu Shu's <Mental Echo>, they still charged toward the towering tree.

The Void Witherwood leader came close, and he slashed at Liu Shu with incredible speed. "FALL DOWN!"

Yet, Liu Shu's highest stats were not her mental ones but her <Physique > stat. 

Before Malachai could even react, an ethereal branch carrying Liu Shu's 697 points of <Physique > flashed towards him and smashed into Malachai frontally. 

BANG!

[-12,548]

Malachai's face twisted in pain as his ribcage cracked and his body flew like a shooting star across the town.

The horrifying scene of their leader being blown away like an insect was accompanied by Liu Shu's rumbling declaration. "TODAY, YOU ALL SHALL PERISH! <LIVING WOOD CITY>!"