An outpost of the Expeditionary Army.
An exploration fleet was docked at the airport pier. Harrison and a group of teammates disembarked from the spaceship, took off their life support helmets, and took a deep breath.
"I'm so suffocated! The air inside the base's large ecological enclosure is so much better. After being outside for so many days, the spaceship's gas filters have all become smelly."
"Really? I didn't feel anything."
"Don't you know that our Gukaite People have a more sensitive sense of smell than most interstellar species?"
"Unfortunately, after being away for so long, we still haven't gained anything."
Listening to his teammates chatting amongst themselves, Harrison rubbed his forehead, feeling somewhat annoyed.
Since he discovered the King of the Boundless an ally, the higher-ups have given him the authority to lead an expedition team, transforming him from a follower into a team commander with a certain degree of freedom to formulate exploration plans.
Black Star kept saying Harrison was lucky, and Harrison was willing to believe it was true, secretly hoping that his fleeting luck would help him again and find the World Tree itself to end the war as soon as possible. But so many years have passed, and the luck that was once so highly anticipated seems to have fallen silent. Apart from occasionally escaping the Pursuit of the World Tree Familia, he has made no new achievements in exploration.
The Expeditionary Army's exploration progress has stalled, and Harrison is both anxious and worried. As the saying goes, if you walk by the river long enough, you're bound to get your shoes wet. The Expeditionary Army is wandering around the World Tree territory and has encountered pursuers time and time again. He feels that there will eventually be a disaster.
At that moment, a team member patted Harrison on the shoulder and asked, "Captain, how long should we rest before the next exploration?"
"Ten days, I guess," Harrison said, snapping out of his daze.
"Okay, we're going to eat at the base canteen. Want to come along?"
"No, I'll go to the Logistics Department to report first and have them inspect and maintain the spaceship. I also need to write a routine report later." Harrison waved his hand.
"Okay, we'll bring you some food. What do you want to eat?"
"Then I want..."
Harrison was about to speak when he suddenly stopped, a sudden pang of fear gripping his heart.
Receiving no answer, the team member blinked in confusion and asked again, "Why are you suddenly silent? What do you want to eat?"
Harrison was uneasy, a strong sense of vigilance rising within him. He couldn't help but snap out of his reverie, looking up at the view outside the airport and staring intently at one spot.
"What are you looking at?" The team member turned his head and followed Harrison's gaze. All he saw was a dim, yellowish landscape, like the afterglow of a sunset in Secondary Dimension, resembling a historical oil painting. He saw nothing unusual.
Something's not right...
Harrison grew increasingly wary.
The team members wanted to ask more questions, but at that moment, the dimensional barrier in the distance suddenly lit up with a blue light, quickly transforming into a huge spatial vortex, as if it had been torn open. The emerald green World Tree Familia swarmed out like locusts, covering the sky and the earth, like countless tiny green dots, and then rapidly enlarged in everyone's sight.
"Whoosh! Alert! The spatial barrier has been breached! Enemy attack!"
The piercing alarm suddenly blared throughout the base, startling all the Expeditionary Army members who were resting and waiting for orders. Tense shouts, hurried running, and chaotic smashing sounds created a symphony of riots.
"Everyone evacuate at full speed! Base is preparing for self-destruction! Defense force will cover the retreat!"
The outpost commander's roar echoed through the wide-area communication channel and the map. Half an hour earlier, an expedition team had self-destructed and lost contact. He was still investigating the matter and was unsure if the news had leaked. He never expected the World Tree to arrive so quickly.
The World Tree wields immense power in the Secondary Dimension, while the defenses of this outpost are limited. Its dimensional coordinates have already been exposed, and a direct confrontation would only attract more World Tree Familia. According to the pre-established plan of the Three Universal Civilizations, if this outpost is attacked, the primary task is to self-destruct to erase all traces and allow the Expeditionary Army to evacuate immediately. A head-on confrontation should be avoided unless absolutely necessary.
"Run!"
Harrison's expression changed drastically. Ignoring everything else, he quickly urged his terrified team members to board the vehicle at the port and start the engine.
The outpost was thrown into chaos. The automatic defense team was quickly activated to fight off the endless stream of World Tree Familia and buy time, while the Expeditionary Army members rushed to the shipyard to find their vehicles and take off to evacuate.
Streams of light shot out from the base, dispersing and escaping, opening spatial rifts to flee to different Secondary Dimension.
Soon, the vanguard of the World Tree Familia Head-On Engagement with the outpost defense force, and countless warships were instantly reduced to ashes.
At the same time, the outposts activated their self-destruct programs and exploded with a deafening roar. The entrance portal connecting to the prime material universe was also destroyed by physical missiles launched from the base. Flames shot into the sky, black smoke billowed, and countless debris crashed down.
The defense force was quickly overwhelmed, the outposts exploded violently and fell rapidly. The same scene occurred in multiple Secondary Dimension. The World Tree obtained the precise dimensional coordinates half an hour earlier, quickly assembled, directly located the destination, and launched a large-scale blitzkrieg attack, catching everyone off guard. The bridgeheads established by the Three Universal Civilizations in the territory of the King of the Boundless were destroyed one by one, and a large number of expedition teams fled.
On the other side, at the residence of the King of the Boundless.
A magical portal shimmering with green light suddenly opened, and the Secret Tree King slowly emerged, his first sights being the black mountain range and the colossal Throne at the center of the dimension.
However, at this moment, the King of the Boundless was not on the Throne.
Am I too late? Or is she just not home?
The Secret Tree King activated his perception spell and discovered that the King of the Boundless was not hiding there, which made him feel a little regretful.
The stable zone controlled by the King of the Boundless has some reputation in this Secondary Dimension region, and the World Tree Familia have also heard of it, but have never paid any attention to it.
When the Secret Tree King learned from the expedition team that the Three Universal Civilizations were cooperating with the King of the Boundless, he originally wanted to strike at the heart of the matter and go directly to the King of the Boundless's headquarters to convert him into a member of the World Tree. However, he found that the King of the Boundless was not at home, so he had to abandon this plan for the time being.
The Secret Tree King raised his hand and clenched it, sending out streams of magical runes that transformed into surveillance spells that took root in this Secondary Dimension. King of the Boundless returned to his lair, he would then come and make his move.
After casually setting up the spell, the Secret Tree King summoned a portal, stepped inside, and the vortex quickly contracted, taking his figure with it and disappearing.
At the same time, in Secondary Dimension at the edge of the King of the Boundless's territory.
Space was slowly collapsing, and waves of dimensional energy were being devoured by the Pivot Snake. Meanwhile, the King of the Boundless, who was responsible for feeding them, suddenly stopped, his heart tightening.
He had a basic awareness of the territory he controlled. Just now, he sensed that the World Tree army had launched a surprise attack on the Secondary Dimension lent to the Three Universal Civilizations. Almost all of the outposts had fallen. The most terrifying thing was that his home base had been visited by an uninvited guest, who was clearly targeting him.
"The World Tree has finally arrived!"
The King of the Boundless was immediately alarmed.
Although he used the intelligence of the Three Universal Civilizations as a bargaining chip, he was unwilling to reveal it to the World Tree unless absolutely necessary, as the risk was too great. Now, the World Tree had clearly set its sights on him, sending Beyond Grade A expert directly to its lair. Even if he expressed his willingness to cooperate, the World Tree would most likely kill him to ensure the reliability of the intelligence.
"Luckily I came out. If I had stayed at home, I'd probably be a puppet of the World Tree by now..."
The King of the Boundless felt a wave of fear wash over him, and looked at the Pivot Snake, who was feasting, with mixed feelings.
When Black Star asked him to give up his territory to feed the Pivot Snake, the King of the Boundless was reluctant. Now, seeing this, he was only filled with relief... If Black Star hadn't insisted on giving him this task, he wouldn't have come out to walk the Pivot Snake today. He would probably have been caught red-handed by the World Tree experts at home, which would have been terrible.
If you round it up, Black Star actually saved my life?!
There's no going back; we have no choice but to go all the way!
The King of the Boundless thought for a moment and quickly made up his mind.
He didn't want to get involved in a war between two cosmic-level civilizations, but a trusted (and potentially dangerous) subordinate had provoked the Three Universal Civilizations first, which had already dragged him into the conflict. His subsequent cooperation with the Three Universal Civilizations was out of necessity, and now he was unable to extricate himself from the situation, even if he wanted to stay out of it.
Now that the World Tree has its sights set on them, the only option is to go all in, cling to the coattails of the Three Universal Civilizations, and crush the World Tree.
With this in mind, the King of the Boundless turned to the Mechanical Divine Apostle monitoring the Pivot Snake and reported the situation in detail.
The battle did not last long. The World Tree Familia swiftly destroyed the Expeditionary Army's outpost, and the raid ended quickly. Many expeditionary squads scattered and fled, while a portion of the World Tree fleet pursued them along the dimensional fluctuations. The remaining forces began to clean up the battlefield, summarize the results, and carry out cleanup work.
World Tree extended from the spatial rifts, with strings of the Expeditionary Army hanging from them. The Secret Tree King hovered to the side, his eyes closed, sharing the memories.
Not long after, the Secret Tree King reopened his eyes, his previously relaxed expression now extremely solemn.
"Unexpectedly, the Mother Tree's natural enemy has been controlled by the enemy; the situation is dangerous..."
Eliminating the enemies searching for the location of the Mother Tree was just a casual task, but he didn't expect to discover the traces of the Mother Tree's natural enemy in the process, which was not good news.
If the Mother Tree's natural enemies reach maturity, they can sense the location of the Mother Tree itself. If they act alone, they are not a big threat. However, if they are controlled by an enemy, the threat level will soar to the extreme, meaning that the enemy can use this to find the Mother Tree itself.
The Secret Tree King understood the gravity of the situation and the picture book. This meant that the World Tree, which had previously been able to wage a war of attrition without any pressure, now had to race against time. It either had to kill the Pivot Snake before it came of age, or completely crush the Three Universal Civilizations before that.
The only good news is that the Pivot Snake has just been born and will take a long time to grow from infancy to adulthood.
He immediately relayed this information to the Ancestral Tree King, and the next moment, the Ancestral Tree King's deep voice resounded in the Psychic Network:
"You did a great job, otherwise we would still be in the dark. You mobilize a portion of the high-level combat forces to Pursuit the Mother Tree's natural enemy and make sure to eliminate it!"
"Alright, I just happened to get the coordinates of their territory in the Secondary Dimension World from these people's memories. We have a new target."
"Yes, the Anchor Tree King and I are ready to provide support at any time. The rest is up to you." The Ancestral Tree King nodded.
"Perfect timing! This time we can smoothly open up Secondary Dimension front and solve the problems at the same time."
A cold glint flashed in the eyes of the Secret Tree King. He was not satisfied with destroying the outposts of the Three Universal Civilizations; he had his sights set on Three Universal Civilizations long-established strongholds in the Secondary Dimension World.
The two sides fought fiercely for more than a decade, and only today have they grasped some general information about the Three Universal Civilizations, no longer being led by the nose, and finally found a breakthrough in the battle.
The Explored Universe; this is the frontline base.
Han Xiao was listening to the battle meeting when suddenly the Mechanical Divine Apostle's report came to his mind.
"Oh? The World Tree found the Expeditionary Army's outpost, launched a surprise attack, and succeeded...?"
Han Xiao frowned.
He was somewhat surprised, but not too astonished. As the Expeditionary Army's exploration time increased, the risk of exposure also increased. He was mentally prepared for this. The only thing that puzzled him was the subtlety of the timing.
Han Xiao had only returned from the Expeditionary Army's outpost a few days ago, and was still considering the next course of action, when the World Tree breached the outpost. It seemed like a coincidence, but Han Xiao felt there was something fishy about it.
"The Secondary Dimension battlefield has been opened up. That's the World Tree's home turf. This attack of theirs probably obtained the coordinates of the shallow dimension. Fighting on two fronts is disadvantageous for the Three Universal Civilizations... However, the Three Universal Civilizations have also made preparations in the Secondary Dimension, so the situation won't be as bad as it was in the previous life."
Han Xiao pondered silently.
Just then, Simon, who was eloquently explaining the tactics, suddenly paused. A remote projection of a high-ranking military officer appeared on the conference table, his expression extremely serious, and he spoke in a deep voice:
"Emergency situation! The Secondary Dimension Expeditionary Army's outpost has been attacked by the World Tree and almost completely fallen. Some intelligence has been leaked, and the World Tree may have obtained the coordinates of the shallow dimension. It is expected to open a second front. We urgently need advanced combat forces to reinforce us!"
The notification from the Three Universal Civilizations Mechanical Divine Apostle. As soon as the words were spoken, all the officers present were shocked and instinctively turned to look at Han Xiao.
Upon hearing this, Han Xiao slowly nodded and asked:
Who is leading the enemy force?
"According to information from the front lines, it's a superhuman who has never appeared before."
The image of the Secret Tree King was projected onto the virtual screen; these were snapshots taken before the bases self-destructed and transmitted back to the main AI.
"The Secret Tree King..." Han Xiao recognized the man at a glance, narrowing his eyes. "Alright, leave this to me."
Just then, Simon spoke up, his brow furrowed. "Fighting on two fronts will tie up our high-level forces, Aurora unable to spare the resources. Furthermore, the enemy might deliberately avoid Black Star and deploy powerful alien forces... I certainly agree with sending reinforcements to the Secondary Dimension, but the border front is a crucial battlefield, and we must maintain a sufficient number of high-level forces."
"This isn't a big problem. I have enough Sovereign Mecha for rapid relocation between the two sides, and... I also have more manpower."
Han Xiao nodded.
Compared to the terrifying scale of interstellar battlefields, the unique characteristics of Secondary Dimension World result in extremely fragmented battlefields, which indirectly amplifies the importance of individual power in Secondary Dimension battlefields.
Those Sanctum Organization who've been slacking off for decades should now make their mark.
Moreover, this Secret Tree King is worth my time.