Shallow-dimensional base.
Han Xiao turned off the communicator, deactivated the remote projection, rubbed his temples, closed his eyes for a moment, and then opened them again.
"The Super Star Cluster has reached a consensus that they won't cause any trouble in the short term."
Han Xiao secretly breathed a sigh of relief, though he felt somewhat exhausted.
After a series of reasoning, situation analysis, and even threats and inducements, they finally managed to persuade the group of people who wanted to desert their posts to return.
Of course, this is only a temporary consensus. The Super Star Cluster Alliance has not agreed to abandon the relocation, but is only willing to stay and observe for a while, and to increase its support. However, this is enough. If the Super Star Cluster Alliance Super Star Cluster Alliance were to leave without giving them face, even if they were to pay a price afterward, it would not prevent the negative chain reaction in the war.
Currently, there are no missing armed forces in the Explored Universe, and an internal rift has been temporarily averted before it could erupt. The Super Star Cluster Alliance will not be blamed as "traitors" anytime soon.
Damn it, I'm really the one in charge of the interstellar society, it's driving me crazy!
Han Xiao shook his head and opened the real-time military star map of the Explored Universe. Areas were revealed before his eyes, appearing in blue. Within each star field, scattered green spots were emerging, expanding at an extremely slow rate, representing the World Tree's invasion range.
"The World Tree is coming on strong, but the territories of the Three Universal Civilizations are so vast and their depth so immense that even if the World Tree blooms in multiple locations, it will still have to invade slowly. Although the battle is fierce, the threat level remains at a relatively low level in the short term."
Han Xiao's eyes flickered as he silently analyzed the situation.
The sudden change in the favorable situation inevitably affected their mentality. The Three Universal Civilizations were somewhat flustered in their response, but Han Xiao remained calm, ignoring the anxiety of his territory being constantly swallowed up. He calmly assessed the situation, after all, he had seen worse situations in his previous life, and this small scene could not frighten him.
No matter how powerful the World Tree is, it can only be gradually devoured; it cannot become fat overnight. Moreover, the fierce resistance from the Interstellar Joint Army makes their "feeding" very difficult.
In contrast, Han Xiao felt that the biggest effects of the World Tree's full-scale invasion were, firstly, the blow to the morale and spirit of the interstellar society, and secondly, the impact on their resource output and productivity.
Based on leaked intelligence and his past life experience, Han Xiao guessed that the World Tree's priority targets for invasion were the military factories and resource planets of various factions, in order to slow down the rate at which the Three Universal Civilizations could amass troops.
Secondly, some galaxy-level or star cluster-level civilizations' home planets, ruling planets, and densely populated refuge planets use this method to incite panic and trigger internal unrest within interstellar societies. The World Tree has invaded many civilizations and is well-versed in this.
Then there are the important bases of some Beyond Grade A races and private forces, which will clip the Wings of the Three Universal Civilizations.
Of course, the Central Galaxy, as the core of interstellar society, is the most important target of attack. However, Han Xiao guessed that the World Tree probably wouldn't take action against it for the time being, because the Central Galaxy would definitely be heavily guarded. Once it were invaded, a large-scale battle would break out, which would be similar to a border war.
Now that the World Tree has mastered many spatial coordinates, it should be unwilling to continue with inefficient head-on confrontations. Instead, it has chosen to avoid direct confrontation and instead focus on harassing and nibbling away at the enemy's weaknesses, leveraging its high mobility and the advantage of sustaining itself through warfare.
"These are all areas that need special protection. After this battle, I wonder how many more Desolate Universe Belt... It's a pity that the World Tree's mechanism is too abnormal, otherwise I could have used their own methods against them."
Han Xiao felt a little helpless.
With his individual combat strength, he could easily cause trouble in the World Tree's territory. However, more than a decade ago, he learned a great deal of information from powerful alien beings within the World Tree. The World Tree's main base could be withdrawn into his body at any time, and they could simply pack up and run away. Going there to harass them would be of little use; they could just move to another location. This wouldn't have much impact on the enemy's productivity because the World Tree itself is the largest military production factory, directly converting resources internally. It doesn't need to build countless factories like a normal civilization. Otherwise, Han Xiao wouldn't have considered it a complementary partner to [Virtual Genesis) ].
Moreover, the World Tree Familia is definitely eyeing Pivot Snake, and Han Xiao doesn't want to leave the shallow dimension. Even if he supports the main universe, he will only send out a portion of the Mechanical Divine Apostle, while his main body will remain in the Secondary Dimension to "guard the home."
The World Tree was unwilling to sit idly by and wait for its demise. In addition to invading the territories of the Three Universal Civilizations, it would not give up on dealing with the Pivot Snake. It did not know what the other party's plans were, so it was best to be cautious.
"However, although it's not very useful, it's good to annoy them. With my current strength, I don't have to worry about being besieged on a large scale like before. If they get carried away and fight me head-on, wouldn't that be great?"
Han Xiao's eyes darted around, and he felt it was worth a try.
The Arcane Church, the Temple of All Gods.
Urnos strolled leisurely through the corridor of towering statues of various shapes, clutching a handful of spiritual light in his hand. Each time he approached a statue, he would perform a simple ritual in a leisurely manner before flicking the spiritual light into the statue's body, giving the impression of feeding a pet or baiting a school of fish.
This was his daily ritual, usually performed alone. But today, he was followed by a group of high- Arcane dressed in priest robes and military uniforms, looking anxious and speaking in hushed tones.
"High Priest, the World Tree is now launching a massive invasion, and we lack sufficient high-level combat power. We hope you can lend a hand."
"Aren't you afraid I'll die on the battlefield and lose my national treasure?" Urnos said casually without turning his head.
"Of course we don't want to take any risks. We didn't ask you to help during the border wars and the Secondary Dimension invasions. But this time the situation is urgent, and we need you to use some of your divine avatars to help us..." an officer said in a low voice.
This request was normal, Urnos would usually agree to it in the past, but now he was acting out of character.
"I refuse." Urnos shook his head.
"Why...?"
"I'm only one step away from becoming Beyond God Grade, and I could get the chance to advance at any time. I need to stay in top condition at all times so as not to miss the opportunity. As long as you don't attack the Arcane Church's home planet, don't come to me with anything else. I don't want to waste my energy on other things." Urnos said casually.
"But the other direct descendants are fighting valiantly, and your refusal to participate seems a bit..."
"You don't understand. Whether I can advance to the Beyond God Grade is more important than these battles. This is an independent right personally granted to me by the Patriarch; I have the right to decide whether or not to participate in the war." Urnos waved his hand casually. "Don't bother me here; go back."
The group looked at each other, gritted their teeth, and turned to leave with dissatisfaction and frustration.
Urnos didn't care.
His previous attempt to advance failed, resulting in severe injuries. However, there was an unexpected benefit: the leader of the Arcane Sect saw that he indeed had the potential to advance at any time, so he simply allowed him to decide when to participate in the battle, and he could obey orders but not summons.
Therefore, for more than ten years, Urnos has not participated in any battles, nor has he rashly attempted to advance further. He has been recuperating and reflecting on why he failed.
Urnos always felt that he was missing some key elements, and he had been searching for them until now. It wasn't without results; he vaguely discovered a mysterious ability hidden within his body, but it hadn't been fully activated yet. It seemed to be able to sense something unknown, and his intuition told him that this sense was very important for his advancement.
"Once I figure out what's going on, I should be able to access Beyond God Grade power. Perhaps this is Black Star's hidden secret to advancement. I won't fail again this time..."
Urnos's eyes flashed.
Somewhere in the Infinite Nebula, two fleets were engaged in fierce combat, the battle so intense that the sky darkened. One side consisted of World Tree invaders, and the other side was the Black Star Army.
Numerous assault pods latched onto the World Tree's spaceship, transporting wave after wave of Legion players for boarding battles. The World Tree warships fell one after another from within, and many Calamity Grade players, dressed in mechs, roamed and fought directly on the battlefield.
Due to the sudden change in the situation, the players' combat missions also changed, from guarding the border to intercepting World Tree invaders in different areas, making the missions much more diverse.
The Shattered World's border defense perimeter has almost been transformed into a teleportation station, with High-Dimensional Apocalypse Teleporter operating non-stop, sending batches of players to various star systems.
Version 5.5 unlocked a new level cap, and now more players have entered the Calamity Grade tier, resulting in a qualitative change in their combat power.
The fearless Calamity Grade beings are naturally not to be underestimated in terms of destructive power, especially since there are so many of them. Although the World Tree also has many Calamity Grade superhumans, they can't wreak havoc like the players do.
Everyone can be resurrected, but the World Tree's resurrection interval is longer, and it must reappear inside the Mother Tree, unlike players who can regenerate on the spot. Its on-the-spot effect is simply not as good, meaning that the player's actual military strength is several times greater than it appears, and one person can do the work of several.
Both sides were undead, and the battle was extremely fierce, but the difference in strength was obvious, with the World Tree warriors being forced into a retreat.
"These Immortals are terrifying. Using so many Calamity Grade beings as a suicide squad, only our elite main force can withstand them. We simply can't hold them off."
Inside the World Tree invaders' flagship, the commander looked astonished and clicked his tongue in amazement.
Since the World Tree obtained information about the Three Universal Civilizations, this information has been shared in the Psychic Network. From the Tree King down to the lowest-ranking soldiers, everyone knows about the superhuman classifications of the Three Universal Civilizations, as well as the strange existences such as the Immortals.
The adjutant beside him murmured, "It seems there's a limit to how these Immortals can resurrect. If they're killed multiple times in a short period, they won't be able to resurrect for a certain time."
The commander murmured, "I wonder what kind of being this is, and what power their resurrection comes from..."
The adjutant shrugged and said, "Maybe they also have a World Tree? Who knows?"
Several days later, somewhere within the territory of the World Tree.
A wormhole slowly opened, spitting out a mechanical body, which was Han Xiao's Dominion Avatar.
Han Xiao twisted his neck and activated the machine's self-check. The outer armor opened and closed like scales, revealing fine gaps. He felt the intricate design of the mechanical body and let out a comfortable groan.
Because of the [Foundation of Strength, God of All Machines], the Beyond God Grade Dominator's Descent.
When Beyond Grade A Dominator's Descent, there is still a barrier between one's own perception and the Dominion's body. Although it is as easy to use as one's own arm, one can clearly recognize that it is not one's own body.
Now that the Dominator's Descent, the feeling of the Dominion's body is almost indistinguishable from the original body. It doesn't feel like a mechanical clone, but rather like an additional original body, which is smoother and more refined.
To give an example, the arrival of a Beyond Grade A Dominator's Descent is like remote control in virtual reality—it feels very real, but deep down you know it's fake. The arrival of Beyond God Grade Dominator's Descent, on the other hand, feels like you've been reborn...
"Feeling good, the clone's power handling capacity reached over 94%, not bad."
Han Xiao clenched his fist, clearly sensing the rhythm of every alloy, every component, and every biochemical tendon within his body. He nodded in satisfaction, then looked up at the starry sky over the World Tree territory, a flash of lightning in his eyes.
"More than ten years ago, you beat me so badly that I almost didn't make it back. I nearly met my end at your stronghold. Now it's time to settle the score!"