The World Tree's plan to relocate overnight and cause a ruckus was naturally thwarted. Han Xiao left behind a group of mechanical troops in this now empty and desolate star field, and then withdrew his Dominion avatar.
With the World Tree's mechanics, as long as they remain undisturbed, their base can be established in virtually any region of the universe. Over the years, they have destroyed numerous civilizations and possess the coordinates of many regions. They can simply migrate to any area they have turned into Desolate Universe Belt.
The migration process had some impact on their invasion offensive at the front lines, causing a slight disruption in support. Han Xiao relayed this situation to the Three Universal Civilizations.
Upon learning that the World Tree had been so frightened by Han Xiao that it had fled overnight with its homeland, the three leaders were surprised and instructed the Strategic Command to make corresponding adjustments.
The entire Explored Universe and is engulfed in war. More than a month has passed quickly, and the World Tree's first wave of full-scale invasion has finally subsided thanks to the resistance of the Interstellar Joint Army.
Although the World Tree's World Tree was aggressive and caused considerable panic in interstellar society, in terms of actual benefits, the first wave of invasion did not cause much damage. Most of the invading forces were intercepted and killed by the Interstellar Joint Army. Although it devoured some planets, this number was only a drop in the ocean compared to the entire Explored Universe, and the planets were scattered and fragmented, appearing insignificant.
Although the Three Universal Civilizations lack powerful defensive configurations such as the Information State Warning Network and the World Tree Express, their High-Dimensional Apocalypse Teleporter are equally formidable, giving the Interstellar Joint Army extremely high military mobility. As soon as an intruder is detected in a certain location, support troops can be deployed instantly.
If it were any other civilization, without such rapid support and mobility technology, they would be extremely passive and exhausted in the face of the World Tree's unpredictable harassment and invasion. This is precisely the kind of attrition warfare that the World Tree excels at. However, the technologies of the Three Universal Civilizations have countered the World Tree's usual tactics, preventing it from achieving its best results.
Of course, although the World Tree's first wave of invasion was repelled, a considerable number of World Tree fleets remained within the interstellar society's territory, lying in wait. This was the weakness of the Three Universal Civilizations: without sufficiently sophisticated monitoring devices, although their support speed was fast, as long as the World Tree fleets remained hidden, it was difficult for them to locate the enemy forces within their territory.
After the current emergency was lifted, the Interstellar Joint Army leadership convened a strategic meeting with officers from various departments and senior Beyond Grade A Association to analyze the current situation and discuss subsequent actions.
"... Although the traitor leaked the intelligence, leading to the World Tree's invasion of the entire territory, our current situation is not as bad as we imagined. Our vast territory and extremely fast support speed are our two main advantages in maintaining the situation, and they have already demonstrated their significant role in the war."
Tenny pointed to the 3D star chart on the table and summarized the current situation.
The same star map model floated in front of many attendees, displaying the current strategic deployment.
"According to statistics, the World Tree's invasion targets are mostly military facilities, resource planets, homeworlds of civilizations, and territories of Beyond Grade A races. This indicates that the World Tree's primary strategic intention is to undermine our productivity and social stability... However, so far, the World Tree has not succeeded many times. We secretly relocated important facilities in the early years, and some of the intelligence leaked by traitors is outdated information."
Tenny spoke eloquently.
The Star Alliance observers' infiltration methods were too discreet, resulting in them only being able to obtain general information from the internet. Consequently, the information was often outdated, and the Star Alliance observers naturally had no way of knowing some of the confidential information of advanced civilizations. The most valuable intelligence they leaked to the World Tree was still star maps and spatial coordinates.
"Does this prove that the traitor's status is not high?" an officer said.
"Not necessarily, maybe it's just a disguise," another person countered.
Tenny interrupted the two, cleared his throat, and said, "Ahem, we have other people handling the traitor, we don't need to discuss that. Let's get back to the main topic... Our interception was quite efficient, thanks in large part to the strong support of Lord Black Star and the Beyond Grade A Association, otherwise the World Tree's advanced combat forces could have continued to wreak havoc for a long time."
Upon hearing this, many officers turned around and nodded to the representatives of the Beyond Grade A Association, sending a signal of goodwill.
Han Xiao nodded and said, "This time we annihilated many World Tree experts; it will take them at least one or two years to make a comeback."
His Mechanical Divine Apostle, in coordination with the Association, the direct line, and the Sanctum's three Beyond Grade A, wiped out a large number of World Tree's high-level combatants, sending at least two or three hundred people to water the plants, and they won't be back for a while.
Some of the powerful alien beings encountered Han Xiao's Dominion clone, were hit by [Virtual Purification ·Restore], and immediately self-destructed into fireworks.
Besides those who died in battle, some of the World Tree's high-level combatants were used by Han Xiao to test the effects of [Information State Erasure], or were sealed in the Space-Time Amber and became his collection. There were about thirty of them. The World Tree has permanently lost these powerful individuals and can never be resurrected, so it can be considered a loss.
Due to the division of the battle lines, some Beyond Grade A warriors from the Three Universal Civilizations also perished, their bodies enshrined on the memorial monuments erected by the Three Universal Civilizations, marking a new death toll in their battle records.
Tenny then turned to Manison and said in a deep voice, "The Machine Race's territory was also a key target of this invasion. We were unable to provide timely reinforcements, but fortunately, His Excellency of the Mechanic Emperor repelled the enemy. I apologize to you for this."
"It's all trivial, not worth mentioning," Manison waved his hand dismissively.
The crowd looked puzzled.
If we're talking about which forces stood out in this response to the invasion, Manison was one of them. He hid an incredibly large armed mechanical legion in the Machine Race territory, and without the support of the Interstellar Joint Army, he annihilated the World Tree invaders on his own, demonstrating a force that drew attention from all sides.
Although Manison is no longer the leading figure in the Mechanic Class, his accumulated wealth over the years is not just for show, and he still carries considerable weight among the Beyond Grade A group.
At this moment, an officer suddenly spoke up thoughtfully, "Speaking of which, the Super Star Cluster Alliance also played a significant role this time, sending a large number of troops to provide support."
"Speaking of this reminds me of some unusual things. It seems that the World Tree's invasion this time deliberately avoided the territory of the Super Star Cluster Alliance, only causing some small-scale harassment. That's why the Supercluster Alliance was able to free up its resources to help."
"That is indeed a bit strange..."
The officers' expressions were strange.
In their view, it was somewhat strange that the World Tree did not consider the Super Star Cluster Alliance as an invasion target, giving them an inexplicable feeling of collusion and suspicion of treason. However, the Super Star Cluster Alliance did not stand idly by but took the initiative to provide military support to the Interstellar Joint Army, which was another good deed, puzzling many high-ranking military officials and lessening their suspicions.
The Super Star Cluster Alliance did this to fulfill its agreement with Han Xiao. If they hadn't offered their support, the Three Universal Civilizations would have been even more suspicious of them. Right now, however, confusion outweighed doubt, and there were no signs of infighting for the time being.
Listening to the discussion, Han Xiao remained calm. He had persuaded the Super Star Cluster Alliance and managed to suppress the escalating internal suspicions, but he had no intention of revealing his achievements and kept his merits hidden.
At this point, Commander Simon took over the conversation, stopping the discussion on that topic and steer the discussion back to the main subject, saying:
"Currently, we have two main concerns. One is clearing out the lurking World Tree invaders. Their main force has been driven away, but a small contingent remains within our territory, posing a threat and putting considerable psychological pressure on interstellar society. What are your thoughts?"
The Three Universal Civilizations successfully thwarted the first wave of invasion, but the aftermath was severe. The World Tree suddenly breached their defenses, causing widespread panic and unrest. As a result, the Three Universal Civilizations had to devote more energy to dealing with the refugee problem.
In this respect, the Three Universal Civilizations are no different from normal civilizations; after all, the social system of the World Tree, which has almost no internal friction, is a minority.
After some discussion, the consensus was simply to strengthen military control under wartime policies; now was not the time to talk about freedom.
Seeing this, Simon added, "Furthermore, we need to figure out the World Tree's next move and make some preparations in advance. They didn't invade the Central Galaxy this time, but they will make their move sooner or later. They need to seize the time more than we do now; they can't wait much longer."
A group of high-ranking military officials engaged in a heated discussion on this topic.
Han Xiao and the others did not participate, but listened quietly from the side.
After some discussion, the military finally reached a consensus, the meeting adjourned temporarily, and the many participants relayed the orders.
Secondary Dimension World, territory of the World Tree Familia.
Tree roots intertwine and spiral into a towering structure in the center of the earth, while surrounding it are buildings formed by giant trees, forming a tree city where countless clans thrive and multiply.
Spatial rifts opened up from time to time, with clan warships coming and going in a constant stream.
Two figures hovered in the blue-green sky, looking down at the tree city below. One was the Ancestral Tree King, and the other was a female figure wearing a gorgeous robe. Her skin was like tender leaves, glowing with a shimmering emerald light. Her long white hair was draped behind her, and there was an intricate and mysterious mark on her forehead. This person was one of the Thirteen Ancestral Spirits and was named Hailian.
"Your Excellency Tree King, what brings you to me?"
I have a task for you.
"You say."
"The Secret Tree King is gone. His crown needs a new master, and we need a new Tree King. Are you interested?"
Upon hearing this, Hailian turned to look at the Ancestral Tree King, a look of surprise flashing in her eyes.
"Am I qualified to become the Tree King?"
"Of course, your magical strength has already reached the standard for this position." The Ancestral Tree King nodded.
Hailian narrowed her eyes. "I am indeed interested... but there are mages stronger than me, why choose me?"
"I only said you are qualified, not that I chose you," the Ancestral Tree King said calmly. "Under normal circumstances, the position of Tree King wouldn't be yours. What I mean is, if you want to become Tree King, I can give you a chance, and with the Book, as long as you complete one task, you can inherit the crown of the Secret Tree King. It stores the magic left behind by generations of Tree King, and I believe you will be interested."
"... What do you want me to do?"
"I know that you underwent a genetic mutation in your early years, which merged with your own magic, allowing you to enter the rare 'Warlock' branch and develop some unique innate spells. You are able to conceal your existence in a very mysterious way and are extremely skilled in stealth and espionage... Now that civilization is facing an unprecedented threat, we need your abilities to assassinate that Pivot Snake larva protected by Black Star," the Ancestral Tree King said in a deep voice.
"Are you sending me to my death?" Hailian frowned.
The Ancestral Tree King shook his head, raised his palm, and a ball of dark green liquid suddenly seeped out from his palm, hovering in mid-air. Then, the phantom of a golden leaf appeared beside him, and the two things hovered in his palm.
"These are two key items for the mission. One is a deadly poison specially synthesized by the Mother Tree to counter its natural enemies. If used on the Pivot Snake, it can quickly strip it of its life force, whether injected or poisoned in its food. The other is a treasure evolved from the Mother Tree called the Leaf Concealment Garment, which can conceal your presence on all levels and enhance your stealth abilities."
Hailian's expression shifted as she hesitantly accepted the two items.
Seeing this, the Ancestral Tree King said calmly, "The Pivot Snake is growing rapidly, and the Mother Tree's perception of it is becoming increasingly clear. Follow the guidance, and you will find its trail. As long as you can kill the Pivot Snake, you will be a hero of civilization, and upon your return, this Tree King Crown will be yours!"
Hailian toyed with the two items, hesitated for a moment, and finally nodded.
"I can give it a try."