The Explored Universe; a certain Desolate Universe Belt.
The Star Alliance's infiltrators were following the news reports on the progress of the war and were somewhat dissatisfied with the current situation.
"The Three Universal Civilizations repelled the World Tree's first wave of invasion. Despite the sudden chaos, they managed to stabilize the situation. As expected of a triune, cosmic-level civilization, they are indeed not so easy to deal with."
"The World Tree's offensive is a bit weak... no, it should be said that the resistance of the Three Universal Civilizations is too strong."
They leaked intelligence hoping to see the World Tree launch a massive invasion, bringing despair to the Three Universal Civilizations, but the current situation is far from what they expected.
"The good news is that although the World Tree's encroachment on territory is slow, its strategy of using war to sustain war, though small, will eventually lead to the Three Universal Civilizations' utter destruction, leaving them no chance of recovery."
"Yes, the resistance of the Three Universal Civilizations will only gradually weaken and lead to a slow death."
"I hope to see this day before I die."
The many Star Alliance infiltrators steadied themselves and regained their confidence.
In their eyes, this was a long war, perhaps lasting for decades or even centuries. They decided to wait patiently, no matter how long it took, to witness the day when the Three Universal Civilizations were defeated.
Harassed by the World Tree's all-out invasion, the lives of interstellar citizens were filled with misery and hardship, with each day feeling like an eternity, and most of the year spent amidst the flames of war.
The World Tree launched large-scale airborne invasions into various star systems more than once. The Three Universal Civilizations resisted relentlessly, and the two sides fought back and forth, resulting in hundreds of thousands of battles of varying sizes over half a year. Endless blood was spilled across the cold universe, and traces of the battles remain in many places.
The strategic command headquarters tallied the losses. The total area of land World Tree Devour, including the scattered lost planets, was roughly equivalent to three and a half star systems. Compared to star systems that often consist of hundreds of star systems, this loss was not significant. Moreover, there were more than a dozen star systems that Explored Universe, and the number of planets taken by the World Tree was just a drop in the ocean.
Following this trend, the World Tree would theoretically need hundreds or even thousands of years to defeat the Interstellar Joint Army and devour the entire Explored Universe.
However, the Three Universal Civilizations will not relax their efforts because of this. For them, every inch of land is precious. Many players follow fleets to fight against the invaders, and their experience is rapidly accumulated. More and more players are stepping into the Calamity Grade.
On the other hand, new Beyond Grade A like Carrot and Evans are also constantly on the move between battlefields. They don't usually have so many opportunities for real combat, so these Beyond Grade A are growing rapidly in strength.
Meanwhile, Han Xiao had been guarding the shallow dimension alone. In the past six months, the World Tree Familia invaded seventeen times, large and small, but they were all defeated and fled in disarray. They could not shake the Secondary Dimension's defense line where he was stationed.
Besides that, Han Xiao has been focusing on cultivating the Pivot Snake, trying to make it stand up and mate with the Secondary Dimension to produce embryos.
He hadn't held out much hope, since the larvae of the Pivot Snake were still babies, and reproduction was a burden they shouldn't be under at their age.
But to Han Xiao's surprise, the experiment was a success. The Pivot Snake larva not only stood up, but it was also incredibly erect, and it eagerly ravaged the three Secondary Dimension that had just developed nascent consciousness, leaving behind three embryos.
However, after studying the specially recorded "snake slices" in depth, Han Xiao also found the reason.
Due to the Pursuit of the World Tree and the perilous environment of the Secondary Dimension, the life of the Pivot Snake is extremely difficult. Therefore, it is probably an instinct etched into their genes to mate and produce offspring as soon as possible after birth. Their reproductive ability is naturally mature, and they can produce offspring without waiting to reach adulthood.
With three embryos, he finally gained access to the aquaculture industry. Han Xiao devoted most of his attention to this during this period, causing the breeder King of the Boundless, to suffer heavy losses.
However, he did not convert the Pivot Snake into a virtual life form. Instead, he waited for the embryo to mature before attempting the plan, once he had a second and third Pivot Snake. His approach was based on caution.
On this day, Han Xiao received a message from the Oathkeeper and Kasuyi, who planned to visit them together, so he invited the two to come to the base as guests.
In the circular corridor of the observation deck, three people walked side by side at a leisurely pace, chatting casually. The dazzling aurora outside the window cast dappled light and shadow on the three of them through the viewing window.
Han Xiao, holding two mechanical spheres in one hand, chuckled, "What brings you here today? How's the war in the main universe going?"
"The Interstellar Joint Army has repelled another wave of World Tree's invasion. We can rest for a while and come to see you," Kasuyi smiled.
"And what about him?" Han Xiao turned to look at the Oathkeeper. "When did you all get involved together?"
"You even care who I befriend? Black Star, you've got quite the arrogance of an official." The Oathkeeper said, hands behind his back, pursing his lips.
"What kind of talk is that? I'm just worried you'll be corrupted by Kasuyi. He's a two-faced old actor." Han Xiao clicked his tongue.
"You have absolutely no right to say that to me," Kasuyi thought to himself, rolling his eyes.
The three chatted and joked for a while Oathkeeper getting down to business.
"Speaking of which, some members of the Beyond Grade A group have perished in the past six months of fighting. When do you plan to revive them?"
Han Xiao shook his head. "I don't have any ideas for now. Although I have high authority, it will still take me two or three months to get to the Sanctuary. If I'm not here to oversee things, things could easily go wrong. Protecting the Pivot Snake is more important right now, so I can't leave."
The Oathkeeper nodded, then suddenly changed the subject, saying, "Once the war is over, I will leave the Explored Universe, and everything in the Sanctum will be yours."
Han Xiao was taken aback.
What are you doing? What grudge do we have? You suddenly planting your flag makes me very uneasy!
At this moment, Kasuyi smiled and said, "Me too. After this battle, I'll leave with him."
What, are you two planning to elope?
Han Xiao's expression was strange.
"Is this what you came to me about today? What are you trying to do? Why did you suddenly decide to leave?"
Kasuyi shrugged. "It's just a long journey. Staying in interstellar society is convenient, but it's only a corner of the world. The universe is so vast; I want to see it."
... I'm telling you, the Netherland is quite vast, would you like to go and take a look?
Han Xiao squinted, inwardly grumbling.
"Go if you want to, it's not like we're stopping you. Or do you want me to try and keep you here?"
The Oathkeeper: "No, that's not it. The Unexplored Universe is full of unknown dangers. We came to inform you in advance, hoping that you will use the Resurrection spell on us every time you enter the Sanctuary. If we are still alive, it will naturally have no effect. If we unfortunately die and do not send back a message, then you can conveniently resurrect us."
"Is that all? So you guys go out and have fun, and I'm supposed to stay home and bail you out?" Han Xiao said irritably.
"That's pretty much the gist of it." Kasuyi wasn't ashamed at all.
Han Xiao was speechless and waved his hand. "Alright, I'll remember this... but aren't you guys speaking too soon? The war is still far from over. Didn't you listen to the General Staff's analysis? They predict that this war will last two to five hundred years under normal circumstances."
Kasuyi laughed, "That's for the average person. Do you think we high-ranking officials don't know? As soon as your Pivot Snake matures, that's when we'll launch our counterattack. It won't take that long."
"That's hard to say." Han Xiao shook his head and said, "The Pivot Snake is similar to most creatures, with six growth stages: embryonic stage, infancy, juvenile stage, adolescence, adulthood, and old age. Although the current Pivot Snake larvae are growing quickly, they have only been hatched for less than a year, so they are at most infancy and are still far from adulthood."
"In any case, it certainly won't take hundreds of years for the Pivot Snake to reach adulthood; I estimate it will be between ten and thirty years at most," the Oathkeeper judged.
"That's not a short time either," Han Xiao said, spreading his hands. "So the Expeditionary Army must continue its operations, using a two-pronged approach to find the location of the World Tree. Now that we and the World Tree know each other's secrets, we no longer need to worry about intelligence leaks, and the Expeditionary Army doesn't have to operate as stealthily as before."
Suddenly remembering something, Kasuyi said, "By the way, don't you have a subordinate named Harrison?"
"You know him?" Han Xiao asked in surprise.
"I went to support a battlefield, which happened to be not far from the refuge planet of the Planet Aquamarine civilization. So after the battle, I took a stroll around Dragon Calm. Ames wasn't home, so her chief steward Jenny, received me. She knows about our relationship and wanted me to pass on a message to you."
"What did you say?" Han Xiao asked curiously.
"She said she was pregnant," Kasuyi said with a playful tone.
"Holy crap!" Han Xiao exclaimed in shock, "It's not mine! I never mated with her! Don't talk nonsense!"
"What are you thinking?" Kasuyi raised an eyebrow. "She said the father of the child is Harrison, not you. Why are you getting so worked up?"
"Phew, that's good... Next time, could you please finish your sentence in one go?"
Han Xiao breathed a sigh of relief, but secretly felt a pang of pain in his groin.
If Ames were to mistakenly believe that he and his sister were having an affair, things would get really interesting...
Kasuyi sized him up and chuckled, "A Beyond God Grade being afraid of a mere Ames?"
"What do you mean by fear? You don't know anything. No matter how strong you are, you can't use that to intimidate your family. I'm just maintaining family harmony." Han Xiao said with a look of disdain.
Kasuyi remained noncommittal, continuing, "Anyway, Jenny asked me to tell you that she hopes you can persuade Harrison to give up his post in the Expeditionary Army and stop taking risks. She doesn't want her child to be born without a father."
Upon hearing this, Han Xiao put away his joking thoughts and asked Phillip on Harrison's current situation.
He wouldn't rummage through his subordinates' private lives for no reason, and he only found out about this today. He only knew that the two had some minor flirtation before, but they hadn't officially become a couple. After doing some research, he discovered that they had only officially gotten together within the last six months.
For the past ten years or so, Harrison had been participating in expeditions in the Secondary Dimension and rarely contacted Jenny. He thought he couldn't balance his relationship with Jenny, but Jenny, whether because she was unwanted or because she was getting older, didn't want to waste her time alone anymore. Instead of complaining, her feelings for Harrison grew stronger.
More than half a year ago, the Expeditionary Army's outpost was breached by the World Tree Familia, resulting in heavy losses for the Expeditionary Army. Harrison escaped with his life. During the time the Expeditionary Army was regrouping, he finally had time to return to the main universe. He survived, Jenny, like dry tinder, finally got together with him. Their long-distance relationship blossomed into marriage, and they seemed determined to have children. Without using any protection, they were having a passionate affair.
A month earlier, Harrison had rejoined the Expeditionary Army, leaving Jenny behind.
Han Xiao glanced at the file, exclaimed in surprise, "It seems no one recruited him; he actually returned to the Expeditionary Army voluntarily."
Because of the existence of the Pivot Snake, Han Xiao did not force Harrison to participate in the subsequent expeditions and explorations; it has now been discovered that this was Harrison's own initiative.
"Why is this guy so enthusiastic?"
Out of curiosity, Han Xiao used the King of the Boundless as a transit point to contact Harrison, who possessed the mark.
A few seconds later, the communication was established.
"Lord Black Star."
Harrison's remote projection appeared, bowing to Han Xiao and offering respectful greetings.
"No need for formalities. It's like this, Jenny is pregnant and asked me to persuade you. She doesn't want you to risk your life with the Expeditionary Army. Besides, the main force doesn't need you anymore. So, do you want to go back?" Han Xiao got straight to the point.
Harrison shook his head slightly upon hearing this. "I appreciate her kindness, but I won't go back."
"I noticed that you volunteered for this expedition. What were your thoughts?" Han Xiao asked.
Harrison paused for a moment, then slowly said:
"When I was in Dragon Calm, I came into contact with many refugees. Do you know their current situation? They live in fear every day. Many people cannot bear the pressure and choose to end their lives. Those who are alive are afraid of the unknown tomorrow. No one knows if they will become the target of the World Tree's invasion one day. New religions are becoming popular, and countless people are seeking solace in them. Everyone is praying for the war to end soon."
You said I'm very lucky and good at finding things. I don't know if it's true, but I hope you're right. I hope this fleeting luck will work its magic and contribute my small part to ending the war as soon as possible.
Han Xiao raised an eyebrow and chuckled:
"Not bad, you command my respect... But you should know that now that the Pivot Snake is in our hands, our chances of winning are already very high. The Expeditionary Army is no longer the only option and may not be effective. The main force doesn't need you. Your actions might just be futile and even risk your life. You might as well go back and be with your unborn child."
Harrison shook his head. "I don't want to comfortably enjoy myself under your protection for these reasons. My colleagues are here, and I don't want to desert my post. Please don't try to persuade me anymore; my mind is made up."
"Alright, I won't try to persuade you anymore. Be careful." Han Xiao nodded.
"... If you can, please tell Jenny that I love her."
Little buddy, do you realize that the moment you say those words, your death star is flashing?
"If you're going to tell her yourself, who do you think I am, your mouthpiece?"
Han Xiao clicked his tongue and hung up the call before Harrison could reply.
Hey little rascal, no need to thank me, I'm just helping you pull down the flag to save your life!
Kasuyi listened to the whole thing and remarked, "You have a good cadre."
"He wasn't like this before. He used to be just a very curious child, but now he seems like a grown-up."
Han Xiao paused for a moment, then smiled and said:
"This guy is a bit slow, but the world needs a few slowsters like him. Maybe he can actually bring me some surprises."