Ascension of the Sylvan Cosmos-Chapter 466. Corruption Deployed!

Evangeline looked at the messages on her tablet and felt scorn toward the others. "A greedy bunch, really. Even if our 12 Artillery Monoliths are not that effective, they are at least bombarding the defenses of the city and are in good condition. Did Thalric’s failure not make them guess that, perhaps, the enemy had equally long artillery already ready to fire?"

A general by her side spoke carefully. "Lady Evangeline, what do we do next? Lady Jolie and the other Cursemancers told me to say to you that they are ready."

"Oh?" The silver-haired Sylvan smiled widely. "It’s done? That’s great! The other three fronts will become a dragged-out battle, so it will probably come down to how fast we finish our battle. Once we capture Fortuna City, we will be able to have a foothold and a place for the armies to retreat comfortably and reorganize."

The general nodded and asked to confirm it. "So, do we activate the <Corrupt Infection Array> and <Corruption Enhancement Runic Field>?"

"Go." Evangeline nodded. "It is the third day since the siege started, and Eryndis, Thalric, and Vaelin have already lost 20 percent of their armies without causing as much as a few cracks in the enemy walls."

During the last four days, Ignatia had gone from battlefield to battlefield, using the tunnels to collapse parts of the army and then being helped by Liu Shu to cover up their traces. The end result was the defeat of several large groups. Even then, Ignatia was being patient and careful, as if she were handling a surgical knife. Therefore, while she had not been discovered or put in a difficult situation, her ability to do damage was not that great.

Evangeline added with a sigh while looking at the sky. "Moreover, those bombardment attacks are starting to become quite annoying. We need to take the initiative and become proactive. Once we do, the enemy will have no other choice but to focus on us, giving the other three time to breathe."

The general frowned. "Won’t that mean that we’ll need to bear the weight of that attention?"

"No." Evangeline chuckled. "After all, they’ll be too busy trying to counterattack the corruption. Now, go. The sooner we start, the better."

In Fortuna City, the guards and armies were stationed on the walls, watching the occasional beams of light streaking from the horizon. The power was not so large that the Guardian Trees struggled to block it. Even then, the barrage of attacks, which lasted for three days straight, was starting to take a toll on the people’s hearts.

Fortuna observed those attacks and zoomed her gaze into the enemy army encampment. Sadly, she could see nothing, as the anti-spy formations blocked her gaze from detecting what was happening. ’Sigh... I wish I could do something. Why isn’t Liu Shu commanding the <Mother Of Thousand Flower Field> to attack? This deterrent might make them hesitate. Or, at the very least, would also make their morale falter.’

As she was thinking of that, a strange sensation enveloped her senses. It felt like thousands of insects were crawling all over her roots, giving her body a chilling sensation. "What’s wrong? What is happening?"

Her senses expanded as much as she could, and she soon noticed a tar-like energy seeping through the ground of the enemy army and contaminating the surroundings. Somewhat scared of that strange miasma, Fortuna’s roots coiled around Liu Shu’s as she called her. "L-Liu Shu! Something is coming out of there! I don’t like it!"

"I noticed." Our World Tree didn’t take long to answer. The second she noticed something wrong in Evangeline’s encampment, she was already checking them. The other three battlefields had stabilized, with Flor, Thalgryn, and the Sylvans controlling the flow of the battle. The only one that was still not within control was this one, and for a reason.

As she observed the corruption, Liu Shu felt some concern. "Evangeline is truly difficult to deal with. This corruption is not something I can deal with easily, even if I spam my purifying skill."

The reason for such a restriction was the annoying artillery that she had yet to deal with. Evangeline, Jolie, and the other cursemancers had seen Liu Shu’s purifying capabilities during their Wall Forest expedition. Therefore, instead of using the spell as they practiced, they added a few variations to make it safer. The most important one was connecting it with the interlocked system of arrays that the 12 Artillery Monoliths created. As a result, the corruption sources were protected by them, making it difficult for Liu Shu to deal with.

’On the other hand...’ Liu Shu squinted. ’Since everything is so interconnected, if I manage to deal with the corruption, I’ll probably be able to use their interlocked arrays to reach and destroy or heavily damage the Artillery Monoliths.’

"Fortuna, move your roots. I’ll contain the corruption."

"Huh?" Fortuna answered with a stern tone. "What are you saying? If you are willing to do that, then it is obvious that I’ll share your burden! We are defending my city, so there is no way that I’ll allow you to be corrupted in my stead!"

Liu Shu laughed softly internally. Of all the trees, Liu Shu felt Fortuna was the one that cared about her the most. Not that the rest of the Big Sisters were bad to her. Nevertheless, in terms of initiative, Fortuna was someone who would say yes the most often to her actions.

"Be good." Liu Shu spoke gently. "I won’t let myself be corrupted easily. I already had a taste of that in the past, and it is the most unpleasant sensation I’ve ever felt. I don’t want to experience that again, so you don’t need to be so worried. Just move aside and let me contain the corruption before it spreads too far."

Fortuna hesitated. Even then, as she hesitated, she felt her roots being gently grabbed and pulled away by Liu Shu’s powerful and firm roots. Fortuna wanted to struggle, but the firmness and gentleness in Liu Shu’s movements made her feel powerless.

"Big Sister Fortuna is currently pregnant as well, right? Don’t worry, I won’t let them affect your seeds in any way. Just attack the armies with your skills when they approach, and leave me the underground battle. Within my domain, all my Big Sisters should not feel burdened."

Fortuna’s core felt stuffy. Liu Shu’s actions during this kind of scenario were selfless to the point that her Avatar clutched her heart while having difficulty swallowing. It was as if her throat was clogged and tears were about to spill. ’Why was such a gentle World Tree always forced to fight? I want to help her as much as I can, but when the real threat appears, who can stop it other than her? We all have the initiative, we all have the desire, but we lack the most important factor. Strength to back up our words.’

Their Liu Shu was far from perfect, but as long as everyone left her alone, she wouldn’t bother you. As proof, all the World Trees were happier after being under Liu Shu’s control. The World Tree could deal with the conflict and allow everyone’s roots to spread underground, which was ridiculous if anyone living outside Liu Shu’s domain heard about it. They would treat it as a fallacy.

However, Liu Shu understood that with some planning, there was more than enough space to spread out for everyone. After all, compared with the entirety of the planet, the crust was truly not that deep. Since a World Tree could suck ternary essences from almost anywhere to feed itself, the location didn’t matter as much as the volume they could cover with their roots.

Liu Shu didn’t notice Fortuna’s feelings. She just focused on the task ahead and moved her roots en masse toward the location. Underground, thousands of roots started circling the corrupted area and making a dome around it.

Meanwhile, Evangeline frowned as she felt some rumbling below the ground. "What’s happening? Use the <Root Detecting Array> in the Artillery Monoliths."

A general at her side asked, confused. "They have something like that?"

Evangeline rolled her eyes. "They were crafted specially to deal with World Trees. Do you think that they will lack one of the most basic functions when fighting them?" By her side, Jolie was manipulating a few stones with runes carved in them. To create different effects, Jolie needed to shift the fist-sized stones inside a circular complex array. Depending on their position, they would create new effects.

After 30 minutes of tinkering with them, a pulse of energy hit the ground and pierced through deeply. "Done!"

Everyone looked with curiosity at the effects. Jolie explained things somewhat superficially. "The pulses are acting as a mapping device. Once the results come, I will be able to create a vague image through them."

Another 30 minutes passed, and within these minutes, Evangeline noticed an abnormality outside. "Hm... Is it me, or has the corruption mist stopped?"

A cursemancer of quite high rank stood by her side. "That shouldn’t be possible, Lady Evangeline. Only those who know the array should be able to interact with the corruption mist. Otherwise, it is a wild card that consumes everything around it. Unless there is a <Fourth Energy Cycle> World Tree to stall its movements, it is an almost undefeatable method to corrupt World Trees."

"I know. Without these, we wouldn’t have had such a simple time conquering the <Wild Continent>. However, by now, an hour has passed. It has a stable acceleration. So, by now, we should’ve been able to see its traces on the surface around the encampment.

Evangeline looked ahead to the flat ground in front of them. This grassland with sparse trees and other flora led into a large forest where Fortuna and her city resided. According to her calculations, the corruption should’ve covered at least 700 meters from where they were, slowly approaching its maximum spreading speed.

"Where is it?" There were no signs of corruption around them. Only, if she had to say if something changed, she would say that the ground looked slightly bumpier.

Jolie frowned. "Mother, I understand why it can’t spread. It’s being contained."

"What?" Evangeline returned to Jolie’s side. The girl deployed a map that showed the underground around them, and the results were honestly terrifying.

A general opened his mouth, not noticing that his voice had a slight yet noticeable tremor. "W-What is that? Why are we surrounded by a... bowl of roots?"

That expression was funnily accurate, as the entire underground was covered in enough roots that they resembled a bowl right under them. All the corruption was being contained within those roots as well, confusing most of them. Evangeline asked, baffled. "Won’t Fortuna be corrupted quicker if she does this? Why receive the Corruption head-on when she could fight it? I don’t understand..."

The others were also confused. Why would World Tree Fortuna do something like that? They didn’t know that those roots were not from the closest World Tree, but from their real target: Tianlian Liu Shu.