“What do we do next?”
“There’s no need for you to continue fighting. Return to the main base first. We will begin evacuating in batches. The World Tree’s goal is not just to break through the intercepting perimeter but also to clean up our troops. Since the defense line has been broken, the trend will be difficult to reverse. There’s no need to fight them head-on. We will use the various fortifications that we have built in the strategic depth of the rear for the past year to cover fire and harass them into slowing down. I…”
“You guys can decide the matters of the army.” Han Xiao waved his hand.
Simon nodded and turned to look at the wounded Beyond Grade As. He changed the topic and said, “Everyone, please tabulate the damage. We need accurate data.”
Hearing this, the Beyond Grade As sized each other up and began telling their names. The number of people had decreased by a lot compared to when they went to fight. Many of them had died in the intense battle, with the direct Beyond Grade As suffering the most casualties, as well as some Revivors. The number of casualties among the association members was relatively low.
Because the number of participants this time had increased quite a lot, the World Tree had lost even more people. The three Universal Civilizations, on the other hand, were in a far better state. However, the World Tree did not bring out all their high-level combatants. In terms of numbers, the number of participants was only a fifth or a quarter of the total.
However, although they had the upper hand in terms of battle losses, it was still much worse than the previous battle. Many familiar faces disappeared, and the Beyond Grade As present could not even muster any emotions. They were still immersed in the battle and could not extricate themselves from it. They still had lingering fears and felt like they had just survived a disaster. The atmosphere was like a dark cloud.
“The losses this time are not small,” Sun Hunter muttered. “I think we should have retreated when Aurora was defeated…”
Hearing his soft voice, many Beyond Grade As nodded in agreement. They looked at Han Xiao with complicated emotions-helplessness, understanding, dissatisfaction, and resentment.
If they did not capture Heart Tree King this time, they would have suffered a huge loss. However, they had at least gained something and did not return empty-handed. Although many Beyond Grade As still felt that they had suffered a loss, they felt more or less comforted when they saw Heart Tree King in the amber.
Although they were unhappy, they could not say anything. After all, Han Xiao had captured a Tree King and made a huge contribution. At most, they felt that it was not worth it to exchange so many people for one opponent.
Han Xiao casually glanced at them. He knew what they were thinking, but he did not explain.
He had originally wanted to see if he could manipulate the scene and make some Revivors die in battle, but now that Aurora had fallen, although his losses had increased tremendously, it made it easier for him to act. He did not need to press Aurora to make a ‘mistake’ as he had planned.
These dead Revivors would be the best evidence to prove the truth of the Sanctum Revival. He was not sad at all; instead, he was relieved. It would have been troublesome if no Revivors died in this battle.
After listening to the war casualties of the Beyond Grade As, Simon sighed and shook his head.
“The direct descendants have suffered heavy casualties. No matter what, most of the victims still have a chance to revive in the Sanctum. Thank you for your hard work.”
Everyone was in a bad mood and could not be bothered with him. They turned to look at Hila. They were most concerned about Aurora’s situation.
“How’s your sister?”
“The seal is a little thicker than before, and it will take some time to unseal it. Everyone, let’s not delay any further. Let’s rest for a while and start. We can be at ease if she wakes up as soon as possible,” Hila said with a deep voice.
“That’s right. Those with psychic abilities come out. While we’re retreating, wake Aurora up.” Kasuyi stepped out from the crowd and released his psychic energy to enter Aurora’s mind space. He then started to bombard the thought seal purple crystal in her mind. Many Psychics, Mages, and Espers walked out one after another and worked together to speed up the process. With so many people working together, the thought seal was getting thinner at a visible rate. At this rate, it would be completely unsealed in a few hours.
Seeing this, Han Xiao turned to look at Heart Tree King in the amber. He remembered that Heart Tree King had used a leaf-shaped Universal Treasure to activate the Illusion – Mind Lock. That was probably one of the rare items that the World Tree grew, and it was hidden in Heart Tree King’s body. However, Han Xiao had no intention of unsealing the amber in the short term and temporarily suppressed his curiosity.
World Tree Territory, Tree King Palace.
The executives who did not participate in the battle found out about the situation from the mental network, and their faces were filled with shock and doubt. They were prepared for Heart Tree King to die in battle, but they did not expect him to be captured alive by the enemy with that strange sealing method, and they were all terrified.
Seated on the throne, Fortitude Tree King slowly opened his eyes and deactivated the Lord’s Descent state. A rare look of anger appeared on his face, and he slapped the armrest of his chair heavily.
“Humph, Heart Tree King, so useless!”
As soon as he said that, the roots on the two thrones beside him suddenly rose, and two figures with different appearances appeared.
“Hehe, it seems like the enemy this time is indeed very difficult to deal with. Of the five Great Tree Kings, one is dead, and the other is captured. Now, only three can fight. You’re right, Heart Tree King and Subduing Tree King are both useless.” One of them turned his head and looked over with a sneer of disdain. “However, you’re not much better. Your Lord’s Avatar was clearly present, but you didn’t save Heart Tree King.”
Fortitude Tree King glanced at him coldly and snorted. “Secret Tree King, I can’t be bothered to argue with you, but you better watch your words.”
“Heh.” Secret Tree King did not think much of it. He did not even care about Fortitude Tree King. Among the five tree kings, he did not like anyone other than Ancestral Tree King. “Humph, I can’t be bothered to argue with you.” Fortitude Tree King turned to look at Ancestral Tree King in the middle seat and asked, “What do we do next? What do you think?”
The aura of Ancestral Tree King was the opposite of the other four tree kings. He was like an ordinary person, lacking any sense of presence. Be it his appearance or physique, there was nothing special. If one did not pay attention, they might subconsciously ignore him.
Hearing this, Ancestral Tree King said slowly without any expression.
“I’ve already tried. Heart Tree King is completely isolated from the outside world, and the mother tree can’t take back his Tree King Crown. This means unless he’s unsealed, I can’t remove his position and replace him with a new tree king. Therefore, we must try to save him. At the very least, we have to take back his Tree King Crown. Otherwise, we won’t be able to make the Tree God descend completely.”
Hearing this, the faces of Fortitude Tree King and Secret Tree King turned solemn.
Initially, they had thought that Heart Tree King killed a lot of high-level enemy combatants by himself. Although it had become a real Exchange, it was worse for the enemy. However, if they could not retrieve the Tree King Crown, it would be troublesome.
The identities of the tree kings all came from the ‘Tree King Crown’. This was a special ability given by the mother tree. Like the Apostle Weapons, there was a limited quota. The quota was only five, and it had to be five different Super systems. Other than Ancestral Tree King occupying one quota, the other four Tree King Crown positions had been changed over the years.
Only by gathering five crowns would they be able to make Tree God descend completely. Thi
s was their trump card. “Then what should we do?” Fortitude Tree King asked.
“There’s no need to worry for the time being,” Ancestral Tree King said casually. “The civilization on the other side has yet to show the strength that would require us to use the Tree God’s Descent. Heart Tree King is only sealed, so there’s no danger. We have two paths now. One is to wait. The enemy might be interested in studying a Tree King. As long as we unlock that special seal, I can retrieve the Tree King crown.
The second is to send someone to rescue him. Although the mother tree’s connection with him has been cut off, the broken connection can still point in his direction. We can organize high-level combatants to snatch him back.”
“Then let’s just wait and see when these enemies can’t take it anymore.” Fortitude Tree King snorted.
“Hmm, I think so too.”
Ancestral Tree King nodded and continued.
“Although we have broken the enemy’s interception circle, we still need to move forward to the enemy’s territory. Just let the fleet carry out this task. There’s no need for high-level combatants, so there won’t be any opportunities to attack.
“Furthermore… Although we know the direction, the distance is unknown. We don’t know how long it will take to reach the enemy’s territory. It might take a few years or decades. However, according to the enemy’s reaction, the distance shouldn’t be too far.”
The other two nodded silently.
“Also, Heart Tree King is gone. Someone needs to continue managing the daily affairs of this place.” Ancestral Tree King turned to look at Fortitude Tree King and said slowly, “You shall do it.”
Fortitude Tree King’s face fell.
God knew how many years it would take for the fleet to arrive at the other party’s territory. He did not want to keep showing himself. He wanted to slack off, but he did not dare go against Ancestral Tree King, so he could only agree in a muffled voice.
After casually instructing him on a few things to take note of, Ancestral Tree King’s figure quickly faded and returned to the mother tree. Secret Tree King took a gloating glance at Fortitude Tree King and left, leaving only Fortitude Tree King on the throne.
“You want me to work? Fat chance.”
Fortitude Tree King snorted, rolled his eyes, and came up with a plan.
By the way, the seed of Subduing Tree King should almost be ripe. When he revives, I can transfer this job to him. Anyway, that iron head is very hardworking and is willing to do this hard work. I can continue to slack!
As soon as he thought of this, Fortitude Tree King could not wait to see Subduing Tree King reincarnate in front of him.
He could not help but stand up and walk out of the palace. He inherited the glorious legacy of Heart Tree King and went out to water Subduing Tree King.
Chapter 1363 - Spring Dream Vanishes Without a Trace and The Final Preparation
Han Xiao and the others retreated from the battlefield and returned to the main base at the rear. The World Tree Army had yet to break through to here, and it was not affected by the flames of war.
The troops of the three Universal Civilizations and the various large organizations had already formed a long line. They entered different Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Devices and returned to the explored universe.
The group boarded an evacuating main ship and watched the real-time surveillance of the battlefield while waiting for their turn.
The three Universal Civilizations had already begun to withdraw their forces and stop their losses. The battlefront formed by the starships retreated like a tide.
Kant looked at it for a while before shaking his head. “Looks like the three Universal Civilizations have completely decided to give up on the intercepting circle.”
“Fighting to the death is useless. It will only increase our casualties, so we naturally have to retreat,” Manison said calmly.
“However, once we retreat, we won’t be able to stop the World Tree from approaching our territory. Sooner or later, we’ll have to start a war on our own territory.”
Clotti shook his head. Ever since Reeve and the others had revived, he had become more talkative and rarely acted as if he was unapproachable. The group casually chatted about the battle to calm their emotions from the bloody battle earlier.
However, Han Xiao did not join their conversation. Instead, he stood aside and watched the unsealing of Aurora.
After watching for a while, he suddenly realized that many Beyond Grade As were sweating. He could not help but ask: “How’s the progress?”
“This is strange.” Kasuyi pinched his forehead and said with a surprised tone, “We have already weakened the seal by more than 95%, leaving only the last thin layer. However, we encountered an unprecedented resistance, and the last bit of the seal crystal wall suddenly became indestructible, as if there is an infinite power supporting its existence.” “Really?”
Han Xiao raised his brows and immediately thought of the characteristics of the Illusion – Mind Lock.
It seemed like the target who was hit by this move would be trapped in a dream created by their desire. The more real they treated it as, the stronger the seal would be.
He took a closer look at Aurora. As the layers of the seal were broken, her expression was no longer blank. At this moment, she closed her eyes, frowned, and revealed a slight look of pain, as though she was saying, “Don’t disturb my daydream.”
Could it be that her subconscious had sensed that the dream was about to disappear, so she took the illusion more seriously and took the initiative to stabilize the seal and resist the unsealers?
What kind of dream did she have to make this woman wish she could sleep forever?
Han Xiao’s mouth twitched, and he looked away helplessly. He patted Kasuyi and said, “Then can you unseal it or not?”
“Don’t worry about that. Although the seal barrier is much stronger, with so many of us working together, we will be able to penetrate it sooner or later.” Kasuyi did not even look back.
Han Xiao could only trust him and wait patiently.
After a while, Kasuyi and the others suddenly heaved a sigh of relief. They were just about to say that they had succeeded.
However, before they could say anything, Aurora suddenly opened her eyes and woke up from her coma.
“No,”
The sharp shout shocked everyone. Even the Beyond Grade As who were analyzing the situation not far away stopped chatting and looked over in surprise.
It was originally a happy matter for the milkmaid to wake up, but everyone was shocked by this shout and was confused.
Seeing pairs of shocked eyes staring at her, Aurora snapped out of her daze and quickly shut her mouth. However, her expression was still a little dazed, as though she had not gotten used to the feeling of leaving the dream. She was trying to determine if this was real or an illusion.
However, her senses and memories gradually adjusted, and Aurora slowly confirmed that she had really woken up this time.
This time, Han Xiao walked out from the crowd and stood in front of Aurora. He touched her head and said with concern, “Your mind seal has been removed. How do you feel?”
Aurora looked up at Han Xiao, and her delicate face suddenly turned red. She quickly turned her head to the side and looked away.
“I’m fine… How are you?”
“What problem can I have?” Han Xiao saw her strange expression and could not help but be curious. “What did you dream about in the seal?”
“I… I…”
Aurora stuttered as if she did not want to speak.
This time, Hila walked over and patted her head.
“What did you dream about? Why aren’t your memories open to me?”
“D-don’t ask! Anyway, it’s nothing important…”
Aurora glanced at Hila before looking away in shock. She then recalled what she had experienced in the dream, and her face became even redder, as though she was about to bleed.
Seeing her strange behavior, Han Xiao and Hila exchanged surprised looks. However, since Aurora did not want to say it, they could not be bothered to force her. Since she was already awake, there was no need to dig into the details. Perhaps it was because she had a secret in her heart, and it was not convenient for her to say it.
Han Xiao poked Aurora and checked her status. Seeing that Aurora’s attributes had returned to normal, he did not bother about Aurora’s dream.
Seeing this, everyone stepped forward to show their concern, pushing Han Xiao and Hila to the side.
Aurora’s emotions gradually returned to normal, but she still did not dare look Han Xiao in the eye. Suddenly, she thought of something and asked with a serious expression, “You’re all here. Has the battle ended? How are the casualties?”
As soon as she finished speaking, everyone’s expression stiffened slightly, and they sighed. The atmosphere quickly became gloomy, and they started to talk about the battle situation after she fainted.
Hearing about the losses this time, Aurora was shocked. Then, she said with some guilt and disappointment:
“I—I’m sorry. I was careless and fell for the enemy’s trick. I could not be of use, and more people died…”
“It’s not your fault. It’s all the enemy’s doing. You’re just a victim.” Han Xiao rubbed her head, and her soft blonde hair slid across his palm.
“But if the enemy uses this move again, I will…”
Han Xiao waved his hand and interrupted her. He smiled and said, “Don’t be afraid. The Tree King who attacked you has already been locked in Amber. He won’t threaten you anymore.” “You’re still so nice to me… cough cough.”
Aurora subconsciously opened her mouth, but halfway through, she suddenly remembered that this was not a dream. She quickly shut her mouth, lowered her head, and coughed to hide the abnormal emotions in her eyes.
However, no one paid attention to her expression.
“It’s all thanks to Black Star capturing that Tree King. If they sealed Aurora in the next battle, we would have suffered heavy casualties like today.” Milizaus shook his head.
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