After Warlya, Skyflower, Celestial Lotus, and Azure Rose awakened, Liu Shu received two new armies into the Golden Sap Empire. These two were the Mantis and Cicada Kings, who had met in the middle and arrived together.
Their armies were not less than Queen Xakira's armies, and their individual strength was also comparable to Xakira's when she first arrived.
Seeing these space ships land, Xakira naturally had to come to join the fun. She had to brag to these two old friends that she was the first to arrive!
The groups of mantis-kin and cicada-kin were, like the hornets, a mix of human and their species. However, it was not a human with insect traits, but more like a mantis that had been humanized. The mantises were tall and slender, their limbs longer than normal proportionally. Meanwhile, the cicadas were stocky and powerful; even the females looked quite muscular.
Still, those with a very pure bloodline were humanoid enough to be judged under human beauty standards. Xakira looked at the two men at the lead, who were the closest to the form of a human-mantis/cicada, and smiled. "Look who we have here, Mister Sarish and Mister Chost."
Sarish, the Manis King, looked at Xakira's smug face, and his sickle, protruding from his forearm, trembled, wanting to slash her face. "Xakira, if you have something to say, say it."
Xakira smiled smugly. "Oh, I do. You two truly delayed coming here quite a bit. You took your sweet time, didn't you? Thank you for the free lead. I appreciate it very much. Now, your relationship with Liu Shu will always be a step below mine! Hohoho~."
Hearing her exaggerated, arrogant laugh made even Chost, who was the definition of a gentle giant, feel like punching her. Chost sighed and shook his head, looking at the petite girl standing near Xakira. The girl barely reached Xakira's stomach in height, as Xakira was quite tall. Even then, Chost could tell that this woman was someone important. Otherwise, she would not be standing at the very front with so many powerhouses standing nearby.
"Miss, you should be the representative of Lady Heavenly Willow, right? Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Chost Kriksong. This brute by my side is named Sarish Reaper. We are both Kings of our species, and have come due to the… unusual details in the messages that came back."
Chost looked to the side, where Rhex stood, and commented. "Rhex, you are quite a steady one. Was there a necessity to exaggerate so much just to make us come?"
Rhex sighed and shook his head. "Royal Father, the thing is, I have not exaggerated anything." He smiled wryly. "On the contrary, I sold Lady Heavenly Willow short in fear that you would not believe me."
At this moment, Sarish looked at the petite girl, his sharp eyes noting similarities between her and the face of the impressive, sky-piercing Willow World Tree outside. "Are you related to Lady Heavenly Willow, Miss?"
Xakira's lips curved up, barely holding her laughter. Liu Shu, meanwhile, blinked her beautiful, soft eyes and smiled. "Welcome to my Empire, Kings. I am not related since, well, I am myself. What you are speaking with right now is, after all, my Avatar. Something I use to be able to relate more personally with important guests."
Both Kings paused, their compound eyes sizing up the weak little girl. However, having seen through their momentary doubt, Liu Shu decided to speak with her main body.
"I know that the image of my Avatar might not be reflective of me. However, she is indeed me. Just something I control to communicate at a human level."
The vast and boundless voice of the World Tree permeated reality itself, echoing with both gentleness and hidden strength.
This surprised both of them. Sarish hummed, interested. Still, he made a proper bow. "I, Sarish, greet the Heavenly Willow. I hope what we heard is, as that boy Rhex said, something extraordinary."
Liu Shu smiled. "Don't worry, I can prove it right away."
Sarish was about to ask when he saw Xakira's lips finally arching, as she was unable to hold back an excited smile at seeing these old friends of hers show a shocked look.
Then, Liu Shu symbolically waved her hand. "Be blessed."
Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!...
The sound of System messages and strength surging accompanied each other, and all mantis-kin and cicada-kin froze on the spot, opening their System Interface and observing that stunning "list" of buffs that slapped them in the face.
Sarish was silent for a moment before glaring at Xakira. "You…! There was something this good, and you kept silent!? I've kept a good relationship with you all these centuries for nothing!"
Xakira couldn't hold back and burst into laughter. "You should've seen your faces… Oh, wait! You don't have to because I secretly filmed it!"
Sarish gritted his teeth and rushed forward. Xakira's smile widened, and then both of them soared to the sky and began fighting. However, the usual equal fight was now heavily tilting toward Xakira, showing the Hornet Queen's dominance.
Chost looked up with surprise, as those two had always been equally strong. Now, the difference was so large that he could see Sarish about to lose!
"Impressive. Lady Heavenly Willow, this King gives you his honest admiration." He smiled gently at Liu Shu and spoke. "I hope we have a long cooperative relationship."
Sarish barreled down from the sky, and Liu Shu, not wanting a crater to appear on the ground, used a few roots to catch the man and land him on the ground gently. Sarish was a bit dumbfounded. "You could catch me? Aren't you a Level 150 World Tree?"
Xakira laughed again, landing behind Liu Shu and hugging the girl's head into her bosom from behind. "Our Liu Shu's strength is not something you can easily measure with your pitifully narrow worldviews. Hehehe."
Sarish glared at the woman. "I am just not accustomed to my current strength increase, that's why I lost so easily! Wait a few months, and I will beat you like before."
Xakira clicked her tongue. "I will be waiting, you old mantis. However, how did that human saying go? Ah, right, your attempts will be like a mantis trying to stop a speeding carriage!"
"Xakira! I want to fight you!"
Liu Shu looked back and forth, while Chost smiled. "Don't mind them, Lady Heavenly Willow. They are always like this, but when anyone messes with them, both of them are the first to team up and pummel the other party. They are like a brother and sister from different species."
This time, it was Xakira's turn to glare. "Chost! Has it been too long since I last beat you up!? Who is that ugly spike-armed man's sister!?"
Sarish was the same. "Here speaks the woman with an ass larger than the world! With your curves, we don't need gravitational pull from the celestial bodies. You yourself can complete that role quite beautifully!"
Liu Shu saw that they were about to rush at each other's throats once more, and she coughed. "Ahem. How about we move to the place I set up? There is tea and pastries…" She fiddled with her fingers and blinked adorably. "They are really sweet."
Everyone looked at the somewhat innocent attempt to calm the two firecrackers about to explode, and they suddenly felt their hearts melt. '...Why is this World Tree so adorably naive!? Whoever messes with her, they are my enemy!'
And so, with an innocent little sentence, Liu Shu suddenly became the number one target for protection in the hearts of most insectkin present.
After they moved to the prepared room for talks, everyone sat down and saw that Liu Shu's words were not a lie. Sipping on the tea, Chost couldn't help but ask. "This tea is quite delicious. Perhaps the most delicious I've ever tasted. What tree's leaves did you use for it?"
Liu Shu smiled happily at the praise. "Hehe. It is brewed with my own leaves! I am glad you like it, King Chost."
"Oh?" Sarish was surprised. "You allow people to use your leaves for tea?"
Liu Shu tilted her head. "Yeah. Why?"
Sarish shook his head. "I visited another True World Tree not too long ago for some commercial trades, and their materials were considered incredibly sacred. I asked back then if they used her leaves for tea, and that question almost broke our commercial partnership."
Liu Shu was speechless. "There are a few arrogant World Trees out there, aren't there? It's just leaves that fall naturally. What's wrong with them being used for tea?"
In Liu Shu's case, after she moved her body to her
There was even a dedicated Leaf Gathering force, while the tea-making Lignified Tree absorbed a good chunk of them like with a magnet-like ability.
"Either way." Liu Shu smiled. "I called you here to explain our future relationship."
The two Kings placed down the tea, looking at Liu Shu with serious looks. Liu Shu then proceeded to explain what she spoke about with Xakira back then.
Both of them, listening to Liu Shu's desire to completely assimilate them instead of forming an alliance, frowned lightly. Each of their forces controlled around 20~30 Solar Systems. So, they were not new or weak powers.
Asking them to surrender so suddenly was something they could not accept easily. Sarish looked at Xakira, who was munching on a pastry, and asked. "You actually accepted?"
Xakira snorted. "Sarish, look at your System Page once more and ask me that question again with a straight face!"
The two Kings, who had received the buffs, recalled that feeling of their bodies being blessed by Liu Shu, and they instantly understood Xakira's thought process. This was a case of joining a rising power early.
"However…" Sarish leaned back, his finger tracing the rim of the teacup. "How can you be so sure that Lady Heavenly Willow will not be… stopped?"
Some people in the room frowned, looking at Sarish with unkind looks. After all, his insinuations were not something pretty.
Xakira smiled calmly. "Aren't we here to prevent that? With us to guide and protect her light, can't we transform our beautiful firework into a blazing and unextinguishable Sun?"
Sarish sighed and looked at Xakira with a touch of both doting and helplessness. "Alright, whatever. It's not like our enemies will become much fiercer."
Liu Shu coughed, feeling a bit guilty and embarrassed. "Ahem. One of the
Sarish: "..."
Chost: "..."
Xakira: "Hehe."