Chapter 942. Meeting With Sarlos Again.

Chapter 942: Chapter 942. Meeting With Sarlos Again.

The Covenant, the Nexus, and many other nearby powers heard the news and began investigating. To no one’s surprise, parasites were found in almost each of them.

Those who reported finding none were suspected of either having already been overtaken or using detection methods far too primitive to uncover the parasites. Others might simply have concealed the infestations for political purposes, clinging to their useless pride.

Either way, Flor and her government noted those empires and restricted entry from them.

Because of the Hive’s arrival in their sector, the Golden Sap Empire’s frontier policies became incredibly strict. Unlike before, when they didn’t care much who entered as long as they did so through legal channels and with the intent to assimilate into the culture, they now scrutinized even those people and settled them in worlds reserved for new arrivals.

The Golden Sap Empire’s government was ridiculously efficient thanks to Liu Shu’s hammering them into shape for over three centuries and forcefully plucking out corrupt officials.

At least one world in each Solar System was designated for new arrivals. The government began resettling its inhabitants, preserving as much of their property and livelihoods as possible.

It was, naturally, not easy. Many refused to move, and they were allowed to stay. However, they were warned that they would face the same screening and movement restrictions as the newcomers.

It was a true moment when every bit of authoritarian caution was needed. Here is where the Arborarchy shone over other political systems. When it came to acting on a problem or mobilizing power, Liu Shu’s one sentence did it on the spot.

Under Liu Shu, it resembled a dictatorship led by a morally incorruptible ruler. It was an idealistic arrangement made sustainable by the predominantly unchanging nature of World Trees and their lack of material greed. However, those qualities did not make every World Tree a good ruler.

The two main problems in an Arborarchy were when the World Tree became too aloof or too focused on expansion and conquest.

In the first case, the World Tree’s appointed officials could rule unchecked, presenting their own decisions as the will of the World Tree. It resembled a theocracy whose deity existed but rarely intervened. The Covenant had nearly fallen into that situation, but Danlier’s iron grip on its administration had kept its officials in check.

In the second case, an obsession with expansion and conquest could drive the World Tree to overextend its empire. Resources would be consumed faster than they could be replenished, and its defenses would become stretched too thin. A major defeat could then leave the entire empire vulnerable to collapse.

This almost happened to Deadly Petal’s government, which almost ended in total defeat were it not for Liu Shu’s intervention.

Overall, the Golden Sap Empire’s rapid, almost too-perfect response was not unexpected. With the foundation already established, it was a matter of applying the laws and tweaking a few to fit the situation at hand. Never adding more.

While all the interstellar sector moved, the day for Sarlos, Danlier, and Liu Shu’s meeting arrived rather quickly. They met around three years after Liu Shu sent a message to Danlier, and since Sarlos had returned from the meeting in the center of the galaxy, he arrived on time.

The room wasn’t crowded, but Liu Shu noticed a few people who hadn’t been here before. She couldn’t really ignore them because all of them were <Third Ascension> powerhouses. So, when Liu Shu arrived, formed a Wooden Avatar, and set up a throne to sit on, she glanced over.

"Who might these individuals be?"

The two women and men from different species smiled politely and presented themselves one by one.

"I am the chief secretary of the Grand Duchy of..."

"I am the chief secretary of the Principality of..."

"I am the chief secretary of the Dukedom of..."

"I am the chief secretary of the Dukedom of..."

Sarlos glanced at Liu Shu’s rapidly blinking eyes and chuckled. "They are here because your influence has become that big, Lady Heavenly Willow. Even I have to treat these Lords and Ladies with respect, so keep that in mind."

The four secretaries glanced at Sarlos but said nothing. Sarlos’ blatant warning could be considered disrespectful. Nevertheless, they understood that Liu Shu was a World Tree whose value couldn’t even be put into words.

Therefore, they just smiled and bowed slightly. The Grand Duchy Secretary, the most authoritative among them, spoke gently. "Just continue the meeting as you would have. If we have any questions from our Lords, we will only intervene without interrupting."

Liu Shu nodded calmly. "I see. If that’s the case, I will do so. Here are a few refreshments I’ve prepared for everyone."

Sarlos and Danlier’s eyebrows twitched. They were immensely curious as to how these four would react.

Space twisted, and several cups of warm tea and a large teapot with Eternal Tea. Everyone took their cups and sipped on it. Liu Shu observed them, but she didn’t notice any reaction.

The Grand Duchy’s secretary sighed, her tone full of wonder. "I guess the real deal is always better. I’ve tasted it before, but compared to this one... no, even comparing them in quality feels somewhat disrespectful. Even the effects are immensely more powerful."

’Ah. They’ve tasted it before.’

Liu Shu was a bit disappointed, but she wasn’t too surprised. She knew that Sarlos was selling part of the leaves he received from the Golden Sap Empire to others. It was a bad thing from her perspective.

By doing this, Sarlos was increasing his own value among the top authorities of the six Transitional Globular Star Cluster Empires. Essentially, he was creating a ticket straight to the upper ranks by selling the merchandise that would eventually hit the mainstream mercantile channels through Golden Sap Empire merchant fleets.

"Since everyone is now settled, let’s start the discussion."

Liu Shu crossed her legs and spoke seriously. "I know that everyone here, except our Golden Sap Empire, has fought against the Hive before. Even Lady Balaya is holding an expansion front. However, the Hive has managed to circumvent much of the defensive lines through <Astraelis> infection and arrived at this zone."

Everyone nodded lightly, so Liu Shu continued. "I don’t want to come forward as either all-knowing or arrogant. Therefore, when I present some of our studies, I ask for understanding that we have no intention of acting as if we know more than anyone else. We are presenting findings as they are and as we perceive them. If you detect any misinformation we share, I’d value it if you correct me and share correct methods."

Sarlos rubbed his chin. "Why not hear what we have first, Lady Haevenly Willow? Wouldn’t that shorten the meeting?"

Liu Shu shook her head. "That’s the wrong methodology. We are the new ones in the field. So the information we present won’t be biased by prior knowledge. Some truths your group might’ve inferred and accepted as facts might be too deeply rooted to challenge. That’s where our Golden Sap Empire’s research gains importance."

Everyone pondered, and Danlier raised her hand. "I agree with Lady Heavenly Willow’s words. The Verdant Sanctity Covenant has used methods from the Globular Star Cluster’s public research, but we’ve found parasitism cases deeper within our empire than we’d like to admit."

Sarlos and the four secretaries didn’t have anything else to add, accepting Liu Shu’s logic. So, Liu Shu waved her head and created a massive flat screen while taking out a hologram projector and a biological computer from her spatial storage.

Before coming here, Liu Shu had naturally prepared copies of all the important materials they’ve discovered during the last few years with the help of Little Endless and Mariane.

Mariane, the mothkin, had moved slightly away from rune-crafting and dove deep into general academic research. Essentially, she became a jack-of-all-trades, master of none. Even her two <Ascensions> were evolutions no other mothkin had, and Mariane unlocked them by being the main librarian of the Endless Library since its very conception.

To say Mariane and the Endless Library were almost one entity was no exaggeration. For all Liu Shu knew, Mariane and the Endless Library might as well be the first coupling between a <Lignified> species and a humanoid.

Liu Shu stood up and moved her Wooden Avatar toward the holographic projection. She set up the materials calmly, and then began speaking.

At first, Sarlos, the secretaries, and other experts they’ve gathered to come with them had thought the Golden Sap Empire would show general knowledge and nothing interesting.

That changed quickly.

Even though the Golden Sap Empire had been researching them for far, far less time, their methodology let them uncover part of the truth quickly. Liu Shu’s <Temples> and <Titles>, which enhanced her civilization to an absurd degree, played a big part in all of it.

Remember that Liu Shu’s empire had caught up to and surpassed the Covenant and Nexus in raw technological progress in less than two centuries, when those two empires had been in the interstellar environment for several tens of millennia.

Of course, Liu Shu’s civilization had only met the lowest of the low in the Hive’s ecosystem, the Voswot. So, what they had compared to the other civilizations was limited, and sometimes wrong.

Regardless, the experts who had listened half-heartedly at first were now focused and even taking notes on their portable devices.

"...And that’s all we’ve discovered for now. We don’t really have a sufficiently large sample size in some matters, so we’ve decided not to share that knowledge until we confirm and get our hands on more complex entities."

The Experts began muttering.

"Dividing the Voswot’s parastims into four phases is quite unique. The naming is also fitting."

"We’ve always divided it into three instead. That middle phase can be detrimental in many cases."

"The information about behavioral patterns and infectious timing is odd, though. Their measurement data could be incorrect, but I believe that the individuals in the Golden Sap Empire have something different that prevents Voswot’s infectious speed."

"Could it be the influence of Life and World Trees?"

"That’s something we should research..."

"Gentlemen." Sarlos smiled at them, interrupting their talk. "If you want to speak about the findings, please note down your ideas and discuss them later. I am sure Lady Heavenly Willow and her experts would love to have a deep conversation with you."

The chief secretaries suddenly snapped to attention. ’Right... the one presenting the data is Lady Heavenly Willow. Wait, did we just witness a World Tree giving a scientific speech?’

This was even more shocking than the fact that Liu Shu’s experts had discovered over 80% of the Voswot’s behavioral patterns just a few decades after making contact.

Liu Shu observed the room with her World Tree senses and smiled faintly. "I am glad that our research doesn’t seem to be as inaccurate as we were initially expecting. We had expected about 45 to 50% accuracy. However, from your reactions, I can infer that it’s much higher than that."

The Experts cleared their throats and nodded. "Yes. We’d have to look into it in more detail, but what you have covers most of the Voswot’s behavioral patterns. You even created devices to detect them and cures. We’d love to visit the Golden Sap Empire’s scientific capital and speak with the experts behind this research."

Liu Shu smiled. "That can be easily arranged, since I am part of that community. I’ll inform others right away."

The researchers blinked. "Pa-Pardon?"

Liu Shu smiled back. "Hm? What’s wrong?"

It finally clicked for the researchers that the "person" they were talking to was a True World Tree, said to manipulate even the forces of time itself. Cold sweat immediately covered their backs as their intelligent minds quickly built a chain of cause and effect from what they’d just witnessed. ’Branches almighty... What kind of being is she?’