Secondary Dimension World, World Tree Civilization Control Area, Tree King Palace.

The moment his mental connection with Hayleen was cut off, and the Ancestral Tree King knew that she had been sealed by Black Star. He closed his eyes silently with a gloomy expression.

"What should we do?" The Fortitude Tree King looked over and asked with a complicated tone.

The Ancestral Tree King pressed his brows as his expression changed. There was frustration, disappointment, and regret.

After a moment of silence, he opened his eyes again and spoke with a helpless and weak expression.

"…Retract all the troops outside and return to the secondary dimensional zone. All troops are to protect the mother tree."

"Are we giving up on the invasion?"

"Now is not the time to consider how to invade the enemy. It's time to guard against the enemy's counterattack."

The Ancestral Tree King's expression was grave, and a hint of unwillingness flashed through his eyes.

The coordinates of the mother tree's main body had been exposed. If it had been an ordinary opponent, the World Tree Civilization would not have been so flustered. They could have sealed the dimension and deployed a large number of troops to guard it. Even if the enemy wanted to attack the mother tree's main body, they would have to cross countless lines of defense.

However, the three Universal Civilizations happened to be able to counter this tactic. The Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device could ignore any space blockade and pass through any defensive line. Once the coordinates of the mother tree were exposed, it would give the three Universal Civilizations a chance to raid their home.

The Ancestral Tree King did not dare take the risk and had no choice but to withdraw all his troops to protect the mother tree's main body. The attack and defense had already changed, and now it was his turn to worry about the three Universal Civilizations' invasion.

In the eyes of the Ancestral Tree King, this method was like quenching his thirst with poison. Even if he could defeat the armies of the three Universal Civilizations time and time again, the Pivotal Snake was completely controlled by Black Star and could locate the mother tree's body at any time. It was equivalent to the World Tree never having a day of peace. The Ancestral Tree King could not think of a way to turn the tables. The civilization had been growing for so long, and he did not know how long it had been since they fell into such a desperate situation.

After hunting so many civilizations, they had finally met a tough opponent.

"Is there really no other way?" the Fortitude Tree King asked softly.

"Yes, and it's very simple. As long as we kill Black Star, everything will be solved." The Ancestral Tree King was expressionless.

"…If I could kill him, I would have done so long ago." Fortitude Tree King had a bitter expression.

"Therefore, the war is no longer in our hands. The long-term strategy has already lost its executional environment. The only thing we can do now is to react accordingly."

The Ancestral Tree King's tone was bitter.

At this point, he did not know where his fate was going.

...

The order of the Tree King was transmitted to all the officers through the mental network. Regardless of whether they were shocked, panicked, or unwilling, all the officers obediently followed the order.

The World Tree fleet that had stirred up trouble within the three Universal Civilizations retreated in batches, and the army stationed outside the Flickering World also abandoned their strongholds and left using wormholes.

The sudden withdrawal of the World Tree left many reinforcements of the Galactic Alliance Army in dismay. Many people were confused and did not know what the World Tree was doing.

This information was quickly passed on and attracted the attention of the upper echelons.

In the Strategic Command of the Galactic Alliance Army, an emergency meeting was underway.

The remote projections of the three Universal Civilizations' leaders were present. They received a report from the Adviser Department and were very surprised. They attended the meeting together and listened to the military analyze the reason for the World Tree's withdrawal.

"The World Tree clearly had the initiative and could harass and devour our territory as much as they wanted, but now, it suddenly stopped invading. Not only that, even the armies outside the Flickering World border have been retracted. This situation is quite strange, and we don't know the reason. What do you guys think?"

Commander Simon's tone was grave.

Everyone present had a serious look on their faces as they stared at the virtual strategic sand table.

They would not be optimistic that the World Tree retreating was a good thing. From their perspective, there had to be a reason behind such an unreasonable action.

From the military's perspective, the World Tree was most likely going to cause trouble, but they did not know the enemy's target, so the atmosphere was rather tense, and the air was filled with anxiety.

Teny knocked on the table and said with a deep voice, "According to the calculations of the General Staff, the sudden withdrawal of the World Tree might be a ploy to mislead our judgment. An unknown large-scale military operation is brewing behind our backs, and the target is likely to be our Central Galaxy, the mother planet of the three Universal Civilizations!"

Hearing this, everyone's expression became even more serious.

"In that case, we must continue to strengthen the defenses of our mother planet! The World Tree has retreated at the edge of the storm, and the plan they have is definitely not a simple formality. If we relax, they might really succeed!"

Simon's expression was solemn, and his voice was firm.

This time, an Arcane Church's officer hesitated for a moment before saying, "Does no one think that something might have happened within the World Tree?"

The Pope turned to look at him and solemnly replied, "We cannot place our hopes on the enemy's own problems. We have to consider the worst-case scenario first."

At this moment, the President of the Federation, Louis, pondered and said, "There must be a reason for the World Tree to retreat. Could it be that the traitor secretly leaked some information to the World Tree, causing them to make a new decision?"

As soon as he said that, the expressions of all the officers turned solemn.

In the past half a year, the three Universal Civilizations had been resisting the invasion of the World Tree while investigating the traitors internally. There were many suspects, but there was no way to confirm the culprit.

Under the pressure of the enemy, the three Universal Civilizations did not dare to wantonly engage in the senseless slaughter of those suspected. The cooperation between the Galactic Alliance Army was not easy to come by, and they were also afraid of causing internal unrest by wrongly accusing their innocent allies.

Marbruce agreed. "This is also a possibility. The existence of traitors is still an unstable factor, and it's most likely to lead to all kinds of variables."

"We still have to come up with an effective method to expose the traitor," the Pope emphasized.

Just as everyone was discussing, another remote projection suddenly appeared in the conference room.

Everyone turned around and saw that it was Black Star.

"Yo, the meeting has already started. Looks like you guys didn't wait for me."

Han Xiao looked around and nodded in acknowledgement to everyone. They nodded back in return.

As one of the pillars of the war, he naturally received an invitation to the meeting. However, in order to confirm the coordinates of the mother tree that the Pivotal Snake sensed, he was delayed for a while.

"You're late," Marbruce said helplessly.

Han Xiao waved his hands.

"Don't worry about the details. What were you guys talking about?"

Simon took the initiative to explain.

"The World Tree suddenly retreated and stopped the invasion. We're guessing their motive for doing this… The most likely possibility is that the World Tree is preparing a large-scale military operation against the mother planet of the three Universal Civilizations. Also, the traitor might have leaked new information."

"Oh? Has the World Tree retreated?"

Han Xiao blinked. He only knew about this now.

He thought about it and understood the motive of the World Tree Civilization.

"Alright, don't scare yourselves. The World Tree retreated because they were afraid."

"Afraid?"

Everyone looked at each other, not understanding what Han Xiao meant.

The Pope coughed and said, "Black Star, stop joking. This is a very serious matter."

"Who has the time to joke with you?" Han Xiao clicked his tongue. "I've managed to get the Pivotal Snake to mature, and now I've grasped the precise coordinates of the World Tree's main body. The World Tree sensed this through a two-way connection. They retreated because they were afraid that we would attack them directly. They went back to defend. There's no other possibility."

"You found the location of the World Tree? Really?!"

The three of them were stunned. Suddenly, they were overjoyed but also a little terrified, afraid that this was fake news.

Everyone's body trembled, and their expressions changed drastically. They stared at Han Xiao in disbelief.

It was not until Han Xiao gave an affirmative answer that the three leaders and the officers were truly excited.

"How did you do it?!"

Marbruce hurriedly asked, and everyone looked at Han Xiao.

Seeing this, Han Xiao did not hide anything and briefly told them about Hayleen's assassination. He then emphasized that the Pivotal Snake had already unlocked its sensing ability, which made everyone excited.

Due to the existence of the Pivotal Snake, everyone had always been very confident in this war, but that was only with regards to their confidence in the long-term trend. They had originally thought that they would have to last for at least a few decades under the all-out invasion of the World Tree before the outcome could be decided, but they did not expect Black Star to solve the key problem at this stage.

This was equivalent to reducing the war losses for the galactic society for decades, allowing the officers to be freed in advance.

"Good job! This way, the initiative is in our hands!"

Marbruce clenched his fists and was overjoyed.

While he was overjoyed, he also felt a little ashamed. While they were still thinking about how to capture the traitor, Black Star had already found the key to ending the war and regained control. The two of them were on completely different levels.

Ever since the start of the war, Black Star had appeared almost every time, and now, he had given the three Universal Civilizations a chance to win. The three of them did not think it was an exaggeration to say that he was the one who led the war.

This time, Han Xiao waved his hand and said casually,

"There's no need to say anything else. The World Tree's weakness has been exposed, and it has completely fallen into a passive state. It's time for us to gather a large force to attack and completely end this enemy… The World Tree is at the end of its rope in this war!"

Upon hearing this, Simon immediately stood up with a sharp look in his eyes.

"Your Excellency Black Star is right. It's time for us to blow the horn of our counterattack!"

As soon as he said that, everyone stood up and looked at the three leaders with stern expressions.

"Please give the order!"

Seeing this, the expressions of Marbruce, Louis, and the Pope turned serious. They nodded heavily and declared solemnly,

"Good! From now on, we will make strategic adjustments. Our primary goal is no longer to defend our homeland, but to completely destroy the World Tree Civilization!"

"Understood!"

The officers responded in unison with stern expressions.

Han Xiao, who was watching from the side, smirked.

Although he and the three Universal Civilizations had the same goal of defeating the World Tree Civilization, their specific needs were different.

From the perspective of the three Universal Civilizations, the destruction of the World Tree was the most reassuring.

However, from Han Xiao's perspective… he could only say that their intentions of working together to defend against the enemies were sincere, and using each other was also sincere.

When the main conflict is resolved, the differences between me and the three Universal Civilizations will also surface. Even if these people thank me now, who knows what will happen after.

Han Xiao pondered, secretly calculating his odds.

...

As the World Tree retreated, the intense battle between the two sides stopped, causing the explored universe to suddenly become silent.

When the galactic residents were not mentally prepared, the flames of war suddenly extinguished, just like when the World Tree invaded.

The upper echelons of the three Universal Civilizations came to a consensus, and the changes in their strategy were quickly carried out. The Galactic Alliance Army no longer patrolled their territory but started to gather in the Central Galaxy.

Sensing the change in the situation, the countless galactic residents who were originally in a state of panic were stunned and confused, not knowing what to make of the situation.

There were many different opinions on the internet, and the Star Alliance Observer hiding in the desolate universe belt was confused by the withdrawal of the World Tree.

They did not know the secret of the Pivotal Snake and were still in the dark. They could only access the public information on the network, thus at this moment, they were completely confused.

"Strange, the World Tree should have been devouring the three Universal Civilizations. Why did it suddenly leave?"

In the secret base, many of the Star Alliance observers were confused.

They had leaked the information because they wanted to lead the World Tree to destroy the three Universal Civilizations. In the past half a year, the World Tree's actions had perfectly met their expectations, allowing them to watch from the side.

Originally, things were going according to their plan, and they were just enjoying the show when the World Tree suddenly slipped away. The Star Alliance observers were caught off guard.

"The World Tree definitely has its reasons for doing this. They might not be satisfied with small skirmishes and are gathering their troops, preparing to make a big fuss!"

The Observer captain analyzed for a while and concluded.

Hearing this, many members felt that it made sense, and the surprise in their hearts turned into anticipation.

At this moment, the Star Alliance's spies did not know that the World Tree Civilization, which they had placed high hopes on, was already in a dire situation.