Chapter 744 — Beneath the Sorin Tree

The commander had been gazing upward all the while, watching the vines carry the mana obelisk up into the canopy; only after those enormous arcane devices vanished among the dense leaves did he lower his gaze. He looked at Beiyila beside him, a smile on his face: "It is the largest mana obelisk in the eastern Holy Spirit Plain, equipped with the newest signal amplification and relay array—and now it also has the tallest 'support tower' on the plain. It is certain to perform at its best. From this day on, this place will be the ley-network hub of the eastern Holy Spirit Plain. The ley-network nodes across half the plain will be connected. We are one step closer to linking the entire nation's ley network into a single whole. Thank you very much for your help."

Beiyila looked at the young commander, his face full of smiles. Though she was an expert in biotechnical arts, she knew only a smattering of arcane technology, and now she could not help but be curious: "This is a very useful thing, is it not?"

"Of course," the young commander said at once. "The ley network not only supplies energy to arcane devices, it can also transmit signals and sustain regional shields. Right now ley networks large and small are being built all over the Empire, but the networks of the various regions are not yet fully connected—in many places, communication still depends on a series of single-line relay stations, which hardly counts as a true 'network.' His Majesty wants to connect all the ley networks of the entire Empire, just like the Southern Region's master network. The node here in the Holy Spirit Plain is a key link in connecting the Empire's ley networks..."

Beiyila listened quietly to the vision the young commander described. On this young man's face she saw pride and joy that came from the bottom of his heart.

Not far away, the arcane technicians stood by the ley-network terminals and the small mana crystals, monitoring the mana obelisk as it was carried up into the canopy. In those arcane technicians she saw total dedication and fervor.

And in those places she could not see, she could well imagine, there were likewise countless people—proud, joyful, dedicated, fervent.

They were changing the world—though many of them might not realize it—and this feat of changing the world was built up little by little by countless ordinary people.

No divine miracles or forbidden arts were needed; no transcendent power was needed; no man-made god was needed to reign over all under heaven.

This was another path—one she and her former brethren had never envisioned.

Beiyila carefully controlled her vines and canopy, as though cradling some fragile treasure, and delivered that vast and complex apparatus to the highest point of the Great Sorin Tree. Following the blueprints she had once seen, she assembled the components together, and then, with the utmost care, balanced them atop her head.

Within the canopy were the thousand-odd ley-network rune substrates that had been sent up one after another over the past several days; drawn together by countless fine vines, they had been joined into a whole, and now their connection to the mana obelisk was the final step of the entire project.

"It is in place," she said.

The arcane technicians nearby received the activation signal from the mana obelisk's base. They swiftly sent the remote commands, and above the ley-network monitoring terminal, in the holographic projection, the dim lines that represented one node after another were lit up in turn, and the nodes were rapidly activated.

Beiyila watched it all with curiosity. She saw text emerge in the projection; she saw greetings sent from afar, passing through mortal hands and transmitted, as if by miracle, before her eyes.

"Sorin Hub signal received. Reconstruction Camp of Giants' Stone City sends you greetings."

"Solin Hub receiving signal—Maple Rebuild Camp greets you."

"...Pompeii greets you..."

"This is the Cecil Central Station. Congratulations—Rebecca Cecil greets you."

The people cheered.

Even the young commander—an officer by origin, wearing the emblem of a knight—cheered along with them.

Bei Yila blinked. On this brilliant, sunlit day, perfect for photosynthesis, she felt as though the heart that had already merged with her plant body beat once more.

"Congratulations," she said to the young commander beside her, striving to smile like a human being.

The young commander thanked her once again, then ran off toward the distant workers, technicians, and soldiers, and joined in the celebration with them all.

Bei Yila, meanwhile, stood quietly in place for a while before something moved her to look south.

Visitors had come.

...

A magic-powered vehicle bearing the flag of the Joint Reconstruction Corps arrived in the Solin region, and it seemed to be carrying someone of importance. Bei Yila could see everything that happened around the Solin Great Tree. She saw many people come running out from the stronghold at Solin Fort to welcome the vehicle; she saw an aged man step out of it; she saw several attendants and guards beside the old man—or perhaps they were simply subordinates.

At last, she saw the old man approach the vicinity of her own trunk.

Norris tilted his head back to gaze at the canopy that blotted out the sky and sun, at the countless branches lit by the glow of magic crystal lamps, at the support columns hanging down from the canopy, and at the flowering vines coiled all over the trunk and the columns—and could not help murmuring, "So this is the Solin Great Tree..."

"A true miracle..." A young agricultural technical official was likewise tilting his head back, marveling. "I've never seen any plant grow this large..."

"And she sustains the vitality of the entire region, even keeping the temperature here relatively comfortable," Norris said. "Remember the road here? All the way to the crossroads, there was still snow on the ground."

"I merely transferred some of the heat from deep within the earth up to the surface," said a somewhat hoarse female voice, as Bei Yila's figure emerged from a tangle of flowering vines and roots. Moving along the ground near the trunk by means of writhing roots, she came before Norris. "Hello. I am the plant you see before you—you may also call me Bei Yila."

"Hello, Lady Bei Yila," Norris said, looking at the woman before him, his momentary surprise set aside. "I am Norris."

"I seem to have heard that name before..." Bei Yila furrowed her brow, wearing an expression of recollection.

"He is the Minister of the Imperial Ministry of Agriculture," someone beside her prompted.

"Ah, yes, that's right, I remember now," Bei Yila said with a look of sudden understanding. "And I have indeed heard that name before... in the newspapers and on the radio."