Chapter 992 — Miracle
Blade of Dawn · Page 1 of 4
"Sorin?" An Luo repeated the word in a low voice, somewhat puzzled—she was not very familiar with these place names of Cecil, but this one left a vague impression. After a moment of recollection, she finally found the corresponding information among certain reports and documents. "Ah, I have heard this name... It seems to be on the Holy Spirit Plains..."
"Strictly speaking, it lies on the border between the Holy Spirit Plains and the Eastern March—though by administrative division it is part of the Holy Spirit Plains," said Sister Marian with a smile. "It is a place full of miracles."
"Miracles... I remember that the Holy Spirit Plains were reduced to wasteland during Ansu's civil war, and Fort Sorin was the most devastated area. It..." An Luo could not help saying softly, but her words were quickly interrupted by the new scenery appearing outside the carriage window, and her attention was wholly drawn to the wilderness beyond.
She saw an enormous tower rise in the distance, built of metal and artificial stone, more imposing than the communications tower of Winterwolf Keep. Magical radiance crawled across its surface, and atop it a huge crystal device rotated slowly, held aloft by some mechanical structure. Around the tower stood a series of supporting facilities, like a small fortress.
Farther off she saw clusters of buildings that resembled a town, rows of brand-new houses whose roofs glittered in the brilliant sunlight. Leveled ground spread around the town like a vast brown carpet, and among the fields she could see straight, broad roads and street lamps arranged neatly along both sides.
The train raced across the winter wilderness, and the winter wilderness welcomed its visitors with the bearing of a land reborn.
An Luo stared with her one remaining eye, astonished at everything beyond the window, and these scenes differed greatly from what she had seen in reports and pictured in her mind.
"Are we really heading for Fort Sorin?" she finally asked. "Is this the war zone once polluted by the Divine Calamity?"
Sister Marian smiled. "Yes, without a doubt—in fact, we have already passed the last checkpoint of the Eastern March. What you see now is already the land of the Holy Spirit Plains. Fort Sorin is just ahead; you will see it at the end of the next mountain pass—and by then you will be even more surprised."
"...I thought I would see more ruins and wreckage here," An Luo murmured as if to herself. "This is not what I imagined..."
"We rebuilt this place—General Margarita and the construction corps she led, the Joint Reconstruction Corps under the Minister of Agriculture, and the reconstruction volunteers who returned to the Holy Spirit Plains from all over. Hundreds of thousands of people rebuilt everything you see, and built many other things as well. For example, that tower we passed and the buildings around it—that is the Sorin Secondary Node, part of the magic net of the Holy Spirit Plains. It has a high-power transceiver that can connect directly to the Sorin Master Hub," Sister Marian said with pride. "Also, the railway we are traveling on was part of last year's construction project."
"Of course, the ruins you mentioned still exist—after all, the Holy Spirit Plains are vast, and we could not possibly rebuild everything in such a short time. There are still large areas around Boulder City and the Fertile Woods awaiting revival. Every month the Supreme Governing Council sends more engineering teams and more resources to those regions, and about half of them have now resumed production. But those places are far from here; we certainly will not see them on this journey."
An Luo listened in astonishment, picturing in her mind many scenes she had never imagined. She seemed about to ask something more, but suddenly a whistle sounded from ahead, interrupting her.