The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)-Chapter 723: A hopeful sprout born in the midst of oppression

Right away, I asked Natha to be teleported to the plaza. Alveitya rushed ahead of me, followed by Jade, toward the congregated place.

Naturally, the humans who were there--those who talked to the princess, as well as those who were registering for new residential permits--were screaming in fright when they saw a spear fly toward them. From their eyes, it would look like someone threw a spear from the palace.

As the people screamed and scattered, the spear stopped in the air and spun for a while, like a compass needle trying to find a bearing. It hovered here and there, the green gem shone brightly.

Because it was clear that the spear was not meant to smite them, the citizens finally stopped screaming and moving around. Instead, they looked at the spear in wonder. Perhaps because from a close distance, the spear looked more pretty than scary. The gorgeous white staff and intricate carving, not to mention the pulsing green gem...it sucked everyone’s attention to this diva of a spear.

But for once, Alveitya wasn’t trying to get everyone’s attention. The spear was truly concentrating hard with Jade’s and Shiny’s help. The little colorful bird flapped its wings excitedly and hovered above the center of the plaza.

[Here, here!]

Shiny, not losing, ran in a circle around two meters in diameter as if marking a territory. Its metallic claws drew a line on the ground to create a perfect circle. Once Shiny was done, the spear flew high into the sky before rushing down with the blade pointed downward, like a rocket, striking the center of the circle.

The sound and vibration spread across the plaza. Chunks of pavement scattered around as the spear kept on digging with the help of a mole and a cheerleading bird. Soon, the curious people surrounded my busy companions--albeit from a distance.

[Papa, come here! Come here!] Jade’s colorful wing pointed toward the ground when Natha teleported us near the circle. The spear and the mole had taken off the pavement inside the circle until we could see the soil underneath. [There! The strange energy comes from there!]

The soil didn’t look like much, but there was something else among the soil that made me frown.

"This..." Natha narrowed his eyes. "Roots?"

Alveitya trembled beside me, clearly boiling with anger. An anger I could understand, because it was also inside my heart. novelbuddy.cσ๓

"How dare..." I couldn’t even finish my words because my lips were trembling. My temple was throbbing from anger, and I had to clench my fist just to control my emotions.

How dare...how dare these humans! Not only did they burn the Great Tree, but they also covered the remains with concrete?!

As the harsh wind started to swirl and the trees were hissing again, Natha held my clenched hands, rubbing them slowly so they loosened. "You can get angry all you want, but don’t hurt yourself, sweetheart."

I closed my eyes and took a deep, deep breath. When the sky was clearing again, Jade suddenly landed on the soil and patted the ground with the colorful wing.

[Papa! Something pulse! So small...so weak...]

"Really?"

I rushed to the soil immediately, with Alveitya following me. Crouching on the dirt, I held one of the grey, sad-looking roots jutting out of the ground. It looked like nothing but remains, like a corpse, but when I flowed my mana into the roots and the soil, deeper and deeper, I felt something catching the end of my mana.

Like a drowning man grabbing on a thrown straw.

I gasped and looked up, staring at Alveitya who was buzzing strongly.

"It’s there!" I reached out to the soil and started to dig. "It’s alive!"

I was digging like a frenzy, trying to get to that weak pulse as fast as possible, but also scared of damaging it. Perhaps because of that, either Shiny or Natha dare not to help me. And I was grateful they didn’t, because I might smack their hands in fright.

[A bit more, Papa! A bit to the left!] Jade helped me locate it, because the bird had the best detection among us.

My pretty clothes, which Arta prepared so nicely yesterday, became dirty and soiled. I was probably looking very ridiculous at that moment, like a goblin looking for a treasure. But it didn’t matter. It was a treasure. No; for me, it was more than a treasure.

[Papa, be careful here!]

I stopped digging at Jade’s signal, after going about thirty centimeters deep. Instead, I gently brushed the loose soil, bit by bit, until I felt a tiny, tiny bump that reminded me of Shwa’s little horns.

"Oh..." a shaky exclaim escaped my lips, and I continued brushing the soil until I saw a tiny green sprout. I probably spent a whole minute just looking at the tiny green bump before finally looking up, staring at my husband and companions in a daze. "W-what should I do now?"

Natha and Shiny looked as clueless as me, and my spear was still buzzing in frenzy. Thankfully, Jade was still a leading expert. [Papa! Green gem!]

Oh, right! How could I forget? How stupid of me!

Hurriedly, I took out the Heart of the Forest from my storage necklace--which I had taken out of the crown I wore during the New Covenant. As if responding, the bump pulsed harder when I brought the gem close to it. The hole I just dug glowed in soft green light and mana started to pour out swiftly.

No; to be more precise, the sprout was absorbing the rich mana from the gem. It drank the mana like a lost explorer finding an oasis after weeks of drought. For this sprout, however, it was already decades of drought. Almost a century.

Just the fact that this little one managed to survive after getting burned and buried under concrete was already a miracle. It had nothing but a desire to survive and sunlight in its consciousness, drinking the mana mindlessly while screaming grow, grow, grow!

The trees were whispering again, but not in anger this time. The leaves of the plants around the plaza swayed to cheer up the little survivor. They held back from taking mana and nutrients from the soil, letting the little sprout take everything it needed.

[Go, Sprouty! Go!]

Whether it was from Jade’s cheering, or because it finally drank enough mana, the sprout suddenly shuddered. It stopped drinking the mana and a soft popping sound could be heard before something broke out of the little bump.

[Oh!]

Along with Jade’s excited exclaim, like a butterfly broke out of its cocoon, leaves sprouted from the little bump. I leaned away from the hole to give room, and the leaves grew quickly; roots filling the hole and green leaves reached out. In front of our eyes, the tiny bump that was almost invisible a few seconds ago grew to be half a meter tall.

Everything, from the roots to the stem and the leaves was pulsing and slightly glowing. It wriggled and shuddered like someone waking up in a fresh morning and enjoying the sunlight. At the top, sealed inside a blanket of young leaves, was something pulsing, like a mana core. Mana veins, sparkling green like emerald, were flowing through the stem to the roots and leaves.

"Oh..."

Rather than absorbing mana, the Great Tree’s role was to provide mana. That was, as long as it survived the growing period.

Suddenly, Jade gasped and covered by lights, starting to transform. The bird did not transform into a little boy, however, but an adult woman.

"Mother?" I whispered breathlessly, for my heart kept pounding while clutching the green gem.

A pair of warm hands caressed the young tree, and a voice akin to a spring breeze could be heard. [This time, I will not let you perish because of my mistake]

She leaned down and kissed the top of the pulsing bud. The emerald-colored vines glowed stronger and a thin but strong mana covered the young tree like an invisible armor. Spring breeze and warm sunlight of early summer intertwined, spreading across the city. The yellow and red leaves turned green, and flowers bloomed like time had been turned. The mana of nature seeped onto the ground and filled the air, purifying the land and the sky.

Once again, the palace city had been claimed by the Goddess of Nature.

[Good job, my child] She caressed my cheek and kissed my forehead next, before the light scattered around Jade’s body and the little bird woke up.

This time, it wasn’t asleep. [Oh! Oh! Mother borrow Jade again!] Jade flapped its wings and flew toward me, perching on my shoulder to rest. [Phew...]

Patting my hard-working bird, I looked up at Natha. Without having to voice it--without even having to read my thoughts--he already understood.

"Heraz, set a schedule for guarding duty. Four in each direction," he told the shapeshifter, who suddenly materialized behind him, as always. "No one is supposed to touch the Great Tree. Not even you."

"By your command."

Bzz! Alveitya hovered in front of me and vibrated strongly. "You want to stay?" I blinked. But it only took me two seconds of contemplation. "Okay, don’t worry about me. You can stay here until the Tree is strong enough to defend itself."

The spear buzzed and I raised my hand to caress its shaft, saying my temporary goodbye. It flew toward the young Tree and hovered around it. Surely, with four guards and a sentient spear, the Tree would be safe now, right?

[Bye-bye, Alvie!] Jade waved its colorful wings, and the spear buzzed softly in response.

Well, I guess it would be weird to keep calling the Great Tree and the Spear ’Alveitya’, so I guessed the Spear would be Alvie from now on.

[Sprouty, grow well, okay?] Jade continued the greeting while Shiny climbed back to my arm after gathering the pavement debris and piling it on one side. [Grow well like Shwa, but bigger!]

Oh, I couldn’t help but chuckle. Indeed, my son came from a plant. I sighed and looked at my husband again. "I miss our little guy."

He smiled and held my waist, spreading his black wings. "Shall we have an early lunch break, then?"