Chapter 1315: Withered Tree and the Young Woman Who Came
The Three Eyed Wind Eagle slowly flew into the depths of Quiet Forest.
The plants in the depths of Quiet Forest should have been lush and reached the sky; it should have been a genuine forest world that stretched all the way up to the sky.
However, after the human invasion, the depths of the forest had become a bit barren. Many enormous over ten thousand year old trees had been chopped down, collapsed on the black scorched ground.
There were several potholes over the ground from being destroyed by destructive darkness, fire, and lightning techniques. It had completely lost its original nourishing soil. Even certain types of grass with very high surviving abilities were unable to grow here, let alone big trees that required resources.
Quiet Forest had existed for a very long time. In a short five or six years, it was impossible for it to recover to its original appearance. In fact, because of the Messiah Tree’s withering, in the next ten thousand years, Quiet Forest would be at most a normal primitive forest. There was no way it would be like the jungle paradise of the past.
When she saw the desolation and destruction left behind by the immortal rank fight, Ning Maner felt even more bitter in her heart.
It was no wonder the protectors that survived had all left. Quiet Forest was no longer the original Quiet Forest. It no longer had the peace of the past, nor the tranquility. Instead, all that was left was burnt soil left by the battle.
The further in they flew, the greater the signs of destruction. Ning Maner couldn’t even recognize many faces anymore.
Suddenly, a barren land appeared in front of her.
Ning Maner was stunned. This completely barren land where there wasn’t a single plant growing was the holy soil of the Messiah Tree of the past. Those people hadn’t even let off any of the plants in the holy soil. This place had been turned into a barren land.
There was a deep green forest behind them, but a barren wasteland in front. A violent gale swept up a wave of soil, making it a sandy wind. A bit of the soil was swept into Ning Maner’s eyes. Ning Maner’s current emotions were hard to describe.
The barren land stretched over a vast expanse of land. At the very center, Ning Maner saw an incomparably familiar, yet ever so unfamiliar, tree.
In the past, this tree was the most mighty and divine being that upheld the entire world. It wasn’t a family member, but took care of her more than her family…
It wasn’t a human; it was merely a tree. An old tree that had existed for several tens of thousands of years.
Perhaps her short time here, less than ten years, was like a blink of an eye to the Messiah Tree. But the time she spent growing here was everything to Ning Maner.
However, the mighty tree had, much like the holy soil, withered up.
Its enormous body that held up the sky was no longer full of life like before. It was like there was only a dried tree bark wrapping it up. The tree tops that hid and protected it in the depths of Quiet Forest had become incomparably sparse. As the wind didn’t stop scraping away, its roots on the barren ground became as withered as dried mud. There wasn’t a trace of life…
It was like a mighty and formidable old man that had suddenly turned into a corpse lying in a coffin.
The Messiah Tree’s death was a reality, and Ning Maner had already prepared her heart for this. But when she actually saw what was left of the Messiah Tree - its crooked corpse - she felt that her throat was being blocked by some bitter taste.
The Three Eyed Wind Eagle flew a half circle around the Messiah Tree’s withered body before slowly landing at the roots of the Messiah Tree.
Ning Maner jumped off the Three Eyed Wind Eagle and said: “I want to accompany grandfather here.”
The Three Eyed Wind Eagle nodded its head and once more flew into the sky.
Although this land had become barren, the protectors were ultimately protectors. The Three Eyed Wind Eagle wouldn’t let humans take another step on this land!
Ning Maner watched the Three Eyed Wind Eagle leave. Carefully, she crawled up the Messiah Tree’s scattered and old roots.
The Messiah Tree itself was enormous, as were its roots. A few of the bigger roots were like a small hill to Ning Maner.
After climbing up a root, the root began to fork into a slender groove. Inside the groove were countless soft leaves and flower petals that would not rot.
This tiny groove in the Messiah Tree’s roots was Ning Maner’s small bed where she had stayed for over 3000 nights.
She had slept here, making the flowers and leafs the mattress. Of the Messiah Tree’s numerous leafs, a single small leaf would be able to wrap Ning Maner’s body up with extra room to spare.
Even when heavy wind blew over, none of it would enter the groove. When it rained, it would remain dry there. Normally, Ning Maner would kneel there and watch the unending curtain of rain. Even if it was a huge snowstorm swirling through the air, the cold air was unable to enter this small place.
There was no other place that could be more warm than here.
Looking at this familiar place, Ning Maner, whose heart was exhausted and without a home, felt an intense sense of belonging. She took off her shoes and slowly lay down on top…
Back then, Ning Maner had only been a young girl. Thus, this small bed was just perfect for her small body.
However, she had grown a lot since then and this bed seemed a bit short for her.
Ning Maner lay down on her back first, placing her hands flat on her small stomach. Her pair of eyes, so clear they contained no trace of distracting thoughts, stared at the sky.
In the past at this time, rays of light would shine through the Messiah Tree’s treetop. The rays were extremely bright and the blue sky would be faintly discernible through the cracks in the leaves. Occasionally, it would be possible to see groups of wings float by, dropping a few light and spotless feathers. Under the sunlight, they would softly drift and dance as they dropped together with a few leaves. When she lay here for an entire afternoon, she wouldn’t have to think of anything, nor would she have to worry about anything.
But now, even if she was lying in the same spot, what she saw wasn’t the scene she remembered. All that was left was the empty blue sky and a few lonely branches.
“Grandfather Tree, Ning Maner came to see you.” a smile rose on Ning Maner’s face as she whispered.
The withered old tree branches lightly swayed in the air. It was unknown whether it was from the wind blowing or the already dead tree was responding to her words.
“Nobody is here. You must be lonely.”
“There’s a lot I want to talk about with grandfather, but I don’t know where to start. A lot of things have happened…”
“Ok, ok, I’ll start from when I left Quiet Forest.”
“Big Lion protected me and everyone as we left…”
“Ning Maner really misses Big Lion.”
“Big Brother Devil treated me very well. Only, his constant deadbeat expression is a bit unfun.”
“That Big Sister Ye is the best. When big brother wasn’t paying attention to me, I will go and tell her and she’ll immediately sort him out.”
“Aso First White, Second White, Third White and the others. Oh, they are big brother’s subordinates. They are all White Nightmares and they circle around me.”
Ning Maner lay alone under the tree and slowly recounted her experiences…
But all she looked like was a person muttering to herself…