Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 1067: Chapter 1066: The Dragon’s Shadow Returns

Sorin Region.

The warmth brought by the Revival Month had spread across the Plains of the Holy Spirits. The vegetation, which had been dormant for several months during the winter, began to restore life at an astonishing speed. Beyond the Sorin Region, the previously barren plains were now covered in greenery, and the burgeoning growth of vegetation finally connected with the eternal spring of "Sorin." The once distinct boundary at the edge of the giant tree gradually began to blur.

It was a day suitable for healing wounds.

Inside the giant tree, in Beltira’s private laboratory, luminescent plants illuminated the room made of wooden structures covered with vines and leaves. In the center of the room, a platform about two meters high was formed by coiled fine vines and wooden stakes. Numerous conduits and nerve fibers used for delivering biomass and conducting nerve signals hung down from the roof, connecting to one end of the platform where Andresha Wendell, with her gray-white long hair, lay quietly in the center, not yet awakened from her slumber.

With slight rustling sounds, several conduits and nerve fibers retracted from near Andresha’s head, moving toward the edge of the platform.

Bard Wendell, dressed in a white researcher’s uniform, stood beside the platform, somewhat uneasily watching his daughter lying there. He occasionally rubbed his hands, cautiously observing every minute expression change in Andresha’s slumbering face, or looked up at Beltira, who was controlling the entirety of the situation from the side.

"What stage are we at now?" Bard couldn’t resist asking for the umpteenth time, "How long until she wakes up?"

"Be patient, Bard," Beltira glanced at Bard and extended many nerve fibers resembling fine vines behind her. These fibers connected to several key nerve nodes in the room, which appeared like some kind of luminous fungal nodules, integrated into the wooden structures of the walls and roof, "Her eyes have already completed regeneration, but reconnecting the complex optic nerves to the brain is a precise task. I am guiding this delicate growth process... This is not a simple flesh regeneration technique like reconnecting bones and healing muscle tissue."

"I understand, I understand," Bard awkwardly touched his nose. He himself was a druid and actually knew how important these necessary processes were. But as a father, he was finding it hard to control his mindset at this moment—especially since he had been absent from Andresha’s side for more than twenty years, "Will there be any aftereffects? Will she need a period of recuperation after waking up?"

"If you were operating, she would probably have to lie down for a few more days after waking up, but with me personally handling it, she’ll just feel like she had a dream—relax, Bard, I will return to you a lively daughter... Well, considering Andresha’s character, she might not exactly be lively."

Beltira very rarely made a joke, and Bard realized that she was trying to calm his nervousness. This made him feel grateful yet couldn’t help but remark, "I never expected... you would comfort others."

"I have always been good at comforting," Beltira said lightly as she glanced at Bard. "Do you have any doubts about that?"

"Well... you are indeed good at comforting, although your previous methods weren’t so gentle," Bard said with a peculiar expression, shaking his head, "After all, knocking someone out with poisonous vines and injecting neurotoxins into their veins is also a form of ’comfort’..."

Beltira silently looked at Bard. If it had been her former self, she might have been ready with a lethal dose of neurotoxin in that moment, but now she merely shook her head and then turned her gaze back to the sleeping Andresha: "It’s clear to see you care a lot about this child."

"I’ve been absent from her side for more than twenty years," Bard looked at Andresha, his eyes softening, "Honestly... I have no idea how to make up for it all. I’ve missed almost all the important moments in my daughter’s life, her growth, her setbacks, the way she perceives the world, her likes and dislikes, her every joy and sorrow... I know nothing about them. I’m a stranger who’s never been part of her life, connected by blood, but now, apart from this empty ’concern,’ I have nothing left."

"Is that so... What a pity, I have no children, and I have long forgotten the face of my own father. I can no longer understand these complex emotional entanglements, and so I cannot place myself into the position of either of you," Beltira spoke in a cold voice, "But I am curious. Since you’ve missed a large part of your daughter’s life, what do you plan for the future?"

"The future?" Bard revealed a somewhat helpless smile, "I only wish for His Majesty’s grand vision to come true, for there to be no more conflicts between Typhon and Cecil, so that I might still have a chance to meet Andresha as someone other than the Wolf General Bard, and even have the opportunity to see my own father... As for the specific things I’d like to do, I..."

He appeared hesitant and awkward at this point, seeming unsure whether his thoughts were appropriate for sharing in this situation. Beltira noticed this and casually asked, "The specific things you’d like to do?"

"...I’m not sure if I still have the right to say this," Bard smiled, looking at his daughter sleeping, "I still dream of having a chance to see Andresha get married... She is of the right age, but it seems she’s never considered it... Please don’t laugh, I know it’s a bit strange to mention this now, but this is simply a normal thought for a father, Madam Beltira, you know, I actually am quite a traditional thinker..."

"No, I’m not laughing; I’m just a little surprised," Beltira looked at Bard, "Moreover, I thought you would have a different attitude on this matter—because as far as I know, many fathers aren’t too keen on seeing their daughters suddenly taken away by some strange and lucky scoundrel..."

Bard’s expression grew increasingly peculiar: "Well... that’s true, I don’t think any fortunate young man could be worthy of my Andresha. But if it were someone as outstanding as General Philip, it would fit the bill. Of course, the chances for those two are slim, even without considering the relationship between Cecil and Typhon... Madam Beltira, you really did smile this time, didn’t you? Please understand a father’s..."

"No, I’m not mocking you," Beltira’s smile grew more apparent on her face, and she raised her hand to point at the platform beside her, "I just wanted to tell you, Andresha has woken up."

Bard was momentarily stunned, and then joyfully looked at his daughter lying on the platform. The latter opened her eyes at nearly the same moment—with a mix of vexation and annoyance on her face.

Bard immediately noticed the change in Andresha’s expression and quickly realized something as he looked up at Beltira: "Wait, when did she wake up?!"

"When you mentioned the ’neurotoxin,’" Beltira said, her smile fading into a blank expression, "But to help her better adapt, I temporarily suppressed part of her neural signals... except for her hearing."

Bard: "..."

At that moment, he unexpectedly missed the days when Beltira was a Dark Hierarch using the neurotoxin she excelled at.

"Wait, Andresha, don’t get excited. I was just sharing my thoughts," Bard spoke somewhat incoherently amidst great embarrassment, "You have to understand, one can’t always be on edge..."

"Alright, I have no intention of interrupting this touching emotional exchange between father and daughter, but right now, we should focus on the ’patient’s’ physical condition," Beltira suddenly interjected from the side, her voice sounding heavenly to Bard, "Andresha, blink your eyes and look around—how do you feel?"

Andresha actually had a lot she wanted to say to her father, but at this moment, she responded first to Beltira’s instructions. She first looked down at her body, then raised her head to take in the amazing "treehouse." After the initial sense of discomfort improved slightly, she finally confirmed one thing: she had regained both her eyes.

Bard also redirected his attention to Andresha’s eyes. He looked up at his daughter, and after she brushed away the hair covering one of her eyes, he immediately noticed the anomaly of that eye—it had an intense red hue, though still beautiful overall, it stood in sharp contrast to her other light gray eye. This surprised him: "Wait a minute, the color of this eye..."

"I mentioned before, the new flesh regeneration technique has its limitations, and this is one of them," Beltira said from the side while handing a mirror to Andresha, "But rest assured, apart from the visual difference, this new eye works perfectly fine the same as your original one—perhaps even better since it’s brand new."

Andresha took the mirror and finally saw her current appearance clearly—in the midst of her grayish-white short hair, her two differently colored eyes stood out strikingly, even somewhat eerily and frighteningly, but she eventually nodded gently, "There’s nothing bad about this... it can help me remember everything that happened more clearly."

"Since the patient herself has no objections, I can declare the treatment a complete success," Beltira said with a slight smile. "But I must remind you, Miss Andresha, these eyes might slightly increase the difficulty of getting married... but you need not worry too much, your good father will surely work hard for your marriage."

Andresha and Bard’s expressions changed at the same time, but Beltira’s figure was already gradually dissolving into a mass of wriggling vines, her voice emanating from deep within the branches and leaves, "Then I won’t disturb the precious time between father and daughter—good luck, Mr. Bard Wendell."

...

The canopy of the giant tree swayed gently in the wind, the layers of green leaves undulating softly like waves. In the warm breeze, Beltira’s figure emerged from the top of the canopy, raising her head to meet the brilliant afternoon sun, her expression satisfied with a hint of joy.

It wasn’t easy to express such a change in expression with a woody body, but she felt that the joyful events of today warranted a smile.

The sunlight was pleasant, photosynthesis equally enjoyable. Beltira squinted her eyes, within her sensory boundary, the roots and branches of the Sorin Giant Tree touched upon the thriving life force on the Plains of the Holy Spirits. Meanwhile, her other sensory system, the "Narrator Neural Network," bustled with activity. A massive amount of information exchanged rapidly through nodes scattered across the plains, ultimately converging at the treetop of the Sorin Giant Tree. The neural fibers, symbiotic with the Magic Obelisk, continuously updated Beltira on events occurring afar—this even gave her an illusion, as if the entire human world had already been integrated into this ever-growing complex network.

Just basking in the sun each day, conducting photosynthesis, bearing some fruit, feeding the small animals on the plains, immersing into the network in sunlight, reading news from afar, or anonymously posting some "interesting records" about the Sorin Giant Tree... life as a plant didn’t seem so bad?

Beltira felt her thoughts gradually dispersing, melting into the gentle warmth of the sunlight, but a high-priority notification unexpectedly entering the neural network startled her awake, causing her to open her eyes wide.

"Air defense identification notice?"

Beltira muttered, instinctively looking up at the sky, as the Magic Web Hub Tower north of Red Maple City was transmitting signals back, while monitoring devices distributed across the plains were continually sending more precise tracking records. Guided by these signals, she moved her gaze and finally caught sight of those small black shadows appearing on the edge of the canopy.

Those shadows quickly grew larger—even though from the ground they might still be too small to discern, when they passed over the Sorin Giant Tree, Beltira could clearly see what they were.

It was a small group of dragons, flying in formation through the clouds.

Beltira watched the massive creatures in astonishment but didn’t forget to forward the recognition tags in the network. She watched as the dragons in formation continued flying southward, while on several air defense platforms atop the Sorin Giant Tree and several ground stations, the guardian treants lowered their skyward-pointing Gorgon Cannons, and large missile launchers and Rainbow Light Devices also removed their target locks from these foreign aerial targets.

"They are indeed dragons... and not just one?" Beltira only withdrew her gaze from the sky after those dragon shadows disappeared from the sensing range of the Sorin Giant Tree, "This is truly an unusual situation... it looks like ’Brother Gawain’ is about to stir up something big again?"

...

The vast land of the Plains of the Holy Spirits slowly receded from view, with the green hills and the rivers shimmering in the sunlight as vivid as lines on a canvas. Melita felt the flow of magic power in the air and let out a low growl from her throat.

After losing the auxiliary interface provided by the Omega System, it took her a long time to adapt to relying solely on her own eyesight and physical senses for long-distance flying. Initially, it wasn’t easy, but now she found... without those complicated auxiliary interfaces, the world seemed more vivid and lively in her eyes.

Just then, the voice of sea demon Cassandra suddenly came from behind, "I’ve always been curious—why do you dragons suddenly roar for no reason while flying?"

Melita collected her thoughts and slightly tilted her head, "Is that strange? Don’t you sea demons also sometimes break into song while traveling across the sea?"

Cassandra’s voice turned surprised, "Ah—so that’s your singing? To be honest, it’s not very pleasant..."

Melita: "..."

"Hey, why did you stop talking again?"

"It’s nothing, just a bit envious of you all."

"Envious? Envious of our singing talent?"

Listening to the voice coming from her back, Melita showed a somewhat helpless expression. She didn’t know how to explain her sudden melancholic mood to this sea demon, so she just nodded ambiguously, "Something like that."

Riding on Melita’s back, Cassandra was immediately delighted, "Well then, I’ll sing you a song, after all, there’s nothing else to do, consider it a thank you for taking me all this way..."

"Uh, actually, no..."

"No need to be polite, sea demons love singing," Cassandra said, refusing to let Melita decline, "What type of music do you like? I’m particularly good at death metal..."

Melita: "?"

"Wait a moment, let me whip my tail up a bit and conjure a set of instruments first..."

Melita: "?"