The Martial Unity

Chapter 3194: Perspective on Genora

Rui was hardly surprised by the fact that the Elder Tree, which was so shackled by its need for esoteric substances, did not react well to a world without esoteric substances. It also made him more confident that the Elder Tree would forever remain loyal to the Panama Continent.

It was a tree, after all. It wasn’t going anywhere.

The elves, however, are a breath of fresh air to me, the Elder Tree admitted. I am extremely pleased that human civilization is brokering friendship with these wonderful people. I have already exchanged dialogue with Matriarch Pruschilia after she connected with the greater flora network of the Panama Continent. The Mother of Nature is a truly incredible being with great power and wisdom.

He made it clear that he was very happy with the existence of the elves. Rui made a mental note to make sure that humans treated flora extremely well, lest it give a bad impression of human civilization.

”What is your impression of them?” Rui raised an eyebrow. ”How would you evaluate their so-called nature path? How would you evaluate the Mothers of Nature?”

...The nature path is truly something that I never even imagined possible, the Elder Tree replied thoughtfully. To think that an evolutionary descendant species of human civilization would come to evolve such an extraordinary affinity for flora, to the point that they merge with their own trees and become trees themselves. That is unfathomable, and yet it is true. A Mother of Nature is a tree lifeform that surpasses even me.

Rui’s eyes widened with shock. ”Surpasses even you? Are you serious? You’re a tree the size of a small country, and you’re telling me that they have flora lifeforms that surpass even you?”

Decisively

, the Elder Tree confirmed without any hesitation. I pale in comparison to any of the Mothers of Nature, and they have hundreds of Mothers of Nature across the entire continent. Not only do their flora lifeforms surpass me in scale, intelligence, and power, but I suspect they do not have the same shortcomings and constraints that I do, even if their function differs from mine in many ways. Additionally, the flora biosphere of the Genora Continent is qualitatively superior to the flora of our continent. They are more united and more synergetic, while flora on this continent is more discordant. If I had to describe it...
The Elder Tree paused.

It is as though the boundaries between different trees and plants of different species are blurry, the Elder Tree mused thoughtfully. It is as though they are all one creature. As though the Mothers of Nature may as well be partially one single being of unfathomable power. The kind of power that you might consider to be Transcendent. However, the Mothers of Nature are more distinct from each other than the ordinary trees and plants.

Rui’s eyes lit up with excitement at those words as he recalled the considerations that he had had of how the Transcendent Realm would likely manifest differently for different Paths.

Were the Elder Tree’s insights pointing to how Transcendence might look in the Nature Path?

He was not sure.

He would need to see for himself.

I have received offers to merge with potential merge with prospective Mothers of Nature and become one of them myself.

Rui did a double-take as he glanced at the Elder Tree with alarm.

Relax, I firmly refused. It would mean getting rid of my own identity, as the Mother of Nature would take over my body. I may be pacifist and empathetic to life, but I do have a sense of self-preservation. I do not intend to allow them to merge with me or with any of my offspring. Thankfully, they have respected my wishes and backed off. They truly respect flora and regard us as sacred.

Rui heaved a sigh.

He was worried that he had just handed authority to someone who was compromised by the dark elves.

”Well, keep talking to them and making them like our continent,” Rui replied. ”We desperately need allies. It is truly unfortunate that the dark elves are pacifists who will not wage war for their allies, but we must take whatever we can get.”

I will ensure that they develop a favorable perspective on this continent.

”Good,” Rui nodded. ”What about the other continents? Any intel you can give me on them? I’m planning to travel the continent far and wide, after all. I want to go there as prepared and equipped as possible. Right now, our two main sources of intel are the dark elves and a captured tekvore. I want to diversify that a bit.”

The divide between flora in the Panama Continent and flora in other continents is not easy to bridge. The two branches of the Plant Kingdom are extremely different, and esoteric substances in this continent are viciously toxic to plant life in the true world. The dark elves are more of an exception than the rule. It is not easy for me to gain intel, and I will need time before I can connect with the roots of plant networks of the true world and spy on them.

”Fair enough,” Rui heaved a sigh. ”I guess, for now, I should just appreciate what I do have and discover the rest for myself.”

He didn’t strictly mind that, of course.

He looked forward to exploring the mysteries of the true world and the vast, expansive depths of the true world and everything that it had to offer to him.

”I will be visiting the dark elves of West Genora soon,” Rui replied. ”I’m sure that one of the things that they will want from us is samples of our flora and its DNA for them to study and analyze. Esoteric matter is the new gold for the true world, and the only way for the elves to make use of this matter is through their botanical biotechnology, which means that they will need samples of our flora.

RUMBLE

The world quivered as a root emerged from the ground, creating a small organically woven pouch containing samples of various specimens.

These contain samples of the most common esoteric flora of our continent, to start with. Nothing sensitive, but will still be valued by the dark elves and will be useful in your negotiations with them.

Rui smiled as he accepted the pouch. ”Perfect. Thanks.”