Let's start over, Your Majesty.

Chapter 289 Under the Stars
Caesar looked at the gray-blue bead in Muirna's hand. He had seen this light six hundred years ago when the Elf King Freytrius demonstrated the great power of the natural gods in front of him. That was also the first time he had felt a power beyond his rank up close.

He once wielded this power to defeat the demon invaders, and now this power will be used by him once more, but against an existence even more powerful than the demons.

“If this operation fails, then your sister will…” Caesar whispered.

Once the divine right of nature is destroyed, the blue tree will wither, and this forest will cease to exist.

Muirner smiled calmly:
"It's alright. My sister also wanted to use this power to protect us. Rather, this is our mission."

The vines slowly fell beside her, brushing against her palm as if to comfort her.

"Yes, I know, I will protect myself."

Caesar remained silent for a few seconds, then said earnestly to the vine, "Thank you, Sister Luze, thank you for your efforts. I promise to bring back Muirna and the God of Nature intact, I swear on my life."

The vine wrapped around Caesar and nuzzled against his head.

“Um, Sister Luze…” Caesar shrank his neck awkwardly, but quickly realized that it was a way of expressing friendliness.

“My sister likes you a lot,” Muirna said with a smile.

"However, she also said that she doesn't like to always talk about risking one's life. Life is the most precious thing in life, and it must be cherished, especially for a kid like you, Xiao Sa."

"I...I understand. Then, Luze-nee..."

The vines had already made Caesar's hair very messy, but Luzer showed no sign of stopping.

"Alright, sister, stop teasing Xiaosa," Muirna said, patting the vine.

The vine then retracted and swayed towards Muirna.

"Hmm? You mean you wanted to show that to Sasha?" Muirna said.

The vines touched the ground.

"That?" Caesar asked, puzzled.

“That’s a pretty nice view, isn’t it? After all, there’s not much here to entertain you, so please enjoy the view,” Muirna said.

“If you want to stay here a little longer, would you like to go take a look?” Muirner said to him.

Caesar glanced at his watch; it was still early, so he nodded.

"Then I'll keep my expectations up."

"Then, come on."

Muirna stood up, and Luze's vines retracted. They emerged from the tree hole, and then a large net woven from vines fell in front of them.

Muirner sat down and extended his hand to Caesar.

"Come on, get on."

Caesar grasped that soft hand, stepped onto the net, and sat down next to Muirna.

The vines then contracted upwards, pulling them up through the dense canopy to the treetop, where the entire Luze Forest lay before them.

In addition, the artificial sun overhead was getting closer, its scorching heat baking his head. "Wait a minute."

Muirna, standing beside him, reached out her hand, and the fluorescent blue screen that had appeared earlier appeared in her palm. She pressed it lightly, and the artificial sun above them dimmed slightly. Only then did Caesar realize that this control device was not fixed in place, but was carried by Muirna with her at all times.

As Muirna gazed at the sun overhead, he adjusted his movements. The scorching sun gradually softened its heat and brightness, its blinding light becoming as gentle as moonlight. The artificial sun transformed into an artificial moon, and the Luze Forest entered the night, bathed in the bright moonlight.

"You can do that..." Caesar exclaimed in surprise; the technology was even more advanced than he had imagined.

As night fell, faint golden fluorescent lights appeared in the forest. These were fireflies dancing among the trees. The Azure Tree where they were located emitted a soft azure light, enveloping them in a sea of ​​azure light.

Muirna's actions weren't over yet. She stared at the darkening ceiling, then continued to rotate her palm, and soon stars lit up in the pitch-black "night sky."

For a moment, the sky was filled with starlight, interspersed with dazzling rays of light, like a colorful cosmic scene after high-precision photo editing.

But now that dreamlike scene was truly before his eyes: a bright, full moon, so close yet so near, beneath a dazzling starry sky, was incredibly beautiful.

“The dome control system is still in the experimental stage.” Muirna looked up at the boundless starry sky and said softly, “Sometimes when I’m in a bad mood, I come here to look at these stars. Although I know they’re not real, I’m always amazed by them.”

She glanced at Caesar beside her, a hint of hesitation in her eyes.

"So beautiful..." Caesar murmured, his eyes fixed on the magnificent sky.

“I’m glad you like it,” Muirner said with a smile.

“At first I thought you wouldn’t like this kind of fancy stuff, and that the pristine night sky is the best,” she said.

“No, not at all,” Caesar shook his head. “If I had to choose, I would definitely prefer this dreamy, fairytale-like starry sky, that pristine starry sky, pitch black, which always reminds me of the real universe, too empty, too cold, full of the unknown, like a gradually decaying mummy.”

He looked up at the starry sky: "That's why I still prefer the dreamlike world of fairy tales."

“Yes, the real universe is too scary. This is much more beautiful. With such a beautiful view, maybe aliens will even extend a friendly invitation to us,” Muirner said.

The atmosphere quieted down, and the two of them silently gazed at the starry sky above.

After an unknown amount of time, Muirner slowly spoke: "Only when we look up at the starry sky do we realize how small our world is. Those twinkling, faint starlight are stars that are more dazzling than the sun in their respective galaxies, and such stars orbit many more planets like us. The universe contains countless such galaxies."

She sighed, "Eli is just an incredibly tiny grain of sand in this almost infinite universe, but even on such a negligible grain of sand, humanity has never been at peace, engaging in meaningless struggles."

"This is the essence of civilization; the development of civilization is always inseparable from war," Caesar said.
"However, when we put it on a scale that encompasses the entire universe, we realize that all human struggles—whether for interests, ideals, or beliefs—are as childish as kindergarten children fighting over candy. Perhaps in the future, when we look back, those wars we called epic will seem as simple as cavemen hitting each other with sticks."

“Yes,” Muirner said slowly.

"The things that are truly worth dedicating ourselves to and striving for are right above us, yet humanity insists on fighting to the death over these few pieces of land on the ground."

She lowered her head: "I've also imagined that if the Eli Alliance hadn't broken down, and if we could have integrated the world's resources and research results, wouldn't we have been able to go into space thirty years ago?"

“Not necessarily,” Caesar said. “A major factor driving technological progress is war. If the Eli League hadn’t been broken up, the major kingdoms would have been frantically investing in military research for armaments. Technologies born for war, such as the internal combustion engine, radio, railway technology, automobiles, and airplanes, wouldn’t have come into existence so early. Modern medicine, cell biology, and pharmacology wouldn’t have progressed so quickly either. It can be said that war promoted the development of modern civilization. Competition between nations is the best breeding ground for scientific research.”

"So, is human civilization destined to be shrouded in war? To endlessly kill each other until the damage is irreparable?" Muirner said.

Caesar was silent for a moment, then slowly said:

"There's another way, Professor. Do you know Red Brown Stone Island?"

(End of this chapter)