Liu Shu was nervous. The new year had gone by, and her four Sylvan Wives had bellies so large that she wanted to lend them a root for them to lean onto. Among them, Verdantia's belly was the largest, making Liu Shu a bit nervous.
'With a baby that big, will she be okay?'
She was honestly a bit doubtful, but she didn't dare voice that. Even when she had been a mother herself countless times, the nerves of seeing her wives about to give birth were almost making the World Tree wring a few mountains like a handkerchief to ease her feelings.
Thankfully for the world and all the map experts in Ceperet, Liu Shu's mountain wringing was only happening in Vorathen, where it didn't matter how much she messed up the world's surface.
'I will miss Vorathen when it starts having life… Should I leave one planet for me to play around freely? Perhaps the one that's closer to the Sun can do the trick. After all, Solkara is a bit too close to the Sun to develop life comfortably.'
Not knowing that their lover was about to create a "stress relief ball" out of a planet, the Sylvans communicated with Liu Shu. "Love, are you sure you don't have to focus on other things? While we have big bellies, it doesn't hurt or anything."
Liu Shu snorted at Cinderielle's comment. "You four be obedient and let me take care of you. Didn't you four stay by my side as much as possible when I was pregnant the first few times? I am as nervous as you were back then!"
The four Sylvans looked at each other with helpless looks.
They were taking a comfortable rest in one of the extensive gardens behind their Tree Daughters. The day was cold, and the grey clouds above the city made the air chillier. Looking in the distance, they noticed that snow was falling in the distance. Verdantia, draped in a thick coat, breathed out and smiled. "I guess that being under Liu Shu's canopy has its benefits."
Since Liu Shu's body reached and even overcame many of the drifting clouds, it was hard for a snow cloud to form. After all, once they collided with Liu Shu, they would be affected by her energies and condense into water.
Tempestria commented. "Still, when rainclouds collide with Liu Shu's canopy, they sometimes drip down through her leaves for longer than they should've."
Harmonixia caressed her belly and laughed. "It's an interesting experience, that's for sure."
Liu Shu commented, her tone light. "My elemental control is great. So, if you want, I can create snow or rain clouds under my canopy. It takes little energy to do something that simple."
Being a willow tree, Liu Shu's canopy dropped down a generous length. The most exuberant part was on the top, becoming relatively sparse as it dropped closer to the ground. But there were branches that dropped down beyond half her body height.
"Is that an easy thing to do?" Tempestria blinked, confused. She, as a Tempest Sylvan, controlled atmospheric events as well. But it was not as easy as Liu Shu made it out to be.
Liu Shu explained softly. "My ability to control the atmosphere is worse than yours, Tempestria. However, the sheer density of my essence and my deep knowledge of the science behind it help me reduce the costs to the point that it becomes nothing more difficult than moving a few branches."
Tempestria's tensed eyebrows relaxed, her expression becoming thoughtful. "Does it really help?"
"Hm?"
"Knowledge. Science knowledge. Does it really help with casting spells?"
Liu Shu answered honestly. "It does. When you imagine fire, what do you imagine? A hot thing that consumes items through that heat or something similar, right? However, if you have a deeper knowledge of fire, you can do it differently. Instead of manifesting a concept that vague, needing a lot of Aether Mana, you can simply cause a spontaneous chain reaction that engulfs everything in fire. Then, if you don't want to burn something, you can leave those things out of the chain reaction. For example…"
Liu Shu glanced at the plate with a few pastries and then manipulated the Aether Mana around it.
Whoosh!
The plate went into flames, startling the four Sylvans. Then, after the fire disappeared, they could see what had happened. The plate and pastries were untouched by the heat, yet all the sugar on top of the pastries had caramelized.
"I used Aether Mana and chemical principles of fire to create a chain reaction that would use sugar as its fuel. Hence, when it burned and created that heat, it only burned the sugar, leaving the rest untouched."
Cinderielle smiled, her eyes squinting with interest. "Even then, what you show is something difficult, if not impossible, to recreate during battle. You don't have the time to do so many calculations when you are exchanging tens of attacks each second, right?"
"It might be, but if you get the principles ingrained deeply in yourself, you might be able to manifest such things without a second thought. Becoming something instinctive. It will be like a child, who at first, takes a few minutes to add five and five, but when they are older, they instantly know that five plus five is ten."
The four Sylvans found what Liu Shu said fascinating. Verdantia commented, looking at the other three. "Should we go to the Endless Library? A bit of walking won't hurt us, right?"
"Sure." Harmonixia laughed, ready to stand up.
Yet, the second the four Sylvans stood up, a sharp pain that made them scream pierced their brains.
"AH!"
The simultaneous scream as they crouched while clutching their stomach startled Liu Shu. However, before she panicked, her powerful mind gathered mental processing speed from everywhere. Her perception of time slowed, making sense of everything and coming up with a plan before their screams even finished.
BOOM!
Her aura surged, her mind dividing into countless threads that reached out to different people, informing them of what was happening. The space in Golden Sap City fell under her governance, and she created spatial rifts to move people around quickly.
"Don't worry, I got everyone."
Cinderielle and the others were confused, their eyebrows furrowed in pain. However, the next second, they saw almost 30 spatial cracks burst open as Elyne, Veyra, Flor, Ignatia, other family members, and the top-tier doctors and nurses fell through them.
Everyone blinked their eyes, utterly confused. However, before they even understood what was happening, Liu Shu's voice enveloped them with the authority of a World Ruler. "Cinderielle and the others are going to give birth simultaneously. Prepare."
Having explained everything before she even summoned them, no one dared even to delay a single second. The World Tree literally bent space and manipulated time to make them appear here as quickly as possible. If they dared delay it a single second, they feared that this overwhelmingly powerful being would crush them to death like ants.
"Carry them. Prepare the calming incense. Also, carry a few pre-prepared potions and be sure to assist in case surgery is needed. You are the most experienced nurse, so go with Lady Verdantia. The others divide yourselves among the rest." Once the male doctor finished speaking, he looked at the gargantuan World Tree and bowed. "Do not worry, Lady Heavenly Willow. On my life, these children and their mothers will have absolutely no complications with their delivery."
The World Tree was actually looking down with her real eyes, so the man could see her nod once he raised it to glance over. Honestly, inside, he was terrified. Even if his confidence in such a simple procedure was boundless, being under the eyes of "The" Heavenly Willow was pressuring.
However, Flor was there for a reason, and that was to keep Liu Shu in check! She glanced up and scolded. "Liu Shu, stop looking over! You are making the professionals nervous. If you continue looking, I'll use my Aether Mana to create a giant wind hand and spank your butt!"
Liu Shu was stumped for a moment before she begrudgingly looked away. "Alright, Mom. Sorry."
The medical people who were not close almost felt their legs weakening. 'Only Lady Flor would dare scold Lady Heavenly Willow!'
Cinderielle, Verdantia, Tempestria, and Harmonixia were placed in separate beds and carried to a room prepared for their births. The room was divided by four sound-insulating walls; after all, they didn't want their screams to bother each other.
Once there, the doctor checked on them and nodded, his face now much more relaxed. "The process of a Sylvan giving birth is quite lengthy. However, the risks are not as large as with their human counterparts. Sylvans, unlike humans, do not use an umbilical cord to feed their children. Instead, their wombs become something like fertile ground."
The doctor explained calmly, his tone becoming more confident as the nerves disappeared. "The seed that's initially fertilized or planted will grow, digging its roots into the womb's walls. This process is painless for the mother. However, so many connections are a hindrance once the time to give birth arrives."
Everyone present knew these details, but the doctor didn't stop the explanation. It was both to refresh his memory and bring to the front all his knowledge. "It is an advantage during the nine years of pregnancy. The mother nourishes the child perfectly and protects it from any infection. But during the birth, it takes time for the mother to detach every root. So, the birth of a Sylvan can last between three and nine days."
Everyone nodded while the doctor picked a potion and drank it. He could naturally feel the World Tree's gaze on his back, so he explained. "This is an energy potion. As a human, even when I am Level 70, I can't really keep myself awake for the entire process. Therefore, I will use these potions. Do not worry, they do not affect my focus."
Elyne, at the side, spoke with a smile. "Do not worry. My healing arts can also erase tiredness. If the doctor or the nurses ever feel tired, please tell me, and I will heal you."
The medicine practitioners smiled and nodded. "Thank you, Eternal Avatar Elyne. We will be under your care."
Meanwhile, the four Sylvans were on the bed, gritting their teeth, and piercing pain came from their wombs. While the digging of the roots was not painful, the moment the birth started, those roots needed to detach. That process was not as gentle, creating profuse internal bleeding.
With their powerful physique, though, this amount of bleeding would not do much to them.
For the following six days, the four Sylvans sweated profusely, their bodies twitching with pain as screams escaped them from time to time. Thankfully, with all of Liu Shu's preparation, nothing went wrong, and eventually, all of them gave birth.