Chapter 647: Earth-Shattering Means
On the perimeter of Hometree, the RDA forces had completed their deployment. The roar of engines and the grinding of metal shattered the forest's usual tranquility.
The warriors of the Omaticaya clan gathered on the buttress roots of Hometree, weapons in hand, glaring furiously at the steel tide in the distance. The air was thick with the tense, tragic atmosphere of an impending final stand.
Eytukan, Tsu'tey, Neytiri, and the others stood at the forefront. Jake Sully, occupying his Avatar body, stood beside Neytiri with a grave expression.
He tried to urge both sides to remain calm, but his voice was overwhelmingly weak amidst the tidal wave of hatred.
Just a moment before Colonel Quaritch could issue the order to attack, a heavy engineering vehicle belonging to the Trailblazer, escorted by Maine and his squad, slowly drove into the open ground between Hometree and the RDA lines.
This action caught the attention of both sides.
"What are they trying to do?" Quaritch frowned from inside the command vehicle.
The Na'vi also looked with confusion and vigilance at this strange vehicle that did not belong to the RDA.
Tsu'tey immediately raised his longbow, aiming in the direction of the vehicle.
The engineering vehicle rolled to a halt in the clearing. Its rear bay doors opened, revealing a metallic cube pulsing with a faint, eerie glow.
Falco and Pilar were conducting final operational calibrations inside the vehicle, while Maine and Dorio stood guard outside.
Simultaneously, the side doors slid open, and Rei Ayanami, Asuka, and Shinji Ikari stepped into the open. They carried no visible weapons.
Seeing Rei, Sutai and several members of her small faction experienced a subtle shift in their expressions.
Eytukan, Tsu'tey, and the others grew even more guarded. They recognized this strange Sky Person girl who had previously made contact with Sutai.
Rei took a few steps forward. Her calm gaze swept over the Na'vi gathered on the roots of Hometree before settling on Eytukan and Neytiri.
Utilizing her unique consciousness communication ability, she projected a clear and serene thought wave. Simultaneously, using halting but audible Na'vi vocabulary for the front ranks to hear, she said: "We—are not here to fight."
Her voice and consciousness acted like a block of ice dropped into boiling water, causing a brief, stagnant pause among the agitated Na'vi ranks.
"Hometree—stays here—conflict is unavoidable. Blood—will flow heavily," Rei continued. She pointed back at the RDA's steel formation, then toward the towering Hometree. "We—can temporarily move it. Protect it—from being destroyed. Avoid—meaningless death."
The proposal was so astonishing that the Na'vi struggled to comprehend it for a moment.
Tsu'tey was the first to erupt with a roar: "Lies! Another Sky Person trick! You want to steal our Tree of Souls!"
Neytiri looked at Rei in disbelief: "Move Hometree? How is that possible? It is a gift from Eywa, our very roots!"
Eytukan asked in a deep voice, full of distrust: "Move it? Move it where? Are you not with those tree-cutting machines?"
Asuka couldn't hold back, her tone carrying her characteristic bluntness: "Hey! Get this straight! If we were with those guys, we'd just let them open fire and blow this tree to pieces, wouldn't we? Why would we waste our breath on you? We're giving you a chance to save this tree! It's better than having it blown to bits, isn't it?!"
Shinji Ikari also tried earnestly to explain: "We—we don't want to see any more people die. Please—just trust us this once."
In the crowd, Sutai listened to these words, struggling violently internally.
She looked at Rei, then at the menacing RDA forces in the distance and the Hometree facing imminent destruction.
She knew Eytukan and Tsu'tey would never agree to abandon Hometree. Once the conflict erupted, the outcome was predictable.
Rei's proposed method sounded impossible, but—it seemed to be the only hope of saving the sacred tree and avoiding the unwinnable bloodbath right before them.
"Eytukan—" Sutai couldn't help but whisper, but she was glared back into silence by Tsu'tey's severe look.
Rei did not explain further. She knew words were pale in the face of deep-rooted hatred and massive suspicion.
She merely emphasized again: "This is—the only way to preserve it. The choice—is yours."
She threw the final decision back to the Na'vi, a gesture indicating they were not taking it by force.
However, time waited for no one.
From the RDA lines, the roar of engines grew louder—the signal that the attack was about to commence.
"Begin." Ryo's voice came through the encrypted channel, his tone brooking no argument.
Whether the Na'vi understood or agreed, the operation had to be executed.
Pilar pressed the activation button.
The intricate patterns on the surface of the metallic cube instantly lit up, emitting a powerful energy fluctuation. The surrounding air began to distort with a low, thrumming hum.
An invisible, yet distinctly perceptible ripple in space expanded rapidly outward with the cube at its epicenter, shrouding the towering Hometree.
Everyone witnessing this scene, be it RDA soldiers or Na'vi, felt a primal palpitation from deep within their instincts.
In the next moment, a sight no one would ever forget unfolded.
The Hometree—standing hundreds of meters tall, its roots embedded deep within the bedrock, carrying the survival and faith of countless generations of the Omaticaya clan—along with the massive rock formation beneath it, began to blur and turn transparent, as if melting into thin air.
Within mere seconds, under the terrified gazes of countless onlookers, the colossal Hometree vanished completely like a mirage. It left behind only a massive, perfectly smooth crater, as if the tree had never existed at all.
A dead silence fell over the scene.
The wind still blew, the forest still glowed, but the magnificent entity that had dominated the center of their vision for millennia was gone.
The RDA soldiers' mouths hung open, their weapons lowering involuntarily.
Colonel Quaritch bolted up from his command chair, staring in disbelief at the live feed on the main screen, the muscles in his face twitching slightly.
This power, transcending the scope of his comprehension, sent an unprecedented chill down his spine.
On the Na'vi side, despite Rei's prior explanation, witnessing the magnificent Hometree—the vessel of countless memories and beliefs—vanish into thin air right before their eyes delivered a massive shock. Absolute bewilderment swept over everyone like a physical shockwave.
The warriors' hands trembled slightly around their weapons, unsure of where to point them. Low sobs and groans of disbelief rippled through the crowd.
The massive chasm between expectation and reality plunged them into cognitive paralysis.
Eytukan stared into the massive, empty crater. His proud, straight posture hunched over, as if a piece of his soul had been extracted.
Amidst Tsu'tey's furious roars, aside from his usual hostility, there was now an added layer of powerlessness and defeat in the face of an unknown power.
Neytiri leaned tightly against Jake, her body trembling slightly from the violent emotional impact. She could not comprehend a method that so utterly defied the laws of nature.
Jake Sully, meanwhile, descended into total confusion. What had just transpired before his eyes completely shattered his understanding of technology.