Chapter 79 — The Last Seed Keeper

Two weeks after the battle at Vom Soi, Khe Mien stood in front of a long line of new representatives who had come to Vom Cat to join the Bronze Ash Network—more than anyone in the alliance had dared to hope, and all carrying the same story they had heard from the merchant caravans along the way: of a small alliance that dared to stand up for one of its weakest members, and of a man who sacrificed his life to make it happen.

“Three new settlements sent messengers this week,” Diep Ba Nhan reported, his voice carrying an excitement that was hard to conceal even though the context that gave rise to that interest was painful. "And I just received messages from two other Small Arches in the west, places we haven't even contacted before, asking about the conditions of joining."

"The story of Ngan The Binh is spreading far and wide," Cau Bach Thinh said, a thoughtfulness mixed with emotion in his voice. "Not as a simple tragedy, but as a demonstration that this alliance is truly willing to act, not just talk."

Khe Mien felt a complex feeling in her heart when she heard those words—grateful that her companion's sacrifice had not been in vain, but also pained that same death had become the driving force to attract more members, as if blood had become a currency of trust. "I wish we could build this trust without it costing him his life," she said quietly.

"I understand that feeling," Bach Lam said, standing next to her with a hand gently resting on her back in a comforting gesture that had become familiar since that day of loss. "But I think Ngan The Binh would not want us to be immersed in that torment forever. He is always realistic. He would tell us that the important thing now is to use what happened to protect more people in the future, not to torment ourselves over what cannot be changed."

The alliance's expansion meeting soon followed, with new representatives in addition to the original founding members, and for the first time, Khe Mien felt the true scale of what they were building — no longer just a fledgling idea dared to believe in by a few small Arches, but a network that was growing at a rate far beyond all predictions.

"We need to formalize the joint defense structure," Bach Lam proposed to the entire delegation, his voice carrying the weight of his recent experience at Vom Soi. "There is not just a single rapid response team from Sand Dome, but each Dom member contributes a small number of trained people, rotating on duty, so that no one Dome has to bear the entire burden of protecting the alliance."

The proposal passed with near-university, and in the days that followed, a new organizational structure began to take shape—not perfect, with many holes to be filled over time, but much more solid than what existed before the battle at Vom Soi.

News from Stone Dome arrived that weekend bringing with it another important development — Wei Baqiang, after several days of deliberation with his Council, officially announced that Stone Dome had joined the Copper Ash Network as a full member, no longer just a discreet channel of communication as initially promised.

"Han Dinh Sang still objects," Duong Thi Yen reported over the radio, her voice carrying a note of cautious satisfaction. "But he no longer has enough voice to stop this decision. Perhaps, when seeing the news of Ngan The Binh's sacrifice, even the most skeptical people will have to admit that this is not a frivolous political game."

When that news was announced at the alliance meeting, a round of applause rang out throughout Vom Cat Square, and Khe Mien, standing among those joyful faces, felt an indescribable emotion — not pure joy, but a much more complex feeling, a mixture of hope for the future and the still-fresh pain of what had been lost to get here.

Kien, standing nearby, now with a much more mature appearance, volunteered to take on the role of helping train new members of the rapid response team, passing on the basic skills of reading the terrain and moving safely through Dong Tro that he had learned from Ngan The Binh. "I think this is the best way I can remember him," he told Khe Mien when she asked about that decision. "Not by being sad forever, but by making sure what you taught me doesn't disappear with you."

Diem Quynh, meanwhile, has begun a separate project — compiling all the technical knowledge the alliance has gathered from various member Domes, from Moss Dome's biofiltration techniques to Stone Dome's tunneling methods, into a common document that can be widely shared with any Dome joining the network in the future.

"I think this is what really differentiates us from the Unification Pact," she told Khe Mien as she presented the first pages of documents. "They want to concentrate knowledge and power in one place. We're trying to do the opposite — so that all knowledge, all ability, is shared freely with anyone who needs it."

The evening before, when most of the organizational work had calmed down, Kien found Diem Quynh sitting at a small table filled with technical notes, bringing two cups of hot tea as a way to start a conversation.

"Do you think he would be proud?" he asked, sitting down across from her. "About what we're doing?"

Diem Quynh looked up, a gentle smile mixed with sadness flashed across her face. "I think he would say that pride is not as important as doing the right thing," she replied. "He's always been so practical. But I also think, if he could see dozens of representatives from all over Dong Tro lining up to join something built from his own sacrifice, he wouldn't say anything, just nod his head the way he always does when he's satisfied."

Kien laughed lightly, for the first time in many days, a short but genuine laugh. “That's right,” he said. "He would just nod."

They sat in silence for a while, sipping tea, letting the warmth of friendship fill the void that words could not reach, before Diem Quynh returned to her work and Kien stood up to continue supervising the evening training session for the new members of the rapid response team, carrying in his heart a silent but firm determination.

At Green Dome alone, news of the alliance's rapid growth also spread throughout the community, and Tang Dieu Lam, in a radio communication, recounted that people had begun voluntarily contributing their surplus supplies to a common stockpile, dedicated to supporting other Dom members in the network — a completely spontaneous initiative, without any orders from the Council.

"Even those who were most vocally opposed to opening the gates are participating," Dieu Lam said, her voice carrying an undisguised warmth. "Perhaps the story of Ngan The Binh touches something deeper than politics in people's hearts. A reminder that we are still capable of caring for people we have never met."

That evening, when Khe Mien stood alone on the balcony overlooking Vom Cat Square, where the lights from the tents of the newly arrived representatives were still bright despite the late night, Bach Lam came to her, carrying a message she had just received through the secret communication channel Doanh Ba Thong had set up before they left Vom Thuong.

"He sent a message," Bach Lam said, handing her a small, carefully coded piece of paper. "Loi Bach Dat knew about what happened at Vom Soi. Doanh Ba Thong said he was dissatisfied — not just because of Kich Ba Hoanh's military defeat, but because of the rate at which our alliance was growing."

Khe Mien read the note, feeling a familiar tension rising in her heart, but this time, it no longer carried the paralyzing fear like the first days at Vom Thuong, but a sharper determination. "So we need to prepare faster," she said, "because I think, he will not sit idly by and watch us grow stronger without taking action."

"We're a lot more ready than last week," Bach Lam said, taking her hand. "And I think, whatever comes next, we won't face it alone anymore."

Khe Mien nodded, looking out into the distance towards the dark horizon where, somewhere out there, the Upper Dome still stood tall as a reminder of the bigger battle that lay ahead, and in her heart, the memory of Ngan The Binh blended with new determination, becoming an inseparable part of the path she had chosen.