Forests Don't Support Idle Goblins

"Everyone, split up," Charles ordered immediately.

Then, following the previous drills, the two teams of 11 people immediately split into 6 smaller teams.

"Soldiers, advance! Archers, prepare the incendiary glue!"

Facing the five withered monsters roaring and charging towards him, the goblin holding the shield pressed his body close to the shield, preparing to withstand the attack, while the two or three goblins behind him had already taken out Blazing Glue from their waistbands.

"Red Eyes, cut off their feet!" Charles shouted, as a clear bird song rang out behind him, and three firebirds rushed toward the foremost withered monster.

Xiaer stared at these tall monsters. They staggered as they ran, their heads bare of green leaves and covered with dry, broken branches. With each step they took, their dark bodies shed splinters of wood, making them look like rotten logs about to fall apart. They were completely different from the tree people who had led him here.

"How did they end up like this?" Sansio murmured beside him. Charles glanced at him out of the corner of his eye and noticed that the boy had also drawn his wooden sword.

"The equipment is pretty complete." Xia Er muttered to himself. Then a roar came from ahead. He looked over and saw a withered monster sweep its weapon and smash the goblin's shield, sending it tumbling to the ground.

However, the goblin's teammates immediately threw out Blazing Glue. "Bang!" Several explosions followed, and the withered monster roared and struggled in place.

Just as several burning withered monsters were about to charge at the goblins again, a short figure suddenly rushed over, a black sword flashed, and one of the withered monsters collapsed to the ground with a "thud".

One of his feet had been severed.

Red Eye charged through several withered monsters, his black sword Shamrakh constantly striking. Soon, all five were taken down, but they continued to crawl on the ground, uttering muffled roars.

"Take care of them!" Sansio shouted, drawing his small wooden sword in a circle before charging forward.

Charles grabbed his legs quickly, "Don't cause trouble, it's almost over."

The fire raged fiercely, and the withered monsters seemed to have lost the will to attack. They lay on the ground, trembling, and the scorching flames made them let out low growls.

Gradually, the withered monster finally stopped moving. Xia Er slowly took two steps forward, and suddenly heard several voices in his ears.

"Thanks."

The voice was weak and listless, yet it sounded very sincere, as if carrying a sense of relief.

"Are they talking?" Sansio asked, placing the wooden sword on Ciel's shoulder.

"Right?" Charles looked up at the sky. "They might have regained a sliver of their senses at the end."

"So we won," Sansio said with a bright smile, as radiant as a flower, as if he wanted everyone to see it.

"Are they alright leaving them here like this?" Charles walked quickly to the treant's side. During the battle earlier, Charles had stopped both the treant and Lupus. He wanted to check on the training progress of his subordinates.

"It's alright, they will turn to ashes and return to the earth, and their souls will find peace and return to the embrace of the mother tree." The treant's voice was melancholy, and tears welled up in his eyes again.

"Don't," Shan Xiao flew to the tree spirit, wanting to comfort it, but the words circled in his mouth several times before he finally said, "Don't cry, I have honey here." He took all the candies out of his backpack and put them into the tree spirit's mouth.

"Thank you," the old voice of the tree man rang out.

Sansio turned his head and waved his hand to indicate that it was nothing.

"We'll rest for a bit and then head over to the mushroom tree. Do you want to come with us?" Charles looked up at the tree-man, waiting for his reply.

"We cannot get close to that strange tree; it becomes shrouded in mist as soon as we approach. We can only rely on your help." The tree-man bowed slightly, as if in greeting.

"I see..." Charles stroked his chin. He had originally considered whether to recruit a few treants to help him fight, but now it seemed that he could only rely on the goblins themselves.

He glanced down at his feet, then at the tree-man's large feet. "Looking at it this way, no matter how big the leaves are, they won't be enough."

"By the way, what else did the mother tree tell you about that mushroom tree?" Charles asked after thinking for a moment, wanting to know more.

"That's all," the treant paused for a few seconds, as if recalling something, "The Mother Tree just told us to wait. She said the whispers of the forest told her that the enemy would eventually fall under a sincere sword."

Upon hearing this, Charles turned and glanced at Akame, who was trying on leaf shoes. "So, Akame will be the one to kill the final enemy."

"It seems this battle shouldn't be too dangerous." He nodded, pondering for a moment, "I can try to build a good relationship with the treants and collect their fruits. If there's a major battle, perhaps I can ask the treants for help. As for the mother tree..."

"Shall we set off now?" Sansio flew in front of Ciel, circling around him.

"You're not allowed to go," Charles said, staring at the other girl. He saw the little fairy's originally clear and curious eyes immediately become misty.

"Stay here quietly," Charles said sternly.

He then instructed his men to prepare for departure.

…………

Before long, following the tree spirit's guidance, Shire arrived at his destination.

He stood behind a tree that looked wilted, surveying the scene before him.

The large tree with the white trunk was tall and straight, and its trunk seemed to reflect sunlight. Within a radius of more than 30 meters centered on this tree, there was not a single plant, not even grass. The entire canopy was gray, and fallen leaves constantly drifted from the canopy to the ground.

On the ground were intertwined white root-like structures, which radiated out from the base of the tree trunk, forming a large disc. Xia Er couldn't tell whether they were roots or mycelium.

Many goblins sat on these "tree roots," gazing up at the treetops without making any other movements, just like statues. If it weren't for a few goblins picking up gray leaves that drifted down in front of them, Shire would have thought they were lifelike sculptures.

"Red-eyed, go closer to that one and carry it back," Sharl said, pointing to the goblin closest to him.

Red Eyes tiptoed out, approached the goblin, and then picked it up. The goblin did not resist at all and obediently lay on Red Eyes' shoulder.

"Chief, I'm back." Red Eyes threw the goblin to the ground with a "thud."

"Go back, go back." As soon as the goblin landed, it immediately crawled on the ground, seemingly wanting to leave immediately and return to its original place.

"Hold him down," Charles commanded, as he still had many questions for the goblin.

But the goblin that was being held down ignored the actions of Sharl's men, and just twisted its body excitedly, waving its arms wildly. Its eyes were fixed on the direction of the giant mushroom tree, drool was dripping from its mouth, and it kept roaring, "Go back, I want to go back."

"Why do you want to go back?" Charles asked.

The goblin didn't answer him and was still struggling.

"Why go back?" Charles asked again in a loud voice.

To no avail; the goblin seemed deaf, completely ignoring everything around it.

Gradually, he struggled more and more, and his whole body trembled violently, so Charles had to order his men to release him.

Once released, the goblin used both hands and feet to stumble and rush toward the white roots. Even when it fell because it lost its footing, it immediately crawled a few steps and ran back to the roots to sit down.

"Completely unable to communicate, like a walking corpse, seemingly controlled by this mushroom tree, it's rather eerie," Charles said, frowning.

He stared at the goblins sitting on the white "tree roots" and silently counted them. "There are nearly 70 of them."

He was surprised by the number of goblins on the other side. If he could recruit them all, he could activate the [Blessing of the Gods].

Moreover, the goblins' previous behavior had eased his worries, since they hadn't died after leaving the root system's range.

"Get close and set it on fire." Charles decided to proceed. "Anyway, we're still wearing leaves from the mother tree on our feet, so we won't be affected like those goblins."

At his command, his men rushed out of the woods and headed towards the mushroom tree.

They quickly reached the 30-odd meters mark, during which time the goblins kept staring at the treetops, with only a few of their eyes moving.

Approaching the white trunk, Charles took a closer look. The trunk seemed to be made of wood, but it was very smooth, unlike other trees that were pitted, bumpy, and rough. He could also feel a slightly sticky sensation when he stepped on the roots on the ground.

"Prepare to throw the fiery glue," Charles ordered his men.

With a "whoosh," a large crack, as tall as a person, suddenly appeared on the tree trunk in front of him, looking like a door.

Then a voice floated out, "Please come in."

"Is this an invitation?" Charles became wary. This mushroom tree might be the "suspected ruins" marked on the map of the Brotherhood of Storms.

Moreover, he recalled the "Southern Fortress Defense Map" on the wall of the teleportation chamber, which did indeed depict buildings in the surrounding area.

Charles hesitated whether to go down, but there was no time to think. A commotion came from behind him. He turned around and saw that all the sitting goblins had stood up and were staggering toward the rift. Their eyes were fixed on the rift, and they were crowding toward him as if on a pilgrimage.

"Get down," Charles decided immediately.

He and his men rushed into the passage and descended. Once they were all inside, the opening closed automatically.

Using the blue glow of the mushrooms above his head, Ciel surveyed his surroundings. It was a huge stone chamber, the same size as the room where he raised Red Bull. The ground was covered with white roots, which were even stickier than outside. The stone chamber was surrounded by all kinds of mushrooms, each with a different color and a bizarre appearance.

"Are you the Mother Tree's helper?" a voice rang out. Charles looked up and saw a man sitting on a huge mushroom cap in front of him.

"Are you the Mother Tree's helper?" a voice rang out. Charles looked up and saw a man sitting on a huge mushroom cap in front of him.

His face was deathly pale, he had long golden hair, and the clothes he wore seemed familiar to Charles. Moreover, his throne was made of white roots of varying thicknesses.

"A bunch of goblins?" The man chuckled, then said, "I thought it would be a group of adventurers."

He stepped down from his throne, stood at the edge of the canopy, and looked down at the Shire. "Goblins, I admire your courage, but this is not something you can interfere in. I can give you a reward: leave my kingdom immediately."

"Pat-pat-pat," a series of footsteps sounded, and Charles immediately looked around. He saw several goblins approaching, carrying many egg-sized round balls.

"These spores are edible. Once you eat them, you can leave," the man said with a smile, his tone sounding very calm.

[Item: Zombie Mushroom Spores]

[Quality: Average]

[Purpose: To eat]

[Special Effect: Consumption will result in death, and the body will be parasitized by spores, turning the user into a controlled zombie.]

Charles looked up at the goblins in front of him. Although their limbs were intact, their skin had turned grayish-white and had many tears, exposing the muscle tissue underneath. The goblins' eyes were white, and they were staring at him intently. Several red mushrooms grew on their shoulders and heads, like they were wearing Santa hats.

"Battle formation, spread out the flanks." Charles quietly instructed his men, then stepped forward. "We appreciate your kindness, but we were just passing by and saw goblins gathering here. We apologize for disturbing you. If possible, we'll leave now."

"A cunning little fellow." The man laughed, then flicked his robe and glanced at the surrounding mushrooms. "The helper the Mother Tree is looking for is quite interesting."

Charles paused for a moment. He had intended to play dumb, but he immediately realized that the other party had already seen through the actual situation and was even using "zombie spores" to treat his group to a feast.

He suddenly remembered seeing the other person's robe somewhere before; it was the style worn by some members of the Church of the God of Earth and Life, a mix of brown and green, adorned with red patterns.

"This is a bit tough. I only have about twenty goblins, and the opponent seems to be a druid of considerable status."

"Twenty-odd is fine. Twenty-odd is better than none. I'll strike first." Xia Er made up his mind and started the battle. "Don't try to fool me with that so-called powerful being."

He swiftly pulled out a crossbow from behind him, and with a "bang," the bolt struck the druid in the temple while he was admiring the mushroom garden.

"So impatient." The druid sighed, glanced at Sharl slightly, then reached out, pulled out a crossbow bolt, and threw it.

"Thud," the crossbow bolt fell to the ground.

Charles stared intently at the other man, who said, "I have a symbiotic relationship with this giant mushroom tree, so you'd better not waste your energy."

As he moved, Charles finally saw a fungal filament, about the thickness of a bowl, connected to his back. This filament also caused the wound on his forehead to close up quickly.

Immediately afterwards, muffled cries echoed around, and zombie goblins infested with mushrooms rushed over.