Forests Don't Support Idle Goblins

"Please save him." Ciel placed Sansio on a leaf.

After the druid was killed, he hurriedly checked on Sansio and his men, only to find that many of them were affected by the death cloud and, coupled with the heavy blows, were seriously injured.

The most dangerous of them all was Sansio, who had been lurking invisibly by his side. When he realized that the goblins could not defeat the enemy, he drew his sword without hesitation. But now he was not only unconscious, but also had multiple fractures, looking like a rag that had been wrung out.

Charles had no choice but to have his still-healthy subordinates carry the wounded out, while he himself dragged the little goblin with both hands and headed straight for the treants' territory.

This was arguably the fastest he had ever run, even faster than when he first escaped from the Deinonychus after his transmigration.

Fortunately, they saw the tree people walking by and brought them both back.

"Thank you, inheritor of the ancient will." The mother tree held her chest and bowed deeply.

Charles noticed that the black portion of her long dress had retreated to her knees.

Then, the leaves on the ground began to tremble slightly, and Sansio was slowly covered by the leaves until he disappeared.

"He..." Charles stepped forward, wanting to ask about the situation.

The mother tree smiled and said, "He will be alright. Tree people never forget any benefactor."

Hearing this, Charles nodded. "The matter has been taken care of. When I left, my men were burning down that mushroom tree."

"I can sense that the evil power has disappeared. You must have paid a heavy price," the mother tree said, bowing slightly.

"The cost was considerable; many people were injured," Charles said gravely. "Of course, the one most seriously injured was this kid."

"Please bring the wounded to my territory. I will use my own strength to heal them, but it will take some time."

"Is that so?" Charles was surprised. "Okay, I'll have someone bring them over right away."

"My power has not fully recovered yet, and for now I can only do my best to heal them. Once I have fully recovered, you can transport the wounded to the tree spirit's territory. As long as they are not physically disabled or seriously injured, I can slowly heal them," the mother tree said elegantly.

"That's wonderful, thank you so much," Charles said cheerfully.

"You're too kind. It's our Tree People who have troubled you; it's our duty."

"By the way, there's something I'd like to ask." After a moment's thought, Charles decided to ask anyway.

"Please speak."

"I heard from the little fairies that tree people can flower and bear fruit, is that true?" Charles asked tentatively after organizing his thoughts.

"You mean, can the goblins collect those fruits?" The mother tree raised her hand to cover her mouth and asked with a smile.

"Yes." Charles was a little embarrassed, feeling like he was kidnapping someone's grandchildren.

"Yes, these tree people are my children. Our tree person race can only grow from the seeds of the mother tree. Ordinary tree people may flower and bear fruit, but those fruits are just ordinary fruits and do not contain seeds like trees do," the mother tree explained politely. "So those fruits are edible. If you want to pick them, you can have your servants do it, just try not to hurt my children."

"That would be wonderful."

"I would also like to ask you to take care of my children for me," the mother tree said softly. "It's nothing much, just help them clear the vines and weeds around them, and do some maintenance."

"No problem, leave it to me. It's just a few tree people." Charles nodded with a smile.

"If I may be so bold as to remind you, I..." The mother tree lowered her head slightly, hesitated for a moment, "...I have more than 500 children."

"Oh, so taking care of kids must be quite tiring." Charles chuckled awkwardly, but then he thought about how huge an income it would be if 500 tree people could blossom and bear fruit.

"Should we collect some more fertilizer and sprinkle it around the tree people to increase production?" he muttered to himself.

"What did you just say?" the mother tree asked.

"Ah, it's nothing," Charles quickly changed the subject. "I was just wondering how that kid's recovery is going."

The mother tree smiled and said, "That child is very strong; he will recover soon."

With a "whoosh," the leaves on the ground were lifted, and Sansio sat up straight.

"Ah—" He yawned, and then saw Ciel squatting in front of him. "You're here. I think I just had a dream."

"Tell me about it," Charles said, sizing up the little fairy.

"I dreamt of a lady in a green dress who thanked me for helping her. You know my personality, so I said it was a fateful encounter. As a mortal, everything I did was just something I did on a whim, nothing more..." Sansio said, head held high, speaking eloquently.

However, he noticed that Charles's gaze kept looking back, so he turned around as well. "Ah, madam, I'm not dreaming."

"You might be the first mortal to call the Mother Tree a mortal," Charles said, nodding.

"Madam, no, I mean, Great Mother Tree, don't listen to his nonsense," Sansio quickly corrected himself, then said to Charles, "Don't tell my father."

"My Red Bull is growing a little slowly," Ciel said abruptly, looking away.

"I've already been using the natural winds," Sansio said, shrugging.

"You still dare to sneak out on your own," Charles continued.

"Don't threaten me, I just came out to take a look and find some nectar," Sansio began to play the fool.

"If your father and mother knew that you rushed to fight a powerful druid and got knocked away..." Charles held up a finger and slowly shook it.

"Brother, we can discuss anything." Sansio grasped Charles's fingertips with both hands.

"Hehe," Mother Tree looked at the two of them and elegantly covered her mouth with a laugh.

"Great Mother Tree." Shan Xiao immediately realized what was happening, struggled to his feet, flew to the other side, and bowed deeply in respect.

"Thank you, child," the mother tree said, nodding.

Hearing the other party's sincere thanks, Sansiao grinned foolishly, unsure of what to do with his hands.

"Alright, stop moving around. Your body hasn't fully recovered yet." Charles stopped Shan Xiao, who was about to say something more. The little fairy's movements were clearly still not smooth, and she probably needed more rest.

"Well then, we'll be leaving now. I still need to move my injured men over," Charles said with a smile.

"Thank you. Please feel free to contact me again if you need anything in the future." The mother tree bowed deeply once more.

…………

"You're amazing! The Mother Tree actually bowed to you." Shan Xiao sat on Xia Er's shoulder, looking at him with envy.

"Is the Mother Tree very powerful?" Charles asked.

"Of course they are powerful. We little fairies have been taught since childhood that we must show enough humility when we meet the mother tree of the tree people. They are all creatures that have lived for a very long time."

Ciel turned his head and glanced at the excited little fairy.

If the Mother Tree is so powerful, then why couldn't she deal with the Mushroom Tree and the druid hiding behind it? And what was that whisper in the forest? Why was she so certain that she could solve it?

He had some doubts in his mind. There were too many mysteries surrounding this matter, and he felt as if he had been drawn into a huge vortex from the very beginning.

"Forget it, I'll stop thinking about it for now." Having no clue what to do, he had no choice but to give up.

"Why did you dare to rush up and swing your sword back then?" Charles asked casually.

"There's no particular reason, I just felt I had to do it. You know, that's how our little fairy clan is. The elders in the clan often tell us stories about how they actively help adventurers." Shan Xiao looked into the distance, his eyes clear.

"Don't be so impulsive in the future. If something happens to you, how will you face your sister?" Charles thought for a moment and said softly.

Sansio fell silent upon hearing this.

Before long, Charles returned to the mushroom tree. The entire tree had been set ablaze, and the air was filled with smoke and a stench. The mycelial roots on the ground had all shriveled up and were no longer white, but had turned into a withered and shriveled gray.

"Red Eyes, go find two thick, long branches," Charles ordered his men. He prepared branches and some ropes to make a stretcher so he could carry his men directly to the treants' territory.

"How are they now?" Charles called over Nine Fingers and asked about the goblins who had been sitting on the roots.

"They seem to be fine; they just vomited a lot of black liquid." Nine Fingers looked at the group of goblins and explained the situation in detail.

The goblins had all moved away from the mushroom tree and were now all on the ground, their eyes fixed on Shire, their gazes filled with gratitude and confusion.

Charles nodded and walked over, and the goblins actually moved away a little in fear.

"I am your new leader," he declared loudly.

The goblins looked at each other, none of them making a move.

"They don't intend to join my tribe?" Sharl frowned as he sized up the goblins.

"Swear allegiance to me and you'll be well-fed every day," he said.

The goblins remained unmoved.

"If you don't pledge allegiance to me, I'll send you to find that tree," Charles said, pointing to the burning mushroom tree.

Then he watched in shock as the goblins in front of him got up from the ground and staggered toward him, some even pushing and pulling each other to fight for position and order.

Soon the goblins bowed tremblingly, and when Sharl asked them, he learned that they didn't want to go near that tree anymore. They would do anything as long as they stayed away from the mushroom tree.

Sitting on the tree, they felt no hunger, but they also lost their hearing and smell, retaining only a little bit of sight. Once they left the area, their hearing would return, but all they would hear was loud noise and shouting, which strongly stimulated their minds. In the end, they could only regain peace by sitting on the roots.

Now the goblins have finally recovered.

"I now have more than 150 subordinates." Charles had just sensed that the letters on the obelisk had been activated.

He calmed himself down and went to the monument.