Chapter 122 - 101: The Ardent Sword
"Hold the formation! Don’t charge out!" Shire shouted, commanding his men as they fought.
The Zombie Goblins’ attacks had no pattern; they simply lunged and bit. But once his men blocked them with Shields and long tree branches, they were easily stabbed down with Long Spears.
BOOM! A series of explosions rang out, knocking down a swath of zombies. But they just rolled over, scrambled to their feet, and charged again.
"The Hand Grenade Fruits are useless against them," Nine-finger said from the side.
"Aim for the Mushrooms on their bodies, or sever their necks!" Shire shouted. Nine-finger immediately cast Firebird Technique. Three Flaming Flying Birds shot toward a Zombie Goblin, striking the red Mushrooms with a SPLAT. The Zombie Goblin stumbled forward two steps before collapsing to the ground, motionless.
"Hmm, you’re quite clever." The Druid glanced at the resisting goblins, somewhat surprised. "And you even know how to use a military formation. What a delightful surprise."
"A surprise?" Shire yelled, firing another Crossbow Arrow at him. "Your Kingdom’s subjects are almost all immobilized."
"Subjects? They’re hardly that. At best, they’re just my experimental materials," the Druid said casually, pulling the Crossbow Arrow from his body.
"Experimental materials?" Shire frowned, scanning the surrounding Zombie Goblins. Even after being stabbed, they continued to attack. Many had their legs chopped off but still crawled on the ground, trying to take a bite.
If his men hadn’t mastered the basics of this military formation, they would have been swarmed and killed by this massive horde of zombies.
"You sound a little angry," the Druid said, his tone mocking. "Aren’t goblins perfect for experimental materials? The goblins outside only need to sit on the mycelial roots to absorb nutrients and survive. I open the gate, and they come running in on their own, begging and pleading with me to become my test subjects."
"No goblin wants to be an experimental material!" Shire shouted, then forcefully threw a Hand Grenade Fruit at the Druid.
After the smoke cleared, the Druid waved his hand, dusting off his robe. "By becoming experimental materials, they serve a greater purpose than just being killed by Adventurers."
"A purpose like this? To be the walking dead?" Shire stared at his opponent, knowing he had to deal with the mycelium strand behind him. He patted the Star Realm Dog beside him and pointed at the Druid on the mushroom cap. "Rubus, jump behind him and bite through his mycelium."
Rubus took a few steps forward, then with a WHOOSH, transformed into a point of light. A rift opened behind the Druid, and Rubus shot out, snapping his jaws at the thin strand of mycelium.
Just when Shire thought victory was in his grasp, BOOM! The white throne on the mushroom cap exploded, and countless white mycelial strands shot out in all directions, looking just like a sea urchin.
Rubus was pierced by the mycelium in several places. With a leap, it returned to Shire’s side.
Shire immediately checked on the Star Realm Dog. Its limbs were trembling, and it was clearly struggling just to stand.
"Quick, go back to the Star Realm," Shire said. Agatha had once told him that if Rubus was injured, he had to send it back to the Star Realm immediately.
As the Star Realm Dog vanished, Shire frowned, staring at the composed Druid on the mushroom cap.
"Surprised?" The Druid looked down on Shire. "This entire space is filled with my mycelium, and it’s all under my control. Lay down your weapons. Your fate will be no different from my other experimental materials."
"You’re very angry, goblin," he said, taking a few steps to the side with his hands behind his back. "It seems you don’t understand the reason your Race is still allowed to exist."
"Humans are much stronger than monkeys, aren’t they? But have monkeys gone extinct? No. That’s because humans quickly realized that a dead one can only provide meat and fur, but a living one has far more value. That is the reason goblins are still around. You’re useful alive."
"It’s not that you’re stubbornly surviving. It’s simply because no one wants to kill you," the Druid said contemptuously.
Shire narrowed his eyes, staring intently at the Druid on the mushroom cap as he thought of a counter-strategy.
"Every Race, every person, has their own value." The Druid hadn’t once looked Shire directly in the eye. "I learned this back when I was part of the Clergy in the Church. The poor would kneel before me, kowtowing and begging the Earth God to bless them. All I had to do was feign a blessing and pat them on the head, and they would be eternally grateful."
"Just like those goblins outside, who every day want to rush in here and beg me to turn them into experimental materials."
"They’re just begging for death," Shire said through gritted teeth. "You’re manipulating them through the mycelium."
"Aren’t the Gods also manipulating their followers? Besides," the Druid sneered, "what does it matter to them if I’m manipulating them?"
THWIP! A Crossbow Arrow embedded itself in the Druid’s forehead. He reached up, pulled it out, and tossed it to the ground.
"You’re running out of zombies," Shire said loudly. This military formation might have trouble against veteran Adventurers, but it was working quite well against these Zombie Goblins who had no special abilities.
"Your subordinates have caught my interest. You as well. I’ll carefully study you as a High Quality material. You could even become the General of my future Zombie Goblin army." After speaking, the Druid raised his hands.
"Death Cloud Technique."
"Vine Entanglement."
The Druid cast two spells in quick succession. Staring at the spreading yellow-green cloud in the air and the trembling white mycelium on the ground, Shire shouted, "Contract the formation! Nine-finger, use the Scroll!"
Nine-finger immediately took out a Magic Scroll. A dazzling light flared, and the Demon-Banning Barrier took effect, perfectly enveloping the goblins as they closed ranks.
A Demon-Banning Barrier, when activated, temporarily nullifies the Magic Field around the user, creating an area that is immune to Magic Effects, though only for a short time.
For the moment, the Death Cloud Technique and the mycelium could not affect the goblins inside the Barrier, but a few zombies still charged in.
"Nine-finger, make sure the Barrier stays up!" Shire commanded loudly. Then he looked at the Druid. "You said this is your Kingdom, but you only built it by stealing the power of the Mother Tree."
"That’s right. I drew power from the Mother Tree. The Mother Tree of the Tree-man Race possesses immense strength, and this, too, is an experiment." The Druid extended a hand and clenched it into a fist. "Once I obtain all of her power, I can ascend. I will spread my mycelium everywhere, and as long as I stand upon it, no attack can kill me."
"That’s slaughter and destruction," Shire shouted.
"That is the value of their existence."
WHOOSH. The Demon-Banning Barrier activated again, blocking the death cloud and vines.
"You have quite a few little trinkets, goblin," the Druid said with a smile. "How many more of those Scrolls do you have? And don’t think I don’t know what you’re planning."
Vines rolled across the ground, forcing Broken Tooth out from the shadows. Shire immediately ordered his men to close in. He had indeed been planning to have Broken Tooth find a way to get close and sever the connecting mycelium strand from behind.
"I can sense any creature that stands on my mycelium," the Druid said, his face full of disdain.
"I have plenty more Scrolls," Shire said, pulling a Demon-Banning Scroll from his clothes and handing it to Nine-finger. "But you... just how big is this Mushroom Kingdom of yours?"
With that, he gave an order. His men hurled Blazing Fire Glue in all directions. In the blink of an eye, explosions erupted, followed by raging flames.
Shire hadn’t originally intended to use Blazing Fire Glue in this enclosed space, but now he had to go all in.
"Stop! That’s the result of my experiments!" the Druid roared. He leaped off the mushroom cap, and the white mycelium on the ground swiftly engulfed him, layer after layer, finally forming a three-meter-tall mycelium Giant. The Druid’s face was the only part of him visible, exposed at the Giant’s chest.
"This is what you wanted, goblin!" the Druid bellowed. The mycelium Giant raised its arm and, with a WHOOSH, performed a Horizontal Sweep, sending all the goblins within the anti-magic area flying.
Shire had to drop to the ground to dodge the attack, but the Demon-Banning Barrier also failed. He felt his body grow heavy and ache.
"You dare destroy the King of the Forest’s experimental results!" The Druid controlled the Giant, raising its arm high as it prepared to smash down on Shire. "I’m going to skin you alive!"
"No, you are not the King of the Forest," a young voice rang out from behind the Druid. "The races of the forest would never destroy this place."
Hearing this voice, Shire’s eyes widened in shock. He immediately pulled two Scrolls from his bag.
"The forest is kind to every good person, and it punishes the wicked." The little goblin Shan Xi Ao raised the Wooden Sword in his hand high and swung it with all his might at the thin mycelium strand behind the Giant.
His eyes were furious and focused, completely ignoring the enormous size difference between himself and the Giant. He just swung, fearless and reckless.
SNAP! Like an Achilles’ heel that had been struck, the mycelium strand broke on impact.
"Maggot!" the Druid roared. The mycelium Giant spun around and swatted the little goblin away. But immediately after, because the strand had been severed, the white mycelium wrapped around the Giant began to rapidly disintegrate and fall to the ground.
"Shan Xi Ao!" Shire yelled, watching as the little goblin was sent flying. He didn’t know if he was still alive, but now was the perfect time to attack.
"Maggot," the Druid cursed again. He was manipulating his Magic, trying to quickly re-establish the symbiotic connection.
But Shire wasn’t going to give him another chance. He picked up the Longsword that Red Eyes had just dropped after being knocked away and tore two Scrolls in succession.
"Acceleration Technique."
"Slippery Feet."
These were both common-use Scrolls "gifted" to him by the Heart Stealer before.
At that moment, Shire felt a surge of power course through him. His legs trembled slightly. He raised his sword and charged forward, moving so fast it seemed even his own shadow couldn’t keep up.
However, just as he was about to reach the Druid, a sharp pain shot through his chest. To his horror, he found that a white thorn, twisted from several mycelium strands, had pierced his heart from behind.
Shire coughed up a mouthful of blood, feeling all the strength drain from his body.
SWISH. The mycelium was pulled out, and he staggered forward from the force.
"Goblin, I told you. In this space, I am the king," the Druid said with an arrogant smile.
"Hmph," Shire grunted, taking two staggering steps. He could feel the effects of the Magic Scrolls were still active.
Then, he looked up and smiled.
The next instant, THUNK! Shire’s sword pierced the Druid’s heart.
"Goblin, how dare you..." The Druid stared in shock at the Longsword buried in his chest. He couldn’t believe his opponent could be so fast. That he, a superior being, had been stabbed in the heart by an experimental material he had his eye on. His mycelium had been just a moment away from reconnecting.
And the goblin before him... his chest was completely unharmed. If not for the hole and the blood on his clothes, it was as if he had never been injured at all.
"I’m the goddamn King of the Forest," Shire said through clenched teeth, emphasizing every word.
Then he forcefully pulled out the Shamrah Black Sword and, with a single strike, lopped off the Druid’s head.