Chapter 409: The Wood Spirits Accede

Zhang Lie folded his arms. "It looks like you still don't understand your circumstances. This forest was originally your land, not mine. We humans are able to walk away if we want to, but you spirits have to bring your homes with you.

"We had offered to slaughter the corrupted lifeforms as a transaction, not a promise or guarantee. These circumstances are too dangerous for us, and we don't believe we'll be able to gain much benefit by staying. There are countless alien races in the second realm, and we don't necessarily need you wood spirits."

The elder began to panic. "Y-you despicable humans, you didn't focus on the task at hand! You might have killed a few of those corrupted creatures here and there, but you didn't strike at the root cause!"

Zhang Lie suddenly reached out, grabbed the elder between his fingers, and lifted him up from the ground. "Don't think I don't know what you were doing. If not for you luring the creatures over to our camp every so often, would things have progressed to this extent?"

The elder shook in panic. "No, that's impossible! No other race can notice us when we've melded into the trees, let alone when we're in our forest!"

"Ha! That's nonsense—those lifeforms that you tried out this trick on were likely just far too weak. In my eyes, even when you've melded into the forest, you're as bright as lamps in the darkness!"

Zhang Lie threw the elder onto the ground and shouted, "Let's go!"

Suddenly, a green glow appeared before Zhang Lie, one which condensed rapidly into a humanoid: the shaman of the wood spirits. "For my elder's wrongdoing, I will personally apologize."

Zhang Lie didn't seem to care very much. "I accept your apology."

Turning back to the gathered hunters, he repeated, "Pack up and let's leave."

The hunters who were still fighting off the corrupted creatures sheathed their blades and stepped aside, allowing the creatures easy access to the wood spirits. The shaman's face paled. "Do humans forfeit their promises so easily?"

"Do you realize what you're saying?" Zhang Lie snorted. "How many of us humans will we have to sacrifice to save the lot of you?!"

"I do understand, but if you leave, sir, the wood spirits will go extinct."

"Oh, you realize that now, do you? In that case, what were you doing all this time?! You did nothing to help us out, and you even allowed one of your elders to mess with us. You disrespect us, distrust us, and expect us to give up our lives for you?"

"Once again, I apologize for my elder's actions. I was entirely unaware of what the elder had planned."

"Do you think a simple apology absolves you of responsibility? Are we nothing more than your tools?"

The hunters didn't know why Zhang Lie was so intent on leaving. After all, the Zhang Lie they knew didn't give up easily.

Furthermore, he clearly placed considerable emphasis on the genetic lifeform that occupied the corrupted half of the forest. If they didn't take care of this problem now, it could well become a disaster-grade lifeform, one which would terrorize the second realm.

In that case, why was Zhang Lie behaving so erratically? The hunters all came to the same conclusion: he was trying to extract as much benefit as he could from the wood spirits.

As though finally realizing the magnitude of the problem, the shaman of the wood spirits knelt on the ground and bowed down to Zhang Lie. "Please, Zhang Lie, you're the only hope of salvation for our kind. Our powers are eminently ill-suited to handling these beasts. We need your strength and numbers!"

In the span of a few seconds, the stampede of corrupted beasts would rush into the territory of the wood spirits, and the humans had all stepped aside to allow that to happen.

The shaman of the wood spirits was frozen with fear, and countless wood spirits deep in the forest cried out upon seeing the beast tide.

"[Fists of the Silent Sea: Fade]!"

Zhang Lie threw out one lone punch, so strong it warped the space all around his fist. Ripples of energy spread out from him and formed into massive waves, destroying the corrupted lifeforms approaching them.

One lone punch had cleared out a huge swathe of land, toppling a dense shroud of trees that covered up the sky. Sunlight shone into the newly formed clearing.

Zhang Lie glanced impatiently at his transceiver. "I'll count to ten. Convince me within that time!"

The shaman of the wood spirits stared agape at Zhang Lie, not having anticipated his tremendous strength. Just one punch from him had destroyed the stampede that would have overwhelmed the entirety of the wood spirits.

Zhang Lie had hardly shown off any of his own strength during his stay at the forest; he had allowed the six hunters behind him to do so. Each of the six was easily able to suppress the corrupted lifeforms. The shaman had believed that they were the strongest humans around, that even their leader, Zhang Lie, could hardly be much stronger. However, Zhang Lie's punch had toppled that assumption.

Zhang Lie was far stronger than any of the six behind him.

The shaman of the wood spirits was resolved to keep Zhang Lie here. Only he would be able to save the wood spirits from their plight.

The elder, upon seeing Zhang Lie's punch, was likewise shocked. To think that they had been arguing with Zhang Lie just moments before! It was lucky that Zhang Lie hadn't made a move on them.

"Nine!"

Zhang Lie began counting the seconds.

The shaman of the wood spirits was about to continue speaking when the elder interrupted, "Isn't it enough that our shaman is kneeling down to you?"

After a wave of fear came crystal-clear clarity. The fact that Zhang Lie hadn't killed the elder when he could very well have done so meant that he didn't want to do so, and this gave the elder the courage to speak up.

"Eight."

The shaman of the wood spirits yelled, "Silence! You've hurt our tribe enough!"

"Shaman, we can't submit to these other races! If we do, that means we've lost entirely!"

"Seize the elder! His presence is no longer tolerated here!" the shaman cried out. The guards waiting by their side immediately leapt into action and dragged the elder away.

Hong Xi murmured, "Shaman, I suggest you keep that elder under close supervision."

Sun Mengmeng wondered, "How did someone like them end up as an elder of the tribe?"

The shaman of the wood spirits winced. "I apologize for the disturbance. The elder suffered a near-death experience at the hands of an alien race, and ever since then, he's been understandably cautious."

"Seven."

Zhang Lie continued counting down.

The shaman of the wood spirits came to their senses: they didn't have much time left. They proclaimed, "As per our agreement, all the spirits who are willing to leave with you can do so. I will personally help convince more spirits to do so, and I guarantee that at least half the tribe will leave with you."