Chapter 54 - 40 Treefolk (Seeking Recommendations)
There were no children on the island, nor were there any women or elderly.
For pirates, such burdens were only a waste of food.
Pirates aren’t fishermen; they don’t produce anything, they just get by and don’t entertain the idea of family obligations.
In their eyes, “family” really is a ridiculously laughable word.
Honestly, Sherri really wished that the residents here were just a bunch of ordinary fishermen.
Because that would become an important source of population for Yatun, a significant benefit.
Sherri would do her best to subdue them and then slowly civilize them.
When dealing with the common people, Sherri’s principle was to avoid killing if at all possible.
After all, there were no grudges or grievances, as long as you did not point your weapons at the People of Yatun, they would not see you as an enemy.
If possible, she would definitely not go too far, as long as the interests of the People of Yatun were guaranteed.
However, with pirates…
Sherri did not plan to show mercy, nor would she leave them to become citizens of New Yatun.
As for becoming slaves and laborers, that was simply laughable.
With Lilith there, her magic could build houses, repair roads, and construct castles; tens of thousands of slaves couldn’t match the work Lilith could do in a few days.
“Run!”
“Run!”
“Demons, they are demons!”
They themselves were pirates, the kind who commit murders, rapes, and robberies without restraint, the vilest of pirates.
But now, they acted as if they were the vulnerable group.
“That’s really disgusting.”
Sherri closed her eyes, a multitude of images flashed through her mind—those were Lilith’s magic, extracted memories of the pirates on the island through a special memory spell.
The scenes in those memories were akin to hell on earth, and parts of them horrific beyond belief!
“There are no innocents here!”
Sherri shouted, “They all deserve to die!!!”
Thus, adhering to a principle of no survivors, Sherri ordered the People of Yatun to continue the pursuit until they had driven them into the forest, and only then did they stop.
“All units, cease pursuit!!”
Sherri issued the command, relayed through the White Eagles.
Soon, all the People of Yatun returned.
“Sherri?”
Sherri used her senses and discovered there were about 100 pirates left.
This meant in just those few dozen minutes, more than 1000 pirates died at their hands.
Sherri had only taken action a few times; the scene appeared grand, but because Sherri had been restrained, not allowing her to ravage at will, she killed fewer than 300 pirates in reality.
More often, it was the handiwork of the People of Yatun.
It must be said that, compared to ordinary people, the People of Yatun really were like superhumans.
Their constitution was too superior, and their reaction speed far surpassed that of ordinary people.
They might not take on a hundred enemies single-handedly, but with their stealth and assassination techniques, armed with sufficient weapons, one Person of Yatun could indeed potentially kill a hundred.
“Thrilling, that was so thrilling!”
Diana tossed a pirate’s knife she had seized onto the ground, its blade full of nicks, “Only the weapons are too weak; I’ve changed dozens of them and it’s still not enough.”
“I took down 41, does anyone have more than me?”
Diana shouted, wanting to compare with everyone to prove her valor was not diminished from the past.
“44.”
Jiera reported a number calmly.
“50.”
Nors thought he probably had the most, but his sister and old uncle did not give specific numbers.
The others reported in turn—Sheila had killed 15, the least being Yimoteer.
Her fighting style involved poison, so there were very few she directly killed- only seven, but she indirectly affected many enemies, making her an excellent support.
“You guys are too fierce; I only killed 12.”
Inya complained about her own bad luck, following her old uncle to fight: “Had I known, I wouldn’t have followed dad, he loves stealing my kills.”
In the end, when everyone tallied up, they found the sum of their numbers was around 700, but there were still around 300 left…
“Feiya and Grandfather killed three hundred?”
“I got 95,” the old uncle did not hide it either, stating directly, “Feiya should have 203.”
“Hmm.”
The older sister never sought recognition, she even thought she killed too few to be worth boasting.
“Boss, what about those who fled into the forest? Should we pursue them?”
“Lilith is already on her way.”
Sherri said, “You clean up here, and I’ll go have a look in the forest.”
“Oh, right.”
Sherri paused, looking back, “Take out those who ran into the sea as well.”
Some pirates chose to jump into the sea, but most elected to escape into the woodland.
This was the final order from Mondo before his death, they obviously clung to it as their last straw.
However, the forest was not a kind place, at least not for these pirates; the forest was deadlier to them than Sherri and the People of Yatun.
“Yes, sir!”
The People of Yatun, eager for action, pursued the fleeing enemies on the beach immediately at Sherri’s command.
As for the pirates who escaped into the forest…
They had killed 1000 pirates, the remaining 100 weren’t a threat.
But Sherri was cautious; if these pirates truly scattered, it would be quite troublesome, so she had sent Lilith to deal with them.
“Fleeing into the forest is a death wish.”
Nors and Jiera both had their encounters with Lilith in the forest; that terrifying power, they would likely never forget for a lifetime.
“Rustle-whoosh-”
First ambushed by the People of Yatun then terrified by Sherri’s Sherri, the remaining 100 or so pirates had effectively lost the will to fight, sinking into despair.
“Damnit!”
One of the pirates vented in anger, “What the hell are they? How can they be so formidable?”
“Flying horses, and lightning with storms, is this the wrath of gods?”
The pirates were already despairing, even beginning to doubt their own lives, some were even beginning to repent.
If it were not for the absence of ‘God’ in this world, some might indeed start praying on the spot, seeking divine forgiveness.
As for this, Sherri naturally approved: ‘I’ll fulfill your wishes and send you to meet God.’
“What should we do?”
“What, what exactly do they want to do?”
“Snap.”
A twig was broken by a pirate, emitting a clear sound in the darkness.
“Ah!!”
The sudden rustle of the grass frightened a pirate as he stood up and then fled in panic.
“What’s going on?!”
“Run?”
“Run!!”
The shrieks of the pirates triggered a chain reaction. Although the other pirates did not understand what was happening, driven by fear, they still started running.
“Huff, huff, huff.”
The pirates were running for their lives, exerting all their strength.
A group of people hustled through the dense woods, making rustling noises as they moved blindly in the dark, not daring to light their torches, fearing that the terrifying demons would follow the flames and annihilate them.
But after running for a long time, they realized there was no sign of any pursuers.
“Who the hell was it? Which idiot said to keep running?!”
“Made me run so long, damn it!”
“Where, huff, huff, are we now?”
Each pirate was panting heavily, yet their fear did not subside with fatigue.
Under the cover of night, the loneliness of the forest intensified, and the chilling ambiance, along with the threat of death, wove a dark net over everyone.
“Ah—”
The silence was shattered by a scream, causing the pirates to jump: “What now? What happened again? Another idiot?”
“Boom- Boom!”
There was no answer, but instead, there came sounds like an earthquake.
The ground beneath their feet trembled, with the noise of trees breaking reverberating from all directions. One of the pirates felt a strong gust of wind on his face—it was the scent of soil.
“Bang!”
Intense pain shot through his brain, followed by an eternal darkness.
“Boom.”
“Glala—”
More and more noises rose and fell. These were the sounds of trees swaying, but there were neither wind nor rain. Why was this happening?
“What exactly is going on? What exactly is going on?!”
One of the pirates couldn’t hold back any longer. Shaking, he took out an ‘Ember Core’ from his pocket—a tool specifically for making fire at sea.
Because there was nothing to burn, he simply took out a bottle of liquor, poured it on the ground, and then dropped the Ember Core.
“Whoosh-
The flame ignited, finally illuminating the pitch-black forest.
“Ah, ah, ah…”
However, in the next moment, the pirate’s mouth gaped open as he seemed to see something terrifying. He stumbled backward, his legs shaking, as a large amount of liquid streamed down from his crotch.
Dry bark, a face full of wrinkles, hollow eye sockets stared dead at him from the trunks of the ancient trees.
Bodies were impaled by branches and dangled in midair.
The ground was covered in pirates trampled into pulp, their blood mixing with the soil, giving off a nauseating smell, and even the pirates accustomed to violence nearly fainted from fear.
“Roar!!!”
The Treefolk emitted a sharp and terrifying roar, completely shattering the mental defenses of every pirate.
“Ah!!!!!”
In the firelight, countless pirate shadows were torn apart as roots transformed into feet that crushed down, accompanied by the sound of bones shattering into a pulp.
Until daybreak, the entire forest gradually regained its tranquility.
There was no blood, no limbs or debris.
All that remained were the lush trees and the perfectly flat land.
“Splash!”
A bucket of cold water was thrown over a pirate, who awoke with a scream, and with tears and snot running down his face: “Monster! Monster! Don’t kill me, don’t kill me!”
The memories from the darkness were vivid.
He had no idea what had happened; all he remembered were those dreadful trees with faces, like demon-like monsters.
“Can this guy still be useful?”
Nors commented sarcastically, “Feels like he’s been scared stupid, right?”
“The Treefolk awoken by Lady Lilith are indeed terrifying,” Jiera agreed with a deep understanding, “Encountering such a scene at night, it’s good not to be scared to death.”
“Wake them all up.”
Bailuo had the kids continue to fetch water and then woke up the last three remaining pirates in the fishing village one by one.
“Ah!”
“Help! Help!”
Upon awakening, their reaction was unanimous, all wailing and begging for mercy.
These men, Bailuo did not kill directly.
Mainly because he planned to keep them for questioning, plus they had been knocked unconscious by fright, which made it impossible for the Treefolk to distinguish, thus sparing their lives.
The Treefolk were awakened by the Fairy Magic of Lilith, but they had no intelligence and could not be considered living beings.
Just like the thousands of Mushroom People before, they were more like Lilith’s puppets, marionettes pulled by her strings.
Having discovered these surviving pirates, Bailuo had Lilith use vines to tie them up and hang them at the fishing village’s harbor.
Bailuo needed to interrogate them to obtain more information.
For instance, what was the deal with those remaining eighty pirates, were they guarding some treasure?
Also, why were there no fishing boats, could it be that the pirates went out to plunder?
Most importantly, he needed to know their numbers and when they would return.
“I’m going to ask you a few questions.”
Bailuo started to inquire, but the three pirates immediately began to make a racket.
“Don’t kill me, don’t kill me.”
“Please, have mercy on me.”
In their eyes, Bailuo was no less than a Demon King from Hell, extremely terrifying.
“Tsk.”
Bailuo: “So noisy.”
“Lilith.”
The little Fairy understood; she took out her Magic Wand and then tapped each of the pirates with it.
After that, pink smoke enveloped the three men, entering their noses with their breath, and soon all three pirates lost their wits.
They were dazed, as if they had been drunk.
Lilith had placed a bewitchment spell on them. The effect of this Fairy Magic was somewhat like a truth serum.