The sensation of striking the shells of the turtles became easier. My new evolution granted me complete control over every fiber of root.

  Boom!

  Meanwhile, a rocky turtle was knocked off the platform and fell, spinning like a ball and letting out a pained cry.

  “Krru!”

  Another rocky turtle slipped through my roots and entered the formation, crushing several chrysalises. It was bitten by many of them and toppled over on its back.

  Although control had improved, it was still challenging to get used to the new sensations, which strained my neurons.

  The sheer number of roots in the environment consumed a vast amount of mana. There were certainly thousands of roots beneath the trees.

  A few seconds later, another turtle slipped past my roots.

  Finally, I had the idea of grouping my roots into several solid masses.

  Intertwined nets trapped the rocky turtles, and the roots, driven by my will, gathered to form a massive club.

  Bam!

  A pool of blood marked the spot where the rocky turtle had been.

  The rocky turtles resisted, and some regrouped, forming a circle with a black rocky turtle at the center. It seemed to be concentrating mana in its mouth.

  Feeling wary, I sent several chrysalises forward, but the rocky turtles continued blocking the way. They were weak, but in this situation, they were becoming increasingly annoying.

  “KRUAK!”

  My instincts were always right.

  A massive ball of mana began to form in front of the black turtle’s mouth.

  The turtle tilted its head forward, and the mana ball split into several projectiles.

  Using wooden shields to intercept the mana shots, my delayed chrysalises perished. However, half survived thanks to the shields, though most were decimated.

  Krul lay on the ground, but upon closer inspection, it seemed he had used a chrysalis to survive.

  The rocky turtle in front of him was dead.

  It seemed that their trump card, the black turtle, had neglected its allies.

  Issuing a general order, all the chrysalises screamed and charged forward. The black turtle had already begun recharging its mana ball.

  "One mistake is acceptable, but a second is just stupidity."

  I manifested hundreds of roots and targeted the shooter directly.

  Although the surrounding rocky turtles were bothersome, the chrysalises that joined the fight diverted their attention. The black rocky turtle was eventually forced to fire its mana ball hastily at me.

  Unexpectedly, the chrysalis at the back of the battle, which remained silent, proved crucial.

  I used it to survey the battlefield.

  The black turtle misinterpreted it as my main body.

  But my root whipped its mouth, deflecting its shot toward the mountain, causing a tremor and dislodging several rocks.

  The chrysalises quickly retreated.

  With swift orders, all my chrysalises were saved.

  Eventually, the rocky turtles in the circle disappeared under the falling rocks.

  Not a single cry was heard.

  “A rather ridiculous end to the battle.”

  Krul?

  He was staring at the mountain, now shrouded in dust.

  Following his gaze, I spotted an open cavity caused by the black turtle’s shot. Several shiny minerals tumbled down.

  “Lord, those are mana ores!”

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  Oh, mana ores?

  Krul stepped forward, picking up a piece of ore.

  He gently rubbed it between his fingers, smiling.

  “We can get rich with mana ores, my lord!”

  Hmm.

  “But aren’t we isolated in the cursed lands? Trading with nations beyond the Border of Two Worlds is difficult, you know.”

  Hearing this, Krul shook his head.

  “Well… they’re still useful.”

  Krul opened his mouth again. “Although their value is intriguing, mana ores are useful for powering devices like airships.” He paused briefly. “We can even use mana ores to store mana.”

  Oh. So we could extract mana and transfer it into mana ores? That was an interesting function, as extracting mana typically required rather long roots.

  Raw mana sources were fascinating, but this was even better.

  As the sun began to set behind the mountain, we decided to take a short break and return the following morning.

  We surveyed the surroundings and encountered a few monsters, but their threat levels were low. We quickly dispatched them.

  Additionally, the river seemed to have returned to its normal flow.

  I positioned several chrysalises upstream to secure the river.

  Civilizations always developed near water sources.

  It would be a curse if this river faced any issues.

  Returning to the village, we finally encountered new visitors.

  I quickly followed the crowd gathering at the village’s edge.

  Some held weapons like swords and bows.

  Most were from the opposing camp, some bound by chains.

  They appeared to be bandits.

  “Nuga, summarize the situation for me.”

  She seemed startled before regaining her composure. “After you left, we resumed our work, but the following day, people started disappearing.”

  “We’ve been watched from the start. It seems they waited for you to leave. This group is likely bandits who survived the monsters.” Nuga furrowed her brows.

  Listening to Nuga’s explanation, the situation became clear.

  These were bad people.

  “If you want to survive, drop your weapons!” A tall man with a scar on his nose swung his weapon menacingly.

  Some villagers stepped back.

  The bandits laughed at this. “See? Weaklings who think they can survive and resist us! Better to bow your heads and live as our subordinates!”

  Nuga gritted her teeth.

  However, before the two sides clashed, roots erupted from the ground, striking the men. I couldn’t afford to wait, and knowing their intentions, there was no need to hesitate.

  The bandits were quickly eliminated.

  I spared those who had stayed back and the ones with chains around their necks.

  “Me! I didn’t want to attack!”

  Nuga approached and lowered her weapon.

  “Alright, I understand. Explain your situation.”

  The young man dropped his weapon and burst into tears. “Our base was attacked by bandits. Our families are being held hostage, and our freedom has been taken. Please save us!”

  It seemed our military strength had given him hope.

  Hmm.

  However, I had just returned from a battle, and my mood was low.

  I wanted to rest and regain my strength.

  And Krul was still on his way.

  We concluded that everyone should rest and recover.

  Tomorrow, we should discuss the bandit humans' "base" in greater depth.

  It was said they numbered in the thousands.

  The next morning.

  "Did you sleep well?"

  Nuga nodded.

  Krul, who had returned last night after rushing due to the situation, looked a little tired.

  We had asked him to rest in bed, but he insisted on being present.

  "Now that we’re all gathered, you may speak."

  In a recently constructed building shaped like a town hall, we sat around a table, Krul, Nuga, and myself, with three trembling individuals.

  "Y-Yes!" the young man from yesterday spoke quickly. "We were attacked three months ago. Our refuge, built to survive in the forest, allowed us to live in a false sense of security, but we were happy."

  He shook his head.

  "But the situation changed when people started disappearing. Every day, more and more people vanished. We began checking the area, but the presence of monsters confined us to our refuge."

  Then the young man glanced at the girl, one of the individuals holding a bow yesterday.

  "A group of bandits appeared and threatened to kill the hostages if we didn’t surrender." She paused, trembling.

  Perhaps someone from her family was among those hostages.

  "So, we began following their orders, starting with attacking other refuges."

  Krul, who had been silent, asked, "And among those refuges, was ours one of them?"

  Nuga raised her eyebrows in anger.

  The elderly woman reached out a hand. "It’s not the children’s fault. We were simply forced into it, I swear."

  Though Nuga had a fiery temper, getting angry at an elderly woman seemed excessive.

  "Alright, so you want us to save your families?"

  Finally, I responded.

  "Yes, exactly!"

  The three individuals glanced at the small chrysalis at the center of the table.

  Given the cramped space, I had produced a miniature chrysalis for easier communication. Sometimes, when speaking with others, they grew anxious trying to locate my actual position.

  "We shouldn’t do this," Krul offered a dissenting opinion.

  "Why not?"

  "Didn’t you hear? If bandits are involved, they must have significant numbers." He cast a glance at the young man.

  "Yes. Around 1,500…" Krul sighed upon hearing the number.

  Nuga responded, "Then we should strike now! Before their numbers grow, they’ll start preparing to attack us, now that our location is known!" She slammed her hand on the table.

  Krul raised an eyebrow in response.

  "We need to think this through. Our numbers are insufficient. We don’t even have a trained military force among our population. How do you expect to fight 1,500 people? That’s just the reality."

  I agreed with Krul.

  Fifteen hundred was a massive number. My army only consisted of 800 chrysalises. The enemy had twice as many, and I wasn’t certain how powerful they would be against bandits.

  I knew I could handle hundreds of foes, but thousands? That was overwhelming, even for me.

  No matter one’s strength, a single individual cannot fight thousands indefinitely. They would collapse eventually.

  Finally, Krul and Nuga fell silent.

  The final decision rested with me.

  "Treon, please!"

  I remained silent.

  "Why do you want to save them? Is it out of sympathy?" I searched for the reason behind Nuga’s insistence on helping.

  Her response surprised me. "If we save them, we can grow our population several times over. We could found a city-state, or something even grander! Isn’t that reason enough?"

  The young man, the girl, and the elderly woman all nodded.

  Krul seemed to share the same thought.

  The benefits were numerous, but so were the risks.

  This could lead to a prolonged war.

  "Alright... Fine. Before making a decision, let's go see how they are. If they're too powerful, we'll retreat and give up. Agreed?"

  I fixed my gaze on the three individuals.

  They simply nodded heavily in agreement.