The Witch Hunter System
chapter-860

"Is that so? I'm happy to hear you think that way, Little Rose," Vaan said, reaching out his hand to pat the Flower Spirit's head.

However, Little Rose's neck quickly shrank in fear as she distanced herself from Vaan's hand. Clearly, she was still afraid of him to a certain extent because he was from another race.

As such, Vaan had no choice but to retract his hand.

Although Little Rose was a Divine-rank Wood Spirit, she did not seem to be as strong as other Divine-rank Elemental Spirits. Even Quasi-Divine Fire Spirit from the Red Dragon Clan was likely stronger than Little Rose.

However, this didn't mean Little Rose lacked Divine-rank offensive powers or that the Quasi- Divine Fire Spirit was as strong as Divine-rank spirits.

Instead, Little Rose didn't know how to fight since it wasn't in her nature to battle or commit violence.

As such, that also made Wood Spirits like her easy targets for greedy cultivators.

Vaan could see why the so-called Elder Spirit would prohibit the Wood Spirits from leaving, even though the threat of the Pure Earth Elemental Worm was no longer present.

If all Wood Spirits were like Little Rose, then they were no different from precious elixirs and magical plants with miraculous properties.

Cultivators would only see them as valuable resources.

They would only care about their use and sustenance and not their life or intelligence-just like how humans only care about rearing and butchering livestock for meat.

"Little Rose, are there only Wood Spirits like you in this Garden of Thyia?" Vaan asked.

However, Little Rose surprisingly shook her head and said, "Yes and no, Lord Vaan. At the very least, only Wood Spirits could be found on the ground level."

"But up there?" Little Rose directed Vaan's attention to the crown of the dead Divine Tree of Life and said, "There seems to be something else up there, but no one knows what it is."

Vaan tried to peer inside the crown of the dead Divine Tree of Life. However, his senses were unable to penetrate through the veil of darkness that covered it. It seemed to be protected or hidden by a stronger restrictive barrier.

Nevertheless, he could feel a concentrated sense of danger in the crown region.

"No one has ever tried to investigate that place?" Vaan inquired with interest.

"It's not that no one has ever tried to investigate Crown's Nest but that no one can. Crown's Nest is overflowing with deathly energy, which is fatal to Wood Spirits. That is why no one can ever get close for a look, Lord Vaan," Little Rose answered.

"However, the opposite seems to be equally true for whatever is living up there. The creatures hidden up there can't leave Crown's Nest or come down due to the rich spirit energy of life around here."

"Or, at the very least, that is what I would like to believe. I'm not exactly knowledgeable on this matter. The older Wood Spirits know more about Crown's Nest than little me," Little Rose stated.

"Myuu, myu, myuu, myuu!"

Emerald suddenly cried in protest, saying if Little Rose was considered little, then what about her?

"Um... Puny Fairy?" Little Rose gave Emerald a new nickname.

Unsurprisingly, Emerald disliked it very much and strongly objected. She wondered if Little Rose was trying to start a fight with her.

How dare she call her puny?

Vaan couldn't help but feel amused by Emerald's antics. Although she was normally timid around Topaz, this didn't seem to be the case with other Wood Spirits like her.

Meanwhile, Little Rose was a little lost for words. She wasn't sure how she should respond to Emerald.

There wasn't any ill intention behind her words.

However, another Wood Spirit found a problem with them. Something like that had never happened to her before, at least not with other Wood Spirits in the Garden of Thyia.

It seems the Fairy Spirit was more different from the Wood Spirits she knew than she originally believed.

Nevertheless, while Vaan and Emerald were interacting with Little Rose and building up their trust and friendship, other Wood Spirits in the Garden of Thyia suddenly closed in on their location from all directions.

At the same time, Vaan quickly sensed the danger and moved closer to Little Rose.

Although Little Rose was surprised by Vaan's action, she understood the situation the moment the other Wood Spirits appeared.

"A human!" an earthly senior Ginseng Spirit shrieked upon laying eyes on Vaan's figure. "I knew I sensed a strange presence around here, but to think it would be a human!"

"Our safe sanctuary has been invaded! Little Rose, quickly get away from that human! It's not safe there! That's a human, you know? A human! He isn't a Wood Spirit like us!" the senior Ginseng Spirit cried.

"What do you want, Human? State your conditions!" a senior Sunflower Spirit asked before pleading, "Please don't hurt Little Rose! She is still young and growing. If it's quality Wood Essence that you want, you can take mine!"

"Wait, everyone! Calm down! Lord Vaan is not a bad person!" Little Rose hurriedly informed the surrounding Wood Spirits.

Vaan was shocked to discover that a few of the Wood Spirits possessed stronger divine aura than the Great Devils like Abaddon and Hecate. Furthermore, they weren't even the oldest Wood Spirits in the Garden of Thyia.

In that case, how strong was the so-called Elder Spirit?

Vaan felt fortunate that the Wood Spirits were innately good-natured and not violent or cruel.

This could be observed from the Wood Spirits' current reactions as the Rank 7 Divine Spirits attempted to reason with him through words instead of subduing him with force.

After all, they had more than enough power-should they choose to do so.

Of course, it could be argued that they couldn't because they were concerned about Little

Rose's safety, which Vaan would rather believe to be safe than sorry.

"Good person? Don't be fooled, Little Rose! Have you forgotten the words of the Elder Spirit?" a Kinggrass Spirit urgently mentioned.

"There is no good human in the face of temptation! Human greed is simply limitless! Humans are such insatiable beings, the worst of the lot! You'll never know when they will suck your Wood Essence dry for their selfish interest and leave you to die!"

"Why didn't you listen to the Elder Spirit's wise words? The Elder Spirit has told us more than once that humans are the most dangerous beings in the outside world!" the Kinggrass Spirit

stated.

As Emerald listened to bad words directed at Vaan, her small cheeks became increasingly

puffed up from indignance.

"Myuu, myu, myuu!!!"

Emerald scolded all the Wood Spirits for being short-sighted, ignorant, and scaredy-cats who had no idea who they were condemning without knowing the person at all.

She told them that they were all wrong and had no right to judge Vaan. Nevertheless, after Emerald's sudden outburst of emotions, the area became dead silent.

The Wood Spirits all had their attention fixed on Emerald, seemingly affected by her words as they swayed some. Surprise, bewilderment, and astonishment colored their eyes.

The older Rank 7 Divine Wood Spirits were especially startled. They started evaluating

Emerald as a Wood Spirit.

Emerald was only a Mid-rank Wood Spirit, and yet her opinions could even move Divine-rank Wood Spirits-That wasn't something just any lower-rank Wood Spirit could do.

After all, the Elder Spirit had long shaped their views. So, it wasn't easy for the conflicting opinions of a lower-ranking Wood Spirit to sway or even shake them.

Why were they inclined to give the words of this lower-rank Wood Spirit some serious

consideration?

Just what kind of Wood Spirit was she? - Many Wood Spirits wondered.

When Vaan noticed the strange reactions of the Wood Spirits, his eyes flickered thoughtfully.