Dungeon of Pride, Laplace

Anger flashed deep within her eyes when her big brother who had lent her a helping hand during her most desperate times and had been so nice to her and her clansmen, was looked down upon by someone they had just met.

How could she just take it lying down? Stomping her foot, she pointed at Balsa and angrily declared "Don't look down on my big brother. He is tens'¦ no hundreds of times more stronger than any of you. I don't need you all to protect me... just my big brother is enough".

Her angry face wouldn't even be able to scare off a mosquito. It doesn't matter if she was a Forest Spring Royal Spirit, in the end, she was just a five years old girl.

A child was always honest and upfront with their emotions, the same goes for Cecilia.

Simon who was beside her couldn't help but force out an awkward laugh. Although the painful truth was the current him was no match for that Balsa and in a frontal fight he would be squashed like an ant, he still felt happy that Cecilia had such strong faith in him.

However, spouting all that didn't mean that it would help in this situation and Simon was correct. Instead of making the situation any better, those words from her made the situation even worse.

Balsa the ancient treant after hearing Cecilia burst into laughter which echoed all across the floor. "Young Lady you shouldn't be so impatient as to reject our protection. Since our king has ordered us to protect you lot, then we shall protect you no matter if you like it or not. As for the demon over there, I cannot be bothered by it any further. If he wants to live, he will return back otherwise don't blame me for bullying the weak".

He was after all a loyal guard serving under the Ancient Titan Treant, there was no way he put the words of a child to heart, much less confront with a demon he had deemed to be as weak as an ant.

"Uhhhnnn" Cecilia stared hatefully at the Ancient Treant as she ground her teeth. She had been truly and utterly angered by this treant.

Simon who was quietly listening by the sidelines was also having a difficult time. His objective for coming here was to meet with the Forest Spring Spirits that have survived and if possible convince them to come to his dungeon.

If he couldn't even enter, this trip of theirs would end up as waste. Not to mention he would have to change his future plans based on whether he could enter or not.

If possible, Simon really wanted to enter; but at the same time, he didn't want to make enemies with these incredibly powerful Ancient Treants. Unlike the Elder Treants who were classified as simple monsters, the Ancient Treants were highly sentient and were capable of human thoughts.

Not only that but these treants had protected and sheltered the weak forest spring spirits that have escaped from the clutches of the adventurers.

That act alone was enough to tell Simon that they weren't an awful bunch who suppressed the weak. He wanted to befriend them or have a cordial relation with them at the least.

"I must see my clansmen but at the same time, I cannot leave my big brother behind. Since your king is on friendly terms with our race, you must believe me. I can guarantee his nature. If you are still not willing then I will speak to that king of yours and tell him how rude you were to me".

Saying that, Cecilia crossed her arms and made a cunning smile.

"Hnn'¦ hnn'¦ If you don't want to get beaten by your king then let me and my big brother pass. Or else don't blame me for adding some lies when I talk to him later on".

Simon who was listening to their back and forth was shocked. It seemed that Cecilia finally had it enough and decided to outright blackmail the Ancient Treant instead.

How could the coercion of this level work on Balsa who had lived for more than two thousand years? If he fell for that wouldn't he have lived a long life for nothing?

When he heard what Cecilia said, the Ancient Treant laughed out in laughter once again. "Hahaha, It will not be as easy as you think to meet our king young lady. Be that as it may, even if the king decides to beat me up for this offence, I will gladly take it. For there is no better reward for me other than to be graced by the presence of the king himself".

It seemed that Balsa was quite the devoted servant. Even Simon got curious as to how great the ruler of the Ancient Treants was to have such a devote follower.

TREMBLE'¦ TREMBLE'¦

The next moment, the very ground started to shake as the humongous branches of the Ancient Treant started to creak and move. A solid pressure akin to a mountain thousands of meters big engulfed Simon and made him almost bend his knee.

Pointing his huge sharp branches at the demon following beside the Forest Spring Spirit, Balsa declared.

"Only the Forest Spring Spirit girl may pass. There can be no exception. Young lady, you should think carefully. If you still insist on bringing this demon along with you, then I will have no choice but to crush him here and now".

"Listen carefully... this is the territory of the Ancient Treants, demon nobles like you aren't allowed to trespass here".

The pressure engulfing him was palpable and every bone in his body made slight creaking noises. It had completely slipped from his mind. Since the Ancient Treant named Balsa created a path for them and was friendly enough to chat, Simon totally forgot that he was still in a territory that may become hostile to him any second.

The ruler of the Ancient Treants ordered to protect the Forest Spring Spirits, it didn't count those that were along with them. Especially when they were being hunted down by humans. It was natural to not allow any intruders.

Simon was in quite a dilemma. After he heard from that forest spring spirit boy that the Ancient treants were duty-bound to protect the Forest Spring Spirit clan in their need, he thought that bringing one of them along would help him get inside their territory.

However, it seems that he was being too naive. The treants appeared to be quite territorial and didn't allow the presence of species other than the Forest Spring Spirits near them.

The situation was quite difficult. On one hand he wanted to meet with Cecilia's clansmen that had survived and on the other hand, were the Ancient Treants that are protecting them. Since they didn't allow his presence, he couldn't force the issue. At the same time, he couldn't just leave Cecilia alone in the territory of the Ancient Treants.

When he took her in as his little sister, he promised to protect her. Then again, seeing how hopeful she was after she knew that some of her clansmen had survived and were inside, he couldn't just take her back with him.

This whole time, Cecilia was tightly holding onto his clothes refusing to leave his side. While Simon was lost in his thoughts, Balsa the Ancient Treant thought that the demon was adamant on refusing his offer and decided to make his move.

His old voice rang out as he said "It seems you have made your decision. Then don't blame me for bullying the weak. I initially left you a way out but it looks like you are determined to refuse the toast. That being so I shall bury you here myself".

Ash-black spikes started protruding out from its humongous branches and locked onto Simon. Each of these spikes were more than five meters long and glimmered with a terrifying sharpness.

A pressure so heavy that the surrounding ground cracked bore down on Simon. His knees trembled but even then, he refused to bow down.

"Ahhh~~..." Cecilia who was tightly clinging onto his clothes was carried away by the sudden wind hundreds of meters away. The wind didn't hurt her in the slightest and just restricted her movement like a prison.

"No don't hurt big brother. We will go back, I don't want to meet with my clansmen anymore. So please let him go".

Cecilia had a face that was masked with dread as she looked at the struggling Simon. Though she was not under the Ancient Treant's aura but looking at his expression, she could tell that her big brother was being pressured by Balsa aura.

It's true that she wanted to meet her clansmen very badly but not at the cost of her big brother's life. To her, it looked like the elder had snapped out because of her taunts and if she said sorry, everything would be alright.

However, no matter how many times she said sorry, the Ancient Treant didn't appear to loosen his pressuring aura on Simon.

"I cannot do as you say young lady. Since it's our king's wish to protect every Forest Spring Spirit, I can't let you go back now that you are here. You must stay here with your clansmen under our protection".

"From his orders, I can infer that the king holds your race very dear. Who knows when you will get killed if you stick with that demon... it might even make our king sad..  From what I can see, that demon isn't strong enough to protect you" Balsa declared in a voice devoid of emotions.