The White Pirates who had come ashore to raid were held aloft by the Green People and carried before the towering Mother Tree.
The White Pirates had already awakened.
But they were still bound by vines, unable to move.
Yet when they saw that tree, they lost all desire to struggle.
It was too tall—so tall that it could never have been a natural living thing.
Towering into the clouds was no exaggeration here. It was simply a literal description.
Its crown reached the clouds at the horizon, something only the most majestic mountains could accomplish.
"Th-this is impossible!" shouted the strongest White Pirate chief.
"Could they also have the protection of spirits?" a One-Eyed Pirate muttered.
"This is definitely no ordinary tree."
No kidding. From afar, they had thought the tree grew upon a mountain. Only after approaching did they realize that the tree itself had grown this tall.
This was a Tree Mountain.
No wonder the Green People before them treated it with such reverence.
They would have done the same.
"People lacking love, driven by life into this path—I can forgive you. Come live here. This place can provide you with enough food, shelter, treatment, care for your old age... and methods of population control." Tree Mountain spoke in a vast yet gentle voice.
The moment it finished speaking, the pirates found the vines around them loosening.
They hastily knelt in worship.
Their mouths rushed to agree.
What a joke. Never mind whether it was true or not—they had to survive first.
If it was true, only a fool would be willing to risk his life at sea.
Pirates sounded imposing and frightening, but their mortality rate was far higher than that of weak farmers.
If not for the barren land being unable to support too many