In fact, if these living beings had not chosen to follow Xu Yuan, judging by their previous, ingrained way of thinking, there was no way they would have so easily forgiven these iron golems.
After all, many of their companions had died tragically at the hands of the Void, and the iron golems were precisely accomplices and tools of the Void's crimes.
However, ever since following Xu Yuan, the way these living beings thought had undergone earth-shaking changes.
Now, when dealing with certain matters, they no longer rushed to conclusions based only on surface appearances as they once did. Instead, they had learned to analyze issues from deeper and more comprehensive perspectives.
Everything was subjected to careful consideration. They would no longer act blindly on impulse or make arbitrary judgments without discerning right from wrong.
It was precisely because of this tremendous change that they were ultimately able to open their hearts and accept their former enemies, the iron golems.
Although they knew very little about the inner journey of these iron golems who had already defected from the Void's camp, the words spoken by the iron golem captain could not help but move all living beings.
A single "sorry" truly could not heal the wounds in the hearts of these living beings, but that "sorry" was by no means an empty or meaningless phrase.
That apology represented the iron golem captain's attitude, and it would also become a bridge of communication between the iron golems and the living beings.
The iron golem captain had once been nothing more than a pitiful tool, wantonly manipulated and exploited by the Void.
If one were to examine it closely, he could also be considered a victim.
The Void had not only ruthlessly stripped him of the freedom he should have had, but had also completely destroyed the life that once belonged to him.
Yet even after suffering such a fate, the iron golem captain did not complacently regard himself as a purely innocent victim.
On the contrary, he bravely faced the mistakes he had committed in the past and actively sought redemption and a chance to reform.
It was precisely this willingness to take responsibility that became the most important reason why all living beings were willing to accept them.
———
After saying these words, the iron golem captain actually did not hold much hope. He did not believe that the living beings would accept him.
After all, both his hands and those of his comrades were stained with the blood of many of these native beings.
The iron golem captain truly did not expect that not only would the living beings refrain from verbally condemning him, but they would even accept him so quickly.
At this moment, no amount of words could express the emotions surging in the iron golem captain's heart.
He once again swept his gaze across everyone, his eyes sincere and resolute, and raised his voice, "From this day forward, we will fight alongside you. Together we will crush the Void, and together we will build a new home that belongs to us!!"
An earnest, down-to-earth leader like the iron golem captain was clearly someone more worthy of respect and affection.
This heartfelt speech of his undoubtedly narrowed the distance between him and all living beings.
After reporting the specific situation of his subordinates to Black Blade, the iron golem captain naturally led his team to stand behind Black Blade.
As the iron golems also successfully "defected," the only ones left accompanying Pocolo were those mindless monsters surrounded by stone walls.
Seeing this scene, Pocolo had already begun to entertain the idea of moving to another planet to live.
Although he also had thoughts of "defecting" in his heart, he simply could not bring himself to lose that much face.
At this moment, he had only two choices.
First, close his eyes, grit his teeth, throw caution to the wind, abandon all shame, and defect outright.
Second, stand firm for once, give up any rewards, and leave the trial grounds directly.
But Pocolo was not that decisive. He didn't want to give up the rewards, yet he also couldn't bear to lose face.
At this moment, Pocolo could be described as sitting on pins and needles, with a lump in his throat and thorns on his back…
Just as he was at a complete loss, Grayfist stepped forward.
He walked up to Pocolo, let out a long sigh, patted him on the shoulder, and said earnestly, "Brother, there's a saying that goes like this."
"If you take too big a step, you'll tear your… uh… cough cough…"
At this point, Grayfist paused for a moment and reorganized his words.
"Well, uh, take on only as much as you're capable of handling."
"You've got a sharp mind, it's just being used in the wrong place."
"As a person, you still have to stay grounded. Don't think about using little tricks to soar to the top in one step."
As he spoke, he tilted his chin toward Pocolo and added, "Alright, from now on, stick with me and learn a bit more."
Grayfist's actions were clearly meant to help Pocolo out of an awkward situation. The reason he did this was mainly because, after spending time with Pocolo, he could tell that Pocolo wasn't a bad person at heart.
Pocolo's main problem was that he was far too eager for quick success and immediate gains.
Pocolo was indeed very smart, and precisely because of that, he often felt that his talent had gone unrecognized.
In his view, with the intelligence and ability he possessed, he should never have been just an obscure, ordinary solo player.
But regrettably, although he had exceptional intelligence, he often applied it to opportunistic tricks and sly shortcuts.
It was exactly for this reason that he ultimately ended up in his current, miserable situation.
As for why Grayfist chose to step forward and help Pocolo out, he most crucial factor was that he saw the strong drive for self-improvement deep in Pocolo's heart.
That desperate determination to rise above others no matter the cost, to fight tooth and nail to climb upward, was almost identical to Grayfist's own back in the day.
The only difference between Grayfist and Pocolo was that Grayfist had always adhered to the principle of taking one step at a time, steadily and solidly honing and improving his own strength through relentless effort to achieve gradual growth.
Pocolo, on the other hand, was always single-mindedly trying to find shortcuts in hopes of achieving his goals quickly.
Grayfist could see that Pocolo was good material, he just needed some guidance to get back on the right path.
Grayfist was willing to be the one to give him a hand, after all, Grayfist himself had only been able to transform because Black Blade had once pulled him up.
———
At this moment, after hearing Grayfist's words, Pocolo couldn't help but feel a little dazed.
He could naturally tell that Grayfist was helping him out, but he couldn't understand why Grayfist would do that.
Logically speaking, given Grayfist's personality, he should have looked down on someone like him, yet Grayfist was the first to step forward and help him.
"Why…?"
"He must be messing with me… how could he help someone like me out…?"
While Pocolo was thinking, Grayfist across from him was already growing a bit impatient.
Before Pocolo could even react, Grayfist reached out, grabbed him by the collar, and "hauled" him behind himself.
"Stop dragging your feet, damn it, and don't start giving me long speeches here."
"If you follow me and still play those crooked tricks, you're gonna regret it!"
———
As Pocolo was "manually" brought back into the group by Grayfist, everyone on the outside had now formed a unified whole.
Next, all that remained was to wait for the results of the discussion between Xu Yuan, Tyrant HIM, and Annoying Village HIM inside the rainforest.
Xu Yuan, Tyrant HIM, and Annoying Village HIM did not keep everyone waiting for long.
Not long after Pocolo rejoined the group, Xu Yuan, Tyrant HIM, and Annoying Village HIM walked out from deep within the rainforest…