[Inside the Goblin Palace's Main Hall]
By now, all the bodies had been carried away. Every contaminated table and chair, and even the floor tiles, had been removed and replaced with new golden tiles.
The Goblin King sat on the throne in the hall, resting his head on one hand while a beautiful elf maid stood behind him, massaging his shoulders.
Even so, he still frowned and said, "Royal Advisor, are the divination results ready yet?"
"My King, please wait a little longer," the Royal Advisor said, "The mist inside the crystal ball hasn't cleared yet. This matter must be more complicated than usual. I've never seen the mist stay this long without fading."
"Wait again? How much longer do you expect me to wait?", the Goblin King shouted, "Last time I waited for just a little while, I lost two elders. How many more do you want me to lose? This is making me furious!"
"My King, don't worry!"
The commander of the Royal Guards, the Purple Hat Goblin, spoke with an easy smile.
"We've already set up a protective barrier over the entire hall. Forget acid, even fire or swords can't break through it. Please wait without concern. Leave the palace's safety to us."
"Hmm! You actually used the large barrier we found in the Land of the Desert?"
Only then did the Goblin King's expression begin to relax.
The commander immediately nodded, "Yes, My King! Although this barrier uses a great deal of energy, we've traded with the treants for plenty of Life Spring Crystals over the years. There's more than enough to keep it protecting the entire palace."
"Unless the most dangerous Boom Boom Mushrooms from the Land of the Desert appear, no one will be able to get in."
"And there's no chance anyone could threaten Your Majesty's safety."
"Good," After hearing that, the Goblin King finally relaxed. He slumped halfway into his throne and let the elf maid continue serving him.
He knew very well how powerful the Desert Tree's barrier was.
He still remembered, when he was young, he had followed his father to watch a group of mages who had broken into the temple get wiped out by Boom Boom Mushrooms with ease.
That barrier had originally been used to protect the Desert Tree from the Boom Boom Mushrooms.
At the time, nearly a thousand third-stage spores had been drawn toward the Desert Tree by its sap. They surrounded the tree and exploded all at once.
The power of that blast was probably equal to ten Archmages attacking together.
Yet the barrier only flickered a few times. There wasn't even a sign that it would disappear.
After that, the barrier actually treated the Boom Boom Mushroom spores as nutrients. It absorbed every one of them into itself, upgrading into a high-grade item.
Naturally, they didn't miss that chance. Before the next batch of Boom Boom Mushrooms had fully grown, they took it away.
They also discovered... actually... the desert had its own complete cycle. The Desert Tree could survive perfectly well even without the barrier.
That was because the Land of the Desert had a kind of Strong Acid Ant that lived by feeding on Boom Boom Mushrooms.
As long as the Strong Acid Ants were around, it was actually very difficult for the Boom Boom Mushrooms to spread over a large area.
The reason the Boom Boom Mushrooms started growing everywhere after those mages arrived was because they had disturbed the Strong Acid Ants, causing the entire colony to come out.
Then, to protect themselves, the mages killed large numbers of the ants.
Without the ants keeping them in check, the Boom Boom Mushrooms naturally spread like crazy. They even became overripe, sending spores everywhere.
But actually, there was no need to worry about those spores.
As long as you stayed away from the Land of the Desert, it didn't matter, because the spores would soon be eaten by a creature called the Blade Sparrow.
The Blade Sparrow could be said to stand at the top of the food chain in the Land of the Desert.
They not only ate the Strong Acid Ants, but also fed on giant spores, keeping the entire desert in balance.
However, the number of Blade Sparrows was also limited by the size of the Desert Tree's habitat and the amount of sap the Desert Tree could provide.
Because of that, the entire Land of the Desert had formed a strange ecosystem.
But once someone broke that ecosystem, the consequences became extremely serious.
For example... spores with no natural enemy.
"Your Majesty," Royal Advisor stared at the crystal ball, his face full of shock, "I don't know why, but all I can see is endless red, as if there are countless red... red spores..."
"What nonsense are you talking about?", the Goblin King said coldly as he looked at Royal Advisor, "Even though the Third Temple is inside the underground labyrinth, it isn't in the same space as us. No matter how much they multiply, they can't possibly reach this place."
"But...", Royal Advisor Shi wiped the sweat from his forehead, "But the crystal ball has never been wrong before. This time..."
"Royal Advisor, I think you should go wash your eyes."
The Goblin King didn't believe him at all.
Seeing that the King refused to believe him, Royal Advisor Shi could only bow with one hand over his chest.
"Yes, My King!"
"Ahhhh!"
The maid behind the Goblin King suddenly cried out. She immediately pointed into the air and shouted, "Th-That... what is that?"