These two children, so serious and solemn, terrified Carpenter Hornburg, who stared wide-eyed at the forest witch.

The old witch met his gaze, her eyes full of helplessness. "After these two children were healed, they became very interested in our way of life, and I casually explained a few things.

"I didn't expect them to have unique, even earth-shattering, insights into ecological protection.

"I vaguely agreed to their request to join the Children of the Forest.

"But I want to make it clear that I have never used supernatural powers or other means to maliciously brainwash them. I can guarantee that."

"It's not a matter of brainwashing or anything."

The little boy Hans, or rather, the Forest Sprite, waved his small hand and said in an old-fashioned manner, "I joined the Children of the Forest because I sincerely agree with their environmental philosophy. Human beings' plunder of nature has never stopped since the day we were born.

"We should use more radical means to stop this infringement."

"That's right."

Hans's sister, Gretel, or rather, the Forest Spirit, nodded. "We can't be gentle anymore."

Gentle?

Carpenter Hornburg's mind couldn't quite process it. It was the first time he'd heard someone use that word to describe the Children of the Forest.

"What do you plan to do?"

A voice broke the silence. Li Ang, leaning on his scythe, asked with interest, "What do you mean by 'more radical'?"

"Declare war on humanity on behalf of the ecological environment."

The Forest Sprite said rather haughtily, "We will wander around, awakening the consciousness of plants to resist.

"In your terms, we will use witchcraft to randomly make crops in certain farmlands poisonous, forcing humans to reduce the size of their fields and return farmland to forests.

"We will dig up dams, destroy towns, and destroy all water conservancy facilities, forcing humans to concentrate in major cities and no longer disturb the original ecology.

"We will destroy mines, destroy farmland, destroy windmills, and destroy roads that continue to advance into the forest.

"We will continuously assassinate meat-eaters, so as to force all mankind to be vegetarian—of course, not by eating agricultural plants, but by eating fruits that can be digested, excreted, and sown.

"I love human beings, but I hope that we, as the most intelligent of all things, can take on more responsibilities and return to the ancient times, to that original, peaceful, and natural life..."

All the strangely dressed people subconsciously looked at the old witch—the Children of the Forest had never thought of beating all of humanity back to the Stone Age. They themselves needed modern tools and entertainment, and living in the forest to amuse themselves was only out of helplessness.

No one wants to live a life of drinking blood, without storybooks, without operas, without flush toilets, without coffee and bacon!

Moreover, the trouble caused by the Children of the Forest has always been within the tolerance of the major kingdoms, with the backing of Her Majesty the Ice Queen's encouragement of ecological and environmental protection slogans.

If they really did what Hans said, they would be lying on the execution table in the Kingdom of Lunn in less than a month.

The witch pulled Hans's hand and said, "Dear Forest Sprite, I think we need to discuss this issue further..."

"Boom!"

There was only a loud noise, and a towering tree behind the old witch turned into a treant, swaying and standing up from the ground! Silently kneeling on one knee.

This treant, at least thirty meters tall, was not summoned by the witch.

What gave it life was the little boy Hans, who had a sneer on his lips!

"Natural spellcaster..."

The witch's words suddenly caught in her throat. In her spiritual sense, Hans and Gretel both exuded powerful spiritual energy, and the two combined could even slightly exceed her own.

The fact that they could possess such a scale of energy only one day after awakening—this talent could even be listed among the top twenty most powerful natural spellcasters in the history of the witch sect!

"That's right, we have awakened the ability to communicate with the forest. Our will is the will of the forest."

Hans and Gretel stretched out their palms and touched the huge, moss-covered wrist of the tall treant kneeling on one knee. They turned their heads and smiled. "We are members of the Children of the Forest, but I know that among the members, some do not agree with our philosophy and even want to oppose us, to defect.

"Go ahead, the Children of the Forest only needs members with a high degree of awareness, a spirit of sacrifice, and a sense of mission.

"For example, this treant, Groot."

Li Ang, standing not far away, asked with a smile, "You call the treant 'brother'? And you gave him a name? I thought these treants were controlled by you and had no self-awareness."

"Of course they do! It's just that, just that they are not good at expressing themselves,"

Hans's face turned red. "I believe that as long as there is enough time, they will be able to have their own consciousness and join the big family of the Children of the Forest."

"Okay."

Li Ang nodded. "Do you plan to complete your mission with these 'Treant Groot' brothers?"

"Yes,"

Hans said, "Humanity's encroachment on animals and plants will never stop. This is the only way to do it. I don't expect you to understand me..."

"No, I can understand."

"I know you have misunderstandings about me..."

Hans continued, and then reacted after a while, "Wait, what?"

"I can understand your determination to resist human oppression on behalf of animals and plants. Heaven has the virtue of compassion and cherishes life. As an Eastern monk, I strongly support your approach."

Hans was obviously shocked and a little at a loss. "Uh, thank you very much..."

Li Ang straightened his face and said seriously, "But I also think that what you are doing is not enough."

"Ah? Not enough?"

"Yes, you only see animals and plants being harmed by humans, but you don't see the endless microorganisms in the air, dust, and water that are also suffering from human harm. The surface of human skin has an average of 100,000 bacteria per square centimeter, the oral cavity contains more than 500 species of bacteria, and the total number of microorganisms in the intestinal tract reaches 100 trillion. Every time you eat or drink water, you consume hundreds of millions of microorganisms. Every time you wash your hair, hands, or take a bath, you kill countless lovely little bacteria.

"Don't trillions of microorganisms deserve the right to life? Aren't they worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as tens of millions of humans, animals, and plants? Does the right to life have to be judged based on size?"

"Uh, I, I,"

Hans was speechless. The rudiments of modern science had already appeared in this world. Decades ago, encyclopedic scholars used microscopes to discover the existence of microorganisms.

"I think that the Children of the Forest should not only protect animals and plants that are harmed by humans, but also consider the ubiquitous microorganisms."

Li Ang said solemnly, "I suggest that from today onwards, you should not wash your hair, wash your hands, or wash your feet, and not eat or drink water. Find a warm and humid place to lie still, to prevent microorganisms from dying because of your actions.

"Only in this way can we protect the rights of the vast number of microorganisms."