The huge treetop of the God Tree Broccoli warrior had bifurcated into a powerful fist. When it stood in the middle of the battlefield, it could knock a tree man flying with a single punch.
The sturdy tree-root-made tree men, grinning wide and swinging their sharp, branch-like arms, continually attacked. But the God Tree Broccoli first slammed a punch, followed by a sweeping motion of its right arm, throwing the three approaching tree men far away.
The other arm grabbed a slender tree man from its roots, first smashing it on the ground, then using it like a weapon swinging it around. For a moment, the battlefield was full of branches flying, leaves shaking off and tree men screaming.
After the zombies were almost cleared out, the pathway to the pond and graveyard was opened. The group divided into two, each taking responsibility for different areas. They started gathering the light as fast as they could.
The area around the pond was the territory of the garden goblins. These minions had small bodies and weak combat power, but what was troublesome is that they would burrow tunnels. As soon as they were approached, they would burrow a hole and flee, their speed so fast that people couldn't keep track.
And Clark, who had flown to the sky, found that these little fellows had already riddled the entire front yard of the garden with tunnels while they were dealing with the skull zombies. They were currently digging into the root system of the hall's defenses.
This couldn't be solved with cabbage as the garden goblins were much smaller than cabbages. Using wheat for a widespread bombardment was also not realistic because that would damage their own defensive facilities.
The Cloak could burrow in, but the space was too small. It couldn't unfold inside. No matter how Strange tried to persuade it, it refused to enter. Although the dung beetle could burrow in, its body structure was not suited for fighting. Facing hundreds of garden goblins it could only expect to be beaten.
Everyone looked at each other. They hadn't anticipated that these seemingly least threatening creatures would turn out to be the hardest to deal with. But at this point, Shiller waved at everyone.
"Move aside a bit, someone has woken up."
"What...?"
Bruce just asked when he turned his head to see a huge vertical pupil coldly staring at him. A massive snake head illusion appeared in mid-air, blocking the entrance of the hall and constantly flickering its tongue.
"Yemengade?" Strange tentatively called out.
The giant snake Yemengade snorted coldly. Strange looked it up and down, finding that it had been living the good life with Shiller. Its body was full of energy and it had grown at least three times its original size.
According to legend, Yemengade is a Mundane Python coiling around the Earth. But if it keeps eating like this, coiling around the sun wouldn't be a problem either.
But now the big size is useless, so Shiller pointed at the ground, then at the goblin's hole, and asked Yemengade to shrink down a bit and crawl in to eat the goblins.
Strange was initially looking forward to the spectacle because he knew that ancient magical creatures like the Cloak don't like to be ordered around and strongly oppose reducing their size.
This is their instinct, always showcasing their most potent side to prevent being devoured by other powerful entities. As the ultimate villain Mundane Python in mythological stories, its condition was probably more serious than the Cloak's.
But to Strange's surprise, without a word, Yemengade quickly shrunk to the size of a snake not much taller than a foot. It swiftly darted into the hole.
Yemengade recognized who was the dominant personality within Shiller at the moment.
One day, Yemengade, who usually falls asleep after eating, woke up with a cramp and fell straight from the top of the tower to the ground.
Then it found a hole which looked pitch-black and being curious, Yemengade crawled in.
The snake went in vertically and came out in segments.
Only after they urgently fed it a large amount of energy, were they able to save it, and from then on, Yemengade would run away as soon as it saw any form of Shiller emerging from the ground.
When it couldn't run, it would close its eyes and pretend to hibernate. Although it wasn't cold in the tower, still, snow was falling into its eyes.
Indeed, the snake's body structure is suitable for hunting in narrow spaces. These garden goblins, not much taller than a human foot, were just like mice; Yemengade could swallow them whole as if crunching on delicious snacks.
Originally, Yemengade had no choice but to come out. However, after eating the first goblin, it found that they were made of energy. Although not as refined as the energy Greed brought it, they had a unique flavor; a delightful snack indeed.
In the several years Yemengade has lived in Shiller's Tower of Thought, it had learned nothing. All it knew was to sleep after eating and to eat upon waking. So when it comes to eating, it simply stood by one principle: authenticity.
After discovering the unique flavor of the goblins, Yemengade's motivation was fully aroused. It crawled through the narrow tunnels, swallowing any glowing creature it saw. The garden goblins who were busy digging tunnels were pursued and fled in all directions.
As the Mundane Python, Yemengade's primeval instinct was triggered. The quicker the prey ran, the louder they screamed, the tastier they were when they got into its mouth, and the more excited it became.
If it weren't for the family-friendly rating preventing the special effects, Yemengade would've already entered a red-eyed hunting state.
A group of goblins screamed and ran out to the surface. But it wasn't peaceful aboveground either. The God Tree Broccoli was having a tough fight with the tree men. The dust from their fight fell on the goblins' heads like meteors, making them shriek.
The garden goblins found themselves trapped and could only run towards the hall. Due to their small size, they easily slipped through the gaps made by Pamela's vines and the frosty wheat. They got into the hall and started dancing and shouting. Black Panther looked over and saw Lion stepping forward to communicate with the goblins through roars.
Hippo Goddess acted as the translator in the middle. They finally understood that the garden goblins were the original inhabitants of the garden. The skeletons and zombies outside wanted to seize their home, and they thought the humans were also invaders, which is why they were opposing them.
Now, the elders of the Garden Gnomes ask humans for help to reclaim their land. In gratitude, they offer to reveal the secret of the mansion to humans.
Clark quickly nodded and said, "So it is, they have no resistance left anyway, we might as well..."
But Bruce slowly narrowed his eyes.
"Have you ever seen such a plot in a cartoon? The protagonist makes many friends along the way, and at the last critical moment, either the key to the door is lost, or the escape route is cut off. Then, the protagonist's team realizes there is a traitor among them."
"You're a bit too pessimistic." Stark looked at him and said, "Although I know you are also Batman, this is unreasonable…"
"Anyone with eyes can see that we are at odds with the zombies and skeletons outside, so why would they still destroy our defense facilities?"
"Besides, even if they didn't come for us, we've already almost wiped out the skeletons and zombies. If their wish is to retake the garden, their best choice should be to hide in their homes and await the good news of victory. So why don't they?"
Stark and Strange exchanged a glance, their expressions could probably be summed up as "you DC guys are really too dark."
"Drive them to the backyard." Bruce signaled to Diana with his eyes, and Diana immediately pulled Clark away.
Strange has no fondness for these non-human creatures either. A bright magical brilliance exploded in front of the Garden Gnomes, and they screamed running towards the back door.
The progress on the pond side was also smooth. The animal god, Vulture, had just flown over and dropped lots of kelp into the pond, solving not only the goblins on the ground but also the sea monsters lurking in the water.
The sea monster, with its long mermaid tail and sharp teeth, didn't get a chance to use its song to hypnotize anyone before it was entangled and whirled around by the kelp. When it finally surfaced, it was belly up like a dead fish.
The God Tree Broccoli side also declared victory. The size gap between the two sides is too big. The giant tree man is no match for Broccoli.
The person who contributed the most in this battle, of course, was Greed. He didn't fight outside because he had a more important thing to do, which was holding down Arrogant who wanted to peek out.
If Arrogant surfaces, the whole battle might become the opposite of a merry family gathering.
With the number of enemy creatures being exterminated growing, more and more light spots gathered in the statue area, and Walt Disney's features became clearer. Shiller even thought he saw the statue of the man smiling at him.
Dong--Dong--Dong--
The mansion clock tower rang again with a dull chime. The first ghosts that appeared headed to the center of the garden. Everyone thought they would launch an attack, but when a sad and strange ballad began to play, everyone's eyes quickly filled with vague black and white images.
Chicago in 1909 looked like a faded and yellow old photo. Two boys, wearing plaid shirts, suspender pants, and black berets, rode bikes to deliver newspaper to their neighbors.
They raced to see who could ride faster. The one who lost had to tell a ghost story. The scrawnier boy never won against his older brother, so standing in front of a neighbor's mailbox, he told a ghost story.
"In the south of Florida, there is a haunted mansion. We all call it Ghost Manor. The Ghost Master and Ghost Lady live there with their children, as well as the Ghost Guard, Stald.
Then one day, the not-so-wealthy Mr. Grayson bought the place to repay a debt. And on their first day there, at three in the morning, the large clock in the clock tower rang..."
The immature voice of the young boy slowly matured, then aged into an old and deep voice.
"I never told Roy that the story was not something I heard from a neighbor, but something I made up myself."
"In that story, the big garden in front of the Ghost Manor became the place most haunted. Since I had once mowed the lawns for mansion owners in the rich district, I knew what their gardens looked like. The realistic details scared my brother."
"At that time, I was simply excited. The desire to tell stories kept growing in my heart. I thought stories were just stories until I had the ability to make them real."
"I began to conceive of a huge dream world, one that would be much larger than the Disneyland I built in California. It would hold a generation's childhood memories, and I could use it to tell all my stories."
"Even after my death, these interesting stories would pass down from parents to child, bringing joy to generation after generation."
The calm narration turned into a slightly regretful sigh.
"Until the end, I realized that I might not be able to see the opening of this park. I knew that I had to prepare early."
With a gentle breeze, the windows of the hotel opened. The dark clouds outside the window dissipated, leaving a clear and deep blue night sky.
In a half-dream and half-awake state, Loki stood by the window, his long hair blowing in the wind. With a somewhat confused look on his face, he asked.
"Who are you?"
When he woke up in shock, he suddenly remembered: he had once stood in front of a window in the Fairy Palace of Asgard and asked the same question. The one who answered him then called himself Loki, the God of Stories.