"Yes, you are right," Amon confirmed, "That's why we have to accelerate our plans. The scent of three leaves may not attract as many monsters, but the moment the first ones appear, it will be difficult to keep setting traps."
"But aren't the traps you created very simple?" Julia asked with obvious doubt.
The traps weren't even hidden. It was just very big holes with thick spikes of wood stuck in it, looking very sharp.
"Under normal circumstances, no." Amon gave a rare smile. "But since they would be vying for appeal, I bet they would be more than willing to make each other fall into the traps."
"Great!" Maisa clapped. Though a little used to it, she also blushed at the sight of his smile.
The other girls understood when he explained, and soon they all cooperated with him. In just ten minutes more holes were created and stakes were placed in the bottom. It was even easier with the help of Ariel's powers.
When finished, Amon said, "Go hide in that direction. I'll just put the blood of the monster you killed on the tree and I'll join you."
"Okay." The girls had no objection.
When the monster's blood began to be sucked by the tree, some more leaves began to appear. Amon let the blood flow, as he cut the monster's body in several parts. Only when he found something the size of a fingernail, with a very faint glow, did Amon stop.
.
.
In the distance, Amon and the girls watched. They were at the top of a large tree with strong branches. Just as Amon had predicted, monsters started appearing, heading towards the tree. Of course, the monsters weren't dumb enough to fall into the traps. If they didn't jump over, they managed to dodge through the gaps.
"Look, even more are coming~!" Joy shone in Maisa's eyes. The more monsters that appear, the better it would be for them.
"But, Amon, are you sure we are safe?" Julia asked.
"100%, no," Amon said, "But I believe that even if we are found, being near the blood-eating tree, we are viewed as much less attractive."
"Well, whatever happens, we can still get away," Barbara said casually. "By the way, even if we die, we won't actually die, so it's okay."
"Aren't you afraid to feel the pain of death?" Maisa asked a little fearfully.
"Who doesn't?" Barbara shook her head, but then shrugged her shoulders and smiled, "But if it makes us stronger, so be it. I won't falter just because I'd end up suffering in the process. I don't want to be left behind by Amon. I know he wants to be an Overlord, so if I ease up and falter, won't I be left behind? I do not want that!"
"I do not want that either!" Maisa said immediately.
"Okay, okay, no need to get so excited. If you scream that much, the monsters will notice us," Ariel warned.
Instantly, the girls fell silent. Julia, who was about to speak, also elected to remain silent.
Amon looked at the girls a little surprised. Not used to it, as it was all new to him, having only the love of his grandparents, he felt warmth in his heart. However, he didn't know how to express this, so he made a mental note and thought about how to reward the trust and dedication the girls had for him.
Just as Amon had predicted, the monsters started to get greedy when they saw that the blood-eating tree had more than ten leaves of blood now. Not wanting to share, they became fierce and a war between the monsters broke out!
All sorts of roars echoed. In the distance, more and more monsters appeared roaring. A group of people who were walking cautiously saw many monsters pass by them and their faces paled white!
"What's going on?" the weakest boy in the group asked in his shaky voice.
The leader, a tall blonde girl, said with uncertainty, "I don't know..."
Another spoke up. "Has something precious appeared?"
When they heard this, the weakest and most fearful of the group asked fearfully, "We're not going there, right?"
"That's why you're still so weak." Another wrinkled his nose and said dismissively, "Of course we need to go. Don't forget if we die here, we won't really die."
"... I still think it's better not to go."
Nobody listened to the weakest one. Even the leader had become interested and wanted to take a look. However, they still needed to be cautious.
.
.
This same situation happened throughout several parts of the island.
Now it wasn't so much the blood-eating tree as the strong scent of blood they saw from the monsters that had fallen into the holes dug by Amon and the girls, and the wounds caused by the monsters that drew in more beasts. It became a bloody battleground. The monsters started killing each other in ways that were beyond even Amon's expectations.
"What a mess..." Ariel muttered under her breath. The amount of monsters killed in the fight had already exceeded 100. In no way did she want to draw their attention, and it looked like there was still so much more to come.
"I underestimated this tactic a little bit, but this is even better," Amon said in a low voice.
The amount of roaring and wailing from the monsters only increased. When any monster approached the blood-eating tree, the other monsters attacked in full force. Even those who were stronger could not stand out in the face of so many monsters vying for the blood leaves.
The closest any came to achieving their goal was a species of monkey, only it had four arms, but in the end, when it was knocked down it was trampled to death, turning into flesh paste, and the blood was consumed by the blood-eating tree.
When some monsters with a little more intelligence saw this, they kicked the corpses of other monsters towards the tree.
"My God, there are already several new leaves of blood..." Maisa opened her eyes wide as she covered her mouth in shock.
"Mmm, that surprised me a little..." Amon muttered.
"Well, it's probably because of the monsters that have a certain level of intelligence," Ariel commented.
The rest nodded.
A while later, not only had more monsters appeared, a few fledglings also arrived, but they hid in a hurry. You could tell by their faces that looked like they had seen a ghost how scared they were. Of course, such a large amount of monsters would have scared anyone.
"Tsk, some profiteers want to reap the fruit of our sweat?" Barbara sneered.
"Remember what I said before," Amon said.
"Yes, yes," the girls nodded.
Although some things were beyond what Amon had predicted, it still happened more or less like he had predicted to the girls before.