But the golden cicada and Vert weren’t the ones in the worst shape.

Seeing how brazen the flock of great white geese was, the little Thunder Element tiger let out a high-pitched, cub-like roar. Bolts of lightning instantly appeared in the sky above five of them. The lightning crashed down, striking the five targeted geese.

The five great white geese, which had been surrounding the peacocks, were stunned for a few seconds after the strike. Flora Bloom had thought the little tiger’s Thunder Element superpower had paralyzed them. ’If that’s the case,’ she mused, ’the tiger can hit them with lightning, and I can collect them into my space one by one. That would save a lot of time and effort.’

However, after a brief daze, an immaculate sheen flashed across the white feathers of the five thunderstruck geese. Wisps of electricity crackled within the glow for a moment before vanishing completely.

They ruffled their feathers, identified the culprit who had zapped them, and charged straight for the little white tiger.

Seeing that its lightning was useless and that these five meaty geese dared to challenge its authority as a king of beasts, the little white tiger bared its fangs and charged to meet them.

The battle immediately spiraled out of control.

Two of the great white geese attacked from the air, flapping their wings, but the little tiger dodged them with agile movements. Their assault failed. However, the other three geese attacked its head, tail, and flanks simultaneously. With the two geese in the air relentlessly pressing their attack, the little tiger made a single misstep. The five geese grabbed its limbs and tail, and it looked as though they were about to lift it into the air. It struggled, but couldn’t break free.

And that wasn’t all.

The peacocks were at a complete disadvantage against three of the great white geese. Their gorgeous, showy tail feathers littered the ground, and in the end, they actually ran to Flora Bloom for help.

When three more great white geese launched a frontal assault on Monkey One and Monkey Two, the pair simply covered their heads and scurried away in terror.

The last and largest of the white geese stared menacingly at Flora Bloom, who stood motionless by the well. Its eyes were filled with provocation and contempt.

"HONK HONK HONK."

Little Jia’s scales glinted gold in the sun. The moment it saw the great goose leader charge, it curled its tail, pointed its head down, and instantly burrowed into the dry mud beside the crossroads, vanishing from sight and leaving only a small, disturbed mound of earth.

’Damn, you traitor,’ she thought.

As the goose leader charged at her, Flora Bloom sighed and an axe materialized in her hand.

’I was planning to put you all in my space to raise you for eggs and goslings. Looks like a little bloodshed is necessary before we can have some peace.’

One hand on her lower abdomen, the other gripping the axe, Flora Bloom watched the charging goose without blinking.

The goose leader was barely half an arm’s length away, craning its neck back to strike at Flora Bloom’s face.

Suddenly, Caleb’s clear, bright voice rang out, and the small boy threw himself between Flora Bloom and the great white goose leader.

"Don’t hurt Flora Bloom!"

Flora panicked and tried to pull Caleb back, but it was too late. All she could do was stack five or six water shields in front of him, hoping to block some of the impact.

She grabbed Caleb by the waist and quickly backed away.

At that moment, Flora couldn’t tell if the goose leader was retreating after its missed strike or preparing an even bigger attack. After shattering her water shields with its beak, it just spun in place, honking incessantly at her and Caleb. "HONK HONK HONK."

To be precise, it wasn’t honking at her, but at Caleb.

Flora was astonished to see that peculiar magnetic field reappear around Caleb. The energy within it was surging toward the great white goose leader.

After standing stunned for several seconds, the great white goose suddenly bolted toward Caleb.

Terrified, Flora tried to pull Caleb back, but he struggled out of her grasp.

To her astonishment, Caleb’s face was wreathed in a smile. He happily spread his arms and ran to meet the great goose leader.

What Flora found most incredible was that the great white goose didn’t attack Caleb. As she watched in terror, its two enormous white wings wrapped around Caleb’s small body like a pair of human arms. The goose’s long, thick neck curled around Caleb’s, and it affectionately nuzzled his hair with its beak, rubbing it back and forth.

’What... what is happening?’

Before her eyes, Caleb giggled with delight at the goose leader’s affectionate display. His innocent laughter made both Cynthia Grant and Irvin Holden stare at the bizarre scene.

’The giant goose isn’t attacking the kid?’

Only Flora Bloom, after turning the situation over in her mind, began to have an inkling of what was going on.

’Could it be Caleb’s superpower? That bizarre magnetic field? Is that why the goose leader isn’t attacking him? And why it’s being so affectionate? It makes no sense. Unless...’

’Unless Caleb’s Spiritual Ability has an effect similar to the control her space exerts over living things: a Spiritual Imprint.’

’But the difference between them was also obvious. Caleb’s superpower didn’t require physical contact. He could make a creature submit from a distance, letting the energy of his magnetic field wash over it and make it obedient.’

’For Flora’s space, on the other hand, she had to physically touch a living creature, either with her own hands or some part of her body, to pull it inside. Only then would the space forcibly brand the creature with her Spiritual Imprint.’

At this thought, the dimples on Flora Bloom’s cheeks deepened. She looked over at Caleb.

"Caleb, try to communicate with it. Tell it to make its friends stop attacking."

Flora glanced at Cynthia Grant, who was completely disheveled, her clothes torn and a large, bloody bruise on her forehead. A few lengths of what looked like snapped vines lay on the ground nearby.

Irvin Holden had his clothes practically torn off by two of the geese, and one side of his body was covered in bruises and blood.

Neither of them was seriously injured, but they had been completely powerless to fight back. They looked utterly wretched and humiliated.

"Big White, quick! Tell your flock to stop! Don’t hurt them!"

The moment Caleb finished speaking, the goose leader threw its head back and let out a series of loud honks. "HONK HONK HONK!" Instantly, all the other great white geese ceased their attacks.

Cynthia Grant and Irvin Holden breathed a sigh of relief and collapsed to the ground, unable to move. Irvin Holden was in a particularly sorry state: his legs had turned to jelly, he had a mouthful of white feathers, and he was clutching two jade-white goose eggs, holding them in a delicate grip, afraid to squeeze too hard or let go. It was a miserable, yet hilarious, sight.

Flora Bloom did a quick count. Besides the leader, there were fifteen great white geese. Now that they had stopped attacking, they began to circle the group slowly, honking softly. "Honk... honk... honk..."

’What a great opportunity! These geese can add to the resources in my space, and I can let this evolved species breed there. It’s the best of both worlds.’

’The only question is, will they attack me again if I try to collect these fifteen geese now?’

As it turned out, the great white geese, having been ordered to stand down by their leader, weren’t hostile to Flora Bloom’s approach at all. Just like the five roosters and hens from before, they were now friendly and welcoming toward humans.

As she drew near, one even gently nudged her hand with its beak, which tickled. After successfully collecting all of the geese, Flora Bloom glanced at their leader, which hadn’t moved from Caleb’s side. She extinguished any thought of taking it into her space as well.

’Her space’s imprint is incredibly domineering,’ she reasoned. ’She wasn’t sure if she collected the goose leader, whether branding it with her own imprint would somehow harm Caleb or cause a backlash against him.’

After watching its followers disappear one by one, the goose leader circled Flora Bloom, its eyes filled with a human-like, questioning gaze. For the first time in her life, Flora Bloom felt embarrassed under the stare of a goose.

’I just absorbed all of its followers. I can’t just give it nothing in return, can I?’

A ball of concentrated Space Spirit Water materialized in her hand before the goose leader. The goose’s eyes lit up at the sight of the spiritual water. A powerful suction came from its beak, and it inhaled the entire ball of spiritual water from Flora’s hand, not leaving a single drop. When it was done, it stared at Flora with an insatiable look, as if to say, ’More, please.’

Amused, Flora Bloom patted its head. "Be a good goose and protect your little master, and there will be plenty of rewards for you."

Then she snatched up Little Jia, which had just poked its head out of the ground, and tossed it into the space for solitary confinement. She threw the terrified golden cicada and Vert into the Spirit River. After that, Monkey Two, Monkey Three, the peacocks, and even the little white tiger came running over, begging to be let back into the space. It seemed the flock of great white geese had left them with considerable psychological trauma.

Caleb didn’t fully understand what was so special about his superpower, and Flora Bloom didn’t explain it. Now that the matter of the big, fat geese was resolved, Sherman Lynch was still down in the well, waiting to be rescued.