New Earth- The Dungeon of Madness 148 Start of the battle

They did not hesitate to ring the bell at the center of the village, waking up everyone. The barbarians grumbled as they stepped out of their tents with half opened eyes.

They did not immediately panicked. The Gopher Tribe was relatively far from the Musclewood Tribe. The barbarians would need a few hours to reach their village; they had ample time to evacuate. However, the chiefs and elders of the ruling council were nervous.

They quickly urged the barbarians to prepare themselves. They had long been ready for this war and had packed a few things to bring with them.

"I knew they would be coming but weren't they still at the Black Vulture Tribe yesterday afternoon? Did they travel during the night to the Gopher Tribe? Do they not need to rest? Why are they making their move already?"

"It is indeed very strange but the reason does not matter. We have our own thing to do. Ganya, you go and warn the merchants. Although their guild did not arrive yet, there are still a hundred of them; we need all the help we can get. Wesh, you go and talk to the scouts. Send the Scarlet Crows to gather some information and prepare our tribesmen. I'll go to the dungeon to inform the dungeon master."

The village quickly became lively. The women, children and elderly all moved to the dungeon. As the chiefs previously discussed with Five, all the villagers unable to fight went to the mountainous biome where the goats were. There, they would have everything they would need until the end of the war. There was water available and they brought enough food with them for last for a few days. The two entrances to the biome were then sealed, preventing anyone from reaching them; it was only after the war that the passages would be reopened.

The barbarians were not worried that Five might use the defenseless villages as hostages later. All this information was mentioned in their oath, making it impossible for him to cheat them.

Only seven hundred barbarians were left at the Musclewood village, they represented the barbarians who wished to participate in the battle. It also includes some women and elders. When the three tribes joined together, their combined population went up to 1200 barbarians. However, although the ten tribes did not send all their forces, it still amounted to two thousand barbarians.

Achi, Ganya and Wesh jumped on their horses and went to meet the incoming army. The scouts reported that the army suddenly stopped their march, requesting to discuss with the chiefs of the Musclewood Village.

"Is it alright to meet them? They greatly outnumber us; we won't stand a chance outside the village," anxiously said Wesh when he saw the large army in the distance.

"It will be fine. We'll stay at a reasonable distance. If something happens, we'll just run away."

When the ten tribes noticed the three lonely silhouettes, the representatives of the tribes quickly went to meet them. They separated from the large group who continued to rest from the long journey.

Vans led the group. As he stopped at a reasonable distance, he spoke: "My friends, as you expected, we came back to ask for a share of the dungeon and this time, we won't take no for an answer."

"Vans! The Vicious Rhino Tribe is still as conceited as always," taunted Achi. "No matter what, we won't give away what we worked hard for! Come at us if you dare and stop trying to intimidate us!"

"Oh? Do you think we are intimidating you? This time, we are coming for real. This is your last chance!" As Vans spoke, several auras emerged from the barbarian army.

The three chiefs twitched. 'This... They brought all ten of their totem spirits!'

'A totem spirit is the final guardian of a village. They won't bring it away from their village unless absolutely necessary! They are really going all out. The Shamans said they would at most bring three totem spirits to match ours but now, we might really have to rely on the dungeon. I hope it is strong enough to deal with them.'

"Scared? You should be! But we are not merciless. As per the ancestral rules, we shall give you one hour to evacuate your village. Once you are eradicated, we won't kill them. They will obediently join our tribe. I have always eyed Ly. I will take care of her after you die, Achi." Luka, the leader of the Black Vulture Tribe sinisterly taunted as he rubbed his hands.

"You..." Achi was infuriated but he knew he must not let his enemy's words get to his head. 'Ly is already safe in the dungeon. No matter what, even if we lose, the dungeon master promised to keep them safe.'

"Compared to others, we do not use underhanded method and obey the ancestral rules. If you did not sneakily kill our scouts, we would not be here today and you might have enjoyed a few more days of peace. Now, decide! Surrender or die!"

"Who took down your scouts? We noticed them but never attacked them as long as they did not approach our village. If you needed an excuse to incite your men, you should have used a better one!"

"Stop trying to hide it. It won't change the situation. Now, it's your choice! You have one hour. Only one hour before we attack."

The chiefs did not answer and quietly returned to the village. It was pointless to discuss with the ten tribes. No matter what, they would not give away what they worked for even when facing the other tribes of the region.

...

"Five! Wake up. The barbarians started their attack!" Harriet barged into Five's room and forcefully woke him up.

Five grumbled. He barely had enough sleep last night. 'D*mn. These barbarians don't need to sleep or what?'

"Achi is waiting for you at the entrance. He is saying that they will start moving the children, women, and elders to the dungeon soon."

Five rubbed his eyes and answered. "I know. We already discussed that. Go and tell him to proceed forward. Are Dreidus and the others already up?"

"Yes. Alice is waking up the Nosferatu. Everyone is ready for the battle. I reckon the battle will start in a few hours depending on how their negotiations will go. The barbarians seemed to have stopped at a reasonable distance from the Musclewood Tribe."

"Alright. Let's go meet Achi first. You should go and scout the area to make sure they are not attacking from another side. We'll meet in a few minutes."

Thirty minutes later, Five sat in the meeting room with his monsters. The dungeon core projected the mountainous biome, showing an endless stream of barbarians making their way there. The mountainous biome was relatively large such that six hundred people could easily fit in. Thanks to the dungeon's property, the inside of the dungeon was much larger than the volume of space it actually took.

"We might have a problem. The barbarians brought their totem spirits with them. It means we'll have to fight ten monsters ranging from level 40 to level 50. It is not going to be easy," said Harriet.

"The Musclewood Tribe has three totem spirits. Are you confident in dealing with the other seven? If I use my battle form, I might be able to hold one off," said Dreidus.

"It will depend on their abilities but I believe we should employ the same swarm tactics we used for the raids. The Liches and Defacers cannot defeat a barbarian in a fair fight. Sending hundreds of skeletons might be the best course of action," suggested Harriet.

They turned to look at Five who would make the final decision. "There is no need for us to worry. Didn't you say that barbarian village should have special defense mechanisms? I am very curious about it. Just what could be the reason why they insisted on fighting at their village instead of the dungeon? It is a pity that although the Musclewood Tribe falls within the range where DP will still be generated if you kill monsters, we won't get the full amount."

"We are lucky this is not a trial. The dungeon core's functions are not locked. I will summon monsters when necessary. For now, I believe we should focus on taking out the totem spirits. Harriet, you should sneak your way through their battle and if the opportunity presents itself, take down a few totem spirits. They are the main threat!"

The harpy queen nodded. "Got it. Now about the Bramble Deer's dungeon. I did not detect the presence of any fire monsters in the area."

"It's fine. Keep an eye open though. The outcome of this war does not matter to us. Whether the ten tribes win or the musclewood tribe survives, we will still receive DP from the winner but if another dungeon intervenes, then we might be in trouble."

Harriet swiftly left the dungeon and flew up in the sky. She cast her magic, gathering the clouds around her to hide and drifted toward the Musclewood Tribe. From the vantage point, Harriet could see the entire open space around the Musclewood Tribe.

Under her watchful eyes, the battle started.

Chapter end