Conflict at the central plains

The Central Plains. A wild piece of land ruled by the barbarians. Sandwiched between the Sylvester Empire and the Millenium Empire, the barbarian territory was a place where strength meant everything.

The Central Plains were different from the other external plains. The barbarian tribes there all had access to dungeons. The barbarians lived in small cities made of clay. They obtained most of their food from the dungeon and did not rely on hunting as much as the other barbarian tribes. As a result, ferocious beasts roamed all over the central plains; it was a place full of danger.

In the southern part of the central plains, a large group of barbarians steadily rode their horses moving further south toward the Sylvester Empire.

"Thum Thum Thum!"

The ground trembled as more than a thousand horses moved in a formation. They were so loud, yet none of the beasts dared to approach the group. They left behind a thick trail of dust wherever they went.

"Are we still far from the Bramble Deer Tribe? We have already been riding for a week!"

"We haven't even left the Central Plains yet. You have been asking this question every few hours. Are the tribesmen of the Tauren tribe are really that impatient?"

"Shut up Monkey! Look after your clique and make sure they don't cause any trouble. If we fail, I'll pin all the blame on you."

"Hmmp. The young leader of the Tauren tribe needs to learn some humility."

The large group of barbarians consisted of barbarians from several tribes. It was rare for them to join together on an expedition but to everyone's surprise, the different tribes agreed to collaborate for once.

The barbarians did not understand why but they have all been tasked with going to the Bramble Deer Tribe and assisting them for a short period of time. It was a first in the history of the Central Plains.

The barbarian tribes there usually did not interfere in the trouble of the outer tribes. To top it off, it was not just one tribe that was lending a hand but at least seven tribes pooled together their tribesmen, forming this thousand man group.

"D*mn that Bramble Deer Tribe! Why do we even need to go and help them? Our tribe clearly never had any connections with them. Because of them, I can't even attend the coming of age ceremony...."

"Stop complaining. You are hurting our ears. If you are so pissed off, just relieve yourself at the pond. We'll need to stop there to restock our water and tend to the horses."

Coming from different tribes, the barbarians were not particularly friendly with one another. They often argued along the way; it was a way to pass time and vent off their frustration.

In the distance, the barbarians could already see a few trees standing out of the landscape. It was a sign that a water point was not very far. Those water points were essential for the travels of the barbarians; they were equivalent to oases in deserts.

The barbarians' mood instantly brightened. They were finally going to get some rest. The journey has been long and they still had a lot of miles to cover.

As they got closer to the water point, the barbarians noticed another group of barbarians. They became cautious. Danger was everywhere on the Central Plains and as they did not know the other group's identity yet, it was better to be careful.

When they finally got within range, the barbarians easily identified the other party. They did not recognize the other barbarians but their mounts! They were rams.

Thod, the son of the leader of the Tauren Tribe laughed. "So this is where the Wandering Ram Tribe hid during all that time!"

He kicked his horse, rushing toward the water point. The other barbarians sighed at his reckless action but quickly followed up.

The Wandering Ram Tribe was busy filling up their gourds for their journey. Nevertheless, as one of the strongest tribes of the Central Plains, they noticed the barbarians' arrival from afar. They went on their guard.

"Wandering Ram Tribe! You really were not completely exterminated after you messed up near the Sylvester Empire!" Thod loudly shouted to taunt the tribe. There has always been some beef between the Wandering Ram Tribe and the Tauren Tribe. Now that they were in bad shape, Thod laughed at their misfortune.

News traveled fast, even an area where technology was lacking. The Tauren Tribe had long heard of the Wandering Ram Tribe's defeat and how they lost both their tribe leader and their totem spirit. Celebrations were even held at Tauren City; from then, the Wandering Ram Tribe was no longer a glorified tribe viewed as a hero by everyone.

The reason the Wandering Ram Tribe was so powerful was precisely due to their totem spirit. Without it, they were just a subpar tribe. Now that their strength was gone, the Wandering Ram Tribe was bound to disappear and end up absorbed by another tribe.

However, Thod was not even going to let them go. He did not know the specifics but he had always been taught to treat the Wandering Ram Tribe as enemies. The Tauren Tribe hated them with a passion. It was all due to conflicts in the past but no one really knew the exact reason.

Thod smiled as a thought crossed his mind. 'This is perfect! Why don't we deal with the Wandering Ram Tribe right now? We can strike them while they are down and they will never return to their former glory! This is just perfect. I won't even need to go on this journey. I just needed to accumulate some merits for the tribe to secure my position but exterminating our lifelong enemy should be more beneficial than just helping an external tribe!'

This was not reckless thought. The Wandering Ram Tribe was an oddball in the Central Plains. They had less than three hundred tribesmen. Even if the entire tribe was present, with the thousand barbarians accompanying him, Thod was confident he could deal with the Wandering Ram Tribe.

Thod pushed his horse forward, proudly looking down on the tribesmen of the fallen tribe but to his surprise, the Wandering Ram Tribe did not react. Instead, their eyes lit up; they seemed excited.

A hairy black ram stepped out of the herd. On top of it, an elder sat cross-legged with his eyes closed. The elder was the Shaman of the Wandering Ram Tribe. He did not bother to look at the newcomers and spoke with his old raspy voice.

"You are finally here. I almost thought you got lost along the way."

Thod was taken aback. Not only was the Wandering Ram Tribe not scared of facing their enemies but it even sounded like they were here to ambush them.

"Old man. You are still proud even after losing your totem spirit. It looks like the Wandering Ram Tribe really thinks of itself as a separate entity. You have long forgotten the rules of the Central Plains. Here, strength means everything! Do you not recognize who we are? What are you waiting to bow to us?"

Another barbarian from the Three Monkey Tribe stepped forward. "Do you think you still have the Aries to protect you? Without it, your tribe is nothing. Just like how the Kraken Tribe disappeared after the death of the Aquarius, the Wandering Ram Tribe shall also become part of history."

The Shaman remained calm and serene. He shook his head. "You are so noisy. I would have liked to have a chat with you but we are running out of time. Who asked you to travel so slowly... Let's settle our grudges for good."

Thod narrowed his eyes. "Old man. Have you gone senile already? You are willing to send your tribesmen to their death like that? Well, what else could I expect from a fallen tribe? Without the Aries, you are nothing. Thanks to you, I won't even need to go to that deserted territory anymore!"

He was excited! He thought he would have to chase after the annoying rams for the next few days to hunt down the Wandering Ram Tribe but instead, it looked like they were sending themselves to him.

"What do you say, Ramie? Shall we join forces this time and get rid of our common enemy?" said Thod as he turned toward the barbarian to his right.

Ramie was a powerful elder of the Three Monkey Tribe. He held a tremendous amount of influence other the tribes. When he asked for help in this task, his allies immediately responded, forming this thousand man group. Out of the group, although it was led by Thod from the Tauren Tribe, more than three-quarters of the barbarians were loyal to Ramie.

Ramie did not answer back. He continued to examine the Wandering Ram Tribe. Having roamed around the Central Plains his whole life, his instincts were sharp. He did not know what but something did not feel right.

"Thod. Don't you think the Wandering Ram Tribe does not seem scared to fight us? They must have a plan of some sort. I think it will be better if we take a step back for now."

"Take a step back? Why should we? They are just trying to put up a front! Don't tell me the Three Monkey Tribe is made up of cowards," exclaimed Thod. He did not want to lose such a good opportunity.

He spat on the ground as he raised his ax. 'Nevermind. Even without his help, I can deal with the Wandering Ram Tribe. This way, I can take all the credit for myself!'

"Brothers! Follow me. Let us exterminate the Wandering Ram Tribe once and for all! We lay low during all this time but it is finally time for our revenge! Let us accomplish the task left by our ancestors!"

His horse neighed as it was kicked but before it could charge forward, a powerful aura appeared, pressing down on the barbarians.

"What? What is happening?" exclaimed Thod.

At the same time, Ramie instinctively tried to move away but he was similarly suppressed by the aura. It felt like he was being pushed against the ground. His horse's legs trembled, almost giving in under the pressure.

The only one unaffected was the Wandering Ram Tribe. Most of the tribesmen did not even bother with the Thod and Ramie; they continued filling up their water reserve ignoring the commotion. The Shaman remained seated on his mount and finally opened his eyes.

"You! What have you done?" exclaimed Thod. It did not take long for him to realize that the Wandering Ram Tribe was behind this bizarre phenomenon.

The Shaman remained calm. "Fools. Did you really think the Wandering Ram Tribe was done for? You want to exterminate us but did you forget? Battles between tribes are not decided by their tribesmen but by their totem spirits!"

"Boom!"

The ground exploded in front of the Shaman as a transparent figure gradually appeared.

"This. Impossible. Isn't the Aries dead? How can you have another totem spirit?" Ramie's eyes widened as the beast's figure became clearer. He could not believe his eyes; he had never seen the Aries before but the beast appearing clearly had the shape of a ram.

"You are just fools. How could you understand the thoughts of higher beings? We are all just pawns in their battles and you are about to be disposed of next. The Aries was never our totem spirit. When he was injured, he sought shelter in our tribe and in exchange for some of his blood, we supplied him with all the resources he needed."

"Thankfully, the Aries was grateful. After we completed our trade, he did not leave us immediately and stayed back to look after our tribe. This event took place a long time ago. How could someone of the new generation know about this? Our totem spirit has now completed its evolution; in terms of bloodline, it is only second to the Aries."

The totem spirit completed its materialization and roared at the barbarians.

Ramie almost fell down his horse. He could not believe his eyes. "Impossible. A regular totem spirit who has already reached level 100!"

The barbarians were frightened. They all lost their ferocious appearance; they trembled under the pressure as the totem spirit snorted in front of them. Their face turned pale.

"Old man! You dare use a totem spirit against us! This is against the rules of the Central Plains! You cannot use a totem spirit against a group who does not have any!" Thod blurted out in fear.

The Shaman let out a faint smile. "Rules? Were you not going to attack us just a few moments ago? Who cares about the rules? Nobody will even know that this happened. Do you think your tribes care about you? The truth is: you have all already been cast away by your tribes."

The barbarians froze. They did not understand what the Shaman was talking about.

"Do you really think there is a conflict between the Sacred Beasts? The Tauren Tribe's totem spirit is the Taurus. Because of this, there has always been some enmity between our tribes but the truth is you were all being manipulated. The Aries and the Taurus have always been close friends. Their only goal in making this masquerade was the unification of the Central Plains!"

"Did you not realize yet that all those gathered here are the ones opposing the creation of the alliance of the tribes? Once you all disappear, the Central Plains will all fall under Taurus' control. The Wandering Ram Tribe will be considered as the village and shoulder all the blame but it does not matter. For the greater good, we are willing to be labeled as sinners."

Thod, Ramie and the barbarians could not believe their ears. Did their tribes really abandon them? They could not believe it but the truth was in front of their eyes. They were indeed all part of the faction that opposed allying the tribes. Furthermore, the fact that they all suddenly formed this group raised another flag.

"Now, we are running behind schedule. I am very sorry but we will end it here. After today, a new era will begin. One where the barbarians will rise! Celestial Ram! Go all out!"

The totem spirit roared.

Thod and the others' vision darkened.

...

The cloud of dust slowly dissipated, revealing a giant crater. The Shaman sighed. "Thank you for your hard work."

"Baaa."

The Celestial Ram lowly bleated. It then returned to the relic in the Shaman's possession.

'We have done our part. Now, we can only wait. I hope I will get to witness the rise of the barbarians as the Sacred Beasts promised.'

At that moment, a voice sounded behind the Shaman. "Elder. We have finished restocking our supplies. When are we leaving?"

The Shaman looked at his tribesmen. He could see their fervent expression; their blood was boiling. For the first time, they got to witness the strength of their real totem spirit.

'Without a doubt, we made the right choice.'

A few decades ago, the Wandering Ram Tribe's totem spirit was not the Celestial Ram. Their totem spirit was only a Zirconian Blood Ram but after receiving the Aries' help, it managed to evolve. Not just once, but twice! Its power surged and now, aside from the Sacred Beasts, the Shaman doubted there would be other beasts that could rival it.

"We are waiting for someone. It should not take very long," answered the Shaman. He turned his attention to the sky. His tribesmen nodded and waited in silence. They did not know the arrangements made by their Shaman but they trusted him unconditionally.

Just a few minutes later, another change took place in the sky. A silhouette gently flew down and landed in front of the Shaman. The newcomer was a tall muscular man. He was without a doubt the hairiest man the Shaman had ever seen. His entire face was almost covered by his beard and mustache while his arms and legs barely had any visible patch of skin.

The man briefly glanced at the crater. "I see that it is all done. If you are ready, we shall leave right now."

"May I ask where you are taking us to, sir?"

"To the Kraken Tribe."

The Shaman froze. His tribesmen were equally surprised. He hesitantly asked: "Hasn't the Kraken Tribe already perished in the Endless Archipelago? I mean no offense but isn't the Aquarius dead?"

The man grinned. "That sweaty bastard is indeed dead but we could not just let the tribe he looked after disappear like that, right? Although Aquarius passed away, the others are now looking after his tribe. Don't worry. I know you paid a severe price to help us and since Aries chose you, we will also treat you well."

"Come, I still have a lot of things to do. Aries is just a d*mn bastard. Now that he is gone, I am the one having to do all his tasks. I am not as proficient as Aries in teleportation techniques. It might be a bit shaky, so prepare yourselves."

The man jumped into the crater. His eyes lit up as the clouds in the sky swirled around the spot he descended from.

"By my will. Open! Tunnel of Light!"

"Crackle!"

Lightning suddenly appeared in the clouds, illuminating the entire area. The Wandering Ram Tribe stared at the phenomenon. The children screamed in fear but were quickly calmed down by their parents.

Then, the silhouette of a giant lion appeared in the sky. Without a word, it descended on the Wandering Ram Tribe and swallowed them in one go.