Failure and Celebrations

Five frowned. "What do you want?"

He easily recognized the speaker. It was Xena, the female leader of the Blue Eagle Tribe. She was rather tall and muscular, wearing a thick leather armor. She rode her horse alone and stopped when the beasts jumped in front of her.

"You have something that belongs to my tribe. The Eagle Claw. It is with you, right? The Shaman of my tribe is already dead. Without our totem spirit, we won't exist anymore. Please give it back."

Five was surprised. He had just gotten his hand on the relics but that woman already traced it back to him. "What if I have it? Why should I give it back? As far as I am aware, we are not allies."

"So you admit that it is with you! I knew the monsters of the dungeon should have taken it when I saw the Shamans' reactions."

"Isn't it just a relic? The Cobalt Eagle is already dead, isn't it?" asked Five.

Xena shook her head. "Who said so? Although a large portion of its energy was absorbed, the Cobalt Eagle is still alive. It will have to hibernate for a long period of time. Give it back to me, it is useless to you."

"Ohh"

At that moment, Five received a system prompt:

[System prompt: You have found the relics containing the spirit of a Cobalt Eagle. The spirit is severely injured and will hibernate for ten years before waking up. It is possible to immediately heal the spirit and turn it into your monster. The cost is 1.7 million DP. Would you like to proceed?]

'An unexpected surprise! It is like when I first encountered Dreidus's remains. I wonder if I will be able to turn all three totem spirits into my monsters. However, there is also a problem. Just like with Dreidus, the monsters have their own free will. What will I do if the Cobalt Eagle just refuses to become my monster? It is 1.7 million DP!' thought Five.

He smiled to Xena as he signaled the beasts to calm down. "Who said that I have no use for the relic? I can naturally wake up the Cobalt Eagle and turn it into my monster. I don't know what method you can use but I don't need to wait ten years to do so."

"What?" Xena froze. The Cobalt Eagle was the only hope of her tribe. She knew very well that the spirit was on the brink of death. It would need a lot of time and resources to heal it. During that period of time, the Blue Eagle Tribe would be vulnerable. It had already lost its Shaman but fortunately, most of her men managed to survive this battle.

"Then speak. What do you want? The relic is essential for the survival of my tribe. Name your price!" She knew she could not fight the dungeon master in front of her. She left her men to return by themselves so that she could look for the relic of the totem spirit. They were anxious about their families but at the same time, Xena knew that without the Eagle Claw, the Blue Eagle Tribe would cease to exist by the end of winter.

Five smiled. He knew he successfully hooked the female barbarian. "I want two things. As long as you can swear an oath about them, I can summon the Cobalt Eagle back for you in the near future."

"Two things?"

"First, I want the Blue Eagle Tribe to join the Musclewood Tribe. Just like the original three tribes, you will be treated equally and even join their ruling council," said Five. His main goal was to increase the population of barbarians. It was only by doing so that the number of visitors to his dungeon would increase.

Xena fell silent. "I understand. As long as my tribe is treated fairly, I can move the tribe here but I cannot promise that all my tribesmen will follow. Many are attached to the land of our ancestors."

"Excellent. You can go and speak to the Musclewood Tribe. Just tell them that I sent you and they will agree. Now onto the second thing. I want you to convince the Cobalt Eagle to become my monster. He will retain all its rights and will naturally be allowed to fight to protect your tribe but at the same time, if my dungeon is in danger, he would need to fight for me," said Five.

"What? So you cannot force the Cobalt Eagle to turn into your monster?"

"I cannot force it but I can convince it to. It will just take some efforts and would delay its summoning by a lot. It is in your best interest to agree. Now that the Blue Eagle Tribe exists, its desire is naturally to protect you but once you disappear, it would no longer have any attachment to the world."

Xena fell silent. She simply could not give away the totem spirit of her tribe but at the same time, if the Cobalt Eagle really did not make an appearance, the Blue Eagle Tribe would just end up being absorbed by another tribe.

"I will try but the Cobalt Eagle must be free and you cannot force it to do your biddings. He will only defend your dungeon if absolutely necessary!"

"We have a deal then."

...

"Five. We came to look for our tribesmen. Please release them."

The first thing Achi, Wesh and Ganya did after the battle was to come to the dungeon to retrieve their families. They were still covered in bruises but their families were their priority.

As they received no answer, their heart started to worry. Then, a woman appeared in front of them. It was Lyra.

"My master is not here yet. As you know, he also participated in your battle but I can lead you to your family. Please follow me," She politely bowed like a servant greeting the house's guests.

When they arrived at the mountainous biome, the tribe leaders saw hundreds of barbarians anxiously waiting for the return of the fighters. Hundreds of pairs of eyes immediately turned toward Achi as he entered the large room but his eyes only saw his wife, Ly and his daughter, Mira.

Ganya rushed to his wife and embraced her but Wesh was not married yet. He awkwardly looked at the two other chiefs as he saw his sister rush toward him.

"It's all over now. Let's go back to the village," declared Achi. He smiled brightly but deep inside, he felt guilty. He saw the wives and children of his comrades who perished in battle but he did not have the courage to speak to them.

Under the watchful eyes of Lyra, the five hundred barbarians that hid in the dungeon left the mountainous biome and returned to their village.

"Please tell Five that we would like to invite him to our celebrations tonight. Of course, he can bring with him a few monsters," said Wesh as he walked in front of Lyra.

The latter nodded quietly. "I'll pass the message."

...

A few hours later, the Musclewood Tribe gathered around a huge campfire. Those who did not participate in the battle took care of the celebrations. Some cooked the food while others brought out musical instruments and created a lively atmosphere.

The barbarians were smiling and celebrating but at the same time, there were a few who mourned in silence. Some did not even come to the gathering and stayed at home to pray for their loved ones.

It was an unavoidable step in the cycle of life of a barbarian; death could happen at any time. But now that the Musclewood Tribe had survived this crisis, it could only become stronger as they moved forward. The Vicious Rhino Tribe and the Black Vulture Tribe were both finished. Not only did they lose a large portion of their forces, but their totem spirits also perished.

Old Luke absent-mindedly stared at the fire from afar. His fingers kept playing with a small pouch.

"What are you doing here alone? Are you not going to celebrate?" It was Ester. The old Female Shaman saw Old Luke's desolate expression and decided to cheer him up.

"Just thinking. I am quite glad that this is all over. We survived and did not rely much on the dungeon even though I have to admit that without their help, we would have died for sure."

"It is not just the dungeon. The merchants also helped us. Are you going to bring them to the dungeon from now on?" asked Ester as she looked at the players in the distance sharing the delicacies of the townsmen with the barbarians.

"Not immediately. The village needs to be repaired and the men need to rest and look after their family. We must make sure to compensate the widows and orphans. They shall be the one to receive the most resources from now on. We cannot let the sacrifice of our brave tribesmen be in vain."

Ester quietly nodded. "I agree. Are you going to accept the Blue Eagle Tribe too? That woman said she came to an agreement with the dungeon master."

"Yes. Although Five did not come here and I cannot confirm it, it does not seem like she is lying. The Blue Eagle Tribe did not suffer a lot during this battle. Having them as allies will be beneficial while we recover. Furthermore, the Blue Eagle Tribe's specialty is agriculture, something our three tribes have no knowledge of."

"The Blue Eagle Tribe might just be the first of many. Now that this case has been settled, I suspect that other tribes will eye our dungeon. While they cannot take it by force, they will try other methods. The other things we need to be careful about are the central plains and the townsmen. They ignored our region in the past because of its lack of resources but now that we have a dungeon and that strange black shard. Who knows when they will make their move. We need to be careful."

"I agree. But this is something we'll look at later. For now, we should enjoy life. We are already old and do not have long to live. Let's join those youngsters and comfort the ones who just lost their families. We are a single tribe. If there is one good thing that came out of this battle, it is that the Musclewood Tribe is now more united than ever. After having fought together, the tribesmen no longer see themselves as coming from different tribes. It is a step in the right direction."

Old Luke smiled. "Let me put this away first. I'll join you immediately."

"What is it exactly? I saw you hold this pouch next to your body during the entire fight," asked Ester.

"This? It is the ultimate weapon of the Black Iron Tribe. It is a relic that like the other ones, can summon totem spirits. However, the totem spirit imprisoned inside is special. My ancestors warned me to never use it unless absolutely necessary. It will attract a monster that will ravage our tribe." He opened the pouch, showing its content to Ester.

Inside the small pouch, Ester saw a tiny green scale. A reflection of the moon could be seen in it. She was inadvertently attracted and instinctively raised her hand but at that moment, Old Luke decisively closed the pouch.

"See? Even you were unable to resist its attraction. Don't think too much of it. This is our tribe's weapon but it can only be used as last resort."

...

At the dungeon, Five sat in the meeting room with his monsters. He did not go to the barbarian village to celebrate and instead, chose to wait for Harriet to come back. He was worried about her. She went to the dungeon alone but so far, the interface was indicating that she was still alive.

It has been a few hours since the harpy queen left. And considering her flight speed, she should have already made it there but he still did not receive any system prompt! Harriet had failed to conquer the dungeon but at the same time, she was still alive. Five did not know if she was stubbornly staying at the dungeon, using guerilla tactics to wear it out.

He stared at the screen anxiously until suddenly, he saw the harpy queen's figure, landing at the entrance of the dungeon. Five felt a wave of relief wash over him.

Harriet quickly made her way to the meeting room. From Five's point of view, she did not seem to be injured, only frustrated.

She flung the door open. "Five. I am sorry. I failed to take over that dungeon." She lowered her head, feeling ashamed after having displayed her confidence earlier.

"It is fine. I am sure you caused them a lot of losses. Sit. Tonight, let's not talk about this battle anymore. Even the barbarians are celebrating. Don't you think we should do so too?"

Alice and Angela's eyes lit up. They instantly remembered the feast they were offered after passing the first trial!

Five noticed the glint in the harpies' eyes. "This is your reward for your hard work. Call the beast kings too! Although it was not an official trial, to us, it was a major milestone. Now that the Musclewood Tribe has stabilized and the players are aware of our existence, the flow of DP should increase considerably! Let's enjoy ourselves tonight but as from tomorrow, we will all get back to work!"