Tolden Encampment

"D*mn, he could have warned me before doing that..."

When he opened his eyes, Five was immediately assaulted by the strange nauseating feeling. He stumbled a few steps before he felt someone grab his hand.

"Master, are you alright?"

Five instinctively tried to free himself from the hand but as he heard Ariel's familiar voice, he stopped resisting. Just a few seconds later, Five finally felt better and observed his surroundings.

He had returned back to the tent at the Wild Bull Village where he had previously left Ariel. The young harpy was very curious about the recent events; she recalled how Harriet had praised Noon's strength. Since her mother herself had said so, then Ariel firmly believed that Noon was extremely powerful and wanted to know the outcome of the deal.

'Mother said that a lot of things could happen; in the best case scenario, Master would successfully recruit Noon. In the worst one, they would simply part ways after the deal. But... Judging from Master's expression, it seems that things could have gone better. Or maybe it is just me?' thought Ariel as she observed Five's expression.

"Master, did everything go well? Where is Noon?" asked the harpy after a brief moment of silence.

As he heard Ariel, Five quickly looked around him and realized that Noon and the little white sheep were nowhere to be found. "mmm, looks like we won't meet again. At least, our small deal will allow me to prepare well for the auction. I guess it's not a big loss," said Five to himself.

He let out a sigh and sat down on the bed of animal fur, "Everything is fine Ariel. Angela and Alice were not at the dungeon when we went there. We only did the transaction and came back..."

Ariel sat down on her own bed as she listened. She wanted to answer, "If everything went so well, why do you look so disheartened?" but she did not voice it out. Instead, she said with concern, "Master, if there is anything troubling you, do not hesitate to speak. We are your monsters but we are not just here to protect the dungeon."

Surprised flashed through Five's eyes, why was she saying that all of a sudden? "Ariel, what do you mean by that?" Five asked.

The young harpy lowered her head and hesitated to answer. What should she do? Say directly what she had observed even if it was impolite or just brush it off and continue to observe? In the end, she avoided making eye contact as she answered, "Master, you have been feeling a little bit off lately. You spend a lot less time with us and also give off a colder vibe than before..."

"Huh? Is that what's worrying you? I am sorry but some things are inevitable. Although I am the dungeon master, I don't want to be useless and leech off the dungeon. That's why I am learning to craft and it takes time. I will try to spend more time with you all but everybody gets busy. Even you won't have that much free time when your own floor will be built," answered Five.

Ariel kept her head low as she placed an animal fur around her shoulders, "It is true; we won't have as much free time in the future but that is not exactly what I mean. Master? When was the last time you truly laughed to your heart's content..."

"Laugh to my heart's content? Laugh? I have been quite busy these days but when was the last time?" murmured Five. He fell into silence, not knowing what to answer. He looked at Ariel's figure without saying a word, pondering about the question.

...

On the next day, a large group of riders swiftly departed from the Wild Bull Village in the direction of the nearest townsmen's camp: the Tolden Encampment.

This time, the expedition group was much larger than normal, consisting of 250 barbarians. On top of his special mount, the Wandering Ram Tribe leader was leading the group. Compared to the other barbarians, the members of the Wandering Ram Tribe were not riding horses but instead rams. Those animals were special bred beasts for combat by the Wandering Ram Tribe; they were just slightly smaller than regular horses but they should not be underestimated.

It was naturally the leader who had the most eye-catching mount as his ram's horns were actually gold in color, perfectly contrasting with the animal's black fur. The beast had a relatively large body and strangely, the sight of the tall elder on the ram did not seem too odd.

At the center of the formation, Five and Ariel were riding their own horses next to the Black Iron Tribe's members. Five was constantly looking around; he was thoroughly impressed by how orderly the group was.

The Wandering Ram Tribe was not the only tribe to have special mounts. The Wild Bull Tribe, the Fanged Wolf Tribe, and the Sable Antelope Tribe also had their own impressive beasts and they did not hesitate to show off. To the barbarians, having special mounts were a form of status.

Aside from mounts, several other tribes also brought tamed beasts with them. The members of Scarlet Crow Tribe and the Red-tailed Hawk Tribe all had a bird perching on their shoulders when they were riding. The Rat Snake Tribe also brought along their companions.

To Five, the current group looked like a moving wild zoo but strangely enough, none of the beasts were showing any aggressive behavior. It was clear that they had all been perfectly tamed; even if some beasts stood at the top of the food chain or at the bottom, they displayed no signs of fear even when running alongside their own predators.

"How long before we arrive?" asked Five to Karv.

"About an hour, since you cannot see any tree, that means that we are not very far from the border. All the forests were taken down during the war to build weapons and avoid providing coverage to the townsmen. Now, all that's left is this vast plain!" answered Karv.

When Five looked around him, he noticed that the landscape had indeed changed. The terrain was rather flat and devoid of any hiding place. It was not very impressive for a border but the open area made it easy for scouts to detect the presence of intruders.

While riding, Five recalled how he was summoned to Zero. The spawn location he had chosen had also been an open plain like this one but at that time, he did not encounter any barbarian scouts. "Maybe it was because I was walking in the direction of the Townsmen territory? I wonder where Etora town is located from here? Maybe it is not very far..."

...

Roughly an hour later, the group had gradually slowed down. "We are almost there, once we reach the top of that hill, we'll be able to see the Tolden Encampment which is about 3km downhill. From there, we should be able to see if they really did set a camp," said Karv as he noticed the slight inclination of the ground.

"Top of the hill? Since the Townsmen's camp is not very far, why did they not set it up on top of the hill? Isn't it best to have the higher ground advantage?" asked Five.

"That's because the hill forms part of our territory. In the past, there was a powerful tribe that resided on top of the hill. However, they ended up perishing during the war; since they were one of the closest tribes to the townsmen, they naturally took most of the blow but they did not go down without a fight. When they were about to be exterminated, the Shaman of that tribe used his ultimate skill, cursing this hill."

"You don't see anything different now because the curse is weakened by the sunlight but at night, strange things happen on top of the hill. Naturally, the Shaman was not stupid and directed the curse only toward the townsmen, we, barbarians are free to stay on the hill all night long. You don't have to worry about the curse, the sun is high up in the sky and you are with us," explained Karv.

Five nodded. 'It seems that the barbarians are much more resourceful than I thought. They have a very interesting history too!'

Soon, the group of barbarians finally arrived at the top of the hill and started to dismount. The representative of each tribe quickly gathered and started to discuss.

"Release the birds! Let them go and gather some information!"

"You! Give some water to the horses."

"Send a few men to the South to make sure we will not be surrounded!"

Five ignored the barbarians who were shouting the orders. He jumped off his horse with Ariel and turned his attention to the Tolden Encampment.

At the bottom of the hill, was a small bustling town. When Five saw the town, it immediately reminded him of Etora Town. Both towns had similar design and both had a small camp built next to their walls.

Farther, in the distance, Five could also see the town's dungeon not very far from here. It would have been hard to miss it as it stood out of the landscape. It was clear that the dungeon master did not even bother to hide its location. The dungeon looked simple; it was a tall black tower which reminded Five of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. However, based on its height alone, Five knew that this dungeon should not be underestimated; if it was made of regular size floors, then this tower should consist of at least 50 floors.

Five felt strangely peaceful as he observed the landscape. A gentle wind was blowing and a few clouds were partially hiding the sun. The weather was ideal for a picnic; if it was not for the hundreds of barbarians surrounding him, Five would gladly lay down on the grass and take a nap. Unfortunately, the quietness did not last for long.

"So, did you see anything?"

Startled by the voice, Five turned toward its source. The Wandering Ram Tribe Leader, accompanied by the other representatives of the tribes were all staring at him, waiting for an answer.

"No, it is too far away. I need to get closer to see if they are players," truthfully answered Five; at this distance, he could barely see the moving silhouette of the townsmen.

"Okay, but what if you use this?" The Wandering Ram Tribe Leader took a step toward Five as he opened his hand revealing a small artifact.

'A Spyglass?'

Five wordlessly took the spyglass from the elder and extended it. "Let me give it a try first."

The Wandering Ram Tribe leader nodded and stepped back. He was initially surprised that Five was able to understand the use of the artifact with a glance but soon dismissed the question.

With the help of the spyglass, Five carefully scanned through the camp outside the Tolden Encampment. It was like the barbarians had reported, the camp was relatively large and was obviously used as a training ground for the soldiers; several weapon racks, target practices and dummies could be found everywhere.

Five did not bother to count the number of soldiers he saw. He simply focused on what was written above their head. As long as it did not display a player's name, there was no need to be worried.

After a full five minutes, the barbarian representative started to become impatient. "How much longer?" "Why is he taking so long? Did he lie to us about being able to distinguish them?"

When he heard the barbarians' comments, Five slowly lowered the spyglass and turned toward the Wandering Ram Tribe Leader. "I did not see any player in the military camp but there are a few of them in the town. I would say that they should not be related to this potential attack."

The elder quietly nodded. He did not say a word and simply stretched his arm, signaling Five to return the spyglass to him.

The latter quickly complied. Compared to the barbarians, Five did not consider the spyglass as a precious item. Through the dungeon shop, he could easily buy one while the barbarians needed to trade with the townsmen to obtain one.

"Since they are not involved in this, let's delay this matter for now," commented the Wandering Ram Tribe leader.

The barbarians quickly returned to their noisy discussion; now that they could see the situation with their own eyes, the debate was as heated as ever.

Suddenly, a loud whistle was heard across the group. The barbarian who attracted everyone's attention quickly pointed at the Tolden Encampment and shouted, "look! Something is happening!"

Like all the other barbarians, Five focused on the town. From his point of view, he saw a few banners slowly being raised one by one on top of the town wall. The soldiers stationed on top of the walls were slowly raising a banner one after another. 'Looks like one of those cheerleader's move' thought Five.

The barbarians were stunned by the town's behavior. They did not understand why they were doing so but the next second, the large gate of the town was flung open, revealing a large group of fully armored mounted knights.