Battles between barbarian tribes were not uncommon. There have always been some conflicts of interest over their territories. However, it has been decades since a battle involved so many tribes.

The barbarians did not fight like the townsmen. There was no need for strategy and tactics. There was only pure raw strength; the last one standing shall be the winner.

The Musclewood village charged forward, led by Achi, Ganya and Wesh. Similarly, the alliance of the ten tribes started their assault. Clearly, the ten tribes' army was much larger than the Musclewood Tribe's. The ground shook as the leaders shouted the commands. The two waves of barbarians met each other. The weapons hacking through flesh resonated all over the battlefield.

"Looks like you improved yourself, Achi!" exclaimed Luka as his heavy ax met Achi's. The two barbarian chiefs stared at each other. Their weapons trembled but, in the end, Luka was pushed back.

"What? How is that possible?"

Achi roared ferociously as he continued to attack. In the past, Luka and Achi were equally strong; whenever they fought, the fight would always end up in a draw. However, after using the Shaman's strange potions, Achi became stronger.

It was the same for the rest of the barbarians of the Musclewood Tribe. In average, their level was slightly higher than the barbarians of the ten tribes. To top it off, their weapons were also of higher quality. It did not affect the leaders like Achi who still used his Grade 4 equipment, but the new weapons still increased the overall power of the Musclewood Tribe.

"You are strong, Achi. It looks like your tribe benefitted quite a lot from the dungeon. Unfortunately, this is not a duel. This is war! We both know wars between tribes are not won by the tribesmen. They are won by the totem spirits!"

As soon as Luka shouted, a bright glow appeared at the back of the barbarian army. It felt like a rainbow just appeared behind the barbarians.

"Roarrr!"

Ten silhouettes slowly materialized above their head as the thundering cries of the beasts filled the air. Achi felt compelled to protect his ears. He could feel the pressure coming from the totem spirits but at the same time, a similar phenomenon took place at the center of the Musclewood village.

...

"Two thousand men and all their totem spirits. The ten tribes are not taking us lightly at all. Even after we produced enough potions to strengthen our men and even gave them better weapons, I doubt we'll stand a chance," commented Ester with a gloomy expression.

"Have faith in yourself. This is our home. Even if they brought all ten totem spirits; they can only exert 75% of their power while ours can go all out. Furthermore, with the combined protective arrays of our tribes, we might stand a chance," Old Dale tried to reassure the council.

Old Luke looked at the distance where the fight was taking place. "We are at a disadvantage. We should summon our totem spirits. Are you ready?"

The Shamans nodded in unison as they took out a small relic. Old Luke opened an old rusty box, containing a perfect sphere. The grey metallic sphere shone brightly as it came into contact with sunlight. The sphere started to deform itself and soon adopted a humanoid shape. It was the totem spirit of the Black Iron Tribe, a Humanoid Metal Slime. With its face devoid of any human features, the Humanoid Metal Slime stretched its body and jumped out of the box. It looked at the battle taking place.

Old Dale took out a small statue of a crow and chanted an incantation. After the third verse, the statue shook and grew in size. Its colors naturally changed to red as she statue came to life. It was a Skyblazing Crow, the totem spirit of the Scarlet Crow Tribe. It cawed in frustration and glared at the enemies.

Similarly, Ester took out the statue of a fox. "Look well, Lovin. This is our totem spirit. Watch what I do."

She took out a short dagger and cut open her hand. Blood flew out and covered the statue. Suddenly, the eyes of the statue became bright red and soon, the entire statue came to life. It was a Mystic Wood Fox, the totem spirit of the Forest Fox Tribe.

The Shamans thought they were summoning their totem spirits early but to their surprise, the opposing Shamans did the same as the projection of ten beasts appeared in the distance.

"They are not giving us any chance."

"Look at the bright side. The Humanoid Metal Slime is so strong. No wonder the Vicious Rhino Tribe never dared to make a move against your tribe despite the conflicts. Even if it was three times the size of the Black Iron Tribe, in terms of totem spirit, you totally outclass them," said Old Dale as he looked at the Metal Slime twisting its body just to get a better view.

Old Luke proudly smiled. "You all know the Black Iron Tribe comes from the Central Plains. In the past, we used to be a powerful tribe. Although we have fallen, our totem spirit never abandoned us. It is naturally stronger than the average totem spirit. Just because of its presence, all our tribesmen should be receiving a protective buff."

"That's right. I do feel like there is a small invisible barrier surrounding my body. Although it is not much, it will protect our tribesmen to some extent, and this is just a passive effect."

"Oh, totem spirits. May you please work together to assist us in this battle. We request you to bestow our warriors with the bestial strength you possess." Old Luke respectfully looked at the three totem spirits in front of him. The totem spirits still had their free will. They had no obligations to save their tribesmen, but it was in their best interest to do so.

The three spirits looked at each other and soon, they all poured their energy into the barbarians. However, the ten tribes' totem spirits were also doing the same thing.

"It is great that our totem spirits are compatible. When three totem spirits work together, instead of their usual buff, our tribesmen can receive [Bestial Strength]. However, it looks like the other side's totem spirits are also doing the same thing but instead of three, five beasts are working together! They are getting [Predator] instead. Even if it is slightly weakened since they are away from their village, our side is at a disadvantage!" exclaimed Old Dale as he observed the situation.

"Things are not looking good! Only five totem spirits are contributing to the [Predator] buff. The other five are attacking our tribesmen! They don't stand a chance against those beasts!" Ester panicked as she saw the Three-Horned Rhinoceros, the totem spirit of the Vicious Rhino Tribe charge at the barbarians. It did not care about which side the barbarians were on, it stomped on the unfortunate fellows on its path without mercy.

As the female Shaman spoke, the runes in Old Luke's hands suddenly shone brightly. "Looks like the Pocket Gopher and the Golden Ferret are both trying to attack from below. Fortunately, our formations can hold them off."

"Do we need to use our offensive formations now? If we don't do anything about these totem spirits, our tribesmen will be annihilated one after the other," exclaimed Lovin. So far, the Shaman apprentice stayed silent to avoid disturbing the three elders, but he could not silently watch the barbarians being massacred.

"Follow me! Quick," said Old Luke as he headed toward his tent. He rummaged through the pile of items.

"What are you doing? What are you looking for? We don't have time for this. We need to activate the formation right now!" said Ester.

"Old Luke, this time, I perfectly agree with Ester. We don't have time to look at the items left by your ancestors!"

Old Luke ignored the other Shamans and continued his search. A few moments later, he jumped out of the messy pile of items, holding a conch and a small tusk in his hands.

"What are those?" asked Ester.

"Did I not say that my Black Iron Tribe used to be a powerful tribe. In the past, the plains were not peaceful, and we went into battle several times. We naturally defeated many tribes, but we always found it a pity to have the other tribes' totem spirit disappear. Without the barbarians to look after them, the totem spirits would gradually disappear. Therefore, my tribe came up with a special method."

"You mean... These are the relics used to summon other totem spirits?" The two Shamans' eyes widened.

"Unbelievable! Is that even possible?"

"Well... You'll see soon enough. The downside of this technique is that we had to force the totem spirit to obey our orders and unfortunately, these relics will only work once. I was reluctant to use them, but we cannot hold back anymore. Let me show these youngsters the real power of the tribes of the Central Plains."

...

"Impressive. Looks like Harriet was right. The barbarians' totem spirits are definitely not simple."

Five watched the battle taking place outside the Musclewood Village from the outskirt of the forest. He was at a reasonable distance from the battlefield and would have ample time to retreat if he was discovered. At his side, Dreidus and Alice observed the battle silently.

At first, the two sides displayed the same amount of power. The ten tribes had a numerical advantage while the Musclewood tribe had the level and equipment advantage, but it all changed when the totem spirits appeared.

Using the system's interface, Five could see the buffs being applied to the barbarians. The Musclewood Tribe got two buffs: [Invisible Metallic Veil] and [Bestial Strength].

[Invisible Metallic Veil] decreased all the damage taken by the barbarians by 15% while [Bestial Strength] increased the barbarians' Strength, Vitality and Dexterity by 4. Five almost fell over when he saw the description of the buffs.

'What kind of broken buff is that. It almost gives them ten levels worth of stats. No wonder they are not scared of facing the army of the townsmen. Even my [Hysteria] skill does not increase my stats that much and they do not even suffer from any downside!'

However, what was even more absurd was the [Predator] buff received by the barbarians of the ten tribes. Their Strength, Dexterity, and Vitality were all increased by 6!

"This battle is so one-sided. Let alone the difference in buffs, with the Three-Horned Rhinoceros running rampant, the Musclewood Tribe does not stand a chance," commented Dreidus.

"You are right, but I am sure the Musclewood Tribe must have other trump cards. They should act soon. However, I believe we should still land them a hand. It is fine if either side wins, but it will be bad if they kill each other so much that they won't have any men to send to the dungeon afterward. Still, I am leaning on the Musclewood Tribe's side; I have a pact with them, and I don't want to use the Void Contract for such a small matter. What do you think?" asked Five.

"It should be fine. We can considerably reduce the pressure on the Musclewood Tribe but there is no need to go all out yet. We still want to see what tricks they have left."

"Alright. In that case, please summon one thousand skeletons and order them to attack. It is fine if they don't survive. Their goal is only to reduce the pressure. Furthermore, there is a skill I haven't used in a long time."

Five smiled as he activated the first skill, he purchased from the dungeon shop.

[Aura of Light: Sacred Ground]