"We need to do something. The Cobalt Eagle and the Purple-eyed Vulture will disrupt our totem spirits' buff."
"Old Dale. You do it. Your tribe is the most familiar with this type of totem spirit."
"I'll do my best, but I can only hold them off for one minute at most," answered the one-eyed Shaman. He took off his eye patch as his aura exploded. A giant eye appeared between the three totem spirits and the two birds, blocking their path.
Ester turned toward Lovin and Old Luke. "His Crow Eye is powerful. Let's trust Old Dale and do something about the barbarians. They have the number's advantage; even if we are equally matched, in the long run, we are destined to lose. Lovin, stay behind me."
"You take care of healing our tribesmen. I'll deal with the offensive side of things."
The two Shamans stepped forward, taking out several relics and potions. Similarly, the Shamans of the ten tribes joined the fray. With the addition of magic elements, the battlefield became even more chaotic.
...
"The situation is kind of getting out of hands, don't you think?" said Five as he observed the battlefield. Another explosion occurred, blasting away dozens of barbarians.
"Yes. But it looks to me that the ten tribes are not going all out yet. There are still six Shamans sitting at the back waiting for an opportunity," said Dreidus.
All the barbarians were engrossed in the fight. The Musclewood Tribe was clearly on the losing side, but they were not retreating yet. If it was not for all the array formation, they set up earlier, the three Shamans would have long lost to the ten tribes' Shamans.
Out of the 700 warriors the Musclewood Tribe managed to gather, 150 had already died while another 150 was injured. On the other side, the ten tribes had lost 200 men out of 2000 barbarians. The large majority of the deaths did not come from the fight of the barbarians but rather from the rampage of the Warthog when attacking the Three-Horned Rhinoceros.
"At this rate, they will kill each other. D*mn... And all the skeletons are almost dead..."
"May I suggest that you use [Heal Bell]? It will help the barbarians sustain a little while longer and will provide an opportunity for them to retreat if they are not stubborn."
[Heal Bell]
The high priest's skill was activated and immediately, the barbarians felt its effect. A soothing and comfortable feeling rose in their heart as their injuries were slowly healed. However, the Musclewood Tribe did not retreat. Instead, they doubled their efforts.
"These barbarians. They are so stubborn. They won't take a step back at all. Change of plans. Tell the high-level undead monsters not affected by sunlight to come here. I feel like Harriet will make her move soon. The battle will probably end here; I was hoping to get them to fight at the dungeon to get some DP. It is not ideal for us, but we can't do anything about it."
...
Above the clouds, Harriet could see the entire battlefield but she was focusing her attention on the two birds. Her task was to take down the totem spirits; among the dungeon's monsters, only she was strong enough to do so.
She completely ignored the colorful explosions and shouts of despair of the barbarians. The Shamans were really powerful. Although they were outnumbered; with the help of their formation, Old Luke and Ester were able to hold their ground but the battle was slowly leaning in the favor of the ten tribes.
In the meanwhile, Old Dale was entangled in a battle with the two birds. The projection of the giant eye in the sky fired a beam at the birds, forcing them to retreat. The Crow Eye was a powerful artifact given by the Skyblazing Crow itself. However, no matter how strong an artifact was, if the wielder was too weak, it would inevitably be wasted.
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After holding the birds off for less than one minute, Old Dale was already starting to feel the pressure. Harriet had been carefully observing the old Shaman and was ready to intervene. She would act at the very moment the birds would aim for the three totem spirits of the Musclewood Tribe.
"I cannot hold any longer!" shouted Old Dale. He was sweating profusely while looking at the birds in the sky.
The other Shamans nodded but they did not panic. It was virtually impossible for a barbarian to fight a totem spirit. They knew Old Dale would eventually have to give up and the three totem spirits would have to let go of the flow of power. However, the totem spirits would not die after the attack.
Despite taking some damage, they would be free to move and would be able to attack the two birds. If executed properly, the three totem spirits might be able to overpower the two birds and push them out of the fight for good.
Naturally, the price for that would be a drastic reduction in power of the barbarians but as long as they would be able to hold their ground, then the sacrifice of a few barbarians would not be in vain. The life of a totem spirit was simply invaluable compared to the life of a few barbarians.
The projection of the Crow Eye gradually faded as the two birds loudly shrieked. They charged at the three totem spirits, leaving behind afterimages.
Noticing the two birds coming at them, the three totem spirits forcefully stopped the channeling of their powers and prepared to attack. However, the two Cobalt Eagle and the Purple-eyed Vulture were already prepared and quickly stopped in their tracks. They had already accomplished their goals in stopping the three totem spirits. They were not stupid and would not risk their lives against three totem spirits.
They taunted as they flew at a reasonable distance from the totem spirits. Out of the three, only the Skyblazing Crow was able to fly and could fight with the two birds. Unfortunately, it was also the weakest of the three and would not stand a chance against the two birds.
The Mystic Wood Fox growled on the ground, but it was unable to reach the two birds. On the other hand, the Humanoid Metal Slime twitched its body and suddenly, dozens of silver dots appeared on the ground.
To the Cobalt Eagle's surprise, long silver spears suddenly emerged from the ground, aiming for its wings. It quickly spun in mid-air, barely avoiding the silver spears. Unfortunately, the Purple-eyed Vulture was not that lucky. Even though it successfully avoided the silver spears, they somehow changed directions.
The silver spears stopped flying upwards in mid-air and even transformed into huge silver hands. The giant hands grabbed the Purple-eyed Vulture and mercilessly pulled it down toward the ground. The totem spirit shrieked, releasing its aura. It broke free from the grip of the silver hand and flew away.
However, the few seconds it was imprisoned were more than enough for the Skyblazing Crow to reach the Purple-eyed Vulture.
[Skyblazing Breath]
The Skyblazing Crow fully ignited. Its body burst in flames. In a single breath, it released all the fire stored in its body at the Purple-eyed Vulture. The poor totem spirit flew for its life but was unable to avoid the ferocious flames.
The projection of the Purple-eyed Vulture trembled and momentarily faded before reappearing. It looked like a hologram having trouble materializing itself.
The Cobalt Eagle did not help its teammate. It flew out of the range of the Humanoid Metal Slime before observing the situation again.
Although it took a lot of damage, the Purple-eyed Vulture managed to escape free from the Skyblazing Crow. The latter did not dare to pursue any further. Once it went too far from the ground, it would no longer receive any assistance from the Humanoid Metal Slime and the Cobalt Eagle would no longer hesitate to attack it.
The Purple-eyed Vulture heaved a sigh of relief but at that very moment, its head exploded. The head of the projection shook as the rest of its body trembled.
The Cobalt Eagle widened its eyes and looked at the source of the attack. It was only for a moment, but the Cobalt Eagle clearly saw it. A [Compressed Air Bullet] flew from the clouds and went through the Purple-eyed Vulture's head.
Above its head, the Cobalt Eagle saw a harpy quickly flying down from the clouds. He knew the situation did not look good and tried to escape.
Unfortunately, Harriet swiftly flew down and blocked the Cobalt Eagle's escape path. "I am on your side, Crow. Help me and together, we shall deal with the Eagle."
The Harpy Queen had already noticed that she was ten levels above the Cobalt Eagle. However, she did not get complacent and requested the Skyblazing Crow for help. She had that feeling of unease when she faced the Cobalt Eagle. It was the same feeling a regular monster would have when facing a boss monster. Even if she was stronger, Harriet did not believe the Cobalt Eagle did not have any trump cards. She caught the Purple-eyed Vulture off guard but the Cobalt Eagle now fully aware of her presence.
...
On the ground, the Shaman of the Black Vulture Tribe suddenly coughed and kneeled on the ground. Blood flew out of his mouth as his face twisted in pain.
The other Shamans did not need to ask to know what happened. The Purple-eyed Vulture had been evidently defeated. It was not dead yet, but it completely exhausted its energy and would now fall into a deep slumber in its relic. The Black Vulture Tribe would be unable to summon their totem spirit for a while.
The Shaman of the Black Vulture Tribe glared at the harpy queen in the sky. Who was she and why did she target his tribe's totem spirit? Due to his connection with the Purple-eyed Vulture, the Shaman experienced the same pain as the totem spirit. He knew how terrifying she was. He felt like his head exploded into a million pieces.
"The army of the dungeon has finally appeared but who would have expected them to have a level 57 monster. That's terrifying."
"We need to act quickly. Help the Cobalt Eagle. We don't need to hold back anymore. With her appearance, the Musclewood Tribe should now be confident in their victory."
Vellen remained calmed as the Shamans hurriedly discuss on the next step to take. He waited for them to calm down before saying. "Our allies have arrived. Look!"
In the distance, there was a faint orange and red line moving toward them. It was too far for the human eye but Harriet could clearly see the details of that line. There was a long line of fiery birds mounted by flame spirits!
They were Flame Riders; the equivalent of Death Knights for the fire element. The Flame Riders ranged from level 28 to level 32. Leading them at the front was a level 40 Flame Commander.
Harriet not scared of the new threat. On the contrary, she looked at them Flame Riders in disdain. "What are they trying to show off? There's still such a large distance between us. Is there even a need for you to activate your Battle form?"