"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Harriet exclaimed as soon as she returned to the dungeon. She had been staying with the monsters near the Swift Gazelle Tribe when she received the news of what was happening at the dungeon.
The reason Dreidus stayed at the dungeon was first of all because he was best suited to arrange the monsters properly for defense but also because it would allow Five to communicate with the monsters outside.
Using [Dead Mind], Dreidus could directly communicate with the Undead he branded. He could share the senses of the Undead and therefore could receive the information given by Harriet. At the same time, he could order the Undead to perform some actions. The Undead could not speak but it was still possible to communicate. All he had to do was to instruct the Undead to write down his words on the ground.
Thanks to this method, Harriet learned of the events of the dungeon and hurriedly returned. Compared to the other monsters, it only took her a few hours to return safely.
"You want to attack the Swift Gazelle Tribe? And for what reason? Because you want to help that dungeon master?" Harriet's beautiful face wore a frustrated expression.
Five looked at the harpy queen. "Did Dreidus tell you about it? Do you really think I will go out of my way to help that dungeon master?"
"The Swift Gazelle Tribe is acknowledged as the strongest tribe of the region. And with what you told me, I am not going to attack other tribes directly. We only agreed to attack the Vicious Rhino Tribe because we knew it does not have any totem spirits to protect it but it is a different story for the other tribes."
Harriet listened to Five as her expression became gentler. "Then, why are you still taking the risk?"
"Because it is a great opportunity and as that player said, if we do nothing, the Swift Gazelle Tribe will become too strong for us to deal with. They completely monopolize the dungeon and gain a lot more than we or the Musclewood Tribe are. If we don't stop it, we are just letting a major threat grow in strength."
"I don't want to face the Swift Gazelle Tribe but I have no qualms about destroying the other dungeon. By doing so, we would also be reducing the power of the tribe," said Five.
"Do you really trust him? What if it is just a trap?" asked Harriet.
"That's why I am using the players to cause a diversion. I don't think he is lying but it is indeed a possibility. We will send the players first just to make sure. We are not going to lose anything from them. They seem very interested in the mech. I purposely waited a little bit just to see if the dungeon would react. The third trial should be coming to an end soon; if he was hiding something, he is bound to show his cards or else, he would instantly lose."
"I don't like it. It just sounds so unreal," said Harriet.
Five let out a long sigh. "I know. I talked to him quite a bit and as he was spilling out information, I truly think he is in danger. In any case, can you send a few Spiked Armadillo to look at the situation? They are quite stealthy and since his dungeon is an underground one, they should not be detected easily."
"I will do that. Why don't you ask for help from the Brown Bat Tribe and the Pronghorn Tribe? They should be happy to help. The Swift Gazelle Tribe is also a major threat to them," proposed Harriet.
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"I do not want to start a war. I just want to sneakily destroy the other dungeon; harming the Swift Gazelle Tribe is secondary. If not, I would have given a longer time period to the players. With only two days, they won't we able to receive reinforcements from their guilds; they will only be able to act with the players that are already stationed here."
"So you are not really planning on joining the Storm Alliance?" asked Harriet.
"Of course, no. It does not matter if he has already informed his friends. I destroyed two dungeons belonging to that alliance; do you really think they will treat me well? Furthermore, if I am to join an alliance, it will have to be the Hurricane Alliance. I am only looking for short term benefits and protection and in the Sylvester Empire, the Hurricane Alliance is the strongest."
Five smiled and decided to change the topic. "Anyway. It is good that you came back. I will need your help. I was thinking of summoning the two totem spirits from their relics... Their tribe is gone and we also have the Horned Rhinoceros."
...
"Let us start with the Three-Horned Rhinoceros. It is not really injured and only returned to its relic because his Shaman died."
[System prompt: You have found the relic containing the spirit of a Three-Horned Rhinoceros. It is possible to summon the spirit and turn it into your monster. The cost is 700 thousand DP. Would you like to proceed?]
Five never looked at the relic and was surprised to find that it was so cheap. The Three-Horned Rhinoceros did not need to be healed; DP was only required to build a connection with it and restore its real body.
"Yes."
The statue suddenly started to vibrate in Five's hands. It jumped free of Five's grip and exploded. The silhouette of a tall Three-Horned Rhinoceros appeared. The tall beast looked confused at its new environment but as its eyes landed on Five, they became blood red. He instantly recognized him as one of the culprits of the downfall of the Vicious Rhino Tribe.
It snorted and stomped the ground, attempting to charge at Five. Harriet had already anticipated the beast's aggressive response. She quickly flew in front of Five, blocking the way. She was no longer scared of the Three-Horned Rhinoceros; it was no longer buffed by his [Devour]. Its aura and level further fell as it was no longer a spirit and no longer had a connection with any tribe; it was now level 48, a far cry from when it was at its peak at level 55.
However, Harriet's actions were unnecessary. At that moment, a few squeals sounded behind the Three-Horned Rhinoceros who froze. It instantly recognized the cries of the Horned-Rhinoceros.
Harriet let out a faint smile and spoke. "That's right. These are the same monsters that were at the Vicious Rhino Tribe. They should be somehow related to you, right?"
The Three-Horned Rhinoceros snorted and adopted a defensive stance in front of the Horned Rhinoceros. It grunted and snorted but Five was unable to understand a word.
Neither did Harriet. "I don't understand the Beast Language but the situation should be clear to you. The Horned-Rhinoceros have already submitted to my master and your previous tribe has fallen. We restored your body so that you can have another shot at life but we can take it away just as easily. You have two choices; submission or death!"
She maintained a firm expression. "You won't be able to struggle out of this situation and even if you did, the Horned-Rhinoceros will be left at our mercy. Are you really going to leave them behind? We promise to treat you well. You should have seen how many beasts there were in our group and you should still be able to feel their presence in the dungeon with your strength."
The Three-Horned Rhinoceros snorted and grunted. It looked at the Horned-Rhinoceros with hesitation. The totem spirits all had the same goal in mind; they chose to bind themselves to tribes to stay alive and preserve their bloodline. Their aim had always been to restore their physical body and found another family. Wasn't this exactly what it was getting from the dungeon?
Harriet waited patiently. She knew the Three-Horned Rhinoceros was interested. In the end, Five received the long-awaited system prompt:
[System prompt: Congratulations Player Five, the unnamed Three-Horned Rhinoceros has agreed to serve you.]
Five let out a faint smile. "Thank you. We cannot communicate but there is someone in the dungeon who understands the Beast Language. You will stay with the Horned-Rhinoceros and look after them. However, I have another task for you right now. Help me convince your friend to join us too." He took out the statue of the Purpled-eyed Vulture.
The Three-Horned Rhinoceros and the Purpled-eyed Vulture had known each other for a long time. Their two tribes cooperated with each other but it was more accurate that the Vicious Rhino Tribe was the one ordering the Black Vulture Tribe. It was the same for the totem spirits.
Under the coercion of the Three-Horned Rhinoceros, the Purpled-eyed Vulture gave in very quickly.
[System prompt: Congratulations Player Five, the unnamed Purpled-eyed Vulture has agreed to serve you.]
Five was delighted. Just like that, he obtained two powerful boss monsters and even unlocked their subordinate monsters in the dungeon shop. This operation even cost him far less than he expected and left him with more than three million DP.
Five could easily expand the dungeon but there was no need to do so yet. The number of visitors needed to increase before it would be profitable to have many more monsters. Instead, he wanted to accumulate enough DP to unlock someone at Harriet's level.
Aside from this, Five also had a few relics he plundered from the Vicious Rhino Tribe and the corpses of the Shamans. Unfortunately, they could only be used by Shamans; even the dungeon core would not allow him to bypass the requirements. He could only find a way to trade them with the Musclewood Tribe.