Chapter 16: Chapter 11: Never Betray
Around midnight, the Garlic Tribe was attacked for a second time by the Barbarian Tribe.
A total of twenty-five Barbarian Warriors, clad in animal skins and wielding stone axes, charged out of the western forest.
This time, the Garlic Tribe’s Hunters had already pulled back their lines, bows in hand. Under the command of the two Heroes, the Pig Fish Brothers, they stood at a distance, firing arrows at the Barbarian Warriors.
Under the volley of long-range arrows, the charging Barbarians were riddled with shafts. They seemed to have no experience fighting against archers, relying entirely on their animal skins and sheer toughness to weather the assault. In the end, only six or seven of them managed to reach the Hunters. The rest had all fallen to the ground.
With their overwhelming numbers and the advantage of bows, the Barbarian Warriors were utterly defeated. After accounting for those killed by arrows and those who fled, the Garlic Tribe had captured four Barbarian Warriors.
The Prophet interrogated them one by one.
"Where is your tribe located?"
"We will never betray!"
"Who is the Demon you worship?"
"Glory belongs to our Lord God! You heretics all deserve to die!"
"How many people do you have in total?"
"We will never betray!"
"If you answer honestly, we will let you leave."
"We will never betray!"
...
The four of them remained completely tight-lipped.
The experienced Shaman chose another approach.
"Your bravery and loyalty have earned our respect. To show that respect, I now invite you to join our tribe."
"You were defeated. If you return, you will only face punishment from your Demon and your tribe."
"Here, we have wheat to fill your stomachs, bows to make you stronger, delicious garlic, as well as dried meat and salt."
"If you become members of the Garlic Tribe, it won’t be a betrayal. You will come to believe in the great Yao God. With a God’s protection, the Demon can’t harm you."
The four warriors were silent for a moment, then exclamation points appeared above their heads.
"We’ll join the Garlic Tribe!"
"We’ll join the Garlic Tribe!"
They cheered in unison.
Luh Yao sighed in admiration. ’That Shaman is a great judge of character.’
After that, the four Barbarians told them everything.
"The tribe is to the northwest, in the mountains, next to a huge cave. There are 82 people in total. Besides the Prophet and the old and weak, we have 40 available warriors."
"By the cave, there’s a statue of a God clad in animal skins. He’s called Jack God."
"Jack God requires us to present live Sacrificial Offerings. We must skin the beasts we hunt and offer them to Him, so our tribe has to raid for food."
"The tribe received Jack God’s Blessing, which led to the birth of two beast-morphing Heroes. They can both transform into bestial forms and are the strongest warriors in the tribe. Everyone wants to become a Hero."
"One Hero went missing when we attacked the Forest Tribe. He’s probably dead."
"The other Hero is still with the tribe."
"Barbarian Tribe, enemy! Demon, enemy!"
"We will never betray the Garlic Tribe!"
They shouted with the same conviction as before; their change of allegiance was seamless.
The four Barbarians joined the tribe. They took off their old animal skins, put on the leather vests that served as the tribe’s uniform, and, armed with bows and arrows, quickly blended in.
What surprised Luh Yao was that this Demon Jack either had no idea how to manage a tribe, or he had simply never considered developing it systematically. He just constantly had the Barbarians hunting and raiding everywhere to gain Faith.
Now that the Garlic Tribe was equipped with bows, the threat from the Barbarian Tribe was significantly reduced. Luh Yao’s priority was still to increase his Faith Value; for a strategic resource like this, the more the better.
After repelling the Barbarian Tribe’s second attack, the Garlic Tribe entered another period of stability.
Pixel people from the Salt Pool Tribe continuously traveled over to the Garlic Tribe to buy garlic and bows, selling salt, medicinal herbs, and farming tools, which were scarce in the area.
Later, the Salt Pool Tribe even built a wooden house there to serve as a permanent trading post between the two tribes.
As communication and trade between the tribes increased, the Hunters, armed with bows, expanded their patrol range, and the Garlic Tribe attracted more immigrants.
The population in the top-right corner became 247, and the Faith Value rose to 448.
The Faith Value had surged continuously in a single day, causing an idea Luh Yao had previously suppressed to resurface.
Converting an [Apostle] in the Divine Hall required 500 Faith.
He was currently just 52 short.
’If I just hold out a little longer, with the 2 Faith per hour I get from my two Artifacts, the [Energy Staff] and the [Cactus Ball Attendants], plus a few more immigrants... I might actually have a shot.’
Be that as it may, by the time Luh Yao left for work at 8:30 in the morning, his Faith Value was still stuck at 459.
...
Luh Yao was somewhat distracted that day.
Tomorrow was the weekend, and all he wanted was to race home and stare at the simulator.
Although the [Energy Staff] could replenish his energy in the middle of the night, letting him feel no fatigue, the moment he was away from the Walking Stick, the muscle soreness and exhaustion returned like a shadow. The physical toll was real.
The Walking Stick was more like a powerful stimulant. It could sustain his energy for a short period, but it didn’t change the body’s limits; sleep was still essential.
Besides figuring out the Walking Stick’s mechanics, Luh Yao also found himself thinking about the Old God’s Apostle in the Divine Hall.
’Is she really worth such a huge investment?’
’She was a capable subordinate of the Forest God, after all. Even Xiaohuo, a mere janitor guarding the Divine Hall, is pretty useful. An Apostle surely can’t be that bad.’
’Most importantly, I haven’t found any other way to create an Apostle. It seems converting the Old God’s Apostle is my only option for now.’
’In any case, an Apostle should be a high-level unit, above Heroes and Prophets, right?’
He felt a mix of anticipation and unease, fidgeting in his chair.
He finally managed to struggle through to the end of the workday, only for his boss to suddenly assign him a last-minute task: deliver a pop star’s concert tickets to some executive’s house twenty kilometers away.
By the time Luh Yao finished everything and got home, it was already eight in the evening.
He threw off his backpack and, ignoring the sweat beading on his forehead, rushed to his computer.
The Faith in the top-right corner of the screen was now 489. The increase was almost entirely from his Magic Artifacts; population growth had slowed to a crawl.
So, Luh Yao went and took a shower first to wash off the sweat.
Afterward, he walked to the window, letting the night breeze wash over him as he gazed at the streetlight in the alley below.
There was no one hanging there today.
’That’s to be expected. If someone was strung up there every few days, that Demon player would be openly challenging the entire police force.’
Luh Yao returned to his computer.
The Faith count now read 501.
He opened the Divine Hall interface and clicked on the [Apostle] icon, which was depicted as a sarcophagus.
—To revive and convert her into an Apostle of your Divine Hall requires a large amount of Power of Faith. Do you wish to spend 500 Faith Value to convert the Apostle?
[Yes] [No]
Luh Yao hovered his mouse over [Yes] but didn’t click it right away.
He asked the Cactus Ball next to him, "Xiaohuo, does reviving an Apostle always cost this much Faith Value?"
"Apostles are a God’s most important arms. It is absolutely worth it, but..."
"But what?"
"This Apostle of the Forest God in the sarcophagus... your humble servant doesn’t recognize her. I don’t know what her abilities are."
"You know all of the Forest God’s Apostles?"
"Uhh... I remember the head Apostle, Mister Forrest. He was very powerful and could summon a Forest Soul. I’ve never met the others; they were all traveling the world in the Forest God’s name."
Luh Yao shot the Cactus Ball a dark look.
’So you only know one of them, huh?’
Xiaohuo seemed to feel the pressure and said nervously, "Lord God, I just... I just mean that I truly don’t recognize this specific Apostle. Different Apostles have different abilities. Some excel at combat, others at scouting..."
"But an Apostle is definitely worth it. You need a walking Apostle, too."
Luh Yao’s gaze returned to the computer screen.
’Screw it!’
He clicked [Yes].
His Faith Value was instantly drained, leaving only 1 point remaining.
A notification popped up in the Pixel World.
—The slumbering Apostle has heard your call. Your Power of Faith has repaired her shattered vessel and parched soul. She is rapidly reviving from the Sea of Mourning.
—[Apostle] Forest Sword Isabelle, shall follow your will, carry out your Oracles, and fight for your Fire of Faith.
