Chapter 21: Chapter 16: The Demise of the Barbarian Tribe
"My lord, these are the Sacrificial Offerings from the Demon."
Isabel spread her hands, presenting three items.
Luh Yao first picked up one of the jet-black statues.
This statue was about the size of a seal, and it looked like a lump of soft, black mud. Its texture was somewhere between rubber and clay. Many eyes grew out of the black mud, each one a gloomy, dark red, giving it a somewhat sinister air.
...
[Skinner’s Statue LV3]: Faith +3/hour, Attack +2. Can initiate the Beastification Ceremony to obtain Power of Faith.
A treasure made by the Skinner. It can initiate the Beastification Ceremony, using its gaze to steal the sanity, perception, and memories of a living sacrifice, reducing them to a powerful flayed beast in exchange for Power of Faith granted by the Skinner.
...
’Good grief,’ Luh Yao thought.
No wonder Lisa said she was earning Faith on the side.
She was selling players to this mysterious Skinner in exchange for Faith, like some kind of human trafficker.
The [Skinner’s Statue] was a bit like Medusa’s gaze from mythology, a special kind of conceptual attack. The two players who were attacked before would have never guessed that the real threat wasn’t the beast-skinned people or the blood curse, but this inconspicuous statue.
Furthermore, this treasure actually had a level symbol.
It seemed it could be continuously upgraded in Tier, possessing growth Attributes. This was a Trait that other Artifacts had lacked before, which showed just how valuable it was.
Luh Yao put down the statue and picked up another item.
It was a whistle made of some unknown bone. Its surface was yellowed, and it looked quite old.
...
[Evil Bone Whistle]: Faith +2/hour.
A treasure made by the Whistleblower. By blowing the whistle, one can control monsters and beasts that have lost their sanity.
...
The Bone Whistle’s ability was concise—it was an Artifact with a specific function.
The [Skinner’s Statue] plus the [Evil Bone Whistle] was a classic case of their combined abilities and synergy making one plus one greater than two.
The two formed a simple combo.
The [Skinner’s Statue] turned people or specific creatures into beasts, and the [Evil Bone Whistle] would then tame these bestial individuals to be used by the owner.
No wonder Lisa had said they could be her dogs.
She wasn’t joking; she was just stating a fact.
Luh Yao looked at the last Sacrificial Offering.
It was a letter. The letter had a wax seal, but it tore open easily.
Inside were two sheets of yellowed paper.
...
[Drifting Letter]: Faith +1/hour, available sheets 2/5.
By writing in the letter, you can send it to a specific individual in a Low Realm Dimension through a Blessing. The recipient will definitely be able to understand the message in the letter.
...
The letter that fell out of the black bear’s corpse when it attacked the tribe was the effect of this Artifact.
The members of the Barbarian Tribe were all muscular, but their intelligence left much to be desired.
The Barbarian Hero transformed by the [Skinner’s Statue] was physically stronger, but also closer to a mindless beast.
So even though he could understand the letter, he ended up attacking the wrong place.
Luh Yao thought for a moment.
’The Beastification Ceremony model created by the [Skinner’s Statue] is the complete opposite of my own development strategy. This thing might generate Faith quickly, but it’s essentially just working for that Skinner, stirring up trouble everywhere and making enemies left and right. It’s best used as a passive accessory; at least it gives a two-point attack bonus.’
"Isabel, you can have this. Avoid using the Beastification Ceremony if you can, just use it as an accessory." Luh Yao directly assigned it to his Apostle.
"Yes, my lord." Isabel accepted the statue with both hands.
As for the [Evil Bone Whistle], this thing could control beasts and monsters...
"You can have this too."
Luh Yao had Isabel equip everything. The Bone Whistle and the statue were a set, and they were more powerful when combined—this was the skill set Lisa had carefully put together.
"Yes, my lord." Isabel took the Bone Whistle as well.
Luh Yao asked her, "By the way, if there are Artifacts I don’t need, is there another way to deal with them?"
"My lord, Gods also exchange certain treasures amongst themselves. However, if it’s truly useless, or if the treasure’s own Traits would have a negative impact... you can throw it directly into the Divine Hall’s bonfire, the Fire of Faith, and burn it to gain a certain amount of Faith."
"I see."
Of the three spoils of war, Luh Yao only kept the [Drifting Letter].
This item was useless in Lisa’s hands because the Barbarian Tribe had no Wise Men and wasn’t focused on developing civilization. But for him, it was a useful consumable Artifact.
The Garlic Tribe’s two Wise Men, the Prophet and the Shaman, could originally only be guided indirectly by Luh Yao to understand his intentions.
With the [Drifting Letter], he now had a supplement to that.
Luh Yao was in a good mood.
First, he had found the lurking Demon Lisa and watched the police arrest her, eliminating the biggest security risk he was worried about.
Even if she managed to pull some trick to escape, he now knew Lisa’s true identity, while she still didn’t know his.
Before, the enemy was in the dark while he was in the open. Now, the enemy was in the open while he was in the dark. Their roles had reversed, and the advantage was on Luh Yao’s side.
Then, there were the three very valuable spoils of war he had obtained.
Just their fixed income of +6 Faith/hour was enough to make Luh Yao laugh out loud.
Adding the [Cactus Ball Attendants] and the [Energy Staff], he had a total output of 8 Faith Value per hour. Over 24 hours, that was 192 points!
In the past, his Faith reserves were tight, and he had to think twice and calculate carefully before using a Miracle. Now he could be a bit more comfortable—making it rain when he needed to, or striking someone with lightning whenever he pleased.
However, before returning to the God Simulator, Luh Yao had one more key question.
"Isabel, why didn’t you use your abilities at all?"
"My lord, using Mourning Prayer consumes Mana. Mana is very precious, and it’s not worth using against such weak enemies."
"What about the Forest Sword?"
"Because the opponent was too weak to trigger the Forest Sword’s effect."
Luh Yao was a little disappointed. He returned the eye to Isabel.
Isabel took the eyeball and skillfully popped it into the socket under her sunglasses.
Luh Yao returned his focus to the simulator.
...
Although Luh Yao couldn’t bring himself to deal a fatal blow to a human player like Lisa, he had the guts to be ruthless toward her Barbarian Tribe. In fact, he had a lot of guts.
He figured Lisa was probably still at the police station "having tea" and couldn’t operate the simulator.
Luh Yao directly opened [Miracles] and selected [Earthquake].
Earthquake required 40 Faith to cast.
Currently, he only had 20 Faith in the upper right corner, not enough to use it.
Speed was of the essence; he couldn’t afford to delay.
Luh Yao pulled out a marker and wrote a message in the [Drifting Letter].
"The Demon worshipped by the Barbarian Tribe has been defeated. Do not miss this opportunity. Conquer and assimilate the Barbarian Tribe immediately to eliminate the threat."
Then, he placed the letter on his mouse.
—Would you like to bestow the [Drifting Letter] upon your Believers?
[Yes]
Unlike before, the little people of the tribe didn’t realize that a divine Blessing had descended this time.
After the [Drifting Letter] entered the pixelated game world, it drifted in the air.
Luh Yao tried clicking on it, and sure enough, he could drag it.
He dragged the letter directly onto the Prophet.
An exclamation mark appeared above the Prophet’s head.
"A divine revelation!"
"The Barbarian Tribe’s Demon has been defeated... An opportunity, a great opportunity!"
The Prophet and the Shaman took action immediately.
The Garlic Tribe dispatched thirty elite Hunters, led by the Pig Fish Brothers, who charged into the mountains.
They soon found the Barbarian Tribe’s location.
"We’ve found the Barbarian Tribe!"
"Attack, attack!"
A small tribe appeared in the mountains. Only about twenty people were left, living outside a large cave. At that moment, however, the Barbarians were all lying on the ground, delirious, with small, gray Ghosts floating above their heads.
They looked extremely weak; even if the Garlic Tribe hadn’t attacked, they wouldn’t have lasted more than a few days on their own.
The Pig Fish Brothers easily captured all the Barbarians.
By the tribe’s cave stood a Divine Statue, very similar to the Skinner’s Statue. They destroyed it without hesitation.
Under Luh Yao’s control, the Divine Statue crumbled into pieces, leaving no trace of its former self.
[The Garlic Tribe and the Barbarian Tribe have merged. Your Faith has increased.]
Merging with the Barbarian Tribe increased his Faith by a total of 51 points, bringing his current total to 71.
Luh Yao looked at the cave next to the former site of the Barbarian Tribe.
The cave was very suspicious, but he wasn’t about to let his little pixel people venture inside.
Luh Yao clicked [Miracles], selected [Earthquake], and targeted the cave entrance and its surroundings.
As 40 points of Faith were consumed, the ground in the selected area began to shake and split apart.
Boulders tumbled down, and the cave entrance quickly collapsed. Amidst the spreading dust, a large amount of rubble soon buried the entire area.
This way, if anything unusual happened in the collapsed cave, Luh Yao would be able to spot it immediately and react.
A line of text appeared on the screen.
[The Faith of God Jack has completely vanished from the vicinity. His Believers will begin searching for a new God.]
