Inheritance Totem (Bonus Chapter for 'leo627')

Despite their meticulous planning, Rein and his three companions managed to escape from the "Plague Base." However, they were unexpectedly intercepted by the barbarian army and forced to return to the Mechanical City.

It seemed like a futile effort at first, but after seeing the scene of the Mechanical City being breached, Rein was glad that their choice was correct.

Even though Rein was a doctor who had seen so many strange and unusual deaths, he still gasped when he saw the horrific scene in the Mechanical City.

In the vast "Plague Base," not a single person survived.

Thousands upon thousands of corpses were carried out of the Mechanical City by barbarian warriors, their equipment stripped off, and piled up into a high mountain of corpses on the flat ground.

Whether they were hunters or wealthy, elegantly dressed nobles, their deaths were all extremely gruesome. Many of them didn't even have any external wounds, yet their deaths were incredibly terrifying.

Have you ever seen a corpse with colorful fleshy mushrooms growing on it?

Have you ever seen rainwater that's like sulfuric acid, corroding a person to death?

Have you ever seen a belly swollen like a toad, bursting open at the slightest touch, and then a bunch of little toads hopping out?

Have you ever seen white, thread-like growths, like fungi, coming from your eyes, ears, nose, or mouth?

A variety of bizarre ways to die are presented before our eyes.

Rein was truly amazed.

It's unclear what methods those top-tier barbarian Transcendent used to attack the city, but judging from the scene, the barbarian casualties were minimal.

He had previously seen that the top barbarian warrior "Habu" was able to intercept them outside, so he guessed that there must be quite a few skilled barbarians coming from the base as well.

Now that I see it, it's indeed true.

There were tens of thousands of barbarians in the base.

Each of them had one or two magical beast mounts by their side, forming a vast army of tens of thousands.

The barbarians were almost equal in strength and status.

The higher the status, the greater the power.

Except for that first warrior, Habu.

Among them were two "elders" who were a level above Wudo, the "High Priest," and they stood out.

The totems on the faces of those two old men were very distinctive and highly recognizable.

A man covered in blue totems, the blue paint or something similar on his face appearing almost alive to the naked eye. The totems, like flowing blue water, circulated within the old man's body, shimmering with a spiritual light.

The other one was covered in emerald green totems, which also shimmered with a spiritual light, giving the impression of being coated with fluorescent liquid from a past life. Although the old man was dark-skinned and thin, Rein saw a vibrant and flourishing plant life force in him.

Seeing three "legendary" combatants at once suggests that the Barbarian Tribe, even if not all of them, has brought at least a large portion of its top combatants.

The barbarians cleaned up the battlefield and took everything they could with them.

But since they couldn't move the Mechanical City, they had no choice but to destroy it.

Those barbarian warriors, one by one, hammered and pounded away, managing to dismantle the massive Mechanical City into pieces. Steel plates, rivets, cannons.

Through months of fighting, these barbarians have gained a general understanding of the functions of mechanical equipment. They have also learned about magical items like Storage Ring.

Take everything you can carry with you; if your storage ring can't hold it all, hang it on the monster's back and carry it away.

Rein and his three companions were the only survivors in the entire base.

Of course, this excludes the few Red Robe Archmage who escaped using the teleportation array.

The barbarians were cleaning up the battlefield, Rein and his companions, as "prisoners," were left next to the makeshift monster enclosure.

Not far away, Wudo's Snow Mastiff, like a guard dog, stared fiercely at them.

Rein was trapped by the animal tendons like a caterpillar.

The same goes for Karl. Although Old Man Tuster wasn't bound very tightly, without the Mechanical Arm, he couldn't move at all.

Bazel received the "best" treatment; besides having the strongest beast tendons, this legendary figure's hands and feet were bound with black stone locks radiating spiritual energy. The beast dung in his mouth—whether he spat it out or something else—was gone.

This guy, barely able to speak, spat a few times and started yelling again, "Rein, you can speak the language of barbarians?"

He naturally overheard the conversation between Rein and Wudo along the way, which was surprisingly significant.

You say you learn martial arts quickly, that could be attributed to talent.

How can one possibly master a language without studying it for several years?

This made Bazel even more curious.

Rein didn't want to have his mouth stuffed with monster dung. He glanced at the barbarian guarding him and whispered, "It's hard to explain in a short time. We won't die now, but they plan to sacrifice you to the gods. If you can escape, do so yourself. Don't worry about us."

"Escape my ass! This thing is a 'Mana-Sealing Lock,' it can't even activate my fighting spirit when it's on my body, how am I supposed to escape? Besides, there are three legendary-level barbarians outside, even if I had wings, I couldn't fly out."

Bazel was annoyed.

After thinking for a moment, he asked the question he was most curious about, "Did that barbarian girl take a liking to you, which is why she spared your life?"

"."

Rein knew this guy had misunderstood, so he explained, "I saved her in City of Radiance before, but it's hard to explain in a few words. Anyway, don't talk nonsense, or you'll get stuffed with monster dung again."

Upon hearing this, Bazel immediately savored the tangy flavor in his mouth.

As if a nerve had been pricked, he instinctively raised his voice, about to curse, "Damn it, I wouldn't even flinch if you killed me or tortured me, but what is this?"

Then, after shouting this, he successfully attracted the attention of the barbarian guards not far away.

The barbarian warrior didn't hesitate either; he grabbed another handful of fresh ones from the ground and stuffed them in as well.

Waaaaaah

Looking at the legend's fate, Rein let out a long sigh.

If it's just getting beaten up, we can stick together out of loyalty, but being stuffed with monster excrement is just too much.

Then he turned his face away, decisively pretending not to know him, for fear of being implicated.

After cleaning up the battlefield, the barbarians set the Plague Base ablaze.

This hunting base, which had tens of thousands of people just a day ago, has turned into a dead zone in the blink of an eye.

Civil wars are indeed bloody and cruel.

The hunters killed countless barbarians, and the barbarians retaliated without hesitation.

Now that the four of them have survived, it's hard to say whether it's a blessing or a curse.

Aside from the fact that the fate of Bazel, the "sacrifice," is roughly certain, Rein has no idea what T and Karl, grandfather and grandson, are about to face.

If he could escape, he would definitely try to find a way to do so.

But the tens of thousands of elite barbarian warriors surrounded them in layers, giving them no chance at all.

Moreover, apart from Wudo, the barbarians all looked at these "invaders" with eyes as sharp as knives. If they dared to make the slightest move to escape, they would definitely be chopped up and fed to the monsters on the spot.

Not long after, Wudo returned from the meeting, looking rather unwell.

As the main group prepared to set off, she expressionlessly grabbed Rein again and they both jumped onto the Snow Mastiff and rode together.

Not far away, Bazel watched this scene with a look of resentment in his eyes. Rein was lying on the soft back of the Snow Mastiff, while he himself was hanging on the backside of a mammoth—the difference in treatment was like night and day.

Awoo~ Awoo~ Awoo~

The signal to break camp rang out.

The barbarian warriors mounted their magical beast mounts and galloped into the swamp. The tribe had mobilized half of its high-ranking forces for this pursuit, and they needed to return to the Ashen Forest as quickly as possible.

The Snow Mastiff is very fast, leaping dozens of meters in a single bound.

Although this "old acquaintance" didn't give him a friendly look, they were both "prisoners," and compared to Bazel's treatment, this barbarian girl was quite considerate of him.

Rein lay on his back on the soft, thick fur of the Snow Mastiff. Although it was a bit bumpy, he didn't feel uncomfortable.

To prevent Rein from falling, Wudo had to use her strong, long legs to hold him in place from time to time. But because they were wearing so little, the warm contact between their skin made him, a grown man, feel uneasy.

Before long, the main force of barbarians had already plunged into the depths of the swamp.

This is the first time that Rein has ventured deep into this swamp in the months he has been here.

Kolman and his warriors seemed very familiar with the swamp, and the monsters were adept at avoiding the hidden pits and moving at great speed.

The Plague Base has been completely wiped out, and the barbarians have suffered minimal losses. In theory, this should be a major victory.

But the barbarian leaders didn't seem to look too happy.

Rein's mind raced, and he guessed that the reason for Wudo's bad complexion was probably related to those Red Robe Archmage who had teleported away.

After thinking for a moment, he decided to ask, "Wudo, did you come here to chase after those Red Robe Archmage?"

Surprisingly, Wudo answered immediately this time.

However, he said through gritted teeth, "Those despicable invaders, they infiltrated the 'Volcano Tribe,' killed everyone in the tribe, and stole our tribe's heirloom treasure—the [Fire Totem]!"

Rein was slightly surprised when he heard this.

It turns out that Winster and his men didn't go to the temple; instead, they went to slaughter a Barbarian Tribe.

Stealing the treasure is not hard to understand. After all, it's not simply a matter of killing a few people to get so many top-tier Transcendent to venture deep into the "Ashen Forest."

But what's with this "totem" being stolen?

Psychology suggests that conforming to other people's opinions can win them favor.

Upon hearing Wudo's words, Rein immediately said, "I also think those Red Robe Mages are indeed despicable and filthy fellows! If I survive this time, I will definitely kill those bastards in the future!"

He spoke with righteous indignation, even joining in the cursing, and subtly hinting at something else.

Of course, it wasn't entirely about winning favor, that's the truth.

The Winst Family's scheme to shift blame was truly insane. If it weren't for them, at least some people at the Plague Base would have survived. And if it were any other base, they would have been wiped out by this barbarian force as well.

Sure enough, after hearing this, Wudo's gaze towards Rein became much more agreeable.

After all, she could tell what Rein was feeling.

At this moment, Rein asked curiously, "'Fire Totem' is the pattern painted on your bodies? How could it be stolen?"

Wudo felt it was necessary to make Rein understand how important the treasures were to their tribe, those despicable fellows.

She said, "The totems painted on our Kohlman Clan's bodies are not merely decorations. And the totems on the six elders are not painted with paint, but are 'herited treasures' of the tribe, a kind of 'Spirit Totem' that embodies high-level laws."

She gave a brief explanation, which Rein understood.

These totems on the bodies of the Kolman Tribe warriors are not merely decorative patterns, but more like "human enchantment," granting them special effects such as increased resilience, strength, elemental affinity, and regeneration.

Rein: "Is the totem on Habu's body also a kind of inherited Spirit Totem?"

Wudo: "Yes! Elder Habu is the inheritor of this lineage of the [Strength Totem]."

Rein: "What about the other two elders?"

Wudo "."

After a somewhat tentative chat, Rein roughly understood the organizational structure of the Kolman Tribe.

Their tribe has a "shaman" who is the highest leader; his abilities are unknown, but he is certainly very strong.

Secondly, there are six elders whose combat power is comparable to that of "legends".

Then there were the priests, both high and low, like Wudo.

In other words, in the entire Kolman Tribe, only seven people held a higher status than Wudo.

The "Six Elders" are the people who oversee six inherited totems for the entire tribe. Their totems are not drawn, but rather totems with "spirituality" passed down from their ancestors. Like the crystal cores of magical beasts, they are extracted from the body upon death and can be passed down from generation to generation.

The three elders that Rein previously thought were likely "legendary" experts were among them.

Harb, Coleman's first warrior who wields the [Power Totem];

The "Elder Rain Master" Fofa, who controls the [Rain Totem], is the source of Bazel's previous statement that there was something wrong with "rain"—his Transcendent ability to sense rain within a certain range and to kill people by raining acid.

The "Ghost Mushroom Elder" Dahle, who controls the [Wood Totem], has the Transcendent ability to control plant growth, and the ability to make mushrooms grow on corpses is his special power.

The Fire Totem is a special elemental totem that instantly boosts a person's affinity for fire, making cultivation twice as effective and enabling them to comprehend advanced fire elemental laws.

The Winst Family specializes in Fire Magic, which is indeed fatally attractive to them.

So the Red Robe Archmage of the Tuster family killed a newly appointed elder who had just received the [Fire Totem] inheritance and stole the totem.

The two were not strangers to begin with.

Along the way, they gradually started talking more.

Although Wudo appeared cold, this was partly due to the inherent authority she gained after being promoted to High Priest, and more so due to the factional hatred stemming from the war. However, she actually harbored no ill will towards Rein personally.

Once the initial awkwardness had dissipated, Rein finally spoke up and asked, "High Priest Wudo, what are your plans for me and my companions?"

This is his biggest concern.

Wudo seemed to be unsettled as well. Her tone, which had been cold, finally showed some emotion as she said, "You once saved my life. I should repay your kindness, both morally and logically. I have already saved you and your companions, but I cannot decide to let you go."

She paused, then continued, "Although I believe you are a good person, this concerns the blood debt of our tribe's fallen warriors. I have no right to forgive the crimes committed by your people on behalf of the dead."

When Rein heard her say that, he suddenly didn't know what to say.

This was a war of annihilation between two civilizations.

It's only natural for one side to hate everyone on the other side.

Just as Rein felt his future was uncertain, he heard Wudo say again, "But don't worry, I will save you. But I can't save your companions."

Thank you 'SSGO' for the 10,000 coin reward. I still owe three more chapters for the 10,000 reward.