Never Betray

Near midnight, the Garlic Tribe suffered a second attack from the Barbarian Tribe.

A total of twenty-five barbarian warriors clad in animal hides charged out of the western forest, stone axes in hand.

This time, the Garlic Tribe's Hunters had pulled back their line early, armed with Bow and Arrow. Under the command of the two Heroes, the Pig-Fish Brothers, they stood at a distance and fired at the barbarian warriors.

Under the barrage of arrows, the charging barbarians were soon covered in shafts. They seemed to have no experience fighting against Bow and Arrow, relying entirely on their animal hides and bodies to withstand the attack. In the end, only six or seven reached the Hunters. The rest fell to the ground.

With their overwhelming numerical advantage and the support of Bow and Arrow, the barbarian warriors were completely wiped out this time. Aside from those killed by arrows or those who fled, the Garlic Tribe captured four barbarian warriors.

The Prophet interrogated them one by one.

"Where is your tribe located?"

"Never betray!"

"What Demon do you worship?"

"Glory belongs to the God! You heretics must all die!"

"How many people do you have in total?"

"Never betray!"

"If you tell us honestly, we'll let you go."

"Never betray!"

The four of them refused to reveal anything.

The experienced Shaman chose another approach.

"Your bravery and loyalty have earned our recognition. To show our respect, I now invite you to join our tribe."

"You were defeated. If you return, you will only face punishment from the Demon and your tribe."

"Here, there is Wheat to fill your stomachs, Bow and Arrow to make you stronger, delicious Garlic, as well as dried meat and salt."

"If you become members of the Garlic Tribe, it won't count as betrayal, because you will worship the great God Yao. With a God's protection, the Demon cannot harm you."

The four warriors fell silent for a moment, and exclamation marks appeared above their heads.

"Join the Garlic Tribe!"

"Join the Garlic Tribe!"

They shouted in unison.

Lu Yao could not help but marvel at how accurately the Shaman judged people.

Then, the four barbarians confessed everything.

"Our tribe is northwest in the mountains, beside a huge cave. There are eighty-two people in total. Excluding the Prophet, the elderly, and the weak, there are forty warriors available."

"There is a statue beside the cave. It is a God draped in beast Fur, called God Jack."

"God Jack requires us to offer living Sacrificial Offerings. We strip the Fur from wild beasts, and all the beasts we hunt are offered to Him, so the tribe has to plunder food."

"The tribe received God Jack's Blessing and produced two Beast-Form Heroes. They can both transform into beasts and are the strongest warriors in the tribe. Everyone wants to become a Hero."

"One Hero disappeared while attacking the Forest Tribe. He should be dead."

"The other Hero remains in the tribe."

"Barbarian Tribe, enemy! Demon, enemy!"

"Never betray the Garlic Tribe!"

They shouted the same slogan as before. Their switch in allegiance was remarkably smooth.

The four barbarians joined the tribe. They took off their old animal hides, put on Leather Vests like the tribe's standard uniform, took up Bow and Arrow, and quickly integrated into the local community.

What surprised Lu Yao was that Demon Jack had no idea how to manage a tribe—or perhaps he had never intended to develop one steadily. He had always controlled the barbarians to hunt and plunder everywhere, using that to gain faith.

After the Garlic Tribe acquired Bow and Arrow, the threat posed by the Barbarian Tribe greatly diminished. Lu Yao's top priority was still to further increase Faith Points. The more of this strategic reserve, the better.

After repelling the Barbarian Tribe's second attack, the Garlic Tribe entered another period of stability.

Pixelated Villagers from the Salt Pool Tribe kept arriving, purchasing Garlic and Bow and Arrow from the Garlic Tribe, then selling salt, medicinal herbs, and Farm Tools that were scarce here.

Later, the Salt Pool Tribe even built a Wooden House here to serve as a shop for long-term trade between the two tribes.

As exchanges and trade between the tribes increased, Hunters carrying Bow and Arrow steadily expanded their range of movement, and the Garlic Tribe attracted more outside immigrants.

The population in the upper-right corner rose to 247, while Faith Points also climbed to 448.

The rapid consecutive surge in Faith Points within a single day brought back the idea Lu Yao had previously suppressed.

The [Apostle] conversion in the Temple required 500 Faith Points.

He was currently only fifty-two points short.

If he waited a little longer, relying on the two items, [Energy Staff] and [Cactus Follower], which generated a total of two Faith Points per hour, along with a few more immigrants, it might just work.

Even so, by the time Lu Yao left home for work at eight thirty in the morning, Faith Points were still stuck at 459.

Lu Yao was somewhat absent-minded that day.

Tomorrow was the weekend. All he wanted now was to rush home and stare at the Simulator.

Although the [Energy Staff] could replenish his energy in the middle of the night and keep him from feeling tired, once he left the staff behind, the soreness and exhaustion in his muscles still clung to him like a shadow. The physical toll was real.

The staff was more like a powerful stimulant. It could maintain a person's energy for a short time, but it did not change the limits of the human body. Sleep remained indispensable.

Aside from figuring out the staff's mechanics, Lu Yao was also pondering the Old God Apostle in the Temple.

Was she really worth such a huge investment?

She was, after all, a capable subordinate of the Forest God. Even Little Fire, a temple caretaker, had been useful, so the Apostle probably would not be too underwhelming.

Most importantly, Lu Yao had not found any other way to create Apostles. At present, converting an Old God Apostle seemed to be the only path.

No matter what, an Apostle had to be an advanced unit above Heroes and Prophets, right?

He was both expectant and uneasy, unable to sit still in his chair.

He had barely made it to the end of the workday when his boss suddenly assigned him a temporary task, asking him to deliver concert tickets for some singer to an executive's home twenty kilometers from the company.

By the time Lu Yao finished and returned home, it was already eight in the evening.

He took off his backpack and, without even caring about the sweat covering his head, immediately hurried over to the computer.

The Faith Points in the upper-right corner had reached 489. Almost all of the added faith had come from magic items, while population growth had become very slow.

So Lu Yao took a shower first and washed away the stench of sweat.

Then he walked to the window, letting the night breeze wash over him as he looked at the streetlamp in the alley.

No one was hanging there today.

That was only natural. If someone were hung there every few days, that Demon player would be provoking the entire police system.

Lu Yao returned to the computer.

Faith Points showed 501.

He opened the Temple interface and clicked [Apostle], represented by the stone coffin icon.

--Reviving and converting her into an Apostle of your Temple requires a large amount of Power of Faith. Would you like to spend 500 Faith Points to convert the Apostle?

[Yes] [No]

Lu Yao moved the mouse over [Yes] without clicking it immediately.

He asked the Cactus beside him, "Little Fire, does reviving an Apostle really consume this many Faith Points?"

"An Apostle is the most important right-hand of every God. This is absolutely worth it, but..."

"But what?"

"This Apostle of the Forest God inside the stone coffin is someone your humble servant does not recognize. I do not know what abilities she possesses."

"You know all of the Forest God's Apostles?"

"Uh... I remember Chief Apostle Mr. Forrest. He was extremely powerful and could summon the Forest Soul. I have not met the others. They were all traveling the world on behalf of the Forest God."

Lu Yao looked at the Cactus with a dark expression.

So you only knew one.

Little Fire seemed to feel the pressure too and said nervously, "God, I was only, only saying that I truly do not know this Apostle. Different Apostles have different abilities. Some are good at combat, while others are skilled at scouting..."

"But an Apostle is absolutely worth it. You also need an Apostle to walk the world."

Lu Yao turned his gaze back to the computer screen.

Let's do it!

He clicked [Yes].

His Faith Points immediately dropped to just 1.

A notification popped up in the Pixel World.

--The sleeping Apostle has heard your call. Your Power of Faith has repaired her shattered body and parched soul. She is rapidly reviving from the Sea of Lingering Souls.

--[Apostle] Sword of the Forest · Isabelle will follow your will, carry out your divine decree, and fight for your Flame of Faith.