48
Chapter 48
The Gorilla Demon, who had been laughing with pure ecstasy as if he intended to take everyone down with him even if he died, collapsed in an instant.
He coughed up a massive amount of blood as he fell.
To top it off, he began flailing his arms in the air, as if he had fallen into a complete state of panic.
"Th-the spell has been broken!"
Harry's shout snapped me back to reality. I had spaced out for a moment.
A Gorilla Demon, who seemed to be among the top tier of Mid-tier Demons, had been neutralized so easily.
This Totem of Confusion is actually legit.
Did I actually pull this off?
Rake, who assessed the situation the fastest, approached the gorilla and stabbed its neck with her Curved Sword.
Whether it was because the hide was too thick or there was too much muscle, it didn't cut through in one go.
"Wh-what's happening?"
"Something's happened!"
The other Barbarians were still completely bewildered.
I guess the effect of the Totem of Confusion only triggers for enemies, so allies can't tell what's going on. That's probably how it's set up.
I feel like I should say something here.
- Kneel. This is the difference in our levels.
I just blurted out whatever came to mind.
Why is this the only thing I can think of?
Then again, I wonder if there's any line more appropriate for this situation.
"Ohhh!"
"It is Lord Mallak's power!"
"Lord Mallak has subdued the beast!"
"Even a Mid-tier Demon is helpless against him!"
"Who dares stand against Loa!"
See? One word and they're absolutely loving it. The reactions are gold.
It's only because it became an internet meme, but it's actually a pretty cool line.
Should I try 'Too slow. Even in falling' next?
...No. Let's not overdo it.
"Stubbornly tough bastard."
After some hard sawing, Rake finally sliced through the Gorilla Demon's neck.
Thus, the primate king who once ruled Symphonia vanished into ash.
An orangutan and two demons, who had been rushing toward us, stopped in their tracks with bewildered expressions.
- Let's take care of those guys first.
Three Low-tier Demons are basically just a snack for our Tribe Alliance now.
"I'll handle this."
Rake stood up, dusting herself off.
I had already healed her minor wounds using the Totem of Healing.
The Tribe Alliance warriors blocked the enemies' retreat. Most of the worshippers were dead.
The three demons stood there, eyes darting around, unable to do anything.
They were beaten to a pulp and turned into ash.
***
The fierce conquest of Symphonia ended in victory for the Tribe Alliance.
There were casualties, but fewer than expected.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call this a landslide victory.
I kept the Totem of Healing active all day to treat the severely injured warriors.
- I'm going to take a break.
Right now, I'm completely exhausted and passed out.
Man, I'm just freaking tired. I don't even have a body, so why am I this tired?
I just want to get some deep sleep.
Come to think of it, I sleep pretty well despite not having a physical form.
Can you even sleep without a body? Isn't sleep a way to relieve physical fatigue?
Well, there's no way to know even if I ponder it.
At any rate, since I've been given some downtime, I intend to relax for the first time in a while.
I'll leave the cleanup to the Tribe Alliance leadership, minus Rake.
The reason I excluded Rake is that she's currently asleep, leaning against Totem No. 1.
Everyone seems to understand this bit of slacking.
After all, Rake was the one who suffered the most during the war.
"You should sleep inside; why are you always sleeping next to Lord Mallak? I hope you get bitten by bugs."
Paya didn't seem to understand, but whatever.
Rake looked completely at peace as she slept with soft, rhythmic breaths.
Feeling Rake's warmth, I logged into the community.
Technically, this isn't just playing around.
It's all to protect the community users from Karon's wicked clutches.
[Morning Tent Installation Knight: Uh, I'm becoming a Barbarian] (4)
The Morning Tent Installation Knight decided to stay with the Ash Mist Tribe.
I received a few private messages about this, but I didn't check them because it was a hassle.
Maybe I'll take a look.
[Morning Tent Knight: Thanks, Sanz! I'm really going to try my best from now on]
[Morning Tent Knight: I'm slowly learning the Barbarian language. It's easier than English]
[Morning Tent Knight: My name is Si-woo. Kim Si-woo. I'm from Korea]
Well, since we're going to be living together, I hope he behaves and doesn't troll like last time.
Si-woo, I hope you live a long, healthy, and happy life in the tribe!
[Corrupted Power Knight: Anyone join Dina's Special Task Force? Really not a single person?] (3)
[If Use President's Power: Look. This is the true identity of a worshipper. Do you really think those things are humans like us?] (1)
[I Trusted the Monkey Uncle: Real-time Holy Knight failure... found a furry Low-tier Demon... it's legit a bipedal beastman] (11)
[Love Death Nyan: (Greeting again after a while) Nyan nyan nyan~!] (5)
[Holy Holy Knight: Is everyone eating well~! Please stay healthy~!]
As always, it's full of useless content.
Ah, it feels as cozy as being back home. I can practically smell Earth.
Sharing information is important, but I think this coziness is the true value of the community.
Perhaps it's the only sanctuary in this world full of threats.
It would have been better if that bastard Karon wasn't around.
Now that I've had a little healing time, shall I organize the information I gathered?
I opened the message window and my notepad.
I recently found out that you can send messages to yourself.
Like a private chat in Kakaotalk. It's perfect as a notepad.
[Demons]
Except for the chimpanzee and orangutan, the Low-tier Demons I've met so far were all about the same level.
Even the rabbit that died from a single fireball was a speed-specialist, and normally would be a threatening opponent.
If I compare them to Holy Knights, they're probably around level 3?
[Low-tier Demon: 3~]
The Chimpanzee Demon held its ground remarkably well despite being low-tier.
He faced off against Berserker Kanto and the tribe's five best warriors all by himself.
Let's say normal Kanto is barely level 3, and Kanto with some Berserker stacks is level 3.5.
Then the chimpanzee would be around level 4, wouldn't he?
That orangutan guy also had incredible skills with throwing spears. He could launch multiple strikes as fast and destructive as a catapult.
Let's count him as level 4 too.
[Low-tier Demon: Between levels 3 and 4]
George said you need to be at least level 5 to safely conquer a village.
Hanna mentioned that back when she was level 4, she almost died several times while trying to conquer a village.
Since you have to kill about a hundred worshippers and even Low-tier Demons, you definitely need to be level 5.
Then, is it possible to fight Mid-tier Demons starting from level 5?
[Mid-tier Demon]
I've personally seen three Mid-tier Demons so far: the cobra, the ox-head, and the gorilla, in that order.
Let's look at their individual characteristics.
[Cobra Demon: Body length of about 18 meters. Height 4 meters? Fires fire breath from its mouth]
[Ox-headed Demon: Height of about 5 meters? Has a flame whip tail and a magic shield]
[Gorilla Demon: Height 7 meters. Well-equipped weaponry and four arms. Excellent combat skills]
I think the Ox-headed Demon is probably the weakest. Maybe it's because it's the smallest, or maybe because it was completely crushed by Karon, but it didn't leave a strong impression.
I think Rake could have defeated it easily. Definitely level 5.
I believe the Cobra Demon is stronger than the Ox-headed Demon. The fire breath was threatening, and the scales covering its body looked quite hard.
It fought a fierce battle against Abraham, who is level 7. It must be at least level 6.
Finally, the Gorilla Demon. This bastard was truly strong.
He pushed back Rake, who was confident she could beat the Cobra Demon, and endured the attacks of Kanto and the elite warriors without taking major wounds.
If it weren't for the Totem of Confusion, we might have lost once the Orangutan Demon joined in.
Even if we had won, we wouldn't have been able to avoid the Dark Cloud Demon.
Let's call it level 7. He was definitely an opponent of that caliber.
I think it would have been a close fight even against Abraham.
I'm definitely not rating him highly just because he's the only Mid-tier Demon I've killed.
[Mid-tier Demon: Between levels 5 and 7]
Lastly, there are High-tier Demons, but those are hard to quantify.
For one, the only one I've seen is the Dark Cloud Demon, and I've never seen anyone with abilities comparable to it.
I can only vaguely guess that they might be around level 9 or 10.
High-tier Demons are still an unknown territory, so let's move on.
[Tribe Alliance]
If I assume I'm roughly level 5 (it's a secret that I can't even take down one low-tier demon alone), Rake is around 6 to 7, Tuntun-i is 3, Kanto is 3.5, and the Rock Golem is 2.5...
Maybe the total strength is around level 7 or 8. Of course, that's just wishful thinking.
If we continue to grow our power and conquer demons to earn points and blessings, I believe taking down the Dark Cloud Demon isn't an impossible goal.
Since I've caught a Mid-tier Demon once, it'll be easier next time.
By the way, there was a blessing that appeared as soon as I caught the Gorilla Demon.
Perhaps because it was a mid-tier, it gave me a massive amount of points.
[Totem Guardian: The user's stats increase when a totem is nearby. The efficiency of blessings received from totems is enhanced. This blessing can be bestowed upon one believer and can only be used once.]
That was the blessing, so naturally, I bought it immediately.
Forget the Totem of Healing. Strengthening allies is obviously the priority.
Since most blessings have to be given through Totem No. 3, which is downgraded from Totem No. 1, ally-strengthening blessings are more efficient in combat.
Unless I can drag Totem No. 1 around with me later.
Totem Guardian. Just looking at the description, isn't this a more useful blessing with easier conditions than the Berserker's Aura?
I decided long ago who I would bestow this blessing upon.
There's only one person who can use this blessing efficiently.