"Umar. I hope you understand the situation. Without a totem spirit, your tribe is finished. Even after you absorbed the Black Vulture Tribe, the Vicious Rhino Tribe is not strong enough. The other tribes have been eying you, after all, you have more than 1500 tribesmen, without even taking into consideration the Black Vulture Tribesmen."

Umar trembled. How could the situation have worsened so much? Just a few weeks ago, the Vicious Rhino Tribe was at the peak of its strength. Now, after the cruel defeat at the Musclewood Tribe, not only did they lose their totem spirit but two shamans also perished in battle. Umar was the third and final Shaman of the tribe.

The Vicious Rhino Tribe lost so much and now, they were forced to ask their previous subordinates for help. Umar was facing Kieron, an important member of the Coyote Tribe.

"Kieron. The Vicious Rhino Tribe helped you ascend to your position. You just need to help us pass winter. We will figure out a solution before summer."

Kieron bitterly smiled. He owed a lot to the Vicious Rhino Tribe but his hands were tied. "The elders have already turned against the Vicious Rhino Tribe. They don't see how you can turn the tables. Even those who were on your side are reluctant to voice out. They don't want to allocate resources to you. Winter has always been a time of conflict. Since they have already accumulated enough food for winter, the neighboring tribes will be restless. We need to protect ourselves too."

Umar narrowed his eyes. Since the start of the conversation, Kieron had been prompting him to migrate the tribe, claiming it would be easier to protect them. However, it was a clear attempt at absorbing their tribe. The Vicious Rhino Tribe accumulated a lot of resources over the last decades and now that it was defenseless, many tribes were no longer bothering to hide their teeth.

The Vicious Rhino Tribe was a fat cow waiting to be captured but at the same time, the other tribe did not want to damage it too much. After all, the most valuable resource a tribe could have was its population. Just by absorbing a third of the Vicious Rhino Tribesmen, many tribes could double their population.

"One winter, Kieron. I just need your help for one winter. You will be handsomely rewarded. You know about the ties of the Vicious Rhino Tribe with the Three Monkey Tribe. You just need to mention this to the elders of your tribe. I am certain they won't dare to face the wrath of a tribe of the Central Plains."

Kieron was troubled. He did not know what to answer but he did not even get the opportunity to do so.

At that moment, a loud explosion sounded in the distance along with the terrified shouts of the barbarians.

"What is happening?" exclaimed Umar. The old Shaman stood up and pull the flap of the tent. His eyes instantly widened.

...

"Ishan! It is time for you to prove yourself!"

"I know. I will show you the strength of the Flame Scarabs! We are better than you, undead!" Ishan answered back while looking at the lich riding a Bonemare.

The Flame Scarab Warrior's body lit up. Its body burst in flames as it spread out its wings. Ishan drew his halberd and charged toward the barbarian tribe followed by his fellow Flame Scarabs.

Dreidus watched the scene and dully raised his hand. "Attack!"

The beasts and Undead creatures all rushed toward the village.

"I am also joining the fight. Stay at a safe distance in the sky." Dreidus briefly glanced at the harpies at his side before kicking his bonemare.

Alice obediently nodded. For once, she did not mess around as she understood the situation. She opened her wings and flew in the sky with her sisters. The harpies were ready to help the monsters from above.

Ivan and the Nosferatu were also present. Unfortunately, due to their diluted bloodline, none of the vampires had wings. They were forced to charge at the village on foot. The rest of the monsters also made their move according to the plan they discussed previously.

The barbarians were taken by surprise. The barbarians guarding the village first saw a large group of people rushing toward them. They went on their guard but were taken aback when they recognized the attackers.

"Tomos? You were alive?" exclaimed one of the barbarians but to his surprise, 'Tomos' mercilessly threw his spear, piercing through a barbarian's heart.

"Tomos? What on earth?" However, his shouts remained unanswered. Tomos was no longer a barbarian. Despite his appearance, Tomos was a Living Corpse.

After the celebrations of Musclewood Village, it became time to clean up the battlefield. Many barbarians from all the tribes perished in the battle. Instead of simply burning down the corpses, Five made the request to the chiefs to allow him to take care of them. Naturally, he left behind the corpses of the barbarians belonging to the Musclewood Tribe; he did not want to sully their corpses by turning them into Undead Monsters.

Five ended up collecting hundreds of corpses of powerful barbarians and Dreidus got to work. He turned them into Living Corpses but the process was slow. If he gave it his all, he could convert eight corpses into Living Corpses but with all the dead bodies available, it would take Dreidus three months before he could finish.

Nevertheless, he got to work and Lyra supported him. The Banshee Queen learned the basics of Necromancy and was soon actively participating in the conversion. At the same time, Dreidus' proficiency was improving and soon, he could convert ten corpses in a day.

He had now converted a little over a hundred corpses into Living Corpses. They were all above level 33; the strongest were the Living Corpses of the former barbarian chief, Luka and the second in command, Vans. The corpses of the dead Shamans were also converted but they turned into liches. Naturally, there was still a mountain of corpses waiting to be converted in the dungeon; they were all safely stored in a completely frozen environment under the water biome.

All the couple's hard work was paying off. The Living Corpses were extremely powerful; they could fight the barbarians face to face. They did not need to rely on trickery or sneak attacks like the other weaker Undead and Beasts were doing.

Having absorbed the Black Vulture Tribe, about two thousand barbarians were currently residing at the Vicious Rhino Village. However, out of these two thousand barbarians, only eight hundred were active hunters who were experienced in fights. Furthermore, the only real threat was the last Shaman of the tribe and he was precisely Dreidus' target.

They were quite lucky that the plains were foggy, allowing Dreidus to lead his army to the barbarian village without being detected.

The barbarians fought courageously but they were all caught unprepared. The Death Knights, Bonemares and Zombeasts led the charge behind the Living Corpses. Their spears pierced through the tents; the Undead did not discriminate, even the children were mercilessly killed.

The beasts and the rest of the Undead attacked from another direction, causing more confusion and chaos. They once again used the same swarm tactics, sending in hundreds of skeletons to their death but clearly, the battle was in favor of the Undead. The barbarians did not have time to properly wear their armor; they were not using their full potential.

Then, several projectiles rained from above as the harpies unleashed a series of spells. The Flame Scarabs dived down, attacking the clueless barbarians taking a look outside their tents. The village descended into chaos.

A bell rang, warning all the barbarians of the dangers but at the same time, another sound resonated through the village. It was Lyra's [Wails of Sorrow]. It was the first time the Banshee Queen used her skill.

It disrupted the barbarians, stunning them for a moment and significantly lowering their defenses. At the same time, the Phantom Musicians started playing their ballad, buffing up the Undead Monsters. The Ghost Dancers and the Defacers joined the fray, taking down many unprepared barbarians.

The Vicious Rhino Tribe was not a weak tribe by any means. They soon recovered and the next wave of barbarians emerging from their tents were all fully prepared and equipped. Unfortunately, it was a bit late as more than half of the hunters had already perished.

"Scree!"

Blue Eagles and Gargoyles joined the Flame Scarabs in their aerial attacks. At the same time, the ground trembled as Spiked Armadillos appeared. The barbarians were being attacked from all directions by a large variety of monsters.

...

Umar emerged from his tent accompanied by Kieron. 'Just what is happening? Are we under attack?'

They never expected someone to dare attack the Vicious Rhino Tribe. They were not weak and unless a tribe invested a significant amount of resources, the Vicious Rhino Tribe would be able to defend itself.

"Monsters? We are being attacked by that dungeon!" exclaimed Umar. He was enraged. His home was being destroyed.

The old Shaman pulled out his staff and started chanting but by doing so, he did not notice Dreidus' gloomy silhouette floating on top of the Shaman's tent.