Ch.36Chapter 36. Golden Sun Tribe (3)

Chapter 36. Golden Sun Tribe (3)

“Wh-what’s going on!”

“The barbarians are coming!”

“Why are they suddenly here!”

The civilized survivors were terrified at the sight of the Golden Sun tribe.

They probably think we’ve come to harm them.

Civilized people and barbarians have been enemies for a long time, so I can understand why they’d think that.

“Ooooooh!”

“Aaah-aaah!”

Tur and his cavalry charged toward the rear of the infected horde with their unique battle cries.

Keureok!

Infected creatures fell as the cavalry’s single-edged blades sliced through them.

I observed the creatures carefully.

In the center of the infected horde was a boar-infected creature as big as a truck.

Is it about to become a lesser demon? That one looks dangerous.

I used the ‘Zombie Control (Intermediate)’ blessing on the fallen infected.

Grrrr…!

Five infected rose back up and began attacking their former comrades.

I can control about five now.

Of course, I can’t control them precisely—I can only give simple commands like “attack” or “retreat.”

In the end, I can only precisely control one creature at a time.

The infected turned their attention to the zombies.

Zombies really do make reliable tanks.

While the tanks drew aggro, the barbarian cavalry attacked with even greater ferocity.

Kwoooooo!

The boar-infected that had been watching from the center seemed to sense danger and stepped forward.

A monstrous boar nearly the size of a lesser demon.

If something this big goes on a rampage, many barbarians will lose their lives.

My precious barbarians. I can’t let even one of them die.

To limit its mobility, I controlled the zombies to bite at its legs.

When it crushed the head of a zombie biting its front leg, I controlled another zombie to bite its hind leg.

There are plenty of zombies, and I can control five at once.

Kwiiik!

Its hide was too tough for the zombies to do much damage, but they were successfully annoying it.

“You beast!”

Tur swung his weapon, similar to a crescent blade, slashing across the boar’s eye as he passed.

Having lost its left eye, the boar snorted and charged at Tur.

It moved forward as if it didn’t even notice the zombies biting at its legs.

Well, my preparations were already complete anyway.

“Throw!”

I mean the barbarians’ preparation to throw their javelins.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Javelins flew toward the boar-infected. Sharp spear tips penetrated its hide.

The number of javelins embedded in its body continued to increase.

Kwoooo…

Finally, the boar-infected collapsed, unable to endure any longer.

A lesser demon would have lasted longer. Fortunately, it hadn’t reached that level yet.

“Victory! A crushing victory!”

“Malak! We dedicate this victory to you!”

The barbarians, having disposed of all the infected after their leader fell, shouted in triumph.

“Malak! Malak! Malak!”

Everyone chants my name. It’s not really my name, but I can’t help feeling proud.

Barbarians. At first, I just thought of them as NPCs who would earn me experience points.

Like tools I needed to get back home.

But after watching them up close, I’ve grown fond of them.

That fondness might have started as the feeling an owner has for their pets, but it’s different now.

These people who follow and believe in me, who struggle to survive in this apocalypse.

They may be aggressive, but they’re fundamentally human.

The barbarians have become precious to me.

I’m not sure if I could sacrifice myself for them, but I want to see them happy.

Tur and Bojak stood at the vanguard, surveying the group of civilized people.

About thirty civilized people exchanged anxious glances.

I wonder if they understand the barbarians’ language.

A man emerged from among the whispering civilized people. It was the knight who had been leading them.

“Thank you for your help, brave warriors. Is there anything you desire?”

The knight spoke the barbarian language quite well.

– Let’s take them back to the tribe first.

“Follow us. We will treat your wounded,” Tur said, turning his horse around.

“They say they’ll treat our wounded. I think we should go with them for now. Refusing might be considered disrespectful to their customs.”

The knight explained to his group while keeping an eye on the barbarians.

“What should we do?”

“We have no food or place to go anymore. Let’s go with them.”

The civilized people cautiously followed the barbarians after exchanging glances.

It’ll take a few hours to get back, right? Let me check the community in the meantime.

I posted the information I got from Harry last time, framing it as “heard from a passing wizard.”

I wonder if there are any comments?

[FallenPaladinKnight: thx for sharing]

[MeleeSpy: fr???]

[NotACatfish: This is really good information. Thank you.]

Seriously… Hannah. I told you to leave comments that don’t make it obvious, but here you go again.

Since I’m already here, let me read some other posts.

[Bench500: Did you guys know?

Two days before I was possessed, South Korea created something called a superconductor.

It’s like a metal that floats in the air?

They say it’s a truly massive discovery that will change human history.

Too bad. I could have witnessed a historic moment.]

Metal that floats in the air? What is this, gravity metal or something?

[ITrustedMonkeyUncle: Skynet, explain what a superconductor is]

This guy’s up to his nonsense again.

[Skynet: A superconductor is…]

And Skynet actually answers. But no matter how I read it, the explanation is completely different from what Bench500 claimed.

[ShotgunAttack: Skynet, did you come from a different multiverse? Why do you keep talking nonsense?]

ㄴ [ITrustedMonkeyUncle: Actually, we might all have been dragged here from different multiverses.]

ㄴ [Bramanda: Who was the 16th president of the United States?]

ㄴ [ITrustedMonkeyUncle: Portgas D. Ace.]

ㄴ [Bramanda: Really?]

ㄴ [DinosaurPunch: That’s a manga character’s name.]

ㄴ [Bramanda: You really are crazy.]

ㄴ [ITrustedMonkeyUncle: LOLOL How would I know the name of an American president? Maybe if it was Korea…]

ㄴ [NotACatfish: It’s common knowledge that Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States. Didn’t you go to school?]

ㄴ [MeleeSpy: The 16th US president was Adolf Hitler.]

This place is truly a paradise of nonsense.

– …

After experiencing all these serious events in a post-apocalyptic fantasy world, when I look at the community, it’s like…

Everything I just did—gloriously defeating infected creatures alongside the barbarians—feels fake somehow.

I sometimes wonder if this is all just a very long dream.

A long, meaningless dream that I’ll forget when I wake up.

I’d probably just get up, shake it off thinking “what a weird dream,” wash up, and go to my part-time job.

Organizing new inventory, dealing with difficult customers, working the register to pass the time.

Taking expired food home with the flexible manager’s permission, eating it with beer while watching YouTube, and ending my day.

Lying in bed thinking:

‘It was a very ordinary day.’

…We’re almost there. That’s enough daydreaming for today.

***

“Th-thank you. We thought we were going to die.”

“…Thanks to you, we survived. Thank you for your warm hospitality.”

The group of civilized survivors expressed their gratitude upon arriving at the tribe.

“Give your thanks to Lord Malak. He commanded us to save you.”

After hearing the knight’s translation, Bojak nodded and raised Totem #2 high.

Now it’s my turn to step up.

– I am Malak, the Roa of these people.

I gave my usual spiel about sacrificing much to save the world and so on. Just the same repertoire I always use.

After my self-introduction, Bojak spoke again.

“If you wish to continue receiving protection, and if you want to end this apocalypse, you must serve Lord Malak.

If you become members of the tribal federation, you won’t be discriminated against for being civilized. We reward people based on their work.”

This is basic missionary activity.

I grow stronger as my followers earn me points. If these civilized people become my followers, I can earn more points.

Harry and Luna have “for now” become my followers too.

It’s a bit ambiguous since they don’t show up in my status window like vassals would, but at least I witnessed them make their vows.

Surely there’s no rule that civilized people can’t become followers?

“Alright!”

“We will!”

“If all we need to do is believe, then…”

The civilized people eagerly agreed after hearing the knight’s translation.

I knew this would happen. I eavesdropped on their conversation while checking the community earlier.

They were arguing about whether to join us or just express gratitude and go elsewhere, but eventually those who wanted to join won out.

They chose barbarians over the infected. After all, other humans are better than monsters.

“Good. Then show proper respect to Lord Malak.”

Bojak raised Totem #2 “even higher.”

As the civilized people began kneeling one by one before Totem #2 with clasped hands, a nun who had remained standing spoke up.

“I am a faithful servant of Ishtania, and I will not kneel before a pagan god.”

Well, this is unexpected.

“What did that woman say?”

“Uh, well…”

“Tell me the truth!”

Intimidated by Tur’s pressure, the knight translated the nun’s words exactly.

“…!”

The barbarians’ expressions instantly turned grim.

Well, I figured something like this might happen eventually.