Shang and the barbarians frowned. None of them liked the idea of warriors being fed to beasts.
'As sad as I am to say it, it makes sense. Beasts need to eat beasts or humans to become more powerful, and humans can become more powerful by simply training, eating medicine, or meditating.'
'To the Blackshadow Kingdom, normal humans might as well be herbivores, which are fed to the useful carnivores.'
"How powerful are these Summoners?" Shang asked.
"They are not that powerful," one of the barbarians said.
"Not that powerful?" Shang asked with a lifted brow. "But they can control several beasts, right? That sounds about as powerful as a Mage."
The barbarian shook his head. "The beasts Summoners control are much weaker than wild beasts."
"How so?" Shang asked.
"We don't exactly know," the barbarian said. "We think that the normal beasts are probably too powerful."
"In what sense are they more powerful?" Shang asked.
"The beasts are just weaker," the barbarian said. "The Companion Beast has a far weaker body than a normal beast, and the other beasts the Summoner controls are at least a level weaker than the Companion Beast."
"So," Shang said. "To summarize, a Summoner on the same level as a Peak Fighter has a Companion Beast on the same level as a Peak Fighter, and they have several beasts equal to a Late Fighter, right?"
The barbarians nodded. "The Companion Beast is about as strong as our previous Leader in the camp, but they fight far better than wild beasts. The Summoner controls them. The other beasts are also under the Summoner's control, but they don't fight as well as the Companion Beast."
Shang scratched his chin. 'Interesting. That means that a Companion Beast is about as powerful as a very strong barbarian on its level. Their bodies are about equal, and the beast can also fight really well.'
'The other beasts are a level weaker, but they don't seem to be weaker than wild beasts, which could mean that they are about as powerful as the Companion Beast.'
"How many beasts can a Summoner control?" Shang asked.
"Most Summoners have their Companion Beast and two wild beasts, but some even have three additional beasts. We have even heard rumors about Summoners with four additional beasts, but we have never seen one."
'So, the average Summoner can summon three beasts in total, including the Companion Beast. I think, on average, a Summoner is more powerful than a warrior, but their potential might not be as high.'
'An average warrior will be swarmed by three beasts with a more powerful body, but a really powerful warrior can probably take on five.'
Shang looked at the barbarians. 'But as for barbarians, probably not. One barbarian can probably take on a Companion Beast on their level and maybe a second one if they are really good.'
'But the problem is that the barbarians don't seem to have any truly outstanding talents. The power of their body decides everything.'
"Should we wait for the attack?" one of the barbarians asked.
Shang remembered what had started this topic.
They wanted to know if they should go out and hunt beasts now or wait for the attack to hunt more fitting beasts there.
"When is the attack?" Shang asked.
"We don't know," one of the barbarians said. "The Mages tell us one day before we go, and they haven't told us yet."
"Alright," Shang said. "I think it would be better to hunt for beasts now."
The barbarians nodded without questions.
They didn't know why Shang was telling them to strengthen their body now, but they trusted him since he was more powerful.
"If we delay our strengthening, the Mages will suspect that we all know the full technique," Shang said, explaining his reasoning anyway. "Because of that, I would advise you to strengthen yourself normally, and if you find an opportunity to get the right beast, take it."
The barbarians nodded.
"Where can we find beasts?" Shang asked.
He had seen only very few beasts in this Zone. He wasn't surprised that he hadn't seen any humans since this was war-torn land, but he was surprised that he didn't find any beasts.
"They are in the tunnels deep below us," one of the barbarians said. "You can find caves in the mountains, and most of them lead to the tunnels below us."
'So, it's like the Caves,' Shang thought.
"Alright, anyone that can't strengthen themselves right now?" Shang asked.
All the barbarians frowned. "None of us can," one of them said. "Our previous Leader took us out to strengthen ourselves about a month ago. Most of us have to wait one more month or two weeks."
Shang nodded and looked at Lash. "How about you?"
"I can," Lash answered.
Shang had already expected that. After all, the two of them had been imprisoned for two weeks, had traveled to the Deepcore Turtle Zone, and then had trained here for about three weeks in total.
"Then, let's go. We'll strengthen ourselves right now," Shang said as he stood up. "You are truly lucky to be sent here."
Why was Lash lucky?
Because he had an Earth Affinity, and the Deepcore Turtle also had an Earth Affinity.
The underground was brimming with beasts with Earth Affinities and Darkness Affinities since the Earth Mana and Darkness Mana were abundant underground.
The other barbarians also stood up, ready to follow.
"You don't need to come with us," Shang said to them.
The barbarians were a bit surprised.
They didn't have to follow the two of them?
They were a bit doubtful. After all, Shang and Lash needed to kill a beast on their level, and Peak Fighter Stage beasts were very powerful. Two barbarians couldn't kill them on their own. Even their previous Leader needed five other barbarians to help him.
However, they trusted Shang. Shang was more powerful, and if he said that he would do something impossible, they would believe him.
This was simply how barbarians were.
"We will wait for you," the most powerful of them said.
Shang nodded and led Lash away.
Killing a Peak General Stage beast?
That wasn't very difficult for Shang.
