I'm the Only Totem in Another World - Chapter 70

Chapter 70: Tunnel Demon （1）

The reply came quickly.

ㄴ [Princess Dina: We only caught one high-ranking demon.]

ㄴ [Close-Range Spy: …Is that so]

ㄴ [Princess Dina: Did you catch one high-ranking demon?]

Oh. Right.

Close-Range Spy asked if we caught two. So he knew we had caught one.

Is he subtly implying that he caught the other one?

ㄴ [Close-Range Spy: That’s…]

ㄴ [Close-Range Spy: You don’t need to know]

He did. This bastard caught it.

ㄴ [Princess Dina: I heard about Atomic Rex from my comrade.]

ㄴ [Princess Dina: Won’t you join the Special Forces too? I think you’d be a great help.]

ㄴ [Close-Range Spy: Nope]

ㄴ [Princess Dina: We might be able to catch the Dark Cloud Demon.]

ㄴ [Close-Range Spy: Is that so…or maybe not…]

He’s really pissing me off.

What kind of meme is that?

ㄴ [Princess Dina: Huh? What are you talking about?]

ㄴ [Close-Range Spy: Information 1） The number of high-ranking demons is over seventy.]

ㄴ [Princess Dina: …There are that many?]

ㄴ [Close-Range Spy: Information 2） The Dark Cloud is on a different level from the one you caught.]

ㄴ [Close-Range Spy: If you really want to catch it, try challenging it with three level 10 users.]

ㄴ [Close-Range Spy: If you can’t, just give up. Aim for living a long life.]

ㄴ [Close-Range Spy: This shitty game wasn’t made to be cleared in the first place.]

ㄴ [Close-Range Spy: Bye]

And just like that, Close-Range Spy left.

[Princess Dina: Three…I don’t think we have that kind of time.]

[Princess Dina: For all of us.]

Princess Dina also disappeared, leaving behind a somewhat bitter remark.

So we need three max-level Paladins to catch the Dark Cloud Demon?

It’s something that might take years.

━ …

I should be happy to hear that we caught a high-ranking demon, but I feel uneasy.

I can’t even begin to imagine how strong the Dark Cloud is.

We’ll have to kill hundreds of lower demons and dozens of mid-ranking demons escorting it before we can even start fighting it.

Rake can handle dozens of lower demons alone, but even three mid-ranking demons are too much for her.

Kanto might be able to hold off three or four lower demons, but that’s about it.

Regular warriors struggle with even one lower demon.

It’s not something we can even think about right now.

Let’s focus on the enemy in front of us, the Tunnel Demon. He’s not an easy opponent either.

▄ ▄ ▄ ▄ ▄ ▄

The promised day has arrived.

All the warriors of the Tribal Federation are ready to go and are awaiting my orders.

This sounds cool in words, but in reality, it’s just a bunch of grown men and women kneeling in front of the mini totem Rake is holding.

You could say it’s a horrifying human version of the Simba birth scene from ‘The Lion King’.

━ He’s cunning, but he’s no match for us. With me, Malak…

I gave a grand speech. I stayed up a bit late last night thinking about this.

This is our third expedition, so I can’t just brush it off.

Is this how the principal felt when he was preparing his commencement speech?

Back then, I just swallowed my anger, thinking, ‘This old fart talks too much,’ but now that I’m an adult, I can understand.

He must have prepared those words after much deliberation.

It was a speech filled with effort, sweat, and passion, so that’s why he kept saying, ‘One last thing~’ as he read it out loud.

“Woohoo!”

The response is better than I expected. No one is whispering or doing something else like they do during commencement speeches.

━ …I, Malak, promise you victory.

Everyone listened attentively to my words until the very end with bright eyes.

I’m overwhelmed with emotion.

“…Hmm. Huh?”

It would have been perfect if it weren’t for that sound.

The bastard who’s nodding off and then waking up with a start, looking around…It’s Noah.

Tsk tsk.

Now I understand.

The meaning of the words the elders always said, ‘Young people these days have short attention spans.’

They were criticizing the weak concentration of 21st-century Earthlings.

“Let’s go! Revenge! This time, we’ll strike at their hearts!”

Kanto led the warriors with a booming voice.

Our commander can now defeat one lower demon after a ‘decent’ fight.

This time, instead of letting Rake hog all the demon kills like last time, we’re going to give Kanto a chance too.

“Le, Let’s go~!”

I can even give Noah, who’s letting out an awkward cheer, the last hit on a lower demon.

Maybe it’s because she’s a Paladin, but she rides a horse well.

Good. The main force has departed.

I channeled my divine power into Paya, who’s scouting the enemy base with Tteunteuni.

“Ah, Malak-nim.”

Paya’s vision showed the Imperial Arena.

She’s looking down from the sky.

Unfortunately, I can’t use the totem’s power in this state, so I can’t get a close-up view of the situation at the arena.

━ What’s the situation?

“They’re heavily armed. It seems like they knew about our attack and prepared for it.”

Did they prepare for a siege after seeing the tunnel Rake and I reopened?

They might have used another tunnel we didn’t find to observe the Tribal Federation’s movements.

Whatever it is, he’s smarter than the Gorilla Demon.

Let’s stay alert, as we don’t know what might happen.

After a few hours, the main force of our Tribal Federation entered Polaris.

At the end of the long wasteland lies our target, the Imperial Arena.

“Giddy up! Giddy up!”

The cavalry was trying to pick up the pace, but they encountered an unexpected obstacle.

The ground the horses stepped on caved in. Tentacles resembling carnivorous plants sprang up, binding both the horses and the warriors whole.

“Ugh!”

Neigh!

The warriors and horses, trapped like insects in a Venus flytrap, screamed.

Rake, who quickly arrived, cut the tentacles with her curved sword.

“Th, Thank you!”

The horse was injured by the sharp thorns at the end of the tentacles, but the warrior was unharmed.

━ Rake.

“I didn’t notice it because it didn’t move at all until this person stepped on it. I apologize.”

━ It’s alright.

Rake, with her superhuman senses, didn’t even notice it.

Did it stop its life activity until it received an external shock?

“It’s not a magically created trap, it’s a living being, so it wasn’t detected.”

Harry, who was observing the tentacles, scratched his head.

“Th, Then we have to step on them one by one?”

Noah, who was creeping closer, turned pale.

━ There’s no need for that.

We can’t let things go wrong from the start.

I used the ‘Malak’s Domain （Lower）’ blessing.

This is what this blessing is for.

Whoosh━!

Blue clouds formed in the sky, raining down.

Woo woo woo…

As the ground became wet, the flower-like tentacles slowly crawled out.

Could they not stand the cold? Whatever it is, neutralization successful.

Seizing the opportunity, the warriors swung their swords and cut the tentacles.

Stage 1 cleared?

Whoosh! Whoosh!

…As soon as I thought that, Worm-humans hiding in the tunnels popped out and spat needle-sharp quills.

“Block them!”

Everyone immediately raised their shields and were unharmed, but the attacks were quite fierce, pushing them back slowly.

I couldn’t subdue them immediately because they were further away.

They were about 300 meters away, a distance Rake wouldn’t notice.

“Twenty-eight. I’ll take care of them.”

Rake, who had figured out the number of tunnels using her unique superhuman senses, charged at them.

The Worm-humans retreated back into the tunnels before Rake could reach them.

It’s not like we’re playing whack-a-mole.

The quill attacks were concentrated on Rake.

“Tsk.”

Of course, their attacks couldn’t pierce Rake’s skin. But they did piss her off.

As for me, I just clicked a button.

The blue clouds moved towards where they were.

Even if they hide in the tunnels, they’ll have to come out when the water fills up.

Don’t try to be sneaky and hit-and-run.

As expected, the soaked Worm-humans poked their heads out, shivering.

Swish!

Rake harvested their necks.

“Ha!”

Luna lent a hand too.

Lightning shot from her fingertips, tracking and electrocuting the Worm-humans inside the tunnels.

‘The winged ones are moving!’

No time to rest.

I heard Paya’s prayer. I channeled my divine power into her to check the situation.

Beetle-like cultists were heading towards our main force, carrying stones.

Damn it. They have flying units too?

Tunnel Demon…He’s a tough opponent. Is he really a mid-ranking demon?

Even if he’s a mid-ranking demon, he’s not an ordinary one. Maybe he’s on the verge of becoming a high-ranking demon, or he’s a newly promoted high-ranking demon.

I have a trump card, the Totem of Chaos. Let’s kill him today before he gets any stronger.

“Shall we attack?”

Paya watched them with a determined look. She looked ready to order Tteunteuni to breathe fire.

━ It’s dangerous. Wait until the main force arrives.

They’re an army. They’re different from other cultists who are just armed and told to fight on their own.

They might have anti-air measures that could bring down Tteunteuni.

“I’ll follow Malak-nim’s words.”

━ Maintain stealth.

I shifted my consciousness back to Totem No. 3.

━ The flying cultists are coming this way. We need to be prepared.

Rake nodded and relayed my words to everyone in a loud voice.

Unlike the last battle, which ended with mindlessly throwing Rake at the enemy, I have a feeling this is going to be a chaotic fight.