The dead warriors can awaken new warriors by transferring their own potential to the living and awakening theirs with it. This is possible because races with Paragons are beyond social creatures. They have a bond akin to a spiritual network that connects all of them. They can be connected even with their dead.
This method of awakening has ensured the existence of paragons within their race. The stronger the totem, the more paragons can be awakened. And since only Paragons can become vitality core stage and more, the Warrogs have been able to maintain some level of strength.
The fact that they are still able to awaken paragons despite the curse on them is a silver lining. Which pack leader will not be satisfied? But the harm has already been done. The Warrogs don't have access to their main divine ability anymore. Their Paragons are but empty vessels compared to the ancient paragons.
This process even has some detriments. The forceful awakening of the Paragons by the totem pole forced a Vitality core to be formed. That's not how a Vitality core should be formed normally.
The vitality of the body should become more than what the body can contain and then form a focused organ to store it when the vitality reaches a certain threshold. But by forcing the creation of a vitality core, vitality is siphoned from the body to create the core.
That's why the paragons are leaner when they return to their humanoid form. They will recover physically, but their potential will never recover. So they are not only weaker than ancient paragons, they also don't have access to their divine ability to eat flesh and empower themselves with it. But the pack leader is satisfied because the alternative is worse.
Legion-6 was perplexed as he watched the proceedings. He made sure not to show it on his face as questions whirled through his head.
He knows what the totem pole is. It is a semi-religious and cultural symbol for the ancestors of the race.
Other races have something similar to it. They form shrines dedicated to certain warriors and heroes. The worship of the shrines leads to the animation of their statues or spirits in the form of ancestral gods. Those ancestral gods then go on to become heroic spirits.
What the Warrogs have is a little different but it is essentially an anchor for past warriors. Other races strengthen themselves by using the powers of their ancestral gods. They turn their totems into actual fighting manpower. But the Warrogs are using the spiritual accumulations in the totem to awaken themselves instead of transforming it into an ancestral god. It all seems like a weird way to waste the potential of the totem pole to him.
He believes that it will be better for more sacrifices to be made to the totem pole and then it should be weaponized as an ancestral god. That's because he doesn't know about the unfortunate situation of the Warrogs. He doesn't know that they need this process or they will die out. He didn't ask any questions though. He remained quiet like the others and observed intensely.
The newly created Paragons were carried away. Then the pack leader spoke to them.
"Rejoice, for today we are joined by more brothers and sisters in arms."
"We have lost some comrades today and we have gained some more. But no matter what, we will always have our loved ones with us. They might not be with us physically but they are with us spiritually. And one day, we too may join them. And live forever in the embrace of our ancestors."
Then he raised his hand to the sky and shouted, "Glory to the brave and honor to the mighty."
Everyone else joined him in shouting. "Glory to the brave and honor to the mighty."
Then the crowd dispersed. Everyone went on their way leaving the shaman who was still busy with the totem and watching the fire. The pack leader also remained where he stood. Legion-6's company nudged him and began walking towards the tower of a Warrog. Legion-6 followed them with mild trepidation.
He feels only mild trepidation probably because he is not afraid of death. But his fur straightened the closer he got to the park leader. It is not a reaction to his fear. He is not afraid of the park leader despite being outclassed. That doesn't mean he will do something stupid because of pride. Pride and potential don't mean strength. He can die now whether he knows his potential or not, whether he believes he is in danger or not.
His body definitely knows that he is in terrible danger. It is reacting weirdly because he seems to be approaching a storm and not a living entity. The whirlwind of invisible mana around the park leader is causing his fur to become charged. That's why it is straightening against his wish. If that isn't enough indication of how much danger he is in then nothing can be enough. He will be too foolish to be saved.
He was already struggling to breathe by the time he got close to the park leader. He was struggling to breathe in because the air keeps being sucked out of his lungs. Then there is the pressure around him that is making it difficult for his chest to expand.
The little air he managed to breathe in was not even useful to him. It is ozonized and charged so it is more dangerous to breathe in than to risk suffocation. All of these are simply because he is in close proximity to the Alpha of Alphas.
He bowed with the Betas when they bowed. He doesn't want to disrespect this powerful entity and have his life cut short just one day into it. You have to respect someone who is so tall that you only reach his knees. Such a person just needs to sit on you or kick you to kill you.