The four chieftains instantly hit it off.
They were having a good ti together, even bonding by watching the warriors of the Aslan Tribe do their daily spearmanship training, which was led by Ulric.
Usually, Leone would be down there, training with everyone. However, since they had guests, he decided to skip for now and accompany them for a bit.
"You also let won and children train in spear arts?" Duncan asked in curiosity.
"Yes," Leone replied. "Before the Bloodtusk Tribe invaded our lands, I had a dream. In that dream, the old and the children were ruthlessly slaughtered by the warriors. As for the won, so of them chose to commit suicide instead of being treated as playthings."
The young man said it was a dream, but in reality, it was more like a vision. This was why he had chosen to kill Varus and Ragan back then. He had seen what they tried to do to Yuni, and he didn’t want to risk it coming true.
"I see..." Duncan nodded in understanding.
As for Oswald and Garen, they looked solemn because they had been part of that failed invasion. Among the middle-ranked tribes, only the Redmaw Tribe didn’t send their warriors to attack the Aslan Tribe.
"Just to set the record straight, I didn’t really hold any grudges toward the Grimfang Tribe and the Ironhide Tribe," Leone stated to ensure there would be no future misunderstandings. "We just did what we believed was right back then. So, I would love to join hands with everyone once I’ve finished dealing with the Darkmane Tribe."
After hearing his words, the two chieftains were finally able to breathe a little easier.
Fortunately, Leone was a kind and forgiving person. Not everyone in his shoes would be able to easily forgive and forget, especially people who invaded your ho.
"Oh, I almost forgot," Leone said soon enough to change up the somber atmosphere. "Earlier, I received a report. The high-ranking tribes have been sighted. It seems that they sped up their journey. We can expect them to arrive four hours from now."
"How many of them are coming?" Oswald asked.
"Give or take, over two thousand five hundred," Leone gave an estimate. "The Grimhowl Tribe’s chieftain and his sons have brought at least a thousand warriors with them. On the other hand, the Warclaw Tribe brought around seven hundred warriors, though they were accompanied by a rchant group with three hundred people.
"As for the Darkmane Tribe, they brought five hundred warriors as a show of force, while the Sandreaver Tribe brought a hundred with them. Among them, the Sandreaver Tribe seems to be most carefree. It’s like they’re just going to buy so dried at from the market."
"They’ve always done things at their own pace." Garen agreed. "Still, did the Sandreaver Tribe’s chieftain co?"
"I don’t know." Leone shook his head. "I just know that they are coming. Also, before I forget, I have a favor to ask of you, my fellow chieftains. I want the three of you to be present when I et with them."
The three chieftains exchanged glances with each other before nodding in understanding.
"Okay," Oswald replied.
"If you want us to be there, we’ll be there," Duncan stated.
"Sounds like fun." Garen smiled.
Even if the young man didn’t invite them, there was no way they would sit this one out.
They wanted to see how Leone would interact with the representatives of the high-ranking tribes, especially with the Grimhowl Tribe.
They were supposed to be the Aslan Tribe’s allies, but Leone didn’t think too highly of them aside from his great uncle, Gundar.
A few hours later, a loud horn echoed throughout the forest, announcing that the n stationed at the watchtowers had noticed the approach of several caravans in the distance.
"It’s ti," Leone said before making his way to the base of the mountain.
His vassals walked behind him, which included Brann. The Chieftain of the Stormhorn Tribe had yet to go through his vassalship ceremony because Leone was waiting for all the tribes to gather before he went ahead to do it.
For him, it was his way of showing the barbarian tribes that the low-ranking tribes had finally united under one banner.
————
Two miles away from the Grimjaw Forest...
"We’re finally here," Hagen said calmly as he gazed at the forest and the towering mountain in the distance.
He had traveled far just to see the young man his right-hand man had taken a great liking to.
Both of his sons, Marcus and Elias, who sat on the sa carriage as their father, also glanced at the mountain.
Not far from their caravan, Godwin and his daughter, Tianna, also gazed in the direction of the mountain.
"I’m looking forward to seeing the person whom Vlad had praised to high heaven," Godwin said. "I hope I won’t be disappointed."
He and his daughter were using disguise magic at the mont, so no one could recognize them unless it was dispelled.
Only the head of the rchant group, who was also Godwin’s best friend, knew that the chieftain had secretly joined the trip.
Truth be told, there was no reason for a rchant group to travel this far. However, since he couldn’t possibly let his best friend, who was also his Great Chieftain, travel alone, he decided to accompany him and even brought his most elite bodyguards along to ensure the safety of the father-and-daughter pair.
Of course, they weren’t the only ones staring hard at the mountain.
The representatives of the Darkmane Tribe, who were led by the commander of their Heavy Cavalry, Ivan, looked as if they were going to war.
When Troy had asked him to head to the Aslan Tribe to pay the ransom for his sons, he had also given Ivan a secret order.
That was to survey the defenses of the Aslan Tribe and take note of any weaknesses they could exploit during the war.
From Ivan’s point of view, the Aslan Tribe wasn’t a big deal. Even if they holed themselves up the mountain, so what? If the Darkmane Tribe wished for this lowly clan to be destroyed, then they would be destroyed without fail!
While Ivan was coming up with ways to humiliate Leone in front of the other chieftains, the middle-aged man who led the representatives of the Sandreaver Tribe smiled faintly.
"I see..." the middle-aged man muttered. "The wind is indeed blowing from the east. It seems my trip here will not be in vain."
He was none other than the Chieftain of the Sandreaver Tribe, Malik.
As one of the chieftains of the high-ranking tribes, he really shouldn’t be traveling anywhere in the Borderlands with only a hundred warriors as his escort.
However, Malik didn’t seem to care.
He was blessed with very strong intuition, so he felt and believed that he would be safe even if he traveled to Grimjaw Mountain all by himself.
However, Elders of his tribe wouldn’t allow him to go alone, so a compromise had to be made.
A hundred warriors would escort him to this journey.
Now that they were finally nearing their destination, he was looking forward to seeing how Leone would deal with the chieftains, as well as representatives of the high-ranking tribes who had traveled far just to et him.
’Well then, young chieftain. I wonder if we can be friends?’ Malik thought before glancing at Ivan, who was openly radiating hostility toward Grimjaw Mountain.
For now, the Chieftain of the Sandreaver Tribe would simply watch from the side and see how the drama between the Aslan and the Darkmane Tribe would co to pass.
Then again, it was sothing many who had co wanted to see.
After all, it would also be the perfect opportunity to really know how Leone Frontera would present himself in front of the true leaders of the Borderlands.
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