Ulric watched as the grimoire stored the logs that he had chopped inside its pages.
Just as Daedalus had said, his new axe made cutting trees so easy that it only took Ulric one swing to bring them down.
Because of this, they decided to collect sixty trees instead of just the twenty logs the grimoire had initially asked for.
He still didn’t know what the magical book and its Master were planning. However, after seeing the beasts that Leone had recruited as his vassals evolve into stronger creatures, he decided to see what other miracles the young man could show him.
As they climbed back up the mountain, they saw Arion flying around it. The horse neighed at them in greeting, but it didn’t stop, continuing its flight practice.
’To think that sickly-looking horse beca a Pegasus—this is really sothing else,’ Ulric thought. He wondered if he could have also beco a stronger version of himself if he had accepted Leone’s proposal to beco his vassal back then.
He had many responsibilities, and becoming the vassal of a young man whom he had just t wasn’t realistic. Even if he agreed, his tribesn would lose respect for him and feel betrayed.
They might even turn hostile toward Leone for causing trouble for their tribe.
When they arrived at the cliff overlooking the Forest, they found Leone and Yuni seated on the ground.
Yuni was telling Leone about the nas of the different tribes in the Borderlands, as well as the power ranking of each one.
According to her, there were fourteen scattered tribes, and the Alborin Tribe sat at the bottom of the rankings.
This ant they were the weakest among all the tribes, yet they still survived in this harsh environnt because everyone worked hard together.
The Black Wolf Tribe was ranked tenth, so it wanted to absorb the Alborin Tribe to raise its rank.
Their new Chieftain believed that once they grew strong enough, they could absorb the rest of the tribes, crowning himself as the Barbarian King of the Borderlands.
Yuni’s face twisted with hatred as she spoke about the Chieftain of the Black Wolf Tribe, a man with the moniker Arlo the Wolf.
He had gained the power to transform into a werewolf, boosting his strength several tis over, especially during the nights of the full moon.
The reason the Black Wolf Tribe had given the Alborin two weeks to surrender wasn’t that they were considerate but because the next full moon would appear in exactly fourteen days.
Arlo would attack at his peak. Ulric might be able to match him briefly if he unleashed his Berserk Ability. But the mont it wore off, the Alborin Tribe would be at Arlo’s rcy.
What made Yuni’s blood boil even more was that Arlo had told her father that he would be willing to take Yuni as his concubine. He even said she should be honored to beco a woman of the future Barbarian King.
"You seem to really hate him," Leone said, catching the murderous look on Yuni’s face.
"Hate him?" Yuni sneered. "I despise him from the bottom of my heart. I’d rather marry a weakling like you than soone like him."
"Hey!" Leone raised his chin in pride. "Who said you could marry without my permission? Do you have any idea how many ladies want to marry ? They could circle the entire territory of my father’s viscounty!"
Yuni gave him a doubtful look. She had to admit he was a very good-looking young man. But good looks weren’t exactly what barbarian won prioritized.
They preferred strong warriors. n who could protect them and their children from their dangerous environnt. How could she possibly consider Leone as a future partner when he was literally weaker than a squirrel?
"S-Stop! Don’t look at with those eyes filled with pity!" Leone stuttered. "I bet you’re thinking I’m useless because I’m weaker than a squirrel!"
"Wow. Daedalus gave you mind-reading powers, too? You’re so accurate."
"Damn it!"
Ulric blinked before turning to Daedalus. "Is Leone really weaker than a squirrel?"
The grimoire lightly coughed. "My Master has many talents. Being strong is not one of them... at least, not yet. However, rest assured. Once I’m done with him, he will beco the greatest Hero King of all ti."
"Does that an that he’ll be stronger than ?" Ulric asked in an amused tone.
"You?" Daedalus tilted its body, looking the Barbarian Chief up and down. "I hate to say this, but Leone will leave you in the dust within a year or two. He will beco so strong that you’ll look back fondly on the days when you saw him at his weakest."
Instead of taking offense, Ulric grinned. "I’ll look forward to that day."
"You should." Daedalus nodded. "Because that day will certainly co."
The grimoire’s words dripped with confidence. It had already raised so many Kings, Queens, Emperors, and Empresses. While it had to admit that Leone was the weakest among them so far, the boy’s boldness and optimistic attitude made up for his shortcomings.
"Leone, we’re back!" Daedalus flew toward its Master. "Did you do what we agreed on before I left?"
"Yes," Leone replied. "Maximus is busy mining inside the cave."
"Good. I’ll be back soon." Daedalus flew into the cave to collect the stones the white kobold had gathered. It was eager to show off the power that it had bestowed upon Leone.
Several minutes later...
Daedalus hovered beside its Master as they discussed what they planned to build on the cliff.
Fortunately, Leone’s father had taken him to one of the fortresses protecting their territory, so he had so idea of what defensive structures they could build.
"First, we need stone parapets near the cliff," Leone said, pointing to key locations. "About waist-high. Archers can shoot over them and use them as shields if the enemy counterattacks."
"Great idea!" Daedalus replied. "I will enter Construction Mode. You can automatically place the parapets wherever you like and adjust them to your preference.
Leone’s eyes widened as a three-ter-long transparent stone parapet materialized in the air before him.
The information he needed to place it appeared directly in his head.
"I see, so it’s like this..." Leone muttered, moving closer to the cliff with his hand stretched out in front of him.
Right in front of Ulric’s, Yuni, and the two guards standing at the cave entrance, a stone parapet suddenly materialized at the edge of the cliff.
Their jaws dropped as the parapet simply appeared out of thin air.
"Wow!" Leone lightly tapped the stone parapet to check if it was real or not. "This is fun!"
Now that he understood how the building chanics worked, the young man quickly added more stone parapets until they covered the entire cliff area.
"That’s good, Leone," Daedalus said with satisfaction. "Now, use the Blueprint that you received as a reward to purchase a defensive structure. We have two options. A watchtower or a mounted repeating crossbow that functions as a turret."
"A repeating crossbow?" Leone blinked. "You an one that can shoot bolts consecutively without reloading each ti?"
"Exactly," Daedalus replied. "But this one is larger than a regular crossbow. It’s designed to kill monsters. In fact, it’s the perfect weapon against flying creatures like a gryphon."
"I see... huh?!" Leone nearly jumped back when he realized Yuni, Ulric, and the two warriors were standing right behind him, staring intently at the projection Daedalus was showing.
"Leone, can you instantly build a watchtower or this repeating crossbow, like you did with these stone parapets?" Ulric asked with bloodshot eyes.
His gaze was so intense that Leone felt like his legs might turn into jelly.
"O-Of course!" Leone replied. "As long as the materials are available, I can build them instantly!"
"This is my Master’s power," Daedalus comnted proudly. "Didn’t I tell you that he could create miracles? Well, now, you’re seeing it firsthand!"
In sync, Leone and Daedalus laughed together like third-rate villains.
But the fact that he could build sothing like this in an instant made Ulric, Yuni, and the two warriors serious.
"H-Hey, what’s wrong?" Leone blinked. "Guys? Why are you looking at like that?"
Leone felt like a lamb surrounded by a pack of wolves who hadn’t eaten for a very long ti.
At that exact mont, a notification sounded inside his head, telling him of the next mission he needed to complete to upgrade his claid territory to Rank 2.
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