Once everyone was done feeding themselves and their mounts, Ulric ordered the travel-worn warriors to rest. He had already inford everyone that they’d set off for Grimjaw Mountain at sunset.
No one had been assigned to stand guard. Fury and Blitz would serve as the sentries. If ever the two tribes returned, the pair was enough to wake everyone up while defending.
"I still can’t believe it," Rufus said with a wry smile on his face. "How did the Alborin Tribe get this strong? It hasn’t been that long. And where did those wagons and monsters co from? They just appeared out of thin air."
"I’m just as curious as you are," Lynceus replied. "Maybe we’ll learn their secrets once we’re part of their tribe."
"Has our chieftain agreed?" Rufus’ expression hardened.
"No." Lynceus shook his head. "Not yet. But I believe he knows it’s our only choice. You were also part of the raid in the Grimjaw Mountain, weren’t you? Once you see what it looks like right now, you’ll find it hard to imagine that it’s the sa place we fled from."
"Our chieftain is smart. I believe he will take the initiative to settle the grudges by joining the Alborin Tribe. But there’s one more thing that bothers ."
"And that is?" Rufus arched an eyebrow.
"A person nad Leone," Lynceus replied. "The warriors of the Alborin Tribe talk about him from ti to ti, but I have yet to see him. Based on how they talk about him, his position is high. Even Ulric listens to him."
"Well, we’ll et him sooner or later." Rufus eyed the resting Riverfang Tribe warriors, who had accompanied Ulric on this journey. "I’m just glad you guys reached us while we’re still alive. There’d be nothing but corpses here if you had been late."
Lynceus chuckled. "You’ll have to thank Ulric for that. He forced everyone to march in a hurry."
"I’m glad he did." Rufus sighed. "But I really didn’t recognize him. His hair is shorter, he looks younger and... he feels more dangerous than before."
"Right." Lynceus sighed. "He even has that Dire Bear companion he can summon out of thin air."
"Do you think that Leone guy is a Shaman?" Rufus crossed his arms over his chest. "I heard the Shaman of the Barbarian King can summon animal spirits to fight for him. Who knows? Those monsters they call Raptors might also be Spirit Summons."
Lynceus pondered for a bit because Rufus had a point. If that Leone guy really had this kind of magical powers, maybe he was indeed the reason why they failed to defeat the Alborin Tribe back then.
’There’s no use thinking about these things,’ Lynceus thought. ’Frankly, I’m also glad Arlo is dead. That bastard would’ve pushed us all to hell if he remained in power.’
Not all the warriors liked Arlo. So were loyal to their previous chieftain and had always recognized Jason as the true heir of the Black Wolf Tribe.
Unfortunately, Arlo had planned ahead and poisoned the young man before he took over his position.
Even now, Lynceus had a nagging feeling that their previous chieftain had also been poisoned by Arlo before he scooped in and took his position.
Still, no point thinking about it. The ones involved were dead, and they must focus on the present. As long as they could reach the Grimjaw Mountain, their tribe could still have a future.
A few hours passed, but the activity in the campsite didn’t slow down.
Ulric told everyone to only take necessities like food, water, and clothing, and leave everything else behind.
Their wagons didn’t have space to carry unnecessary belongings, which would only slow down their journey.
The children were all gathered in two wagons, which would be pulled by the two Ironclaw War Raptors.
Fury would also be closely guarding them to ensure nothing would hurt the children.
The won and the elderly were also prioritized and assigned to certain wagons.
Everyone already knew they would leave right after sunset, which ant they would journey all through the night. With this in mind, they had an early dinner and prepared for their long journey.
As all of this happened, the Ashclaw and Stormhorn Tribes were having a heated discussion.
Their topic was whether they should attack the Black Wolf Tribe or go back to call for reinforcents.
From their location, it would take them at least a day to go back to their tribes.
If they returned, they could gather their remaining warriors, increasing their headcount to a hundred.
They had thought sixty warriors would be enough to bring down the Black Wolf Tribe, but they were wrong.
They didn’t consider that other tribes, especially the Alborin Tribe, would co to their aid.
"If that’s really Ulric, fighting them is not an option," Ragan said in a serious tone. "I’ve seen him fight before, and I do not want to be on the receiving end of his axe."
"Are we just supposed to return empty handed then?" Barak asked in anger. "The other tribes will laugh at us when the news reaches them."
Ragan shrugged. "It’s better than dying. If you don’t feel like living anymore, go ahead. We won’t follow you to the afterlife."
The Ashclaw Tribe only fought battles they could win. They had followed this policy since their tribe’s creation, and their adherence to it had kept them alive in harsh environnts.
In their tribe’s history, they only failed to predict the outco once. Their alliance with Arlo, specifically their attempt to take down the Alborin Tribe, had brought death upon their warriors. It was a mistake Ragan wasn’t too keen on repeating, so he beca more cautious.
"Cowards, all of you!" Barak spat. "This is why everyone calls you the Cowardly Tribe behind your backs."
The warriors of the Ashclaw Tribe only sneered at Barak’s cheap provocations.
Ragan sighed before resting his hands on his waist. "Look, we tried and we failed. That’s it. Sotis you win, sotis you lose. We just have to accept our loss.
"However, I’m more curious about why Ulric personally ca to their camp? Did he co to enact vengeance or..."
Barak narrowed his eyes and waited for Ragan to continue what he was going to say.
"Maybe he ca here to do the sa thing we ca here for," Ragan added.
"What?!" Barak’s eyes widened in shock. "You an..."
"Looks like Ulric is becoming ambitious." Ragan smirked. "After the Riverfang joined him, he probably decided to pay back Black Wolf Tribe for what they had done. They would likely be taken back to Grimjaw Mountain."
"We can’t let that happen!" Barak clenched his fists in anger. "If he gains enough warriors, he might settle the debt and attack us next!"
Ragan nodded in agreent. "But it’s impossible for us to fight them now. Doing so will be a folly. The losses will be too great to be worth it."
"Then what do we do?" Barak asked. "Should we just let them go?"
"Of course not," Ragan answered. "Let’s send a few warriors back to our tribes. They are to inform our tribes of the situation and ask for reinforcents. Ulric is going to travel with the entire Black Wolf Tribe, and they can’t possibly travel fast.
"Our reinforcents will have enough ti to regroup with us. As soon as we’re ready, we can start attacking them with arrows. We will use hit-and-run tactics to whittle their forces."
Barak grinned, liking the idea very much. "So we’ll harass them while we wait for reinforcents."
"Exactly." Ragan nodded. "We can’t let them go back to Grimjaw Mountain unscathed."
The two Head Hunters both agreed to a plan and ordered a few of their n to rush back to their camps.
Little did they know, a black squirrel had been observing them from above the trees and overheard everything they had talked about while snacking on so berries and nuts.
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