My Kingdom Building Done Right!

Chapter 96: One Less Tribe To Worry About

On the same night the Bloodtusk Tribe sent their messengers to the other tribes to inform them about their righteous battle, Leone and his vassals had also hosted their own meeting.

"They are sending 2,850 warriors?" Kael smiled faintly. "Aren’t they underestimating us too much?"

"You could only stay calm like this because of our fortifications," Ulric commented. "If they attacked us with what we had before, you’d be the first to try and convince Leone to escape far away from this place."

"Well, you’re not wrong." Kael smiled evilly. "But now, their forces will be like an egg being thrown at a rock. If they want to capture our fortress, they would need to bring at least an army of 10,000 to do it."

If the Darkmane Tribe and the middle-ranked tribes were really serious in fighting them, gathering 10,000 warriors would not be a problem.

Fortunately, they had no idea about the true prowess of the Aslan Tribe and its allies. Unfortunately for them, Leone planned to make them understand that they had just kicked a steel plate!

The new Chieftain of the Black Wolf Tribe, Otto, nodded in agreement to Kael’s statement.

He was the most anxious about the war. But now that he and his people resided in the safety of the fortress, he felt more optimistic about their chances of winning.

Excluding the elderly and the children, if everyone fought, including the women, they had four hundred people willing to fight for the sake of their tribe.

The number of true warriors, among them who had experienced real battles, were eighty five people. They were the core of Leone’s forces, while the rest would be delegated to using bows, the repeating crossbows, and the mounted ballistas.

Their enemies outnumbered them seven to one. But the defenses that Leone and Daedalus had prepared were more than enough to overturn the disparity in numbers.

Unless the attacking tribes had someone with strength on Gundar’s level, they should be able to fend them off.

"Tell everyone they have four more days to train in the barracks," Leone ordered. "After that, I will dismantle it. We will use the next four days to gather as many resources as possible, including food, wood, and iron.

"I will also talk to the wolves tomorrow and inform them to move farther away since enemies might involve them too. But I will also try to ask them for help in ambushing our enemies when they try to hunt for food.

"If they agree, we will have a strong ally outside our fortress that can coordinate with us in battle."

Since Leone had the ability to talk to monsters and beasts, he made a non-aggression pact with the two overlords of the Grimjaw Mountain and the forest that surrounded it.

The first one was the Gryphon, Astravor, who now lived at the peak of the mountain.

The second overlord was a Rank 4 Alpha Forest Wolf. Although weaker than the Gryphon, it still had a hundred wolves under its command.

It lived on the western side of the forest. It was also the first threat that Leone had tried to deal with after they had moved to Grimjaw Mountain.

Fortunately, Leone and Daedalus managed to convince it to leave the barbarians alone. In return, the barbarians didn’t intrude in its territory to hunt their prey.

"Remember this. Not only must we win, we must also win overwhelmingly," Leone stated. "That’s the only way our tribe can gain the recognition of the high-ranking tribes."

Everyone nodded in agreement. Through this battle, they would show everyone that they couldn’t look down on them again!

Two days have passed since that meeting ended.

The scouts of the Aslan Tribe received an unexpected visit from four warriors of the Stormhorn Tribe. The four warriors said that they didn’t wish to fight, and held out a letter written by their chieftain, alongside a wagon filled with food, bows, and arrows.

They didn’t stay long, and bade their goodbyes right away because they were afraid that the other tribes would discover them.

Daedalus then double-checked if the food had poison in it, only for it to yield no result. This meant that there was nothing wrong with the food, including the bows and arrows.

"The Stormhorn Tribe sent this?" Leone asked the scout that brought the wagon to the barracks.

"Yes, Great Chieftain," the scout reported before giving the letter in his hand to Leone. "This letter is said to be handwritten by their chieftain."

Leone opened the letter and read what was inside of it. It contained a short message, but he could feel the sincerity in it.

—————

Our tribes were forced to lower our heads in order to survive. It has been many years since someone dared to challenge the hierarchy that had long been established. I wish that I could stand by your side, but it wasn’t meant to be.

I may not be with you in body, but I will be with you in spirit.

Show me a miracle, and I will pledge my loyalty to you.

—————

Leone read the letter two more times, double-checking if there was some sort of hidden message between the lines.

But since he wasn’t an expert, he eventually decided to hand it over to Kael, who read the letter with a solemn look on his face.

After he finished reading the letter, he handed it to Ulric before heaving a long and deep sigh.

"It seems that Brann has also reached the limit of his patience," Kael said.

"Do you know him, Kael?" Leone asked.

"Yes." Kael nodded. "He is a wise chieftain, as well as a good friend. Unfortunately, his son, Gromm, didn’t inherit his wisdom."

Ulric finished reading the letter, and handed it to Jason, who later handed it to Otto.

"This Brann fellow is indeed wise," Daedalus commented. "He has nothing to lose by helping us. If we win, then his timely help will be seen as him wishing to be our friend. If we lose, then he will pretend that he doesn’t have any relationship with us whatsoever."

Kael chuckled. "Indeed. However, I believe that he sincerely hopes that we win. All the chieftains of the low-ranking tribes have dreamed of breaking free from this label.

"Sure, the middle-ranked tribes don’t treat us as slaves. But being treated as inferiors still hurts our pride... and Brann is a very prideful person."

Leone smiled faintly. "I guess we can assume we have one less tribe to worry about."

But, just before they could reply to their Great Chieftain, a screech of a hawk reverberated in the sky.

Gundar was nearing Grimjaw Mountain. And his giant hawk, Soren, had informed everyone of their arrival.