novelraw Chapter 58: Dawn
Chapter 58: Dawn
His blade flowed in a series of disciplined arcs, forcing the Mirefang warrior to defend instead of attack. His footwork was grounded, each step planted firmly.
The saber user was gradually pushed back. But then his eyes sharpened.
He intentionally allowed a shallow cut to slice across his upper arm. The sword user took that as an opening and advanced decisively.
However, that was a mistake as the Mirefang warrior rotated his wrist sharply, redirecting his saber at an unnatural angle.
Instead of retreating, he stepped in. The curved blade slipped past the sword’s guard.
A brutal diagonal slash cut across the Ragh’Tal warrior’s chest, spraying blood lightly.
The sword user staggered backward, his weapon trembling in his hand.
The wound was deep. Though it wasn’t a fatal one, it was serious enough for a friendly competition like this.
He attempted to raise his blade again, but dropped to one knee.
"Enough." Old Ni’s eyes narrowed and ended the match.
The Ragh’Tal warrior clenched his teeth, then finally lowered his head in acknowledgment. "I lost."
Old Ni walked forward and glanced at the wounded swordsman. "Get treated."
Then he turned his gaze to the saber wielder. "You’re in the top five."
The Mirefang warrior lowered his weapon and bowed slightly. There was no arrogance on his face as he was exhausted.
Far away, inside his house, Ash slept peacefully—unaware of everything that happened outside since he also couldn’t be that careless with it.
...
Before the sun rose, Ash woke up as he had been sleeping for more than 12 hours. After stretching out his body for a while, he headed straight for the bathroom to take a dump.
Subsequently, he sat on his bed and opened the system interface since he was at his peak whether it was his physical or mental condition.
The first thing that he checked was obviously his points since he remembered about the astronomical amount of Tribal and System Points he had received from completing the mission given by the system.
[Tribal Points: 2,012,180 ] [System Points: 20,700,000]
Ash smiled widely when he saw the numbers in front of him.
He also checked that he had obtained 14.5k Tribal Points as his current daily Tribal Points from the system since the Ragh’Tal now had grown this big with ten 5th Ranks, a few dozens of 4th Ranks, thousands of 3rd Ranks.
The reason why the Tribal Points’ number was lower than it was supposed to be was because he had spent some time communicating here and there.
Then he checked on the things that he could upgrade and made some calculations in mind as he also needed to save some system points for other things.
Subsequently, he went outside as he wanted to check and stroll around the tribe.
Just as he opened the door, he was greeted by a man in his early thirties with a muscular body.
"Good Morning, Tribe Lord. Did you have a good sleep?" Baldur greeted with a polite smile.
Ash raised an eyebrow. "Why are you here?"
"I was ordered by the War Chief to stand guard while you’re taking a rest." Baldur scratched his head with an awkward smile.
Ash shook his head helplessly and chuckled. "You’re still too weak to stand guard for me."
Before Baldur could respond, Ash ordered the system in his heart. "Increase his stats to maximum."
[Ding! 700 Tribal Points have been successfully deducted.]
[Ding! You have increased Garnak’s stats to maximum, adding 350 stats in total!]
Baldur was taken aback when he suddenly felt the sudden stream of energy rushing into his body.
A few seconds later, before he could even catch a breath after settling the energy down within his body, he felt an enormous amount of energy flooded into his body.
[Ding! 8,000 Tribal Points have been successfully deducted.]
[Ding! Congratulations to the host! Baldur has successfully broken through to the 4th Rank Warrior.]
Ash upgraded his rank as he was in a good mood today and it just so happened that someone pleased him.
A moment later, Baldur opened his eyes and sighed softly. He then remembered something and bowed deeply. "Thank you, Tribe Lord. I will remember this—"
Ash interrupted him, waving his hand dismissively as he walked away. "You don’t need to be so polite, just do your job and contribute more to the tribe."
A thin layer of darkness still blanketed the Ragh’Tal stronghold. The torches planted along the pathways flickered under the faint breeze, casting long, shifting shadows across wooden huts and newly erected stone foundations.
The moment Ash took more than a dozen steps away, a familiar presence approached from the side.
The tall, broad-shouldered 5th Rank walked toward him leisurely.
Ash glanced sideways and asked. "What do you want?"
Vakra scratched his chin. "I noticed Baldur’s advancement, so I came to check."
Ash gave a faint smile. "So you felt it."
Vakra snorted lightly. "It would be strange if I didn’t since I’m the only one who’s still awake."
Naturally, he meant among the 5th Ranks.
Vakra then tilted his head slightly. "What are you planning to do at this hour? The sun isn’t even up yet."
Ash looked ahead toward the dimly lit paths stretching through the tribe. "Nothing special. I just want to stroll around and see the progress of the house construction."
Vakra paused briefly, then his eyes lit up slightly as he suddenly had in mind.
"In that case..." He straightened his back, "let me accompany you. I can report the current situation while we walk."
Ash did not refuse. "Sure, why not?"
The two began walking side by side.
The only source of light came from numerous torches planted throughout the stronghold. Their flames crackled softly, illuminating sections of ground in warm orange light while leaving other parts submerged in shadow.
Despite the early hour, the tribe was far from idle.
Vakra began explaining as they walked.
"The former Mirefang, Varkesh, and Korag tribes have already settled into their designated zones," he said. "Most of them finished building their own houses last night."
Ash nodded silently. "And now?"
"They’re building more," Vakra replied. "Preparing for future newcomers. Some haven’t even rested yet."
As they turned toward the outer section of the stronghold, he could see dozens of people working under the torchlight.
Groups of three or four surrounded each unfinished house as they made it slowly with packed clay.
Their shadows danced along half-built structures. Sweat glistened on their foreheads despite the cold air.
Ash slowed his steps when he saw it.
Vakra followed his gaze.
"There are around forty eight of them who are still working at the moment." Vakra said.
Ash observed quietly before stepping forward.
"Stop what you’re doing." He said softly.
Immediately, the hammering ceased as they froze at Ash’s words.
When they recognized him, they hurriedly put down their tools and gathered in front of him.
They bowed slightly. "Tribe Lord."
Ash swept his gaze across them. "You’ve worked hard."
Before they could respond, he gave the command in his heart. "Upgrade all of their ranks at once."
[Ding! 8,000 Tribal Points have been successfully deducted.]
[Ding! Congratulations to the host! ... has successfully broken through to the 4th Rank Warrior.]
[Ding! 100 Tribal Points have been successfully deducted.]
[Ding! Congratulations to the host! ... has successfully broken through to the 3rd Rank Warrior.]
[Ding! 6,000 Tribal Points have been successfully deducted.]
[Ding! Congratulations to the host! ... has successfully broken through to the 4th Rank Warrior.]
[Ding! 8,000 Tribal Points have been successfully deducted.]
[Ding! Congratulations to the host! ... has successfully broken through to the 4th Rank Warrior.]
[Ding! 100 Tribal Points have been successfully deducted.]
[Ding! Congratulations to the host! ... has successfully broken through to the 3rd Rank Warrior.]
...
Dozens of notifications rang continuously in Ash’s mind.
At the same time, a visible surge of energy erupted from the gathered workers. One after another, their bodies trembled as a huge amount of energy surged through their bodies like a rushing river breaking through a dam.
The ground vibrated slightly from the simultaneous breakthroughs.
Vakra’s eyes widened in surprise because even for him, witnessing dozens of advancements at once was still a shocking thing.
The energy fluctuations were impossible to ignore as everyone within the stronghold stirred awake.
"What’s happening?!"
"These energy fluctuations!"
Within moments, more and more tribe members rushed toward the source.
By the time the breakthroughs stabilized, a small crowd had formed. The upgraded warriors slowly opened their eyes, disbelief written all over their faces.
They felt the difference in strength as their bodies were reinforced and their senses expanded.
One of them looked at his own hands, trembling. "I... finally broke through."
Another laughed uncontrollably. "4th Rank, I have reached 4th Rank now!"
Then realization hit them as they all turned toward Ash. Gratitude flooded their expressions and instantly thanked Ash.
"Thank you, Tribe Lord!"
Ash waved his hand casually. "I should be the one who said that because you all have worked hard."
The simple sentence carried more weight than the upgrades themselves.
As more people gathered and the commotion grew louder, Ash did not linger as he turned and walked away.
By the time Ash returned to his house, the horizon had begun to pale slightly.
He sat inside quietly, waiting for the sun to rise since he had something in mind that he wanted to do at that time.
Half an hour later, the first rays of sunlight broke across the horizon.
Ash stepped outside again.
"Gather everyone in front of the main hall." He looked at Baldur who had been waiting outside his house.
"Understood, Tribe Lord!" Baldur replied.