My Kingdom Building Done Right!

After ensuring that there were no misunderstandings left, an internal feast within the Aslan Tribe was held.

Actually, it wasn’t grand. They all just ate breakfast as a tribe. But for some reason, everyone made a big deal of it.

Seeing the ruckus wouldn’t die down unless he joined, Leone took the seat of honor.

Unfortunately for Leone, Kael was up to his old tricks again. Not only did he bring Yuni to his table, he pulled Aria into it as well.

"Hey. Do you want me to order Blitz to shoot a lightning bolt at your grandpa one of these days?" Leone asked Aria after Kael had left the table.

"Can you do it more than once?" Aria asked back. The shy and innocent girl surprisingly welcomed the idea of her grandfather getting punished for his shenanigans.

"I’ll consider it." Leone promised.

Yuni giggled from the side. Although Leone had made that proposal, she was certain that both the young man and Aria were just joking.

They then ate their meals, watching everyone merrymaking.

Even Aria congratulated Yuni. She was genuinely happy to know that Leone was a normal man who also appreciated beautiful women.

Once breakfast ended, Leone gathered his vassals to his house, only to then discuss with them his plans for the upcoming war.

After explaining the specifics of his plans, the first one to speak up was Hassan.

"I don’t mind being assigned to this mission. However, I wouldn’t feel at ease being away from the Young Master’s side," Hassan said. "The high-ranking tribes are still here. I won’t put it past them to scheme."

"How about this?" Kael proposed. "Brann and I will accompany Leone wherever he goes during the day. Then, at night, we can have Maximus and Fury guard him. How does that sound?"

In the end, Hassan reluctantly agreed to this arrangement. After all, Brann and Maximus were the perfect guards for Leone while he was away.

Then again, he also liked the plan Leone and Daedalus had devised to strike terror unto the Darkmane Tribe.

"Are there any more questions?" Leone asked.

None of his vassals raised any more concern, so they finalized their plan.

Three days from now, Blitz, Hassan, Otto, and Arion would head toward the Darkmane Tribe as the special forces tasked with an important mission.

Since Daedalus was also connected to Leone’s vassals, it would be able to see everything that was happening to them without problems.

Plus, now that the Orcs were truly on their side, Logan, Rasta, and Khan could also help protect Leone while their elite forces were away.

They had no idea how long their guests would stay in the Aslan Tribe. But, since the Darkmane Tribe would come sooner or later, they believed that they would all leave within a week.

That way, they wouldn’t be caught in the crossfire between the two warring tribes.

"By the way, I will talk to Rasta later and ask him if he knows any formations using totems. If we can set them up, it will greatly help us in battle," Kael stated.

"Formations using totems?" Leone asked. "What’s that?"

"Totems are mediums shamans use to channel certain abilities," Kael explained. "For example, if a certain totem is placed on the battlefield, it can enhance the morale of our warriors or even make them slightly stronger.

"Of course, there are defensive totem formations as well. They can either create illusions or confuse the enemies once they enter a certain range."

"That sounds interesting." Leone knew something similar back in the Kingdom of Britannia. However, they were called Arcane Arrays.

They were special artifacts that boosted an army’s potential on the battlefield.

Actually, Leone’s banner had a similar passive effect, which enveloped the entirety of his territory.

After their meeting ended, Leone got out of the fortress to breathe fresh air. He was accompanied by both Brann and Kael.

Although their duty to protect him was supposed to start three days from now, they decided to do it anyway as practice for the real thing.

Though, as if waiting for them to exit the cave this whole time, a warrior from the Grimhowl Tribe immediately greeted them to pass on Hagen’s message.

Leone had already anticipated something like this, so he wasn’t really surprised.

’I’m sure he plans to talk about the Dragon’s Blood,’ Leone mused. ’Oh well...’

The Dragon’s Blood Hagen had passed on to him was a treasure the Grimhowl Tribe hadn’t been able to use for decades.

When Hagen gifted it to Leone, he had done so as a symbolic gift.

Yes, it was precious. But since the Grimhowl Tribe thought it was no better than an ornament, Hagen thought Leone would only keep it for safekeeping.

Unfortunately, he was wrong.

He had underestimated the young man’s capabilities.

"Understood," Leone replied. "Please tell him that we are on our way."

The warrior bowed before sprinting up towards the staircase that led up the mountain.

On the other hand, Leone and his two vassals took their time walking while talking with each other through telepathy.

’I bet Hagen didn’t see this coming,’ Kael said through telepathy. ’He must be regretting gifting the Dragon’s Blood to you, my Great Chieftain."

’Well, who could blame him?’ Brann smirked. ’There’s a famous saying. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Hagen just didn’t know the value of Dragon’s Blood until he gave it away.’

Leone agreed with Brann’s reasoning.

If he were in Hagen’s shoes, he would definitely feel the same way.

When they arrived at the third floor, they saw Hagen, his sons, and Malik, as well as Ragnar, Wayne, and Vlad, casually chatting with each other while seated in the gathering area.

The moment Leone appeared, all of their gazes landed on him.

Vlad immediately stood up and ran toward Leone, greeting him a good morning.

Seeing the enthusiastic teenager, Leone lightly patted Vlad’s shoulder and greeted him in return with a good morning of his own.

After that, one of Hagen’s warriors took the initiative to pick up a chair and place it on the table, so that Leone could join the group gathering among the most influential people of the Borderlands.

"It seems that you’ve put the gift I gave you to good use right away," Hagen said with a smile. "How did you do it, Leone? How were you able to use the Dragon’s Blood in that manner?"

"To be honest, it was just a pure coincidence," Leone replied. "I showed your gift to my Kobold, Maximus, and he put it in his mouth to eat it. Then, the rest was history. Seriously, I think my Kobold just got lucky and evolved after eating the Dragon’s Blood."

This was the cover story Leone and Daedalus had come up with before meeting with Hagen.

Then again, he didn’t lie.

Maximus did "eat" the Dragon’s Blood after its potency was enhanced several times, which eventually led to his evolution.

Although it sounded unreasonable, everyone gathered there gave Leone the benefit of the doubt.

Hagen rubbed his chin thoughtfully, while Malik gave Leone a faint smile.

"I suppose luck is also a kind of strength." Hagen nodded in agreement. "Still, I never expected the Dragon’s Blood to trigger such a transformation."

"Neither did I," Leone replied with a helpless shrug.

Everyone gathered there exchanged glances with each other.

Last night’s spectacle was still fresh in their minds.

Maximus’ transformation had released a pressure powerful enough to leave a lasting impression on everyone who had witnessed it.

This also prompted Hagen to cancel his order of infiltrating the cave that led to the underground tunnels of the Aslan Tribe.

With someone as powerful as Maximus living down there, it would be very difficult for the Grimhowl Tribe’s Elite Warriors to escape its detection range.

"Your Kobold is certainly extraordinary," Hagen stated. "Yet I find myself more intrigued about something else."

"And what would that be?" Leone inquired.

A faint smile appeared on Hagen’s face as all eyes in the gathering area shifted toward the young chieftain.

"How many more surprises are you hiding from us, Leone?" Hagen asked.

This was the one question that all of them wanted to know the answer to. Ever since they’ve stepped into the domain of the Aslan Tribe, it was one surprise after the other.

To this question, Leone only smiled faintly.

At that moment, he was very tempted to say that the surprises that had happened during the past few days... had surprised him as well.