My Kingdom Building Done Right!

Darkmane Tribe...

"Did everything go smoothly?" Jafar asked as soon as Troy passed through the gates of their city.

"Yes," Troy replied. "Gundar bore witness to the contract signing."

"He did?" Jafar arched an eyebrow. "Didn’t the information we received say that he is close with the Chieftain of the Aslan Tribe."

"Perhaps he is. Or perhaps he only saw his potential," Troy replied. "Either way, Hagen had given the order, so even Gundar couldn’t do anything about it."

Jafar frowned. After all, he knew that even if Hagen ordered his tribe to turn a blind eye on the war, as long as Gundar opposed it, the decision could still be changed.

The great shaman’s influence within the Grimhowl Tribe was that big.

"How are the preparations for the war going?" Troy asked. "How soon can we march toward Grimjaw Mountain?"

"Six more days," Jafar replied. "Ivan and your sons will probably arrive there tomorrow or on the day after. I’m sure we will obtain more information about the Aslan Tribe through them."

Troy nodded at those words and no longer said anything more on their way to his residence. After all, some complicated matters must not be discussed in the open. He and Jafar needed to be discreet.

Once they closed the door and felt certain that no one would overhear their discussion, they began talking about confidential matters.

"Will we mobilize the Special Army?" Jafar asked.

"Yes," Troy answered. "This war is the perfect chance to test their performance."

"Shall we bring our Guardian Beast along?" Jafar proposed. "I heard the Aslan Tribe has a Gryphon. It will be the perfect sacrifice for it."

"There’s no need to do that." Troy shook his head. "Someone must protect the tribe while we are away."

Jafar nodded in understanding. Their Special Army was already coming with them, so bringing their Guardian Beast to the war would be an overkill.

"Any news from the Bonegnash Tribe?" Troy asked. "They have been unusually quiet as of late."

There were five high-ranking tribes in the Borderlands.

The Warclaw Tribe, the Grimhowl Tribe, the Bonegnash Tribe, the Darkmane Tribe, and the Sandreaver Tribe.

Four of these tribes had already made some kind of connection with the Aslan Tribe. Only the Bonegnash Tribe had yet to reach out.

"Just like the Sandreaver Tribe, we are unable to obtain any news from them," Jafar stated. "But you’re right. They have been awfully quiet as of late."

The Bonegnash Tribe was the Darkmane Tribe’s closest neighbor.

They had several exchanges in the past. But throughout history, this tribe had not once allowed anyone to enter their city for trade.

As an alternative, a makeshift-city had been established outside its gates, serving as the main trading hub where the other tribes did business.

Among the high-ranking tribes, the Bonegnash Tribe was also the most tight-lipped.

Truth be told, Troy and Jafar were more wary of them than the Warclaw and Grimhowl Tribe combined.

"Make sure to send them a message. We should let them know that we will be waging a campaign against the Aslan Tribe," Troy ordered. "The last thing we want is to have someone attack us while we are warring in a different place."

"Understood." Jafar nodded.

Troy didn’t really think the Bonegnash Tribe would do such a thing. After all, if they dared to do something so shameless, the other high-ranking tribes would treat them as an enemy.

"Please look at this, Great Chieftain."

The shaman presented a report on the number of warriors that would participate in the war.

"A little over sixteen thousand..." Troy narrowed his eyes. "With the Special Army included, that will bring us to seventeen thousand strong. It’s like using a cleaver to kill a chicken."

Jafar smiled faintly. "We can recruit more, but I think this number is enough. Anyway, the majority of them will merely carry the materials needed to build siege weapons when we arrive at our destination."

"Indeed." Troy nodded. "The Bloodtusk Tribe had failed miserably back then only because they hadn’t known about the Aslan Tribe’s fortress. We will not make the same mistake as them."

The two then discussed more about the logistics of the war. In the end, both agreed that they would need to finish the battle as soon as possible.

A prolonged siege wasn’t an option for them. They wanted to show the other tribes an overwhelming victory.

Since logistics was an important part of their campaign, Jafar took it upon himself to handle it personally.

A day later...

Ivan, as well as Troy’s two sons, Cain and Travis, finally arrived at the gates of their city.

The three, alongside their escorts, headed directly toward the chieftain’s residence to give their report.

Troy didn’t even spare a glance at his disappointing sons. He thoroughly ignored them, directly ordering Ivan to give his report on the Aslan Tribe.

"The Aslan Tribe has allied themselves with an Orc tribe," Ivan reported. "Also, the Warclaw Tribe, the Grimhowl Tribe, and the middle-ranked tribes have convened in the Aslan Tribe."

"Oh?" Troy smirked. "A gathering of tribes, and I wasn’t invited? Maybe I should have gone there personally. Were there any chieftains present there?"

"Hagen, his sons, Malik, and the two heirs of the Warclaw Tribe were there," Ivan replied. "Oswald, Garen, and Duncan were already there when we arrived. They bore witness as the Chieftain of the Aslan Tribe declared war on us."

"Hah!" Troy scoffed. "Such audacity. I’m sure you made sure to humiliate him, right?"

Ivan hesitated at the question, but he eventually decided to come clean. Cain, Travis, and the warriors who accompanied him all saw what had happened, so lying would be useless.

"I didn’t manage to humiliate him," Ivan replied. "I was the one who was humiliated instead."

This time, Troy and Jafar frowned at the same time. Ivan was their Heavy Cavalry Commander, and they knew he was a very competent person.

For him to be humiliated in front of the other tribes was something that they didn’t see coming.

"Tell us everything that happened," Troy ordered. "Don’t leave any detail behind."

The commander then took a deep breath before recounting everything that had happened in the Aslan Tribe.

He reported how Leone turned the tables on him, which forced Ivan to challenge Leone to a duel.

It was then that the leader of the Orcs had dueled Ivan as Leone’s proxy. The outcome was obvious. Ivan had endured a one-sided beating.

The more the commander talked, the more Troy’s face contorted.

Clearly, he wasn’t pleased that the honor and dignity of the Darkmane Tribe had been stepped on, which was all witnessed by the other tribes that had convened in the territory of the Aslan Tribe.