My Kingdom Building Done Right!

Soon, the meeting resumed. To Leone’s surprise, Malik stated that he alone would stay behind in the Aslan Tribe to watch their war against the Darkmane Tribe from their fortress.

As for the rest of his warriors, they would observe the war from outside the forest, where their safety was guaranteed.

However, there was another surprise Leone didn’t expect, which came from the White Falcon Merchant Guild.

"I’m also curious about the upcoming war. As my proxy, Conrad, my subordinate, will stay here to observe the proceedings," Zen said calmly. "Worry not. He will not get in the way of the war. He will simply be here purely to observe from the perspective of the Aslan Tribe.

"We are serious about partnering with the Aslan Tribe for business, and leaving one of my personnel on the field seems like a reliable way to see how reliable you are."

"I’m sorry, but I can’t let civilians risk their lives..." Leone wasn’t able to finish whatever he was going to say because Zen cut him off.

"If you agree, we will give the Aslan Tribe a fifty percent discount for a whole year, applicable to all purchases you make from the White Falcon Merchant’s Guild," Zen raised a finger. "Also, we will be more than happy to become the intermediary for any products the Aslan Tribe wishes to sell to other places.

"I have many connections, you see. In fact, I’m close with several bigshot merchants in the Kingdom of Britannia, as well as the Aurelion Empire."

At those words, Leone glanced at Conrad, who smiled back at him.

Since Daedalus had already told him about Conrad’s true identity, Leone was wondering why the Chieftain of the Warclaw Tribe decided to take such a risk.

’Do these high-ranking chieftains have the hobby of living their lives dangerously?’ Leone asked Daedalus.

’I’m sure they have some life-saving artifacts with them,’ Daedalus replied. ’I don’t know about Malik, but that medallion Conrad is wearing is some kind of one-way teleportation artifact. He’ll be fine.’

After hearing the grimoire’s comment, Leone decided to be a little more shameless and tried to squeeze in a few more benefits from Zen.

Even though the merchant’s lips were twitching because of it, he still agreed to Leone’s conditions with a reluctant face.

"I’m staying too," Hagen declared.

"F-Father?!" Elias gasped in shock after hearing his father’s declaration. "You can’t! It’s too dangerous."

"Calm down, Elias," Hagen replied. "Do you think the Darkmane Tribe would dare to kill me?"

"They won’t, but accidents can happen," Marcus stated. "Please reconsider, Father."

"Don’t worry. Gundar will also arrive here before the war starts," Hagen stated.

This news made everyone, including Leone, look at Hagen in surprise. The chieftain only smiled faintly, enjoying the spotlight.

"Then we’ll also stay!" Elias declared.

"No, you won’t." Hagen shook his head. "You and your brother will take the army and watch from the sidelines."

The middle-ranked chieftains glanced at each other, noticing the hesitation in each other’s eyes.

Unlike the Chieftain of the high-ranking tribes, they had no special life-saving artifact that would give them the confidence to stay in what would soon become a very dangerous location.

In the end, they could only sigh in regret because they wouldn’t be able to show Leone their support.

They had already sent some riders to head back to their tribes, giving them an order to their Elders to take their people and evacuate to Eden.

Since Hagen had also sent a messenger bird with a letter that contained his and Malik’s signature, granting the middle-ranked tribes permission to take shelter in Eden, their evacuation would immediately start as soon as the messengers arrived at their respective tribes.

Oswald, Duncan, and Garen had also written a letter to the Elders of their tribe, carefully instructing them about what to do during the evacuation.

The monster stampede was something they couldn’t ignore, after all.

Unlike the high-ranking tribes that had cities meant for a siege, theirs wouldn’t be able to withstand a monster stampede numbering in the thousands.

"Alright. I will let the three of you stay," Leone said calmly. "However, you are not allowed to have any guards with you. This is my bottom line."

He understood that these chieftains might be curious about what kind of tricks he would use during the war. But, since he would be busy at that time, he wouldn’t be able to monitor them once things became chaotic.

The chieftains might use that as an opportunity to slip inside the fortress to do their own investigations, which was something that Daedalus considered.

’Relax,’ Daedalus said. ’If they try something funny, they’ll experience the same fate as Logan.’

After obtaining the grimoire’s assurance, Leone no longer worried about this matter.

Leone also told them the do’s and don’ts during the war.

He asked the tribes not to enter the forest before and at the start of the war to avoid friendly fire.

Any tribe who entered the forest during their war preparations would be deemed as an enemy with malicious intent by the Aslan Tribe.

At the moment, Leone still had yet to modify the fortifications around Grimjaw Mountain.

He and Daedalus were still busy creating the perfect defensive blueprint, which they could instantly build as soon as the materials had been gathered.

As for the materials, they had gathered more than enough to instantly create towering walls at the base of the mountain where the barracks used to be.

It would become the Aslan Tribe’s first line of defense, where Leone planned to put catapults, allowing them to unleash a barrage to any hostile forces that would come within its attack range.

The Orcs would be manning these weapons of war, while Leone, his vassals, Logan, and the warriors of the Ravage Tribe would defend the first wall.

If the enemy were to breach it, then they would immediately retreat toward the fortress on top of the mountain, which served as the final line of defense.

There, the repeating crossbows, ballistas, catapults, and archers would unleash a volley toward those who managed to arrive at the base of the mountain, forming a perfect slaughter house.

The enemies would have nowhere to hide by then, allowing the Aslan Tribe to get the upper hand.

Of course, this was easier said than done.

The Darkmane Tribe would have siege weapons and spells to aid them in this war. But even then, Leone and Daedalus were confident that they could hold their ground.

Four days later, Troy and Jafar stood at the plaza of their tribe, where countless warriors had gathered.

They were about to give a speech before ordering the army to march.

Little did the two of them know that atop the tallest structure within their city, a squirrel looked down at them from above with a calm expression on its face.

War was coming, and everyone could feel it in their bones.

At long last, the day that Leone’s advance vanguard was waiting for had finally arrived.

The moment Troy and his warriors stepped beyond the city gates, Blitz, Hassan, Otto, and Arion’s mission would officially begin.

The Darkmane Tribe’s army was not aware that their every movement was already being relayed back to the Chieftain of the Aslan Tribe.

For Troy, this march was the beginning of a glorious conquest that would crush the Aslan Tribe once and for all.

But for Leone, it was the first move to a game of chess, where his pieces had already stepped past behind enemy lines, laying out the playing field for an eventual checkmate.