Chapter 321: An Alliance That Would Stand The Test Of Time

"Hahahaha!" Troy laughed as soon as he entered his temporary quarters, which belonged to one of the high-ranking officials of the Bonegnash Tribe. "I hadn’t laughed so much in years."

"I’m glad you enjoyed it," the young man in the crystal ball replied with a smile. "It was worth going all the trouble to do that."

Naturally, this young man was none other than Leone, who just so happened to watch the same thing everyone had just watched. The one who handled everything was Daedalus, but he simply couldn’t tell this to Troy.

Yuni even chuckled when she saw Leone’s exaggerated entrance with sparkling effects that lasted for five full seconds.

"You did Hagen dirty." Troy smirked. "He must hate you right now."

Leone shrugged at those words. "He also did me dirty. Let’s just say we called it quits."

Troy leaned back in his chair, his smile gradually fading along with his amusement. What happened today helped him out a lot. After all, it earned him a lot of prestige, as well as changed the opinion of the Bonegnash Tribe about Hagen.

"It’s been decided that Osteon’s family will head to the Aslan Tribe after two days," Troy stated. "Five hundred of his tribesmen who are loyal to the eldest son, Brent, will also be accompanying him. Aside from that, two of their Dread Wyverns will follow him to Grimjaw Mountain."

"Good." Leone nodded. "Looks like Boris will have new playmates."

Troy then told the young man about the terms everyone had agreed upon during the meeting.

"Three thousand warriors and their families have sworn allegiance to the Warclaw Tribe," Troy added. "Of course, Hagen did his best to invite people to join his tribe, but many turned them down. It seems that his... lack of courage during the duel, as well as the scenes displayed earlier, changed people’s impression of him.

"They tried to join the Sandreaver Tribe, but Malik turned them down. He said they didn’t plan to recruit people from other tribes at the moment."

The Sandreaver Tribe was the most mysterious among the high-ranking tribes. It was clear that they wanted to prevent outsiders from learning any of their secrets, which they guarded heavily.

Leone wouldn’t have known one of those secrets if Malik hadn’t asked for his help.

Troy didn’t want to admit it, but what happened to the Darkmane Tribe was probably a blessing in disguise.

He had lost many in that war, yes.

But now, he has gained more.

Thanks to Leone’s propaganda, he now looked like a war hero in the eyes of many, including those of the members of the Bonegnash Tribe who used to look down on him.

Then again, there was no denying that. Troy had shown incredible courage against great adversity. That was something all barbarians aspired to achieve, so the praise he received was well-deserved.

"I owe you once more, so let me give you some advice... boy," Troy said calmly. "Do not go to the Tribal Gathering. I know you have already been warned time and time again, but this time, I am warning you seriously.

"The Aslan Tribe is strong. However, that is absolute only as long as you stay in Grimjaw Mountain. The moment you leave your domain, you will be like a fish out of water. It’s no different from asking Hagen to get rid of you. Knowing that bastard, I won’t put it past him to stage an accident and pretend to be sad about your disappearance."

He then started sharing all sorts of information about the great strongholds of the barbarians, Eden.

This fortress city, which was built around a dungeon, was heavily protected. All barbarians seriously played their part to ensure its safety.

Each high-ranking tribe had sent ten thousand warriors each to safeguard this territory.

On the other hand, the middle-ranked tribes had deployed a thousand of their warriors to further bolster their defenses against the Aurelion Empire to the south.

In short, fifty-five thousand barbarian warriors were protecting Eden at the moment.

"Right now, the Regent of Eden is someone who belongs to the Warclaw Tribe," Troy said calmly. "Though, I have a feeling that something will turn out different in this next Tribal Gathering. Hagen might finally push through his proposal of crowning a King among us."

Troy knew how ambitious Hagen was. Unfortunately, he had made a pledge to give him his vote this time around.

Of course, he couldn’t go back on his word. The only counter-strategy he thought of was to send Osteon’s family to the Aslan Tribe. That way, Hagen wouldn’t be able to take hold of them and reinstate their rule over the Bonegnash Tribe.

This was also why he deliberately exposed his deal with Hagen regarding his vote for the upcoming Tribal Gathering. Just as he had intended, his words immediately made Godwin and Malik cautious.

Had Troy not said anything, Hagen would’ve had his way, allowing Brent to keep his position as the new chieftain of the Bonegnash Tribe.

Fortunately, that scenario was now off the table. If Hagen gained one more vote, they would have no way to oppose him if he proposed to be the Barbarian King.

"Hey, brat. Do you wish to become the Barbarian King?" Troy rested the side of his face on his closed fist. "Do you have that kind of ambition?"

"I plan to become King, yes," Leone replied. "But I don’t have to become the Barbarian King. I’ve already named my domain Aslan Soleil. This is my kingdom, and no one can take it away from me. Not even Hagen."

"A kingdom with less than a thousand people?" Troy arched an eyebrow.

"We also have an alliance with nearly two thousand Orcs," Leone stated.

"So about three thousand, give or take." Troy shook his head. "Not enough. It’s not enough to make you King."

Leone nodded back in agreement. He also knew that the population of the Aslan Tribe was too low. However, he had already planned to expand it by inviting monsters to become part of his tribe.

For now, though, he had no intention of telling Troy about it. This was something only his inner circle knew.

"What are your future plans?" Troy asked.

"I plan to visit the Sandreaver Tribe," Leone replied.

"Malik invited you?" Troy looked genuinely surprised. It was more likely for Malik to turn down visits than invite outsiders into his domain.

This meant two things.

Either Leone was too important to ignore, or the Sandreaver Tribe needed something from the young man.

’Well, it’s not really my business,’ Troy thought to himself.

Now that he would be taking over the Bonegnash Tribe, he would be quite busy for some time.

There were many things that Troy needed to handle, especially having the former Elders of the Bonegnash Tribe serve him.

"Boy, I hope we don’t become enemies ever again." Troy finally shared his true thoughts after a minute of silence.

"I sincerely hope for that as well." Leone placed his hand over his chest. "I don’t want to fight the Darkmane Tribe again either. With that, I hope that both of us can become allies. True allies."

"True allies, huh?" Troy couldn’t help but smile at the irony of it all.

Once upon a time, he wished to eradicate the Aslan Tribe from the face of the world.

And now, he owed them a few debts that he planned to repay as long as he still drew a breath.

"Fine," Troy promised. "From now on, the Darkmane Tribe will be allies with the Aslan Tribe. I swear this upon my name and on those of my ancestors."

"I too swear that from this day onward, the Aslan Tribe will become the Darkmane Tribe’s ally," Leone declared. "Your enemy will be my enemy. Although I can’t offer much help right now, I will do my best to aid you as long as you need it."

After both made their pledge, Leone raised his clenched fist, pointing it in Troy’s direction.

Troy smiled faintly in return as he motioned for Travis, who was holding the crystal ball, to come closer.

He then bumped his own fist towards the crystal, as if sealing his deal with the young chieftain of the Aslan Tribe.

Both of them didn’t know that today’s promise would eventually give birth to an alliance that would stand the test of time.