Chapter 331: The Sandreaver Tribe’s Hospitality [Part 1]

It had been a few days since the guests had arrived at the Aslan Tribe’s domain. After resting for these few days, Ivan and his men decided to return to the Darkmane Tribe.

Leone was quite generous, giving them food supplies, as well as barrels of drinking water, in preparation for their journey. He had even included a dozen sacks of wheat flour, which made Ivan smile from ear to ear.

Of course, the young chieftain gifted the same amount of resources to the envoy of the Sandreaver Tribe.

They would also be returning to their domain, with Leone coming along with them. However, he would arrive earlier than those who would be traveling on land.

Since the Tribal Gathering was edging closer, Leone decided he must not waste too much time traveling between his domain and the Sandreaver Tribe. As such, he decided to make preparations for the journey.

Malik would borrow the Pteranodon Tyrant, which had been tamed by the Aslan Tribe. He would then lead the way back to the Sandreaver Tribe with Leone, Arion, Brann, and Boris traveling alongside them.

"It is your duty to keep Leone safe, Boris," Astravor said in a solemn tone. "If anything happens to him, I won’t talk to you anymore."

Boris patted its chest before growling with confidence. It was telling Astravor that Leone was in good hands.

The two Dread Wyverns looked at this scene with relief. Finally! They had been pestered by the Raptor Sovereign nonstop since the first day they arrived at Grimjaw Mountain. And now, they could finally breathe!

Astravor might not look like it, but it was also looking forward to Boris’ absence. It believed it would finally be spending a few days in peace while the annoying, loud, and stupid lizard was away.

"Great Chieftain, I will not be able to sleep easily with only Brann and Boris accompanying you," Kael said in a serious tone. "Why don’t you take Otto with you as well? After all, you did succeed in mutating another Sky Drake, right? Perhaps you could bestow that mount on Otto so he could accompany you in your journey."

"I agree with Kael, Leone." Jason nodded at those words. "Please take Otto with you."

"Take Yuni as well," Ulric advised. "That way, you can have a shield from the hospitality of the Sandreaver Tribe."

All of Leone’s vassals nodded in agreement. Right now, their chieftain was considered the best marriage partner among the young generation in the Borderlands.

With that said, they would not put it past Malik to make use of honey traps to ensure that their relationship with the Aslan Tribe would become unbreakable.

"Very well," Leone agreed with him. "Yuni and Otto will accompany me on this journey as well."

After the meeting ended, they all prepared to depart.

He left a few orders to Kael, Ulric, and Jason, who would be staying behind in the Aslan Tribe.

Since Astravor was there to serve as the Guardian of Grimjaw Mountain, Leone was certain that their home would be protected even if they were away.

Aside from that, Daedalus would also always be informed if anything unexpected were to happen to the Aslan Tribe.

Besides, Leone could teleport back to his territory. If an emergency arose, he would be able to return in less than a minute.

"Are you ready to go?" Malik asked.

He was already mounted on the back of the Pteranodon Tyrant, while his men had already left the Aslan Tribe an hour ago to return to their tribe.

"Yes," Leone replied before mounting on Arion’s back. He then extended a hand to help Yuni ride behind him.

Brann had also climbed behind Boris’ back, while Otto sat straight on the back of the Sky Drake, which would now serve as his official mount.

"Bye, Leone!" Vlad waved his hand. "Come back soon!"

"I’ll bring you some souvenirs." Leone waved back at the teenage boy, who had come to see him off.

Tianna and Elias were also there to bid their goodbyes.

Truth be told, Elias was very curious about why Leone was going to the Sandreaver Tribe.

Of course, he didn’t dare ask lest the young chieftain think that he was prying into his business.

The moment Malik and the Pteranodon Tyrant took off to the skies, Leone immediately followed behind him.

Then, Otto and Brann followed suit, guarding the rear of their formation.

To Malik’s surprise, the journey, which was originally supposed to take at least five days, was instead completed in just five hours. This also included the time they took a break to eat lunch.

The Pteranodon Tyrant was a Rank 6 Monster. Moreover, it had the ability to create an air shield that protected it from air resistance, which allowed those who were traveling behind it to fly without exhausting themselves.

"We’re going to land," Malik announced as he guided his mount to land at the oasis that served as the Sandreaver Tribe’s military outpost.

Their real city was deep underground, far away from the eyes of those who wished to know about their tribe’s secrets.

The guards stationed at the outpost immediately stood guard, thinking they were about to be invaded.

However, when they saw Malik riding on the back of the Pteranodon Tyrant, the archers immediately lowered their bows. However, they were still prepared to open fire the moment they sensed danger.

The warriors Malik had asked to return to the Sandreaver Tribe had already informed them that their chieftain would return, with the Chieftain of the Aslan Tribe accompanying him.

Then again, they didn’t expect that they would return to the tribe riding on powerful monsters, which all made the warriors feel intimidated.

"Men, this is the Chieftain of the Aslan Tribe, Leone Frontera." Malik introduced the young man as soon as they landed. "Treat him as you would a very important guest, for he is one. Do I make myself clear?"

""Yes, Chieftain!""

The warriors bowed respectfully to Leone after that. Of course, all of them had been made aware that their visitor would be a young man. Even so, they were still impressed, especially since the Aslan Tribe had become a popular topic among the tribes of the Borderlands.

They weren’t there during the battle against the Monster King. However, their comrades who had returned earlier told them about this epic story.

As such, they were looking forward to meeting this young chieftain, who had become a legend in their hearts.

"Please take care of these monsters," Malik ordered before shifting his attention toward Leone. "I’m afraid they will not be able to follow us underground."

Leone nodded in understanding. Then, he told Boris, Arion, and the Pteranodon Tyrant to behave and not make the lives of the warriors too difficult.

Boris let out a low growl in response, telling Leone that it promised Astravor that it would protect him.

"Thank you, Boris, but I’ll be fine," Leone answered. "Yuni, Brann, and Otto will protect me. Nothing will happen."

At that, the Raptor Sovereign reluctantly took a step back and allowed Leone to pass.

Malik smiled faintly before making a gesture towards Leone to follow him to the biggest building in the outpost.

This building had a secret path that led towards the underground city of the Sandreaver Tribe.

They went past many branching paths underground, which reminded Leone of the underground tunnel inside Grimjaw Mountain.

With that said, it would be difficult to know which path directly led to the city of the Sandreaver Tribe unless someone was guiding them to their destination.

Most of these winding paths led to the homes of the Death Worms, as well as Giant Ants, all of which would not hesitate to eliminate any intruders.

’Interesting...’ Daedalus’ voice sounded inside Leone’s mind.

’What’s interesting?’ Leone inquired.

’There are so many underground tunnels,’ Daedalus reported. ’These are something not mere humans can create. After expanding my detection range, I realized this is actually one giant ant nest!’

’Ant nest?’ Leone was quite surprised to hear this revelation. ’Did you detect any ant monsters?"

’Yes, I did,’ Daedalus replied. ’There are hundreds of them. Perhaps there are even thousands more in the lower levels. The majority of them are Rank 2 monsters. However, there are also Rank 3 Monsters mixed among them.’

The grimoire told Leone that the Sandreaver Tribe’s defenses were top-notch.

Even if someone tried to invade their city, they would immediately find themselves facing off against thousands of Giant Ants, who were very used to fighting in tight and narrow places.

’Then, should we also purchase Giant Ants for our mountain?’ Leone asked.

’We could, but... it might not be a good idea right now,’ Daedalus answered. ’After all, we already have the Kobolds digging through the mountain. I’m afraid that if we introduce Giant Ants into our ranks, a conflict of interest might happen.

’Plus, sustaining this massive ant army requires a lot of resources. It might hinder our growth if we focus our resources on helping them create an underground colony. If we breach the other side of the mountain range and obtain more resources, only then can we consider building an ant army.’

Leone nodded and decided to bring this topic up again only after they achieved their goal of creating a path that led to the other side of the Grimjaw Mountain Range.

"We’re here," Malik said as he stepped aside to allow Leone and his subordinates to get a better look at the underground city in front of them. "Welcome to the Sandreaver Tribe."

Leone gazed at the sprawling city that was illuminated by glow crystals.

The Aslan Tribe had a small artificial sun above its main underground city. On the other hand, Leone’s cavern, where the first Aslanians were staying, had glow crystals serving as its source of light.

Seeing this familiar scene made Leone, Yuni, Brann, and Otto think that the underground city of the Aslan Tribe looked grander than the Sandreaver Tribe’s.

Of course, they weren’t there to look down on anyone. If anything, they simply appreciated the beauty of this secret underground city they were seeing for the very first time.