Chapter 332: The Sandreaver Tribe’s Hospitality [Part 2]

Malik was paying close attention to Leone’s expression. He expected the young man to at least show a little surprise at the sight of their underground city.

Yet, he found no trace of the reaction he was waiting for.

The young man didn’t look surprised at all. In fact, he looked at the city as if he was looking at something very familiar. It was then that Malik remembered that the Aslan Tribe also lived inside a mountain.

Although living under the desert and living inside a mountain might sound different, there were still some similarities between the two.

Nevertheless, Malik decided to voice out his doubts.

"You don’t look too surprised," Malik said with a smile.

"Oh, I am surprised," Leone admitted. "I didn’t know the Sandreaver Tribe had adapted this well to living under the desert."

Malik smiled faintly in response before finally inviting them to follow him toward the city gates. The gates were wide open, and a few people were coming in and out as they headed to the other tunnels leading to another place in the desert.

The moment the guards recognized Malik, they immediately came to greet him.

Their eyes then landed on Leone and his entourage, whom they were seeing for the very first time.

"Tell everyone to gather at the main square," Malik ordered.

"Yes, Chieftain." One of the guards bowed respectfully before leaving to enforce the order.

Since it would be troublesome to introduce Leone repeatedly, Malik decided it would be best to do it once, letting everyone know why he had invited "outsiders" into their domain.

Of course, not all the Elders supported Malik’s idea to get outside help. For them, the secrets of the Sandreaver Tribe must be kept within their tribe.

On top of that, they believed that the problems they were facing should be solved by the tribe as well.

Malik would have agreed with them if not for the fact that the previous three chieftains, including his father, had already failed to solve their current problem.

Since they couldn’t do it, being any more stubborn would only harm them in the long run.

When they arrived at the plaza, hundreds of people had already gathered. More would arrive soon as news of their guests’ arrival quickly spread through different channels.

It didn’t take long before the Elders, whether they supported Malik’s plan or not, appeared as well, looking at the young chieftain of the Aslan Tribe as if hawks eyeing their prey.

Yuni wasn’t paying attention to the officials, though. Instead, she was looking at the young ladies, who were giggling and whispering at each other while looking at Leone.

Clearly, they were liking what they saw, which was starting to give her a headache.

’I guess coming here is the right choice,’ Yuni thought. ’They will definitely try to use honey traps against Leone.’

Unlike the ladies of the other tribes that had sun-kissed skin, the complexion of the ladies of the Sandreaver Tribe was pale, for they rarely went out to see the sun.

Even so, some ladies stood out among them, some of them with beauty rivaling that of Yuni. A few even looked more charming and graceful than her.

They looked like the type that would make Leone melt the moment they got their hands on him.

"Silence, please," Malik said after waiting for nearly fifteen minutes. Although not everyone in the tribe had gathered, there were already over a few thousand people who had come to heed his summons.

He was certain that they would spread the word themselves, saving him the trouble of introducing Leone once more.

"Everyone, this is the Chieftain of the Aslan Tribe, Leone Frontera," Malik announced. "The same chieftain who has led his tribe to defeat the Bloodtusk Tribe, the Darkmane Tribe, and the Monster King."

Gasps of shock spread within the plaza at those words. The desert was far from the other tribes, so not everyone had heard the news about the Darkmane Tribe’s defeat.

The news about the Monster King, on the other hand, was something that they were only hearing for the first time.

Of course, this news was kept under wraps by the warriors whom Malik had asked to return first.

He wanted to announce this news instead, causing the Elders who supported and didn’t support him to look at the young man in shock.

’Good,’ Malik thought. ’This is what I am talking about.’

He chuckled internally because this was the reaction he was looking for.

"He may be young, but he has accomplished many miracles." Malik raised his voice, making sure that everyone in the vicinity could hear him. "Everyone, you are looking at a living legend, and he has come to help us solve our greatest problem."

Leone blinked once, then twice, after hearing Malik introduce him as a "living legend". The weight of the countless stares that descended on his body at that moment, which were all filled with expectations, made him feel a subtle pressure.

"I hope that you will take good care of him during his stay," Malik said with a smile. "We will show him the hospitality of the Sandreaver Tribe!"

Cheers erupted from the crowd, with some of the beautiful ladies even making beckoning gestures toward Leone.

Unfortunately, they weren’t aware that Leone was a simple man.

Whenever ladies smiled and waved at him, he would smile and wave back at them.

Yuni was doing her best not to face palm in front of everyone. If someone paid close attention to her, they would notice that the corners of her lips were twitching.

Malik laughed good-heartedly because Leone was showing a positive response to his people.

He thought that the young man would act standoffish and try to look aloof in front of the Sandreaver Tribe.

With that, he was quite happy that Leone was being himself, not hiding his true character from them.

"Tonight, we will hold a feast for our special guests!" Malik declared. "Make sure to spread the word to everyone!"

"""Yes!"""

After making his declaration, Malik then asked Leone to follow him to his residence.

The Elders also followed behind them, glancing at Leone from time to time as if he was some kind of endangered species they were observing for the first time.

In the meantime, Hassan, who was hiding in Leone’s shadow, paid close attention to anyone who released even the faintest killing intent towards his Young Master.

He didn’t sense anything yet, but the moment he did, he would make sure to inform Leone about it.

They were in the domain of others, after all, so letting their guard down wasn’t an option.

When they arrived at Malik’s residence, the chieftain led Leone and the Elders to their conference room.

There, he asked Leone to sit beside him, which was considered an honor within the Sandreaver Tribe.

Then, Yuni, Brann, and Otto sat on Leone’s right side, waiting for the meeting to start.

A minute after everyone was seated, one of the Elders finally broke the silence.

"Are you sure that this young man will be able to help us?" an Elder, who went by the name Rashid, asked. "He looks like someone who can’t even help himself."

A few Elders chuckled in response. They agreed with Rashid, who was the leader of the faction that opposed Malik’s desire to ask for outside help.

"True." Malik nodded. "Even I thought the same when I first saw Leone. However, don’t let his looks fool you. He might be young, but he was the one who led the charge against the Monster King, a Bronze Dragon. He did this to rescue Troy from the jaws of death."

"He should have let Troy die instead!" Rashid scoffed. "That man is better dead than alive. Young chieftain, why did you save such a vile tyrant?!"

"Because I can," Leone answered without hesitation.

"Because you can?" Rashid snorted at those words. "You saved a villain because you can? You must have been pampered since birth. Someone who can’t even differentiate between good and evil makes bad decisions."

"I agree." Leone nodded. "Because in my eyes, you are someone who can’t differentiate between good and evil."

"How bold!" one of the Elders supporting Rashid shouted in return.

"This child sure knows how to use his mouth." Another Elder sneered. "Boy, do you know how many years we have lived compared to you? We have already seen everything."

"That’s right!"

"You don’t respect your elders!"

"How can someone be so narrow-minded?"

At that moment, the middle-aged men, as well as those who were older, started to voice out their complaints. Those who supported Malik remained silent, their eyes locked onto Leone, waiting for him to give his stance.

Everyone thought that the young man would be intimidated. But, to their surprise, Leone’s reply was sharp and on point.

"Some people simply grow older, not wiser," Leone answered. "If you were in the same position as me, the Aslan Tribe would have already ceased to exist in the face of the Darkmane Tribe and the Monster King’s army just because of how narrow-minded you guys are."

""What did you say?!""

""You dare look down on us?""

""You’re courting death, boy!""

"What’s wrong?" Leone asked back, the corner of his lips rising a little. "I’m merely telling the truth. The Aslan Tribe was only a low-ranking tribe a few months ago. And yet, it has now become a powerhouse that defeated not only the Darkmane Tribe, but the Monster King as well. Can any of you do that? I don’t think so."

"You’re just lucky," Rashid spat back.

"Sure," Leone replied. "Luck is also part of one’s strength. However, if the Sandreaver Tribe continues to produce Elders like you, then the luck of this tribe will eventually run out."

Malik’s expression turned solemn at those words, but he didn’t comment on Leone’s reply.

In fact, he shared the young man’s opinion. He simply couldn’t say it out loud.

Times were changing, and yet, the Sandreaver Tribe was still stubbornly sticking to their old ways.

The chieftain knew that if this continued, they would be left behind, which would spell doom for their tribe in a matter of time.

The moment the Sandreaver Tribe grew stagnant was the signal of the start of its demise.

Soon, an oppressive silence descended upon the conference room as Leone’s words lingered in everyone’s minds.

Even the Elders, who had been the most vocal moments ago, found themselves unable to immediately refute his argument. After all, his achievements spoke louder than their pride.

For the first time in many years, the authority of the Sandreaver Tribe’s Elders had been challenged.

However, it was not challenged by another Elder. Instead, it was challenged by a young chieftain whose feats no ordinary person could replicate.