Chapter 401: Battle For The Seat Of The Barbarian King [Part 2]

Godwin scanned the faces of the chieftains gathered at the round table before resuming his speech.

"Our rivalry has lasted for decades. Now is the perfect time to settle it," Godwin declared. "Now is the perfect time to crown a King."

Hagen narrowed his eyes. "And how do you suggest we settle this matter?"

"The tournament," Godwin replied. "Let’s settle this with the tournament. The chieftain of the tribe the victor belongs to will be named the leader of the Borderlands. If the middle-ranked tribes wish to participate then they can also join the tournament. Everyone has a fair chance to become King."

The corner of Hagen’s lips rose. He had been aiming for the same thing.

However, he also understood Godwin. The other party had never been reckless and wouldn’t have declared such a thing if he wasn’t certain of his victory.

All the other chieftains’ expressions turned solemn after hearing Godwin’s declaration.

Oswald, Duncan, and Garen glanced at each other. It would be a lie for them to say they never dreamed of becoming the ruler of all the tribes in the Borderlands.

In fact, they had also trained their respective representatives thoroughly just for this tournament.

The warriors they had chosen were even prepared to die in order to give honor to their tribes.

"If you agree to my proposal, I am willing to marry my daughter, Tianna, to the champion of the tournament," Godwin declared. "This is not an empty promise."

Jason subconsciously clenched his fists the moment he heard Godwin’s declaration. He had already expected this to happen, but frankly, rather than relief, he felt anger.

He understood that Godwin had the right to choose who his daughter could marry. However, Jason felt most infuriated at the chieftain’s attitude.

How could he be so willing to treat his daughter as a tool to further his ambitions?

But it was this attitude of Godwin that motivated him to train so hard. He understood it was the only way he could officially win her hand in marriage.

The contradiction between his feelings made Jason lower his head.

He both hated and supported this arrangement. At the same time, this was the only way he could prove that he was worthy to marry the person he loved.

’I’m such a hypocrite,’ Jason thought, feeling ashamed of himself.

For the briefest of moments, Godwin’s gaze landed on Jason before he shifted his attention back to Leone.

"If my proposal is rejected, that is fine as well," Godwin added. "However, I will still marry Tianna off to the champion of the tournament. Though, last but not least, the Warclaw Tribe will ally with the winner of the tournament and work together with them for the unification of the Borderlands."

Gasps and murmurs quickly spread within the gathering after Godwin finished his declaration.

He made sure everyone understood that he was serious about the unification of the Borderlands.

If they couldn’t agree that the winner of the tournament would decide who the Barbarian King was, then he was willing to form an alliance and head to battle in order to bring down the other tribes to their knees.

"I vote to support this proposal," Hagen declared. "Godwin is right. Now is the time for everyone to unite under one banner. That way, we will no longer have to fight each other for every little thing within our domain."

To everyone’s surprise, another high-ranking chieftain supported this proposal.

"I also support this proposal," Troy commented. "But we should add a condition. Only those who will swear to the Earth Mother that they will abide by the rules and conditions of the tournament can participate in it."

Since all the chieftains of the Borderlands, including the middle-ranked tribes, needed to agree to this proposal, they only needed two more votes to seal the deal.

And as if the remaining chieftains were all in agreement, they all looked at Leone, waiting for him to make a decision.

"Then so be it," Leone stated. "I also agree with this proposal."

With his declaration, the rest of the chieftains, including Malik, voiced their approval.

It was a unanimous decision, which meant that everyone was in agreement with the consequences of joining the tournament.

"However, I have a condition." Leone raised his hand.

"What is it?" Godwin arched an eyebrow.

"As you already know, my tribe will be facing off against the Britannian Army in a few days," Leone replied. "That means that as we speak, the Aurelion Empire is preparing to march to our territory. Simply put, we can’t drag this matter out. And so, I propose that the tournament is held two days from now."

Godwin thought Leone would name an impossible condition.

That condition was nothing difficult. Anyway, his representative was already prepared to fight as soon as possible.

That being so, Godwin agreed to his condition.

Hagen, Troy, and Malik also supported this proposal.

Naturally, the three middle-ranked chieftains agreed to it as well.

"We will then draft the rules of combat and have everyone make a sworn oath on the day of the tournament," Godwin stated. "Just know that if anyone tries to break the rules or not uphold the oath they made, I will personally eliminate them."

His gaze then landed on Leone, which made the young man frown.

The young chieftain wanted to ask why Godwin was looking at him, but he decided to keep silent instead.

’Perhaps he thinks that I will not honor the agreement,’ Leone mused.

Leone had no intention of backing down. In fact, he was already looking forward to the upcoming tournament.

He didn’t care what trump cards or schemes the other chieftains had up their sleeves.

Although Jason’s preparation time was shorter compared to the other representatives, his battle experience wouldn’t lose to any of theirs.

If anything, he might have already surpassed them.

The meeting ended an hour later, and soon, the chieftains finally returned to their respective residences.

Leone watched them return to the city from the balcony of his fortress.

"Great Chieftain, I will not fail you." Jason knelt towards Leone, who had his back turned against him.

"Of course, you won’t," Leone replied without even turning to look at his vassal. "Your happiness depends on it."

Kael looked a little worried, unaware of the harsh training Jason had gone through under Daedalus’ supervision.

Although Jason was strong, he was still young and inexperienced in his eyes.

However, the shaman believed that his Great Chieftain wouldn’t agree to Godwin’s proposal unless he had the confidence that Jason would win the battle.

While Kael worried about these things, Leone suddenly remembered his original plan for today.

"Kael, Ulric, Jason, the three of you come with me," Leone said with a smile. "We are going to explore the Dungeon of Eden."

This was his very first dungeon exploration, so the young man was very excited.

Soon, the four of them arrived at the entrance of the Dungeon of Eden.

Just like what Oswald and Duncan had told him earlier, no one stopped them from entering.

The guard only asked that they write their names on the logs to have a record that they had entered the dungeon at this time of day.

After completing that task, the four finally entered the dungeon.

The moment they crossed the threshold, something rippled in the deepest floor of the Dungeon of Eden.

A giant crystal orb, at least three meters tall, trembled before shining faintly. This was none other than the Dungeon Core of Eden.

And within that core, the image of Leone walking with his vassals appeared.

A moment later, a hand appeared from the darkness and caressed the crystal orb where Leone’s face was being projected.

"Finally, a worthy challenger has arrived..."

A feminine voice echoed softly in the dark room.

And the young chieftain had no idea that a being that held great power... had now set their sights on him.