Chapter 415: The Earth Remembers [Part 2]

No one expected the chubby young man to have hidden this kind of strength. Not even his own two brothers.

Even Jason was shocked. He could tell at a glance that Byron was stronger than anyone had imagined.

Only two people showed no signs of surprise at this turn of events.

Leone and Troy both smiled faintly, as if they already expected this outcome right from the start.

"Winner, Byron!" Gundar declared.

The warriors of the Darkmane Tribe finally broke out of their daze and started cheering.

The chubby young man’s hand then returned to normal, freeing Tristan, who was still lying on the ground, suffering from the first stage of grief.

Denial.

"No... no. This can’t be happening," Tristan muttered. "How could I lose? Not like this... not like this..."

Byron looked down at his foe with pity. "You know why you lost?"

Hearing his words, Tristan raised his head to look at the victor of this battle.

"You didn’t just underestimate your opponent," Byron stated. "You also overestimated your strength."

Byron then scanned the faces of the people in the stands, who had watched their battle from start to end.

"The problem with barbarians is that they only believe what they can see," Byron said calmly, his voice silencing the crowd, forcing them to listen to his words.

"Strength is not only measured with how much body mass or how much muscle you have. Sometimes, the things that you can’t see are the most dangerous of all."

Byron then shifted his attention toward Leone, who sat alongside the other chieftains of the Borderlands.

"Those whom people believe to be weak, those whom they believe could be easily subdued... are the true monsters. They hide their claws, waiting for the right moment to strike. And when their chance comes, they can’t be stopped," Byron stated. "That’s why the real battles between tribes don’t happen out in the open.

"It happens in the darkness, in places people can’t see. The Monster Stampede is a good example of those hidden battles that had only come to light after it ended."

Byron paused for a moment, allowing his words to sink into the minds of everyone listening.

"Busy in dealing with the monsters charging through the Borderlands, everyone failed to notice that the Bonegnash Tribe was manipulating things from behind the scenes."

Tristan looked at the chubby young man standing before him, listening to every word he said like it was the truth of the world.

"If having a big body is enough to win battles, then the strongest monster in the world would always be the fattest one." Byron then pointed to himself. "In this case, that would be me."

A few muffled laughs escaped from the crowd.

Even some of the grim-faced warriors couldn’t help but smile at those words.

However, the victor wasn’t done with his speech. At least not yet.

"Your opponent doesn’t need to be stronger than you to defeat you," Byron added. "They only need to understand you better. That alone will be enough for them to manipulate you and make you dance in the palm of their hands."

The chubby young man then raised his hand and slowly closed it to a fist.

He then shifted his attention back to Leone and pressed his hands together, only to then bow to him.

"The finals will be held tomorrow, but there’s no need for that," Byron declared. "For my supposed battle against Jason, I hereby declare my surrender. From this day onward, I declare Leone Frontera as the Barbarian King of the Borderlands!"

The people who thought they had seen it all after seeing Byron’s victory were once again shocked by his earth-shattering declaration.

Everyone knew that the winner of the tournament would decide on who would become the next Barbarian King.

And now that Byron had conceded his match to Jason, it meant that the champion of the tournament was none other than the Aslan Tribe!

All the chieftains, except for Leone, looked at Troy in disbelief.

They knew more than anyone else that the Chieftain of the Darkmane Tribe had long wished to become the Barbarian King.

And yet, instead of trying to fight for it, it seemed that Troy had surrendered that coveted position to none other than the youngest chieftain of the Borderlands.

"What’s the meaning of this, Troy?!" Hagen shouted. "Are you mad?! Are you really going to make this kid our King?!"

While Hagen didn’t like Troy, he would rather have him be the King of the Barbarians since he was born and raised in the Borderlands.

On the other hand, Leone was an outsider.

An exile from the Kingdom of Britannia.

Hagen would bow to anyone but him!

He had already considered Leone as the thorn in his side.

The person who had ruined years of planning and hard work.

And now, he was forced to swallow the fact that Troy had tossed aside the chance to become the ruler of the Borderlands.

"I have thought about it since the day I left Grimjaw Mountain," Troy replied calmly. "I thought that my greatest obstacles were you, and Godwin. But, I was wrong. It was this brat, who was exiled here for a crime that he didn’t commit."

"He might be weak, dimwitted, and nothing like a warrior by our standards. But I genuinely believe that if it is him leading all of us, then our roots will not only remain here in the Borderlands but also spread and cover the entire continent!"

Hagen’s hand trembled after hearing Troy’s words. He wanted to refute Troy’s words so badly.

He wanted to tell him that he was wrong.

He wanted to tell everyone that Leone wasn’t capable of leading anyone!

But how could he do that?

Even the most arrogant among them, Troy, had decided to step aside and let Leone take the position that all of them had been fighting over for many years.

A young man, not even past twenty, had managed to turn a small tribe in the Borderlands into a powerhouse within a few months.

A feat that no one had managed to do in the long history of the Borderlands.

A feat that might not be replicated ever again.

"Accept it, Hagen," Troy said in a solemn tone. "You, Godwin, and I weren’t meant to become the Barbarian King."

Hagen gritted his teeth, doing his best to stop the urge to lunge at Leone and drive a blade through his chest.

As if sensing his intent, Kael and Ulric moved between him and their Great Chieftain, shielding Leone from harm.

Soon, a tense atmosphere enveloped the VIP area. But at that moment, the voice of a young lady reminded everyone of their vow.

"All of you have sworn to the Earth Mother to respect and accept the result of the tournament," Tianna said, her voice sounding holy, as if the Goddess herself was using her as a medium to speak to her children.

"As barbarians, shouldn’t we honor our oaths? As barbarians, shouldn’t we honor the promises we make upon the sacred earth?"

Her words silenced the entire VIP area. Everyone knew the importance of an oath made before the Earth Mother.

The Earth Mother was not merely a deity worshiped by the tribes.

She was their mother.

The land beneath their feet.

The mountains that protected them.

The soil that nourished their children.

Every barbarian was born upon her earth, lived upon her earth, and would eventually return to her embrace after death.

To break an oath made in her name was to spit upon the very land that had given them life.

"An oath is not something we make only when it is convenient for us," Tianna continued. "Nor is it something that we abandon simply because the result is not what we desire."

Her eyes shifted toward Hagen.

"If we honor our promises only when they benefit us, then our oaths are meaningless," Tianna added.

Hagen’s expression became darker. "Enough."

However, the Oracle didn’t back down.

"The Earth Mother heard every vow we made before this tournament began," Tianna said in a solemn tone. "She heard us swear that we would accept the final result regardless of who emerged victorious."

She then placed a hand over her chest.

"She gave us her land."

"She gave us her blessings."

"She gave us the strength to survive in this harsh world."

"And in return, all she asks is that we honor the promises that we make upon her soil."

The surrounding chieftains lowered their heads.

Even those who opposed Leone could not deny the truth in Tianna’s words.

Among the barbarians, an oath was sacred.

A promise was sacred.

And an oath made before the Earth Mother was something that no true barbarian could simply discard.

"Anyone who breaks such an oath should remember one thing," Tianna said.

The wind suddenly swept through the arena, and soon, the young lady’s voice changed into a voice that didn’t belong to her... a voice that sounded almost divine.

"The Earth remembers."

A strange silence descended upon the tournament grounds.

"And she does not take kindly to those who betray her."

After saying those words, Tianna’s body shook before she fell unconscious.

Jason had come when he sensed his Great Chieftain might be in danger, so he was now in the VIP area.

And when Tianna collapsed, he was the very first one to support her body, holding her in his arms, never planning to let her go.

As for the chieftains who had heard her words, they clearly sensed that something was different.

"The Earth remembers."

Those three words seemed to have etched themselves into their very soul, as if it was a promise that none of them could escape from... no matter how hard they try.