Chapter 454: The Shadow Of Betrayal [Part 1]

"So, where is Hagen?" Leone asked after sharing everything that went down between the Aslan Tribe and the Kingdom of Britannia. "This is an important meeting. Why is he not present? Don’t tell me it’s because he doesn’t want to see me."

The young chieftain then looked at his Great Uncle, who only smiled wryly at his question.

"He and his warriors joined the scouting party," Gundar replied. "The skirmishes between the scouts of the Aurelion Empire and us have increased recently, so he decided to go there as reinforcements."

"How noble of him." Leone smirked. "I guess he hates me that much, huh?"

He shifted his attention to Marcus and Elias, who stood behind Gundar. The two had calm expressions on their faces, but the hate in their eyes when they looked at Leone was very evident.

Even now, they believed that the youngest chieftain of the Borderlands had stolen the position their father rightfully deserved.

However, since the laws of the tournament couldn’t be overturned, they had no choice but to endure their hatred for now.

Leone should have been crowned as the Barbarian King of the Borderlands after he won the tournament. But Hagen stated that in order to earn this title, he must first prove himself.

And he could do so by protecting and preventing Eden from being conquered by the Aurelion Empire.

Hagen’s proposal was sound, and all the warriors agreed to this condition. Leone’s clone, who was in full control of the body at the time, accepted Hagen’s proposal.

Under one condition.

"Since defending Eden falls upon my shoulders, I expect all the tribes to listen to my commands," Leone’s clone even flipped his hair as if it was the most natural thing to do. "Those who refuse to follow my orders will be deemed traitors and will be dealt with by execution."

His high-handed approach made the warriors look at him in a different light. However, Leone’s clone argued back that not following orders would immediately result in the defeat of the barbarians.

So, he asked them this question.

"Would you rather follow my orders, or would you rather have your women and children become the slaves of the Aurelion Empire? Besides, my tribe has won the tournament fair and square. You all witnessed it. The Earth Mother also witnessed it. So, I will hold all of you to fulfill your oaths."

Although Leone’s clone was a troublemaker, he did have a point.

Of course, he also made sure to flip his hair a second time after delivering that speech.

Beside him, Kael also flipped his hair.

Watching that, Ulric and Jason did their best to look unperturbed by the two’s flamboyant displays.

In the end, all the tribes agreed that they would follow Leone’s command once the battle started.

"I have a question I would like to ask everyone gathered here," Leone said after lightly tapping the armrest of his chair. "From what I understood, the Aurelion Empire also traded with the tribes here in the Borderlands. Is that correct?"

"Yes, they did." Godwin nodded. "Aside from gold, they also like to use monster cores as currency. In fact, when buying things from them, some merchant groups would prefer to be paid fully in monster cores."

Since Eden had a dungeon, getting a steady supply of monster cores wasn’t a problem.

The merchants of the Aurelion Empire would even set up a market outside the walls of Eden once every two months.

It would look like a bazaar where the barbarians freely shopped using monster cores as currency.

The barbarians had a rule that no one aside from the barbarian tribes may enter Eden. This was their way of safeguarding the layout of the city against the Aurelion Empire, which once tried to invade it in the past.

"Then, is it possible for the chieftains to have formed some connections with some high-ranking merchants, or perhaps officials of the Aurelion Empire?" Leone stated.

"Both the high-ranking tribes and the middle-ranked tribes have interacted with them in the past," Garen answered.

"Then, do you think that someone with a high position among the tribes can betray the Borderlands in exchange for a position once the Aurelion Empire succeeds in their invasion?" Leone asked calmly.

At this question, the atmosphere inside the room immediately turned heavy.

"A-Are you implying that we plan on betraying our people?!" one of the Elders of the Warclaw Tribe asked in disbelief. "We will never do such a vile thing!"

"That’s right!"

"We will never betray our people!"

"How can you even say such a thing?!"

The Elders started to make some noise, while the chieftains looked at Leone with solemn expressions on their faces.

"Oh, I believe most barbarians are honorable people," Leone said while everyone was making a ruckus. "But you know, some people have ambitions so high that they are willing to sacrifice everything in exchange for power.

"What if... someone who wishes to become the Barbarian King of the Borderlands had lost that opportunity? They are probably thinking, if I can’t have it, then no one can. Or... they would just betray everyone in exchange for a position after the Borderlands is thoroughly subjugated."

The Elders looked incensed as they listened, but there were two who were unable to contain their anger.

"Watch your words, Leone Frontera!" Hagen’s oldest son, Marcus, roared in anger. "Don’t smear my father’s name without proof!"

"My brother is right." Elias glared. "You have no idea what kind of person my father is!"

"I didn’t even mention a name, and both of you are quick to accuse me of giving names." Leone smirked. "But, let me humor you both, let’s say I am indeed talking about your father.

"For someone as ambitious as your father, do you really think he would allow himself to become a subordinate? You’ve known him longer than me, you should know the answer to this question, right?"

"O-Of course, he can choose to become a subordinate!" Elias answered.

But deep down, he knew that his father wouldn’t want to serve under someone, especially not Leone.

Elias had never thought of a scenario where his father would become someone else’s subordinate.

Even this thought had never crossed Marcus’ mind.

A few days ago, they were certain that their father would become the new Barbarian King. As his sons, they would gain tremendous power and influence within the Borderlands.

But now that this chance had slipped through their fingers, the only thing they could do was to endure.

The only way for this situation to change was for the current Barbarian King to die...

And the one in that position was none other than Leone Frontera.

Yes.

Leone just had to die, and everything would be reset. The title of the Barbarian King would once again be up for grabs.

And the high-ranking chieftains, as well as the chieftains of the middle-ranked tribes, were all certain that Hagen was capable of doing this act.

Since he had made an oath, he couldn’t personally do it.

But what if he let someone else do the killing?

Now that the young chieftain had laid this idea out in the open, the others finally understood what he was hinting at.

The Chieftain of the Grimfang Tribe, Oswald, who was the son of the supposed-to-be Chieftain of the Grimhowl Tribe, lowered his head.

Hagen had always been a schemer.

He had schemed his way to take away the position that rightfully belonged to Oswald’s father, forcing them to separate from the Grimhowl Tribe and found the Grimfang Tribe.

In the end, Oswald’s father died a few years later out of grief and despair, letting him take over his position as the Chieftain of the Grimfang Tribe.

While everyone was deep in thought, Leone threw out another possibility.

"Volunteering to be a scout so that he could get an opportunity to talk to his contact in the Aurelion Empire is a brilliant move," Leone stated. "Should I say ’as expected’ of a traitor?"

"Shut your mouth!" Marcus shouted. "Before I shut it for you!"

"Can you?" Leone arched an eyebrow.

At his words, Ulric, Jason, and Kael all glared at Marcus, making the latter flinch.

The three didn’t hesitate to direct their killing intent at him. For them, Leone’s safety was of the utmost importance.

"Everyone, calm down." Elias tried to break the tension by interjecting in the discussion. "I admit my father is ambitious, but he would never stoop so low as to betray the tribes for a position after the Borderlands has been taken by the Aurelion Empire."

Leone smiled, and no longer pressed the matter.

Truth be told, he was simply talking smack about Hagen. Just like everyone said, he had no proof.

Even so, it didn’t sit well with him that the Chieftain of the Grimhowl Tribe wasn’t present at such an important meeting.

Although his words were spoken out of spite, a part of him was still suspicious of Hagen’s movements.

’It’s quite unfortunate that he didn’t bring the Raptor with him,’ Daedalus commented from the side. ’Otherwise, we would have a better idea of where he is and what he is doing right now.’

Leone agreed with the grimoire’s statement. While he wanted to give Hagen the benefit of the doubt, the chieftain just rubbed him the wrong way.

For some reason, Hagen reminded the young chieftain of the King of Britannia.

A person who acted magnanimous on the outside, but was as venomous as a snake inside.

An hour later, the meeting finally concluded. With that, Leone headed back to the fortress outside of the city with his people.

The three middle-ranked chieftains, Oswald, Duncan, and Garen, followed him.

It seemed that the three of them wished to talk to Leone about something important, which they couldn’t say back in the meeting earlier.