"You seem to be in a good mood lately," Yuni said.

"I am indeed in a good mood," Leone replied.

It had been two days since the young man got to talk to his family. After his family saw for themselves that he was alive, a big portion of their anxiety had vanished completely.

Leone also felt relieved that his family didn’t suffer as much as he thought they would after his exile.

In fact, his mother made sure that those who were responsible for his exile paid the price for their arrogance.

As Leone picked up a wooden spear to join everyone in their morning training, one of the warriors stationed at the watchtower near the entrance of the forest arrived in haste.

"Great Chieftain, there is a caravan of people approaching the forest!" the warrior reported. "They aren’t holding any banners, so we don’t know which tribe they belong to."

Ulric and Jason moved closer to Leone after that, awaiting his orders.

’They might be from the Bloodtusk Tribe,’ Daedalus said through telepathy. ’I remember Malcolm telling his tribesmen he would head to Grimjaw Mountain. Maybe they are the ones who decided to follow his lead?’

Leone agreed with the grimoire’s theory. Since all of the low-ranking tribes, except for the Ashclaw Tribe, were now under his banner, the caravan could only come from the middle-ranked tribes.

"Jason, call Malcolm and tell him to head to the outskirts of the forest to meet up with Ulric," Leone ordered Jason through telepathy. "Ulric, take some warriors with you and wait for the caravan to arrive. They might have come here to become part of our faction, so be nice, okay?"

""As you command, Great Chieftain!""

The two also replied through telepathy.

As per Daedalus’ recommendation, Leone had purchased the Super Rare Skill Book from the Arcane Shop called Vassal’s Link. Although the skill cost him 10,000 BP, it was a very amazing skill.

It allowed Leone to talk to his vassals through telepathy. However, it didn’t end there. With it, he could also see and hear what they saw and heard.

Though he would need to ask for their permission first to allow him to share the senses of his vassals. He couldn’t do this indiscriminately and invade their privacy, after all. So, permission to share senses was one of the default conditions for this skill to work.

"I’ll return to the fortress and watch the exchange from there," Leone stated before glancing at the children training not far from him. "We have guests. All of you return to the fortress for now."

""Yes, Great Chieftain!""

Since their parents were calling Leone ’Great Chieftain’, they decided to copy them as well and call him the same way.

Soon, Brann approached Leone, who was practicing spearmanship alongside his people a while ago.

The young man had shared with them the first two forms, as well as the special breathing method of the Heaven Piercer Spear Arts.

Since they would become his people sooner or later, he thought it wasn’t a bad idea to let them know the martial arts practiced by the Aslanians in advance.

"Is there anything we can help you with, Great Chieftain?" Brann asked.

By calling the young man Great Chieftain in public, he was telling his tribe members that he had recognized Leone’s authority as the one who led them.

The fact that they were allowed to learn the martial technique of the Aslan Tribe was also proof that Leone didn’t discriminate against them.

"Yes, Brann," Leone answered. "Take a few of your warriors and lead them to the entrance of the forest to meet up with a caravan of unknown origins. However, it is highly likely that they hail from the Bloodtusk Tribe. Maybe they’ve decided to come here to seek asylum."

"As expected of our Great Chieftain!" Kael found the perfect opportunity to praise Leone in front of everyone. "They might have been moved by your overwhelming charisma, righteousness, and benevolence!"

Leone sighed before flipping his hair in response. Although he didn’t say anything, it was very clear that he appreciated being praised in this manner.

The corner of Brann’s lips twitched as he glanced at Kael, who continued to shamelessly praise Leone’s greatness.

Deep inside, he wanted to do the same! However, he held back to retain his dignity!

In the end, Brann led his men, including his son, to the outskirts to meet with these warriors that decided to seek asylum under the Aslan Tribe’s banner.

Leone mounted Arion’s back and flew back to the fortress with Yuni.

She had been assigned as Leone’s personal guard for the time being because her father still didn’t trust Hassan.

In fact, Leone had no idea where Hassan was at the moment.

He hadn’t seen the masked man since he woke up this morning, and when he asked his vassals, they all said that they hadn’t seen him either.

However, since he was a subordinate of his mother, Leone decided to not worry about him for the time being.

For now, he just assumed that Hassan was protecting him from the shadows.

Several minutes later, Malcolm and Jason arrived at the entrance of the forest.

They could already see the caravan in the distance that was making a beeline in their direction. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Malcolm then asked Ulric for permission to scout ahead because he believed that these new arrivals came from the Bloodtusk Tribe as well.

"Go ahead," Ulric replied. "Just be careful."

"Thank you!" Malcolm nodded before urging his Forest Raptor to meet the approaching caravan.

And just as Malcolm had expected, these people did come from the Bloodtusk Tribe.

The warriors in the caravan immediately recognized Malcolm and greeted him in the distance.

As they made their way to Ulric and the others, the veteran warrior asked his fellow tribe members about any news from the Bloodtusk Tribe.

"It’s bad," one of the warriors stated. "The moment Harold died, people started fighting over who would become the new chieftain. We didn’t want to take part in it, so we decided to just leave and come here."

While it was true that many of their friends had died in their battle against the Aslan Tribe, it was also true that they were the aggressors.

In fact, they could have chosen to head to the other tribes instead. Yet, what made them choose to head to the Aslan Tribe in the end was Leone’s character.

They were still touched by his decision to give all the dead warriors from the Bloodtusk Tribe, as well as the other tribes, a proper warrior’s burial.

Not to mention that the one who performed this burial rite was none other than the great shaman of the Grimhowl Tribe, Gundar.

Deep inside, they envied the Aslan Tribe for having a humane Chieftain.

The kind of leader whom they wanted to lead them.

The kind of leader who was worth fighting for.

"State your purpose," Ulric said as soon as the caravan stopped a few meters away from them.

A warrior stepped forward from the caravan in response. He looked worn out from the long journey. His eyes also held a tinge of exhaustion. Yet, there was also something else that burned within their depths, which was determination.

"We seek asylum," the warrior replied. "We come not as members of the Bloodtusk Tribe, but as people who wish to follow a leader worthy of our loyalty."

The warriors of the Aslan Tribe studied him and the people in the caravan in silence.

Brann also looked at them, thinking he was just in the same position as them a few days ago.

"Why did you choose us?" Ulric asked, once again making everyone focus their attention on him. "Why come here after everything that has happened between our tribes?"

The man hesitated, then lowered his head.

"Because we saw what kind of chieftain the Aslan Tribe has," the warrior answered, saying what he truly felt in his heart. "Your Great Chieftain honors even his enemies and protects everyone who stands under his banner. We also want someone like him to lead us."

Brann nodded quietly from the side. He knew that the warrior was being sincere with his words.

He hadn’t been there when Leone held a funeral rite for all of the dead warriors who had tried to raid his domain.

But when he heard of it, he felt really touched. Moreover, he had also seen the Great Chieftain of the Aslan Tribe cry in public a few days ago, not afraid of showing his weakness to anyone.

It proved that he was still young and might even be a little naive to the ways of the world.

But if being young and naive was all it took to show mercy and give even your enemies an honorable burial, then so be it.

Brann would gladly dirty his hands for this kind of leader. In fact, he would even be happy to do so!

"Very well." Ulric nodded to acknowledge the warrior’s statement. "On behalf of our Great Chieftain, I welcome you all to the Aslan Tribe. However, you will still need to prove your loyalty to our cause. Is that alright?"

"Yes." The warrior nodded. "We will prove our loyalty and worth to Leone Frontera."

After hearing those words, the warriors of the Aslan Tribe parted and allowed the caravan a path to enter the forest.

Ulric took the lead, while Malcolm followed behind him.

The rest of the caravan soon followed suit.

The warriors already knew what Leone was like. However, their families still didn’t know him that much.

They felt both hopeful and afraid of what was waiting for them on the other side of the forest.

High above the ramparts of the fortress, Leone gazed at the caravan with his hands behind his back.

He had heard everything that the representative of the Bloodtusk Tribe had said, and understood their expectations of him.

Once upon a time, he was just an ordinary young man of noble birth.

But now, he was taking the path of a King.

A path that many people had taken before him, but few had managed to achieve.