"Brann, they will be living alongside your tribe for the time being." Ulric passed down Leone’s orders, which he had just received. "As for you, Malcolm, you will be the temporary leader of your former tribe members. This will be your first mission as the newest member of the Aslan Tribe."

"Understood." Brann nodded.

"I’ll do my best," Malcolm replied.

High above the fortress, Daedalus counted the number of people that had entered their domain.

"288 people have come from the Bloodtusk Tribe," Daedalus reported. "87 of them are warriors. That’s a lot more than I expected."

The grimoire was happy because the population of the Aslan Tribe had finally reached four digits!

The exact number was 1,119 people!

Leone first started with 30 people from the Alborin Tribe.

Now, he commanded a force of over a thousand people. Its Master had truly come a long way, which made it very proud.

Even Gundar was quite impressed by this achievement. Though he could only sigh internally. How unfortunate. None of Hagen’s sons were here to witness this historic moment.

’Well, Vlad seems to hold some promise at least,’ Gundar thought as he watched the caravan enter the forest from the ramparts of the fortress. ’Maybe he will learn a thing or two from Leone and grow to become a great ruler in the future.’

The great shaman then recalled the memories passed down by his predecessors.

How the Grimhowl Tribe migrated from the west.

How they survived the clash between monster armies along the way before finally reaching the Borderlands.

How they built their homes in the wilderness.

How they thrived by fighting against the environment and the dangers around them.

Those days were long gone. And now, they didn’t have to contend with beasts and monsters.

No. Their opponents were now far more dangerous.

And that was none other than the greed of men.

Each tribe was sharpening their claws in order to bring the other tribes under their banner.

And Gundar believed that Leone’s appearance would be the spark to finally blow this powder keg that had been lying dormant for many years.

An era of bloodshed and chaos would soon befall the Borderlands.

The only question in everyone’s mind....

Was when and who would be the first among the high-ranking tribes to make their move.

With that being said, the gathering of tribes was only five months away.

And Gundar believed that this gathering would be different from the previous years.

The wind blew softly against the fortress walls, as if whispering of the storm yet to come to the great shaman.

Gundar stood silently on the ramparts, his gaze fixed far beyond the forest, where unseen forces were already beginning to stir.

He could feel it. The subtle calm before a storm hit.

The great shaman then glanced at Leone in the distance, hoping he wouldn’t be the first target of the high-ranking tribes’ thirst for power.

But deep inside, Gundar knew that he was just trying to turn a blind eye to reality.

The high-ranking tribes were at the height of their power, after all.

Naturally, they couldn’t declare war against each other.

Since they couldn’t do that, they would set their sights on something else.

And right now, the Aslan Tribe was the prime candidate for testing their mettle. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

They would use Leone as a stepping stone to sharpen their fangs in preparation for the real battle against the other high-ranking tribes.

But whether this "stepping stone" they chose would accept its fate or not was another matter entirely.

A wry smile appeared on Gundar’s face when he caught himself worrying about the problem of another tribe.

He knew that he shouldn’t be feeling this way since he belonged to the Grimhowl Tribe.

And yet, he couldn’t stop his feelings.

Whether he wanted to admit it or not, he had become very fond of Leone.

In fact, he was treating the young man as the grandson he never had.

Gundar didn’t have a family. He spent his lifetime protecting the Grimhowl Tribe and had grown old in doing so.

Of course, that didn’t mean the thought never crossed his mind. Unfortunately, he was unable to sire children due to the power he possessed.

He had loved someone very dearly in the past, who also loved him back. But to his regret, their love didn’t bear any fruit until his lover died of old age.

A soft sigh escaped the great shaman’s lips before he took his leave to return to his quarters.

A few minutes after he disappeared, Hassan materialized right beside Leone.

"Young Master, congratulations on gaining more people under your banner," Hassan said with a smile. "I still can’t believe that an exiled young man like you can achieve this miracle."

Yuni glanced at Hassan, not fully trusting the masked man in the slightest. Yet, she also understood that he didn’t mean Leone any harm, so there was no need for her to antagonize someone on their own side.

"It’s not only you who feels that way, Hassan," Leone replied. "I’m glad I fell on the altar of the Alborin Tribe during that fateful day."

Sometimes, when he was alone, Leone would recall his first meeting with Daedalus vividly.

—————

"Rejoice, young man! From today, you shall have the power to wield destiny in your hands!"

—————

Those were the words the grimoire had first told him, which started off his miraculous journey in the Borderlands.

And now, he held an important position as the Great Chieftain of the Aslan Tribe.

Although he was happy because he had come a long way, he would be lying if he said he wasn’t worried.

He had made his choice to kill Varus and Ragan, which sparked off the conflict that led to a war.

Though, if Leone were given the chance to turn back time and relive that moment, he knew that he would make the same choice without hesitation.

He wouldn’t allow Varus and Ragan to live, especially after witnessing what they had done to his tribe and the things they had tried to do to Yuni.

It was worth it even if it meant becoming an eyesore to the Darkmane Tribe, a high-ranking tribe.

Leone knew that his alliance with the Grimhowl Tribe was still not set in stone because their chieftain, Hagen, still hadn’t made his declaration.

For now, he decided not to worry about things that were outside of his control.

While the Aslan Tribe had welcomed the warriors of the Bloodtusk Tribe and their families in their domain, something else was happening somewhere in the Borderlands.

Jafar had now returned to the Darkmane Tribe after successfully completing his mission.

Now, there was only one more problem that they needed to resolve, which was how they would deal with the Aslan Tribe.

A tribe that dared to ask them for ransom in return for their chieftain’s son, as well as the warriors who had accompanied him in battle.