My Kingdom Building Done Right!

Chapter 212: Eden Of The East

"I told you, right?" Vlad raised his head in arrogance. "Leone is amazing!"

"Yes, yes. Now calm down." In response, Wayne ruffled his brother’s head. The latter simply wouldn’t stop praising Leone to the high heavens. "We are already sick and tired of hearing you say that the Chieftain of the Aslan Tribe is amazing."

"But he is!" Vlad pouted as he fixed his hair with his hands.

"How close are you to him, Vlad?" Ragnar, Vlad’s oldest brother, asked.

"We’re very close!" Vlad replied proudly. "Before you guys came, we always ate together!"

Ragnar and Wayne exchanged a glance before shifting their attention back to their little brother.

"W-What?" Vlad suddenly grew conscious of their gazes.

"How much do you know about him?" Ragnar inquired. "Do you know his secrets?"

Vlad finally understood what his brothers were trying to get at. They wished to gather information about Leone through him, which made him feel bitter.

"I... I don’t know anything about his powers," Vlad replied. "He treats me extremely well. And it’s too invasive to ask him about his powers. Also, I’m not allowed to head deeper inside the underground tunnels, so I don’t know what’s down there."

"Then, if we ask you to gather information, will you do it?" Ragnar asked.

Wayne didn’t say anything and simply observed Vlad’s expression. At the end of the day, his little brother was still part of the Warclaw Tribe, and he had a duty to protect its interests.

"I... I don’t want to," Vlad replied, his voice barely a whisper.

However, since the room was quiet, Ragnar and Wayne heard his reply loud and clear.

"Enough, Brother." Wayne stopped Ragnar, who was about to say something to Vlad. "Isn’t that why we’re here? We’ve come to gather information about Leone. There’s no need for Vlad to do the same."

Ragnar frowned at those words. But in the end, he decided to take a step back and no longer forced their youngest brother to spy for them.

"You can go, Vlad," Wayne said. "Leone is at the ramparts. If you still want to play with him before you sleep, you should go now."

Vlad nodded and left the room in haste. He was afraid that if he stayed a little longer, his brothers might change their minds and force him to gather information about Leone.

He wasn’t reluctant. He was unwilling. The mere thought of betraying Leone’s trust made his heart ache, and his eyes teared up a bit.

As he walked down the steps of the stairs, the teenage boy noticed a young lady standing right next to it.

"What’s wrong?" the young lady asked, looking a little concerned after seeing how sad Vlad looked.

"It’s nothing, Sister Natalia," Vlad replied. "I just got a bit of dust in my eye."

Vlad had interacted with Natalia before. Since the White Falcon Merchant Guild was the powerhouse that moved the economy of the Warclaw Tribe, there were times when she made a few surprise visits to their house.

He had always thought of her appearances as surprise visits because she would just appear out of nowhere and playfully cover his eyes from behind.

In a way, she reminded him of his sister, who loved him very much.

"Come here, Vlad." Natalia spread her arms, prompting the teenage boy to move closer to her. The young lady held him in her embrace. "Let Big Sister lend you her shoulder."

For some reason, Vlad couldn’t reject her invitation, so he obediently followed her words as if it were the most natural thing to do.

"There, there." Natalia patted Vlad’s head, who finally let go of all inhibitions and cried silently in her arms.

Vlad understood that, as one of the heirs of the Warclaw Tribe, he had a responsibility to ensure its prosperity. However, there were still lines he didn’t want to cross.

Not far from them, Godwin watched his daughter take care of Vlad, who had just descended from high up the mountain.

He already had an idea of what might have happened, so he could only sigh in his heart. Among his sons, Vlad was the most spoiled.

Godwin didn’t spoil him. Tianna did.

Because of this, Vlad listened more to his sister than his own father. But Godwin was fine with that.

Vlad was still young, after all. So, as much as possible, Godwin wanted his youngest son to protect his innocence from the harshness of the world.

Meanwhile, the three chieftains of the middle-ranked tribes were having a meeting alongside their Elders.

Since each villa was spacious enough for these kinds of meetings, they all gathered in the Redmaw Tribe’s villa.

"You all saw what happened earlier," Duncan said calmly. "Now we know why Ulric, Kael, and the others looked way younger than they used to."

Garen, Oswald, and the Elders all nodded.

"There’s a possibility that Leone has a special kind of power that gives powerful blessings to certain individuals. Maybe one of his vassals gained the power to create fortresses quickly through him.

"Of course, I am not ruling out the possibility that the power is Leone’s. In any case, one thing is clear. If the middle-ranked tribes wish to rise, then we will need the power of the Aslan Tribe to do so."

"I agree," Oswald commented. "We should never make the Aslan Tribe our enemy. In any case, I am quite looking forward to the battle between them and the Darkmane Tribe."

Leone had mentioned that he had trump cards. Back then, they thought his trump cards were the powerful defenses of his fortress.

But after seeing Brann beat up the Orc Warlord (Champion) one-sidedly after becoming Leone’s vassal, they could no longer turn a blind eye to his power and influence.

’The problem is the high-ranking tribes." Garen sighed. "They saw what we saw. I’m sure they are also holding their own meetings right now and discussing how they should interact with Leone moving forward. I wouldn’t even be surprised if they decide to eliminate him..."

Duncan and Oswald both knew that this was possible. However, after seeing the strength of Brann and Leone’s other vassals, they believed that the young chieftain was in good hands.

"For now, how about we stay here until the high-ranking tribes leave?" Duncan proposed. "Although we’re not as strong as them, we can still lend Leone our hands when he needs it. This will also deepen our relationship with him."

"I don’t think they will attack him so blatantly in his own territory. But we should still keep a watchful eye," Garen stated. "We can’t really trust these high-ranking tribes too much. Who knows what they are thinking?"

"Plus, the Aslan Tribe now has iron ore. We can also trade with them and arm our people." Oswald smiled. "That will greatly increase the strength of our warriors.

But that leaves one question. How long do you think it will take for the Darkmane Tribe to send their army all the way here?"

The delegation of the Darkmane Tribe had left earlier during the day, but knowing Troy, he would already be preparing for war even at this moment.

"That depends on whether they had already sent someone to the Grimhowl Tribe to ask if they would support Leone as his ally," Oswald commented. He was the Chieftain of the Grimfang Tribe, whose members were once part of the Grimhowl Tribe.

He understood how their politics worked. Since the Aslan Tribe was technically Hagen’s ally, he believed that Troy would still need the Grimhowl Chieftain’s permission before declaring war against Leone and his people.

However, all of them also knew that nothing could stop this war.

Troy wanted it, sure, but Leone wanted it more.

Both had their agendas, and the winner would take it all.

However, the anxiety they felt had drastically decreased after the vassalship ceremony. Now, they were assured that Leone wasn’t just being reckless.

He had something backing up his words.

Now they knew his confidence was not just limited to his formidable fortress.

All of them were truly looking forward to the Aslan Tribe’s growth.

They could tell that even if Leone were to rise higher, he would happily carry them with him on his back, bringing them to a height they had never reached before.

A height where the middle-ranked tribes could stand tall and proud.

A height where they would no longer feel insecure or cower against the high-ranking tribes.

And for that to happen, Leone must win the war.

Because once he won the battle against the Darkmane Tribe, the Borderlands would truly have one more powerhouse. By then, Grimjaw Mountain would become the Eden of the East.