Eamon was stunned by what he was seeing. Coastal Fortward is a fortress, but when the Clan leader visits, they would sit on the throne placed in the throne room, and when they’re not visiting, the throne is usually covered with a big cloth with the Athrimir symbol.

But right now, there was someone else sitting on the throne, and their leg casually on the Athrimir cloth on the ground.

"What.....Commander Garran, what is going on?" Eamon finally managed to speak.

He has been so occupied by that singular fact that when he heard his own voice was when he finally looked around. The throne room was filled with different people as if a Clan court was in session.

By their looks and the way they held themselves, Eamon could easily conclude that they are military officers.

And the one holding the court was the woman sitting on the throne.

She’s a tall woman with deep blue eyes and a round face, her hair was carefully wrapped in a braid around her head. She wore a light blue dress with different jewelries adorning her neck. She looked at him and smiled.

Eamon fought the tension that suddenly wanted him to take a step back. It was like looking at a sea monster. "So this is the High Chief of the Athrimir Clan. I heard he’s not a Knight but it’s still surprising to see that he’s really an ordinary man."

Her voice was deep and washed over the room like a tide.

Only years of training as a Chief made Eamon speak without stumbling on his tongue. "Yes, I am High Chief Eamon Rikon. Who are you?"

It was then that he noticed that Commander Garran had gone to sit beside the throne, watching everything with his stone eyes.

"I am from the Ito Clan," she said.

Eamon began to think fast, putting things together so as to know and understand his new enemy. From all the information he has gathered externally on the Hinterlands, he was drawing a picture quickly.

What made the Ito Clan powerful is their marine warfare. On the sea, they are the absolute law. But water is big and numerous, which led to an era of pirate bandits that rule territories as they want. Even the Ito Clan began as a very successful pirate bandit.

The Ito Clan successfully won over the pirates by absorbing them. But that also led to an imbalance of power. The pirates were often used as tools, the Clan used them to do the dirty works at sea until the pirates came together and demanded to be treated better as part of the Clan.

This move led to the creation of the title, WaterLord. A title that carries the same power as the second most powerful in all of the Ito Clan.

The WaterLord is the head of all Ito pirates, and the title can only be claimed by the strongest of them all. Like a High Chief, the WaterLord is also the second most powerful.

By creating the title, the Ito Clan can now use the pirates without them feeling slighted. In fact, the pirates now intentionally add to the benefit and interest of the Clan.

Recently, there are stories of the new WaterLord, a woman of power that rose to the position by killing all her competitors and challengers. It was rumored that she has a secret artifact that she uses to add to her Master Knights’ power. But who knows? What is known is that she had killed her fair share of Master Knights and their equivalent in monsters.

WaterLord Freya.

Eamon didn’t get the name of the woman sitting in front of him, but he could already tell it must be that woman. The WaterLord.

He forced a smile to his face. "The Ito Clan, I don’t know that we have such a close relationship for someone from the Ito Clan to be here personally."

The woman gave him a blank face, then she turned to Commander Garran and raised her brows. "Relationship? I don’t understand what you’re saying, Eamon Rikon. How can that be?"

Eamon was confused by what she’s saying. He paused before speaking. "Are you not from the Ito Clan to spearhead the negotiation?"

She snorted. "Negotiation? Why should I negotiate something that I own? The western part of this territory is already mine. Has Commander Garran of the Ito Clan not updated you?"

Eamon reeled as if he had been slapped. "W...what?"

At first he thought that Garran had only sought support from the Ito Clan to get the west for himself. But...he actually surrendered it to the Ito Clan? He switched sides completely and joined the Ito? He took a new Lord?

He shook his head at the misunderstanding. "Why? Commander Garran, why do you do this? Why?"

Commander Garran did not immediately reply. He looked at him for a while as if he was gathering his thoughts, then he nodded. "I am only returning this land to the true owner."

Eamon felt as if he’d been struck by lightning. His eyes widened. "It can’t be!"

The WaterLord smiled. "Oh it is. Very much so. Long, long ago, my family ruled these lands. I have come to collect."

Eamon turned to Garran and demanded, "How!"

Garran shrugged. "The Athrimir did not kill all of them. They missed some, distant but still blood of the Fortward Clan. They were smuggled away from Athrimir to Ito, where they forgot about the place they used to rule and joined the pirates."

The WaterLord, Freya, is a Fortward. The very Clan that the Athrimir rooted from their territory because they did not back him and rebel.

"But...how are you involved, Garran?"

Garran frowned. "The very first Commander Garran was a subordinate with the Fortward. It wasn’t well known, but that Commander was actually a spy planted in the capital then. Since that time, our family has been charged to return the Fortward to their position given any advantage. The advantage just happens to come in my lifetime."

Eamon remained stunned for a long time. He had expected a lot of things, but he didn’t expect what he just heard. But just as quickly as the surprise came, he snapped out of it again. "Then is the WaterLord here to seek vengeance?"

She smiled when she heard her title. "You are as cunning as you are said to be. But to answer your question, I should ask one of my own. Is the Athrimir still here to take my vengeance on?"

Eamon’s face went carefully blank and his expression became shrouded. His face became unreadable. "You are, or are you not after the Athrimir?"

She wanted to use words to find out if Vale still lives or not! What a cunning lady.

She snorted at his reaction. "If there’s a chance, then why not? There can never be enough lands to rule and resources to gather. But the Akatsuki already grabbed some, and it’ll be difficult to shake loose their greedy, sandy hands."

"So you’re not fighting the Akatsuki."

"Is there really a reason to fight them? I get what I came for, even more. And I don’t think they want to fight the Ito as well. But you, High Chief Eamon, what do you want to do?"

"That’s why you are here, isn’t it? To know which way the winds will blow."

Eamon shrugged. "You are right."

It was Commander Garran that spoke next. "You do not have the power to fight us. Or the Akatsuki. But your Clan is very important. Very, very important. I want you to swear to a new lord, Eamon Rikon. You can even still have your title of High Chief."

’...of course my Clan is important because of the Chasm....’

Eamon spoke carefully. "What if...an Athrimir was to stand before you right now? Will you consider serving him?"

Even as he said that, he knew it was something that was impossible, but he still had to try, didn’t he?

WaterLord Freya’s eyes darkened at that. "If he can beat me in a personal conquest, then why not? You Athrimir are strangers that follow the rule of power. The strong above the weak. Why is your Clan leader weaker than some of you? Why is a Chief, a normal human, commanding Knights?

"The weak should serve the strong, to make it stronger."

Eamon had heard all of this before. In fact, even though the Athrimir are somewhat accepting of it, they still grumbled secretly. The weak and the strong. The strong and the weak.

He spread his hand. "I admit that you are right. But power isn’t just by personal might alone. There are also different types of it. It’s very complicated."

WaterLord snorted again. "It seems quite simple to me. Only because you are backward here that I’m even considering letting you keep your title."

Eamon blinked. Then out of sheer curiosity, he asked, "Are you weaker than the Ito Clan leader then?"

It was her turn to blink. "I don’t know why that is important to our..."

Eamon cut her off. "Because one of my ancestors killed an Ito Clan leader once."