Aside from the wagon filled with iron ores, the Aslan Tribe also gave the Grimfang Tribe another wagon filled with beef jerkies. The journey was long, and they could use these as rations.

Leone wanted to part with them on good terms and let bygones be bygones. Of course, this was easier said than done. But he still did his best to bridge that gap to start over again.

Though, it didn’t end there. He also provided each warrior who served in the mine with horses Arion had gathered during his trip outside the forest.

It had found the horses that had survived during the battle in Grimjaw Mountain and coaxed them to join its side.

And now, those horses found new owners that would care for them. This made Hugo and Theron understand that Leone wanted to form a good relationship with them.

Both of them hoped that in their next visit to the Aslan Tribe, they would be friends and not enemies.

When they finally left, Leone told the Warclaw Tribe that they could set up their camp at the base of the mountain.

He then escorted Gundar, Wayne, and Vlad to the tunnels where the iron ores were currently mined by his people.

Wayne started making calculations in his mind right away because what they needed was high-grade iron ores.

If he could bring back a few wagons back to the Warclaw Tribe, his father would definitely be happy.

Having good weapons and armors was every warrior’s dream. Now that there was a possibility to trade with the Aslan Tribe, Wayne was itching to start negotiations with Leone to become their exclusive customer!

However, he forgot one thing.

Gundar was also there!

The great shaman remained calm. But deep inside, he was sighing deeply.

’If only Marcus or Elias were here, we could have also gotten a good bargain,’ Gundar thought.

But since neither was around, so he decided to just ask Leone to spare a few wagons of the iron ore for his tribe as well.

Aside from that, Gundar also wanted to know where Leone’s confidence came from.

He knew the young man could build a fortress in less than ten minutes. But what other trump cards did he have up his sleeve? It must be something if it made him certain that he could make the Darkmane Tribe suffer losses?

Gundar asked this question to Leone in private, prompting the young man to order Kael to handle the negotiations with Wayne in regards to the iron ore.

He was certain that Kael would rip off—err, give Wayne a good bargain that would be beneficial for both tribes.

After walking for several minutes, Leone and Gundar exited the path that led to the hidden valley.

There, the great shaman saw the plantation that Leone had built as another source of food for the Aslan Tribe.

The young man had also bought a blueprint for a watermill that would be useful during harvest season.

The valley was quite big. It had more than enough space to house everyone living in Grimjaw Mountain with plenty of land to spare.

"I think I now understand why you said you won’t win, but you won’t lose either." Gundar sighed. "So, you have a backup plan."

"That’s right, Great Uncle," Leone replied. "My goal is to deal as much damage to the Darkmane Tribe as possible and make everyone understand that my tribe cannot be bullied."

He then paused to look at the great shaman standing beside him.

"If Troy decides to send his warriors here, don’t do anything to stop it," Leone said in a serious tone. "This war must happen. That is the only way I can make the high-ranking tribes treat us seriously."

"And what about our alliance?" Gundar asked. "Are you really asking me to just watch from the side and not do anything?"

"Yes," Leone replied firmly. "Great Uncle, you might wish for this alliance, but your chieftain does not. I’m sure he felt reluctant to do it because he didn’t see any benefits in becoming our ally.

"But that’s fine. The Borderlands only follow the words of the strong. If I can show your chieftain how strong my tribe is, he might even come in person to propose an alliance."

Gundar knew that Leone was right.

Hagen was a calculative man.

He would only consider allying with another high-ranking tribe if that alliance gave him benefits.

"So, you really want this war to happen, don’t you?" Gundar placed his hands behind his back. "You even shared the information about the Aslan Tribe having a high-grade iron mine. Once this news spreads, the Darkmane Tribe will not be able to sit still."

Leone smiled. "Maybe the other tribes will also not be able to sit still. After all, the Darkmane Tribe has long monopolized the iron ore industry."

"Indeed." Gundar nodded. "Now that Wayne is also very interested in trading with you, the Warclaw Tribe might just put enough pressure on the Darkmane Tribe to make them behave."

"If that happens, then all is good," Leone replied. "No one needs to die. Everyone will be happy. But, I’m not expecting anything from anyone. At the end of the day, this is something we have to handle on our own."

Gundar looked at the young man who was carrying the faith of an entire tribe on his shoulder.

Leone didn’t look anxious. If anything, the look on his face showed that he had already made peace with himself.

With the hidden valley as their evacuation site, the Aslan Tribe would survive even if the fortress was breached.

In fact, Gundar had already understood what Leone was planning to do.

The moment the fortress was breached, they would immediately escape through the underground tunnels.

If they were pursued, their pursuers would definitely die a very gruesome death.

Leone would collapse the tunnels and bury them alive.

That was his plan to deal major losses to the Darkmane Tribe. A plan that, when enacted, would really cripple one of the high-ranking tribes in the Borderlands.

"Great Uncle, I showed you this because I trust you," Leone said as he held the old man’s gaze. "Please don’t break my trust."

Gundar nodded without any hesitation. One of his worries was Leone dying in this war. And now, he felt relieved. As long as the young man could survive, then Gundar would find him without fail.

A day after the Grimfang Tribe left the Aslan Tribe, five of the warriors of the Darkmane Tribe started their journey back home.

Their mission was to report to their chieftain everything that happened and pass Leone’s ultimatum to him.

On that same day, Gundar left to return to the Grimhowl Tribe.

Regardless of what would happen in the future, he had to prepare as well.

After negotiating with Kael, Wayne decided to return with five wagons of high-grade iron ore to the Warclaw Tribe.

He tried to take Vlad back with him, but the teenage boy adamantly refused.

Left with no choice, Wayne decided to leave fifty of the warriors of the Warclaw Tribe as his brother’s bodyguards and took the rest with him.

He understood that the sooner he returned to see his father, the sooner a decision could be made.

Either they would extend a hand to the Aslan Tribe and secure a constant supply of high-grade iron ores...

Or they would watch from the side and see whether Leone’s bravado was real or not.

Both were tough choices. Yet, regardless of what they chose, they would gain a steady flow of resources.

On top of that, they could watch one of their rivals suffer under the hands of the Aslan Tribe.

Of course, there was a third option.

The Warclaw Tribe would allow the war to happen. But the moment the Aslan Tribe was defeated, they would declare that the iron ores in Grimjaw Mountain belonged to them.

They could not let the Darkmane Tribe continue their monopoly over this precious metal that everyone needed when battles called.

In fact, Wayne believed that if his father talked to Hagen, both of them would be able to secure Grimjaw Mountain as their joint territory.

This would also prevent Troy from gaining another source of income, which would cripple him in more ways than one.

However, little did Wayne know that Leone had no intention of letting anyone get anything from him.

The Grimjaw Mountain was his domain.

The only thing his foes would get by stepping into his territory was death, and he would prove it if Troy really declared war against him.