At the northern part of the forest.

The squirrels were minding their business when they saw creatures numbering over two hundred, all of which seemed to be heading south.

Most of them looked travel-worn. The rest weren’t any better, too injured to move and therefore resting in wagons being pushed by monitor lizards at least three meters long.

There was only one destination in the path they treaded—the Grimjaw Mountain. Understanding these were guests, the squirrels hurriedly called out to their friends in order to pass the message.

A series of squeaks traveled across the forest, informing all the squirrels within its range. These squirrels in turn passed the message to others until it finally reached their little emperor, Blitz.

*Squeak!*

Blitz didn’t hesitate to report its subordinates’ findings to its Master, Leone.

The young man then ordered the flying squirrel and Otto to immediately investigate the source of the commotion.

Otto rode on Arion’s back, while Biltz flew ahead so it could scout the situation.

When it arrived at the scene, it glanced at the creatures. They looked familiar and unfamiliar at the same time.

However, since its friend was one of them, it didn’t take long for Blitz to figure out what kind of monsters they were.

Kobolds. And there were over two hundred of them.

Otto arrived shortly after and observed the group that seemed to have lost a territorial battle against other monsters.

Unlike Goblins, Kobolds weren’t a warmongering race.

Typically, they preferred to mind their own business and dig underground. Though, if they were forced to migrate, whoever or whatever forced them out must be far too strong for the Kobolds to fight.

"Continue to monitor their movements, Blitz," Otto said. "I’m going back to tell Leone about this."

*Squeak!*

Blitz saluted, confirming that it understood what to do next. Otto then left the squirrel behind.

Several minutes later inside the fortress...

"Astravor mentioned that the monsters are becoming restless at the northern side of the forest," Leone said after hearing Otto’s report. "A turf war between monsters might be underway, which resulted in the Kobolds’ migration."

"What should we do, Great Chieftain?" Otto asked. "The Kobolds seem to be headed toward our fortress."

Leone pondered a bit before sending a telepathic message to Maximus. The White Kobold arrived a few minutes later to ask why it was called.

"Maximus, Kobolds are approaching our territory," Leone explained. "If possible, I want you to convince them to become part of the Aslan Tribe."

"Gau?"

"Yes. They will definitely become an asset to our digging operations."

Leone was actually very happy with this discovery. If he could form a good relationship with the Kobold Tribe, then he would gain some expert diggers as additional manpower.

On top of that, he could speak to them using his ability, Tongue of Beasts. With that, he also planned to go with Maximus to meet them.

"Gau!" Max gave Leone a thumbs up, declaring it would do its best to convince its brethren to join their tribe.

With everything settled, Leone rode Arion, while Otto and Maximus rode on Forest Raptors to meet with the Kobolds.

Since this was a sensitive mission, Ulric and Jason followed behind them.

Leone didn’t plan to bring many people as he didn’t want the Kobolds to feel anxious.

Half an hour later, they finally arrived at the place where Blitz was waiting for them.

*Squeak!*

The flying squirrel then landed on top of Arion’s head before pointing at the Kobolds in the distance.

Leone and Maximus shared a glance, and soon, the two decided to meet with this group to talk to them.

Ulric and Jason followed several meters behind them so that the Kobolds would understand that they didn’t mean any harm.

As soon as the Kobolds saw Leone and Maximus approaching them while riding on Raptors, they immediately took a battle formation.

The Kobolds were all holding spears. Though, from the looks of it, they looked incredibly anxious despite their advantage in numbers.

"Gau!" Maximus shouted, raising both of its hands.

It was trying to calm everyone down, telling them that they didn’t come to fight.

Seeing the White Kobold, the other Kobolds glanced at each other but didn’t lower their guard.

"May I please talk to your leader?" Leone asked, activating his skill, Tongue of Beasts, to communicate with the Kobolds. "We mean you no harm. We just want to talk."

Surprised that a human could understand their language, the Kobolds hesitated before looking at an old Kobold, who was standing behind them.

"A human speaking Kobold tongue?" The old Kobold eyed Leone in surprise. "May I know who you are?"

"My name is Leone Frontera, and this is my vassal, Maximus," Leone replied.

"Gau!" Maximus waved at the Kobolds in greeting, making sure that it looked as harmless as possible.

"The direction that you are heading to is my domain," Leone said. "We don’t want to have any misunderstandings between us, so we came here to talk and ask why you are headed towards our territory."

(A/N: The talks between Leone and the Kobolds are spoken in the Kobold language.)

"I had no idea that humans have already laid claim on the mountain," the old Kobold replied. "My name is Skarn, and we are the Red Scale Tribe. We also don’t wish for any conflicts. We just want to find a place that we can call home.

"The north, where our nest is originally located, has been invaded by Orcs. We chose to escape because a battle with them will only result in our tribe’s annihilation."

"Orcs?" Leone’s expression immediately turned solemn. "How many are there?"

Orcs were monsters that were considered as a threat even in the Kingdom of Britannia. Not only were they strong, they were surprisingly smart as well. Having Orcs as neighbors was a danger that Leone couldn’t ignore.

"Hundreds, perhaps even close to a thousand," Skarn answered. "A hundred of our warriors tried to buy us time so we could escape. If not for their sacrifice, our tribe might be no more. Please, human of the mountain, will you let us pass unharmed? We just want to live in peace."

"Chief Skarn, you know as much as I do that there is no safe place in the Borderlands," Leone replied. "Even us, who live in the mountains, are in danger of being besieged by other humans. And so, I have a proposal to make. Would you like to listen to it?"

"A proposal?" Skarn frowned. "What is it?"

"I propose that we all work together to live in harmony," Leone stated. "We won’t ask you to fight for us, but we are currently digging a tunnel through the mountain. We want to see what is on the other side of the Grimjaw Mountain Range. If you are willing, then you can live with us in the Aslan Tribe."

"Gau!" Maximus spoke up, affirming that its Master wasn’t lying.

Skarn pondered a bit if it should accept Leone’s offer. Then again, it could discern that the young man didn’t seem hostile to them.

Aside from that, the White Kobold was radiating an aura similar to a lesser dragon. It was common knowledge that Kobolds worshiped dragons.

If they met Maximus traveling alone on its own during their journey, they would definitely welcome it to their tribe with open arms.

However, it wasn’t alone.

It was with humans, who also posed a great danger to the Kobolds.

But with a horde of Orcs behind them and humans at their front, Skarn felt that siding with the humans was a better option than complete annihilation.

"Let me confirm something," Skarn said in a serious tone. "If we decide to join you, will you allow us to pass safely and build our nest inside the mountain?"

"Yes," Leone replied without hesitation. "Actually, we also made our homes inside the mountain. We will be more than happy to be neighbors with all of you."

"Do your people like to dig then?" one of the Kobold warriors asked.

"Gau!" Max nodded its head firmly.

After calming down a bit, more and more Kobolds were starting to sense the draconic blood that flowed inside Maximus’ body.

Also, seeing how sincere the White Kobold was, more than half of the Kobolds were already leaning on the decision to accept Leone’s proposal.

However, the final say was still in their chieftain’s hands.

"If you can promise that we will not be harmed and will not be used as soldiers for war, then I will accept your offer of becoming good neighbors with each other," Skarn answered.

"Good." Leone nodded with a smile. "I promise that aside from helping us dig through the mountain range, I will not ask for anything else from the Red Scale Tribe. If you have any requests, you can talk to me. You can also talk to Max and tell it any concern you want to be dealt with."

After finally reaching an agreement, Leone and his vassals escorted the Kobolds to Grimjaw Mountain.

Along the way, Leone explained that he also had some alliances with some of the creatures in the forest, which Skarn and the other Kobolds found interesting.

"The squirrels and the wolves are our allies," Leone said with a smile. "So please, don’t attack them. Our domain also has Raptors, just like the ones I am riding. They are our allies as well."

Skarn nodded in understanding. "I can understand allying with wolves and Raptors. But squirrels? You are one strange human." 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

*Squeak!*

Blitz glared at Skarn in return, as if asking it if it had problems with squirrels!

"Calm down, little one." Skarn looked at the flying squirrel in amusement. "I was just surprised because I didn’t think anyone would care about squirrels the way this human does."

Leone smiled faintly because the squirrel network played an important role in relaying information within Grimjaw Forest.

After some small talk, they finally arrived at the base of the mountain.

When the Kobolds saw the fortress, all of them looked wide-eyed at this incredible feat.

Even Skarn thought that its decision to form a partnership with the Aslan Tribe was a good decision, especially after seeing the number of warriors that were under the young man’s command.