Chapter 173: I’m Sure No One Saw That Coming

In the territory of the Grimfang Tribe...

It was the first time in years that all the chieftains of the middle-ranked tribes of the Borderlands had gathered in one place.

Oswald, Grimfang Tribe’s Chieftain, looked at his two peers who had come to visit him to talk about important matters.

The Chieftain of the Redmaw Tribe, Duncan, and the Chieftain of the Ironhide Tribe, Garen, sat in front of him.

Behind them were the Elders and other important officials of their respective tribes. The agenda for this reunion was to discuss the imminent war between the Aslan Tribe and the Darkmane Tribe.

Everyone present was familiar with Troy’s personality, and they were certain that this war was inevitable.

Since the matter had some effect on them, they decided to convene as soon as possible. The Grimfang Tribe was located between the two other tribes, so they unanimously decided to pick Oswald’s domain as their meeting venue.

"What do you think, Duncan?" Oswald asked. "Will our autonomies be in danger?"

As much as they didn’t want to admit it, the threat of being absorbed into the high-ranking tribes scared them very much.

The Bloodtusk Tribe, which was one of the middle-ranked tribes, was no more.

They had been absorbed by the Darkmane Tribe, whom they believed would wage war against the Aslan Tribe very soon.

"We’ll probably be safe until the war between Troy and Leone reaches a conclusion," Duncan replied. "Then again, Troy has always been greedy. It wouldn’t be unexpected if he tries to subjugate us on the way if his tribe loses against the Aslan Tribe."

"Do you really think the Aslan Tribe has a chance of winning?" Garen inquired.

"I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt at least," Duncan answered. "After all, they hadn’t lost in the past, right? What do you think, Oswald? Will the Aslan Tribe create another miracle?"

"Whether the Aslan Tribe creates a miracle or not is none of my concern," Oswald answered. "If anything, I’m most worried about the Darkmane Tribe. Regardless of loss or victory, I fear they are still likely to use that momentum to attack our people."

"Surely the other high-ranking tribes will not stand by and let that happen, right?" Garen narrowed his eyes. "They will need a good justification to do that."

"Garen, I know you’re neither ignorant nor naive," Duncan stated. "If the Darkmane Tribe has no justification, then they just have to create one. That is how Troy operates."

Garen couldn’t refute Duncan’s words. They were true.

Rules only mattered to the high-ranking tribes when they were dealing with each other. When faced with middle and lower-ranked tribes, those rules were as good as gone.

"What do we do then?" Garen frowned. "Are you saying we don’t have a choice but to get dragged into this war? I’d rather become a vassal of the Warclaw Tribe than let the Darkmane Tribe take over my people."

"I have an opinion. It might be best to form an alliance," Oswald stated. "My warriors told me that the Chieftain of the Aslan Tribe seemed very confident in facing off against the Darkmane Tribe.

"Regardless of who wins, many of Troy’s warriors will likely die. In order to replenish the loss of manpower, he will probably target one of us. With that in mind, let’s form an alliance.

"If we combine our manpower and resources, we probably can deal with a weakened Darkmane Tribe. In fact, we can even take this opportunity to destroy them once and for all."

Hearing his words, Duncan and Garen pondered for a while.

Truth be told, Oswald’s words sounded appealing to them. If Leone could truly annihilate a significant chunk of the Darkmane Tribe’s army, defeating them with their combined manpower might not be a foolish move.

There was a saying in the Borderlands.

The low-ranked tribes dream of becoming a middle-ranked tribe, while the middle-ranked tribes dream of becoming a high-ranking tribe.

All they needed was an opportunity. And what better opportunity was there other than war?

"The risk is too high." Garen crossed his arms over his chest. "If we fail, we will become Troy’s pawns forever."

"Even if we don’t do anything, he will treat us as pawns all the same after he takes control of our tribes," Duncan stated. "This might be our only opportunity to strike."

Oswald and Garen nodded in agreement. It was a gamble. But risking it was better than acting passively.

"I have a proposal," Duncan said. "I just don’t know if you are willing to take this risk with me."

"Speak," Oswald replied.

Duncan heaved a long and deep sigh before speaking his thoughts out loud.

"On the day the Aslan Tribe and the Darkmane Tribe face off, we should mobilize all our forces and watch the battle together. Depending on the outcome... we can backstab the Darkmane Tribe from behind."

"A-Are you crazy?!" Oswald asked.

"Hear me out first," Duncan replied. "We will strike if and only if we think we have a good chance of winning. Since both tribes will be fighting each other, the rear side of the Darkmane Tribe will be very vulnerable. With a bit of luck and if we work hand in hand, we can probably capture Troy."

"And what if the Darkmane Tribe overpowers the Aslan Tribe?" Garen inquired.

"Then we do nothing." Duncan shrugged. "That will give us a path to retreat."

If the three middle-ranked tribes combined all of their manpower, their warriors would number over five thousand.

In the case the Darkmane Tribe suffered a critical blow during their battle with the Aslan Tribe, the army of the three tribes would be able to destroy their rear formation and take them by surprise.

"I’m not against this plan," Garen commented. "But what if we fail? Do we have a backup plan?"

"The backup plan is to become the vassals of the other high-ranking tribes," Duncan replied. "If they ask why we did that, we say we received information that the Darkmane Tribe is planning to attack our tribes."

"Will that excuse even work?" Oswald arched an eyebrow.

"Whether it works or not will ultimately depend on whether the Aslan Tribe is capable of dealing great damage to the Darkmane Tribe," Duncan stated. "Either way, we will only attack if we have a chance to win."

"I have another idea," Oswald stated. "Let’s arrange a meeting with the Aslan Tribe for a possible collaboration." 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

"Oh? I thought the Grimfang Tribe hates the Aslan Tribe." Duncan smirked.

"I am angry at him, but I don’t hate him," Oswald clarified. "The incident with the Bloodtusk Tribe is something none of us saw coming. As for the second... I just became too greedy and attempted to absorb the Stormhorn Tribe through force."

"Which backfired against you." Garen pointed out.

"Right." Oswald nodded. "However, I also learned something from that experience. I hate to admit this, but Leone is the chieftain we all aspire to be. Someone who will stand up against the high-ranking tribes that have been treating all of us like dogs."

"Unfortunately, whether it is his youthful boldness or just his misplaced bravado, we won’t know until the battle starts. So, how about it? Should we visit the Aslan Tribe and have a meeting with him?"

Duncan and Garen glanced at each other.

They were also very curious about Leone. Plus, they were itching to ask him why he dared to fight against the Darkmane Tribe.

He must have had some kind of plan when he did such a thing, right?

"I guess meeting him once might not be a bad idea." Duncan nodded in agreement. "It might also be the first and last time we have a chat with him."

"To think that an exiled noble from Britannia would rise up as a chieftain. I’m sure no one saw that coming." Garen smirked. "Very well. If the two of you are going, then I’ll go as well."

After coming to an agreement, the three agreed to travel together to Grimjaw Mountain as soon as possible.

Little did they know that for the first time, in many years, a gathering of tribes would take place in the east.

A gathering of all the tribes in the Borderlands, where they had all come to see one person, and one person only.

Leone Frontera.

The young man who was starting to be hailed as a legend behind closed doors in the Borderlands.

While the various tribes were having a meeting, with some of them already on their way to Grimjaw Mountain, Leone was currently traveling toward the north of Grimjaw Forest.

Blitz and Otto had already made contact with the Orcs. With that, Leone decided to also head to the scene to see if a dialogue between him and the leader of the Orcs was possible.