A lonely knight walked across Leone’s Sea of Consciousness.

His entire body was cloaked in a crimson aura, coloring the young man’s world in deep, vivid red, as if soaked in blood.

After walking for some time, he finally arrived at a towering black metallic gate. Its surface was adorned with intricate golden engravings that pulsed with a gentle light.

And collapsed in front of that very gate was none other than Leone Frontera.

The knight could still remember what had happened earlier.

When Leone’s vassals, Ulric and Jason, faced off against the Orc Champion in order to protect their Great Chieftain, they finally understood what true power was.

They were hopelessly outclassed and outmatched by the monster that had recently arrived near their territory.

Despite going all out from the very start, they had been defeated. The Orc Champion had done it so easily as if battling them was, at best, a warm-up exercise.

If not for Astravor deciding to follow Leone on a whim, the young man might have suffered serious injuries, or worse, died from the difference in strength.

Otto, Blitz, Hassan, Brann, and Boris all took action to give Leone some time to escape.

But the young man couldn’t possibly leave his vassals behind so easily. His hesitation was how the Orc Shamans managed to cast a paralyzing spell on Arion, forcing the Pegasus to make an emergency landing.

During that time, Leone understood that his life and the life of his vassals were truly in danger.

Even if Astravor took him away to safety, Brann and Boris would surely die since they couldn’t be able to outrun the Orc Champion.

For the record, Brann had still not gone through the vassalship ceremony. So technically, he wasn’t Leone’s vassal.

However, the young man already treated Brann as one of his people, as a part of his inner circle who would support him.

As such, he decided to use one of his trump cards.

Limit Break [EX].

A skill that should only be used as a last resort. Still, Leone knew that it wasn’t enough. Even if he hypnotized himself to fight, the difference in rank between him and the Orc Champion would guarantee his loss.

This was why he did something that he shouldn’t do.

Something that Gundar had warned him about.

"Please... help me! Please, save my people!"

That was Leone’s earnest and desperate plea as he pulled the handle of the gate within his Sea of Consciousness, forcefully opening it.

However, no matter how hard he pulled, the gate remained shut.

It didn’t budge.

Even so, Leone didn’t give up.

Giving up wasn’t an option!

Staking everything on the line, he pulled on the gate with everything he had. Finally, the gate shuddered, and he managed to open a very small gap in the gate.

A gap wide enough to fit a finger.

Suddenly, something red oozed out of the gate, overpowering Leone’s willpower.

It was then that he collapsed and lost consciousness.

As the young man lay on the ground, something ancient heaved a long and deep sigh from within the darkness beyond the gate.

"It is still too early."

Although the gap in the gate was only wide enough for a finger to pass, the entity on the other side materialized right beside Leone.

The knight looked at the unconscious young man, whose hands had yet to let go of the gate where he emerged from.

"Just this once."

The knight said softly before taking full control of Leone’s body.

He then fought against the Orc. But instead of killing it, he only rendered it incapable of pursuing them any further.

The knight understood that this wasn’t his battle.

This was something Leone had to handle on his own.

The young man’s wish was to save his people and the knight made his wish a reality.

"Going back so soon?" Another entity spoke beyond the gate. "Why don’t you enjoy yourself some more? Who knows when you’ll be able to come out and play again."

"It’s still too early," the knight replied.

"Hah... you’re really a stubborn guy, aren’t you?"

"And you’re still the same obnoxious guy who can’t keep his mouth shut. If you’re that bored, then why did you not reply to Leone when he was calling out to us a few weeks ago?"

"That’s because it’s still too early," the other entity replied, his voice filled with reluctance.

"See?" The knight scoffed. "Even you understand that it’s still too early. He shouldn’t have opened the gate."

The knight then turned into a red beam of light and passed through the small gap of the gate. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

A moment later, the gate shut firmly, as if someone from the other side had closed it.

Once again, Leone’s Sea of Consciousness bathed in silence.

The young man, still collapsed in front of the gate, had no idea what he had just let out into the world.

He also didn’t know if there were lasting consequences in doing such an act, even if he did it out of desperation.

Leone just didn’t want any of his people to die, even if it meant that he had to pay a price to preserve their lives.

————

Inside Leone’s room...

"How is he?" Ulric asked Yuni and Aria, who were currently watching over the unconscious young man.

It had been two days since they returned from the trip to negotiate with the Orcs.

As soon as Leone stepped foot into the fortress, he immediately fainted, as if the strings holding him in place had all been cut.

Everyone who saw him fall panicked. Such a reaction was completely normal.

Leone was their pillar, after all.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the Aslan Tribe revolved around him.

That was how important he was to them.

Brann understood this very much, which was why he decided to sacrifice himself to help Leone escape.

He believed their chieftain knew it too. And yet, the young man still refused his sacrifice.

He refused to let anyone die.

"He still hasn’t woken up," Aria replied. "But grandfather said earlier that his vital signs are all normal. He should wake up soon."

Ulric was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief after that.

Everyone was truly worried about the young man’s condition. But since it was confirmed that he was getting better, one of their worries finally disappeared.

Far away from Grimjaw Mountain, inside the largest cavern of the Orc encampment, Logan sat alone in silence. Shamans surrounded him, quietly standing.

The Orc Champion’s fists were clenched so tightly that blood dripped from his palms. But he paid the trivial pain no heed.

Again and again, the image of Leone’s crimson eyes surfaced in his mind, along with the suffocating pressure that made even his warrior instincts scream out in terror.

Suddenly, heavy footsteps echoed from the entrance of the cavern as a massive Orc Warlord knelt on one knee.

"Great Champion," the Orc Warlord said grimly. "The scouts have returned... the monster from the northwest has started moving again."

"Where is it headed this time?" Logan asked.

The Orc Warlord hesitated, but still gave its reply.

"At first, we thought it would head north to the Kingdom of Britannia, just like its predecessors," the Orc Warlord replied. "But this time, it seems that it’s planning to head south... or it might head east. To this place."

The Orc Shamans and Mages stirred after hearing the Orc Warlord’s report. One of the main reasons they migrated was to avoid getting caught up in the trouble stirring in the west.

A long silence descended inside the cave, broken only by Logan’s voice.

"Are you certain?" Logan asked, his face turning solemn.

"The possibility exists, Great Champion." The Orc Warlord nodded. "Should we look for another place to hide?"

"Hide? Where can we hide?" Logan asked. "There is nowhere else we can go."

They had already gone far to the east, hoping this distance was enough for their entire tribe to be safe from the upcoming chaos.

The Orc Warlord sighed because it also understood that this was the farthest they could go.

"Still, there is a chance that they will not head in this direction," one of the Shamans stated. "They prefer to raid places with many humans, so they might target the barbarian tribes instead."

The other Orcs inside the room nodded in agreement.

"It’s too bad the Kobolds managed to escape," Logan stated. "We could have used them to dig deeper tunnels for us. Did any of you manage to track where they have gone?"

"Yes, Great Champion," the Orc Warlord replied. "Their tracks are headed towards Grimjaw Mountain. They seem to have made contact with the humans living there."

"By humans, are you referring to the ones we encountered two days ago?" Logan asked.

"I-I don’t know, Great Champion." The Orc Warlord shook its head. "But the likelihood of that situation is very high."

"I see..." Logan pondered for a while before looking at his bloodied palms.

The injury he had inflicted to himself was healing at a speed visible in his very eyes. He watched as the wounds finally closed, leaving only the bloodstains as proof that his hands had bled earlier.

"Tomorrow, we will go to Grimjaw Mountain," Logan stated. "It’s time for me to talk with that human."

Logan couldn’t forget how helpless it felt when it faced off against the young man, who became strong all of a sudden.

’If it’s him, then perhaps we stand a chance,’ Logan thought.

With these thoughts swirling inside its mind, the Orc Champion slowly closed his eyes.

A storm was coming from the west.

And soon, the Borderlands would realize that the war between the Darkmane Tribe and the Aslan Tribe would be the least of their worries.