"If he wakes up, please call us right away," Ulric said.

Yuni and Aria both nodded in understanding. They sincerely hoped that Leone would wake up soon, for everyone was worried about him.

When Ulric left Leone’s room, he headed to the base of the mountain, where Leone’s other vassals had gathered.

Jason and Otto were sparring with each other. The young man had activated his White Wolf Sovereign form and was deflecting Otto’s arrows as if his life depended on it.

Jason didn’t want to admit it, but there had been a brief period when he felt arrogant about his newfound strength.

He instinctively knew that he was the strongest among Leone’s vassals. Perhaps this subconsciously inflated his ego that he started taking his power for granted.

He trained everyday, but for him, that training was merely exercise. It wasn’t to the extent where he had to put a hundred percent of his effort just to become stronger.

Facing the Orc Champion gave Jason a rude awakening.

The monster reminded him that he was not strong enough to protect the person whom he had recognized as his benefactor.

The person who was currently holding up the sky for the entire Aslan Tribe.

"Shoot faster!" Jason roared. "Hit me harder!"

Otto’s reply was a barrage of elemental arrows that managed to break past Jason’s defenses.

He successfully deflect some of them, but a few still slipped through his defenses, all of them exploding as they made contact with his body.

Jason gritted his teeth, enduring the pain that assaulted his senses. He then let out a primal roar that echoed throughout the forest.

"This kid is being too hard on himself," Kael said as he appeared beside Ulric. "I mean, I can understand, but there is very little you can do against a monster as strong as an Orc Champion."

Ulric neither agreed nor disagreed with Kael’s words.

In fact, he could understand what Jason must be feeling right now. After all, the two of them weren’t different.

Ulric had always strived for more strength.

After all, strength was the most important thing in the Borderlands. And just like Jason, he had turned complacent out of arrogance about his strength.

However, unlike the young man, Ulric knew that there would always be someone stronger than him.

The world was a big place, after all. Powerhouses could be found everywhere.

He understood.

He didn’t know what happened after he was knocked unconscious by the Orc Champion. But according to Otto and Brann’s story, the one who stopped the monster in its tracks was none other than Leone.

"He must have sacrificed something to wield that kind of power." Kael sighed. "Even if I had been there, the outcome wouldn’t be any different."

Ulric nodded in agreement.

The Orc Champion wasn’t their only enemy.

It was the entire Orc Tribe.

Now that both sides had faced off against each other, Ulric didn’t know what would happen next.

Just as he was pondering over this matter, Yuni suddenly came running in their direction.

"He’s awake!" Yuni said. "Leone is awake!"

Jason and Otto immediately stopped sparring with each other.

Still in his White Wolf Sovereign form, the young man sprinted up the mountain, eager to see their Great Chieftain right away.

Ulric and the others also followed.

When they arrived at Leone’s room, they saw Aria spoon feeding the young man with some broth.

"Are you alright, Great Chieftain?" Jason asked as he returned to his original form.

Leone blinked, then lightly tapped his ear.

Jason frowned and looked at Aria, who shook her head in return.

"Our Great Chieftain can’t hear or speak right now," Aria replied sadly.

"Don’t feel too sad, Aria," Daedalus commented as it hovered beside Leone. "It’s just a temporary side effect of unleashing a power beyond what his body can handle. He’ll be fine after a few days of rest."

"Daedalus is right," Leone spoke directly inside Jason’s head. "I may have lost my ability to speak and hear, but my connection with Daedalus allows me to communicate with my vassals. Also, if I want to say something to others, Daedalus can say it for me."

Jason sighed in relief after being assured that his Great Chieftain’s condition was only temporary.

Ulric and the others felt the same, but Leone’s next question made them frown once more.

"Now, tell me what happened after I lost consciousness, Otto," Leone ordered. "Don’t leave anything behind."

Truth be told, Leone didn’t expect to wake up again.

He had been prepared to die under the Orc Champion’s hand, as well as have his body taken over by whatever was on the other side of the gate.

However, since he was still alive and kicking, that meant his gamble had worked out in the end.

"Understood," Otto replied. "I will tell you everything that happened, Great Chieftain."

Otto began his tale.

Caught by the paralyzing spells of the Orc Shamans, Arion had crashed toward the ground.

Brann had then urged Boris to face the Orc Champion in an attempt to attract its attention, giving the others enough time to take Leone to safety.

It was then that Leone had suddenly made his move, clashing with the Orc Champion.

"I used a crimson sword to fight against the Orc Champion?" Leone asked.

"Yes, Great Chieftain," Otto answered. "You even used the Orc Champion as a hostage to allow everyone to escape unharmed. It was truly a surreal sight."

"As expected of our Great Chieftain!" Kael commented from the side. "To be able to force back such a powerful monster, I, Kael, am truly impressed by your outstanding might."

Leone could only smile wryly at his vassal’s praise. He knew very well that he wasn’t the one who saved everyone that day.

Whatever or whoever was on the other side of the gate clearly made its move.

Whether out of pity or out of mercy, they had left Leone alone and returned control of his body to him.

He was very tempted to put himself under self-hypnosis again, wanting to take a look at the gate inside of his Sea of Consciousness.

Though, thinking it might cause more problems if he entered that state, he decided to put this matter on hold for the time being.

"I’m just glad everyone managed to escape that place alive," Leone said through telepathy. "Tell everyone that the northern side of the forest is off-limits. Also, Otto, keep a close eye on the Orcs. You may work alongside Arion to monitor their movements."

"Yes, Great Chieftain!" Otto bowed respectfully. "You can count on me."

Leone and his vassals had no idea that the very next day, they would find some unwanted visitors in their domain.

Early the next morning, the alarm bells atop Grimjaw Mountain rang loudly, instantly placing the entire fortress on high alert.

Warriors hurried toward the walls while Otto and Arion flew toward the sky to assess the situation from above. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Moments later, everyone standing atop the fortress walls saw hundreds of Orcs emerging from the forest, with Logan leading them from the front.

Then, under the tense gazes of the Aslan Tribe, the Orc Champion stopped several hundred meters away from the fortress.

Logan slowly raised one of its axes and pointed it at the humans standing on top of the fortress walls.

It was as if it was challenging them to come down and fight it so they would understand who was the true overlord of Grimjaw Mountain.