Chapter 179: Not A Warrior, But A King [Part 1]

When the Orc Scouts reported their findings to him, Logan didn’t believe them at first.

However, he understood that his subordinates had no reason to lie to him. If they said there was a fortress on the mountain, then there would definitely be one.

So, Logan took his warriors to check it out for himself.

Though, once he saw the fortress on the mountain with his own eyes, he had no choice but to believe.

When he found out there were humans in the territory they had migrated to, he expected them to be living in a small village or town.

In fact, he even fancied the idea that they had taken a page from the Kobolds and were living inside caves.

However, the scene in front of him blew him out of his mind.

A real fortress with formidable defenses stood before him.

’If it’s like this, then maybe it can withstand that kind of calamity,’ Logan thought. ’If I can make it mine, then all the better.’ 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

That was when thoughts of conquering the fortress passed inside his mind. However, after remembering what happened two days ago, Logan was forced to push his ambition aside... at least for now.

Slowly, he raised his axe and pointed it at the fortress on the mountain before shouting with all his might.

"I am Logan, son of Drogath, former Chieftain of the Ravage Tribe!" Logan shouted. "Call your leader before my patience runs dry!"

Deep inside, Logan was actually feeling anxious. If that young man, who was oozing with that red aura, appeared again and fought against him, he would stand no chance at all.

He had already prepared himself mentally for such a hurdle. However, the threat at the northwest of the Borderlands pushed him to take drastic measures.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the survival of his own tribe was at stake, so he had to do what he had to do.

He was prideful. But he understood that sometimes, pride got in the way of survival.

"What do you want to talk about?!" Kael stood on the ramparts and shouted back at the Orc Champion. "My Great Chieftain is busy right now. If you want to say something, say it to me first!"

"I did not come here to trade words with gatekeepers!" Logan replied. "Call out your leader now!"

The entire fortress was on red alert, and the warriors had even begun to man their battle stations.

The repeating crossbows, the ballistas, and the catapults were now loaded and ready to fire at a moment’s notice.

If the Orcs decided to attack, they would immediately strike back.

During this time, Leone finally exited the fortress, supported by Yuni and Aria.

He was still finding it hard to walk, which was a side effect of using a power that his body wasn’t able to handle.

"L-Leone! There are Orcs out there!" Vlad hurried to the young man’s side. "W-What should we do?!"

The warriors of the Warclaw Tribe, as well as his Uncle Zed, were ready to protect their Young Lord. However, they had no intention of helping the Aslan Tribe fight against the Orcs.

Leone smiled faintly and lightly patted Vlad’s head. Since he couldn’t talk, he decided to give the teenage boy some form of assurance before signaling Yuni and Aria to carry him to the ramparts.

When their Great Chieftain appeared, the warriors made way to allow him to stand and look down at the Orc Army that had intruded in his domain.

The only saving grace was that the Bloodtusk Tribe and the Stormhorn Tribe were already living inside the fortress, so the Orcs didn’t encounter them on the way there.

"Daedalus, can you copy my voice and project it?" Leone asked through telepathy.

"I can do that," Daedalus replied.

The grimoire was strapped on Leone’s hip because they didn’t want to reveal its existence at this point in time.

After passing what he wanted to say to Daedalus, the grimoire used Leone’s voice and spread his message across the entirety of Grimjaw Forest.

"Logan, Son of Drogath. What brings you here to my domain?" Leone asked.

The Orc Champion narrowed its eyes. Even from a distance, it had immediately recognized Leone, who stood at the ramparts.

It also noticed that two ladies were by his side, holding his arms as if to support him.

"Are those two your wives?" Logan asked. "Not bad for a human."

"Yes, they are his wives!" Kael shouted before Leone could even reply.

Everyone, including the vassals, looked at Kael, who was pretending that he wasn’t aware of their stares. If he could publicly announce to the entirety of the Aslan Tribe that Yuni and Aria were Leone’s wives, wouldn’t that be a good thing?!

Unfortunately, Leone’s reply pushed this topic to the side with relative ease.

"Enough nonsense," Leone stated. "I’m sure you didn’t come here for small talk. State your reason for coming!"

The Kobolds had also heard that the Orcs had come to the mountain. Although they also felt fearful and anxious, they, too, arrived at the ramparts to look at the monsters that drove them out of their homes.

"Just like two tigers cannot share the same mountain, there can only be one Overlord of this domain!" Logan shouted. "I have come here to challenge you to a duel! The one who wins will be crowned King!"

The expressions of all of Leone’s vassals turned grim after hearing the Orc Champion’s declaration.

Even if all of them fought at the same time, they would be lucky enough to fight Logan to a standstill.

And now, the Orc Champion was challenging their Great Chieftain, who had the lowest combat strength among them.

How could they possibly agree to such a condition?

"There’s no need for a duel," Leone replied. "We can share Grimjaw Mountain. You take the north, I will take the south. The boundary can be the river that splits this territory apart."

There were two rivers in Grimjaw Mountain, and one of them divided the northern and southern regions of the domain.

Of course, this river was only ten meters wide, while its deepest parts were only five-feet deep. Leone had even built two bridges that would allow others to walk towards the other side with ease.

Using this bridge, the Orcs had been able to easily cross over to Leone’s domain without getting wet.

Under normal circumstances, Logan might have agreed to this condition. Though, after seeing the fortress, he was very tempted to take it.

However, he also understood that it wouldn’t be that easy, especially since it looked well-defended.

Many of its brethren would probably die before they could cross to the other side of its mighty walls.

Because of this, it decided to ask for a duel as an alternative.

Winner takes all!

Unfortunately, Leone didn’t want to duel.

In fact, he didn’t even care about the northern region of Grimjaw Forest.

He had no reason to cross over to the other side since they already had everything they needed in its southern territory.

If Blitz’s Squirrel Network didn’t even discover the Kobolds migrating southward, he would have no idea that an Orc Tribe had already taken control of the north of the forest.

The forest was big enough to hold the Orc Tribe and the Aslan Tribe. As long as boundaries were made, both could co-exist in peace.

"Are you a coward?!" Logan roared. "Are you afraid to fight me like a warrior?!"

"I’m not a warrior," Leone replied firmly. "I am a King. If you want to fight, then we can fight here right now. I’ll take you and your entire tribe on! Do you dare?!"

Leone had rigged the base of the mountain with countless traps.

In fact, even now, he could activate those traps, and the Orcs would find themselves falling to their deaths.

He might not be a strong warrior. However, inside his domain, Leone had many things he could use to his advantage.

Even the Orc Champion would not be able to defend against the onslaught of the repeated crossbows and ballistas that had been fully upgraded.

The repeating crossbows could now shoot bolts that were as long as spears.

The ballistas could shoot ammunition that were three times thicker than the bolts of the repeating crossbows, increasing their piercing power.

Even a Wyvern would die if it was directly hit by one of them.

"What’s wrong? Are you scared?"

Daedalus used the most arrogant and contemptuous tone it could muster while using Leone’s voice.

The Aslan Tribe might lose against the Darkmane Tribe, but if it was only against a thousand Orcs and an Orc Champion, they had more than enough firepower to annihilate all of them!