My Kingdom Building Done Right!
Chapter 248: Night Visit [Part 1]
As the darkness of the night crept in, over three hundred Orcs climbed up the ramparts of the first defensive walls, where the catapults had been fixed.
Fifty warriors of the Aslan Tribe had also mobilized to serve as sentries for the night.
The Orcs had night vision, so they could see just fine even when inside caves without light.
As for the movements of the Darkmane Tribe’s army, the warriors were relying on Blitz’s Squirrel Network to alert them if something unexpected happened.
The squirrels would *squeak* if they noticed anything strange in their surroundings.
The warriors had already been trained to recognize their calls, so the moment danger came, they would learn of it faster than the Orcs.
While everyone did their best to hide it, even the members of the Aslan Tribe weren’t as calm as they looked.
After all, they grew up in the Borderlands and had always looked up to the high-ranking tribes.
And now, one of those tribes was about to wage war against them.
While they were confident that Leone and his vassals would be there to fight alongside them, it was still hard to shake off the admiration and belief they had developed over the years.
After Kael freed himself from Hagen’s and Malik’s invitation to join their respective tribes, the shaman looked for Ulric to tell him a very important matter.
"Ulric, the war may finally start tomorrow," Kael said in a serious tone. "And right now, our chieftain might be in a lot of stress. I think it’s time for Yuni and Aria to give Leone a ’Night Visit’. What do you think?"
If these were normal times, Ulric might have ignored Kael’s statement.
However, these were not normal times.
It was very important to calm their hearts when they were about to go to battle. The fastest way to do that was to embrace a woman.
Leone was the chieftain of the Aslan Tribe. He was their pillar and the sun that illuminated their world.
Ulric knew Kael was right. Even if Leone didn’t notice it himself, as his vassals, they could tell that he was burdened from bearing a heavy responsibility.
"I’ll talk to Yuni," Ulric said.
"Good!" Kael nodded. "I’ll talk to Aria."
Three hours later...
Leone was taking a bath in his room in order to relax for a bit.
Kael was right. He might look calm on the surface, but he, too, was feeling a bit of pressure from the upcoming war.
He was confident in the preparations he had made. After all, he and Daedalus had spent many nights coming up with several strategies for the war.
When the war started, many people would die.
It would not just be in the dozens nor in the hundreds.
At the very least, it would be in the thousands.
Though Leone might not be the one to personally kill them, their deaths would be the result of his orders and preparations.
This was the burden every ruler carried.
The larger their territory grew, the heavier the burden they carried.
"Thinking too much again?"
Leone glanced at the grimoire hovering beside his bath tub.
"You make it sound like it’s a bad thing," Leone replied.
"Thinking too much from time to time isn’t a bad thing," Daedalus agreed. "But thinking while staring off into space like a tragic hero is."
Leone splashed some water at the annoying grimoire in response, but the latter dodged it easily.
"Okay. Let’s be civilized people and talk about this properly."
"You’re the one who started calling me a tragic hero out of nowhere."
Daedalus moved closer to Leone. This time, it spoke in a calm manner.
"You’ve already done everything you could. The walls are ready. The traps are ready. The supplies are ready. The warriors are ready. If Troy still insists on charging headfirst into your defenses, that’s his choice."
"Thousands of people will still die when that happens."
"Yes." Daedalus agreed. "And thousands more will live because of it."
A heavy silence shrouded the bathroom as Leone stared at the grimoire that had changed his destiny. He had a feeling that Daedalus wasn’t finished with what it had to say, so he remained silent and waited for it to continue.
"Do you know why righteous kings lose wars, Leone?"
"Why?"
"Because they start thinking that maybe they can save everyone."
Leone was very surprised to hear this revelation. Though, after pondering for a while, he couldn’t help but sigh.
The grimoire was right. He didn’t want anyone from the Aslan Tribe to die. They were his people, after all.
So, as much as possible, he wanted to avoid all casualties if he could help it.
But war was meant to take lives.
And the Aslanians had braced themselves for it as well.
"You’re not a God," Daedalus continued. "You’re a chieftain. Some things are outside your control, and death is just one of them. You’ve already done everything you could to demoralize the Darkmane Tribe’s army.
"Had we taken a more merciless approach, perhaps we could have killed more than half of their warriors during their march. However, we need to win on a battlefield where people can see the results."
The grimoire paused for a bit before continuing his statement.
"Specifically, a place where people would witness the battle firsthand and spread the word about it far and wide. That way, everyone would talk about how the Aslan Tribe defeated the Darkmane Tribe and declared themselves as the Overlord of the East!"
The young man slowly closed his eyes.
Protect his people.
That was the purpose of the tall, and thick walls that he had built.
That was the purpose of his order to harass the enemy during their march.
That was the purpose of burning the Darkmane City to the ground.
Every ruthless decision he made had only one purpose.
To make sure the people who believed in him survived.
A few minutes later, he finally rose from the bath and dried himself.
But, just as he was about to put on a fresh set of clothes, he heard three knocks on the door.
Thinking it was only Ulric or Kael, Leone wrapped the bath towel over his waist and opened the door.
Yet, the very moment he did, he saw two beautiful ladies standing right in front of him.
For a brief moment, Leone thought of closing the door again so he could change clothes first.
However, before that could happen, Yuni had already moved and entered inside while dragging Aria with her.
The two ladies were wearing the night dresses Daedalus had crafted for them after Leone bought some cloth from the Arcane Shop as a gift to Yuni and Aria.
The young man blinked once, then twice, before finally breaking out of his daze and closing the door.
Though, before he could fully close it, the grimoire and the black mist had slipped through the gaps.
Daedalus and Hassan had escaped while they still could. Plus, by using its ability, the grimoire even made sure that the door was properly locked so no one could disturb the three teenagers.
The corner of Leone’s lips twitched after the two traitors had abandoned him without even saying a word.
Still, he took a deep breath in order to calm himself before addressing the two ladies in the room.
"What are you two doing here?" Leone asked.
Yuni and Aria exchanged glances.
Neither seemed willing to speak first.
After several seconds of silence, Yuni took a step forward to hold Leone’s hand.
"I am here for a Night Visit," Yuni said, doing her best to look calm.
Needless to say, her best failed miserably.
Her face was already red, while Aria wasn’t faring well either.
She was already shy to begin with, and seeing Leone’s well-toned naked body was more than enough to make her blush.
"N-Night visit?" Leone’s tone was a little higher than usual.
He knew the meaning of the word since he had received education about such things.
In some noble families, a young man who had turned eighteen would receive a "Night Visit" from one of the young maids or a hired courtesan to let them experience the pleasures of the flesh for the very first time.
Though Leone had already turned eighteen, aside from cuddling and kissing Yuni, he still hadn’t taken that step.
So, hearing that Yuni and Aria came for a Night Visit made him raise his hand to pinch his cheek, just to make sure that he wasn’t dreaming.
In the end, the pain he felt signified that this was indeed a reality.
And for some reason, the two young ladies in front of him decided to make him a man the night before the Aslan Tribe went to war.
Leone looked at the two ladies before him and suddenly understood something.
This wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment decision.
Someone had definitely put them up to this.
And judging by the timing, he already had a very good idea on who the culprit was.
Just as he pondered how he would give Kael a piece of his mind, Leone took a step forward in order to get dressed.
However, the moment he took a step forward, the bath towel that covered his waist slipped off and fell to his feet.
The young man froze at that and looked down before shifting his gaze toward the ladies in front of him.
Yuni subconsciously took a step back, but her gaze was already fixed on Leone’s lower half.
On the other hand, Aria’s face immediately became a shade redder as she covered her eyes with both hands.
However, there were gaps between her fingers as she looked at the mighty Lion, who had raised its head in preparation for war.