My Kingdom Building Done Right!
Chapter 262: Parley [Part 2]
"Okay. I understand what you mean. So you don’t wish to reach a compromise with us." Troy stated. "Is that it?"
"We do," Kael replied. "But only if you accept our conditions."
Truth be told, Kael wished to push the Darkmane Tribe to the point of no return by telling them what had happened to Darkmane City.
However, Leone had warned him that doing so would not be wise, for it would only make the Darkmane Tribe go all out without a care for their lives.
There was a difference between a desperate man and a cornered man.
A desperate man could still hesitate, but a cornered man would not.
By telling them what happened to Darkmane City, they would be filled with desire for revenge and go all out regardless of their own life and death. Should that be the case, it was likely for the Aslan Tribe to lose some lives in the process.
Through Daedalus, Leone became aware of Jafar’s plan to use poison against them.
The Raptor that belonged to Travis was stationed right outside the tent where Troy held his meeting with his Elders. Within that range, Daedalus overheard the shaman’s nefarious plan, which they planned to use as a last resort.
Of course, now that they knew about this plan, they were confident that they could prevent it from happening.
Though if the Darkmane Tribe were truly pushed to a corner, they might come up with something more sinister. There was no guessing what people could do when they stop caring for their lives and wellbeing.
Leone even thought that the poison that Jafar mentioned might be the threat that his mission warned him about. However, Daedalus told him that it wouldn’t be that simple.
While the negotiation was still taking place, Yuni, who was using her ability to connect with her familiar, Rio, suddenly saw something.
The riders, which they suspected to belong to the Bonegnash Tribe, had just passed a valley that headed to the west.
And from the sky, Yuni saw it.
A dust cloud that rose over the horizon.
"Monsters..." Yuni muttered after seeing this scene.
Monsters of different kinds and sizes were charging like an unstoppable tide. However, the monsters that she saw weren’t just monsters that ran on the ground.
There were flying monsters as well, numbering in the hundreds, perhaps even reaching a thousand.
At the very front of this stampede were six riders, all wearing the same robes that the riders that Rio was following wore.
It was as if they were the ones in charge of leading this monster army, making the young lady’s face turn grim.
After seeing that scene, Yuni asked Rio to retreat to a safer distance before cutting her connection with it.
Then, she hurried to find Leone to tell him everything that she saw.
Leone’s face turned solemn after hearing Yuni’s report.
"Leone..." Daedalus had come to the same realization as its Master.
Perhaps the threat that the mission warned them about wasn’t about the Darkmane Tribe. Instead, it was the monster stampede that was two to three days away from reaching Grimjaw Mountain.
"Kael, change of plans," Leone said to the shaman, who was still in the middle of negotiations with the Darkmane Tribe. "Tell Troy that if he pays us proper compensation and surrenders all of their Fire Catapults to us, we will agree to end this war in a draw."
Due to Leone’s sudden message, Kael almost choked on his saliva just as he was about to hurl an insult to the Elder that was talking sh*t about him.
"You know what? Fine." Kael smiled. "Like I said, my Great Chieftain is a very amazing person. So, here’s the deal. Pay us proper compensation and surrender all of your Fire Catapults to us. If so, we will declare that this war ended in a draw. How does that sound?"
At first, Troy and Jafar thought that they misheard Kael. However, thinking there might not be another chance like this again, they hurriedly agreed to the deal.
If the Aslan Tribe declared this war as a draw, then the Darkmane Tribe could still save a little bit of their reputation.
Of course, while this would indeed count at a loss, it would not be as tragic at least.
Hagen and Malik both shook their heads helplessly, thinking Leone was being too soft on the Darkmane Tribe.
If it was them, they would have already pushed their conditions to the limit, just before the Darkmane Tribe coughed out blood.
However, the two of them weren’t aware of the horror that was about to cross over to the Borderlands.
If they only knew, they might have changed their minds as well.
For now, Leone had no intention of telling the Darkmane Tribe about the Monster Stampede.
He wasn’t that nice.
When the negotiations finally wrapped up, Kael spoke to Gundar, who had remained silent during the talks between the two tribes.
"Great Shaman, please stay for a while," Kael said in a respectful tone. "Our Great Chieftain wishes to talk to you."
"Understood." Gundar nodded.
Before anyone could even react, Gundar jumped up and gracefully landed on top of the ramparts in a single try.
He made it look so easy that Kael subconsciously took a step back when the great shaman landed a few meters away from him.
"Where is he?" Gundar asked.
"Please come with me," Kael replied. "Also, Lord Hagen, Lord Malik, and Sir Conrad. Our Great Chieftain also wishes to talk to the three of you."
Curious to find out what Leone wished to tell them, the three agreed and followed behind Kael.
Meanwhile, Troy and his envoy returned to their camp. Although it was regrettable that they had to surrender their Fire Catapults, they were things they could build anytime they wanted.
Instead, they were more concerned about saving face and finding a way to end this war without losing more of their warriors’ lives.
A few minutes later, Gundar, Hagen, Malik, and Godwin finally met Leone in one of the chambers in the underground tunnel.
"What’s with the solemn face?" Gundar asked in a teasing tone. "You’ve basically won this war, so why? Are you not happy with how it ended?"
"The monster stampede from the west is making its way here," Leone replied in a serious tone. "At most, we only have two to three days before they enter the Borderlands."
At first, Gundar and the three Chieftains thought Leone was joking.
But if what he said was true, then the sudden shift in the tone of the negotiation between the Darkmane Tribe and the Aslan Tribe finally made sense.
"Are you serious?" Malik’s expression turned grim. "How did you know? Also, how many monsters are we talking about? What kind of monsters?"
Leone glanced at Yuni, who was seated by his side. She was the one who saw everything, so it would be best if she were to answer these question.
"There’s too many to count," Yuni replied. "Thousands, perhaps even in the tens of thousands. There are hundreds of flying monsters as well."
Hagen stood up and immediately started pacing back and forth inside the room. He was calculating whether they could return in time before the monster army struck.
However, not knowing where these monsters were about to strike would pose a threat to their return trip back home.
Not to mention, if they happen to meet these monsters on their journey back to their respective tribes, none of them would survive.
"Do you plan to tell the Darkmane Tribe about this?" Malik asked in a serious tone.
"Do you want me to tell them?" Leone asked back with a smile.
He originally didn’t intend to tell the Darkmane Tribe about the monster stampede. Though, if he were to gain some benefits from the chieftains that were with him, then that would be a different matter.
Truth be told, Godwin, Hagen, and Malik also wished for the Darkmane Tribe to be wiped out.
But not in this manner.
If the monster stampede were to target the Borderlands and not the Kingdom of Britannia, they would need every able-bodied warrior to defend their lands.
There was a famous saying that nothing unites people more than an external threat.
Leone was also thinking of using the Darkmane Tribe’s army as a buffer to help thin out the monster army that could threaten his own domain.
Then, once he obtained the Fire Catapults, Daedalus could reverse engineer them.
This would allow the Aslan Tribe to gain siege weapons with a longer range, which would be useful against enemies that numbered in the tens of thousands.
"I have a plan," Leone said calmly. "But it is up to you if you want to work with me to make it happen."
"And that plan is?" Hagen asked.
"All the tribes, with the exception of the Darkmane Tribe, will stay inside the fortress," Leone stated. "We will make our stand here. Of course, if you want to take a risk and travel on the open road to return to your tribes, that is fine as well."
He conveniently didn’t tell them that he was certain that the monster stampede would be heading to Grimjaw Mountain, instead of going southward, where the middle and high-ranking tribes were located.
Ironically, that single decision of his would end up saving the lives of the tribes that would have been helplessly killed if they traveled back home.
For anyone caught on the open plains over the next few days would have nowhere to run... especially when the tide of monsters finally arrived at the Borderlands.