My Kingdom Building Done Right!

Just as the sun was about to set, Leone, Kael, and Brann made their way towards the residence accommodating Hagen and his sons.

The Chieftain of the Grimhowl Tribe made no comment when he saw Leone bring two of his vassals to their discussion.

The food served on the table was personally cooked by the members of the Aslan Tribe, so there was no need to worry about it being poisoned.

Everyone ate and chatted about random things at first. With Kael around, the atmosphere grew lively as they began to share gossip about things that happened within the Borderlands.

Hagen also asked Leone some questions about the Kingdom of Britannia, which made everyone inside the room perk up their ears. After all, this information was something they didn’t hear every day.

"The King is an old bastard who already has a foot in the grave," Leone said, boldly expressing his great dislike of the person that exiled him to the Borderlands. "As for the First and Second Princes, they are both scum. If either of them ever sits on the throne, the kingdom will surely fall to ruin in a few years.

"The third princess is a b*tch, and I hope her future husband shoves a big potato up her *beep*. With that being said, the third prince, the first princess, and the second princess are the only decent people in that royal household. I hope the Radiant Empire annexes them soon."

Hagen chuckled at his words. "You must really hate the royal family of Britannia for you to curse at them so easily. Isn’t the crime for doing such a thing a public execution?"

"Yes." Leone nodded in agreement. "However, if they do get annexed by the Radiant Empire, the Borderlands will face a threat that they have never faced before. The Crusaders are no joke."

"Can you tell me more about the Radiant Empire?" Elias asked. "I only heard small bits of information about them from the other exiles that have been sent here in the Borderlands."

"I’ll tell you what I can tell you about them," Leone replied.

He then talked about the Radiant Empire, which was also referred to as the Holy Empire by their neighbors.

At first, they started as a small nation said to have been blessed by the God of Light. Then, their followers increased, and soon, the nation expanded into a powerhouse.

Just like their namesake, those who sat in high positions in the Radiant Empire specialized in Light and Holy Magic.

Of course, they also had other magicians who specialized in the other elements. However, only an incredibly powerful mage could hold a high position in their government.

After he finished his explanation, Marcus commented from the side.

"Can you tell us the reason why you have been exiled to the Borderlands then?" Marcus asked. "I’m sure your crime isn’t that light if you were sent all the way out here."

"Oh, that." Leone scoffed. "I was framed for seducing the third princess. Just take a good look at me. Do I look like someone who would need to seduce someone?"

"Yes," Marcus replied without hesitation, just to put Leone in his place. "You look like someone who would resort to doing something like that just to take advantage of a lady."

Kael and Brann smirked at those words. That couldn’t be any further from the truth.

If Leone were really that kind of person, he would have already fallen to Kael’s machinations and would have bedded a different lady within the tribe every night.

Their chieftain wasn’t lacking in the looks department. In fact, many of the young ladies of the Aslan Tribe had entertained fleeting fantasies of Leone holding them in his embrace.

Plus, with beauties like Yuni and Aria within arm’s reach, Leone wouldn’t even need to look elsewhere if he only wanted to engage in pleasures of the flesh.

Many would be willing to climb into his bed and spend a passionate night with their great chieftain.

Elias smiled wryly, while Hagen remained calm. This was a bickering between young men, so he didn’t intend to join in.

Leone only smiled at Marcus’ comment, fully knowing that the number of ladies who wanted to become his lover could circle the entire Grimjaw Mountain.

Of course, he didn’t say this out loud. In his eyes, it was actually Marcus who needed to put some effort into seducing ladies!

Perhaps seeing the pitiful gaze Leone was giving him, Marcus felt irritated. Fortunately, before things could get out of hand, Elias lightly tapped his brother’s shoulder before changing the topic.

"Since we are talking about ladies, is Leone seeing someone right now?" Elias asked. "Perhaps Ulric’s daughter, Yuni? If not, then maybe I still have a chance at her."

"Yuni is my woman," Leone replied firmly. "She’s off-limits."

Kael and Brann exchanged a glance before giving Elias a thumbs-up in their heart.

Leone had been avoiding this topic within the tribe. Though, in the face of outsiders, he was firm in his words.

"Then, how about that girl Aria?" Elias inquired. "She’s quite pretty as well."

"She’s off-limits too," Leone answered in a heartbeat.

Kael almost stood up to kiss Elias then and there because the young man was asking all the right questions!

His impression of Elias had also gone up a notch. The young man might not know it, but he was unknowingly helping his cause to push his granddaughter into Leone’s bed.

While it was more likely that Leone was only shielding Aria from the machinations of the Grimhowl Tribe, his great chieftain’s statement was enough to tell Kael that he cared enough about Aria to prevent Elias from making a move on her.

’There’s still hope.’ Kael chuckled internally.

It didn’t matter if Leone saw her as a lover or as a little sister. As long as he treated his granddaughter like family, then that was more than enough for Kael’s heart to become at ease.

After the conversation died down a bit, Hagen finally decided that it was now time to talk about more important matters.

"Leone, I am wondering if you can give me a tour of what it’s like inside the fortress," Hagen said calmly. "If you do, then I am willing to give you a gift."

"I’m sorry, but that’s off-limits." Leone didn’t even need to think twice before giving him a firm reply to this request.

"May I ask why?" Hagen inquired.

"It’s a matter of our tribe’s security," Leone replied. "We hold some very confidential secrets inside the fortress that we cannot show to outsiders."

"But I heard that Vlad and Wayne have been allowed to enter the fortress in the past," Hagen stated.

"That’s correct." Leone nodded. "However, they have only entered the shallow parts of the cave. They have not seen any of the secrets of the Aslan Tribe at all. Isn’t that what you want to see though?"

"That’s right." Hagen nodded. "Then... has Gundar seen these secrets?"

"Yes." Leone nodded. "Great Uncle has seen them."

The only secret Leone hadn’t shared with the great shaman was Daedalus’ existence.

It was the grimoire’s request to keep its identity hidden from Gundar, to which Leone respected its wishes.

"I see." Hagen nodded. "Very well. I will just ask him when I return to my tribe then. Now, there is one more question I would like to ask you, and if possible, I would like for you to answer me honestly."

"If I can answer, then I will answer," Leone promised.

The Chieftain of the Grimhowl Tribe faintly smiled before asking his question.

"Did Malik offer you an alliance?" Hagen asked.

"Yes," Leone answered. "However, we will talk more about the details of the alliance only after our war with the Darkmane Tribe ends."

"Thank you for answering my question." In response, Hagen fished something from his pocket and placed it on top of the table. "Since you gave me an honest answer, I’ll give you this gift."

Leone reached out to take the box, but he didn’t open it right away. Instead, he handed it to Kael for inspection.

When Kael opened it, he found what seemed to be a red jewel around the size of his thumb.

Daedalus immediately recognized what the red jewel was and told Leone to take it.

"Thank you for the gift," Leone said. "But what is this?"

The grimoire had already told him what it was. However, he should still ask this question to make the flow of the conversation ‌natural.

"Dragon’s Blood," Hagen replied. "A concentrated drop of Dragon’s Blood, to be exact. I have no use for it, but you might find it very useful for your cause."

The chieftain wasn’t lying. Dragon’s Blood was precious, yes. Yet, it didn’t serve any purpose to him.

Even Gundar said that he had no use for the blood aside from giving it as a gift to someone to make them feel special.

So, Hagen thought that giving this gift to Leone might serve some purpose.

And he was right.

Daedalus was quite excited because the jewel wasn’t just formed from the blood of an ordinary dragon.

After analyzing it, he discovered that it was from an Ancient Dragon. A very powerful one at that!

———-

Somewhere inside the fortress...

Leone’s white kobold, Maximus, suddenly opened its eyes.

For a brief moment, it felt a familiar fluctuation of power.

Though, it was not only Maximus who had sensed something out of the norm. The other Kobolds felt it as well.

They could feel it instinctively within their bloodline. Somewhere out there... something that they all lacked had suddenly come into being.

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