My Kingdom Building Done Right!

"Leone, I missed you."

"I missed you too, Mother."

Helen looked at her son with a smile, but deep inside, she felt quite worried.

But after seeing her grandfather send out the mercenary group, Lost Paradise, to assist Leone, relief washed over her.

At the same time, she also blanked out for a few seconds before finally regaining her composure.

To put it simply, Lost Paradise was Lugh’s butcher knife.

He would only call them when he wanted something done right.

That thought gave Helen more assurance of her son’s safety. If even Lost Paradise couldn’t protect Leone, no one else could.

"The King has decreed that all nobles are required to lend their private armies for the upcoming battle," Helen said, fully knowing that her time to talk to Leone was limited. "Your father will be leading five hundred light cavalry as part of the logistics team."

"Good." Leone sighed internally.

He initially worried about this, aware that it would be nearly impossible for them to avoid friendly fire with the army from the Frontera Viscounty once a battle broke out.

But if his father’s role fell on the logistics side of things, that meant they would be at the rear of the army’s formation.

In other words, Leone’s side could go wild with the bombardment they planned to launch at the start of the war, and the Frontera soldiers would still be safe.

"The armies will gather in Stoneguard Fortress within ten days," Helen added. "And ten days from now, they will launch their invasion of the Borderlands."

This was the benefit of having an insider within the ranks of the enemy army. Since Leone could obtain reliable information, he could plan accordingly.

"Ten days..." Leone muttered. "Thank you, Mother. I will put this information to good use."

Vlad, now the Aslan Tribe’s strategist, subconsciously clenched his right fist at that moment.

This was his very first campaign.

This time, he wasn’t an observer but someone who played an active role in the battle.

That being so, he was both terrified and excited at the same time.

’Don’t worry. I will not let you down, Leone!’ Vlad said firmly in his heart.

Helen shared more information about the upcoming war with her son, which made Lugh arch an eyebrow in response.

"The Vermillion Bird General and the Black Tortoise General will be leading the armies in this battle," Helen continued her explanation. "Each of them will bring at least fifteen thousand of their own men to battle.

"The other noble houses will also bring their private armies in the hopes of gaining enough merit for the King to raise their ranks. Mercenary Groups also plan to join in the hopes that they will perform well enough to be granted peerage.

"Expect the combined Britannian Army to be at least fifty thousand strong. Worst-case scenario, seventy thousand. Leone, if things really look dangerous, just hide and let the storm pass. I don’t want to lose you."

At those words, Leone sensed that his mother was truly worried about his safety. Because of this, he decided to lessen her anxiety.

"Mother, if everything goes as planned, then I will be completely safe," Leone said calmly. "I admit that the first few days of the war will be incredibly dangerous and difficult. However, we don’t plan on engaging the Britannian Army directly. We will only use guerrilla tactics."

"Guerrilla tactics are fine," Helen replied. "But knowing you, instead of commanding from the rear, you will want to be on the frontlines to fight with everyone else. That part is what worries me the most."

"..."

"See? You don’t plan to just command from the rear!"

Leone coughed lightly because he couldn’t refute his mother’s words. After all, he couldn’t promise her that he would simply command from the back and watch his people risk their lives. Doing nothing but watch the battle unfold was more unnerving than jumping into the battlefield.

"Helen, trust your son a little more," Lugh commented from the side. "He inherited both of our best qualities. Just look at how handsome he is. That child will not die until he sires at least a dozen kids. Plus, you can’t coddle him forever. Leone is a man, after all. And a man would fight to protect those important to him."

Helen let out a long and deep sigh at those words. "Men..."

The young chieftain scratched his head before shifting his attention back to his grandpa, Andreas.

"Is our backup plan moving smoothly, Grandpa?" Leone asked.

"You don’t have to worry about anything regarding that plan," Andreas replied. "Your great-grandfather promised that he will personally make a move to make it happen."

At his words, Helen and the members of Lost Paradise looked at Lugh in shock.

The old man crossed his arms over his chest after that and flashed Leone his best smile as if he was telling his great-grandson that he had nothing to worry about.

"I guess the mission is as good as done, then." Leone smiled faintly.

"Hahaha! What do you expect?" Lugh laughed. "But after this, I really will retire in the countryside. I’m getting too old for this."

"Then, how about retiring at Grimjaw Mountain?" At that moment, Leone was like a salesman throwing a pitch. "Fresh air, fresh food. Plus, you’re surrounded by nature. It’s the perfect place to retire!"

The corner of Lugh’s lips twitched at those words. His no-good great-grandson’s territory was always involved in all sorts of problematic things.

How could he possibly find some peace and quiet in Grimjaw Mountain?!

Though, since Leone was looking at him with great expectations, he decided to downplay this proposal for now.

"Hahaha... I’ll think about it." Lugh laughed nervously.

Clearly, he had no intention of retiring in such a chaotic place.

After telling Leone to take care of Conall and his mercenary group, the discussions finally came to an end.

A week from now, Leone would return to the Helion Duchy to talk to his mother about the latest movements of the Britannian Army.

With that, the group followed the young man inside the Dragon’s Nest so they could return to the Forgotten Temple.

Conall, who followed behind the young chieftain, exchanged a glance with his Master, who had given him another important mission.

"Take a good look at the kingdom that my great-grandson is building." Lugh had said to him an hour earlier. "Report to me everything that you see."

Deep inside, Conall wasn’t expecting much.

He didn’t believe that a kingdom made by barbarians in the Borderlands could amount to anything.

But since his Master had tasked him to protect Leone, then he would do everything in his power to make it happen.

Little did Conall know that the moment he arrived at the Aslan Tribe, all of his prejudice, as well as his doubts about Leone’s kingdom, would be thoroughly shattered.

After returning to the Forgotten Temple, Conall and his members looked at the scene before them in disbelief.

An underground city illuminated by an artificial sun had appeared right in front of their eyes.

The design of the city was quite majestic, definitely something no one would expect from a barbarian tribe.

Seeing their reaction, Leone couldn’t help but smile. However, he wasn’t done just yet.

"Please come with me," Leone said. "This city is the core of the Aslan Tribe, but we also have another city outside the mountain."

"A-Another city?" Oisin, who was a bard, stuttered after hearing Leone’s statement. "Is it grander than this one?"

"I’ll let you be the judge of that," Leone replied in a mysterious tone.

Intrigued, they followed the young man until they exited the cave. He then guided them toward the ramparts so they could take a better view of the city located at the base of Grimjaw Mountain.

By then, the sight that awaited them would force Conall and his mercenary group to reconsider everything they believed about the barbarians of the Borderlands.

And by the time they realized the true potential of Leone’s kingdom, it would already be too late to look at the young chieftain with anything less than respect.

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