Chapter 416: A Dead King Is No King

"We acknowledge you as our leader," Godwin said. "However, your coronation will be held only after we win against the Aurelion Empire’s army. Show us all that you are worthy to lead us."

"Are you going back on your word?" Leone asked out of curiosity. "What if I fail to show everyone that I deserve to become the Barbarian King?"

"You don’t have to worry about that," Godwin answered. "If you fail to prove yourself, we will lose the war. Once we’re defeated, how can there still be a Barbarian King?"

Leone nodded in understanding. "Very well. Let’s proceed with that arrangement, then. However, all the tribes must obey my orders when the war starts. Do I make myself clear?"

"The Warclaw Tribe will heed your command," Godwin replied before bowing with his hands pressed together.

"The Darkmane Tribe will heed your command." Troy was the second one to pay his allegiance. He also bowed to Leone, acknowledging him as his ruler.

"The Sandreaver Tribe will stand by the Aslan Tribe," Malik declared. He, too, paid respect to Leone.

"The Grimfang Tribe..."

"The Redmaw Tribe..."

"The Ironhide Tribe..."

The three chieftains of the middle-ranked tribes, Oswald, Duncan, and Garen, also declared their allegiance to the young chieftain.

In the end, only one chieftain remained standing. Only one refused to bow his head to the young chieftain.

"I will only acknowledge you after this war ends," Hagen said calmly. "Until then, you are free to command my people as you wish."

Hagen made it very clear.

Leone could command his people.

But the young chieftain couldn’t command him.

After saying those words, Hagen left without turning back. His sons, Marcus and Elias, hurried behind him as if they couldn’t bear to breathe the same air as Leone.

Gundar heaved a deep sigh as he watched Hagen and his sons leave. Not wanting to leave a bad impression on everyone, he bowed to Leone, declaring his allegiance.

"I greet the Barbarian King," Gundar said firmly.

With his words, those who were also in the arena bowed their heads toward Leone and spoke in unison.

"""We greet the Barbarian King!"""

Hagen, who had just left the arena, heard the resounding declaration of the warriors behind his back.

His face was as calm as a still lake. But deep inside, he was overwhelmed by the feelings of disappointment and desperation.

He still couldn’t accept the fact that Leone had become the Barbarian King after being exiled to the Borderlands.

In just a few months, he had risen from an exile to the Chieftain of the Aslan Tribe.

And now... he was the ruler of the Borderlands.

How could Hagen accept such a thing?!

’There’s still a chance,’ Hagen thought. ’That’s right. He still has yet to be crowned King.’

A scheme began to form inside his head. Although it would be difficult, even if he knew it would spark a backlash, this was the only way left for him.

’A dead King is no longer a King.’ Hagen clenched his fists. ’To make that happen, I need to...’

A faint smile appeared on the chieftain’s face as he returned to his residence. He then immediately headed to his office and locked the doors.

There, he wrote a letter and called out his most trusted subordinate to deliver it to Hagen’s contact in the Aurelion Empire.

No matter the price.

No matter the sacrifice.

He would become King!

—————————

An hour later...

Leone sat on the balcony of his fortress outside the city gate of Eden.

Sitting across from him were none other than Troy, Byron, and Jafar.

"How’s your body, Byron?" Leone asked.

"It’s perfectly fine, Lord Leone," Byron replied. "I didn’t strain myself too much in my fight."

"You successfully manipulated Tristan to attack you and were caught by your surprise attack," Leone smirked. "You truly surprised everyone."

Byron nodded in agreement. Back when he was still in the Aslan Tribe, Daedalus noticed that the chubby man’s bloodline had mutated. However, it was very unstable.

According to his estimates, Byron would die within a year if his condition wasn’t stabilized.

When he asked Jafar whether he knew about Byron’s condition, the shaman answered yes.

He also admitted that he and Troy had experimented with Byron’s body to keep him alive for as long as possible.

The chubby young man had a chronic disease that couldn’t be cured. Surviving wasn’t impossible. However, it was difficult. He had to obtain the bloodline of a powerful monster, like that of the Manticore.

Though their experiment succeeded, it only extended Byron’s lifespan for a few years.

To make matters worse, Byron also had to eat a lot to sustain the energy requirement of his mutated body, making him half-monster, half-human.

Knowing this, Leone had decided to strike a deal with Troy and Jafar.

He promised to stabilize Byron’s condition and ensure that he wouldn’t have to suffer again in the future.

Using the power of Beast Synthesis and the blood of the Black Manticore, which was also a mutant, Leone managed to save his life.

So, when the tournament had been officially proposed to decide the next Barbarian King, Troy and Jafar secretly visited Leone in the middle of the night.

The two chieftains then forged a secret alliance with an oath from the Earth Mother.

Their promise was simple. If Jason and Byron were to fight in the final round of the tournament, Byron would concede, allowing Jason to win by default.

This would then make Leone the Barbarian King of the Borderlands.

In exchange, Troy would be the one to manage Eden.

He could also bring the rest of the Darkmane tribe to live there. Leone would even rebuild the city to make it majestic like the Aslan City located back in Grimjaw Mountain.

Leone didn’t mind this arrangement since his capital city was located in Grimjaw Mountain.

Troy serving as the Regent of Eden wasn’t a problem. He could serve as Leone’s general and defend the Borderlands from the Aurelion Empire in the south, while Leone handled the Kingdom of Britannia in the north.

And since Eden was now his territory, Leone planned to construct a teleportation gate that would connect it with Aslan City, bridging the two megacities together.

As for the blueprint and materials needed for building the teleportation gate, Leone planned to ask the Helion Family for help.

Sure, the young chieftain could teleport himself and his people using his powers to Eden.

However, it was too troublesome to do it for the entire populace.

"I hope you honor your oath, Leone," Troy said in a teasing tone.

"Of course, I will honor it," Leone replied. "I will also declare that I will assign you as the general of this city. I still need to focus on the war with the Kingdom of Britannia.

"I can’t be in two places at the same time, so I’ll leave you in charge of command in Eden. I’ll tell my clone not to make things difficult for you. However, you also have to understand that it has a will of its own. If it gives you an unreasonable order, feel free to ignore it."

Troy nodded in understanding. Still, he had a concern that he wanted Leone to take seriously.

"I’ve known Hagen for years." Troy narrowed his eyes. "Since he didn’t swear his allegiance to you earlier, it means he has no intention of doing so. Perhaps he’s hoping you get killed by a stray arrow from the Aurelion Empire to invalidate your claim to the throne of the Borderlands."

The young chieftain sighed because he shared the same opinion as Troy.

"Say, can we kill him without anyone finding out?" Leone asked in a serious tone.

Troy, Jafar, and Byron were all surprised by the young man’s statement.

Kill a chieftain of a high-ranking tribe inside Eden?

While it was not impossible, it was very difficult to pull off.

Also, the shamans had a way of tracing the one responsible for the murder.

Then again, even if Leone succeeded and left no evidence behind, he would be the prime suspect of all the tribe Elders, which would ruin his image.

Most importantly, if Gundar were to ever find out that Leone killed the Chieftain of the Grimhowl Tribe...whatever goodwill the shaman had for Leone would disappear completely.

At the end of the day, Gundar had vowed to protect the interests of the Grimhowl Tribe. Although he and Hagen might not see eye to eye from time to time, that didn’t change the fact that he was still the shaman’s chieftain.

"Forget what I said." Leone sighed. "It’s not worth it."

He didn’t want his great uncle to hate him, so he decided to set aside any matters concerning Hagen to the back of his mind for the time being.

An hour later, Leone made a declaration that surprised everyone in Eden.

He had appointed Troy as the Regent of Eden, as well as its General. During the war against the Aurelion Empire, the Chieftain of the Darkmane Tribe would be the one giving the orders.

To Leone’s surprise, no one challenged his decree, not even Hagen.

In the eyes of those who had survived the war, Troy was a war hero.

Knowing that he would take the lead, the morale of the warriors defending Eden rose.

Leone didn’t know whether to laugh or cry about Troy being more popular than him.

After writing a letter filled with instructions, which Kael would force the clone to read, Leone returned to Grimjaw Mountain.

Tonight, he, his vassals, and a few members of Lost Paradise would depart from Grimjaw Mountain to execute their infiltration mission into Stoneguard Fortress.

With Troy defending Eden, the young chieftain could now focus all of his attention on the Kingdom of Britannia, whose army had mostly finished gathering within the stone fortress facing the Borderlands.