Chapter 373: Preparations For War

Chapter 373: Chapter 373: Preparations For War

Chapter 373: Preparations For War

The moment the Bone Skull delegation disappeared beyond the valley entrance, the oppressive atmosphere finally eased.

"Father..."

Anya rushed toward her father and threw herself into his arms.

Fridleif gently patted his daughter’s trembling back, but his grim expression did not soften.

His eyes were still locked on the path where Skarn had vanished.

After a long moment, the towering chieftain slowly released his daughter. He turned around and looked directly at Rhain, Lyra, Karsten and the three mercenaries standing at the edge of the square.

There was shame written across his broad features.

"Benefactors," Fridleif said, his voice heavy, "I must beg your forgiveness."

Rhain raised an eyebrow. "Forgiveness?"

"This mess is entirely our doing," Fridleif continued bitterly. "If you had not saved Anya and our women yesterday, the Bone Skulls would not have singled you out today. Now that madman Skarn has his crosshairs locked directly onto you. My tribe’s gratitude has dragged you into our war."

He clenched his massive fists.

"But hear me clearly. The Crystalveil Tribe will never hand you over. Until my very last breath, our tribe will stand between you and that butcher."

Fridleif then lowered his voice.

"However... I must advise you. Do not leave this valley for the time being. The Bone Skulls’ camps surround every route out of the canyons. Skarn’s men will be waiting in every corner. Even someone as fearsome as you, benefactor, would be walking into an ambush out there."

Rhain listened quietly, then simply shook his head.

"Chieftain, there is no need to worry about us," Rhain replied, his tone utterly calm. "We are more than capable of defending ourselves."

"But—" Fridleif started.

"If Skarn’s men want our heads, they are welcome to try and take them."

The casual confidence in Rhain’s voice left Fridleif speechless. He stared at the dark-robed youth, then at Lyra, who merely tilted her chin with a matching haughty smirk.

These two outsiders truly feared nothing.

"Very well," Fridleif finally sighed. "The guest courtyard remains yours for as long as you wish. Should you need anything, ask for it."

Rhain gave a brief nod.

---

Back in the guest quarters

SLAM!

Lyra slammed her palm against the wooden table, her crimson eyes blazing with fury.

"Arrogant bastard!"

Karsten and the mercenaries winced as the table shuddered beneath the impact.

"Did you hear that disgusting brute? That oversized pile of bone tattoos actually dares to threaten he would burn an entire tribe to ash!" Lyra snapped. "If my cultivation wasn’t suppressed by this damn old man’s rules, I would have sliced that bloated pig into five hundred pieces before he even finished his sentence!"

Standing by the table, Karsten let out a nervous cough.

"Lady Lyra... with all due respect," Karsten began carefully, scratching his scarred cheek. "We don’t even have our essence. In the outside world, a newly ascended Domain Master is someone Lord Rhain could swat like a fly, but here? Our cultivation is locked. That Skarn guy... he’s a genuine Domain Master."

Lyra glared at Karsten until he shrank back into his seat. Then she turned her furious gaze back onto Rhain who was sitting casually at the wooden table, pouring himself a cup of tea.

"Rhain! Are you even listening to me?"

Rhain took a slow sip, entirely unbothered by her volume.

"I have ears, Lyra. You don’t need to shout loud enough to wake the dead."

"Then how can you just sit there drinking tea?!" Lyra demanded, marching right up to the table and slamming her palms down against the wood. "All these tribesmen are innocent. We can’t just sit here and watch them get slaughtered by a pack of brainless barbarians! I refuse to stand by and watch those innocent children get murdered. You have a plan, don’t you?"

Rhain set his teacup down with a faint clink.

He looked at Lyra’s fiercely determined face,.

Truth be told, he had already anticipated this.

’Do whatever you deem right.’

Those had been the old remnant soul’s exact words before hurling them into this trial.

If this third trial was truly a test of character—a moral puzzle designed by an ancient powerhouse to evaluate his successor—then abandoning the Crystalveil Tribe to be massacred was almost certainly a failure condition.

A supreme expert might respect strength, but no one handed a divine inheritance to someone who fled from a localized crisis like a frightened dog.

Besides, leaving this valley meant walking three thousand miles across an empty wasteland with sealed cultivation.

That sounded infinitely more tedious.

"Fine," Rhain said calmly.

Lyra blinked, slightly taken aback by how easily he had yielded. "Wait... You agree?"

"The reasoning you gave last night holds," Rhain shrugged. "This trial has no quota, no timer. The old man said to do whatever we deem right. Defending an oppressed tribe against a butcher... is as reasonable a choice as any."

He paused, a sharp light flashing in his dark grey eyes.

"Besides, didn’t they ask for our heads. If they wants us dead, then we would kill them first. But simply waiting around for a month like sheep is not my style. If a war is coming, we will prepare for it."

Karsten leaned forward, his mercenary instincts kicking in. "Lord Rhain... what are you suggesting?"

"The Crystalveil Tribe has courage," he said. "But courage alone cannot defeat strength. Their warriors are undisciplined, their techniques are crude, and most of them lack experience in fighting stronger enemies."

Rhain had observed it while walking past the training ground with Anya.

"If we want them to survive, we must increase their strength before the enemy arrives."

Karsten blinked.

"You want to train them, Lord Rhain?"

"Exactly."

Rhain turned toward Lyra first.

"Your rapier skills are refined, fast, and practical. Even without essence, your fundamentals far surpass the techniques used by the tribesmen. You will teach them swordplay—how to strike, how to defend, and how to exploit openings against stronger opponents."

Lyra’s lips curled upward.

"Finally, something worthwhile."

Rhain then looked at Karsten and the mercenaries.

"You men have survived for years as merceneries. You know how to set traps, use terrain, ambush beasts, and kill efficiently. You will teach the tribe how to fight with brain instead of honorable fools."

Karsten straightened his back instinctively.

"We can do that."

"Good," Rhain nodded. "The canyon entrance is a natural bottleneck. I want you and your brothers to take the tribe’s scouts. Lay traps. Concealed pit-spikes, collapsing rockslides, tripwire deadfalls, and whatever toxic plant grease you can extract from the local flora."

Rhain’s eyes narrowed into dangerous slits.

"I want that narrow gorge turned into a meat grinder. When the Bone Skull army marches in, I want them bleeding before they even see our blades."

Karsten’s scarred face instantly lit up with a wicked grin.

"Now that," Karsten laughed, cracking his thick knuckles with a sharp sound, "is something we are exceptionally good at. Consider the canyon properly cursed, Lord Rhain."

Finally, Rhain looked down at his own hands.

"And as for the rest of the tribe’s fighters..."

Rhain’s lips curled into a smirk.

"I will personally handle their martial arts. They rely too much on brute swings. I’ll refine their movements, teach them how to distribute their physical force, and how to kill without wasting a single breath of effort."

Lyra frowned slightly.

"That may not be enough against a Domain Master."

"It won’t be," Rhain admitted. "Which is why the most important part of this plan will fall on us."

He raised his eyes, his gaze turning cold.

"The Crystalveil warriors only need to hold back the Spirit Manifestation and Core Formation Bone Skull army."

"As for that chief of the Bone Skull Tribe..."

A ruthless smile brushed past Rhain’s lips.

"I will handle him myself!"