"Good work, Jafar," Troy said as soon as his right-hand man had returned from his mission.

"Well, there were a few who managed to leave the city before I arrived," Jafar admitted. "However, we have successfully absorbed what remained of the Bloodtusk Tribe. Just make sure that they are treated well so that they won’t think of rebelling or escaping our control."

"Very well." Troy nodded. "Now, let’s talk about the Aslan Tribe. Hagen has confirmed their alliance."

"He did?" Jafar arched an eyebrow. "I guess that changes the approach we should use in dealing with them. Just what did Gundar see in that tribe?"

The Aslan Tribe on its own wasn’t a threat to them. Even their fortress made of stone meant very little to the Darkmane Tribe, who were one of the high-ranking tribes in the Borderlands.

Sure, they might take some losses in the process, but with enough preparations, they were certain that they would be able to minimize the number of casualties on their side.

However, a direct approach was no longer possible. They had to use a subtle one to bring down Leone, and his tribe down a peg.

Gundar and the Grimhowl Tribe were two forces that they couldn’t brush off that easily, especially the former.

"So, what now?" Jafar asked. "Will you give in to their demands?"

"Of course not," Troy replied. "At most, I’ll only give them a wagon of iron ores. They should be honored that I even considered humoring their demand."

Jafar smirked. "I guess that’s fine too. Send someone competent to handle it. My old bones are not meant for traveling long distances. I only accepted the mission of heading to the Bloodtusk Tribe because we can’t mess that one up."

Of course, Troy had no intention of letting Jafar handle this minor matter. He had already thought of a man for the job, and it was none other than his oldest son, Cain.

His son was a strong warrior with enough wits to back it up. If he couldn’t even handle such an easy mission, then Troy would have to re-evaluate him as his potential successor candidate.

After finalizing this matter with his advisor, the Chieftain of the Darkmane Tribe then went to find his son to tell him about his mission.

Three days later, Cain marched out of their city, bringing 200 warriors along with him.

Of course, they also brought the single wagon of iron ores that were meant to pay for the ransom of his brother, as well as the warriors that had been taken as prisoners of war.

Confident that the Aslan Tribe wouldn’t dare bargain with them, Troy and Jafar returned to more important matters that needed their attention.

—————

Meanwhile in the city of the Warclaw Tribe...

"Be careful, Vlad." Tianna hugged her little brother, who was finally given permission to leave the city to return to Grimjaw Mountain. "Also, don’t forget to eat and rest on time. You’re still a growing boy, so make sure to pay attention to your health."

"I will," Vlad replied. "Don’t miss me too much, okay?"

Tianna playfully pinched her brother’s cheek in response, making the latter cry out in pain.

"Since when did you get this cocky, huh?"

"I-I’m sorry, Sis! I won’t do it again!"

Godwin could only shake his head helplessly at his children’s antics. He then shifted his attention towards his second born, Wayne, who would also be going with Vlad to Grimjaw Mountain.

He wanted his son to pay closer attention to the person that Gundar had recognized as someone special.

Unlike the Darkmane Tribe that had sent 200 warriors to accompany Cain to Grimjaw Mountain, the Warclaw Tribe was sending 400 warriors.

Godwin was a bit of a scheming fox as well, and had been informed by their spies in the Darkmane Tribe beforehand that the eldest son of their chieftain was ready to pay the ransom for his brother and their warriors.

Because of this, he also timed their departure, making sure that the two forces could meet along the way.

He had already declared the Aslan Tribe as their ally. And so, sending double the number of warriors that the Darkmane Tribe was bringing was their own way of showing support to the Aslan Tribe.

Wayne was also there to serve as Godwin’s representative to remind their neighbor that they shouldn’t be too overbearing.

And just like he planned, the two caravans eventually met on the road on the second day of their journey.

Since the Grimhowl Tribe and the Darkmane Tribe weren’t particularly close, they maintained a distance between their forces. However, they still traveled together for the sake of safety.

The Borderlands were infested with monsters, after all. Getting attacked by a band of Orcs, Goblins, or Trolls weren’t all that uncommon.

While all of this was happening, one of the middle-ranked tribes in the Borderlands was currently facing a dilemma.

The Chieftain of the Grimfang Tribe, who had tried to force the Stormhorn Tribe into submission, was fuming with anger.

Not only did his warriors fail to complete their mission, but the losses they suffered were also great!

They lost over 300 warriors in this expedition.

The majority of them were killed by the Stormhorn Tribe, while dozens more were killed by the mysterious masked man that Hugo had faced on their way back to their camp.

Though, last but not least, over 263 prisoners of war were still left in Grimjaw Mountain.

Unlike the high-ranking tribes who wouldn’t bat an eye from losing 300 warriors, this was something a middle-ranked tribe couldn’t brush off that easily.

He had just sent Hugo to lead another group of warriors to Grimjaw Mountain. And this time, their purpose was to pay the ransom for their warriors.

The loss of both manpower and resources made the Chieftain of the Grimfang Tribe, Oswald, clench his fists so tight that the elders around him were feeling anxious that he would start beating them up.

"Aslan Tribe!" Oswald growled.

If he could, he would have personally gone there to strangle the rumored young chieftain of the hateful tribe that made him suffer these many losses after the war had ended.

He also cursed the now deceased Ross for involving his tribe in a fight that they had no reason in joining to begin with!

Then again, since the Darkmane Tribe had sent their representative, and the other middle-ranked tribes had done the same thing, he couldn’t just do nothing.

The only regret he had right now was that the news of the Bloodtusk Tribe’s defeat didn’t reach his ears fast enough, allowing Brann and the Stormhorn Tribe to escape his grasp!

If only Brann had left at the same time as his representatives, then things might have ended differently.

Unfortunately, Brann was a leader with foresight. He understood that time was of the essence and left before the other tribes could even know about his departure.

Now that the Stormhorn Tribe had arrived at Grimjaw Mountain, Oswald could no longer touch them.

The only thing he could do instead was curse the Aslan Tribe and wish that the Darkmane Tribe would teach them a lesson that they would never forget in their life.