My Kingdom Building Done Right Chapter 373

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[ … words ]

The morning after Vlad secretly became Leone’s vassal, Brent asked for an audience with Leone.

He already had a vague idea of what their topic would be, so he agreed to meet him not within the mountain, but at the Plaza of the Brave instead.

Their chosen meeting place was the spot where the monuments of the Darkmane Tribe and the Aslan Tribe were erected.

The agreed time was a few hours after breakfast. Soon, news of this meeting had also reached Vlad, Tianna, and Elias.

Needless to say, they all decided to attend.

Elias was certain that Leone would bestow Brent the honor of becoming his vassal.

Truth be told, the young man wanted to know just how this vassalship worked. His father had told him that Leone couldn’t possibly make everyone a vassal.

Had that been true, all the members of his tribe would have already gained tremendous powers through the vassalship ceremony.

Elias naturally agreed with his father and wanted to know the requirements for becoming Leone’s vassal, as well as how the young chieftain granted these powers to these people.

If he could find out the trick on how it was done, then wouldn’t the Grimhowl Tribe become more powerful than they were now?

’If the Aslan Tribe is given more time to develop, then they will surpass all the high-ranking tribes in the Borderlands,’ Elias thought to himself.

This was one of his main concerns, as well as a point of anxiety. As it currently stood, the Aslan Tribe was strong.

Fortunately for the other tribes, they were only strong within their borders.

The Aslan Tribe also numbered only a little over a thousand people, which was nothing compared to the population of the high-ranking tribes.

However, that didn’t change the fact that the Aslan Tribe had repelled the Darkmane Tribe’s invasion and resisted the Monster King’s army.

Once the population problem was solved, the rise of the Aslan Tribe was practically set in stone.

’Just what was Troy thinking when he decided to send the remnants of the Bonegnash Tribe here?’ Elias subconsciously clenched his fists as he sat on top of the Raptor that Leone had gifted to him in the past.

At the moment, they were making their way to the Plaza of the Brave as these thoughts swirled inside his head.

Of course, Elias had a vague idea why Troy had done it.

For starters, it seemed like the Chieftain of the Darkmane Tribe wished to increase the population of the Aslan Tribe as a way to keep the other high-ranking tribes in check.

With that said, the number of people who followed Brent was five hundred. That was already half of the current population of the Aslan Tribe after their losses during the war.

In short, Troy had given the Aslan Tribe more manpower in the hopes that they would grow strong enough. It was done not only to defend themselves, but also to finally set out from their domain and join the politics of the Borderlands.

’That annoying villain,’ Elias cursed Troy internally. ’I wish he had died during the war.’

The young heir was not the only one with such thoughts, though. The other high-ranking chieftains also shared the same sentiment.

Not to mention, Troy had become four times more dangerous than his previous self. Having fought that great war and surviving his battle against the Monster King had allowed Troy to awaken the warrior he had always been.

And last but not least, he had even turned into a Lionkin, boasting superhuman strength and ferocity that surpassed humans.

With wits, strength, and cunning, Troy transformed into a powerhouse after his fall from grace.

Now, he ruled not only the Darkmane Tribe, but also the people he had absorbed from the Bonegnash Tribe.

Elias’ thought only came to an end when they arrived at their destination.

Brent, the four Elders who followed him, and the rest of the Bonegnash Tribe, stood at the Plaza of the Brave while waiting for Leone’s arrival.

The moment Leone stepped down from Arion’s back, Brent and his people all knelt towards him.

“Great Chieftain of the Aslan Tribe, I, Brent, son of Osteon of the Bonegnash Tribe, wish to become your vassal,” Brent declared. “Please allow us to become part of your glorious kingdom.”

Leone walked towards Brent and stopped two meters away from him.

“Raise your heads,” Leone said calmly.

Brent and his people then looked up at the young man, who held their lives at his mercy.

“Brent, I was the one who proposed that you become my vassal,” Leone stated. “And judging from your reaction, I guess your answer is yes?”

“Yes, Great Chieftain,” Brent replied. “I wish to become your vassal.”

Leone didn’t say anything in reply. Instead, he looked at the members of the Bonegnash Tribe. At that moment, he saw them looking back at him with anxiety, fear, desperation, frustration, and unwillingness.

They, who were once part of a high-ranking tribe that looked down upon the middle and low-ranking tribes with contempt, were now forced to kneel to the person who had rapidly risen as the youngest chieftain of the Borderlands.

Leone’s vassals, as well as the warriors who followed him, looked back at their Great Chieftain in silence.

For them, their Great Chieftain’s words were law.

No one would defy them, and no one would question them.

“Brent, I want you to give me an honest answer,” Leone said after a few minutes of silence. “The reason you are accepting my proposal. Is it to ensure that the Bonegnash Tribe will not be looked down upon, ridiculed, or humiliated by the Aslan Tribe during their stay here?”

Brent hesitated, but still nodded his head in the end.

“Yes, Great Chieftain,” Brent replied.

“So, you think of yourself as a willing sacrifice to ensure the continuity of your tribe, correct?” Leone asked once more.

Since he knew that the young chieftain wished for complete honesty, Brent nodded his head once more.

“Yes, Great Chieftain,” Brent answered. “If possible, I wish for the Bonegnash Tribe to retain its name and autonomy while becoming a vassal tribe of the Aslan Tribe.”

The concept of vassal tribes was accepted in the Borderlands. In fact, the Bloodtusk Tribe, which was once a middle-ranked tribe, used to be a vassal tribe of the Darkmane Tribe.

Brent hoped that his tribe could at least retain their name and grow alongside the Aslan Tribe by sacrificing himself to become Leone’s vassal.

He believed that once he became a vassal, the Aslan Tribe would not cause trouble for their tribe, and then the two factions could co-exist peacefully.

A few more minutes of silence passed as Leone calmly organized his thoughts. When he finally came to a decision, he walked closer to Brent, crouched down a bit, and patted his shoulder.

“Thank you for your honesty. And so, I will promise you two things,” Leone said. “The first promise… I will allow the Bonegnash Tribe to retain their tribe’s name and autonomy as a vassal of the Aslan Tribe.

“The second promise… Your spot as my vassal will remain. However, I will not make you my vassal right now.”

At first, Brent became happy after hearing that the Bonegnash Tribe could keep their name and gain autonomy.

Though, after hearing that Leone had no intention of making him his vassal today, he suddenly felt anxious.

“I-Is there something wrong, Great Chieftain?” Brent asked anxiously. “Did my proposal for the Bonegnash Tribe to keep their name and autonomy anger you?”

“Not at all.” Leone shook his head. “I’m not the type to force others to follow me, so I am not angered by your proposal. However, I realized something. I don’t want a vassal who thinks of themselves as a sacrifice.

“I don’t want someone who forced himself to become a vassal in exchange for something. I believe a relationship between a vassal and their king wouldn’t last long if it is nothing more than a transaction.”

Leone then helped Brent stand up before asking the Bonegnash Tribe members to rise.

“I’ve been thinking about it since this morning,” Leone said while still holding Brent’s conflicted gaze. “And I came to a conclusion. I haven’t forgotten the reason why I embarked on this journey. Do you know? My first vassals were none other than a Kobold, a horse, and a squirrel.”

Blitz landed on Leone’s shoulders and patted its chest as if telling everyone that “I am that squirrel!”

“You know why? Because no one believed in me back then,” Leone smiled faintly. “I was desperate to have vassals back then, and since Ulric didn’t react positively to my invitation, I decided I could only look elsewhere.”

The people at the plaza all looked at Ulric at those words, who looked back at Leone with an apologetic look.

Back then, he really liked the young man. However, the thought of becoming his vassal was something that he didn’t readily accept.

The reason?

Because he was a proud warrior.

If Leone had also been a strong warrior, then he would have acknowledged him not only as a man, but also as a warrior.

If a strong warrior had asked him to become their vassal, Ulric would have agreed more easily, confident that he was serving a powerful individual.

But during that time, Leone was far from being strong.

He was even weaker than a squirrel, after all. With that in mind, how could Ulric even think of serving him as a vassal?

Though, many things had already happened since then. Ulric had learned that people shouldn’t really judge a book by its cover.

If he could go back in time, then he would have smacked his former self and beaten him up until he agreed to become Leone’s vassal.

However, since this was no longer possible, he had already made a vow to himself to serve Leone faithfully and protect the Aslan Tribe even at the cost of his life.