My Kingdom Building Done Right!

Chapter 222: The Wish Of The Sandreaver Tribe [Part 3]

"Understood," Leone said after his short discussion with Daedalus. "Once our war with the Darkmane Tribe ends and the aftermath is dealt with, I will visit the Sandreaver Tribe as soon as possible."

"Thank you very much!" Malik could finally breathe a sigh of relief after hearing Leone’s answer. "Regardless of whether you can help us or not, I will owe the Aslan Tribe a debt that I will repay no matter what."

While the Chieftain of the Sandreaver Tribe had no idea how the young man could possibly help them, he believed their shaman.

Plus, after witnessing the inexplicable events that took place in the Aslan Tribe within a short time, Malik believed that only two people could help solve their tribe’s problem.

One of them would be Leone, who led the Aslan Tribe.

While the other one would be Gundar of the Grimhowl Tribe.

If Malik’s shaman told him to seek Gundar’s help, he would not hesitate to head to the Grimhowl Tribe. Even if it meant owing Hagen some favors. He’d even happily pay for it.

Yet, his shaman insisted that he go to the Aslan Tribe instead.

"A wind of change is blowing from the east," the shaman said to Malik. "And our salvation can also be found in that direction."

After the important matter had been settled, Malik also brought up the topic of the Raptor that Leone had given them in the past.

"That Sun-Scaled Raptor is amazing," Malik said with praise. "It can traverse the desert faster than any horse and can survive longer than any camel. It’s the perfect mount for the Sandreaver Tribe.

"Can we purchase more of them from the Aslan Tribe? I believe you mentioned that you can procure some of them when our people come here to find you."

Leone faintly smiled in response because he had almost forgotten about this promise. Fortunately, he had obtained a good amount of Uncommon Mount Tickets after completing the mission.

"Very well. We can provide you with a dozen of them," Leone replied. "However, we want to exchange them for Sand Steel."

"How much Sand Steel are we talking about?" Malik asked, his tone serious.

The Sand Steel of the Sandreaver Tribe had a special quality to it. When used by an expert, it could produce enough heat to slice through metal.

However, a special forging method must be used in order to craft it. Due to its interesting effects, several tribes tried to purchase Sand Steel from the Sandreaver Tribe in the past.

However, they were extremely expensive.

Not to mention, even if one had the Sand Steel, it would be useless unless someone knew the proper forging method. One wrong step, and the weapon made from this special metal would turn into an ordinary weapon.

"I’ll make this deal easy for you," Leone replied. "How much Sand Steel are you willing to exchange for a dozen Sun-Scaled Raptors?"

The young man casually tossed the ball back to Malik’s side of the court, putting the chieftain in a bit of a dilemma.

If the amount of Sand Steel he gave was too low, it might demotivate Leone from helping them solve their problem.

On the other hand, if it were too high, then future exchanges for the Raptors would make the Sandreaver Tribe bleed a lot.

With that, Malik needed to find a middle ground.

A price that would satisfy both tribes and ensure more collaboration in the future.

"How about two wagons of Sand Steel for a dozen Sun-Scaled Raptors?" Malik proposed.

Sand Steel was indeed precious to them, but having mounts that could traverse the desert so quickly was also a very important matter for their tribe.

"I think it’s a fair price, but I’ll ask for a freebie," Leone said. "I want one forged Sand Steel weapon."

"I knew it." Malik smiled wryly. "Fine. We will give you one as a token of our friendship."

The other high-ranking tribes had also asked them for a forged Sand Steel weapon in the past so that they could reverse engineer it.

Sadly, none of their efforts bore fruit.

However, this wasn’t a problem for Leone. All he needed to do was give it to Daedalus for analysis.

The grimoire could reverse engineer it without any hitch. On top of that, the grimoire could also modify it to create a better version of the weapon, making something that would far surpass anything that the Sandreaver Tribe had crafted in the past.

From then on, he’d only need to procure enough materials.

"I brought with me a wagon with Sand Steel. I had already planned to give it to you as long as you agreed to help us with our problem," Malik said. "This is different from the two wagons we will bring here in exchange for the Sun-Scaled Raptors. Also..."

The chieftain took out the dagger at the side of his waist and placed it on top of the table.

"This dagger is forged from Sand Steel," Malik added. "Will this be enough for you, or would you prefer other weapons for our exchange?"

"This is enough." Leone picked up the dagger, only to be quite surprised by how light it felt in his hand. "Thank you."

"You’re welcome." Malik then raised his hand, prompting Leone to offer his own to exchange a handshake. "To our future cooperation!"

"To our future cooperation!" Leone replied.

After reaching a deal with the chieftain, the two then exited the villa.

Malik ordered one of his men to bring the wagon to the fortress as his "gift" for Leone.

He even made sure to say it out loud so that Hagen, his sons, and the two heirs of the Warclaw Tribe, Ragnar and Wayne, could hear it.

"Are you done talking to him?" Hagen asked. "If yes, then I would also like to have a private talk with you, Leone."

"I don’t mind," Leone replied. "But can we do it over dinner tonight? I still have a prior engagement with the chieftains of the other middle-ranked tribes."

"Tonight is fine." Hagen nodded. "I’ll see you later, then."

"Yes, I look forward to it," Leone replied with a smile before heading down the stairs that led to the lower levels.

He did have a prior engagement with the middle-ranked chieftains, so he wasn’t lying.

However, the real reason he decided to delay his talk with Hagen until dinner time was so that he could bring some of his vassals with him to this discussion.

Gundar had told him many things about Hagen. Frankly, Leone wasn’t confident that he could handle him on his own, even with Daedalus by his side.

As such, he decided to bring others with him.

For one, he intended to invite Kael, his most eloquent vassal. Then, for security purposes, he also planned to bring Brann and Blitz.

It was not that he didn’t trust Hagen.

Instead, it was more about having some kind of deterrence that would help him stand his ground against the Chieftain of the Grimhowl Tribe.

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"Be careful when you’re dealing with Hagen," Gundar had warned Leone in the past. "He is a very ambitious person. Just like Godwin, he wishes to become the Barbarian King of the Borderlands. Knowing him, he will not hesitate to use any method to get what he wants."

————

With that in mind, Leone wanted to make some necessary preparations before facing off with the Chieftain of the Grimhowl Tribe.

After all, dealing with ambitious people, especially those who wish to become the Barbarian King, would require a completely different approach as opposed to dealing with someone as direct to the point as Malik.

Sure, the Chieftain of the Sandreaver Tribe might have hidden secrets, but at the very least, his intentions were straightforward. Hagen, on the other hand, was a man who always looked three steps ahead of everyone else.

If Leone were to ever make a single mistake during their discussion, then he might unknowingly find himself agreeing to something that would greatly benefit the Grimhowl Tribe, while putting his own tribe at a disadvantage.