My Kingdom Building Done Right!-Chapter 76: The Delicate Balance In The Borderlands [Part 2]

After rethinking his words a few times, Leone spoke his thoughts out loud.

"Does it mean they can’t attack us as long as we pay the tribute?" Leone asked.

"Not openly," Gundar corrected. "But they can pressure you, intimidate you, even provoke you. As long as you strike first or refuse to pay the tribute, they will have the justification to attack.

"You might find it silly, but even the high-ranking tribes can’t just attack the tribes weaker than them without proper justification. They could, but they wouldn’t. Doing so means losing face and prestige.

"Not to mention, it could crumble the delicate balance of power in the Borderlands. And no one wants to see that happen. This is also why a tournament is held every ten years. It’s the fairest way to decide who gets the larger share of resources extracted from Eden.

"Unlike the middle-ranking tribes engaging in petty fights, the higher-ranking tribes are focusing their attention on the upcoming tournament."

"Eden?" Leone blinked. "What’s that?"

"Oh? You haven’t told him about Eden yet?" Gundar asked Ulric.

"No." Ulric shook his head. "We’ve been busy recently, so it slipped my mind."

Gundar nodded in understanding. "Well, Eden is a land located in the south of the Borderlands. There’s a dungeon there. The high-ranking tribes monopolize the resources inside it to grow stronger than ever."

Leone knew what a dungeon was. The Kingdom of Britannia had a few of them as well. But not all dungeons were the same. Some only had a few floors, while others had more than fifty.

Dungeons with over fifty floors were considered treasure troves, and the Kingdom of Britannia took great care in managing them.

"Can any tribe join that tournament you’re talking about?" Leone inquired. "And what’s the prize?"

The young man wanted to learn more about the struggle of the Borderlands. So far, the information about the tournament and Eden caught his attention.

"The winning tribe of the tournament will gain the title of ’Regent’ and will be the one to manage the resources of Eden. They will also receive 40% of all materials gained from the dungeon for the next ten years.

"It’s the most sought-after position among the high-ranking tribes, so the tournament is very fierce. Tribes also invest in grooming candidates to improve their winning chances."

Leone asked another question, thinking the tournament was a good opportunity to showcase his tribe’s strength.

"Then can any tribe join the tournament?" Leone inquired.

Gundar smiled faintly. "The short answer is yes. The strong have the power to move the hearts of the people. However, the middle-ranked tribes and the low-ranking tribes have never won the tournament. Do you know why?"

"Why?" Leone asked.

"It’s because they fear losing their strongest warriors," Gundar replied. "Every single representative sent by the middle-ranking and the low-ranking tribes to participate in the tournament is killed brutally in the arena. Think of it as the high-ranking tribes’ way of telling these tribes that they aren’t qualified to step on the same stage as them.

"Of course, the trouble doesn’t end in the arena. After the tournament ends, these bold tribes will be pressured by the high-ranking tribes. Although they will not push too hard to break them, they will ensure that they will no longer dare to participate in the tournament ever again.

"For this reason, only the warriors of the high-ranking tribes have joined the tournament in the past few decades. When their warriors battle, they could still walk away with their lives instead of being killed outright."

Gundar then eyed Ulric before shifting his gaze back to Leone.

He didn’t know what had prompted him to share the information about Eden and the tournament with the young man he had only met today for the first time.

Perhaps he was curious about what Leone would do, so he subconsciously gave the information the young man needed. He wanted to know if the lion cub would retreat or dare to face the challenge by taking a big risk.

Gundar then shifted the topic to a different matter.

"I’ve heard many stories about this place. They were so intriguing that my curiosity was piqued, and I wanted to see it for myself," Gundar said calmly. "Earlier, you said ’Welcome to Aslan Soleil’. It doesn’t sound like a tribe’s name to me. It sounds more like the name of a kingdom. Are you perhaps trying to build a kingdom here in the Borderlands?"

"Yes," Leone replied.

Ulric and Yuni were both surprised, not expecting Leone to directly admit his ambition in front of one of the most powerful shamans of the barbarians.

"G-Great Chieftain?!" Ulric cried out, but Leone simply raised his hand to stop him from saying whatever he was going to say next. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

"So a kingdom instead of a tribe..." Gundar played with his beard. "Interesting. So this is why Ulric calls you Great Chieftain."

"Great Uncle, if possible, can you please keep this a secret?" Ulric asked.

"Calm down, Ulric," Gundar smirked before shifting his attention to the young man in front of him. "What made you take a risk, admitting your plan to build a kingdom here in the Borderlands? What will you do if I report this to my chieftain?"

"It’s because even if I lied, Sir Gundar can tell I’m lying," Leone replied calmly. "Also, it feels weird. But for some reason, I can’t help but think that I can trust you. I don’t know why I feel this way. I just do."

Gundar chuckled. "I am honored you feel that way. But for the sake of Ulric’s peace of mind, make sure you do not make the same mistake in the future. Not everyone is as open-minded as I am."

"I’ll take your words to heart, Sir Gundar," Leone replied.

The old man took a small pouch from his pocket and handed it to Leone. Just like how the young man felt that Gundar would not do him any harm, he felt that the young man also possessed something he had been searching for a very long time.

"How about we settle this with a fair trade?" Gundar asked. "I promise to keep everything you said and the things I will see in your camp as a secret. In exchange, can you help me do a bone reading?"

"A bone reading?" Leone asked back while accepting the pouch that was filled with animal bones.

"Yes," Gundar replied. "Take a handful of bones from that pouch, and toss them on the ground."

Daedalus, who had been lying dormant in Leone’s arm, asked its Master to accept the old man’s proposal.

The grimoire could tell that the old shaman wished to see what kind of future Leone would weave with his own hands.

Daedalus believed that if they played their cards right, Gundar might become a strong backer who would help their kingdom grow, while keeping it a secret from the other tribes of the Borderlands.