Death... and me

Yisval was right about one thing. Juri was indeed keeping some of the Spirit Stones. But it wasn't for him, he simply kept it there in case the Tribe needed it in an emergency. So, in fact, it isn't as much as they think. Juri had really used almost all the Spirit Stones in the Tribe.

Almost two weeks later, a warrior came into his house to report.

"Tribe Leader, something is happening in the Yisval Tribe."

Juri's attention was picked.

"What is it?"

"We noticed that their warriors are mobilizing. From the looks of it, are Tribe war might start at any moment."

Juri's eyes narrowed.

"A tribe war? Were the Kianme Tribe in bad terms with anyone recently?"

The warrior shook his head.

"We have kept an eye on all the Tribes around us during the past few years as you instructed us. But so far, no other Tribe seems to be acting weird. We also didn't find any sign that they were in bad terms with Kianme. Because of that, we can't ascertain who their target really is."

Juri found it to be a little too fishy.

'Could they be targeting us? But that makes no sense since they would lose too much in that case. Could it be one of the small Tribes around? Or some other Tribe outside our territory?'

"Keep observing their movements. If anything new happens, let me know."

The warrior nodded and quickly left.

Juri then asked another Warrior to call the Elders, Alanda, Rean, and Roan over.

Late that day, everyone was gathered in the Elder's hall at the center of the Tribe. Rean and Roan were also there, but they were not appearing. Juri kept those two hidden so that they would only hear the conversation. After all, they are the Tribe's trump card. The smaller the number of people who know about their real power, the better.

As the elders discussed the news about the Kianme Tribe, Rean and Roan were also doing the same with each other.

"What do you think?"

Roan nodded.

"Considering everything I heard so far, I would say that there is at least an 80% chance that they are coming for us."

Rean was surprised to hear that.

"Didn't they say that it wouldn't be worth it to attack us with the Kianme Tribe's strength?"

Roan nodded once more.

"That's why soon enough, we should get a report of some other Tribes entering our territory. If one Tribe isn't enough, then try two, three, four... As long as the profit is worth it, you can convince others. The same way we keep eyes on the other Tribes, the other Tribes keep eyes on us. So it shouldn't be a secret how our Tribe's strength had been increasing recently."

"That Kianme Tribe is the only Medium-Sized Tribe in our territory, so they can't allow another one to appear. It is that simple."

Sure enough, another warrior appeared a few minutes later to give his report.

"We spotted another two Tribes entering our territory. Judging by their banners, they are the Bokou from the south and Hersin from the west. Both are Medium-Sized Tribes."

Juri was surprised to hear that.

'It was exactly like Roan mentioned.'

Before coming to the Elders Hall, Juri had told Rean, Roan, and Alanda about what was going to be discussed. Hearing that, Roan immediately asked Juri to send warriors to watch the borders of their territory. Juri followed his wishes, and sure enough, it proved helpful.

One of the elders couldn't help but comment.

"Does it mean that they are the ones attacking the Kianme Tribe together?"

Juri was just about to answer when he received a Spiritual Sense message from Roan. He immediately changed what he was about to say after that.

"Gather all warriors, our Varen Tribe is going into full war mode."

The elders were taken aback by that.

"Isn't it too early to get into conclusions?"

Juri shook his head and repeated the same words Roan told him.

"The Kianme Tribe is inside their Tribe Territory, those two Tribes have similar strength to them. That means that if they want to win a war against the Kianme Tribe, they will need to pay a huge price. They would probably not be Medium-Size Tribes anymore when everything is over."

"That being said, there is no way that Bokou and Hersin would take this risk. With this line of thought, it is almost guaranteed that they aren't fighting each other. Since they aren't fighting, it could only mean that they are in an alliance. Now then, which Tribe in our territory would the Kianme Tribe need the alliance to deal with?"

All the elders' hearts skipped a bit after hearing that. There is only a single Tribe which the Kianme Tribe would need help to deal with, their own!

Immediately, a bell sound started to resonate in the entire Tribe. When the people heard that, they immediately started to mobilize. Ever since the Varen Workshop began to make money, Juri thought about the possibility of the Tribe being under attack. So he made sure that everyone knew what to do in case this bell was ever used.

All the ordinary people immediately gathered in the center of the village. Surprisingly, they all carried bags full of food and water as if they were ready to go on a travel. Juri then went on the stage to talk.

"It is still not confirmed, but we are almost certain that our Tribe is about to be attacked. That being said, you already know what to do. Everyone who is not related to the Tribe's protection is to immediately move into the Mine to hide. Elder Jasviu and a few warriors under his command will be leading this group."

Jasviu stepped forward and received the order. At the same time, Juri asked him through a Divine Sense message.

"Is that thing ready?"

Jasviu immediately nodded.

"We finished it a year ago. No one other than those present in the excavation knows about this."

Juri nodded, satisfied. He had put Jasviu in charge of making an escape route that led to the Liman mountain's opposite side. That escape route took more than three years to be done. It couldn't be helped, after all, the mountain expanded for several kilometers and the number of people involved wasn't that big to keep the secret. But in the end, their efforts were compensated.

"Very well. In case we lose, you should immediately destroy the entrance and flee to the previously agreed place, understood?"

Jasviu nodded, and he began to guide all the common people into the Mines.

Juri then looked at Roan in the corner where no one was paying attention.

'Just how far have you seen?'