The Caravan did not encounter any other attacks after the failed attempt of the Marauders.
Even so, the Kendall Tribe never lowered their guard until they saw a tower in the distance.
“We’re almost there,” Grandma Ria said as she looked at the tower in the distance. “That is our destination, the Weeping Shrine.”
Ethan and Lily exchanged glances with each other before nodding their heads.
They knew that reaching their destination was just the beginning of their trouble.
Aside from dealing with the Duel that would take place when they arrived, they also needed to learn more about the general situation concerning the Three Great Tribes who planned to invade the lands of the Alliance.
According to Marco, it was highly possible that their enemies would start their invasion in a week or two, which would only give the tribes a few days to prepare before they went to war.
The Caravan arrived at its destination when the sun was at its zenith.
The other tribes, who were already there, looked at the Kendall Tribe with smiles on their faces as if seeing a long lost friend that they hadn’t seen for a long time.
“Adrian, you’re still alive? I thought you already kicked the bucket!” a man who had a very sturdy body laughed as he shook hands with Great Chieftain Adrian.
“It’s nice to see you again, Evan,” Great Chieftain Adrian said with a smile. “I pray that your wife is in good health?”
“She is. Actually, she gave birth to my third daughter a month ago,” Great Chieftain Evan replied. “If it weren’t for the Overlord’s passing, we might be celebrating right now. Alas…”
The Great Chieftain didn’t need to finish his words because Adrian understood what he wanted to say. The only thing he could do was pat his friend’s shoulder and promise to visit him and his family after he had settled the issues with the Kendall Tribe.
There were reserved camping grounds for each tribe that surrounded the Weeping Shrine.
After reaching the location where they were allowed to set up camp, the Kendall Tribe started to set up tents, as well as prepare their offering for the Great Overlord.
According to Great Chieftain Adrian, the duel would take place in four days after the tribe had paid their respects and mourned their deceased leader.
Two days later, more Tribes arrived at the Weeping Shrine, and according to Marco, they were expecting the last two tribes to arrive the next day.
But that night, something unexpected happened.
Although they were part of an alliance, not all the tribes got along with each other.
While they did their best to be civil with each other, after some people got drunk, a fight started, which escalated into a free-for-all between the tribes.
Unfortunately, this happened while Ethan and Lily were taking a stroll around the Weeping Shrine in order to get a better understanding of the terrain.
The two stood out like a sore thumb since they were still wearing the robes of the academy. But due to the fact that they were seen to be with the Kendall Tribe, the tribes that didn’t get along with Great Chieftain Adrian’s tribe decided to mess with the two of them.
Unfortunately, Lily wasn’t in the mood, so she used her magic to freeze several of the warriors who had attacked them, which made the other tribes back away.
She even summoned her Ice Fox, which was more hot-headed than its Master despite the fact that it was an Ice Spirit.
Of course, the Ice Fox didn’t kill anyone and only unleashed Ice Spray at those who tried to attack its Mistress, turning them into blocks of ice.
From start to finish, Ethan just stood there holding the Sea God’s Trident in his hand, acting as Lily’s bodyguard.
But since everyone that was around them was frozen solid, he didn’t need to do anything and simply stayed close to her.
“Is this really a good idea?” Ethan whispered in Lily’s ears. “We might antagonize this entire tribe.”
“Don’t worry,” Lily whispered back. “I know what I’m doing.”
Not long after that, the fight came to an end and the Tribe Chieftains forced everyone to return to their own turf.
Great Chieftain Adrian then asked Lily to free the people who had been turned to Ice Statues in order to prevent any further hostility from rising between their respective tribes.
Naturally, the young lady obeyed and canceled her magic, allowing the warriors to break out of their icy prison.
Because of Lily’s performance, the news that the Kendall Tribe had gained a powerful Shaman spread within the Weeping Shrine.
To Ethan’s surprise, the other Shamans of the other tribes came to meet with Lily in order to better understand why she had very strong magical powers.
Ethan observed these Shamans and noticed that none of them had proper wands. Most of them carried a staff, while some used other artifacts to channel their magic.
To his surprise, he couldn’t see any greed in their faces when they looked at Lily’s wand. They just thought that the magical power inside her body was quite powerful, which was not completely wrong.
Even without her wand, Lily was still a force to be reckoned with, and that was due to her Therian Transformation.
But, the thing that gave Ethan a headache happened a day after the incident.
The other tribes had heard about the Duel that would take place in the Kendall Tribe in order to gain Lily’s Favor and potentially make them her mate.
After seeing her powers, the warriors of the other tribes decided to participate, making the corner of the handsome young man’s lips twitch.
Fortunately, all the Shamans already had their own partners, so they didn’t participate in the tournament-style duels that were held.
“Did you do this on purpose?” Ethan asked.
“Of course not,” Lily replied in an innocent tone. 𝒐𝓥𝗅xt.𝒞𝒐𝕞
Of course, he had a feeling that Lily was lying and that she intended to make the competition even more rowdy.
The handsome young man wasn’t aware that she was doing this for his sake. As someone who had grown up in a tribe, she understood that those with power were the ones who gained the respect of others.
Since this tournament was designed to have the most powerful warrior become her partner, it would allow everyone to see what Ethan was capable of.
If Ethan needed to make a name for himself and make the Allied Tribes recognize him, this was the fastest way to do it.
Since they would need to hold a position of power to affect the decision-making in the upcoming war, Lily decided to escalate the situation to put the limelight on the handsome teenager, who was still quite innocent in the ways of the world.
‘Ethan, being kind and softhearted is good during times of peace,’ Lily thought in her heart as he looked at the young man in front of her. ‘But during times of hardships, you need to take that leap of faith, or else, you’ll be stepped upon by those who wish to trample on your rights as a free man.’
Lily knew that it was impossible for Ethan to change his character in a short period of time.
Because of this, she wanted to make him face adversities that would not only sharpen his wits but also steel his heart for the bloody battles that were about to come their way