Two days had passed since Ethan’s duel with Rex, and the Allied Tribes were finally making their way towards the front lines of the battlefield.
The tension was high, which was to be expected since they were headed to nowhere fun.
They were going to war, and that meant that countless lives would inevitably be lost because of it.
The Allied Tribes knew that they needed to make their stand, or else, they’d be completely wiped out by their Aggressors. The other forces within the Lands of Alastor were also paying close attention to this battle.
Most of them just want to be spectators, while others thought of this as a good opportunity. As to what that opportunity was, none could tell except their leaders.
Ethan was sound asleep, his head resting on Lily’s lap. He had just drank one of the sleeping potions personally made by the Head Shaman, Safiya, so that he could properly rest despite the fact that the road was quite bumpy.
Throughout the past two days, Ethan felt a lot of stress from bearing the expectations that the Allied Tribe had placed on his shoulder. They thought that since he was there, their victory was assured because of what he represented.
He was the Tide Bringer.
Their Savior and Protector.
Despite his countless attempts to deny it, they would agree on the surface but wouldn’t stop calling him the said title, making him unable to sleep at night.
Noticing his exhaustion, Lily suggested that they travel with the Great Shaman, so that he wouldn’t be bothered by anyone.
The wagons of the other Shamans moved beside their leader, creating a protective formation, preventing anyone from disturbing Ethan’s rest.
‘Expectations…,’ Lily mused as he lightly brushed Ethan’s hair. ‘It’s hard when everyone is expecting something from you.’
Lily understood this very well. Her family also had a lot of expectations for her since they knew her talent and wished for her to grow to be a powerful witch, who would become the pride of their Clan.
Her father was a prominent figure in Southshire, and his words were law. However, in recent years, his health had not always been the best, so everyone was eyeing his position.
She knew with certainty that these powerful families were just waiting for the right moment to strike. The moment her father was out of the way, nothing would stop them from taking his place. 𝒐𝓥𝗅xt.𝒞𝒐𝕞
Although Lily was quite annoyed by their tribe’s politics, it was something that she could accept. Only the strong had the right to lead. None of them would recognize a weak leader.
There might be schemes. There might be foul play. But at the end of the day, those with the biggest fist would rule.
The young lady sighed as she looked outside the carriage windows. Truth be told, she was worried about Ethan.
People like him weren’t meant to go to war. He was just a country bumpkin, with no redeeming qualities aside from his good looks.
At least, that was what the other Witches in the academy thought at first. Their impressions of him only changed after he fought those three and won.
‘But magical duels are still fought in controlled environments,’ Lily thought as she placed her hand over Ethan’s chest, feeling his heartbeat.
If one was fighting in an official duel, the Professors would save their lives if they were in danger.
But, in war, there would be no referees.
There would be no second chances.
Even a stray arrow could kill you if you were unlucky enough to be in its path.
“It seems that you will be baptized by war, Ethan,” Lily said softly. “I just hope you don’t break. Being kind will just get you killed faster.”
Unfortunately, Ethan was unable to hear her words, for he was currently in a dreamless sleep.
His handsome face looked haggard, and there were faint dark circles under his eyes.
“Even in sleep, you don’t look at peace,” Lily muttered as he caressed his face. “Don’t worry. I will do my best to protect you. We will return to our time line together.”
At nightfall, they finally arrived at the Stronghold of the Allied Tribes.
The Great Chieftains, the Shamans, the Veteran Warriors, and the two teenagers once again gathered for a war meeting.
A map made up of animal skin was placed on top of the table, and several small stones littered its surface.
“According to our scouts, the enemy has over ten thousand warriors,” Great Chieftain Evan, who ruled the Ebon Tribe stated. “If they march, it would only take them a few hours to reach our Stronghold. But for some reason, they didn’t do this while we were at the Weeping Shrine.
“If they attacked before we managed to regroup with our frontline defenders, this place would have long fallen by now. Everyone, what do you think? No matter how I look at it, I find this very strange.”
Everyone, with the exception of Ethan and Lily, nodded their heads.
Truth be told, their vanguard was given strict orders to retreat as soon as the warriors of the Three Great Tribes attacked.
With only a few hundred warriors defending the place, it would be impossible for them to stop an all-out-attack from their enemies.
“I find this very suspicious as well,” Great Chieftain Adrian commented. “The only thing that I can think of is that they might be waiting for something.”
“Or someone.” The Head Shaman, Shafiya smiled. “If they have other helpers in this war, our chances of winning would go down considerably.”
The faces inside the room became grim after hearing the Shaman’s words. If that were true, the reason why the Three Great Tribes hadn’t attacked yet was for the Allied Tribes to gather in one place, allowing their helpers to attack their back, leaving them no place to run.
They then subconsciously looked at Ethan, who had his eyes closed as he meditated in the corner of the room.
Suddenly, the young lady beside him walked towards the table and looked at the map. She observed it carefully, and several ideas appeared inside her head.
“Do your Allied Tribes have a good relationship with the factions of the surrounding area?” Lily asked. “Better yet, do you have any enemies aside from the Three Great Tribes?”
The Great Chieftains frowned before glancing at each other. Their Allied Tribes had a neutral relationship with the surrounding forces, but that didn’t mean that they hadn’t gotten into arguments in the past.
In fact, after considering the idea that the Three Great Tribes would have other helpers, it could easily explain why they still hadn’t made any moves yet.
At that exact moment, the sound of war drums reverberated within the Stronghold, making the Great Chieftains, The Shamans, and the Warriors, rise up from their seats and head outside.
It was the sign that they sighted the enemies heading in their direction, making everyone’s faces turn grim.
Ethan and Lily followed behind them until they were standing on the wooden ramparts of the Stronghold, overlooking the Alastor Plains.
Countless torchlights could be seen in the distance, and all of them were headed in their direction.
The Allied Tribes had already expected that they could attack at any time, so the timing of their arrival wasn’t the reason why their faces turned pale.
Aside from the lights coming from the Alastor Plains, there were also torchlights coming from the direction of the Copper Ash Forest.
The Great Chieftains, the Shamans, and the Warriors now understood the reason why the Three Great Tribes hadn’t made their move until now.
“The Orcs…,” Safiya said with a hint of anxiety in her voice. “Those bastards joined hands with the Orcs!”
And with that, everyone scrambled to prepare for war while waiting for their enemies to come knocking at their doorstep.