"I'm sorry, did you say the land of Tubal was freed from the raiders?"
Prince Leo decided to stay low profile when he set out to the region of Rouen. However, to his surprise, rumors about the freedom of the towns of Tubal was the talk of the town.
"Yes! You heard it right, young man!" They were all rejoicing at the good news. "Turned out that we don't have to rely to the king any longer.""What do you mean about that, sire?""Did you hear about the Shadow knights? Well, they've become popular nowadays. It was them who fought against the raiders.""Are they still here? Is there a way I can meet them?""Well, you might see them if you go to the main town of Tubal. I heard they will be staying there for a few more days."
Prince Leo kowtowed and left the old man drinking wine. Well, the freedom of the land is definitely something to celebrate. He smiled and walked towards his horse and headed to the main town.
'Shadow knights?' He mumbled within. He heard a lot of rumors about them and he needed to confirm it himself.
The king voiced his fears towards the growing group so he sent prince Leo in secret to check on them. He was thinking of making them an ally of the royal family instead of having them as an enemy. The king could use the group's strength in the future too.
As usual, the king was only thinking of preserving HIS kingdom.
At the main town of Tubal, men and women were dancing and singing as they celebrate the independence they gained through the help of the shadow knights.
At last! They're free! Kira and Bon was dead and the remaining raiders chose to live a righteous life with the help of Liam's group.
The governor of Rouen also heard about the battle that took place in the land of Tubal and invited Liam and his friends at his residence but they ignored his invitation. They chose to stay with the people of Tubal.
"Hey." The old man Daniel saw Liam sitting alone at the table that was just emptied since his men joined the people as they dance with the merry music.
"Mr. Daniel." He moved to give him a space to sit on while they watch the people dancing joyfully. "How are you?"
"I'm doing great!" He chuckled. "How's your wound?"
Liam lightly touched the side that Bon stabbed the other day. "It's just a scratch and it's healing fast." He smiled.
"Thanks to your hysterical girlfriend." Daniel chuckled mockingly. He was pertaining to Diana who became his full time physician. She's been taking care of him twenty-four-hour-a-day without thinking of her own slashed wounds.
Liam chortled when he recalled how worried the woman was when Bon stabbed him that day. Though it was just a shallow wound, she insisted that he must receive proper treatment and rest as well.
"Oh, speaking of that woman, I haven't seen her the whole day. Where is she?"
"Well, it's her time to become the patient now." He cackled. "The town physicians were tending her injuries."
"Oh, that must hurt a lot." The old man hissed."You bet." They both chuckled as they drink the native wines the town people served.
After a few minutes, Liam glanced at the old man who was looking at the dark sky."Mr. Daniel, about my proposition….""I will." He didn't wait for the man to finish. "Also, I will introduce you to Torah, the chief of Ammihod tribe as soon as we go back to Rouen." "Mr. Daniel, will you just agree without knowing anything about the proposal?" He creased his brow confused.
Liam was a bit surprised when the chief of the Nahshon tribe agreed to join his G12 federation without even knowing the vision. He has to create a new path for him to convinced the other tribes for the past few years but this old man agreed just like that.
"I don't think I will be needing to hear your explanation. Whatever your reason as to why you are trying to assemble all the 12 formidable tribes, I believe it is for a great purpose. I've seen what you can do. I saw it with my own two eyes and I trust that you will do what's best for the people of Allen."
"Mr. Daniel…."
The old man smiled as he tapped his shoulder. "I know you are destined for greatness the moment I laid my eyes on you. So know that the Nahshon tribe will always be here whenever you need us."
"Thank you, Mr. Daniel." He twitched his lip to form a smile. "Despites the heart whelming speech you just gave, I still owe you an explanation about my G12 system."
"Ha ha!" The old man laughed like a mad man and it caught the attention of some people near them. "I like you, young man." He hit the man's back as he continued to laugh. "If it is not for Diana then I should have blackmailed you to marry my granddaughter."
Liam raised his brow as soon as he heard the old man. He knew that the chief has a beautiful granddaughter but he never thought that he once planned to force him to marry her.
"Anyway, I heard that Korah gave you the town in the east.""Ehm. They requested to build a training camp at one of the towns when they heard about the group's accomplishment in Marseille. They wanted the group to train strong men who can defend their land from future invaders since they don't want to trust the king any longer."
"Well I'd say that's a great move to expand your network!" The old man exclaimed. "If the other tribes hear about you and your accomplishments then I swear they'll come and find you personally."
"Do you think that's possible?"
"Of course! Chiefs like me wanted protection for our own people too, so we usually sought strong men to backed us up. Some of the tribes even hire rebels to serve as their protection."
"Really? I didn't know that until now."
"But now you know." He smirked meaningfully. "So if I were you, if you want the 12 tribes to support you, the easiest way is to present a strong army. Increasing your fame may likely catch their attentions as well." The old man tapped his shoulder once again before leaving the daze man.
'A strong army?' He muttered beneath his breath before his eyes landed towards his men who were among the crowd.Well, he can say he already have a strong network. The seven young men he personally trained before has successfully trained a lot of captains until now. They are reliable therefore irreplaceable!
***************
"There was a report from the governors of Rouen and Marseille." The chief official reported while the king was having a tea with queen Hillary at the king's private garden.
"Read it to me." He commanded.
The chief official read the first writing from the governor of Marseille. Well, the report isn't new. He already heard about a group called Shadow knights saving the people of Keilah under the Iblanite raiders. However, he froze when the chief official read the second report from the governor of Rouen.
"Wait, what?!"
"Your Majesty, the governor of Rouen said that the army of the shadow knights killed Kira and subdued his men. The remaining rebels are now allied of the Shadow knights."
The king fell in silence all of the sudden, his finger was tracing his jaw while his other foot kept striking the ground.
"Did you received any news from Prince Leo?""Not yet, my king.""I'm a bit worried about that group. Send my words to prince Leo.""Yes, my king."
The king wrote a letter and handed it to the chief official."You can't let anyone know about this." He gave a stern warning in fear that the other faction might learnt about the prince's assignment.