Leon and Dean were both taken to the guest house. The guest house was one of the buildings close to the Tribe Leader's residence. Compared to other buildings in the tribe, this one was relatively bigger with slight decorations.
After resting for an hour, they followed Julius when he was heading to meet up with Tribe Leader Kaleb to discuss the issue that brought them here, the new mine.
….
"Where is it located?" Julius asked after those who needed to be in the meeting were seated.
They were currently in the tribe's hall. Tribe Leader Kaleb, the tribe's elders, and the strongest warriors of the tribe were all present in the hall.
Tribe Leader Kaleb was currently sitting on his usual seat, facing the elders and warriors. On his right-hand side were two seats, Leon and Dean were both occupying one each with Julius standing by their side.
There were currently six elders present in the hall with all of them either being Sixth or Seventh layered Body Tempering stage Warriors. The warriors were about fifteen, with the one with the highest stage being a Peak Fifth layered Body Tempering stage Warrior, and the lowest being a Third layered Body Tempering stage Warrior.
"A few kilometers between our tribe's territory and that of the Saxco Tribe. I feared any activity would alert them of it since it was very close to their territory as well. And with the beasts present in the forest, there's no way we can start working on the mine without fighting a major battle." Answered Kaleb.
"I see, then we'll have to go check it out. I assume you've spoken with the Family Head over how you plan to allocate whatever you get?" Julius asked, after pondering for some time.
Compared to most of the Families, the O'Brien Family were very free with the tribes under them. Of course it didn't mean they weren't superior, but they only made sure that the tribes would not feel they were having the short end of the stick whenever they were doing a trade. For instance, in a case like this, most Families would monopolize the entire mine, but it was different for the O'Brien family, they were only taking a share while letting the tribe keep the rest. This way, the tribe would be able to flourish quicker.
"Yes, and I'm happy with the way he dealt with it." Kaleb nodded with a smile. Before the warriors from the O'Brien family arrived here, he had already received words from Mason.
….
"What type of beasts do you think we'll possibly encounter?" Dean asked Leon softly while Julius and Kaleb were still discussing.
"No idea, but different types. Why are you asking?" Leon replied after thinking for some time.
"I just want to get prepared, that's all." Dean said softly before looking down.
"Are you nervous?" Leon asked when he saw Dean's sudden strange behavior.
"Me? Nervous? Of course not." Dean scoffed when he heard this, but his facial expression lacked confidence, even a child could tell that he was lying.
"Okay." Leon chuckled when he saw this.
'Yeah... He's pretty nervous.' He thought while staring at Dean's sweaty and shaky hands.
Leon found Dean's current state somewhat odd, they haven't even started the journey, yet, and Dean was already sweating with shaky hands, he couldn't help but imagine what would happen when they did.
Dean couldn't be blamed for his current reaction, there was a difference between sparring and fighting, especially when your life's what's at stake. One wrong move and you're dead, unlike when sparring, your opponent doesn't actively try to kill you.
As a human from Earth who had never gotten involved in a fight before, he was quite scared of what the result of this battle might be. But he also knew that this was a bridge that he had to cross.
"How about this, once we head out, we'll go ahead of the group into the forest to search for magical beasts you can fight against so you can get used to the feeling of fighting?" Leon suggested.
"Oh, that sounds like a good idea," Dean nodded, trying not to sound anxious.
He knew if he wanted to grow strong, he had to face all this. Although he didn't plan on climbing a mountain of corpses to get to the top, he didn't plan on being a corpse anyone would use to climb either. So, the sooner he gets rid of his anxiety, the better for him.
"Okay." Leon nodded, he brought up this suggestion for himself as well. He also needed actual battle experience, so he didn't mind doing this.
….
"Okay. How are the injured warriors?" Julius asked after they finished discussing the matter regarding the mine.
"Although it hadn't been long since they consumed the potions, some of them have started showing signs of recovery." Kaleb replied.
Of all the people injured, the ones with lighter injuries were already recovering, had they not taken the potions, then it would've taken them at least two weeks to completely recover. But after taking the pills, they are showing signs of being able to recover within three to four days.
He didn't expect the potions given to them were all high-level potions, this made him realize submitting to the O'Brien family was the best decision for his tribe.
Due to the law governing the city, the big families can not force the tribes to submit to them, it must only be voluntary. Although there are cases where the tribes are coerced, it was quite rare. And on the ground of feeling that they are the ones on the losing end, some tribes refuse to submit to any big family, and would rather stay on their own.
But if the tribes want to grow stronger, they need resources, and most of those resources are things they can not afford. Submitting to a big family will allow them to exchange things for the resources they need.
At a glance, it sounds like a good thing, but not all the families would give out the proper resources for what the tribes hand over. There are even instances where the tribes receive less than fifty percent of the things they exchanged are worth.
But, rather than risking being robbed or scammed by merchants, they preferred exchanging with the families, even though they were being ripped off.
Julius nodded after hearing Kaleb's response before leaving with both youths in tow.
Kaleb prepared his tribe's warriors for the journey, while Julius went outside to prepare the troops as well.
"On the way, we'll go ahead of the troop..." Leon told Julius of their plan to head in front and train.
"Okay young Lord, but I'll have to send two warriors to go along with you." Julius replied after giving it some thought. He knew this was the reason the Family Head sent the youngsters with him, but he couldn't afford to risk their lives. The least he could do was to send a powerful warrior with them.
After giving it further thoughts, he decided to be the one who would go with them. With this, he could guarantee their safety.
"It's okay, we'll be fine on our own." Leon refused the idea of them being followed.
"I'm sorry young Lord, but I was given strict orders which I must follow. If you are to go ahead of the troop, you must do so with guards." Julius held his ground.
Although going against the young Lord wasn't good, if anything were to happen to them under his watch, then he knew he was dead.
"I said we'll..." Just as Leon was about to refute, he was interrupted.
"It's okay, we don't mind you coming with us." Dean held Leon's hand and said.
If he was given an opportunity, then he would even want the entire troop to go with them. He was afraid.
"Thank you." Julius said to Dean before turning and heading in the direction of the troop.
Before long, it was time for them to set out to where the mine was located.