"Young man, the succession of a chieftain is usually a grand affair, requiring ceremonies and celebrations, but given your father's recent death and the numerous issues our tribe is currently facing, which need your attention as the new chieftain, we've decided against holding a celebration," Barnat said, looking at Corvinus.
"I understand, Grandfather."
Indeed, with his father's recent death, holding a celebration would be inappropriate.
Moreover, Corvinus was indifferent to whether there was a celebration or not; after all, being the chieftain was what truly mattered.
"Captain Kro, how many warriors did we lose on the expedition with your father?" Corvinus asked, looking at the four men who had returned to their seats, finally focusing on Captain Kro, who had accompanied his father into battle.
Given his father's death in battle, it was likely that many tribal warriors had also perished.
Captain Kro was taken aback by Corvinus's question; he hadn't expected the new chieftain to have such an imposing presence that it compelled obedience without conscious effort.
After a moment of hesitation, he quickly stood up and replied, "Reporting to the Chieftain, out of four hundred and twenty-two who went on the expedition, only two hundred and eighty-nine returned, including over a hundred wounded."
"So, we lost nearly all four hundred warriors?" Corvinus said, looking at Kro with a calm demeanor.
Seeing Corvinus's steady gaze, Captain Kro unconsciously lowered his head.
With the chieftain dead and the warriors nearly all lost, as the second-in-command, he was naturally the one to bear the brunt of the blame.
"Chieftain, it's not Kro's fault. After all, the battle your brother participated in was suffocating; even he perished. For Kro to bring back two-thirds of the warriors safely is already an achievement," said his fifth uncle, Reynold.
"Ha, Uncle, you've misunderstood. I have no intention of blaming Captain Kro," Corvinus said, glancing at his fifth uncle.
Reynold's face stiffened upon hearing this.
"Captain Kro, don't overthink it. I hold no blame towards you. The heavy losses this time were beyond human control, but for a small tribe like Silvermane, it's a significant blow," Corvinus said, looking at Kro and Captain Baggin.
"Therefore, Captain Kro and Captain Baggin, I want you to organize the remaining warriors to train intensively and restore the tribe's strength as quickly as possible," Corvinus said with a smile.
"Yes, sir!"
Upon hearing this, Captain Kro quickly nodded in acknowledgment.
Captain Baggin, who had been seated, was somewhat puzzled by Kro's deference but also slowly rose from his chair, standing to acknowledge the order.
"By the way, today I led my guard and captured over a hundred war wolves in the Blackwind Mountains, including about sixty or seventy that are rideable adult wolves. You should quickly select suitable warriors and restore the number of wolf cavalry as soon as possible," Corvinus added.
He had originally planned to use these war wolves for his own guard, but now that he was the chieftain, he couldn't do that. After all, his guard's primary responsibility was to protect him, and forming a wolf cavalry guard would be an overqualified task.
"Yes, sir!"
Both Captain Kro and Captain Baggin were taken aback; they hadn't expected the new chieftain to acquire so many war wolves.
Even Corvinus's fifth uncle, his silent second uncle, and his grandfather Barnat, standing beside Corvinus, were surprised.
Although war wolves were only mid to low-level magical beasts, encountering a wild pack of them was not easy. Only by venturing deep into the Blackwind Mountains had the opportunity arisen.
For many werewolf tribes, the majority of war wolves were obtained by purchasing pups from magical beast merchants, raising and breeding them.
It was unexpected that his grandson had managed to capture an entire wild pack of war wolves. The value of over a hundred war wolves, even to the Silvermane Tribe, would be a substantial sum in gold coins, not to mention the魔兽商人.
While others were surprised, Captains Kro and Baggin were excited. Strengthening the military might was what these generals looked forward to the most.
"Grandfather, you mentioned earlier that the tribe has many issues. What are they?" Corvinus asked.
He had not been involved in managing the tribe's affairs before, so he was not familiar with many aspects of it.
"Let your second uncle explain; he usually deals with these issues," Barnat said, looking at his second son, who was as still as a wooden carving.
He was well aware that his two sons were not in favor of their grandson's rule, but aside from tradition, his grandson Corvinus had just demonstrated the demeanor of a true ruler, albeit somewhat inexperienced, but it was enough to satisfy him.
Since that was the case, he was even less inclined to let his two sons obstruct his grandson's rule.
Upon hearing this, Corvinus looked at his second uncle.
His second uncle was named Lothar. When his father was the chieftain, almost all the tribal affairs were decided by his second and fifth uncles.
It was unavoidable, as his father, despite his high strength, was almost at the level of an ordinary person when it came to political wisdom.
Lothar glanced at his father's gaze, frowned for a few moments, but after hesitating for a few seconds, he finally rose from his seat and said to Corvinus, "All issues are minor; the most significant problem at the moment is the shortage of food."
"Food?" Corvinus nodded upon hearing this, not surprised.
Almost every household in the orc tribe faced a food crisis, which was one of the main reasons for the frequent tribal wars within the orc society.
The invasion of the human kingdom by the royal court was also for the sake of food.
"A few months ago, the plains suffered from severe drought, with hardly any rain for months, and our crops yielded less than half of what they usually would."
"Given the current situation of the tribe, our food supplies will only last for about a month and a half. If we don't find a solution, the tribe... " Lothar did not continue.
His nephew, the new chieftain, seemed to have changed since taking the position, no longer the brat who used to come to his house for food and drink.
Facing his unfathomable nephew, even if he didn't state the consequences clearly, he should understand them.
"So, how much do we have in reserve?" Corvinus asked, looking at his second uncle.
Food was indeed a critical issue; hunger was the enemy of everything. If the Silvermane Tribe faced famine, it was almost certain that the tribe would be doomed.
Not to mention whether the tribe itself could survive, other nearby tribes would not give them a chance.
"Reserves?" Lothar was taken aback.
"Money. Can we use the tribe's savings to find a grain merchant and purchase some food?" Corvinus asked.
The Silvermane Tribe had existed for decades; surely they must have some savings?
"Currently, we have a total of over sixty gold coins, which could buy a batch of grain at a critical moment, but the price of grain has skyrocketed. Even if we use all the gold coins to buy grain, it would only be a temporary solution," Lothar said.
"Only a little over sixty gold coins? Our tribe has existed for decades!" Corvinus felt as if a million curse words were flying through his mind. The tribe was incredibly poor.