Chapter 74: Preparations For The Boundary Fall

Chapter 74: Chapter 74: Preparations For The Boundary Fall

Kiki stepped forward and grabbed Victor’s arm, the one still holding the axe, and raised it high.

"BEHOLD, BARBARIANS OF THE SOUTHERN BLOODLINE TRIBE." Her voice was clear and sharp across the gathering. "YOUR NEW CHIEF. CHIEF MILKSHAKE22, SON OF LATE KING ZAZA."

The crowd erupted, war cries tearing out of every throat, fists pounding chests, the whole tribe rallying behind the sound.

Victor smiled, but it was not at them.

[Duel Victory — Chief’s Succession Confirmed]

[+8 XP]

[New Title Unlocked: Chief of the Southern Bloodline Barbarian Tribe]

[New Skill Unlocked: War Cry of the Chief]

....

Two days later, Victor swung his axe toward Kiki.

She blocked it without effort, twisted, and jabbed him hard in the chest. Instantly, he hit the dirt.

She stood over him, unimpressed. "You’re fighting worse now than you did against your own brother. Did winning drain all your motivation, or do I need to come for your actual head before you remember how to fight properly?"

Victor coughed, saying nothing.

He couldn’t exactly explain it to her. Heartbound Mimicry had required emotional resonance of a target to work, and the moment the duel ended, so had that sync.

Everything he’d borrowed from her, the reflex, and every technique, had evaporated the second the fight was over, leaving him back where he’d started.

Of course, this was minus whatever he’d genuinely absorbed through twelve days of actual training. Which, it turned out, wasn’t nearly as much as the fight had made it look.

That was exactly why he kept insisting on more sparring. He needed the real thing this time, and not borrowed muscle memory.

Unless of course, he could get a Permanence Skill.

Once paired with his Heartbound Mimicry Unique Skill, he would no longer have to worry about losing anything he learnt.

But till then, he had a lot of training to catch up on.

No one knew how bad what was coming more than him. And now, he was chief. The lives of the remaining tribe was in his hands.

"Let’s take a break," Kiki finally said, sheathing her sword.

Victor agreed, rolling onto his back.

Coco came jogging over from the shade with a water skin, offering it to him with both hands. He drank deep, "thank you," and handed it back.

She looked up at him, a shy flush crossing her face, then bowed quickly and hurried off.

Victor watched her go, confused.

Kiki saw this. Her expression darkened.

She walked over, and kicked him in the side. "If you’ve got time to flirt, you’ve got time to actually do your job as chief."

"I wasn’t—" Victor blinked up at her, genuinely baffled.

She didn’t wait for the rest, snatching the water skin out of his hand as she stormed off, clearly annoyed about something he couldn’t quite identify.

A short distance away, Jaja, resting against a tree watched the whole exchange and let out a low chuckle, shaking his head before looking away.

Victor sat there, utterly lost. Something was going on that he clearly wasn’t aware of.

Still, Kiki had a point. He had actual responsibilities now.

He stood up and made his way into the village, past a site where two of his Dire Lions were helping barbarians haul massive stacks of food up from the underground stores.

On the other side, some Dire lions returned with some barbarians carrying huge heavy barrels.

Lego oversaw this operation, ordering yhe others on where to drop it.

Victor approached him. "Did we get as much oil as I asked for?"

"Yes, Chief. We cleared the oil-trees exactly where you pointed, near the sacred shrine. I was really surprised that they was a shrine of our ancestors there. We’ve lived here our whole lives and no one knew it was there." He stared at Victor with reverence.

In his eyes, Victor just kept on proving that he was really sent from the ancestors.

Victor nodded. He too had found that place by accident when exploring and farming for XP in the game before the fall of the Boundary.

After nearly getting his leg chopped off by the old barbarian trap over there, and falling into the oil when he wanted to run away. Victor had realized that this oil was of far more use than just catching stray beast for food.

Elsewhere, more tribesmen worked huge timbers into sharpened stakes, rows of them already stacked and ready.

They worked fast at doing the task Victor gave them. After all, they still had the pits to dig.

Lego looked around then he hesitated before asking, "Chief... is all this truly necessary? Is this also by the ancestors’ words?"

"More than necessary," Victor replied, eyes drifting toward the distant shimmer of the Boundary. "I’ll explain everything tonight."

Lego nodded and returned to his work.

....

That night, the campfire roared at the village center, tribesmen dancing and laughing around it, voices loud with whatever joy they could still find after everything they’d lost.

"The Chief approaches!" Someone called.

Everyone rose at once, war cries rolling up from every throat as Victor walked forward into the firelight.

His bold form was dressed in the chief’s ceremonial garb, animal hide draped over most of his frame, modest rather than ornate. The Dire Lion’s mane still sat heavy over one shoulder, lending him a presence that silenced the crowd almost instantly. Kiki followed a step behind him.

He stopped before them all. He raised a hand, instantly silencing the crowd.

Then his gaze drifted amongst them.

Who would have thought that one day I’ll become a leader of men?

A memory of his mother flashed in his mind. Ben though these were barbarians, she would have still been proud to know that her son had come this far.

From a round useless coward to a chief that could silence warriors with a hand raised.

But Victor was no fool. Letting power get to his head would not help him or them.

The adversities to come were very many, and very brutal.

These lives were now in his hands. He would do whatever it took to preserve them.

His fist tightened at his side.

"I’ve gathered you tonight because I have something important to share," Victor said. "Something the ancestors showed me, the very first day I faced geh Basalt Dragonic Lizard in the Arena. Something you won’t want to believe."

This was technically not a lie, but if using the ancestors’ name helped get things rolling more effectively, then so be it.

Was this not what being a politician was all about?

Silence settled over the gathering.

Victor stepped forward. "Believe it or not. The Boundary is going to fall."

Murmurs broke out instantly, confused voices overlapping, barbarians turning to each other in disbelief.

His eyes swept the crowd again. He could see their tight attention on him.

Popo on the other hand, sat at the edge, gaze briefly meeting Victor’s before dropping away.

Maybe I should talk to him later. Victor thought to himself.

Foto sat apart from everyone, legs folded tight, eyes locked on Victor like she wanted to carve into him with a blade.

They are not sitting close to each other. Did they break up?

The moment Victor glanced her way, she looked down fast, clearly wary of his new position even through the open hostility simmering underneath.

Yeah, I don’t like you too. So please just stay out of my way.

Jaja rose from his seat. "What do you mean, the Boundary will fall? It’s stood since before our fathers, and before their fathers."

"I know," Victor said. "It has stood for hundreds of years. And this piece of land was specifically carved out for the Southern Bloodline. But I’m telling you now, in a matter of days, that protection will end." He let the words settle.

"If we don’t prepare, we will all die before Winter."

(Author’s note: The kind of kingdom building I have planned out will entertain you guys. So buckle up and get ready. Also let’s activate our privilege to get early Chapters.)