Chapter 398: 398 – Trust

The fights continued for several hours. The death rate of the hyenas was a shocking nine out of ten. The matchups were all unfair towards them, and the hyenas that were left didn't look forward to joining the Tribe anymore. They only felt panic and fear for their lives. Would they die today?

The black general felt immense pain as he saw one of his siblings die after the other. He remembered all their faces and names, and he wouldn't forget them. This massacre increased his hatred towards the River Tribe until it reached its peak. Joining this Tribe was not a dream but a nightmare.

After another hour, the results were clear. Only five hyenas managed to survive, and the black general was one of them. Shira knew that the black general must be very powerful. After all, he was the leader of the whole army.

Because of that, she had sent the weakest beast against him. There was a high chance that the black general would win his fight, and she didn't want to risk losing a powerful new recruit. In comparison to all other fights, the black general had it incredibly easy.

Instead of being relieved, the black general only grew even angrier. All his siblings had suffered while he had been given a pass. This frustrated him to no end.

Like this, the River Tribe had gained 25 hyenas for the Land Camp and 70 beasts for the Sea Camp. Now, the power of the Sea Camp eclipsed the power of the Land Camp. This put Silva under a lot of pressure.

Another thing that put him under even more pressure was the fact that Shira had also fought one hyena personally. Because of this, she had gotten another powerful corpse. There was no doubt in Silva's mind that Shira would soon become a Lord. He had to become stronger, fast! He couldn't let Shira annihilate his tribesmen!

After the fight was finished, the upper echelon of the Tribe met for a meeting inside Gravis' cave. Most of them also saw Gravis' new body for the first time, and what they saw surprised them to no end.

Gravis felt incredibly weak! They knew that he was a Lord now, but somehow, his body felt very fragile compared to other Lords. They had no idea what was up with him, but they wouldn't dare underestimate him. Even if his body felt weak, they wouldn't entertain the thought of challenging him.

Orthar was the only one that knew why Gravis felt so weak to everyone. The others didn't know, but Gravis currently had an ability active that he called the Lightning Fork. If he wanted, he could stop this ability at any time and return to his peak. At that point, he would feel many times more powerful than now.

Yet, something quite funny had also happened. Morn couldn't fit through the hole inside the Spire. This meant that he had to take part in the discussion from outside, which made everyone feel a bit awkward.

After a lot of planning, the next steps were decided. It was decided that the Land Camp would invade the Hyena's territory, and the one fighting the Matriarch would be Orthar. The fact that the Matriarch had been able to keep the princess under her control demonstrated her power.

The reason why it was Orthar and not Morn fighting was because Morn had already conceded the fact that Orthar was more powerful. Orthar's small size and his ability to dig into an enemy's body was very powerful.

After that, Silva talked to the black general about the invasion and proposed a plan. As a show of trust, he told the black general everything about their plans. He also very emotionally showed his outrage at what Shira had done. They would be companions from now on, and they needed to be united to stand a chance against her.

After that, the black general agreed to the plan. He would return with about ten hyenas and tell the Matriarch that the snake of the River Tribe had already reached the level of a Lord. Similar to the made-up fight against the Sand Lord, the princess had killed the snake but died to her venom.

Yet, in order to make the lie more believable, they also said that there was another Lord inside the Tribe. It was a powerful octopus that had been fighting the snake for supremacy over the territory. This lowered the chance of the Matriarch attacking them, but it was more believable that way.

Then, the black general led ten of his tribesmen away towards the Hyena Tribe. Of course, while the war had been going on, there had been some hyenas watching from a distance. Yet, Shira had already silently dealt with them. On top of that, she wouldn't have been able to lie with that. After all, this was a war. If she let one hyena run intentionally, Orthar would deal with Shira.

Like this, the black general entered the hyena's territory again and quickly led his tribesmen to the Matriarch. As soon as they arrived, the Matriarch smiled warmly at them. "I presume something went wrong with the invasion?" she asked.

The black general lowered his head to show submissiveness. "Yes. The enemy is far stronger than we have thought."

"Hmm," the Matriarch hummed, "tell me."

"Yes, Matriarch," the black general said. Then, he lifted his head and looked at the Matriarch. "The enemy has captured us and forced us into unfair duels. Nearly all of our tribesmen have been killed in the duels, and I had to watch them die."

The hyenas behind the black general shivered. This was not according to the script! What was he doing!? Yet, they didn't dare to show any reaction.

"There are 15 other tribesmen that have survived, and they have joined the so-called River Tribe. The Tribe is an abomination that mixes land beasts with sea beasts," he reported.

The Matriarch grew interested. "This is contradictory to our previous information," she said. Then, she looked at one of her guards. "Deal with the reporting beast from yesterday and store its corpse."

The guard bowed and left quickly. Then, the Matriarch turned back to the black general. "And why are you here and not there?" she asked.

"Because I have been sent to tell you a lie. I was supposed to tell you that the princess has killed one of the two enemy Lords but died in the battle. This would, in their opinion, entice you to attack again. Their so-called Land Camp would then ambush our forces."

"I'm glad that you didn't forget your loyalties," the Matriarch said with a smile. "What is the true power of our enemy?"

The black general took a deep breath. "At least three Lords. They also have an undisputed leader, which means that he is much stronger than the other two. Yet, I trust in your power with all my heart and soul!" the black general said powerfully.

"By killing the ambushing Lord, you will surely be able to become a level two Lord. By then, the days of the River Tribe will be over! Just give the order, and I will give my life for the Tribe!"

The Matriarch hummed a bit. Then, she looked at the bowing hyenas behind the black general. "And what of them? Do they know about this plan?" she asked.

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The black general shivered a bit. "Yes, but I have told them that we would return to our true home and that we won't be used by this River Tribe. They have all agreed to my plan. All of these powerful brothers and sisters have proven themselves in battle and are ready to die for the Tribe!"

The Matriarch looked at the black general and sighed. "What a disappointment,"

"What do you me-"

SSSSSHHHHHH!

A powerful blizzard appeared that froze the black general and the ten hyenas behind him.

They were dead before even a second passed.

"You have lied to me," the Matriarch said to the ice-statue of the black general. "You might be able to hide your lie, but I could feel the shock of the others when you told me the truth. If you are all ready to die for the Tribe, then you shall. Your loyalties lie with your siblings, not with me. That has disappointed me greatly, general."

Then, the Matriarch laid down. "Let them attack," she muttered. "We have the terrain advantage. As long as a Lord doesn't get involved, our Tribe will prevail. And if we don't, then this Tribe has no reason to exist anymore," she said lazily. "I can create a new one whenever I want."

The surrounding hyenas were not shocked in the slightest. They had accompanied the Matriarch for a long time, and they knew her very well. Yet, they were still nervous and fearful of the upcoming battle. This wouldn't be easy, and the Matriarch had shown that she wouldn't get involved as long as no Lord from the enemy fought.

"You may all leave," the Matriarch said. "Plan the defenses for the Tribe."

All hyenas bowed and left, leaving the Matriarch alone. Then, she looked at the horizon. "Volra, you were my third child that reached the Lord Rank. Yet, you have also died now. Are none of my children destined to become powerful?" she asked herself.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the mountains, the Land Camp, and surprisingly Shira, were waiting there. Soon, the enemy would attack. The whole Land Camp, except for the hyenas, were ready to battle the Hyena Tribe. Silva didn't want to force the hyenas to battle their siblings.

After about an hour, the Land Camp was on high alert. The enemy should strike soon. Yet, Silva paid more attention to something else. Shira had been smirking all the time while she had been here. This was irking him to no end. He absolutely despised her smirk.

"What are you smirking about?" Silva asked aggressively. He couldn't take watching her anymore.

Shira only snickered a bit. "I'm just here to see your face," she said.

Silva narrowed his eyes. "Why?" he asked.

"Because you're a trusting fool. Do you honestly believe that this so-called black general will go through with the plan?" she asked with a smirk.

"Why not? He has accepted the terms willingly, and I have shown him my trust and companionship. He has no reason to betray us," Silva said.

Shira laughed. "That's what I meant. You are so trusting. Have you not seen the hatred in his eyes? That was not hatred towards me but towards the River Tribe. He hates the River Tribe, and he will take the first chance to tell his leader about our plan."

Silva thought about this and grimaced. He had forgotten that, to him, the River Tribe consisted of the Land and Sea Camp. Yet, that concept hadn't taken root inside the black general's mind. Now that Shira explained it, he realized that there was a genuine possibility of betrayal.

"It doesn't matter," Silva said. "Even if he has betrayed us, I will count it as repayment for his unfair treatment. When we win, I will show him mercy and give him another chance."

Shira laughed louder. "Do you honestly believe that they are still alive?" she asked with a smirk.

Silva narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"

"The black general is loyal to his Tribe, not his leader. As soon as I saw his reaction towards his tribesmen's death, I was sure of that."

Shira laughed a bit more. "There are only two possibilities. Either he has told his tribesmen of his plan, or he didn't. If he did, they are likely still alive, but if he didn't, they are all already dead."

Silva grew incredibly angry again. "And what makes you so sure that they are dead?"

Shira laughed some more. "Because no straggler has returned. Not every hyena wants to return to the Hyena Tribe. With the black general's mindset, he wouldn't kill them. Like this, some of them would have already returned. Yet, I see no fleeing hyena."

Shira looked with a cold smirk at Silva. "That's why I have been smiling all this time. Not only have you only received 25 new tribesmen, but you have also doomed eleven of them, including your most powerful weapon, to death. Your naïve trust has cost you more of your power."

Silva's body shook in anger. He didn't want to believe it. He wanted to trust in the black general.

Yet, deep in his mind…

He started believing Shira's words.

Had he committed a mistake?

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