Mako, after hearing the report, instructed the soldiers, "Everyone, execute the plan! Prepare for battle, all of you!"
Then, he turned to the warrior who had introduced himself as Mans and said, "You! Watch! Me defeat! The chieftain! Henk!"
Mans wanted to retort, but a thug pulled him away. In the following time, Mako and his people began preparing to deal with Henk, the chieftain of the Kraal Clan in Abyss Fortress!
Although the thugs had routed the tribal warriors in the recent battle, thanks to the boost from Mako's Offensive Technique skill...
...Mako knew it was just the effect of his temporary luck and strategy. So, he re-planned everything.
After all, he now had to deal with the Kraal Clan's elite. This time, Mako's plan was also full of uncertainties; he was practically taking a gamble!
If he won, everything would be fine! If he lost, he would likely be the only one escaping back to Griffin Fortress, tail between his legs.
Let's split the focus!
At this moment, Henk, the chieftain of the Kraal Clan, was leading his people back towards their tribe. They had attacked several small tribes around Driftwood Fortress, capturing a large number of prisoners.
Some of the Rock-born Tribes on Skagos Island still practiced the custom of sacrificing living people to the Weirwood. The Kraal Clan of Abyss Fortress had always maintained this tradition as well.
They believed that after the blood sacrifice, the souls of the humans would remain in their flesh. Then, they could perform the Holy Communion under the "God Tree," thereby gaining the power and wisdom of the sacrificial victims.
Once, in the northwest of Skagos Island, there was a small island called Skane Island. The residents of that island had migrated from The North a long time ago. During the rebellion on Skagos Island, the Kraal Clan of Abyss Fortress attacked the island, looting and killing all the residents.
Although they were also descendants of the First Men, the other residents of The North despised the people of Skagos Island, believing they were no different from wildlings. They scornfully called them the "Skagosi."
While Henk was still pondering how to deal with these captives, he heard a low growl from the Dire Wolves beside him, and the cry of Swift Hawks echoed in the sky above.
These occurrences snapped Henk out of his thoughts. He knew something had happened in the tribe; these were warnings from his animal companions!
So he urgently ordered the surrounding warriors to come over, telling everyone to speed up towards the tribe.
At this moment, the warriors at the front of the troops also ran over to report, because they had found that all the clansmen on guard around the tribe had disappeared.
And at this moment, more than 30 clansmen ran out from deep within the forest, crying and telling Henk about the tribe's plight.
Hearing the news that the unicorn had changed hands and the tribe had been occupied, Henk was both shocked and furious. On Skagos Island, it was always Abyss Fortress that bullied others.
In Henk's impression, the tribe had never encountered this situation before, not even the King's Hall dared to confront them head-on!
He immediately roared! He ordered the clansmen to speed up their return to the tribe. With his order, more than 20 Snow Bear knights from the clan took the lead and rushed out with a roar.
The "Skinchangers" of Abyss Fortress had always been feeding these animal companions with meat. After several generations of cultivation, these animals and the warriors of Abyss Fortress cooperated extremely well, especially the Snow Bears, whose combat effectiveness was extremely strong!
At this time, Mako was sitting on the tribe chief's throne. He had received a total of two prompts after capturing the tribe's pursuers and attacking the tribe.
Mako figured these two messages were probably battle summaries. In the game, every fight, big or small, generated experience points. He just didn't know how much experience he'd gained from these two battles!
So, he opened his information panel!
"You have achieved a glorious victory, defeating all your enemies! Gained 220 experience points!"
"Enemy casualties: 50!"
"Rebel casualties: 3!"
"You... ! Gained 440 experience points!"
"Enemy casualties: 100!"
"Rebel casualties: 7! Archer casualties: 1!"
With the experience bar showing he was only a little over 300 points away from leveling up, Mako was already considering how he would upgrade his skills.
A series of beastly roars snapped Mako out of his thoughts. He shouted to those around him, "Prepare!"
Leading the charge were over ten Snow Bears and three Dire Wolves. Just as the knights were about to attack, "Boom!"
Rows of wooden frames were pulled up by the rioters, six in total, lined up within a ten-meter radius of the entrance.
The frames were made of rows of logs, sharpened at the front, with wooden stakes hammered into the ground behind them to act as supports.
Caught off guard, the Snow Bear knights slammed hard into the wooden frames, throwing the tribal warriors at the entrance into chaos.
The three Dire Wolves, however, were seeking openings, charging towards Mako in the main hall. Only a single path remained open from the entrance to the throne room, as the frames had blocked off the surroundings.
The three Dire Wolves were pinned to the ground by the archer captain, Lauren Hawk-eye. Lauren's archery skills were formidable; all three Dire Wolves were killed with a single shot.
The tribal warriors who followed, entering the hall and seeing the carnage at the entrance, recoiled in shock.
For the next while, the tribal warriors were extremely cautious. Henk, surrounded by his people, approached Mako, stopping about ten meters away.
The tribal warriors raised their bows, aiming at Mako, but they didn't dare to shoot. The reason was the Unicorn standing beside him.
Although the Unicorn looked taller and more beautiful than before, the many years they had spent together allowed many of the tribal warriors to recognize it at a glance.
Henk spoke to Mako in Westerosi:
"Where are you from? Why have you come to Abyss Fortress? What method did you use to make the Unicorn obey you? Speak! Did you poison it?"
While speaking, his hand made a gesture behind his back. Two archers in the crowd quietly took iron arrows from their quivers.
Mako looked at him, amused. He'd also keenly sensed the two people targeting him. His hand went to his sword hilt as he smiled and said, "I'm using this!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, Mako drew his Knight's Broadsword and pointed it forward. A flash of energy erupted!
Instantly, a row of stone spikes, each about thirty centimeters high, sprang up behind Henk. The feet of over twenty warriors were pierced and mangled by the sudden attack. They all fell to the ground, clutching their bloodied feet and groaning in pain, which startled the nearby clansmen.
Henk felt the disturbance behind him. He turned around, his voice laced with panic as he shouted in the Old Tongue, "Calm! What's happening?"
But the surrounding clansmen were just as bewildered. Only a few injured warriors, gritting their teeth against the pain, explained that their feet had been impaled by stones that had grown out of the ground.
Then, Mako's voice cut through the air, laced with arrogance.
"Didn't see clearly, eh? Well, I'll make sure you see clearly now!"
With that, he pointed his longsword at Henk and used his remaining mana to cast the Dark Magic spell, the "Weakness Curse."
A strange, black and purple light flashed, and Henk saw his clansmen staring at him with terrified expressions.
He felt a wave of aches throughout his body, unable to use his full strength, as if he were cursed. He looked at Mako with a frightened expression and asked:
"Who are you? What… what did you do to me?"
Mako ignored him and turned to a warrior being held by the thugs, speaking in the ancient tongue:
"You! Did you see? This is! My power! Do you want! To try it?"
Mans swallowed hard, glancing fearfully at Mako, then at his chieftain, Henk, who was trembling in the distance.
When he looked at the unicorn, he saw that it was radiating a brilliant golden light. Mako, in the meantime, had taken his place on the throne.
Then, with the rioters' assistance, all the lighting braziers in the tribal hall were lit, and the entire hall was instantly filled with flames. He shouted at the crowd in the ancient tongue:
"I am! The Dragon King's Descendant! The Lord of Griffin Fortress! Will you submit! Or! Choose destruction!"
After finishing this dramatic speech, Mako pointed his greatsword at everyone present.
At the same time, he was thinking, Should I also find a sidekick to shout slogans for me like Daenerys, so "showing off" would be even more exciting!
And so it began with Mans, then with the chieftain, Henk, and finally, everyone from the Kraal Clan of Abyss Fortress knelt on the ground, chanting "God's Child".
Seeing everyone kneel and submit, the huge weight on Mako's heart finally lifted. He had been gambling this time, betting that his magic and the unicorn could make Abyss Fortress submit.
At the same time, he had put flammable firewood and thatch throughout the hall. Mako had planned from the beginning that if his magic and the unicorn couldn't intimidate these Rock-born, he would order the rioters to set fires to create chaos. Then, he would take the opportunity to escape with his troops.
Fortunately, the plan still succeeded. With this, the first step of his entire conquest plan was basically complete. With the cooperation of the Abyss Fortress tribe warriors, coupled with his skill enhancements, Mako believed that Skagos Island would soon be flying his sacred solar banner!
Three days later, packing up all the items in the tribe, Chieftain Henk brought four of his warriors to the hall to meet Mako. At this time, Mako was surrounded by four "maidens" from the Kraal Clan, all fawning over him!
These four maidens looked "strong and imposing." They were said to be the "most beautiful" four girls in the entire tribe, although Mako had declined several times.
But this Henk seemed to be "retaliating" for Mako making a fool of himself in front of the tribe, and insisted on having these four girls come over to "serve" Mako, making Mako's life "miserable" these past three days!
He couldn't even find time to collect experience and rewards. Seeing Henk and his men enter, the four female bodyguards put away the fruit platters and drinks and retreated behind the throne.