Prime Originator

"By the way, Chief Valencia. Have you seen my friend Lumi anywhere? Hopefully, she had not caused any major trouble when I left her unattended last night." Leon asked.

He inwardly sweated when he recalled Lumi's evil alter ego or whatever it was. It would have been a disaster if something happened last night and cause her to switch personality.

"Lumi? Ah, yes, the Banshee. She did not cause any trouble. On the contrary, she was very well behaved and friendly. It is hard to believe that she is a Banshee. She is practically human if not for her spiritual body." 

Chief Valencia took a moment to recall. Afterward, she turned to the side and ordered a female servant to lead Leon to Lumi. 

Leon knew Chief Valencia was meeting someone soon to discuss important matters unrelated to him. It was only right for him to leave. 

Shortly after Leon bid goodbye and left with Darlene and the female servant, Goldeneye arrived with Razorleaf, the temporary leader of the Blackwind Tribe.

Goldeneye had arrived much earlier on his Dark Wyvern give his warning. After that, he returned to his team to lead the rest of the way for the survivors.

"Chief Valencia."

They both greeted.

"En."

Chief Valencia acknowledged their greeting with a nod. 

"Razorleaf, right? I remember you were still a brat the last we met at the Seven Tribe Summit. It is impressive how much you have achieved in this time. You have grown into a fine man."

Her gaze roamed Razorleaf's well-developed and chiseled body. 

The last summit between the seven-tribe alliance was held 15 years ago. At that time, Razorleaf was not the Great Warrior he was today, nor was Chief Valencia a Battle Master and tribal chief then.

"Such achievements are insignificant in comparison to you, Chief Valencia. I thank you for allowing my people to take refuge in your city." Razorleaf smiled wryly with a bit of helplessness.

Fifteen years ago, they were roughly equal in strength, but fifteen years later, the gap between their cultivation was as wide as the Grand Chasm.

Chief Valencia is the daughter of the Darkmoon Tribe's previous tribal chief, while he is only from a branch family that served the Blackwind Tribe's tribal chief's family for generations.

Nevertheless, he had nothing but respect for Chief Valencia.

The previous Darkmoon Chief died prematurely while exploring the ruins beyond the Death Passage with the other two tribal chiefs from Blackwind Tribe and Crimsonfog Tribe.

With the tradition of the tribal chief position belonging to the strongest warrior in the tribe, Chief Valencia's Dark family would have lost their long reign to another family if not for her efforts.

Her current position and power are worthy of envy. Many know of her glory, but how many remembered her desperation and grueling hard work to defend her Dark family's longstanding rule and honor?

"Feel free to stay for as long as you need to recuperate. It was unfortunate what happened to Blackarrow. He was a great man and a great leader. My condolences for your losses. There's no need for your people to participate in the upcoming battle." Chief Valencia spoke.

The survivors were worn out from the long journey and consisted of elderlies and children. Only a few capable warriors remained in their group.

If they participate in the upcoming battle, Chief Valencia was afraid that Blackwind Tribe will be wiped out and become history.

Personally, this did not really concern her. But if the other tribes in the alliance jump out to point fingers and ostracize the Darkmoon Tribe for it, she would be annoyed to death.

It seemed like something they would do for petty gains. 

"No, this is what I came to discuss. We want to fight alongside you." Razorleaf said with firm conviction.

"You want to avenge your chief?" Chief Valencia asked.

"No." 

"Oh? Am I wrong?"

"Well, not exactly. I won't deny that intention. We just cannot sit around and let the Darkmoon Tribe clean up our mess. If you do not mind, I want to fight together with the Darkmoon Tribe as one."

Chief Valencia raised an eyebrow. Razorleaf's words were somewhat ambiguous; it almost sounded like some unromantic proposal. However, she knew that was not what he meant.

"You mean…"

"Yes." 

Razorleaf nodded before Chief Valencia completed her question.

"Blackwind City has been laid to ruins, and the majority of our warriors have been slain in battle. Even if we survive this ordeal, the Blackwind Tribe cannot stand up again. In this case, the best choice for my people is to join another tribe. If Chief Valencia does not mind us joining, we would like to be part of the Darkmoon Tribe."

Chief Valencia almost failed to hide her excitement as her lips rose slightly when she heard this. 

To say that she was not interested in swallowing the Blackwind Tribe would be a lie, but she also knew that it was not appropriate to bring it up first. 

Since Razorleaf brought it up first, it was an entirely different matter.

"If you and your people are willing to join, then why would I be unwilling?!" Chief Valencia accepted with grandeur and laughed heartily.

Razorleaf soon paid his respects to Chief Valencia once more and swore his allegiance to the Darkmoon Tribe. 

"About our battle arrangement…"

…

As Chief Valencia and Razorleaf discuss battle arrangements for the survivors, Leon and Darlene arrived at Lumi's location under the female servant's lead.

She was found in the Chief Palace's outer courtyard. The place was crude and straightforward without any decorations, but it was to be expected. The land was infertile. It was too much to expect them to have a garden full of plants.

"Leon!"

Lumi was excited to see him and darted over to latch onto him. Due to her momentum, her body weightlessly swung a few cycles around his body before coming to a complete stop. 

She was about to share a piece of good news, but her excitement dampened when she realized that they were not alone. She immediately covered her mouth with both hands cutely before the words could escape.

She looked at Darlene cautiously before bringing her head close to Leon's ear and whispered, "I found the whereabouts of the people we are looking for… I think."

Lumi felt smug about her accomplishment, but at the same time, she was not too confident. She had never seen the faces of the missing people, but neither had Leon.

However, the people she saw had pale skin. Such complexion was so rare in the Darkmoon Tribe that she felt they were likely the people she was looking for.

"Oh? Where are they being held captive?"

"Eh? They are not being held captive."

Leon was immediately taken aback and asked, "They're not?" 

Lumi shook her head. 

"They are working as servants here in the palace," Lumi answered in a low voice only audible to Leon. 

"What?" 

Leon was surprised by this revelation. 

The situation was different from what he expected. His brows furrowed in ponder for some time before his eyes lit up with enlightenment. 

"I see, I see. So, that's how it is. Alright, I understand. That is some good news."

Leon nodded. 

He was able to infer everything.

It was a simple rule of survival. If you cannot beat them, join them. His adoptive mother and the others made the most logical choice they could make to survive and joined the Darkmoon Tribe.

Not only does the Darkmoon Tribe treat their people well, practicing the body cultivation method will eliminate the risk of the Demon Cores germinating in the short term.

With Master Woodrow's hypnotic mysticism, they would not be able to hide any secret anyway, so there was no point in being stubborn, nor did they really had a place back in the Crawford Kingdom. Settling in the Darkmoon Tribe was not a bad choice.

On the other hand, it was not necessarily bad for the Darkmoon Tribe to learn more about the Human Domain either. 

It will be easier to negotiate trades and alliances once they gain a better understanding of the Crawford Kingdom. 

But before that, he still needed to improve his strength.

Lumi was confused when Leon said he understood. What exactly did he know? Why can't she seem to follow what he was saying? 

If she knew how much Leon had inferred, she would have been amazed.

At the side, Darlene had an even more bewildered look. She was sensible enough not to eavesdrop on the conversation and distanced herself for them to talk comfortably. Even so, she did not see Leon's lips moved once. Were they even talking?

Throughout the entire exchange between them, Leon did not utter a single word. Everything had been mentally transmitted to Lumi through a skill of his.

When Leon saw how sensibly Darlene behaved despite her curiosity, he could not help but reach out and rub her head. 

"Hehe." 

Darlene enjoyed Leon's intimate head rub with content. Although she moved away mainly due to her old habits as a lowly servant, she thought it was worth it.

"Who is this?" 

Lumi studied Darlene seriously. The intimate contact between Leon and Darlene naturally did not escape her notice. 

After Leon did a short round of introductions, he told Darlene to stay back in the palace before preparing to head out with Lumi.

No matter how unwilling Darlene was feeling in her heart, she could only comply with Leon's wish and watch them leave.

"What shall we do about the missing people working in the palace?" Lumi asked.

Leon briefly paused and answered, "If what you said is true, then they should be doing fine for now.. The upcoming battle is our bigger concern."