Chapter 404

Chapter 404: Blood Oath

"Can we go now?" Midi asked as he joined the team.

He ignored Zaride’s sharp hostile gaze and the varied looks from others. After nodding at Zaknavan and Mason, he turned to Galantis.

Formally, he remained her slave warrior.

With tensions rising and having openly opposed Zaride, Midi saw no issue using Galantis as a shield.

While refusing to take sides, he wouldn’t passively endure attacks either.

Stirring chaos while redirecting hostility was second nature to someone of his noble upbringing.

Midi’s proactive question pleased the prideful Galantis.

It signaled he acknowledged her leadership over Zaride.

_At least you’ve got some decency!_

Galantis shot him a coy glance before snapping, "Where’s your head at? Our tribe’s Great Warrior hasn’t arrived yet!"

"Alexis?" Midi understood immediately.

Alexis, Wolfspider’s first warrior, stood at peak Level 62 despite his youth. Bearing the "Great Warrior" title, he was the sole chieftain candidate.

Though black dragon priestesses traditionally led territory challenges – requiring blood oaths sworn before the Black Dragon – true authority lay with the Great Warrior. Only he could decide the challenge’s outcome.

Midi wondered which faction Alexis favored – capricious Galantis or scheming Zaride?

The team waited at the central square, receiving elders’ blessings and tribesfolk’s cheers. Suddenly, a crimson subterranean lizard tore through the settlement. Its rider maneuvered the massive beast with unnatural agility, reaching the group instantly.

The slender dark elf wore a magic cloak of sub-dragon scales, silver curved blade hilts glinting at his waist. His impassive gaze swept over the team, lingering neither on Galantis nor Zaride. Yet when spotting Midi, his eyes narrowed.

"A human…" Alexis’s neutral expression flickered with interest.

The Shaded Realm worshipped absolute power, and Alexis embodied this ideal. Where Midi’s defeat of the half-giant caused shock, Alexis’s arrival sparked fanatical reverence.

"Alexis!"

"Our Warrior!"

"Crush Blue Serpent!"

The crowd roared. The Great Warrior acknowledged them with a half-hearted wave, face betraying no emotion.

This manner was as if he had already become the Tribe Chieftain.

Yet the nearby elders showed no sign of disapproval, acting as though this were entirely proper.

"Move out." The unofficial leader issued a curt order.

"Move out!" Galantis and Zaride echoed simultaneously, exchanging fierce glares before spurring their lizards forward.

Alexis appeared utterly indifferent to the obvious friction, sitting motionless with his gaze fixed ahead.

A three-way chaotic melee? This situation grows increasingly tangled.

Midi rubbed his temples briefly.

His immediate concern wasn’t the tension between the Great Warrior and Black Dragon Priestesses, but rather mastering his reptilian mount. Though counted among Arad’s finest Knights, he’d never ridden an underground lizard in either lifetime.

Eighth Apostle Rot naturally offered no guidance regarding such "petty matters" – the octopoid being had never ridden any creature in its existence. Fortunately, Zaknavan proved more helpful.

Thus the Wolfspider tribe’s challenge team departed amidst simmering tensions. Their subterranean lizards outpaced Midi’s previous explorations with Zaknavan considerably. Magical beasts fell swiftly to the group’s attacks, leaving Glow River’s shimmering banks visible within hours.

Beyond this point lay unclaimed territory. Midi and Zaknavan naturally took point. The team crossed the luminous waters smoothly, reaching Dark Mushroom Forest’s fungal groves.

Exploration proved impossible – Blue Serpent Tribe warriors already occupied the high ground. Though both sides had agreed to this territory challenge through magical communications, actual face-to-face meetings required caution.

By Shaded Realm tradition, such challenges must occur on disputed land to prevent home advantage. The blood oath’s mystical binding – sworn before the Black Dragon – would enforce fairness and compliance. But before that oath…

History held many examples of pre-oath ambushes where stronger troops eliminated challengers, sparking outright wars. This pre-oath period held greatest peril.

Alexis’s expression hardened imperceptibly as they approached. His spread-fingered gesture sent six Wolfspider champions fanning out in reconnaissance patterns. Uninstructed slave warriors Zaknavan and Mason hesitated, but Commander Midi needed no prompting – he urged his mount alongside Alexis while signaling the others to form protective ranks around the Priestesses, maintaining options for central breakthrough.

The efficient maneuver drew faint approval from the stoic Great Warrior. Moving swiftly, they soon escorted the Black Dragon Priestesses to the central high ground.

"Surprised the Wolfspiders dare challenge us," sneered Monks, Blue Serpent’s Level 63 Great Warrior and cousin to Midi’s acquaintance Cuide. "Ready to lose your last curved blade?"

Alexis’s Level 62 peak status drew no concern – post-Level 60, single-level gaps meant much. Yet the Wolfspider champion remained impassive. "Cease prattling. Begin the blood oath."

"Honorable victory will end your claims here," Monks retorted.

Galantis countered, "Honor? You fear Black Dragon Conference disqualification! We know your tribe’s tricks!"

Alexis cut through the bickering: "Both of you – forward." Though he’d ignored their squabbles, the Great Warrior clearly understood the Priestesses’ rivalry. Zaride and Galantis advanced reluctantly to face Blue Serpent’s mentor-student priestess pair.

Finger-blood magic arrays took shape as dual chants rose. Dark Magic coalesced overhead, forming a massive Black Dragon Head that roared with Dragon’s might when both sides shouted: "By the Black Dragon’s name!"