My Kingdom Building Done Right!

While the Britannian Army still waited for the return of Marco and Dominic, Leone had already arrived at their temporary camp, located thirty miles away from Stoneguard Fortress.

After establishing Eden as his second territory, the buildings built outside of his domain could now last up to a week.

This allowed Leone to build a fortress big enough to comfortably accommodate five hundred people.

As for the monsters that served as their mounts, Leone built a bestiary for them, allowing them to take shelter from the elements and rest whenever they wished.

They could even wander and hunt as they pleased, giving them a bit of freedom during this troubled time.

Speaking of trouble, Leone currently faced an issue regarding the Gryphons that had reluctantly surrendered to them.

Every single one refused to let the barbarians and the Orcs from riding them.

Astravor and Logan intimidated them, but even that didn’t work. They kept their ground, remaining loyal to the partners they had been forcefully separated from.

"We refuse to let any of you ride us!" The Royal Gryphon, Zephira, made her stand.

The other Gryphons also screeched in defiance, showing not even the slightest hint of fear in their eyes.

"We would rather die than let ourselves be mounted by you!"

"That’s right!"

"We are Gryphons! We are not beasts meant to be broken and tamed!"

"If you try to force us, we will kill ourselves!"

That last statement made Leone scratch his head.

Astravor didn’t speak. He had returned to his other form, which looked like a majestic golden Gryphon brimming with power and strength.

He wanted Leone to handle this matter on his own, understanding his kin’s nature.

Gryphons were proud. Gryphons were very loyal.

And since all of them had made a pact with their partners, they would honor it until death. Even if it meant death.

They might have surrendered to them, but they had only done so to save their riders.

Astravor knew it would take more than just threats and violence to subjugate these captured Gryphons.

’Daedalus, what do you think we should do to make them obey us?’ Leone asked the grimoire strapped to his waist.

’They are certainly very loyal to their riders,’ Daedalus replied. ’If we force them, they might truly commit suicide. That would be such a waste of resources and manpower. However, all hope is not lost.

’Even if they refuse to be mounts, I’m certain they would fight if Astravor commanded them. But they may not be willing to go against the Britannian Army. They know their riders will be there, so they will refuse to obey that order and risk hurting them.’

’I see.’ Leone rubbed his chin as he pondered his next move.

Zephira was glaring at him, but the young chieftain ignored her. He had faced the Monster King in the past, so a glare from a Royal Gryphon couldn’t possibly intimidate him.

Even so, after checking the status of the Gryphons, Leone came to an unexpected discovery.

Zephira was actually a Rank 5 Royal Gryphon.

The rest of the Gryphons were Rank 4 monsters.

Three hundred Rank 4 Gryphons with riders on their backs were more than enough to massacre a middle-ranked tribe.

These Gryphons were that powerful, and Leone wanted to keep them and gain their service if possible.

In the end, he made up his mind and spoke to Zephira, the leader of the group.

"I have honored our agreement and spared your riders from certain death," Leone said calmly. "I understand you have bonded with them, and so you refuse to acknowledge any riders aside from them. Am I right?"

Zephira nodded. "Yes."

The other Gryphons also nodded in agreement.

"Very well. Then I shall declare that you will not be anyone’s mounts. However, I have a condition," Leone stated. "You must obey the orders of two individuals. My order and his order."

The young chieftain pointed at Astravor, who had remained silent until now.

Zephira hesitated, but still nodded her head, albeit reluctantly.

"First, let me confirm something," Leone added. "If I order you to attack the Britannian Army, will you do it?"

"No," Zephira answered without hesitation. "We refuse that order."

"That’s right!"

"We can’t attack the Britannians!"

"They treated us very well!"

"All hail Britannia!"

The Gryphons started making noise, which made Leone sigh in his heart. Fortunately, he, Daedalus, Blitz, Arion, and Astravor were the only ones that understood what the Gryphons were talking about.

Those watching from the side could only hear the screeches of the monsters that were making their voices heard.

"Very well. I will not let you attack the Britannian Army," Leone compromised. "But everyone else is fair game, right?"

"Yes," Zephira replied firmly. "We will accept that condition."

The other Gryphons then shifted their attention to Astravor, who continued to remain silent. He was like a King who let his subjects voice out their thoughts, granting them freedom of speech.

While they felt regretful that they had to leave their riders behind, they also felt a sense of anticipation. For some reason, they instinctively felt that staying by Astravor’s side would allow them to become stronger than ever.

In fact, being in his presence alone made Zephira and the others feel as if they belonged there.

"Okay, I’ll add a simple condition," Leone said in a serious tone. "As you know, we are at war with the Kingdom of Britannia. There is a chance that your riders will continue to participate in it. That means there is a chance they would die by our hands."

He wasn’t planning to sugarcoat his words. They were at war, after all. Besides, he had no way to tell if the riders of the Gryphons were among the people who would die in the next few days.

Zephira and the others understood this as well, but that didn’t mean that they liked it.

However, what Leone and the Gryphons didn’t know was that Daedalus had already "marked" the riders of the Gryphon Battalion.

Meaning, it could detect them once they came within its scouting range.

By doing so, the grimoire could inform Leone and allow the young man to spare them if need be.

Still, it didn’t mention this for now. War was an unpredictable event. It would tell Leone once it was necessary.

"I only want you to do one thing during this war." Leone raised a finger. "When I tell you to appear, you will make an appearance. You won’t fly directly into the Britannian Army.

"You will fly at a distance. If your riders see all of you, they might break away from the formation and try to get to you. My plan is to capture them all. That way, they will not be accidentally killed during the fighting."

Zephira paused. She didn’t answer right away, feeling conflicted.

On one hand, capturing their riders would ensure their safety.

On another, letting them be captured by their enemy would weigh heavily on their hearts.

She and the other Gryphons were in a dilemma.

They were forced to choose between loyalty to their riders, or loyalty to the Kingdom of Britannia.

"If... if we agree to your condition, do you promise that our riders will not be harmed no matter what?" Zephira asked. "You also wouldn’t force them to fight against the Britannian Army, right?"

"I won’t." Leone shook his head. "You have my word."

Zephira thought long and hard and decided to discuss it with the other Gryphons. In the end, they decided to give it a try.

If it didn’t work, then they would simply return to Leone’s side.

Leone had nothing to lose and a lot to gain from this arrangement.

Magic Knights were still powerful individuals.

According to Daedalus, Zephira’s Master was a Rank 5 Gryphon Rider.

A person stronger than Leone’s vassals.

Dominic didn’t make a move last time only because the Garuda Gryphon was stronger than him.

Astravor was a Rank 6 monster with a combined twenty thousand stat points.

If Dominic had made a move on Leone at that time, the Garuda Gryphon would have crushed the Commander’s head like he was a bug.

After their discussion, Leone made the Gryphons sign a magic contract.

He wasn’t naive, and he certainly wouldn’t trust their words on goodwill alone.

The young chieftain wanted them to be bound so they couldn’t betray him no matter what.

Each Gryphon agreed to share a drop of their blood to make the contract binding.

When the process ended, Leone gave them food and asked them to rest.

He was certain that the Britannian Army would not make a move today.

But just to make sure, he and a dozen people made their way to the Stoneguard Fortress so Leone could get in touch with his father.

He wanted to get a better understanding of the current situation of the Britannian Army, allowing him to better come up with plans for what could happen when morning came.