After much deliberation, Ainar decided to serve Lucian.
It was a land where the means to satisfy one's desires were limited to begin with.
For someone born a man, if there was any desire worth pursuing, it was power, strength, or a name.
But power had already been taken by someone else, and strength was in a state where comparison itself was impossible.
If he wanted to leave even a name behind, there was no other way but to follow Lucian.
"If my lord will only keep his promise, I will serve you with my life."
"I promise."
Lucian accepted Ainar's oath of loyalty with satisfaction.
Though defeated, Ainar was still a man with enough caliber to become a chieftain.
He was a rare talent, valuable for his ability to gather the will of the tribespeople and minimize friction during the process of unification.
"From now on, I will entrust you with everything related to this land. If there is anything to be cautious about or any advice, report it quickly, and if complaints arise among the tribespeople, gather them and pass them on."
"Yes, my lord."
"My lord!? Why are you abandoning me and using this human instead!?"
At Lucian's words, Gunstein was aghast.
Calling it 'in charge of the snowfields' sounded nice, but in reality it meant entrusting him with the affairs of all the tribes that would be conquered from now on.
The moment another tribe was conquered, it would be granting authority even greater than that of his father, Ivar.
And yet, instead of entrusting that power to the already-present Gunstein, he was giving it to Ainar—a rolling stone that had come from elsewhere.
"It may have only been a few days, but wasn't I the one who served you first, my lord? If you entrust it to me…!"
"Are you confident you'd do better than Ainar? I heard you couldn't even properly build up a single faction."
"… "
At the bone-crushing remark, Gunstein was struck dumb.
When it comes to ruling and managing others, those with experience always do it better.
Gunstein, who had failed to form even one power base capable of standing up to his brothers, could hardly have had such experience.
Seeing the dejected Gunstein, Lucian gave a crooked smile and patted him on the back.
"Don't think of it as too unfair. Everything has its proper place."
"But…"
"Instead, when we return, I'll give you a gift. That single gift will be far better than the dragon's power your brother absorbed so clumsily."
At those words, not only Gunstein but even Ainar widened their eyes in shock.
Though it meant nothing to Lucian, it was still the power of a dragon.
Simply absorbing it granted strength incomparable to before—yet he was saying there was a gift even better than that?
"Th-there really is something like that?"
"There is, indeed. Look forward to it."
The gift Lucian mentioned was, of course, nektar.
Strictly speaking, a dragon's heart was an even greater treasure than nektar, but only when a human could actually withstand it.
For someone like Ivar and his sons, who could only siphon off power little by little, it was better to amplify their strength with nektar instead.
Boosting one's internal mana was several times easier to control than absorbing mana from an external source.
'There's that cheat-like ability called Authority, but even that can only be used for a very brief moment unless it's backed by an enormous amount of mana.'
Unless one can continuously supply vast amounts of mana like Lucian, the duration of using Authority would be no more than a fleeting moment.
To reach a higher realm, it would be better to take nektar first and then properly learn sword techniques.
Having decided what position to give Ainar, Lucian summoned his retainers to the chieftain's residence.
"Now that we've taken control of the Blue Dragon Tribe, it's time to decide our next course of action."
"A course of action? Wouldn't it be fine to just return like this?"
"That would be true if the Blue Dragon Tribe were the only one in these snowfields. But the problem is that there are still five tribes I haven't met yet."
Of the original thirty-five tribes, nine had departed, leaving twenty-four, and even most of those had vanished with the passage of time.
At present, only six tribes remained, including the Blue Dragon Tribe.
"I hear the Blue Dragon Tribe is the strongest and has the largest population. They say all the other six tribes would have to join forces just to barely stand against them."
"Yes. However, in terms of population, the difference isn't that great. The reason our tribe is strong is because the proportion of warriors is high, and the prophet's magic plays a major role."
"Right—and that's the problem. The fact that the numbers are similar. It'd be too much of a waste to just let things pass like this."
At Ainar's elaboration, Lucian brought up the real issue.
By now, Lucian had obtained not only the dragon's heart but also an artifact that controlled the cold.
With this, it had become possible to use the artifact to open a path through the snowfields, then lead an army and return.
"If I return leading the Blue Dragon Tribe, everyone will know that my words were true. As for the rest, I could simply conquer them by force. But would tribes conquered by an army really follow me the way the Blue Dragon Tribe does?"
"That would be difficult."
This time, it was Marius who answered.
As someone familiar with both the Empire and the snowfields, he could clearly foresee what such a decision would bring.
"Unlike the Empire, this place isn't accustomed to the concept of conquest. Even if they're subdued through invasion, they'll only see Your Highness as a foreign invader, and they won't offer genuine loyalty."
"But I can't afford to spend time on each one like I did with the Blue Dragon Tribe. If I leave Asagrim unattended for too long, problems will arise on that front as well."
At present, Hans was the one managing Asagrim.
Even though Lucian had given him intensive training for half a year, it was obvious that he lacked experience in governing a territory.
Just being known as one of Lucian's closest aides would keep the riffraff in check for a while, but that wouldn't last long.
As time passed, people would grow bolder, so it was necessary to finish things as quickly as possible and return.
While Lucian's group was deliberating, Ainar—who had remained silent until now—opened his mouth.
"I don't know much about what lies beyond the snowfields, but bringing the five tribes under your command won't be difficult, my lord."
"What? Why is that?"
At Lucian's question, Ainar replied with a smile.
"To them, my lord won't be just a foreigner, but practically a savior who can lead them out of this land."
The Blue Dragon Tribe boasted the greatest power among all the tribes, but that didn't mean it could act recklessly.
The other five tribes were both rivals and some of the few groups they still interacted with, as well as the only channels through which they could obtain specialty goods from the outside.
Thus, the surrounding five tribes maintained a peculiar peace: they praised the Blue Dragon Tribe as the strongest, yet received no interference from it.
'It's unstable, and I don't know when it might collapse, but at least until I die, this peace will probably hold.'
Otar, chieftain of the Black Hawk Tribe, was sufficiently satisfied with this balance in the snowfields.
There was nothing more he desired—and nothing more he could realistically hope for.
'In the end, the sons of the snowfields will be buried under the snow and vanish before long.'
Not only Otar, but anyone with a certain degree of awareness foresaw the same future.
Each year, fewer children were born, and those who fell ill never rose again.
No matter how much they avoided battle, someone's blood would be spilled due to foolishness or wounded pride.
In such circumstances, even plants and animals were becoming harder and harder to find—what future could await them other than extinction?
"If my life is destined to disappear without leaving even a trace before long, then at least until the day I die, I should live in peace."
At these words, some would condemn him as a loser, and others would look on him with contempt, calling him pathetic.
But what else could Otar possibly do?
No matter how powerful a warrior might be, before this merciless blizzard he was nothing more than a lump of meat.
Rather than resisting fate only to meet even greater despair, it was more sensible to accept it and think about how to spend what time remained.
It didn't even take a full day for Otar's way of thinking to be completely shattered.
"…What did you just say?"
Otar stared at the Blue Dragon Tribe's messenger with a look of utter disbelief.
Despite Otar's piercing glare, the messenger continued without batting an eye.
"He said you are to kneel before the new king at once and serve him. If you refuse, there will be only death, so you would do well to consider your answer carefully."
"You crazy—!"
At the messenger's confident tone, Otar clenched his fist.
It wasn't just anger; there were so many things wrong with what he'd heard that he didn't even know where to begin criticizing it.
"Has the new chieftain of the Blue Dragon Tribe lost his mind? Was claiming the title of king not enough—now he's talking about waging war?"
He knew that the title of king existed.
An absolute ruler who governed a 'nation' formed by the union of dozens of tribes—a chieftain among chieftains.
But since no chieftain had ever truly been qualified to claim that title, it was regarded as a title of legend.
And yet, not only had he openly declared himself king, he'd even sent notice of war.
"Are they all trying to die? They can't be ignorant of what will happen if war breaks out in these snowfields!"
"Those who will die are only you."
"What?"
"He comes from the lands beyond the snowfields. After the war ends, we will move to a land of salvation outside the snowfields, so even if the Black Hawk Tribe disappears, it will be of no consequence."
"—!? "
At the messenger's words, Otar froze on the spot.
Relocating the tribespeople to lands beyond the snowfields?
Leaving this land of death behind, and going to a land of salvation where everyone could survive?
"D-don't lie to me."
"It is no lie. You know that our prophet came from beyond the snowfields as well."
"Is one or two people coming and going the same as moving an entire tribe!?"
Otar had heard the story that the Blue Dragon Tribe's prophet came from beyond the snowfields.
But that was, at most, a tale of a very small number of individuals traveling under specific conditions.
If an entire tribe were to move as one, their pace would slow drastically, and it wouldn't be strange at all for them to suffer mass deaths during the migration.
"So now I see—you bastards are mocking me! Trying to rule over the five tribes with this laughable swindle…!"
"The king can stop the blizzards of the snowfields."
"…!"
"Not temporarily, but permanently. Do you still think migrating beyond the snowfields would be impossible?"
Despite the messenger's sly tone, Otar couldn't bring himself to lash out.
If those words were true, then the Black Hawk Tribe would also have a chance to reach the land of salvation.
No matter how much he had resigned himself to the fate of extinction, it wasn't as though Otar welcomed such a destiny.
He had merely lived on in resignation because there had been no other way.
And now, someone from foreign lands claimed to possess an authority that could save an entire tribe.
"…I can't trust your tongue alone. I'll have to see with my own eyes whether that man truly has such power."
"If the king proves his authority, will you then kneel before him and swear fealty?"
"I swear it. If he truly possesses authority of that magnitude, then Otar, chieftain of the Black Hawk Tribe, will be the first to kneel before him."
Otar answered without the slightest hesitation.
The authority to stop the blizzards and one's personal prowess as a warrior were separate matters—but was that really what mattered right now?
If it meant saving the Black Hawk Tribe, he could kneel before even a feeble creature without hesitation.
Seemingly satisfied with Otar's words, the messenger gave a broad grin and said:
"Do not ever forget the oath you've just sworn."
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