Chapter 106: Chapter 105: Brawny as a Bear, and You Say You’re a Mage?

Just then, Sam walked over with a confused look on his face.

He had been in his room meditating to restore his Magic Power when he first heard the sound of a horn, followed by the Lord of High Cliff Castle’s order to assemble. He had rushed over immediately.

’Wasn’t there a call to assemble? Why isn’t there a single Warrior around?’

"You have the gall to ask what happened?" The Lord glared at Sam, bewildered.

"I heard the call to assemble, so I rushed over." 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Sam sensed that the atmosphere was a bit off. He hunched his neck and spoke cautiously.

Levi raised his hand and slapped the Shaman on the back of the neck, knocking him to the ground. "You son of a bitch, you still dare to show your face? This Lord shouted for ages, and you only show up after it’s all over!"

Sam kept his mouth shut. He had only come over after he noticed things had quieted down.

Zat, who was standing to the side, couldn’t help but let the corner of his mouth curl up. Sam had successfully taken the blame for them.

Unfortunately, this subtle movement didn’t escape the Lord’s sharp eyes at all. He leaped up and delivered a flying kick to Zat’s lower back, sending him sprawling face-first into the dirt.

"And you have the nerve to laugh? Look at the Warriors in your legion! They can’t even tell friend from foe! What kind of Legion Commander are you? Believe it or not, this Lord will strip you of your rank and make you a grunt!"

Zat wasn’t laughing anymore. He spat out the mouthful of grass and glared fiercely at the Beastman Warrior responsible.

Meanwhile, Sam took advantage of the Lord’s lecture to Zat and fled without a second glance. He had just wanted to show up at the end to punch the clock, but he never expected to be the one getting punched.

"Levi, what on earth happened?" Miriel and Baisitina also ran out from the Lord’s hall.

"It’s nothing. Just a false alarm. Muto and the others are back, and they were mistaken for an enemy raid."

Levi waved his hand in frustration, annoyed that an outsider like Miriel had witnessed such a farce.

"All of you, get the hell out of here! The one who spread the false report, go and receive your punishment according to military law! And Zat, you son of a bitch, you’re writing me a five-hundred-word self-criticism essay. If this Lord doesn’t see it by tonight, you’re in for a world of hurt!" Levi said with a cold smile.

Speaking of this blunder, it was also that old codger Beim’s fault. The moment he arrived, he started shouting that someone was about to attack High Cliff Castle, instantly putting the Warriors on edge and making them see enemies in every shadow.

At the slightest movement, they had hastily sounded the warning horn.

But at the end of the day, it was still a failure of intelligence gathering.

Levi wouldn’t delude himself. A failure was a failure. It proved that High Cliff Castle still had a long way to go.

Zat’s face instantly turned ashen. He would rather take a hundred lashes than write a single word. This was practically a death sentence!

He laughed in anger, slung his arm around the shoulder of the Beastman Warrior who had caused this whole mess, and headed for the training grounds.

After about a month, Muto, who had gone to move his Tribe, finally returned.

Looking down from the hill, Levi saw a group of nearly four to five hundred Beastmen—men, women, and children—slowly approaching, herding a group of livestock called Horn-Antlered Oxen.

These sturdy oxen stood over two ren tall at the shoulder and weighed several thousand pounds. Their backs were laden with mountain-like piles of baggage, looking for all the world like a tribal migration.

Faced with an unknown environment, the Beastman children hid uneasily in their mothers’ arms, but their mothers were just as lost in this situation.

Although Muto had repeatedly assured them there was no danger, some of the Beastman Barbarians couldn’t resist walking at the very front, armed with wooden clubs and spears. However, they were quickly stopped by their more experienced and cautious elders.

Levi strode forward to greet them.

What he didn’t expect was to see Jos and a dozen or so Feder Warriors in the Beastman procession. However, now was clearly not the time for questions.

The Lord gave them a meaningful look, and Jos, understanding instantly, led his men toward the Lord’s hall.

"Chief, this is our Tribe’s Great Sal," Muto said, pointing to an extremely burly Beastman.

Judging by his age, he should have been an Old Beastman, but his powerful, solid muscles showed no signs of slackening. In terms of sheer size, he was even a size larger than Zat.

To put it in perspective, Zat was a full two and seven-tenths ren tall, meaning this Old Beastman was not much smaller than a Giant.

"Sal means Chieftain, right?" Levi chuckled and high-fived the muscular old man. The broad palm was covered in calluses as rough as gravel, making him feel like he was high-fiving a Giant Beast the size of an elephant.

Levi didn’t understand the Beastman language, but looking at the iron-like muscles on this Old Beastman, it wasn’t hard to deduce that only a Great Chieftain could possess such a symbol of strength.

"No, it means Shaman, my Lord." Orak placed a hand on his chest and bowed with utmost respect.

Muto had told him about High Cliff Castle. Although some parts of the story were a bit too fantastical, the fine equipment and the Attendants were undeniably real.

Especially the faith, a reverence akin to worshiping the Gods, could not be faked. He was old and willing to trust the judgment of his Tribe’s most outstanding Chieftain and pledge allegiance to this young Lord.

PFFT!

Following the Beastman ritual for pledging fealty, a Beastman woman presented the fang of the strongest magical beast hunted by the Tribe and a cup of pure white milk.

The former represented their will to fight for the Lord, the latter a loyalty as pure and untainted as milk.

Levi had just raised the cup of milk and taken a sip when he couldn’t stop himself from spraying it all over Muto.

"*Cough cough*... You... *cough cough*..."

Levi looked the Old Beastman over carefully once more.

He was powerfully built, with arms as thick as marble columns. In his youth, he must have been an exceptionally valiant Warrior.

Levi also noticed something else: this Old Beastman actually had horns, about a finger-long, growing from the sides of his forehead.

"You’re... really a Shaman?" Levi was still in disbelief.

Honestly, no matter how you looked at it, this Old Beastman was a thoroughbred Warrior like Zat, not a Shaman who practiced Witchcraft.

"My Lord, you are truly full of misunderstandings and prejudices about Shamans," Orak explained patiently. "Shamans are not shriveled, frail old men. On the contrary, every Shaman is a competent Warrior."

"Is that so?" Levi looked doubtfully at Muto and the others.

Currently, the only ones in High Cliff Castle who had truly learned Witchcraft and become Shamans were Sam and Old Neil, and those two were both skinny, scrawny old men who looked like a gust of wind could blow them over.

That’s why Levi subconsciously assumed all Shamans were like that.

Now, the sudden appearance of a Shaman more muscular than Zat left the Lord feeling a little unsettled.

"This might be a bit forward, but I’m very curious what kind of Witchcraft you know."

This Caster’s style was a bit too unconventional, but Levi couldn’t hide his delight at getting a free Caster unit.

After all, High Cliff Castle’s Casting Team currently consisted of just two small fries, and they desperately needed someone who could carry the team.

"Blood Rage Awakening, Dragon Scale Blood Technique, and Blood Absorption Healing," Orak said, blinking his eyes innocently.

The good news: he was indeed a Shaman and even knew three Witchcraft spells.

The bad news: they were all self-buffing brute-force Witchcraft spells.

The hope that had been dangling in Levi’s heart finally died.