As soon as he entered the room, a loud voice called out, "Ah! Our great warrior finally joins us! I thought this time the tribal meeting might be missing you!"
The speaker was the Brochi Leader, Bricks, a portly elder whose tone carried a hint of mockery. His relationship with Andres was rather delicate.
During Andres’s father’s leadership, the two major tribes maintained a strong rapport. However, since Andres assumed power, his aggressive expansionist policies had nearly doubled the territory of the Segestica Tribe within just a few years. His growing influence not only enhanced his prestige within his tribe but also began to overshadow the neighboring Brochi.
Andres had earned fame during prior wars against the Skodisqi people, and his continued victories now made him widely admired by young Pannonian warriors. By contrast, the younger generation of the Brochi Tribe grew increasingly disillusioned with their leader, whose life revolved around feasting and leisure, achieving nothing significant for years. In their disappointment, some Noble children even defected to Andres’s side.
Reportedly, Bricks’s invasion of the southern Aldeans was an attempt to restore his standing among his tribesmen.
Given their geographical proximity, Bricks had recently heard rumors of a setback for the Segestica Army in the south, and he now seemed to relish these tidbits of misfortune.
Andres, uninterested in sparring verbally, cut straight to the point, "Who called this meeting? What’s under discussion?"
"This meeting was convened at the request of Antosy. I already sent a messenger to invite you, but you were personally leading troops out of the Main Camp. To avoid disrupting your campaign, we didn’t insist on notifying you. Unexpectedly, you still managed to make it here."
The speaker was Temagis, the slender and refined Mazi Tribe Leader seated at the host’s position. His distinctive demeanor set him apart from the other chiefs, not because the tribal alliance meetings always took place in the Mazi Tribe, but simply due to the annual rotation among the seven chief tribes, with this year being Temagis’s turn.
Temagis then added, "This meeting mainly concerns the Skodisqi people in the east. Sit down first, and let Antosy explain everything in detail."
Andres held back his impatience and took his designated seat.
Nearby, the Desitia Tribe Leader, Temagis, leaned in and softly asked with concern, "How did the campaign go this time?"
Temagis, a robust middle-aged man, had a good rapport with Andres. The northern Desitia Tribe had shared borders with the Segestica Tribe, and in the past, Temagis sought more horses to establish cavalry against the Boyi people, prompting Andres to gather steeds from his own tribe as aid.
At that moment, a shadow crossed Andres’s face, and he was about to reply when the Andizeti Tribe Leader, Antosy, seated opposite, coughed heavily, drawing everyone’s attention. Then, he spoke loudly, "Ladies and gentlemen, over ten years ago, our tribes rose in unison against the oppression of the Skodisqi people, ultimately reclaiming our ancestral lands.
This is something all tribes should celebrate, though there remains one regret: the Skodisqi tribe was never entirely eradicated. Their remnants retreated eastward, settling in the confluence of the Sava and Danube Rivers as their last bastion, where they resist tenaciously.
And yet! Because of consecutive victories, we have grown complacent, our fighting spirit waning. As a result, for years, we’ve failed to completely eliminate them. And now..." Antosy scanned the room, his words tinged with resentment, "This was supposed to be a battle for all our peoples, yet it has been left entirely to my Andizeti Tribe—"
"Antosy, your words are unfair! How can you say it’s ’entirely your tribe’s concern’? Haven’t we all been providing you with resources and soldiers every year?" snapped Disone Tribe Leader, Demikas. The white-haired and bearded elder, exuding authority, appeared visibly displeased. As the northern neighbor of the Andizeti Tribe, his tribe had supplied the most in support over the years.
"You’ve indeed provided considerable support to my tribe each year, but—" Antosy, the haggard chief, did not waver in his grievances despite Demikas’s interruption, "It’s only *some* support. Yet my tribe’s warriors fight endlessly year after year! My tribesmen’s harvested grain is consumed more than half by war every single year! And for ten years, my tribe has borne this burden alone! None of you have tasted such agony!—"
The Perustai Tribe Leader, Pagiras, instantly retorted in displeasure, "Antosy, spare us these pointless complaints! The Skodisqi people are indeed our common enemy, but they’ve been severely weakened under our collective assault. They pose no real threat to us anymore.
Since your tribe’s lands border theirs, it’s naturally your responsibility to finish them off! If you want me to take charge of attacking them, sure—but I’d need to station twenty to thirty thousand warriors permanently in your Andizeti territory. Would you agree to that?
Besides, the Skodisqi aren’t our only adversaries nowadays; the Boyi people to the north are our real threat. Yet have I, Demikas, or Temagis ever complained about it in the tribal alliance meetings?—"
"You’ve never complained?!" Antosy exclaimed in fury, "Who was it that said the Boyi cavalry was formidable and hoped we could supply more horses so you could form cavalry units to fight against them?"