Chapter 1077: Divine Tortoise Tribe
After leaving the main tent, Leon regrouped with the others before preparing to leave for the Divine Tortoise Tribe that lies beyond the border separating the Western and Central regions.
Leon also dragged Chief Sar-Rakshi along for the trip, much to the person's reluctance. Besides them, Tailchaser and Chief Sul-Dahki volunteered to accompany him.
During the time Leon was inside the main tent with the other chiefs, Tailchaser had heard of Leon's miraculous ability to awaken the Golden Suanni Clan's bloodline from Goldenstride.
As such, Tailchaser wanted to get close to Leon and suck up to him for benefits.
However, without Tailchaser to hold the fort, the western alliance's strength would drastically reduce to a level that cannot stand toe-to-toe with other King-rank tribes or their equivalent.
Furthermore, the strength of foreign forces from the far north was unknown.
They never know if the Howling Falcon Tribe would take the chance to attack while their main camp's defenses are weakened.
"I can stay behind and look after the Western Region, my Lord," Cindertail volunteered.
"Oh, you will?" Leon casually replied without finding it surprising.
"Yes, my Lord. I believe my sons are part of this Golden Suanni Tribe. I will take this chance to catch up to them."
Leon had guessed as much.
"As you wish. Then, you will guard the Western Region until Tailchaser returns to assume his responsibility."
"Understood, my Lord."
Nevertheless, Leon had also already understood that Tailchaser was the real leader of the western alliance, while Sur-Khan was only the acting leader.
The western alliance was one ruled by the strongest. It was due to that reason that the western alliance readily submitted after learning Leon had a Divine Beast-level follower.
"Thank you, Lord Cindertail," Tailchaser expressed his gratitude to Cindertail for giving him the opportunity to follow Leon.
"No need to thank me," Cindertail coolly said before adding, "As you have heard, I'm staying to catch up with my sons, whom I haven't met for some time. I didn't do it for you."
"Even so, I would like to thank you," Tailchaser stated stubbornly.
Nevertheless, after the preparations for departure were done, Leon's group left without further delay.
Two hours later, Leon's group crossed the border. Their pace was neither too fast nor too slow. It was just enough for everyone to move without exhausting themselves.
Even so, it was clear that Chief Sar-Rakshi and Chief Sul-Dahki were dragging the group down. They, themselves, also realized it.
And because of that, they were amazed by Leon, even if it was just a tiny glimpse of his ability.
'He wasn't suspected of being a Battle God for nothing,' Chief Sul-Dahki silently thought.
Meanwhile, Leon was thinking about the hole created in the Central Region.
If it was the result of something dropping down from outer space after the sun rampaged, the world was simply too lucky that the space debris landed in an area with weak ground and hollow space underneath.
That being said, Leon wasn't so sure how many times the world could be lucky like that.
If an especially large piece of space debris fell on hard ground or the Boundless Sea, the force it generates would wipe out life on the surface.
As such, Leon had to refrain from angering the sun.
Nevertheless, Leon was also curious about how deep the hole was created. He wondered if it had entered the abyss.
"Hm? We've already crossed the border, but there isn't any defensive line? The Divine Tortoise Tribe doesn't set any?" Leon noticed.
"They don't need to, Alliance Leader. Their tribe itself is an impregnable fortress. They don't need any other defenses," Chief Sul-Dahki explained.
"Oh?" Leon raised an eyebrow before saying, "Now I am curious."
…
Sometime later, Leon's group arrived on the outskirts of the Divine Tortoise Tribe. And just as Chief Sul-Dahki had mentioned, it was an impregnable fortress—or rather, it looked like one.
Nevertheless, Leon, Rainshine, and Nightingale, who had never laid eyes on the Divine Tortoise Tribe, were astonished by what they saw before them.
"That's the Divine Tortoise Tribe?" Rainshine uttered with shock.
When Chief Sul-Dahki mentioned an impregnable fortress, everyone pictured an actual fortress. Not the giant dome before them.
Furthermore, it wasn't just any giant dome made by men, but a giant turtle shell!
"Is that thing real? Is it even possible for any being to grow that big?"
"That's the mystery behind it. No one knows. I doubt even the Divine Tortoise Tribe knows the origin of that giant turtle shell," Chief Sul-Dahki stated.
"However, there is one thing that everyone does know, though: the turtle shell is extremely sturdy. Not even Extremity-rank Battle Kings with Tier-5 Soul Weapons can put any scratches on it."
"I doubt Battle Gods and Tier-6 Soul Weapons could make much difference either. Given those circumstances, perhaps such an almighty turtle did exist in the past," Chief Sul-Dahki assumed.
"That's actually incredible…" Rainshine stared giant turtle shell with amazement.
It was the first time seeing such an enormous turtle shell, even for Leon. The Divine Realm had giant turtles, but none of them had exceeded a thousand feet in length.
On the other hand, the turtle shell Leon saw in front of him was at least a few dozen miles long.
The biggest turtles living in the Divine Realm could not even come close in comparison.
That being said, even though Leon had never seen divine turtles that could grow to such extreme sizes, he had heard of them before.
In fact, even one of the history books he picked up in the Dark Elf Clan's seventh branch's library recorded the existence of such a creature.
"Realm Turtle…" Leon uttered.
Everyone immediately shifted their gaze to him after hearing the unfamiliar term coming from his mouth.
"You know what kind of turtle the shell belonged to, my Lord?" Chief Sul-Dahki asked with surprise.
"I've only read a bit about them, but yes, you can say that I do," Leon calmly admitted with a nod and said, "I believe the Divine Tortoise Tribe's shell belonged to a Realm Turtle."
"What's a Realm Turtle?"