Chapter 240: Mounts of Wind and Snow
"I accept..." rumbled the feline sovereign’s voice, submissive and resigned. "From this day forth, the White Tiger pack shall serve the Overlord tribe. My hunters and I shall be your mounts and defenders."
In that moment, a series of glowing golden runes flickered before Kellar’s vision, accompanied by the system’s distinct chime:
[The White Tiger King requests to become a slave of the Overlord tribe]
[Accept Y / N]
Kellar mentally reached out and pressed [Y] without a second thought.
A light wrapped around the tiger’s neck for a second, sealing the oath at the system level before dissolving into the air.
"A wise choice," nodded Kellar with a subtle smile. "We will keep the food and medicines flowing to your pack, but starting tomorrow, your best warriors will begin training alongside my soldiers. Oh, and one more thing... I hope you keep the members of your pack in line. If I see any attempt at a revolt, there will be no need for your kind to exist in this world."
The Tiger King felt a shiver run down his spine upon hearing Kellar’s warning, pressing his head lower into the snow.
"There will be no disloyalty, my lord..." whispered the feline.
With the White Tiger King’s unconditional surrender and the subjugation of his entire pack as the tribe’s new cavalry force, Kellar ordered the caravan to set off on their return.
The next morning broke with a clear sky after the blizzard. Having marched through the night from the foot of the cliffs, the Overlord tribe’s column pressed toward the village, presenting a different sight: flanking the wagons loaded with limestone and clay marched a division of giant felines.
Kellar had made the boundaries clear during his discussions with the White Tiger King. Of the complete pack—consisting of several dozen adult males, females, and cubs—the feline sovereign agreed to Kellar’s condition: the females and cubs would remain protected in their territorial caverns to secure the future of their species, while only adult males of combat age would join the ranks of the Overlord army.
𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦
"They are proud beasts, Shaman," commented Brak, running a hand over the back of the Tiger King, who walked at the front of the contingent alongside Kellar. "Their bodies are built for war. Silent in the snow and lethal in the charge."
"From this day forth, they are the tribe’s heavy cavalry," answered Kellar, watching the elite soldiers walk beside their assigned mounts with a mix of respect and caution. "Mentz and Lennis will need to design saddles, reinforced leather harnesses, and bronze armor for their backs. If we combine the speed of these tigers with our repeating rifles, there won’t be a force in this forest that can halt our advance."
At the front of the march, the tribe’s soldiers began adjusting to the presence of the beasts. Although some felines still bared their fangs with low warning growls, the system seal and their King’s command kept them in line.
By the time the sun reached its zenith, the village appeared on the horizon. The lookouts in the wooden watchtowers sounded the horns of alarm upon spotting the approaching column, but Kellar’s all-clear signal from atop Little Green dispelled the panic, turning it into a murmur of awe at the sight of dozens of white tigers marching in formation beneath the tribe’s banner.
As soon as the wagons finished unloading the limestone and clay into the storehouses, Kellar led the White Tiger King and his finest males toward the perimeter of the blacksmith workshops. Lennis and Mentz were waiting for them with parchment, reinforced leather measuring tapes, and mineral chalk, studying the beasts with technical fascination.
"Their shoulders are broad," commented Mentz, pacing around the Tiger King while measuring the distance between his withers and back. "A standard saddle made for horses or draft cattle would slip off at the first leap. We need a harness system anchored around the chest and ribcage without restricting muscle expansion when they sprint at full speed."
"Not only that," added Lennis, adjusting his goggles as he sketched a blueprint on the workbench. "A feline’s spine flexes far more dramatically than any ungulate’s when springing into action. The saddle frame must be split, joined at the center by leather hinges and flexible bronze plates. That way, the rider maintains stability without injuring the tiger’s spine during a charge."
Kellar walked up to the table and examined the diagrams.
"Add dual stirrups and a quick-release holster on the right side for the repeating rifles," instructed Kellar, pointing at the draft. "The rider needs to shoot accurately and maneuver on the move without losing his footing."
"And what about armor plating, my lord?" asked Mentz, eyeing the beasts’ claws and fur. "If we cover them in too much refined bronze, they will lose the agility that makes them lethal."
"We don’t need full heavy plate armor," explained Kellar. "Design a lightweight chanfron and barding: a bronze faceplate featuring the tribe’s glyph to protect the head and neck from frontal attacks, mounted over cured monster hide, along with articulated shoulder guards. The tiger’s agility is its defense; we will only cover their vital points."
The Tiger King let out a huff of vapor, watching the freshly forged bronze plates Lennis held up before him. Though unaccustomed to bearing gear on his back, he understood that this equipment would turn him and his warriors into an unstoppable force.
"Begin fabricating the first prototype," concluded Kellar, looking at both craftsmen. "As soon as Lennis has the first three saddles finished, Brak and the elite soldiers will begin maneuver drills and mounted shooting practice."
While Lennis and his smiths began hammering the leather and bronze frames for the saddles, Mentz headed toward the industrial zone on the village’s periphery. There, the tribe’s masons had erected a battery of three firebrick kilns, engineered with forced draft to reach high temperatures.
"Open the top hoppers and begin blending!" bellowed Mentz, raising his voice above the clamor of the workers.
Following the specifications Kellar had laid out, the laborers pulverized the grayish limestone and soft volcanic clay in a four-to-one ratio. The resulting fine powder was fed into the kilns, stoked with charcoal that Ignis helped ignite with his breath.
The heat inside the kilns surged until reaching a white glow. Through the observation ports, Mentz monitored the sintering process: the blended materials began to fuse and clump together, transforming after hours of firing into hard, dark nodules.
"The clinker is ready!" cheered Mentz upon seeing the first batches drop onto the cooling trays. "Bring up the stone mills for grinding!"
Once cooled, the clinker was mixed with a fraction of native gypsum and ground beneath heavy beast-driven stone mills into an ultra-fine, gray powder.
Kellar, arriving at the workshop by dusk, took a handful of the fresh material, mixed it with water and sand inside a test wooden mold, and submerged the block into a bucket of freezing water. Minutes later, the compound not only failed to dissolve, but began to set and harden into a rock-solid mass beneath the water.
"High-grade hydraulic cement," declared Kellar with satisfaction, pulling out the petrified block. "Mentz, rally all construction crews. At first light tomorrow, we begin the underground drainage project and the paving of the village."