The Vastness of Magical Destiny
Chapter 236 - 6: Taking the Initiative

Chapter 236: Chapter 6: Taking the Initiative

The warming weather seemed to also stimulate the ongoing economic development of Caucasus. With the Bahomon Iron Mine officially starting production and its output increasing daily, and the shipping channels on the Catania River having been dredged, the transportation route from Bahomon to Mattdam officially opened. This allowed the iron ore and pig iron to be transported directly to Mattdam by water. Additionally, the road from Bahomon to Ugru had become the best in the entire Caucasus Region. It only took two days to reach Ugru from Bahomon, and if there was an urgent matter that required traveling overnight, a day and a half was sufficient. This enabled Bahomon to quickly become the largest raw material and rough processing base in all of Caucasus.

As the rebellions in Leon became increasingly frequent, a considerable number of liberated slave Half-Beastmen miners, who were neither willing to stay and await death locally nor join the rebel forces, fled to Caucasus en masse. Whether passing through Muscat or crossing the Volt Mountain Range, they could easily find well-paying jobs in Santiago and Bahomon. The stone mine owners, coal mine owners, and iron mines, desperately in need of a large number of skilled workers, enthusiastically welcomed these influxes of inexpensive, skilled labor. Aside from granting them so-called freedom, these people didn’t seem to pay much mind to the concept of salary, which utterly delighted the mine owners. The sharp increase in the number of workers also drove rapid development in other industries. Following the surge in Ugru’s population to over twenty thousand, the populations of Mattdam and Bahomon also rapidly exceeded ten thousand and approached fifteen thousand. All of this was thanks to the mining developments, improvements in transport conditions, as well as the large-scale influx of Barbarians following the signing of peace agreements. Of course, the chaos in Leon also played a part.

The vast lands to the south of Bahomon once again became an attractive prospect for traders. Seeing the huge benefits generated by the Bahomon Iron Mine, almost everyone was green with envy at the Barefoot Society Merchants’ head start. Could the land adjacent to Bahomon near the south, in the Barbarian Territory, also hold similar fortunes? Several dwarven exploration teams, hired from the south at great expense, entered this land after obtaining exploration permits from the Lord’s Mansion. Their backers longed for the same good luck and opportunities the Barefoot Society Merchants had enjoyed. The exploration teams did not disappoint, with two of them striking success. Although the iron mines were far from the scale of the Bahomon Iron Mine, they were more than enough to send the merchants into a frenzy of joy. Of course, they still needed to purchase mining rights from the Lord’s Mansion.

The establishment of judicial assistant officers in both Mattdam and Bahomon marked these two places as important fairs second only to Ugru. Faced with an increasingly complex security situation, Komer had to agree to divert fifty of the newly formed Caucasus Self-Defense Forces—soldiers who had completed basic training—to serve as judicial police to assist the judicial assistant officers in Ugru, Mattdam, and Bahomon with law and order affairs.

The formation of the Caucasus Self-Defense Army was unanimously welcomed by the new immigrants because most of the warriors selected came from among them. Even though Myron Duchy’s migration station took the majority, it signified that the new immigrants had truly become a part of Caucasus’ citizens and had been recognized by the Lord. Most notably, the chief of the Self-Defense Army was a knight from Myron Duchy who had gained the deep trust of the Lord, which especially excited the new immigrants, particularly those from the Myron region. The Indigenous People were also happy, not only because of the substantial economic benefits brought by the large number of new immigrants, but also because Komer had officially appointed the young Neptune as assistant to Knight Puba of Political Affairs and supervisor of civil affairs, a source of great pride for them. To become an assistant officer of political affairs at only slightly over twenty was an unprecedented event on the Continent, especially for someone not born into nobility. Komer had successfully balanced the relationship between the two major ethnic groups and was gradually promoting their integration.

The formidable size of the Self-Defense Army and the Lord’s Guard, which totaled a thousand men, was somewhat intimidating, although it brought sufficient security to the populace. Still, many people, especially the Indigenous People, were perplexed as to why the Lord was so keen on establishing such large armed forces. Of course, they did not oppose the Lord’s actions, as long as he could afford such a significant military expenditure, they were happy to see it happen.

Komer had been a bit busy lately. Although he had completed the first phase of exploration at Damarlinsk Castle with exceptionally rich rewards, there were still many difficult issues facing him. The Mysterious Magician had become a precious commodity in his hands, but to extract more valuable information from her and train her into a thorough Dark Envoy was a long and arduous journey—one that Komer was more than willing to take on. Furthermore, the Pirates from Rhode had never ceased to press Komer to fulfill their demands. They believed the benefits Caucasus had reaped from the opening of the port at Mattdam were substantial and they had invested a considerable amount of funds. Even if Magic-armed guns couldn’t be produced right away, technology such as the Mirror of Thousand Miles had no issues and Komer could certainly spare a few more pieces. This forced Komer to calmly re-produce two units. Fortunately, technical issues had been resolved. Aside from the trouble of installing the polished Magic Crystals and adjusting the magic power settings, it did not require too much effort, and so he managed to appease the Gray Skulls for the time being.