The Vastness of Magical Destiny
Chapter 273 - Fourteen: Wind Rises

Chapter 273: Chapter Fourteen: Wind Rises

Torres slightly furrowed his brow. The death of Malone had always been a controversial topic within the Church of Light. While his murder was confirmed long ago, the true identity and motive of the poisoner remained an unsolved mystery.

Many were inclined to believe that it was a conspiracy orchestrated by the Nicosia Court rather than an assassination by so-called Dark Mages, because Malone had never been particularly popular in the Kingdom Court. He not only openly criticized the Kingdom’s policy of being overly indulgent to religions other than the Church of Light but also directly made some threatening statements. For example, he suggested that if the Kingdom did not adjust its religious policies, the mages of the Church of Light should withdraw from the Kingdom Court Mage Corps as a form of protest. Although he could not represent the official opinion of the Church of Light on this matter, it still greatly enraged the Kingdom of Nicosia, which believed that the Church had violated the agreement they had reached and was blatantly interfering in the internal politics of the kingdom. There was a strong demand for the removal of Malone, but the Church, for various reasons, denied that his views represented the Church’s official stance. However, during private talks, they also expressed the Church’s concerns about this issue. Despite that, Malone did not adjust his position and continued to hold a stable place within the Kingdom Court Mage Corps.

The main reason was that, at the time, not only were there several Light Mages stationed in Versailles, but also the defensive forces of Versailles were strong, and many Kingdom Court knights were in Versailles as well. It was simply not possible for Dark Mages to choose such a place and time to assassinate Malone—an experienced and combative mage whose status was not particularly significant—to provoke the Church of Light. This motive just did not exist, and on this point, those who held the view of an assassination by Dark Mages could not justify their theory. Even Torres, who knew some insider information, did not believe that the despicable Baron Mage possessed such ability. In his mind, comparing a cultivator with only a smattering of magic skills to a combative and experienced mage like Malone was simply preposterous. Under those circumstances, perhaps the knights of the Nicosia Court should be considered the real murderers. The Myles Silver arrowhead was clear evidence that no mage, not even a Dark Mage, would use such a weapon. Though it was also a stretch to say that the knights of the Nicosia Court would use weapons, they were, at least, more likely suspects than mages, who never used weapons.

"What’s wrong, Torres? It seems you have a different opinion?" Frenster acutely noticed something amiss with his capable subordinate.

"Archbishop, Galian’s last mission was to assist the Church Tribunal’s bunch of lunatics in executing an execution order. Since the area of jurisdiction belonged to the scope of the Archbishop’s duties, and the Tribunal was worried about resistance, they requested our support. So, I dispatched Galian to assist with the execution. But Galian disappeared without a trace, and before that, Galian had never disobeyed any orders or had any accidents. So, it makes me wonder if the people from the Tribunal could possibly—"

Before Torres could finish his thought, Frenster furrowed his brow. Even though his relationship with the people at the Tribunal was not cordial, apart from His Holiness the Pope and their own people within the Tribunal, there was almost no one they could get along with well. His relationship with Vazinsky seemed to be even worse, as it had escalated several times to the point of reaching His Holiness the Pope. Frenster always suspected that a significant reason why the Pope restrained the external law enforcement activities of the Tribunal, yet allowed their internal arrogance, was to use the Tribunal’s power to balance the factional strife within the Holy Teaching. The Tribunal seemed to be perfectly suited as a double-edged sword for that role.

"Enough, Torres. Don’t mention such things again. The people from the Tribunal may be excessively fanatical, but they are definitely not real madmen. What motive would they have against Galian? Moreover, the Jade Ring has already shown that Galian’s predicament should be related to those associated with the dark faction. It’s just that we’re currently unable to grasp the specifics," Frenster decisively interrupted his subordinate. Such talk, if spread, would only add to the chaos and was of no help in addressing the problem. Although Frenster also harbored doubts about whether the Tribunal was involved, perhaps using their own people as a vanguard, and then taking the opportunity to step in when the situation worsened—both to expand their influence and to strike at his own prestige—if that was their scheme, Noyola’s cunning would be terrifying. Perhaps he needed to be more proactive in his own actions, since His Holiness the Pope had already pointed out the expansion of dark forces, didn’t that imply that the Church of Light should also adopt a more active attitude in facing potential calamities?

Komer’s originally good mood was completely ruined by a casual remark from Katya. The interest of the Tribunal in the Caucasus indicated something—could it mean that his actions had attracted the attention of the Church of Light? Was it his corpse-refining and spirit-cultivating practices, or was it because of the actions of Rebry and Mihailovich?

On the way back to Ugru from Mattdam, Komer had been pondering this question carefully. After all, he had been practicing corpse refinement for a long time, and if the Church of Light had any suspicions, they would have taken action a while ago. At the very least, the two Thunderhorse Knights wouldn’t still be dawdling here. If it was about the recent breakthrough where he refined the faith spirit from a Light Mage’s heart, based on the knights’ creed, the two Thunderhorse Knights would not hesitate to challenge him, even if it meant death, rather than wait for the Church Tribunal to arrive. Therefore, the only possibility was that the whereabouts of Rebry and Mihailovich were in question. After all, the conquest of Damarlinsk Castle had spread throughout the kingdom. A fortress once deemed a demon den had now become his legitimate castle—a feat that seemed unlikely to have been achieved alone. The identities of the few friends who had helped him were certainly worth the attention of many.

The summer’s end in the Caucasus had brought the season of harvest. Although most of the Caucasus was newly cultivated land, for the immigrants who had avoided the threat of beastmen, it was a season worth celebrating. They watched the golden waves of wheat dancing with the wind in the fields, feeling a joy in the bounty that not everyone could appreciate.

The route from Mattdam to Ugru had become a settlement area mainly for immigrants from the former Malon Duchy. The hard-working and honest Malon farmers had finally harvested the fruits of their labor. The yield of the new fields couldn’t match that of established ones, but the vast land made up for this deficiency. As long as you had the capacity to cultivate the land—and paid a little extra in land taxes, which were negligible compared to what they had to offer in their own countries—the farmers found this to be a godsend, especially when they had to stretch every Copper Shield as far as it could go.

This good fortune was said to last another three years. If you were willing to work hard, the next season’s harvest would bring even more wealth, and the Lord’s Mansion had even issued a decree rewarding the large grain producers. Any household that exceeded a set limit would receive subsidies and awards. Such news was unheard of anywhere on the Continent. The farmers didn’t dare to hope for any awards, but they understood the simple fact that more grain meant more Gold Shields to earn. It was well known that the Caucasus had always been importing food, so as long as the grain was grown, they would not worry about getting a good price. For the farmers, what could be better than all this?

All these sights along the way had amply soothed Komer’s somewhat anxious mood. Looking at all these beautiful things before him, just a year ago, this place had been a desolate wilderness with narrow, rugged trails that not even a horse-drawn carriage could pass. But now, who could deny the prosperity of the Caucasus, once deemed a desolate land where even rabbits wouldn’t defecate? The efficiency of Puber and Neptune’s work was indeed high. It was no wonder Puber had become more gaunt like a skeleton over the year, though he remained vigorously active, and even Neptune had adopted Puber’s work ethic, busily traveling outside every day. From the construction of the dock outside Bahomon Iron Mine to the road repairs from Santiago to Mattdam, from the exploitation and sale of Muscat Stone Mine to the expansion plans for the Ugru Commercial District—Neptune’s figure could be seen in almost every project. Hesse even felt a little pain seeing his son so fervently devoted to the grand construction projects in the Caucasus. But Neptune’s performance allowed Hesse to proudly make bold assertions in front of Komer.

The road from Mattdam to Ugru was the best in the Caucasus region. The horse-drawn carriage ran smoothly on the road, with the sheer curtains billowing in the wind, bringing scene after scene of beauty. Komer could hardly bear to look away, all this had been created through the wisdom and hard work of himself, his partners, and millions of people—something no one could take from him, no matter who, Komer silently affirmed in his heart.

Let what will come, come. Church Tribunal, huh, he snorted derisively inside. He was eager to see who, on this land of the Caucasus, could judge whom. Those guys had a reputation of being paranoid zealots; their understanding of the Church of Light’s doctrines apparently far surpassed that of normal people. Their presence seemed to be everywhere on the Continent, but what would they face in the Caucasus? Komer’s gaze out the window grew colder and colder. And the Thunderhorse Knights—these men still lingered here, was his identity truly worth their persistent vigil? It seemed like the mobs in Leon were having a hard time sustaining themselves, and the problem wasn’t just about food. Even if they were dense, they understood the simple fact that they couldn’t live off their reserves forever. It seemed that all of this would be resolved in this season of abundance.

Komer once again reiterated that the updates for "Demon Destiny" would proceed according to plan, unaffected by other factors. The new book "Exotic Hunting in Different Space and Time" is being uploaded for ranking, with code 141568, and your support is requested. Komer here thanks the friends of "Demon Destiny" who collect and cast their Recommendation Ticket for the new book "Exotic Hunting in Different Space and Time"! Komer is eternally grateful!