The Vastness of Magical Destiny
Chapter 332: Volume 6: Every Step Counts, - 1: Strengthening

Fortunately, Komer had already fully prepared for the variety of difficulties and troubles that would come along the way. At this time, he couldn’t afford to consider many issues that were not yet mature, so he immediately assigned a simple division of administrative duties within his territory. Reese, who possessed certain experience and integrity, immediately took over judicial affairs from Puber’s hands, while Lafayette took on the management of immigrant settlement, reclaiming wasteland, and housing. Neptune was formally appointed as assistant to the Administrative Officer for civil affairs and was responsible for various miscellaneous tasks aside from financial matters, particularly for the census of village-level officials and the selection and appointment of officials in villages and fairs bounded by regions. For a young man like Neptune, this was both a challenging and enticing role, equivalent to being half a territorial official, and Komer’s regard for Neptune further strengthened Hesse’s resolve to tirelessly promote and drum up support for Komer everywhere.

Fran and Ilot took on the work of setting up the Lord’s Guard. Before the arrival of the immigrants, Komer, who had returned to Ugru one step ahead, disregarded Ilot’s and Baoling’s objections and decided to expand the Lord’s Guard once more, enlarging it from one hundred eighty to five hundred members overnight. Such a large-scale expansion of military power was certainly shocking for a remote territory like Caucasus. Even Hesse, Puber, and others couldn’t understand why Komer was so eager to expand martial power. In their view, Caucasus currently had no external threats and there was absolutely no need to spend a huge sum of money to build such a vast armed force.

However, no one could change Komer’s decision, and Komer did not explain to everyone why he was massively setting up the Lord’s Guard. Only Ilot had a vague sense that Komer’s act probably had something to do with their conversation one night. However, Ilot opposed it not because he thought it was inappropriate to expand the armed forces, but because the second batch of one hundred eighty had just been recruited, and they had not even completed the most basic formation training. To hastily recruit several hundred more would mean that this ragtag group wouldn’t possess much combat power. To truly become an army capable of taking the field, at least a year or half of hard training would be necessary.

However, Komer’s requirement for Ilot and Baoling was very simple—that it would suffice to train this five hundred-member Lord’s Guard, mainly composed of Half-beast soldiers, to look intimidating on the surface in a short amount of time. As for the actual combat power, Komer was clearly aware it couldn’t be improved quickly. For Komer’s demands, both Ilot and Baoling were perplexed. An army is not a ceremonial squad, and looking intimidating on the surface is useless. In real combat, the enemy would definitely not stop attacking just because you appear fierce on the outside. But the lord’s request was not excessive: five hundred soldiers who don simple armor and weapons, conduct some basic discipline and formation training, would indeed appear quite decent on the surface.

Only Komer knew his intention. With the influx of over a hundred thousand immigrants, conflicts were bound to slowly arise between immigrants themselves, and between immigrants and the local Indigenous People. To suppress these groups from different regions, besides winning over some influential figures among them, it was necessary to demonstrate his formidable martial power. For them, who harbored fear of the Northern Beastmen, seeing a powerful force of armed Half-beastmen in his control would be far more deterrence than any preaching.

The large-scale assembly of the Lord’s Guard was just the first step in Komer’s plan. Fran became the captain of the Lord’s Guard, and Baoling served as his deputy. Ilot did not take up any post within the Guard but temporarily served as the martial arts instructor. Training was not Ilot’s strongest suit, and even Ilot himself was aware of this. Having Fran and Baoling undertake the tedious yet necessary training duties allowed Ilot to sneak in some relaxation amidst the busyness, which was precisely what he hoped for.

To equip this batch of Lord’s Guard, mainly composed of Half-beastmen, Puber had to spend a huge sum of money purchasing military equipment and armor from Bruce. Weapons were easy to come by, but the Half-beastmen’s robust and sturdy physiques meant that they required larger sizes of armor than what was sold in the market. Puber had to custom order in Ugru and Bruce to ensure the Half-beastmen could be fitted with the appropriate armor.

It can be said that Komer’s dual-pronged approach was successful. Besides winning over influential gentlemen from among the immigrants from three regions with land and stock rights in iron and coal mines, the formidable armed force of Half-beastmen brought great deterrence to these human Clan immigrants who were arriving consecutively. When they saw troops of imposing Half-beast Warriors, all in full gear, patrolling between Ugru and Mattdam, the immigrants who had started building homes and reclaiming wasteland along the planned route were not only shocked but also felt comforted, knowing that a lord capable of commanding such Half-beast Warriors was undoubtedly strong and domineering. Seeing the destruction of their own country, what these immigrants now needed most was a peaceful and stable environment for survival. Especially those who had fled the dreadful war valued this hard-earned happiness even more. For them, security and the right to survive were of utmost importance; democracy or freedom could wait. In the face of life, all else could be temporarily set aside.