The Vastness of Magical Destiny
Chapter 416: Volume 8 Gathering of the Storms - 8 Temptation_2

Chapter 416: Volume 8 Gathering of the Storms Chapter 8 Temptation_2

A baron, born into a hereditary noble family, having dark tendencies? This was something the two priests simply could not believe.

Although this baron had some conspicuous behavior in Cyprus, to be young, frivolous, and recklessly extravagant was a noble’s privilege, it was just that his choice of frivolities seemed misdirected, having approached Princess Tracy, which led to his exile.

Now, after several years of exile, the baron appeared to have matured a great deal, displaying enough talent in governance to command attention; if they could keep pace with the development trend of this hotly contested land and expand the Church’s influence, they even saw a glorious future for themselves.

For people passionate about power and influence like Puber, there was no better counterpart for negotiations.

The generous promises and prospects offered by Puber quickly aligned the two priests with the Lord’s Mansion; although they were not entirely satisfied with Komer’s policy of religious freedom, they were somewhat understanding given the diverse ethnic population of the Caucasus.

After Puber boasted about the Church of Light’s ability to enlighten all people, they smoothly accepted the policy of religious freedom in the Caucasus and actively joined in the fundraising campaign for the construction of the region’s first Church. They even wrote to the Bishop of Tulado requesting the two troublesome Thunderhorse Knights be sent back to Marco, as the local population clearly displayed their unwelcome attitude toward these two sneaky knights.

Hoffman’s trip to the Caucasus once again made Komer feel the pressure upon him, during which Princess Renta also had a chance for a private conversation with him.

On behalf of her brother, Princess Renta revealed to Komer about Philip’s ambitious military expansion plan. Aside from the Knights regiment and an infantry division from Homer’s Territory, Philip was secretly assembling a second infantry division, which clearly exceeded the authority of a local lord.

Such a move of recruiting beyond one infantry division without authorization from the central kingdom was undeniably a precursor to rebellion.

When the Central Kingdom severely reprimanded the Homer region, Philip retorted arrogantly that the Central Kingdom was incapable of protecting the border security, leading to the annihilation of an ally, and he had to make preparations in advance. This sparked a massive war of words and the increasingly deteriorating relationship made Hoffman and Renta undertake a mission to Homer to ease the tensions between the locality and the Central Kingdom.

The implication in Princess Renta’s words seemed to be that Philip’s purpose in expanding his army on such a large scale was to confront the kingdom, and Komer, a loyal dog of the kingdom, seemed to be Philip’s first target to hit.

Although Komer did not fully believe that Homer’s army would cross the Greenland Great Forest and attack him in Leon, the continual increase in the military force at Bruce Fortress did cause him some concern; he did not quite believe that the Half-Beast Mob could stand against Homer’s regular army.

In his view, should Homer decide to intervene in Leon, it would only be a matter of days before those Half-Beastmen were routed, of course, provided there was no external intervention.

And once those mobs in Leon were defeated, it was difficult to say whether Philip might seize the opportunity to claim his territory.

Though it was legally established that without His Majesty the King’s approval, a Great Lord had no right to deprive a lesser lord of his territory, in practice, this legal provision often stood on the foundation of strength; it was highly unlikely that the kingdom would engage in direct conflict with a Great Lord over a lesser lord’s territory, something that played out in nearly every era and was hardly surprising.

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Of course, if you have the strength, you can certainly refuse to accept the Great Lord’s illegal deprivation, but doing so, you’ll likely face the swords and spears of the Great Lord’s soldiers. At that moment, swords and spears are the only standard to test the truth.

As for now, the only way to change this possibility, aside from providing as much help to the Half-Beastman slave mob as Hofman had suggested, might just be to strengthen one’s own power. This alone seems to be the only way out.

Philip had more than a dozen mages at his disposal, including some of Archmage level, which presented a terrifying force. When used in direct confrontation, such power could be disastrous for the Half-Beastman slaves who only knew the art of wielding spears and clubs.

Particularly since these Half-Beastmen had no experience dealing with magical attacks, faced with the mages’ magic, their only option would be to flee, possibly taking refuge in the Volt Mountain Range. But by doing so, they would completely lose the purpose and significance of their uprising.

It might seem that the skies over Caucasus are clear and all goes well, but Komer knew that this was just a castle in the air, a house built on sand. Should Homer truly make a move against him, everything he owned could vanish in an instant. To truly remove the threat from Homer, on one hand, it was critical to maintain the Half-Beastman mob as a shield without letting it shatter too easily, and on the other hand, to swiftly increase his own power.

Two Dark Knights and four mages, that was all the external support he had, besides the power already in his hands. And whether these six would truly stand by him in an actual clash, or exert their full efforts to help him when it mattered, even Komer had his doubts.

Perhaps collaborating with the Great Mysterium Sect was another exit in a desperate situation, but Komer did not plan to take that path just yet. He hoped Rebry and Mihailovich could draw more friends to his cause; that would be like sending coal in snowy weather.

In fact, Komer had another purpose deep in his heart, a sinful thought that flashed by, unknown to anyone.

It was still a matter of lacking funds, a problem that had plagued him since his arrival in Caucasus. Among the residents of Meine City-State were descendants of the Elf Clan, a Prairie Elf population of around four or five thousand. These elves were naturally excellent archery talents. If he had sufficient funds, he could recruit a few hundred and, with skilled instructors and some training time, they would fully qualify for the archer positions in his guard.

Yet now he was strapped for cash. Although the Caucasus Cooperative Bank was established, as Puber said, a bank is not the Lord’s treasure vault but a hen that lays golden eggs. He could not rely on the bank for everything.

Fortunately, Hoffman had agreed to the kingdom bearing part of the support for the Half-Beastman mob, and he could still benefit from it. The treasures and antiques he had stockpiled from the Half-Beastman mob could be sold through Caffrey’s friends in other countries of the Northern Alliance to regain some funds.

The Feller Family were promising partners as well. They had close ties with slave traders in various places, and they could dispose of some goods in the South that were difficult to sell, which should bring him some good news.

Vero was finally leaving. Not long after Hoffman departed from Caucasus, knights from Galle arrived with a letter from Zellin. No one knew the contents of the letter, but whatever the reasons, Vero was unlikely to remain in Caucasus indefinitely. Although Komer wished the situation to continue, both he and Vero knew it was impossible.

On the night before Vero’s departure, Komer suffered from insomnia once again, a rare occurrence he hadn’t experienced for many years. He realized that Vero had firmly secured a place in his heart; whenever he felt unhappy, just being with this silver-haired girl would quickly bring him back to normal. This made Komer even suspect that the girl might possess a natural magic power that improved people’s mood.

Without making any verbal promises, both could understand everything through each other’s gaze. As Vero, with tears glistening in her eyes, finally vanished from the bow of the departing ship in Mattdam, Komer discovered that the scar in the depths of his mind seemed to be soaked with fresh bloodstains once more.

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