The Vastness of Magical Destiny
Chapter 421: Volume 8 Gathering of the Storms - 11 Military Prohibition

Chapter 421: Volume 8 Gathering of the Storms Chapter 11 Military Prohibition

Due to the large-scale purchases by the Lord’s Mansion, the industries of weapons, armor, and other military supplies in Mattdam and Ugru rapidly flourished.

Maximi’s smithy had twice expanded its production scale within half a year, becoming the top medium-sized forging workshop in Caucasus, with the number of apprentices and workers swiftly growing from fewer than ten to over one hundred and twenty.

The refining furnaces and blacksmith workshops were bustling with activity day and night, and he even spent a significant amount of gold to hire three Dwarf masters to take charge of the workshop, teaching apprentices and workers to enhance forging and smelting techniques and to produce higher quality products.

Armor production in Mattdam also showed signs of scaling up, with several small workshops joining together to establish a medium-sized leather manufacturing workshop. They not only purchased leather in large quantities locally but also established trade channels with various colonies across the Nether Sea to secure ample leather supplies.

And their main customer was the Lord’s Mansion. Besides ensuring the needs of the Lord’s Guard and the Self-defense Army, Puber, representing the Lord’s Mansion, made large purchases and stockpiled, secretly funneling them into the Leon Region to earn substantial profits.

The rise of Caucasus’s military industrial growth even caught the attention of the Barbarians to the south.

Quality weapons and durable armor have always been the most coveted treasures for the war-loving Barbarian men. However, for various reasons, nearly every country and power surrounding them, including those races other than Mortals, have tacitly implemented a strict blockade and embargo against the Barbarians in this regard, making it a centuries-old convention on the Blue Continent that all military supplies are forbidden to be imported into Barbarian territory.

For the Barbarians, obtaining these items had become a luxury. To survive, they had to fight against the various beasts and Magical Beasts of Cordillera Wilderness with inferior weapons and armor; even these low-quality goods could only be equipped to their soldiers, while for the ordinary Barbarians, the dream of acquiring such items was purely a dream.

The friendliness shown by Komer seemed to give the Barbarian Alliance a glimmer of hope. They hoped to achieve a breakthrough in this aspect by improving relations with Caucasus. Of course, they also understood that breaking this unwritten taboo is not an easy task.

The Barbarian’s request to lift the blockade and embargo placed Komer in a difficult position.

He knew that this ordinance was actually an important restraint tying down the Barbarians, and if this chain was ever to be unlocked, the military power of the Barbarians would grow exponentially.

Perhaps his own territory might fare somewhat better, but the vast Mortal territories to the east of the Barbarians, as well as the nations established to the south by the Dwarves and the Elf Clan, would likely face a disaster.

In fact, this was an ordinance commonly agreed upon by all races, a necessary one adhered to out of mutual interests, much like the ban imposed by the Northern Alliance on the Beastmen.

The issue of lifting the embargo on the Barbarians also sparked controversy within Caucasus. Individuals like Puber, Ilot, Neptune, and Reese advocated for a degree of lifting the ban for the Barbarians, with strict constraints on the number of weapons, but opening up on items like armor for protection. However, they all proposed that the Barbarians must offer certain conditions in return for this gesture of goodwill, laden with great risk from Caucasus.

Yet, individuals like Hesse, Hozer, Zip, and Melbourne opposed lifting the ban on the Barbarians. In their view, lifting the ban would inevitably enhance the Barbarians’ potential for external aggression and expansion. Caucasus might not see too great a danger in the short term, but as the Barbarians tasted success in invasions of other regions, they would surely turn their sights to Caucasus.

The debate over this issue left Komer in a strategic dilemma.

Deep down, Komer wasn’t concerned about the increase in the Barbarians’ military strength; after all, with the growth of Caucasus’s power and his own enhancement in Magic Power, the Barbarians might gain the upper hand in conventional combat, but when faced with something like Magic Attacks, which to them are inscrutable divine punishments, their advantages would vanish. Komer was confident that he could teach the Barbarians an unforgettable lesson should they dare invade Caucasus in the future.

Moreover, nestled deep in Komer’s heart was an extremely contemptible thought. The Barbarians attacking territories other than Caucasus seemed not to have any downside for himself. In fact, he even harbored a desire to facilitate such a scenario. Perhaps the more chaotic the situation on the Continent, the more suitable it would be for someone like himself.

If it were always a time of stable prosperity and peace, I’m afraid that I would only be able to spend the rest of my life in the remote Caucasus.

However, Komer had to consider the voices that were against lifting the bans; after all, the beastmen had already destroyed their original homelands, causing them great fear, and now they might face the torment of the barbarians. How could they possibly be willing to help in stoking the barbarians’ fierce flames?

After repeated debates, they finally reached a compromise: they agreed to a limited opening of military supplies such as armor, while weapons would be sold only to a very small extent, adopting a quota system and an export license system.

All military supplies entering the barbarian territory would be purchased by the Lord’s Mansion and then sold to the barbarians. Any individual or organization that violates this prohibition will be punished by confiscation of property and imprisonment or even execution in the name of smuggling and endangering public security.

The first batch of export licenses was for fifty refined iron long spears and two hundred sets of cowhide soft armor, valued at 120,000 gold shields, which was more than three times the price at which the Caucasus exported to the settlements on the Blue Continent. However, this already made the barbarians ecstatic.

In return, the barbarians agreed to open the territories of two tribes in the northern part of their alliance to the Caucasus, allowing those with joint permits issued by the Caucasus Prefecture and the Barbarian Alliance to enter these two tribal territories to explore and search for mines. If they discovered mines, they would be allowed to mine them and agreed that the Caucasian side could own more than fifty percent of the shares as investors, while also allowing Caucasians to start shops in these territories, engaging in civilian goods and services.

The implementation of this policy turned the gaze of the Caucasus merchants to the south once again. Although they still had reservations about entering the barbarian territory to explore and develop mines, one thing was certain in the area of Bahomon: although the final border had not been determined with the barbarians, anything within fifty li to the south of Bahomon originally belonged to a contested region.

Due to marker tricks played by Komer and Puber, this region was undisputedly part of the Caucasus. As for the thirty li further south, which originally belonged to barbarian territory, it became a region awaiting ceremony.

That area right next to the Bahomon’s large iron mine became a hot spot for exploration. After all, with relations with the barbarians gradually improving and a large number of barbarians entering the Caucasus, it would not be surprising to see barbarians looking for work in Ugru, Mattdam, or even Muscat.

It was this trend of peaceful coexistence and even integration of the ethnic groups that allowed Komer to persuade Hesse and others to agree to a limited export of military supplies to the Cordillera Wilderness. The good conduct of the barbarians within the Caucasus territory was also an important reason why Hesse and others finally agreed to compromise.

For Komer’s request to the Barbarian Alliance to provide the Caucasus with three to five Earthwalking Dragons and help train a small team of Earth Dragon Guards, the Barbarian Alliance had not yet responded. However, Komer saw hope in this.

The lack of outright rejection implied that there was internal disagreement within the Barbarian Alliance on his request, meaning Komer would be able to keep trying in the future. Perhaps this seemingly wild request actually stood a chance of success.

Thinking about having a small squad of dreadful Earthwalking Dragons in his own Guard excited Komer. Being able to house the special product of the barbarian warriors within his armed forces, even if just a few, would bring an immeasurable deterrent effect to the surrounding enemies.

Of course, this was still dependent on his gradual efforts. Convincing the barbarians to accept this request was probably as difficult as persuading Hesse and the others to agree to unlimited military supplies for the barbarians.

Komer sat in his mansion’s imposing study, which Puber had specially refitted to establish the image of the Caucasus for various racial representatives and guests. Since Komer received most guests in the study, apart from a very few instances involving large numbers of people, it was generally chosen as the meeting place.

The sun-facing side featured large, bright floor-to-ceiling glass windows, these exquisite windows alone cost Puber 30,000 gold shields. The sunlight pouring in made the whole study extraordinarily splendid. On the heavy ebony desk, a large stack of printed books; and hanging above the spacious wall behind the mahogany chair, a map of the entire Caucasus, which Komer had specially requested be drawn up after surveying had been combined with existing maps of the Caucasus—arguably the most detailed and accurate map of the Caucasus.

The man seated before him had a slightly protruding forehead, with his disheveled, tawny hair and a back that slightly bowed forward. A pair of deep-set eyes with brownish-yellow pupils suggested half-beastman blood, while the somewhat pointed ears hinted at the blood of the Elf Clan. However, none of this was more telling of his mortal heritage than the humble expression on his face; for this alone, Komer could conclude that this fellow was indeed an anomaly among the half-beastmen.

This was an intelligence agent that Puber had painstakingly found for Komer from among the half-beastmen. Just from the other’s quick and sharp gaze, Komer could tell that this fellow was indeed a natural when it came to intelligence-gathering, certainly a rare talent among the typically impulsive half-beastmen.