The Vastness of Magical Destiny
Chapter 445: Volume 9: Phantom of the Ancient Castle, - 6: Preemptive Strike Part 2

Chapter 445: Volume 9: Phantom of the Ancient Castle, Chapter 6: Preemptive Strike Part 2

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Fortunately, the technical issues had been resolved. Apart from some trouble with installing the polished Magic Crystals and tuning the magic power settings, not too much effort was expended, and the Gray Skull group was finally stabilized.

Another matter that Komer needed to pay close attention to was the changing situation in the Leon Region. Maha Gummi quickly demonstrated his talent in intelligence after receiving enough Funds, and various kinds of information kept flowing in from Leon Region.

With Komer’s support, Maha Gummi even bribed several opportunists within the insurgent armies. The efficiency of intelligence gathering was so high that even Puber had to admit that this Half-beastman Hybrid was indeed a rare intelligence genius.

He could quickly use a person’s hobbies and temperament to determine their character and weaknesses, and then exploit these to achieve his goals. This talent made him as natural in intelligence work as a fish is in water. He even extended his intelligence network into Bruce Fortress, enabling Caucasus to grasp changes from the north faster and more accurately.

The situation in Leon had completely deteriorated; the entire southern region had fallen into the hands of the mob. All Mines and fairs had been swept clean by the rioters, and the situation in the eastern regions was almost the same, where several small-scale units finally joined forces to become a formidable Power.

With the support of the insurgent armed forces in the south, they eliminated the Mines in the eastern region one by one. The Noble private soldiers organized by the Nobility were repeatedly defeated and finally lost their fighting spirit entirely, leading to their total collapse. The east and south merged into one, with dozens of small-scale units eventually coalescing into three larger scale insurgent forces, taking control of most of the Leon Region. The Towns of Izmir and Mandu were both under their control, and all of this was achieved in just one month’s time.

Even the north was in turmoil, influenced by the situations in the south and east. The rioters in the north became increasingly bold.

However, the armed forces of the northern Nobility were noticeably stronger, and the proximity to Bruce Fortress also contributed, so the northern rioters never managed to make substantial progress until the arrival of a mortal Noble changed everything.

The insurgent forces in the north quickly united under the leadership of this mysterious mortal, and instead of attacking Murray, which was less than eighty miles from Bruce Fortress and had relatively stronger armed forces, they concentrated their Power on the eastern region surrounding Banassia. They swiftly eliminated the Mines around Banassia and, by besieging Banassia, lured Murray’s Noble armed reinforcements into an ambush en route, crushing them in one fell swoop, leaving Banassia cut off from support and ultimately falling after a frenzied assault by the insurgent army.

Fortunately, the Mine owners around Murray had been fairly united from the start. After learning of Banassia’s fall, they banded together even more firmly to strengthen Murray’s defenses. They also strongly requested reinforcements from the Homer Army stationed at Bruce Fortress.

Although the garrison at Bruce Fortress, limited by Cyprus’ lack of orders, couldn’t directly reinforce them, they did increase the patrols on the road from Bruce to Murray to ensure the route was clear, preventing the insurgent army from daring to enter the area.

The Nobility, including Count Boninski, were strongly opposed to the fact that the Army of Bruce Fortress refused to enter Leon Region to suppress the riots. But Komer knew it wasn’t the fault of Homer; it was because Duke Philip, due to immense pressure from the kingdom, did not dare to lightly deploy troops into Leon Region.

The kingdom’s newly established Blue Dove Corps had officially joined the ranks of the Empire Armed Force, taking over the area previously occupied by the Iron Cross Corps. The Iron Cross Corps withdrew from its original station in the west to conduct military exercises around Homer and Galle, which nearly simultaneously made the Four Great Lords feel the kingdom’s Martial Power threat.

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Philip and Zellin, in particular, couldn’t sleep easy, fearing that the kingdom’s Army might use the exercise as a pretext to sweep into their territories en masse; they had no choice but to mobilize their forces correspondingly. The troops at Bruce Fortress had been reduced from a peak of 3,500 to just 1,000, which was even fewer than normal times, not to mention that the situation in Leon had already become chaotic.

This state of affairs gave the insurgents in Leon the most relaxed environment to operate without restraint in the south, east, and even the north, using this period to grow and refine their power system continually.

As Hoffman’s promised support materialized, large quantities of food and strategic supplies like weapons and armor were continuously shipped in via the sea route to Caucasus, then transported through the trading hub of Muscat into the Leon Region. With the replenishment of food and weapons, the insurgents in the region became even more empowered, which was the main reason they managed to easily take over the fair towns of Mandu, Izmir, and Banassia.

But now, it seemed there was a new shift in the situation. The Half-beastmen of the North started stirring again in the border regions, causing the kingdom’s upper echelons to become tense once again. After all, the Blue Dove Corps was a newly formed unit, and its combat effectiveness was not yet comparable to that of the main force, the Golden Oak Legion, or the Iron Cross Corps, which had always served as a supporting force. Now, with signs of the beastmen moving southward, the Iron Cross Corps had to cut short its exercise and begin its return to the west.

Although there was no redeployment, the obvious readiness in the western region was to support the Blue Dove Corps, so they could be readily thrown into combat should the situation turn disadvantageous.

The now-recovered Homer region seemed ready to address the trouble to its south with composure. The troop strength at Bruce Fortress was reinforced, even increased to 6,000, and it was said that several mages would arrive to assist the Army of Homer in quickly eliminating those detestable Half-beastman rioters and restoring Leon’s public order as soon as possible.

All this news was, without exception, sent back to Caucasus at the fastest speed.

Komer sat alone in his spacious study, deep in thought. The situation in Leon had reached a critical point. It seemed that Philip was determined to resolve the issue in Leon completely. Six thousand warriors – that was no small number, equivalent to one-third of the entire public martial power of the Homer region. Although the number of armed insurgents in Leon exceeded 80,000, Komer had no doubt that Homer’s army could easily crush this rabble.

It was going to be a massacre. Insurgents who were untrained and motivated purely by courage and ardor might overrun similarly untrained and cowardly Noble private soldiers, but they stood no chance against a regular army that was well-trained and fully equipped, especially if mages were involved. Of course, this was assuming no other external factors were involved.

If Philip merely intended to get the situation in Leon under control, that wouldn’t worry Komer overmuch. But the concentration of such a large force at Bruce Fortress raised an alarm – once the Leon insurgents were dealt with, would they stop at Leon, or might they use the opportunity to enter Caucasus under the guise of hunting down the remaining insurgents?

If such a powerful armed force entered Caucasus, Komer would stand no chance. They could easily capture him and declare under any pretense that he was, in fact, the instigator or puppeteer behind the rebellion.

This sort of precedent was not at all uncommon. Komer could even recall several from memory. He couldn’t just sit by and wait for his doom.

If he wished to not sit idly by, then preemptive action was the only option. Of course, with his current power, challenging Homer would be like throwing an egg against a rock. But in front of him was a mob of armed rioters. If he could help this mob of insurgents defeat Homer’s army, that would be the best defense for Caucasus. However, this was a highly difficult idea, and executing it would require meticulous preparation in many aspects.