The Vastness of Magical Destiny
Chapter 560: Volume 14: Accumulate Thinly, Erupt Mightily, - 5: Teasing

Chapter 560: Volume 14: Accumulate Thinly, Erupt Mightily, Chapter 5: Teasing

Having sent Carreila away, Komer was filled with infinite emotion. The creed of the knight constantly circled in his heart, impossible to dispel. People like Carreila from the Salvation Society truly exemplified the image of a knight, although these individuals often were battered and bloodied by the cruel and opportunistic reality. Yet, they didn’t change their faith or pursuit because of this; such perseverance was the true embodiment of knightly grace. People like himself, although dressed in the garb of noble gentlemen, often had no control over their actions. As a lord of a territory, he had to first consider the survival and welfare of the people before he dared to discuss other matters. This was probably the essential difference between nobles and knights, though many used this reason as nothing more than a comforting pretext for themselves.

The appearance of Carreila and the Salvation Society indeed brought Komer an unexpected surprise. The allegiance of Murray was within expectations and not worth Komer’s delight, but the emergence of the Salvation Society meant potential cooperation between both parties. Komer had a great deal of fondness for these kind-hearted gentlemen, many of whom were people with considerable education. If he could get their help in his territories, many of the problems that currently troubled him would be resolved with ease. It seemed that the Salvation Society was also seeking a new path to practice their principles, and Leon became their experimental field; Komer was very pleased to see such a situation unfold.

Before Carreila and his fellow Salvation Society members returned to Leon, Komer had much to do. Mandu might be on the right track, but the hot potatoes of Murray, Banassia, and Izmir were already laid out before him. As Carreila had said, the situation in these regions could no longer be delayed. The original control forces, the mob militias, had completely lost their organization and discipline, even acting counterproductively. A large number of bandits had emerged from these mobs, and if decisive measures weren’t taken, the whole of Leon would become a paradise for rioting and slaughter.

What troubled Komer was what means to employ to quell the chaos in these regions and restore normal order to life and production. Komer believed that a steady supply of food would greatly alleviate the situation, but the half-beastman bandits, who had grown accustomed to resolving problems with violence, were not likely to simply put down their weapons and return to a normal life just by such measures. Kindness needed to be coupled with necessary iron-bloodedness and violence. Only in this way could they truly deter the mobs, and in this regard, Komer believed with the support of the former half-beastman slave militia leaders, he could carry out his plan. To gain their willing support, he also had to give them some necessary promises.

The one thousand members of the Self-defense Army that Dragumo had initially formed, besides retaining three hundred in Mandu and two hundred in Muscat Fortress, had all headed to Izmir. Izmir had been the first to submit to Komer, and the situation there was somewhat better than the stubbornly resistant Murray and Banassia. Five hundred fully armed Half-Beastmen of the Self-Defense Forces majestically entered the Izmir region, swiftly starting the reorganization of Izmir’s public order.

Ilot took command of this operation while Dragumo remained in Mandu. Ilot had already successfully established his authority by assisting with the training of the Self-Defense Forces; even Dragumo had to admit that in terms of martial arts and daily training, Lord’s comrade was not on the same level as himself. Dragumo was even willing to humbly learn from this advanced warrior, who had defended against the beastmen invasions on the Mogan Plateau, asking how to make the half-beastmen soldiers more obedient and responsive to commands. Ilot told Dragumo there was no other way but through iron discipline, clear rewards, and punishments.

The rectification operation in Izmir was not at all suspenseful. Although the half-beastman Self-Defense Force had only undergone a short two or three months of training, it was enough for this armed force to undergo a complete metamorphosis, coupled with new armor and weapons. When this formidable force of five hundred appeared in the streets of Izmir, the shock was so profound that it left the local population in utter astonishment. With the full support of Mizar, who had been appointed to form another Self-Defense Force of about a hundred men and took the role of Chief, Ilot swept through Izmir like a whirlwind. Several half-beastman bandits of great evil were captured during the clean-up operation and hanged at the Star and Moon Frame in the center of Izmir Town, instantly clarifying the situation in Izmir.

The smooth operation in Izmir laid a solid foundation for restoring order in Murray and Banassia. When Fran and Baoling, leading the Caucasus Self-Defense Forces and Komer’s Lord’s Guard, appeared in Murray and Banassia respectively, the once-rampant disturbances and riots dissipated like smoke and clouds, especially when the demonstrative performances by Vladimir Koff and Solonberg showcased their unmatched martial prowess to the gathered half-beastmen in the streets’ center of Murray and Banassia. All the half-beastmen’s eyes changed from defiant to terrified and admiring. They could not fathom how one person’s power could be so indestructible. Seeing the huge, hard basalt turned into dust under Vladimir Koff’s Knight Spear and witnessing a flagpole a hundred meters away being broken by Solonberg’s Cloud-piercing Spear, the beastmen quieted down. The reverence and worship of the strong made the effects of this demonstrative action extraordinarily effective.