The Vastness of Magical Destiny
Chapter 583: Volume 15: Thunder Overturning the Earth - 2: Canal

Chapter 583: Volume 15: Thunder Overturning the Earth Chapter 2: Canal

Mathew was plunged into deep contemplation; though the beastmen’s movements might not seem particularly alarming—both to the north and west, the kingdom’s military power appeared to be sufficiently deployed—he always had a foreboding feeling. Winter was fast approaching, and conventional wisdom suggests that the beastmen were not fond of waging war in winter. These anomalies could only indicate that the beastmen harbored another plot, but where would this plot stem from?

After carefully considering the kingdom’s military distribution, Mathew felt somewhat reassured. Although the Iron Cross Corps stationed on the western border could not hope to reclaim the old territories of Myron Duchy, Meine, or Susoer, their defenses alone were more than adequate. Still, Mathew didn’t dare become complacent. The beastmen had already used battering rams, high-level weapons that could only be produced in human territories, in the last war, inflicting painful losses on the Northern Alliance. They blew a gaping hole in the central region of the alliance, which continued to bleed and forced the kingdom’s military spending to skyrocket, while the defense line had to be extended from solely the north to both the north and west.

To this day, the channels through which the beastmen obtained such instruments remained a mystery. Fortunately, the intelligence department had confirmed that the beastmen possessed only a very limited number of these machines, and most had been destroyed in the last war due to their lack of operational experience. Up to now, there had been no indication of new equipment appearing among the beastmen, and Mathew didn’t believe that the beastmen’s acquisition of a small number of siege engines could change the balance of power between the sides. War would ultimately depend on comprehensive strength to determine the victor.

Defending the north, overseen by the Golden Oak Legion, should pose no issues. Mathew had already requested His Majesty the King to dispatch a portion of the Fire Shadow Knights and the Royal Court Magicians to the front lines to bolster the defenses. He always felt that this winter might not be very quiet, and that taking early warnings and making the necessary preparations could enable the fastest possible response. His Majesty had agreed to this, and Mathew couldn’t think of anything else to do. Things remained relatively calm around Homer, and Philip had not reacted too aggressively to the Star Chamber Court’s ruling, perhaps because he sensed the intent behind the kingdom’s establishment of the Blue Dove Corps. A proper concession could give both sides an opportunity to step down, which would help stabilize the kingdom.

Mathew was unaware of the imminent danger, and Komer was also oblivious to it. No one thought so far ahead, nor did they anticipate that at this moment, the fate of the Kingdom of Nicosia began to descend into endless darkness.

This was Komer’s second mild winter in the Caucasus. Winters there were never too cold, which initially seemed quite strange to both Komer and the immigrants from the north. With not a single snowfall throughout the entire winter, could this even be called winter? Compared to other regions at the same latitude, the climate in the Caucasus was much warmer, possibly due to its proximity to the Nether Sea. To Komer, it felt like there were only spring, autumn, and an extended summer aside from those two seasons.

Thanks to the previous year’s bountiful harvest, the immigrants’ living conditions had improved considerably. Although the abundant crops hadn’t allowed the Caucasus Region to become self-sufficient in food, the opening of the Catania River waterway—the Golden Waterway—had alleviated much of the pressure regarding food issues for the Caucasus. However, compared to surrounding areas, food prices in the Caucasus were still relatively high. Therefore, reclaiming wasteland and planting crops remained profitable ventures. From Mattdam to Ugru, from Ugru to Muscat, from Bahomon to Santiago, the plains along these roads had once been forests and shrubbery, but were now gradually transforming into farmland. The arrival of immigrants from the three northern territories also spurred the arrival of other regional immigrants, constantly boosting the population surge in the Caucasus.

The immigrants hoped to take advantage of the warm spring to improve their housing conditions, while the Administrative Officer wanted to use the off-farming season to properly repair the few existing water facilities—a matter that once again rose to the agenda in discussions about the canal from Santiago to Mattdam.

Traders were increasingly recognizing the importance of this canal. If the canal could be extended to Mattdam, Santiago’s coal transport capacity could increase a hundredfold, while transportation costs could be reduced by ninety percent. And Mattdam could use the canal to solidify its position as a transportation hub in the water route network of the Caucasus Region—no wonder the merchants from both locations were reluctant to let go of such a significant benefit.

Especially since adventurers exploring the Volt Mountain Range incidentally discovered on the newly mapped terrain that Santiago was less than one hundred and eighty miles in a straight line from the south end of Lake Niall, the largest lake in the northern foothills of Leon. Moreover, most of the distance was within a low-lying primitive canyon. The Béziers River, which originated from Lake Niall, flowed past the western stronghold of Izmir in Leon. If a canal could be built connecting Santiago with Lake Niall and linking Santiago to Mattdam, the most remote Izmir in the Leon Region could be connected by a waterway to the entire Caucasus. Even a fool could see the economic benefits this would bring.

But this project was undoubtedly a massive undertaking. The Santiago to Mattdam project had already stretched the traders from both places to their limits, and for the Santiago merchants, connecting Santiago with Lake Niall was unbearable. Simply calculating the time frame, it was not possible without seven or eight years, and a project that could only start to turn a profit after seven or eight years was undoubtedly unacceptable to them.

As the Lord of Caucasus, Komer sniffed the strategic significance in this. Banassia, Murray, and Izmir had always been thorns in his side. Compared to the geographic position of Mandu, these areas were indeed too remote. The control of Muscat Fortress could easily extend to the Mandu Region, but Murray, Banassia, and Izmir were too far-flung. To firmly control these places required reliance on military deterrence, but that was not a good solution.

The best solution would be to tie the economies of these areas closely with that of the Caucasus, and to achieve this, solving the transportation issue was the biggest challenge. This canal had opened a new train of thought for Komer—if it could be extended through the entirety of the Volt Mountain Range, Izmir and Santiago would be firmly linked, affecting the entire eastern part of the Leon Region. Although the canal project seemed too large and too long at this moment, Komer believed that these difficulties could be overcome by other means, and once successful, it would bring not only economic benefits but also greatly consolidate his control and influence over the Leon Region.

There were two main difficulties with the canal project: one was funding, and the other was labor and construction time. The funding issue was the primary concern. How to attract such a large sum of funds was the greatest challenge. The Caucasus Bank could offer a part, but for such a large project, it was impossible for the bank to shoulder it all. A construction period lasting several years might bankrupt the bank, as the shareholders would not agree to a bank that yielded no return for years. Fortunately, the canal held immense value, and just by managing to attract some Big Merchants to jointly undertake the project, promising them the toll rights for vessels passing through upon completion, it was possible to find suitable investors. Of course, this required extensive preliminary lobbying work.

The issue of labor and construction time was actually a single problem. If there was sufficient labor, both sections from Santiago to Mattdam and from Santiago to Lake Niall could start simultaneously, divided into several digging points working concurrently, which could greatly shorten the construction time. If things went smoothly, perhaps even completing it in three years was not a dream. However, this required a vast workforce, particularly as the mining economy in the Leon Region was also gradually recovering, making the labor shortage rather pronounced.

But this problem didn’t stump Komer. The three leaders of the Sanjia Tribe still lingering here just happened to become an important source of labor in Komer’s vision. If he could get a large number of Barbarians to enter his territory to become the main labor force for constructing the canal and recruit a portion from the Half-Beastmen, the problem would be much easier to handle.

Puber was full of praise for Komer’s idea. To connect Izmir with Mattdam would mean that Izmir’s Iron ore and Santiago’s Coal could be transported into the Catania River and the Nether Sea at extremely low costs. Whether shipping them upstream to the middle and upper reaches of the Catania River or downstream to the mainland southern part, they would reap huge profits. And the food from the central part of the Catania River could also smoothly enter the western part of the Leon Region, no longer needing to be transported overland through Bahomon to Leon, saving a considerable amount in transportation costs. Komer believed every merchant who saw this would be tempted.

Komer was filled with hope for the enormous plan laid out before him, but attracting such a large amount of funds was indeed a difficult task. The auction of mining rights in the Leon Region had already squeezed a substantial amount of capital from the Jazair merchants, so getting more from them wouldn’t be easy. However, the middle and upper reaches of the Catania River remained an untapped treasure for the Caucasus. The Catania River traders had not been able to outbid the kingdom’s merchants in the auction for the Leon Region’s mining rights, but for the canal, there was a good opportunity to tap into these merchants’ potential. Komer felt he needed to return to Luxembourg and visit some other countries and cities to persuade the merchants to join this grand plan. Of course, this required thorough preparation, and he had to have a detailed and meticulous proposal to instantly captivate the merchants.

If you enjoy this book, please visit Qidian Chinese Network at www.cmFu.com for more Chapters. Support the author, support authorized reading!