The Vastness of Magical Destiny
Chapter 632: Volume Seventeen: Dark Descends on Earth - Four: Human Hearts

Chapter 632: Volume Seventeen: Dark Descends on Earth - Four: Human Hearts

Regrettably watching Bronin escape the dark grasp and flee towards life, Uma shook his head slightly. It seemed like a long time since he had last practiced, and even his limbs had become somewhat clumsy. Although the body he occupied was of decent quality, it was still somewhat inconvenient for him, especially since it was a male body.

Bronin, who had narrowly escaped with his life, no longer dared to be overly confident. The dark forces were too strong, and his own knights were no match for them. If the silent Storm Infantry were to go into battle again, he feared it would be the same story. Just as Saliman, Bronin, and Carl Libukneisi felt a sense of despair, a glimmer of sunlight finally appeared on the horizon. As if struck by a deadly blow, the dark mass of skeletons and zombies suddenly began to loosen, as if they were trying to avoid the sunlight from the heavenly realm. The skeletons and zombies involuntarily crowded towards the man in black, seemingly relying on the dark magic power seeping from his body to counter the natural lethality of the sunlight.

Taking a deep breath, Uma knew his performance had to come to an end. Although these skeletons and zombies had not undergone any special tempering, the sunlight alone was insufficient to harm them, but the act had to seem convincing. After a deep howl, he left a message, "We’ll meet again at night!" and leaped into the sky. Following his departure, a group of zombies and skeletons seemed to want to evade the sunlight, quickly disappearing outside the blown apart doors of the fortress.

Saliman and Bronin found this incredible. If sunlight could harm these dark undead, it would be too laughable. But the undeniable fact before them was that it was the appearance of the sunlight that had caused these undead beings to flee in panic. However, the warning of "We’ll meet again at night!" caused Saliman and Bronin’s hearts to tighten once more. Of course, they could not have known this was all a play orchestrated by Komer, and their priority was to avoid further damage from these dark undead.

What followed was logical. No matter how strong Carl Libukneisi was, he could only feel disheartened when faced with these undead creatures. The soldiers appeared helpless against the undead, even with their specialized anti-magic training, they had never anticipated an undead attack. Such an unexpected event would leave anyone flustered. The conclusion they reached was to immediately retreat. If a larger-scale attack occurred that night, the already exhausted Bronin and the nearly collapsed Mejernov would have no strength left to counter these dark demons, and the Storm Infantry Corps might completely collapse.

To prevent chaos that might attract the attention of the Half-beast Army lurking at the edge of the floating bridge on the other side of the Nissai River, the defenders of Bruce Fortress swiftly completed all preparations within half a day. They even refrained from destroying the floating bridge; Bronin worried that doing so might alert the beastmen and lead to a failed retreat. They kept the common people outside the fortress in the dark, and under the pretense of a large-scale military exercise in the Greenland Forest, the troops hastily retreated to the Greenland Forest Plank Road in batches after lunch.

By the time the civilians outside the fortress realized what had happened, Fran, leading the Caucasus-Leon Self-Defense Army, had already crossed the floating bridge and charged towards the fortress. The empty Bruce Fortress hoisted the Bear Head Flag of Baron Komer of Caucasus-Leon at the first opportunity.

When the civilians outside the fortress finally understood the situation and fell into chaos, Komer had already commanded the Half-beast Army to rush through the market and streets, firmly blocking the road to the Greenland Forest Plank Road. Seeing the fierce Half-beast soldiers completely blockade the docks at Bruce Fortress and the road to the Plank Road, all the civilians were terrified. They were clueless as to why the Homer soldiers hadn’t put up even the slightest resistance, and whether these terrifying Half-beastmen intended to capture all the mortal citizens in one fell swoop.

When Komer, accompanied by Puber and a large group of people, appeared in the chaotic marketplace outside the fortress, the despairing mortal citizens gradually calmed down from their shock. Only then did they remember that Leon had apparently been entrusted by the kingdom to this baron secluded in the Caucasus. Although Your Baron’s reputation in Homer and Cyprus was not good, he was still a noble of the kingdom, most importantly a mortal noble. They had heard that Baron Komer seemed quite capable, especially adept at dealing with half-beasts. Even his personal guards were all Half-beastmen. Could these Half-beast soldiers be from the Caucasus?

The residents, filled with anxious trepidation, finally understood a fact after Komer’s speech: not only had the entire Leon region completely fallen under his control, but also the ferocious and valiant Half-Beastmen had willingly acknowledged the Baron as their master, and now, even Bruce Fortress, which reigned over the Greenland Forest Trail, had come into his hands.

The ownership of Bruce Fortress did not significantly impact the lives of the common people, provided it wasn’t under the crude and illiterate Half-Beastmen. This profligate son of Homer had played the Half-Beastmen off against each other and now controlled Bruce Fortress, which made some well-informed traders and merchants who frequented the route between Cyprus and Bruce harbor some expectations for this Baron. Everyone had already smelled the coming storm of chaos for the Kingdom of Nicosia, a storm that would sweep into the territories of Homer, Galle, and several other great lords. The Beastmen would not be content merely lurking in the north of the kingdom; given the chance, they would undoubtedly pounce without hesitation. What then would become of the already struggling Central Kingdom? And though the Four Great Lords might be neutral at first, could they keep still when the gnashing fangs of the Beastmen turned towards them?

Komer knew that enforcing constraints was only a temporary measure; the residents were not soldiers. Most of them were small merchants, craftsmen, hunters, and farmers who lived around Bruce Fortress and its original River Harbor. As long as Bruce Fortress had a garrison and the River Harbor continued to operate, and the roads from Leon to Busen Plain remained open, they could continue living here. To be honest, the tax rate was relatively low, and the area was safe, which was sufficient for these residents.

The destruction of the floating bridge at Bruce River Harbor had a direct consequence: the Leon Region, especially Banassia and Murray, lost their main transportation channels for coal and iron ore. While Mandu could still manage to resolve some issues through land transport, it was merely a drop in the ocean, unable to solve the output of the mines in Banassia and Murray. The immense cost of land transportation made it impossible for merchants to use this method extensively. To revive the vitality of Leon, aside from the ongoing canal construction, the main solution would have to rely on the Nissai River, this vital waterway. Of course, there was also one precondition: the blockade at the Mouth of Nissai River by the Homer Navy had to be lifted.

Since the River Harbor had lost its source of goods, and the floating bridge was burned, the severing of both land and water trade routes caused many residents to lose their means of livelihood. In fact, the number of residents outside Bruce Fortress had already greatly diminished. Merely relying on the needs of the fortress’s garrison was not enough to provide sufficient job opportunities for so many common people. The inns, docks, taverns, and trading all sharply declined, which cast a shadow over the future of many residents.

However, the appearance of Komer seemed to offer these residents a glimmer of hope. Although the fearsome Half-beast soldiers made the residents uneasy, seeing these towering half-beast soldiers exhibit lamb-like subservience before Komer and various rumors of the baron being a divine emissary in the eyes of the Half-Beastmen surfaced again amongst the residents. If this baron could truly control these unruly Half-Beastmen completely, the fact that he now held Bruce Fortress seemed not to be such a bad thing. It might even be better than before; at least the connection between Caucasus-Leon and Bruce Fortress had now been re-established. Although the most crucial river and land transportation still depended on Homer’s response, meeting the needs of Leon alone could now help sell the many supplies that had been accumulating in the warehouses.

To alleviate the residents’ doubts, Komer announced that Bruce Fortress would continue to maintain its former status and encouraged trade and travel between the residents outside Bruce Fortress and Leon and Caucasus. He also assured them that the Caucasus-Leon Self-Defense Force would not harass the locals. If there were any violations, residents could appeal to him at any time, and he would give a fully satisfactory resolution.

Komer then announced the lift of the blockade on the Greenland Forest Trail, allowing free movement for the residents. Those willing to leave Bruce Fortress and return to Homer were allowed to depart unimpeded. At first, some people worried that Komer might be posturing, but when the first few batches of people left without hindrance, the mood among the populace outside of Bruce Fortress gradually stabilized. As long as those Half-beast soldiers did not act out of line, the residents had nothing to fear. And it was evident that Baron Komer had an extraordinary control over the Half-beast soldiers. For three consecutive days, apart from the Half-beast sentries on duty at the fortress walls, one scarcely saw any Half-beast soldiers outside the fortress, dispelling the fears of locals being harassed as nothing more than a false alarm.

(To be continued. For updates on the story, please visit WWW.CMFU.COM. More Chapters available, support the author, support authorized reading!)