The Vastness of Magical Destiny
Chapter 640: Volume Seventeen: Dark Descends on Earth - Eleven: Each With Their Own Secret Motives

Chapter 640: Volume Seventeen: Dark Descends on Earth - Eleven: Each With Their Own Secret Motives

This was precisely what Komer had hoped to achieve. It must be said that the missionary system of the Church of Light had no equal among any religious orders on the Continent. With its churches and priests spread throughout the land, a complete system for the cultivation of preaching and credentialing clergy, a powerful theocratic institution as a tool to suppress other faiths, a legion of zealous clerics willing to dedicate everything to the God of Light, coupled with centuries of accumulated prestige and a strong magic system as a support, it seemed highly unrealistic for any other faith to challenge the Church of Light’s dominant position. Even the Great Mysterium Sect, with substantial foundations and background, could only maintain its own sphere of influence in the more racially diverse regions of the South, while the Church of Light remained more popular in areas predominantly inhabited by mortals. As for the North, it was even more so the stronghold of the Church of Light; the most that could happen was the varying degrees of opposition from different nations to the Church of Light’s involvement in secular affairs.

Now, due to his own covert scheming, Komer had quietly burrowed an anthill into the grand dam that was Caucasus and Leon, and this anthill was silently expanding, attracting more ants. Although the dam’s collapse seemed far off, it was after all a beginning, and this was why Xerob and Uma were willing to continue serving Komer. Otherwise, even if Komer was the true heir of the Dark Lord, if he truly had no intention to revive the Dark Lineage, they would not hesitate to strike at him, though their success was not guaranteed.

The peculiar situation in Caucasus and Leon was based on the resentment of immigrants who had lost their homeland toward the Church of Light. Komer had subtly used various means to insinuate that the Church of Light had done nothing as the three lands fell, failing to fulfill its role as protector of mortals. This sentiment found a market in Caucasus, especially since the Church of Light had still not taken any effective measures against the invading beastmen, not even in the northern part of the Kingdom of Nicosia, which had likewise suffered such devastation, further proving this point.

While this was not enough to overthrow their traditional beliefs and customs, it could be said that the Church of Light’s foundation in the hearts of the immigrants in this region had been severely shaken. The indigenous locals, a mixture of various races, lacked reverence and awe for the Church of Light. Furthermore, Leon, now included in the management system, was primarily made up of Half-Beastmen who worshipped the War God, causing the region’s beliefs to gradually deviate from the control the Church of Light had hoped to maintain.

The arrival of Hoffman and Renta deepened Komer’s expectations for the situation in the Empire’s North. Important figures from the Church of Light had undoubtedly intervened in this subversive action against the kingdom’s ruling authority, and the knowledgeable in the Central Kingdom must have noticed this. However, they now dare not show the slightest hint of being informed, only able to redirect all their hatred toward the beastmen and the Four Great Lords. The Church of Light would likely not allow the beastmen to continue their ravages. Otherwise, it would exceed the baseline agreements reached with the beastmen. If that situation arose, the Church of Light would likely rally the Four Great Lords and even other countries of the Northern Alliance to launch a counteroffensive against the beastmen, and now was an exceedingly delicate period of calm.

The Church of Light was secretly communicating with the beastmen, while the Four Great Lords, clearly frightened by the beastmen’s ferocious onslaught, were certainly putting pressure on the Church of Light on the one hand, and on the other, actively preparing for the worst-case scenario. Komer could even guess that Philip, who had always hoped to watch a fight from the sidelines, now possibly regretted using this opportunity to launch an attack on Leon. If he returned in triumph, well and good, but a failed campaign would shake his position, especially at a time when the public’s concern about the beastmen was growing.

The Central Kingdom could now only gather forces like itself as much as possible to demonstrate the kingdom’s unity, using all means at its disposal as a provisional measure. Once a compromise was reached between the beastmen and the Church of Light, the kingdom must still rely on its own strength to ensure its security.

And what now were the beastmen contemplating?

Shami Taegor sat quietly in the center of the tent, composed despite having seized many fortresses. For the beastmen, they would never wish to see these formidable defensive structures that could inflict great harm on their warriors remain; every city fortress was without exception completely dismantled. Although the Fox tribe queen, Christine, had modest objections to this protective measure taken by the beastmen, even raising opposition at one point, no one wanted to live in these cold and inconvenient stone houses. Apart from destruction, there seemed to be no other choice. In the end, it was the diligent Cow Tribe soldiers who toppled and shattered these houses one by one.

Of course, before this, all weapons and cavalry within each fortress were plundered by the beastmen soldiers, even down to every piece of farm equipment, truly leaving nothing behind.

For the beastmen, the lack of iron was always their greatest pain. They could never understand how mortals and dwarves were able to smelt tough and malleable iron from ores that, to them, looked no different from ordinary stones. It was harder for them to distinguish between ore and common rocks than to commit suicide, to say nothing of smelting those ores into refined iron.

They were not ignorant of the fact that there might be a wealth of mines on the Mogan Wilderness, but prospecting and selecting mines, as well as smelting, were insurmountable barriers for them. Spies from the Fox Clan and Snake Tribe had gone to great lengths to steal only scraps of technology from the Dwarf Clan, namely the ability to remelt refined iron and reshape it into other forms. This was already a historic breakthrough for them over the centuries, and it became one of Shami Taegor’s great achievements inscribed on Mount Heavenly King in the far northern wilderness after he became the leader of the Beamon Kingdom. To expect them to learn how to survey and sift through mine ores was demanding too much; by the words of mortal and dwarf surveyors, they would need hundreds or even thousands more years of progress just to learn this.

But the pain of iron deficiency always haunted the beastmen. The enormous demand for weapons and the special requirements for burial forced the beastmen to find ways to obtain iron through other channels. Smuggling was the most important channel, but it was affected by many factors. Although mortal traders never stopped smuggling, exorbitant prices and huge profits drove them to engage in this business, despite the risk of losing their heads. Various gems, Magic Crystals, gold, and other special products from the Mogan Wilderness were equally attractive, making traders risk their lives for this trade.

"Wolfe, have you completely emptied the military warehouse in the castle?"

"Rest assured, everything that could be of use to us has been transported away. It’s a pity that these mortals are very cunning. The number of weapons stored here is quite limited. Although we have taken several fortresses and strongholds this time, the spoils are still far from enough. Fortunately, there are several blacksmith shops. I’ve ordered all of those shops to be dismantled and brought back," Wolfe said, licking his lips unsatisfied.

"Heh, no wonder my children say your Wolf riders are almost going crazy, even wanting to dismantle those run-down shops. So it’s because you want to take apart those blacksmith shops and bring them back," Mouni Oakes said, puffing up his eyeballs and breathing heavily through his nose.

"Hmph, that was my suggestion. The technology we stole from the dwarves is still very weak, and the smelting furnace we built is not working well. It can only perform some minor repairs at best. Since we have the chance, we can’t let it go. The rainy season is about to start, and all those starting-to-rust implements need to be thoroughly re-fired. Otherwise, after a rainy season, we’ll lose some again," Christine Fox said, her bright red eyes scanning across the tent at the chief’s face. "We must learn to learn, learn from mortals, dwarves, elves, and any race worth learning from. Beamon have stronger bodies, greater vitality, more united traditions, and superior discipline than other races. Perhaps the only thing we lack compared to them is history and civilization. As long as we’re willing to learn diligently, I believe we can catch up with them. Maybe then, the next war won’t require us to destroy everything."

Christine always regretted destroying all the buildings but was equally aware that if they were not destroyed, those buildings would again become the scythes of death that mortals would use to buy the lives of Beamon warriors. Mortals were best at using these fortresses to kill Beamon warriors—be it their catapults, crossbows, bows and arrows, or terrifying magic—it is within these strongholds where they could inflict the most damage, and that was where Beamon were most vulnerable. Christine was committed to changing this weakness of Beamon, but it seemed her opinion was not yet unified within all six Beamon tribes.

Seeing the various expressions of the chiefs, Christine knew that her somewhat advanced and abrupt speech had once again elicited different reactions. However, she thought this was a good opportunity. She would never miss any chance to instill this idea in her kind. Among the Fox Clan, this had already become a consensus, and the Wolf Clan, always on good terms with the foxes, was gradually adopting this idea, as could be seen from the slight nodding of Carter.

(To be continued. For more information on what happens next, please visit WWW.CMFU.COM. There are more Chapters, support the author, support original reading!)