The Vastness of Magical Destiny
Chapter 662: Volume Eighteen: Stormy Secrets, - Thirteen: Perfect Deception

Chapter 662: Volume Eighteen: Stormy Secrets, Chapter Thirteen: Perfect Deception

"Do you need my help with anything else?" Eve raised her beautiful eyebrows, the clarity and tranquility in her eyes flowing through Komer’s heart like a gentle spring. This girl truly had a talent for being a missionary, her innate peace and serenity always bringing a sense of calm to those who were lost.

"Eve, as humans live in this world, we face all the complexities of the material world, toiling for our livelihood. Certain things are inevitable, and it seems we’re all striving for our own goals. But what, exactly, are we aiming to achieve with all this? Is it to hold peerless power, or to possess inexhaustible wealth, unparalleled beauty, or supreme magic and martial arts? And after obtaining these, what then? Do I sometimes question myself, what am I really pursuing?"

Komer sighed softly, his face clouding with thought, "Human desire is sometimes hard to describe. Without it, it seems we lose our motivation to strive. Yet the pursuit of desire to an extreme can become a kind of obsession, a madness. More importantly, sometimes we cannot be sure of what we need, what result we wish to achieve. The superficial noise cannot mask the loneliness in our hearts. What do we truly need? Eve, can you tell me?"

His words poured forth like a confessional torrent from the depths of Komer’s heart. He initially just wanted to find an excuse to elicit the other person’s sympathy, to make her feel at ease to stay. But once he started speaking, he found himself genuinely expressing the confusion deep within. From Homer, the endless humiliation that Philip and Tracey brought, the bitterness and mixed emotions of two years in exile—almost every time he woke from a dream he had to lick the wounds deep within his soul. Now it seemed he had escaped those shadows, but why then did he always find it hard to fall back asleep when he woke in the night? Could it be as Eve once inadvertently mentioned, that it isn’t what faith one has that’s frightening, but rather, the absence of faith?

With a self-deprecating smile, he hadn’t expected to move himself with his speech that was intended to sway the other person. How ironic. Komer didn’t know what effect his incoherent words would have. At that moment, he could only pretend to be a lost lamb to gain the other’s sympathy. Good thing acting had always been his forte; putting on a performance wasn’t difficult for him.

Eve was struck by Komer’s passionate self-disclosure, or rather, it was the heartfelt questions he roared from his soul that stunned her. She didn’t expect that beneath Komer’s usual composure, his nonchalant and carefree demeanor, there lay such desolation and uncertainty. His outward success concealed his inner bewilderment. She began to realize she understood less and less about the person in front of her. A loss of faith, perhaps that was it; no matter how glorious they appeared, the emptiness and loneliness in their hearts were inescapable. What, if anything, could she do for him?

Seeing that although Eve’s expression remained unchanged, she had fallen silent, clearly pondering the impact of his words. At this time, Komer dared not relax in the slightest. He could only put on his most desolate, sorrowful facade, desperately trying to evoke her deepest pity and compassion with his helplessness.

The entire Caucasus might be just like Komer, a facade of flourishing prosperity, but behind it lay the decline of faith. Spiritual emptiness and a wasteland of belief spread across both the Caucasus and Leon. As a priest, one’s duty isn’t only to save human bodies, but also to strive to save their faith. Eve had thought of this, but it seemed an impossible ideal for the entire Caucasus and Leon.

Whether it was the immigrants from Myron, Meine, or Susoer, or the indigenous people of the land, all showed varying degrees of hostility and distrust towards the Church of Light. Perhaps the tragic circumstances of these three regions caused the immigrants to lose faith in the Church of Light. The indigenous people, who had always been marginalized, exiled, and forsaken, had never been on the Church’s radar. This neglect had led to a lack of affection for the Church of Light among the diverse indigenous population. And the half-beastmen of Leon held the faith of mortals in utter contempt. Eve didn’t know how she could change these attitudes.

However, now Komer’s resonant cry had once again made Eve’s heart quiver. If even the Lordship himself succumbed to such confusion, it seemed no one else in the entire Caucasus and Leon could make a difference. Eve was well aware of Komer’s indifference and emotional barrier towards outsiders. Except for those useful to him, he almost instinctively had an exclusionary attitude, especially when it came to the region’s faith matters. It was unlikely for ordinary people to gain his recognition and support. He could send away the Religious Court’s representatives by any means necessary and adamantly refuse other religious sects’ entry. Eve found it hard to comprehend this seemingly shrewd leader who nonetheless occasionally revealed a vulnerable side.

Eve didn’t answer Komer’s question, but although she was already prepared to leave, she ultimately stayed. This allowed those like Grace and Havier, who had been troubled by Eve’s insistence on leaving, to finally relax.

Bayezid and Burianos had become senior instructors in Komer’s Lord’s Guard. Bayezid’s wild and fierce storm axe technique and flying axe were simply the most practical combat weapons for the half-beastmen. The new batch of Self-defense Army warriors had nearly a quarter of them influenced by Bayezid to choose the double-edged giant axe as their weapon. The nimble small axe became the most effective mid-range attack weapon for the warriors. Under Bayezid’s strict requirements, the beastmen with their superior physical abilities focused more on the accuracy of throwing the flying axe. Within fifty meters, the accuracy of the flying axe throws could not exceed half a meter off the target, which was the minimum requirement Bayezid set for the beastmen soldiers.

Burianos’s task seemed even more significant. The giant’s superior physical abilities were not only on par with the half-beastmen’s but even in terms of stamina, they were not to be compared with the half-beastmen. Aside from teaching a part of the half-beastmen willing to learn the Worldly Stick Technique from him, Burianos also took on the role of physical training for the entire newly formed Self-defense Army. The physical abilities of the half-beastmen were undoubtedly strong, but they mainly exhibited this in the form of explosive and load-bearing capacities. In terms of continuous endurance, they were not much stronger than ordinary mortals, which was still quite far from Komer’s requirements. As the chief physical instructor, Burianos was to completely transform their weaknesses, turning them into truly all-around warriors.

Komer inspected the squads of Self-defense Army warriors undergoing testing with a calm expression. This was the quarterly comprehensive martial arts and physical fitness competition. A row of statuesque half-beast warriors stood at the starting point with chests puffed and bellies round, eager to try, obviously excited by the presence of their Lord at the event.

As the whistle blew, the half-beast warriors immediately began to sprint, running three short distances in a row, each thirty meters through the bush in no more than five seconds, followed by an obstacle course, a one-kilometer mid-distance run through obstacles to be finished within three minutes. Then came the attack zone, where soldiers had to destroy twelve wooden stakes of various sizes and shapes in the shortest time possible, by chopping, slicing, or directly striking, causing the twelve stakes to break. Afterwards, they would use their respective throwing weapons to attack three targets fifty meters away, using flying axes, throwing spears, or iron meteorites. They could choose one of the three long-range attack weapons; success was defined as shattering or hitting the three target marks.

A squad of twelve soldiers quickly completed their tasks within ten minutes, gasping for breath as they returned to their starting positions. The record-keeper immediately noted down their results, and the second squad of soldiers already prepared swiftly began their turn, following the same procedure.

Seeing a satisfied expression on Komer’s face, Baoling, Bayezid, and Burianos all showed proud expressions. "Lord," Baoling said, "the basic physical training of the first phase for this batch of warriors is now complete. The next phase will be the more difficult drill and formation training. Of course, their individual skills are still not entirely satisfactory and need further strengthening. We can continue individual martial arts training while conducting drills and formation training. At the same time, we can selectively pick out a group of warriors with junior leadership talents to act as junior officers, which can greatly speed up the formation of this group of soldiers."

"Baoling, Fran and the others will be back soon. There isn’t much left to do with Jazair, as the beastmen have already retreated. Though the fortresses to the North have been destroyed, the beastmen seem to be quite subdued due to the Church of Light’s warning – whether it’s just on the surface or otherwise. But at least for now, the kingdom will be free of trouble for a while. Still, we need to strengthen our own power. Homer won’t maintain this situation with us for long, and we should have a sense of crisis," Komer mused. "Once Fran and the others return, let’s shuffle these two armies and re-integrate them. I don’t want to see one strong and one weak. Our army still lacks depth, and we won’t be able to build up a satisfactory strong force in a short time. However, fortunately, we have other secret weapons, don’t we?"

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