The Vastness of Magical Destiny
Chapter 728: Volume Twenty-One: The Dark Road, - Ten: Rift

Chapter 728: Volume Twenty-One: The Dark Road, Chapter Ten: Rift

The long-bearded man’s words temporarily pressed down the internal disputes among the Mountain people, but neither Montrey of the Caron Tribe nor Hulechi of the Valle Tribe had changed their stance because of his words. Faced with the huge temptation of interests, it’s difficult for anyone to remain clear-headed. To expect a tribe’s Chief to consider the interests of the rest of the Mountain people, neither Montrey nor Woodleigh seemed to have reached such a breadth of mind.

"It seems Wu Gul wants to draw the Sanwa Tribe in to create balance, huh. His Carlo Tribe is now strong enough, getting the most out of every division of spoils, even what comes from the Sanjia Tribe, and now he plays this game in front of us, clearly not wanting to let our tribes threaten their status. How can there be such narrow-minded fellows among us Mountain people? Woodleigh, what do we do?" Montrey angrily drained his bowl of Camel Dragon Milk Wine and slammed the bowl heavily onto the table.

"Montrey, this is not surprising. Wu Gul also has to consider his Carlo Tribe, otherwise how could he secure his position as Chief? He claims to prioritize the overall interests of the Mountain people, but when has the Carlo Tribe not taken the largest share during the division of spoils and the North resource quotas? When have they ever considered our needs?" The gaunt Woodleigh appeared very calm, sipped the milk wine in small tastes, his gaze deep, while fiddling with the wooden bowl, "The issue is how much credibility Komer’s words contain. What Wu Gul said today makes sense, but I can never quite understand if Wu Gul’s speculation is true, what would be the benefit for Komer himself or Caucasus? His situation in Mortal Society isn’t good, and he doesn’t seem like the type to sacrifice himself and Caucasus’s interests for the entirety of Mortal Society. Wu Gul’s guess may be possible, but the likelihood is slim. I do not believe Komer has such great desire. At least for us Mountain people, he should bring more benefits."

"Woodleigh, let’s not worry about the future for now. What do we do right now?" Montrey knew Komer wasn’t that simple, but for the Mountain people, Komer didn’t pose any realistic danger. That alone made cooperation worth it, let alone having the Sanjia Tribe as a precedent. As for the interests of all the Mountain people, Montrey couldn’t care too much about that at the moment. The Sanwa Tribe was skeptical, and he didn’t want to explain further. Now that he had the alliance of Woodleigh’s Cabo Tribe and his own Caron Tribe, he felt much more secure. Having a powerful ally might divide his benefits, but it would also help bear the pressure, at least sparing him from facing the Alliance’s pressure alone.

"What to do? Just do what needs to be done! We proceed with our established plan. For the Sanya Tribe, I’ll talk to them. They seem to be interested too, only because they were apprehensive about Wu Gul’s stance, they did not express any opinion. As long as they don’t make trouble behind our backs, huh, even if Wu Gul gets the entire Sanwa Tribe, it’s not a big deal. He wouldn’t dare to cause an uproar invoking the Mountain people’s infighting," Woodleigh said with a confident, cold smile.

"Mortals indeed surpass us in many aspects of civilization, and we must admit our shortcomings. I’ve always disapproved of using Martial Power to break the stalemate we’ve had with Mortals for hundreds of years. Look at the situation of us Mountain people over these years; aside from the Carlo Tribe barely maintaining itself, which one of our other Tribes is not in decline? Over the years, what have the sacrifices of so many warriors brought us? Every famine forces us to exchange life and blood for food, and these senseless sacrifices are making us Mountain people weaker and weaker. This vicious cycle will ultimately drain the last drop of blood of our Mountain people. We can’t go on like this! The Sanjia Tribe is already trying to break out of this vicious cycle, but many of us turn a blind eye, instead trying to restrain their trade with Mortals. I’ve long been wanting to go to the North but never had the chance, and now the opportunity lies before us. What are we waiting for?"

Montrey deeply sympathized with Woodleigh’s impassioned speech, but his considerations were more realistic. He couldn’t control other Tribes’ reluctance to interact with Komer, but no one could prevent his own Tribe from making a deal with Komer. Seeing the thriving situation of the Sanjia Tribe, he couldn’t remain indifferent. Every famine meant countless children and elders dying of hunger. With a glimmer of possibility before him, he was unwilling to let that happen again, and Komer, who had an excellent reputation among the Sanjia Tribe’s Mountain people and who became the Lord of the Flanders Region, was undoubtedly a hope.

"Woodleigh, then let’s do it! I do not plan to participate in the war over at Brandenburg Castle anymore. Mortals and Dwarves have already joined hands. Continuing to fight will only add more casualties. Our Caron Tribe has already lost enough. This time I had over two hundred warriors die on the Battlefield, and this year fewer than six hundred were born in our tribe, and over three hundred of those are female! I don’t want to continue like this." Montrey revealed his plans, "If you agree, I will tell Komer to exchange sixty thousand measures of food for permission to rebuild the Gdansk Fortress. We split it between our two Tribes. I plan to store half of the thirty thousand measures of food for times of famine, and there are some other ideas I want to discuss with you before negotiating with the Mortals."

After a slight hesitation, as if weighing the pros and cons, Woodleigh said, "Montrey, if we do this, we will truly be tearing our faces with Wu Gul and the others. I think it might be better not to publicly escalate the conflict for now. We can withdraw all our Soldiers from Flanders and assure Komer that we won’t enter the valley. As for the reconstruction of the Gdansk Fortress, let’s delay a bit longer. We can allow it later after the Mortals fulfill their exchange terms; seeing the real benefits will reduce the pressure on those Tribes who haven’t taken a stand."

"Hmm, that works too, but I’m worried the Mortals might have concerns," said Montrey, feeling that he had perhaps been too eager, yet he was also concerned about how to appease Komer.

"Montrey, don’t overly worry. The key to the Flanders Region is in our hands. Mortals need us. As long as we ultimately fulfill our promises, I think they should be able to accept it," Woodleigh reminded his ally to maintain a relatively detached attitude as appearing too eager would allow the Mortals to see more opportunities to exploit.

The arrival of Neptune and his party finally allowed Komer to breathe a sigh of relief. After being tempered by the intricate administrative affairs of the Caucasus and Leon Region, Neptune had become a fully qualified Administrative Officer. Thus, Puber could confidently entrust the entire affairs of the Leon Region to him, except for the financial and judicial powers. Except for those, Puber had entrusted all local administrative powers in the Leon Region to Neptune. The financial power had always been enjoyed solely by Puber, and the judicial power was a regulation set by Komer. It must be held by a Judicial Officer independent of the administrative system. Even Puber had no authority to interfere with the law enforcement actions of any judicial officer or assistant, however junior—they answered only to the Chief Justice Reese, who in turn was accountable only to Komer.

Even with a tired expression, Neptune’s young face was still full of a thirst for work, and his meticulously groomed hair proved that the young man placed great emphasis on his appearance and etiquette. His refined and well-fitting clothes clearly demonstrated the character befitting his status—a young man full of ambition and enthusiasm for his work, possessing excellent malleability.

Neptune, who quickly got into the swing of things, clearly fell in love with this job immediately. Although the Flanders Region was nowhere as extensive as Leon, nor had as large a population, it was a genuine Mortal Society, a complete society made up of various strata, unlike Leon, which was primarily composed of Half-Beastmen. The work environment and efficiency here would make many feel much happier, and anyone would prefer to be with their educated kin.

Komer watched as Neptune, after a few words of admonition from him, left in high spirits. He was very satisfied with the young man’s work enthusiasm. However, letting Flanders follow the same developmental path as the Caucasus was not Komer’s greatest wish at the moment. He did not have that much energy to spare for Flanders, which would become a true stronghold for the Dark Lineage, a kingdom that belonged to him and the Dark Forces combined. More of his energy would be focused on the increasingly strong desires of the Great Mysterium Sect: to rapidly initiate a wave of dark frenzy across the entire South, to have the entirety of the South bask in the light of darkness.

Seeing Komer staring blankly into the distance, seemingly lost in thought, the Puppet Mage quietly approached and slowed his steps.

"Mr. Mihailovich, is there something you need?" Without turning around, intuition told Komer that the other party definitely had some special news to share with him.

"Lord, I have some leads on the matter you asked me to investigate," Mihailovich said with a slight change in his expression, clearly unable to remain calm with the news he had just received—an unusual occurrence for him.

"Oh?" Komer suddenly turned around, his eyes sharp as he asked, "Where?"

"Marco, at the Religious Court," Mihailovich said with tensed lips. "Someone saw the big figures of the Court escorting a person into the Repentance Tower some days ago. It looks like it might be Rebry."

(To be continued, for the following story, please visit WWW.CMFU.COM, with more Chapters, support the author, support authorized reading!)