The Vastness of Magical Destiny
Chapter 753: Volume 22: Revival and Rise - 13: Changing Situation

Chapter 753: Volume 22: Revival and Rise Chapter 13: Changing Situation

Early summer in Livonia was exceptionally comfortable, with the lightening eastern sky hinting at the imminent arrival of the season. Nikotsburg, as the capital of Livonia, had more than doubled its population over the past three months, and everywhere there was a sense of restlessness and unease mixed in the air.

Komer gently nudged his horse, and the chestnut steed surged forward, making him somewhat unaccustomed to riding after a long break. Seven or eight foxhounds had already dashed ahead, forming a semi-circle and converging upwards along the gentle slopes. The lush greenery of the bushes and the sunlight-drenched trees presented an excellent hiding place for small beasts and birds, making this sunny morning something truly worth looking forward to.

The arrow deftly struck the fluttering dove, and Komer was quite satisfied. Although this hunt had only yielded a few doves, grouse, and hares, it was better than coming back empty-handed. He was never much of a hunting expert and had no expectations of bagging any leopards or bears, especially since this area was too close to town and any such larger game would likely have already been hunted by the nearby nobles.

Komer had been in Nikotsburg for nearly three months, during which the kingdom’s situation had changed dramatically. As Komer expected, the Golden Oak Legion, which lost the support of the Royal Court Magicians, could not shoulder the heavy trust of the people. Jazair held out for only three days before falling, with the Golden Oak Legion and the Iron Cross Corps likewise crumbling; and the still-intact Blue Dove Corps, facing encirclement, could only retreat from the northern defensive line to the south-east.

What was surprising this time was that the Half-Beastmen did not loot indiscriminately as before. Instead, they showed remarkable restraint. Apart from confiscating the near-empty royal treasury, they selectively plundered the nobles and left the common people largely unharmed, which had a positive effect on stabilizing the situation inside Jazair City. With the fall of Jazair, the entire northern area, except for the northeast, had officially been conquered, and the Beamon Kingdom was formally established, although it had yet to be recognized by any mortal country, nor was it likely to be.

The fall of the northern region of the Kingdom of Nicosia had merged it with the beastmen-controlled territories of Myron Duchy, Susoer, and the Meine Region. While the beastmen adopted a relatively mild policy, refugees from the northern region of Nicosia still flooded south and east like a deluge; anyone with a means sought to leave the beastmen-occupied areas, unwilling to become second-class citizens of the so-called Beamon Kingdom.

The establishment of the Beamon Kingdom, unrecognized by any human nation, had effectively thrust its influence deep into the heart of the Northern Alliance, especially by making Jazair its capital, which directly challenged the legitimacy of the Kingdom of Nicosia’s existence. Throughout the spring, a mood of gloom and oppression hung over the countries of the Northern Alliance.

What made the Nicosians even more uneasy was witnessing a completely different scene—beastmen no longer destroying the human castles and fortresses, but instead doing their best to protect these structures. At first, everyone thought the beastmen had changed their nature, but they soon realized something else was happening.

Immigrant beastmen lead by the Tiger Clan, Bear Clan, Fox Clan, and Wolf Clan began moving south, quickly occupying these cities and towns that were once populated by mortals. Following them was a large influx of Cow Tribe, Sheep Tribe, Deer Tribe, and Mouse Tribe beastmen, who began taking over the abandoned farms and houses of mortals and started trying to learn agriculture, emulating mortals. This spectacle left mortal scouts dumbfounded. Were these beastmen truly giving up their ancestral home in the Mogan Wilderness to migrate to human settlements?

The establishment of the Beamon Kingdom and their great migration shocked the entire Blue Continent, with all countries observing and discussing what the beastmen, so different from mortals, would do next. Would they expand further, or simply seek to capture a civilized base from humans to evolve themselves? Military spending in the nations of the Northern Alliance soared, as the beastmen had turned their equally threatening offensive into the fruits of victory; no one believed anymore that the beastmen were mere brutish plunderers—they seemed to have changed their old ways of looting, shifting from stealing food and treasures to seizing land and resources, becoming plunderers of the foundations of mortal civilization. That was the most terrifying kind of plunderer!

While everyone else was filled with fear and shock at the beastmen’s greed, Komer noticed some unusual signs.

The tens of thousands of human common people who remained in the city of Jazair did not suffer much harassment or abuse. On the contrary, on the very first day the Beamon Kingdom was proclaimed, laws were enacted to protect these now-minority mortals and other races, the primitive laws that allowed the capture of other humans as slaves were abolished, and the transformation of mortals and other humans into slaves through extralegal methods was prohibited. Although these laws were quite rudimentary, what surprised and worried Komer even more was that the beastmen invited representatives from the mortal populace to participate in the revision and perfection of these laws concerning their interests within the Beamon Kingdom’s controlled areas, and even invited a retired mortal Judicial Officer to participate in the drafting of the entire legal system for the Beamon Kingdom!

Similarly, the upper echelons among the beastmen no longer preferred living in tents, as was their past custom, but took up residence in the mansions left behind by the fleeing nobles in the city of Jazair. They also began to emulate the lifestyle of human nobility, learning and mimicking as the simplest means to quickly familiarize themselves with the ways of civilization.

These actions may not have caught the attention of many, and those who did notice them might have thought it was merely a blind to conceal the beastmen’s crude and brutal nature. However, Komer had already sensed a decidedly different aroma: beastmen were no longer content with their rough and uncultured lives on the Mogan Wilderness. They too were yearning for the dawn of civilization to shine upon their heads; they too were yearning for a better life to be theirs. To make this dream a reality, learning and assimilation were undoubtedly the most expedient strategies.

Survival of the fittest, the notion that only the adaptable thrive. While some barbarians were starting to realize that self-isolation and self-indulgence would only lead their race to decline or even extinction, the beastmen had already taken a step further. They were no longer confined to minor acts; setting foot in the North of Nicosia was their first step forward.

Yet, these changes failed to garner the attention of Nicosians; even Katya and Hoffman were more preoccupied with the dispute over the legitimate inheritance rights. Nicosians seemed to hope that the beastmen would soon find themselves unable to adapt to city life and expect that after enduring a hot summer, the beastmen would leave of their own accord. However, Komer had a premonition that this time the beastmen were not likely to easily abandon the Royal City, known as the jewel of Nicosia.

Although Hoffman had the nominal support of the Great Aristocracy and the Four Great Lords, his mishandling of the Star Chamber Court’s ruling caused him to just miss the throne that seemed within easy reach. Losing Jazair, his most important stronghold, Godeburg could only serve as a temporary political center. The Great Aristocrats who gathered there still supported Hoffman, but the lack of funds to assemble a formidable martial force continued to trouble him. The Blue Dove Corps, although retreated to the western front of Godeburg for defense against any future beastmen movements, was a force Hoffman never hoped nor dared to consider utilizing.

Katya’s situation was not much better than Hoffman’s. Although she had the support of merchants and financiers, making her financially more comfortable, the lack of noble support always made her seem less confident, her voice much quieter. The Middle and Small Aristocracy vehemently supported her, but faced with the strong pressure of the beastmen, they turned their attention more to ensuring that several areas in the South West were not threatened by the beastmen. However, lacking private soldiers, they could not assemble an armed force of note in a short time. The beastmen, although for unknown reasons had not moved South, weighed on these aristocrats like a huge stone, pressing so heavily they felt suffocated.

But for Komer, perhaps this situation couldn’t have been better. The fall of Jazair indeed meant that his initial efforts were in vain, but it was not without benefits. The Church of Light’s power in the north of Nicosia was also greatly weakened. As masses of refugees fled south, the Church’s attention shifted to the movements of the beastmen, which inevitably affected the Religious Court’s search and surveillance efforts against him. He could take advantage of the current chaos to calmly arrange and plan his next moves.

The Royal Court Magicians withdrew from Homer at the first opportunity, with Godeburg becoming their temporary base. Without the strong support of the Royal Court Magicians, Philip’s plan to march south was indefinitely postponed, especially in the face of the threat that the beastmen might launch a major action at any time, making a stubborn campaign against Caucasus seem quite inappropriate.

Although Komer still dared not freely appear within the Kingdom’s territory, hiding in the South in Livonia, especially in Quke Valley, which had been officially enfeoffed to him, he was not worried the Religious Court would give him another profound lesson there.

(To be continued... For further developments, please visit WWW.CMFU.COM. More Chapters available; support the author; support authorized reading!)