The Vastness of Magical Destiny
Chapter 916: Volume 29, Remote Sword Energy, - 10: Covert Conflict

Chapter 916: Volume 29, Remote Sword Energy, Chapter 10: Covert Conflict

The liberation and integration of the Sanjia Tribe provided a large number of high-quality soldiers for Komer’s Furious Wave Corps, while also supplying sufficient labor for the Caucasus and all of Homer. The young and strong from the three tribes crossed the Catania River in droves to enter the Caucasus. Upon discovering the already abundant labor force there, they took to the waterways of Mattdam and the land routes of Muscat to move into Leon and Homer.

The influx of thousands of robust laborers brought tremendous vitality to the economies of Homer and Leon. This was particularly true in the newly developing Izmir region, where mine development, workshop construction, docks, markets, streets, and a large number of housing projects were underway. These labor-demanding industries had once stalled due to a severe shortage of workers, even leading to collective pleas from merchants to fully open the slave market and reduce the taxes on slave trade to promote the import of a large number of slaves. Although rumors in Puber attracted quite a few dwarves, their arrival did not greatly assist the mine owners, workshop owners, and construction merchants. The dwarves were neither adept at nor interested in high-intensity heavy labor; they preferred to engage in technical work such as ore selection, smelting, and refining. The discovery of high-quality clay by Lake Niall also attracted a large number of dwarves looking to strike it rich.

The arrival of a large number of barbarians left mine owners and workshop owners, who had been struggling with a lack of labor, overjoyed; and the local large-scale infrastructure expansion also urgently needed a large labor force, prompting construction merchants to raise wages to attract barbarian labor. This free labor showed far greater enthusiasm than slaves, displaying initiative in mining and production that far exceeded that of slaves. This led mine owners and workshop owners to promise well-behaving slaves the option to buy their freedom with their wages, a practice that greatly stimulated the slaves’ enthusiasm and greatly improved production efficiency in the Izmir region.

As tensions in the South continued, successive small-scale wars broke out, drawing both the Severo Kingdom and the Kingdom of Shimaina, two dwarf kingdoms, into wars with their neighbors. The spread of rumors about ancient civilization relics in Puber and the flames of war compelled many dwarves to leave their homes and come to the Caucasus and Leon regions.

Lakeside of Niall became a settlement area for mortals and dwarves. The fertile alluvial plains attracted a large number of landless impoverished mortals to clear the land for farming. The discovery of quality clay drew hoards of hill dwarves, who flocked to the area. Creating beautiful pottery was a traditional craft for which they were renowned across the Blue Continent. Compared to their war-ridden homes, dwarves who did not cling to their homes naturally chose Lakeside of Niall as their new place of settlement, and the abundant fishery resources of Lake Niall also attracted many fishermen from the upper reaches of the Catania River to settle and fish here.

Puber was also considering building a new town at the junction of Lake Niall and the canal waterway. Convenient waterway transportation and a hub location, rich clay resources, newly reclaimed fertile fields, and the influx of a large population—all these factors had the makings for the rise of a new town.

Compared to Homer and Poznan, both Komer and Puber preferred the Caucasus and Leon far more than Homer and Poznan. In the hearts of Komer and Puber, the Caucasus and Leon, which were built by their own hands and feet, truly belonged to them, while Homer, although their homeland, did not evoke the same deep feelings of attachment.

In addition to the already front-line Rock Corps and Flying Feather Corps, the Furious Wave Corps, the Homer Knights regiment, and the Earth Dragon Assault Camp had also begun to quietly assemble along the Plovdiv front line. To avoid detection by Silesian and Galleian forces, Fran chose to travel by water, which not only avoided exposing the army’s movements by march but also greatly reduced troop fatigue. They boarded ships in Groningen and headed south directly, bypassing Cyprus and arriving in Odessa, then crossing the Busen Plain via canal to reach the Plovdiv frontline.

Komer had long decided to tackle the Galle issue first. Once Galle was dealt with, Silesia posed no threat. Under Nissa Ferdinand’s control and riddled with the activities of Maha Gummi’s intelligence department, Silesia was already in disarray. The noble merchants took turns creating disturbances, and Nissa was struggling to control the situation within his own territory, so there was no need to worry that he might pose any threat to nearby Poznan.

Plovdiv is Homer’s westernmost important city, an essential hub for the distribution of goods in Central Nicosia. From here, one can push west all the way to the Galle capital, Gutenberg. To the southwest, it leads to Godeburg, and to the northwest, it reaches Jazair, now the capital of the Beamon Kingdom. However, with its flat terrain and lack of strong fortresses, Plovdiv is also highly vulnerable to attacks from enemies to the east. The Rock Corps was holding on stubbornly under such adverse conditions, firmly holding the Galleians west of Plovdiv and preventing them from crossing the Plovdiv front, thus buying time for its own resolution of the Poznan front.

Standing on the riverbank, Komer found the faint smell of the water not pungent but rather comfortable. Along the canal banks, the Galleians had engaged in several battles in the past few months with Komer’s forces. Though not very large, they were quite fierce. The Rock Corps faithfully fulfilled its duty, firmly fixing the Galleians at Plovdiv to the west and preventing them from crossing the Plovdiv line, which in turn won Komer time to resolve the situation in Poznan.

Galle was the heart of the kingdom. Although Jazair had always considered itself a settlement for the nobles, when it came to the most economically prosperous regions, Galle was unmatched. The urban construction of Gutenberg had always been at the forefront of the kingdom’s trends. Komer gazed westward, somewhat entranced, and now it seemed that he was about to take an important step toward Galle.

Komer was somewhat immersed in an ineffable sense of glory.

Homer had been pocketed, and Poznan had crawled at Komer’s feet. Now it was time for the arrogant and self-aggrandizing Galleians to take their turn. Komer despised the Galleians, even more than he did the Homer People. The innate nobility that Galleians seemed to possess made everyone who wasn’t from Galle feel a subconscious sense of humiliation. To the eyes of the Galleians, it seemed that anyone who wasn’t one of them was a bumpkin, including the people of Jazair, who were in their view, nothing more than a bunch of beggars in fine clothing.

Komer recalled the cold reception he had encountered in Gutenberg. The indifference and contempt in the eyes of the Galle nobles were something he found hard to forget. Only by trampling these Galleians underfoot did Komer feel he could experience the thrill of revenge. For a moment, he even wondered if his inexplicable and lingering feelings for Vero were also rooted in this somewhat perverse mentality. Did satisfying his obscure, dark psychology require making a naked Vero moan beneath him?

"Maybe it really is so," Komer muttered subconsciously.

"Lord, what did you say?" Fran, standing beside Komer, asked with confusion.

"Oh, nothing, nothing." Komer replied, somewhat embarrassed as he gathered his thoughts. It was indeed a bit silly to dwell on these sordid thoughts at such a time. "Fran, everything is in place now, what are we waiting for?"

"Lord, we still have to wait. The intelligence from the west hasn’t been fully collected yet. Although I also firmly believe that no matter what the Galleians do, they won’t be able to withstand our offensive, I still have an unsettling feeling," Fran said as he carefully packed up the Mirror of Thousand Miles. There was nothing worth seeing through the mirror’s lens; it was purely a subconscious action.

"Oh?" Komer exclaimed, surprised, and asked, "Why do you think so?"

"It’s too quiet. I find the Galleians’ behavior overly calm. Even though they have also made some adjustments on the front line, I have an intuition that their actions are too contrived, raising suspicion," Fran said, frowning in thought. "Zellin and Susanov wouldn’t be unaware of the huge gap between their military power and ours. Even if we intentionally concealed some of our strength, they should know that once the war starts, it will be a war that decides the fate of the entire Kingdom of Nicosia, not just Galle. Wait a moment..."

Fran suddenly stopped speaking as if he had suddenly remembered something, a hint of tension flashing across his brows. "Lord, this is a war that will determine the fate of the entire Nicosia. Maybe the Silesians lack the power to intervene, but what about Princess Katya and His Highness Prince Hoffman? Could they really just stand by and watch? Doesn’t this war affect them in the slightest?"

A chill ran through Komer’s heart as Fran’s words resonated with that uncomfortable feeling he experienced when leaving Livonia, and the meaningful words spoken by Katya echoed in his mind. He realized that he might have been too careless and had forgotten about it after returning to the Caucasus. Would someone with Katya’s character truly remain indifferent? If Katya wouldn’t stand idly by, what about Hoffman? And in what manner would they appear?

Komer pondered intently. The martial power in Katya’s possession was not considerable, but the rebuilt Golden Oak and the still somewhat intact Blue Dove Corps that Hoffman commanded were not to be underestimated. If he failed to account for these two forces, there might indeed be trouble. However, the mere addition of these two forces to the conflict would not be enough to alter the fundamental situation between the two sides – Komer was confident of that.

(To be continued. For further updates, please visit www.qidian.com. More Chapters, support the author, support authorized reading!)