Chapter 20: Fortress Bruce

Bruce’s prosperity far exceeded Komer’s expectations. Aside from the fortress, which served as a military no-man’s-land, a massive market town had also developed outside it, its level of prosperity making it hard for Komer to imagine how people had managed to reach this place through the Greenland Forest. However, when he saw the busy docks at the river mouth with cargo ships coming and going, he understood the reason.

Due to the many uncertainties in the Greenland Forest, although incidents like the group attacks by magical beasts that Komer and his group encountered were rare, ordinary caravans still considered crossing the forest by land to be a rather dangerous endeavor. Unless the goods were extremely urgent, or if several caravans could travel together, or if the caravans had strong armed guards or mercenaries of their own, they mostly chose to travel by water down the Nise River into the Abyssal Sea, then head north to other ports in the Homer region. Although this added some time to the journey, it ensured their safety, as pirates in the Abyssal Sea generally did not venture beyond the Nise River mouth. This made Bruce the most important freight transit hub in the Leon region.

Massive stone watchtowers stood between Castle Bruce and the market town that had formed outside it. As the town grew in size, the trees along the forest’s edge were gradually cut down and burned. To ensure a safe buffer zone around the castle, the fortress’s military commanders had already cleared the trees within three kilometers of the castle years ago. A series of stone watchtowers were built in a semicircle centered on the castle, starting 500 meters from the forest edge and extending to the banks of the Nise River on both sides of the castle.

However, the rapid development of the town showed that the commanders who built the watchtowers had miscalculated. In just twenty years, the population living outside the castle soared from less than 300 to nearly 20,000 people. Such an astonishing growth rate made them realize how wise it had been to build the watchtowers 2,500 meters away. Otherwise, if they had been more cautious, those residential buildings would now have to be built beneath the watchtowers.

A massive bunker stood at the end of the wide floating bridge, while another bunker was built on the dock, connected directly to the main castle by a long wall pathway. This pathway, wide enough for ten soldiers to run side by side, allowed three hundred soldiers to travel from the castle to the dock bunker in ten minutes—this was no longer a purely military fortress. From Nalan’s perspective, the fortress’s role as a checkpoint had surpassed its military function; by ensuring that no passing caravan could slip through, it greatly diminished its military significance.

Thanks to his status as a baron and lord of the Caucasus, the fortress commander did not refuse Komer’s request to tour the fortress. The entire fortress was constructed using a mix of wood and stone, with the outer walls and defensive structures built from stone slabs, while the ordinary buildings inside were mostly wooden. What interested Komer even more was the bustling market. As soon as they arrived in Bruce, Pube left Komer and the others behind, carrying two carts of goods along with the spoils of war—gray wolf pelts—to the market. Linen from the north and beet sugar sold well there, and although the profits were modest, they still delighted Pube, who was good at calculating.

What excited Pube even more was that the untreated gray wolf pelts, with their strong odor, immediately caught the attention of everyone in the market. Those who lived around the Greenland forests for a long time certainly recognized what these were, especially the slightly reddish fur on their backs, which was truly striking.

“Wow, what is this? My god, are these all gray wolf pelts?! Good heavens, how can there be so many?”

“Oh, look, I’m not mistaken, right? Th-these seem to be red-mane gray wolves!”

“That’s right. Looking at their upright manes and their natural color, they don’t seem to be fake furs dyed or treated.”

Soon, a large crowd gathered around Pupber and Baoling. It was the adventurers and mercenaries wandering around the market who first noticed these unusual items—not the sensitive merchants. As adventurers and mercenaries, they were constantly in extreme danger, which forced them to spend heavily on protective gear to increase their chances of survival. Although the gray wolves were not particularly powerful magical beasts, they rarely appeared alone but usually in groups of dozens or even hundreds. Even seasoned adventurers hardly dared to challenge them. As typical representatives of ice-type magical beasts, gray wolf pelts had innate resistance to ice magic and cold-based attacks. The pelts of red-maned wolves were especially effective, and when used to make leather armor such as greaves, breastplates, and gauntlets, their usefulness was self-evident. Thus, Pupber’s products immediately caught their attention.

Pupber narrowed his eyes as he looked at the crowd of people of various appearances surrounding him. Though they all carried various weapons, he wasn’t worried. This place was the only safe area in the southern part of the Homer region, under the strict control of the guards at Bruce Fortress. No reckless bandits would dare to act recklessly under their watchful eyes. Further south, across the Nise River, things were different—Pupber knew this better than anyone. That’s why he had to sell these wolf pelts here.

The wolf pelts caused a sensation in the market. With a large number of explorers, mercenaries, bodyguard teams, and armor manufacturers gathered here, this excellent material for protective gear quickly attracted many buyers. A small batch of the pelts was sold out immediately. Some major buyers who could afford the best quality were even taken to an inn by Pupber for face-to-face price negotiations. Dozens of ordinary gray wolf pelts were sold at ten gold shields each, while about a dozen complete red-maned wolf pelts fetched as much as a hundred gold shields each. As for the few top-quality purple-maned wolf pelts with slightly purple fur, they were sold at a staggering price of three hundred gold shields—much to Pupber’s delight.

The gains from Komer’s expedition even made the fortress commander who accompanied him envious; such luck was not something everyone could experience. With the help of the Rema Knights, there was no place on the continent they couldn’t reach. Though magical beasts were fierce, they became easy prey for the Rema Knights. Of course, the exact situation at that time was unclear. Without the help of those fallen knights, it was likely that any knights would end up as food for wolves. Without Komer’s sudden outburst, everyone would have faced the same fate. Yet these details were not meant for outsiders to know. Komer and his group naturally had their concerns, and the two Rema Knights also preferred not to mention these unglorious achievements.

Under Komer’s arrangement, the task of purchasing slaves was assigned to Puber and Baoling. Komer planned to rest in Bruce for a few days. The strange attacks by magical beasts and the sudden appearance of the fallen knights made him realize the dangers ahead. Though he wasn’t a coward, he wasn’t reckless either. Without the help of the two Rema Knights, he knew it would be difficult for him to reach the Caucasus. Moreover, he still had to pass through the chaotic and dangerous Leon region. No one knew what unpredictable things awaited him ahead, so he had to proceed cautiously and plan ahead.

Since Bruce was located near the most important fortress and market town in the Leon region, along with the chaotic and dangerous situation there, it had become a gathering place for the lower-ranking nobles of the Leon region. Count Poninsky owned the grandest complex here—a small castle second only in size to a fortress castle. Although this wasn’t his usual residence, given its massive structure, it must have cost well over a hundred thousand gold shields to build. Attached to Count Poninsky’s estate were a series of buildings, all belonging to various nobles from the Leon region. Due to the unstable situation there, they preferred to live here rather than stay in their own territories, often only making occasional inspections under guard, or simply entrusting stewards to manage their estates and mines.

The chaotic and dangerous situation in the Leon region was closely linked to its abundant coal and iron mines. The large-scale mining of iron and coal required a huge labor force, and the native population could no longer meet the demand. Slaves thus became the only option. Slave traders from all over the continent flocked here to trade with the nobles. Mortals, half-orcs, and their hybrids were the most sought-after slaves, and the Bruce Fortress was the largest distribution center in this area.