Chapter Eleven: The Magic Crystal Mines

“Boss, during this time, I’ve taken people to various places to conduct surveys. We’ve found that the population in the Caucasus is likely well over five thousand. Many of them live in the mountains and wilderness far from Ugru and other areas. Most of them are escaped slaves from the Leon region, who fled to the Caucasus due to the abuse by the mine owners there. During my investigations, they’ve sent representatives to contact me, hoping that the new lord will grant them the status of free people. If this condition is met, they’re willing to swear loyalty to the lord and do anything for him.” Pube boasted proudly about his achievements, his face glowing with excitement. “There are about a thousand of them, slaves who have escaped over the past twenty years. If we can give them legal status, they’ll be the first natives to swear loyalty to you, Boss. Although most of them are half-orcs or hybrids of half-orcs, this will provide us with ample labor and soldiers if you plan to expand your guard force.”
“Oh? That’s good news. Where do these people live?” Komer was delighted. There were only about four thousand legal residents in the entire Caucasus. Adding over a thousand more loyal inhabitants would greatly enhance his influence in this region. Moreover, Komer’s ambitions went far beyond just these few thousand people in the Caucasus. In his mind, the Caucasus should become as prosperous as the Boson Plains, a wealthy region renowned throughout the Kingdom of Nicocia. He himself would become the legendary figure who revitalized the Caucasus—that was his vision at the moment.
“Most of them live in the low mountains near the southern foothills of the Vot Mountains, making a living by hunting, logging, and farming. Since they haven’t had legal status, they dare not show themselves openly. Of course, for survival, they do deal with some merchants they trust. My connection with them was made through those merchants.”

Puber was proud of his innovation. Countries across the continent enforced strict checks on runaway slaves, and it was nearly impossible for them to obtain legitimate identification. The mine owners in the Leon region knew that many slaves had crossed the vast Vot Mountains to flee into the Caucasus, but first, the Caucasus had no official rulers, and second, it had long been a land cursed by demons—wild monsters often lurked in the forests, and Fort Damorensk was also a notorious dangerous place in the kingdom. Even if they wanted to search for and capture these runaway slaves, they lacked the means. Perhaps the cost of capturing them would far exceed the price of buying slaves. Fortunately, slaves were not scarce on the continent, so the mine owners in the Leon region, aside from strengthening defenses to prevent slave escapes, had not considered searching the Caucasus for them.

“But boss, changing a slave’s status is already extremely difficult, and it’s even harder for these runaway slaves to obtain legitimate status. Without a special pardon from His Majesty the King, they can’t get legitimate status. And these aren’t just a few—there are over a thousand of them. If His Majesty grants pardons casually, it might provoke strong backlash from the merchants. So the conditions they’ve proposed are quite tricky,” Puber explained, frowning and looking frustrated. “Although the Caucasus is far from the kingdom’s heartland, turning such a large number of runaway slaves into legitimate free citizens here won’t go unnoticed by those mine owners in Leon. Once they complain to the Grand Duke and His Majesty the King, we’ll be in big trouble.”

“Who cares? The Caucasus is far away from the king. Even if we give those runaway slaves free status, what can they do?” Ilot shouted rudely. “How about we forge some identification documents and have these people pretend to be them? That way, everyone’s happy, right?”

Hearing their absurd talk, Fran was stunned and speechless. He never expected knights of noble birth to speak so recklessly, ignoring the kingdom’s laws and regulations, and openly saying things like “the king is far away,” forging IDs, and impersonation—things usually said only by thieves and outlaws. Moreover, the lord seemed not only unoffended but also quite interested in their words, which Fran found utterly unbelievable.

“Yes, Ilot is right. We can forge some identification documents and give them to those runaway slaves who want to become free people, allowing them to appear under this identity temporarily. Once the conditions are right, we can find other ways to gradually solve these problems. I think this issue is easy to resolve. When I was studying in Phoenix, I met some folks who are experts in this field. I heard their skills are excellent, their work is reliable, and they value integrity greatly, never revealing their employers’ secrets. We can definitely use their help to achieve this goal. Of course, these identification documents must bear the lord’s signature and seal to be valid.” Talking about these shady tactics, Pube became excited, making it hard for Komer to imagine what this guy had been up to during the two years his father sent him to Phoenix to study. It was hard to say whether he was part of those scammer gangs; after all, Phoenix was known throughout the kingdom for producing scammers.

However, Komer also agreed that this was a simple and feasible workaround. In present-day Caucasus, there was already a shortage of labor, much land was barren, and traffic was congested, making it impossible to attract foreign merchants. Under these circumstances, it was unimaginable to support one’s own group. To find a way to get rich, some risk had to be taken. Anyway, his status as a lord was something he’d acquired by chance, so it might as well be to take a bold gamble—stop wherever it got dark, just getting by somehow.

“By the way, there’s one more thing I need to tell you. I’ve figured out the identity of that grain merchant. This guy named Kudan seems to be the main supplier for those pirates in the Eastern Abyssal Sea. He buys large quantities of grain and daily necessities from the Bosen Plains and stores them in Matdan, with only a small amount in Ugru. From what we know, most people in Matdan are self-sufficient and rarely need such large amounts of grain, salt, or other daily items. But this man buys huge amounts of grain and daily necessities from the Bosen Plains almost every one or two months. In addition, he purchases a considerable amount of lacquer from Cyprus. Yet Caucasus has no furniture workshops or shipyards—so what’s this lacquer used for? Clearly, it’s meant for those pirates operating in the Abyssal Sea. It seems many people in Caucasus are aware of this man’s identity, but since he has the pirates backing him, no one dares to confront him.” Pube had conducted thorough investigations, with solid evidence.

“Well, that’s probably correct. The information I’ve obtained doesn’t suggest much difference on that front. However, Kudan isn’t very popular in Ugru—this is evident from Hes’s attitude. Another point worth mentioning is that the Caucasus isn’t as stagnant as we initially thought; many people here yearn for a better life. They’re equally dissatisfied with their current poor and difficult conditions and hope someone can lead them out of it. Including farmers and half-orc hunters and loggers, they all expect a better tomorrow. As long as people have desires, they have motivation. Now is the time for us to make use of that.” Komer nodded. Having returned from his meditation, he found his thinking much broader and deeper. Many things he had previously never considered could now be explained effortlessly, to his own surprise.

“Then, boss, where do you plan to start?” Everything is difficult at the beginning. Pube got straight to the point.

“My idea is to take action from several fronts at once. Hes is already somewhat inclined; I intend to keep working on him, hoping to win his support. After all, we have no fundamental conflicts of interest with him. His son, Neptune, is also an ambitious and passionate young man. I think we can leverage that. With his support, we can make progress in Ugru. As for Kudan, we can send him a message: for now, let’s keep to our own affairs. As long as those pirates don’t come ashore—his forces are mainly concentrated in the coastal area of Matdan—we can operate separately. Maybe even cooperate at times!”

“Our Caucasus spans hundreds of miles. It’s separated from the Leon region only by the Volt Mountains and is also adjacent to the lands of the barbarians. One of these areas is a major producer of iron ore and coal, while the other is famous for its unique ores on the continent. Are we really meant to get nothing just by being sandwiched between them? I don’t believe the Creator would be so unfair and stingy. Pube, I heard you’ve been exploring around these areas lately. I hope you’ve gathered some insights. Don’t disappoint us.” Komer looked at his administrative officer with a half-smile.

“Boss, I really have to admit you’re amazing. You’ve just arrived, yet it seems you know exactly how many times I’ve gone to brothels this month. Yes, I do have some clues, but they’re not very satisfactory. There are a few mines in our territory, but they’re all small, ordinary mines. Although they might yield some profit, the permits were granted by Baron Fayedz twenty years ago. This year, those permits are set to expire, and they’ll soon come to you to renew them. This is a great opportunity to extort them from—boss, you mustn’t miss it.” Pube grumbled resentfully, as one of his subordinates instinctively rubbed his large nose on his thin face. “We also have some new discoveries. To the west, near the barbarian territories, there are two quite valuable mineral deposits. One is high-purity iron ore. According to the prospectors we hired from Bruce, the reserves there are huge and of excellent quality, with great potential. The other is on a hill along the riverbank near the Great Swamp area. That dwarf says there’s a high chance of finding magic crystal mines there.”