Chapter 6: Preemptive Action

The warming weather seemed to spur continued economic development in the Caucasus. With the Bahomun iron mine officially going into operation and its output increasing steadily, and the waterway on the Khatenia River being dredged, a transportation route from Bahomun to Matdan was established. This allowed raw iron ore and crude iron to be transported by water directly to Matdan. Meanwhile, the road from Bahomun to Ugru had become the best road in the entire Caucasus region—travel time there was only two days, and even one and a half days was sufficient if there was an urgent need to travel overnight. As a result, Bahomun quickly became the largest raw material and rough-processing hub in the Caucasus.

As riots in Leon became more frequent, a large number of freed slaves were unwilling to stay and wait for death nor to submit to the influx of barbarians. Of course, there were also the wars in Leon.

The vast lands south of Bahomun once again became attractive to merchants. After witnessing the huge profits generated by the Bahomun iron mines, almost everyone was green with envy at the Footless Society merchants’ early success. Could the lands near Bahomun, bordering the barbarian territories to the south, bring similar benefits? After spending large sums to hire dwarf explorers from the south, these explorers entered the area after obtaining exploration permits from the lord’s palace. Their masters hoped to achieve the same good fortune and opportunities as the Footless Society merchants. The explorers did not disappoint them—two teams succeeded. Although the iron mines were not as large as those in Bahomun, they were still enough to fill these merchants with joy. Of course, they still needed to purchase mining rights from the lord’s palace.

The establishment of judicial assistants in Matdan and Bahomun marked these places as important towns second only to Ugru. Faced with the increasingly complex security situation, Komer had no choice but to assign fifty soldiers who had completed basic training from the newly formed Caucasus Self-Defense Forces to serve as judicial police in Ugru, Matdan, and Bahomun to assist the judicial assistants in handling security matters.

The formation of the Caucasus Self-Defense Army was met with unanimous approval from the new immigrants, as the vast majority of its fighters were drawn from among them. Although most of the immigrants from the Principality of Mellen had left, this signified that the new immigrants had truly become part of the Caucasus people and were recognized by the lord. Especially since the commander of the Self-Defense Army was a knight originally from the Principality of Mellen yet highly trusted by the lord, this filled the new immigrants, particularly those from Mellen, with great excitement. The native inhabitants were also pleased; aside from the substantial economic benefits brought by the large number of new immigrants, Comer’s official appointment of the young Neptune as an assistant to the civil administrator, Knight Puber, in charge of civil affairs was a rare honor for them. It was unprecedented on the continent for someone in their early twenties to serve as an assistant civil administrator, especially since he wasn’t from a noble family. Comer had successfully balanced the relations between the two groups and was gradually fostering their integration.

The Self-Defense Army, numbering up to a thousand men, along with the lord’s guard, was somewhat intimidating. While this provided sufficient security for the people, many still wondered why the lord was so keen on establishing such large armed forces, especially the native inhabitants. Of course, they didn’t object to it as long as the lord could afford such substantial military expenditures.

Comer had been quite busy lately. Although the first phase of the exploration at Fort Damorlensk had yielded abundant results, he still faced many challenges. The mysterious mage had become a valuable asset in his hands, but extracting more useful information from her and turning her into a complete dark envoy was a long and arduous task. Yet Comer was eager to take on this challenge. Meanwhile, the pirates from Rhodes never stopped pressuring Comer. In their view, the benefits the Caucasus had reaped since the opening of the port in Matdam were substantial, and they had invested considerable funds. Even if magic-powered cannons couldn’t be produced immediately, technologies like the Thousand-Mile Mirror, which posed no technical issues, could be manufactured in greater quantities. This forced Comer to settle down and recreate two of them. Fortunately, the technical problems had been resolved. Aside from some difficulties in installing the polished magic crystals and adjusting the magical settings, it didn’t take too much effort, and he was able to keep the Gray Skulls in check.

Another matter that Komer needed to keep a close eye on was the developments in Leon. Once Mahagumi had sufficient financial support, he quickly utilized his talent for intelligence gathering, with continuous reports flowing in from the Leon region. With Komer’s backing, Mahagumi even bribed several opportunists from the rebel forces. His efficiency in intelligence work was so high that even Pupber had to admit this half-orc hybrid was indeed a rare genius in this field. He could quickly determine a person’s character and weaknesses based on their hobbies and temperaments, then exploit them to achieve his goals. This talent made him highly effective in intelligence work; he even extended his intelligence network into Bruce Fortress, enabling the Caucasus to obtain timely and accurate information about developments in the north.

The situation in Leon had completely deteriorated. The entire southern region had become a domain of the mobs, with all mines and towns plundered by them. The situation in the east was similar. Several small forces eventually united to form a formidable army. With the support of the rebel forces in the south, they seized the mines in the east one by one. The private armies organized by the nobles suffered repeated defeats and eventually lost all fighting spirit, collapsing completely. The east and south merged into one, with dozens of small forces uniting into three larger rebel armies that controlled most of Leon. The towns of Izmel and Mando were already in their hands—all achieved within just a month.

Even in the north, turmoil was brewing. Influenced by the situations in the south and east, the rebels there became increasingly aggressive. However, the armed forces of the northern nobles were significantly stronger, and they were also much closer to Bruce Fortress. As a result, the northern rebels failed to make any substantial progress. It wasn’t until a mortal noble named Murray concentrated his forces to attack the area around Banasha in the east that he quickly seized the mines surrounding Banasha. By using the siege of Banasha to draw in Murray’s noble armies, he ambushed them en route and utterly defeated their reinforcements, cutting off Banasha’s external support. Eventually, under the relentless attacks of the rebel forces, Banasha fell.

Fortunately, the mine owners around Murey were united from the beginning. After learning of the fall of Barnasha, they joined forces to strengthen defenses around Murey and also strongly requested reinforcements from the troops stationed at Fort Bruce. Although the troops at Fort Bruce could not send direct reinforcements due to the lack of orders from Cyprus, they increased patrols along the road from Bruce to Murey to ensure it remained open, preventing the rebel forces from entering the area.

The nobles, including Count Poninsky, were outraged that the troops at Fort Bruce refused to enter the Leon region to suppress the rebellion. However, Komer knew this was not due to Homer’s fault; rather, Grand Duke Philip, under great pressure from the kingdom, dared not dispatch troops to Leon easily. The newly formed Blue Dove Regiment also had to mobilize its forces. The number of troops at Fort Bruce dropped sharply from 3,500 to 1,000—even less than usual—let alone considering the chaos in Leon at the time. This created a favorable environment for the rebels in Leon, allowing them to expand freely in the south, east, and even north, and to strengthen their forces during this period.

As Hoffman kept his promises, large quantities of food, weapons, armor, and other strategic supplies were transported by sea to the Caucasus and then brought into the Leon region via the trading center of Muscat. With these supplies, the rebels in Leon grew even stronger, which was the main reason they were able to capture Mandou, Izmel, and Barnasha so easily.

Now, it seems there are new developments. The orcs in the north have begun to stir again along the border, causing concern among the kingdom’s elite. After all, the Blue Dove Regiment is a newly formed force, and its combat strength cannot compare to that of the Golden Oak Regiment, which serves as the main force, or the Iron Cross Regiment, which acts as a supporting force. With the orcs showing signs of moving south, the Iron Cross Regiment had to end its drills early and head west. Although they did not change guard, it is clear their presence in the western region is meant to support the Blue Dove Regiment, allowing them to be deployed in battle at any time if needed.

Now that the Homer region has regained its footing, it seems able to handle the threat to its south with ease. The forces at Fort Bruce have been reinforced, even reaching six thousand, and it is said that several magicians will arrive to help Homer’s army swiftly eliminate those despicable orcish thugs and restore order in Leon. These news reports reached the Caucasus at lightning speed, without exception.

Komer sat alone in his spacious study, deep in thought. The situation in Leon had reached a critical point; it seemed Philip was determined to resolve the Leon issue once and for all. Six thousand warriors—quite a significant number, equivalent to one-third of all the armed forces in the Homer region. Although the number of rebel fighters in Leon exceeded eighty thousand, Komer had no doubt that Homer’s army could easily crush these untrained mobs. It would be a massacre. Untrained rebels, driven by courage and passion, might be able to overwhelm equally untrained and cowardly noble mercenaries, but against a well-trained and fully equipped regular army, they had no chance—especially with magicians on the side. Of course, this was assuming no other external factors intervened.

If Philip merely wanted to bring order to Leon, it might not have raised Komer’s alarm. But with such a large army stationed at Fort Bruce, once the rebel forces in Leon were defeated, would they stop there or take advantage of the situation to invade the Caucasus in pursuit of the remaining rebels? With such a powerful force entering the Caucasus, Komer would have no chance. They could easily capture him and claim, under any pretext, that he was actually the instigator or mastermind behind the rebellion. Such precedents were not uncommon; Komer could recall several in his memory. He couldn’t just sit idly by.

To avoid being caught off guard, the only option was to strike first. Of course, with his current strength, challenging Homer would be like throwing eggs at a rock. But he still had those rebel militias at his disposal. If he could help them defeat Homer’s army, it would be the best defense for the Caucasus. Yet this was a highly challenging idea, and implementing it required careful preparation in many areas.