Chapter 24: Grace and Severity

The news that the Catania River route was now navigable had already spread in Ugru, Matdan, and even Muscat and Santiago even before Komer returned to Ugru. However, since there was no official confirmation from the lord’s residence, everyone remained skeptical. It wasn’t until Komer appeared at the lord’s residence in Ugru and officially raised the bear-head flag signaling the lord’s return at Damoronsk Fortress that this astonishing news was truly confirmed.

After taking care of the exhausted Eve and her party, Komer could finally focus on dealing with the pile of administrative tasks that had accumulated over the past month or two.

Puber seemed even thinner than when he left, probably due to his barbarian girlfriend again. Komer began considering whether he should brew a health tonic for his old friend—he didn’t want him to end up unable to get up from a woman’s lap. Komer had met Puber’s barbarian girlfriend; she had delicate and beautiful features and was quite attractive, though her physique was a stark contrast to Puber’s. Puber was at most half a head shorter than her, and her full, sturdy figure was quite eye-catching—no wonder Puber was so attached to her. Komer didn’t mind his friend’s racial preferences, whether it was barbarians, half-orcs, or half-elves. But given Puber’s physical condition, Komer was quite worried about whether he could handle a barbarian woman’s demands. Yet when it came to a man’s abilities in such matters, no one would admit defeat verbally, leaving Komer helpless.

Ilot seemed much more refined now. It seemed that training under the dark knight Vladkov had greatly improved his friend. At least from his speech and demeanor, Komer could tell he had benefited a lot.

The opening of the Catania River route undoubtedly lifted the biggest burden from Pupber’s shoulders. Rising import prices for grain were driving up prices throughout the Caucasus, leaving Pupber in despair. It seemed impossible to control grain prices; the huge shortage forced merchants to hoard rather than sell. News of poor harvests in the southern regions along the eastern coast of the Earth Sea caused grain prices in the Caucasus to soar again. No matter how much the lords demanded that merchants ensure supply, they couldn’t suppress prices. The demands from the Mando region had already prompted Neptune to lodge two strong protests with Pupber. If the lords didn’t meet Mando’s needs, there was a risk of further unrest. Dragoomo’s militia was on high alert in Mando and Muscat, but Pupber knew it was useless—asking half-orcs to suppress their own people who were starving because they couldn’t afford food was something even Dragoomo admitted was impossible.

But all of this became a problem no longer after the merchant ship Marta arrived in Bahomun. On the day Komer and his group arrived in Bahomun, grain prices across the Caucasus plummeted. In Bahomun especially, prices dropped by 30% that very afternoon. The next day, grain merchants across the Caucasus began selling in panic, driving prices to their lowest levels—one-third of what they had been three days earlier. Prices then rebounded slightly, but even then they were still over 30% higher than the prices at the shipyard in Luxembourg, showing just how huge the profits were. But this no longer mattered; as long as there was a stable supply of grain, price levels were no longer an issue. Now, Pupber could finally enjoy a peaceful life with his barbarian girlfriend. He had decided to ask Komer for a month’s paid leave as soon as he returned, so he could rest both physically and mentally.

Watching Pupber endlessly complain about his hardships and Ilot showing off his strong physique, Komer felt a long-lost sense of warmth. Ilot kept interrupting Pupber’s complaints to tease him, which made Pupber angry and flushed as he retorted, “Enough, Pupber! Stop making excuses. It’s fine to relax a bit, but your body probably can’t take it anymore. If you keep going like this, I and the boss will have to prepare a grave for you. Stop obsessing over conquering Meghana and focus more on taking care of yourself. If she really likes you, you don’t need to show off in bed. If not, she’ll probably just use you and kick you away.”

Ilot’s harsh words, though sharp, hit the mark, making Puber’s face turn red and blue in turn; he couldn’t find suitable words to retort and could only mutter curses under his breath.
Komer really liked this atmosphere—there was no estrangement among the three of them. Even when they teased and mocked each other, it was out of kindness. It was this relaxed and pleasant conversation that allowed Komer to ease his mind amidst all the tense and complicated matters.
“Puber, how’s things in Leon?” Turning back to the main topic, Komer also needed to learn from Puber about what had happened during his absence. Leon was of utmost importance. Neptune had set a good example in Leon, fully mobilizing the youth’s enthusiasm and passion. Yet, passion alone couldn’t solve everything—it required skill to manage things. Komer believed Neptune could handle it with Dragumo’s support, but Mando was only a small part of Leon. The real crises lay in the north and west, and now Mando had to serve as a barrier and gateway to the Caucasus.
“It’s mixed. As soon as you returned, the food problem was solved. With grain prices dropping so much, I doubt Neptune will protest anymore. Merchants will naturally sell their stockpiles, and those half-orc miners will be fine as long as they have bread. But the situation in the north and west is worsening and starting to affect Mando too. Large numbers of half-orc slaves are flooding south. Besides Mando, Muscat is also under great pressure. These guys are like locusts—eating wherever they go. Three days ago, Dragumo warned Fran and me. He’s worried that in another month, the entire western and northern parts of Leon might run out of food, and the situation could get out of control. I was also worried that if you didn’t return, we might have to temporarily abandon Mando and hold onto Muscat. But then I realized that wouldn’t help either. Although grain prices have dropped now, those half-orc slaves are used to living off what’s available, and they no longer have anything to trade. Fran and Baoling are both worried that they might eventually organize and raid us from the south.”

At Fran’s suggestion, Muscat was initially built as a military fortress that also served commercial purposes. The abundant local stone resources were a major advantage in constructing such a fortress-like structure. The leftover stones and those of slightly lower quality had little impact on building the fortress, as what was needed was durability, not beauty or splendor like in palaces. Although building such a fortress was costly, thanks to Fran’s insistence, Komer and Puber agreed to his design plan. It was worth investing more in this strategic pass leading into the heart of the Caucasus, especially given the favorable natural conditions.

The market center and streets naturally formed to the south of the castle. Due to military needs, civilian buildings were kept at least 500 meters away from the fortress. Two hundred-man units from Dragoemo were stationed within the fortress. Of course, using such a fortress to resist tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of rebellious orc slaves was nothing but a joke. Fran’s original intention was merely to strengthen deterrence against those orc mobs that had turned into bandits in the region.

“Well, this is probably the biggest problem we face now. The Caucasus has become a thorn in some people’s side. I guess Homer also intended to create this situation. There’s still no progress with the floating bridge at Bruce Fortress. It seems Philip wants to drive these mobs southward. He must be assuming that even with the kingdom’s support, I won’t be able to satisfy the hunger of hundreds of thousands of orc mobs. If these mobs really come because of food shortages, the Caucasus will be destroyed.”

Everyone understood the logic behind this. If the mobs really had no food, there were natural barriers to the north and west— the Nise River and the Greenland Forest, and to the east, the Sea of Darkness. The only way out was south. No matter how well-armed the Caucasus became, it couldn’t withstand hundreds of thousands of desperate mobs. This was why Komer wanted to establish an experimental area in Mando first, so that the orcs in western and northern Leon would understand that by obeying laws and working hard, they could achieve a happy life. Coupled with various deterrent measures, such as the magical display against Homer’s army, this was the only way to bring these lawless orcs back on track and teach them how to adapt and live normally.

“Hmph, those damned mobs. If such treatment still can’t calm them down, then I guess only violence and bloodshed can make them understand how to live.” Eirwen skillfully swung her silver-edged broadsword, creating a dazzling arc of light, with an imposing aura emerging from it.
“Eirwen, use your brain. They’re all people with nothing to lose. Would they fear battle? Fear death? No. We must show them hope for a better life—only then can we prevent things from worsening. Combine kindness with force; kindness first, force second. Besides, with such a large group of half-orcs, if used properly, they can become a source of endless wealth for us.” Puber dismissed Eirwen’s simplicity, believing that leveraging these cheap laborers to create wealth for Caucasus was the most profitable approach.