Chapter Ten: Cracks
The growth of the two young earth dragons was highly promising. These two dragons consumed an astonishing amount of food—although they were omnivores, their demand for meat remained significant. They ate 30 kilograms of beef and mutton daily, along with an equal amount of grains and forage. Yet these earth dragons had a significant advantage: they could endure hunger and thirst quite well. As long as they were fed adequately, they could keep moving at full speed even without food for a week. This was the main reason Kommer had chosen them in the first place.
Although Ilot wanted to become a dragon warrior or dragon knight, these earth dragons made him hesitate for a long time before he finally gave up on that idea. Four loyal and reliable soldiers were selected from among the mortal warriors to become junior earth dragon warriors. The requirements for dragon warriors were extremely strict—especially in terms of physical strength, particularly arm strength. Mortal warriors were inherently inferior to barbarians and half-orcs in terms of physical constitution. Their advantage lay in their ability to learn and adapt quickly, allowing them to integrate with earth dragons more swiftly. However, they faced many obstacles in terms of physical strength. Fortunately, it wasn’t too difficult to find one or two mortal warriors with exceptional physical strength and arm power among those accustomed to the hard labor in mines. Although the four junior dragon warriors couldn’t yet be deployed in actual combat, their emergence marked what seemed to be a new era for the armed forces of the Caucasus.
When the four junior dragon warriors, riding their not yet fully mature earth dragons, appeared on the streets of Ugru on patrol duty, the entire city was in an uproar. Terms like “dragon warrior” and “dragon knight” hadn’t been heard in people’s memories for a long time. It seemed that no country or city on the Blue Continent yet had dragon warriors or dragon knights. Except for the barbarians, the Caucasus was now the first place to possess such titles, even if their actual strength wasn’t commensurate with their reputation.
The patrols carried out by the earth dragon warriors had a significant deterrent effect on the social order in Ugru. As a result, magistrate Rese asked Kommer to approve sending the four dragon warriors to the most troubled region, Leon, to conduct inspections. However, the distance was so great that even though earth dragons had exceptional endurance, it would take at least a month to complete a single patrol mission. Yet, in order to train the earth dragon warriors, Kommer still ordered them to go to Leon.
Two dragons were clearly not enough to meet Komer’s needs. Although Shatima disdained these creatures, which she considered utterly inferior, for the entire Caucasus, having a squad of dragon warriors would greatly boost their confidence, both psychologically and practically. Thus, Komer sent another letter to the barbarian tribe of Sigga, requesting that each of the three tribes provide another young dragon.
It should be noted that Komer had substantial strength behind him when sending these requests. The opening of the Catalonia River route meant the Caucasus no longer had to worry much about food shortages, which indirectly affected the attitude of the barbarians to the south.
Food shortages had always been the biggest problem plaguing the barbarians. Every year, their greatest concern wasn’t external threats but rather fear of climate change. There were few areas in the Cordillera Wasteland suitable for growing crops, and the barbarians were not skilled at farming. In good years, they could barely make ends meet through hunting, growing crops, and some smuggled food. But during bad years, especially droughts, not only might crops fail, but it could also significantly reduce the populations of the three main sources of meat for the barbarians—hedgehogs, yellow deer, and argali.
These three animals were abundant in the Cordillera Wasteland and served as the primary food source for the barbarians, just as wheat was for ordinary people. They relied mainly on grasses and shrubs in the wasteland. During droughts, these plants died in large numbers, leading to a sharp decline in the animal populations and, consequently, food shortages among the barbarians. In such situations, they were forced to import food. Apart from the slightly more relaxed restrictions imposed by the Homeric region, various ethnic nations to the south and west strictly controlled the export of food from the Cordillera Wasteland. Every major disaster would reduce the population of the thirteen barbarian tribes by at least 10%, with deaths from hunger being a major cause. Plagues that followed would also cause severe harm to the barbarians.
Although the barbarians could import food from the more favorable Homeric region, the long distances and poor transportation made the cost of food extremely high, limiting their purchasing power.
The opening of the Catania River route was like opening the gates to a granary for the barbarians. It turned out that the Caucasus was also short of food. Although the barbarians were willing to improve relations with the Caucasus to obtain some food, this could not solve the problem fundamentally. Now, with the opening of this golden waterway, cheap food from the main food-producing areas upstream could be continuously shipped to the Caucasus. Bahomon could even become the most convenient port for exporting food to the barbarians. Especially, the Caucasus would no longer be constrained by the Homer lords, with whom their relations had always been poor. This was not only excellent news for the Caucasus but also an unprecedented opportunity for the barbarians.
When the leaders of the Siga tribe among the barbarians received Komer’s request letter, they gathered almost immediately to discuss the demands from their northern neighbors. To be honest, a few earth dragons had little impact on the entire barbarian tribe. At least in the eyes of the barbarians, the idea of relying on such earth dragon warriors to change the balance of power in their military forces was unrealistic. But in human society, such creatures might indeed serve as a significant deterrent—this was probably why the northern neighbors were eager to acquire earth dragons.
Since the other side had made demands, it meant an opportunity for the Mountain People. Food, still food—this issue had plagued the Mountain People for centuries. Now, it seemed as if a glimmer of light appeared in the endless darkness.
“Leader Difanqi, do you think this is an opportunity for us?” The man’s advanced age made his tall frame slightly hunched, but no one dared to underestimate this seemingly aged man. Having held the position of leader of the Jialong tribe for twenty years without falling, his strength was well proven.
“Leader Beilemon, don’t you think that if we continue like this, our Siga tribe won’t have any future? Although our relations with our northern neighbors are improving, all the resource quotas the Caucasus intended to give us have been taken by other tribes in the alliance. This route was opened by our Siga tribe—why should the alliance treat us like this? They don’t even give us an average share. Is it just because our tribe is the weakest? This is too unfair.” With a voice filled with indignation, Difanqi’s rosy cheeks appeared even more fierce, yet his bright eyes shone like gems.
“Difanqi, have you ever thought about this? Even if our Sanjia tribe unites, we probably represent less than one-fifth of the entire alliance’s strength. Compared to major tribes like Leihu, Leita, Leibao, Guomeng, and Guocang, our Sanjia tribe’s strength is nowhere near comparable to theirs. You must be able to imagine the consequences of openly breaking away from them.” Though somewhat aged, Beilemon’s experience and wisdom were greatly admired by Difanqi and the other tribe leader, Sik of the Jiapeng tribe. They needed to listen to this senior’s advice.
“Leader Beilemon, of course I’ve thought about this. First, I have no intention of immediately breaking away from the alliance, but we need to fight for the rights we deserve. Since the Caucasus region is right next to us, as the saying goes, those who are close to the water get the moon first. But what has our Sanjia tribe gotten? Weapons and armor? The alliance gave us the smallest share, under the pretext that we don’t need that much! Food? We don’t even get the average amount, while those two tribes, Leihu and Leita, take almost one-third of it—just because they have more influence within the alliance? Is that fair? What’s the point of this alliance? In that case, it’s better for me to act on behalf of my own Jiaron tribe—our situation is far better!” Difanqi’s voice had turned almost a growl due to anger.
“Yes, Leader Beilemon. Our Sanjia tribe contributed the most in the last negotiations. We even bore the cost of the gift, Land Dragon, on our own. The alliance didn’t even ask about it. They only care about dividing the spoils and eating up all the meat and soup, leaving us with just a few bones. Since they don’t treat our Sanjia tribe as equals, treating us as second-class members, do we really still need to remain loyal to them? I think we need to reconsider our stance. Our Sanjia tribe doesn’t necessarily have to rely on the alliance to survive. Who knows, things might even get better for us after leaving the alliance!”
The other leader, Sik, was also filled with indignation. They had been caught by the Caucasus anti-smuggling team during a recent arms smuggling attempt, suffering heavy losses. The people in the alliance showed no concern for such issues, which angered him greatly. He was also eager to try out Difanqi’s proposal.