Chapter 16: A Great Gift

By the time the eight-headed dragon cub arrived in the Caucasus, Komer already realized that the Trija tribe would likely no longer be able to resist the temptation of the numerous grain ships traveling up and down the Catania River. The Catania River provided ample food supplies for the Caucasus, and Bahomun’s grain storage facilities quickly filled to capacity. Grain prices plummeted by over 70%, bringing both joy and regret to the Caucasus merchants. They were happy no longer having to worry about food shortages and could obtain a steady supply from the upper and middle reaches of the Catania River. Yet they regretted the end of the previous seller’s market situation; they now turned their attention to the Cordillera Wasteland in the south, a vast market still waiting to be developed.

The plummeting grain prices and abundant supplies in the Caucasus finally made even the usually calm barbarians restless. Seeing so much grain piled up in Bahomun just a short distance away, while people in the Cordillera Wasteland continued to live frugally, how could anyone remain calm? No leader could endure this, unless they wanted to be overthrown by their own people.

Merchants waited for a new market to emerge, though this proved difficult. The lords of the Caucasus had already classified grain as a strategic resource, and exporting such goods required licenses and quotas. Merchants were well aware of the dangers posed by the barbarians from the south. Yet as more and more barbarians took jobs in their docks, mines, workshops, and shops, their simple and honest nature gradually won over other races once filled with hostility and suspicion toward them. Many seemed to forget that the barbarians continued to wage wars in the east and south year after year. Great profits tempted many to take risks.

The anti-smuggling squad under the judicial officers had grown by more than three times, focusing mainly on cracking down on smuggling aimed at the barbarians from the south. There were also increasing cases of barbarians smuggling grain and other goods when returning home to visit relatives. The checkpoints set up to prevent this caught many attempting to bring weapons and grain into barbarian territory, mostly barbarians but also some mortals. Rese had suggested to Komer that stricter punishments be imposed on those caught smuggling, otherwise the problem would worsen. The current punishment of forced labor was far too lenient for barbarians—at most, they would go without pay for a month or two.

Komer didn’t want to strain relations too much with the barbarians. He was well aware of the petty actions they resorted to out of necessity for survival, and as long as it wasn’t excessive, he wouldn’t deliberately hold it against them. Of course, acts of colluding with merchants from the Caucasus to engage in large-scale smuggling could never be tolerated—otherwise, once the ordinary forces in the barbarians’ surrounding areas found out, it would provoke public outrage. Although the Caucasus was isolated, the pressures from various sides weren’t limited to diplomatic relations and might even affect the Kingdom of Nicosia itself.

The merchants had previously asked the government official Puber multiple times to remove food from the list of strategic goods, but their requests were denied. For now, Komer didn’t have the courage to openly challenge the forces in the southern and western parts of the Cordillera Wasteland, nor did he see the need to do so. He still needed to use such methods to gradually divide the barbarians from within, and it seemed an opportunity had arisen now.

Seeing the different expressions on the three leaders’ faces, Komer knew he had already gained a slight advantage. The leader of the Japon tribe, named Sik, was filled with envy. From the large glass windows to the floor-length mirrors beside the curtains, from the beautiful magic crystal chandeliers on the ceiling to the soft, embroidered silk chairs, his gaze lingered on everything. That alone was enough. Although the other two appeared quite calm, especially the one named Belemon who was extremely cunning, as long as there was a crack in the whole, it meant the whole no longer existed. To break into a fortress, one didn’t need to blow open the main door—just pry open a crack was enough.

Before coming to the lord’s mansion, Di Fanchi and the other two had secretly visited Bahomong, Ugru, Matdan, and Muscat. They even sneaked into Mando for observation. By regulations, entry to the Leon region was temporarily prohibited for those without special permits. The three only had ordinary permits issued by the Caucasus lord’s mansion and were not qualified to enter Mando.

The changes in the Caucasus and neighboring regions instantly shattered the three men’s confidence. The prosperity and wealth displayed in the Caucasus left them in awe. Even though Difanqi had been mentally prepared through Volen’s introduction, he was still completely overwhelmed. The Caucasus, which had been desolate just over a year ago, had undergone such tremendous changes—it would be too far-fetched and self-deceiving to attribute it merely to good luck. As for Belemon and Sik, they were so shaken by this situation that their minds wavered. Belemon began to doubt his initial opinions; perhaps Difanqi was right. Coming here could help him change his perspective, and as his perspective changed, his beliefs seemed to need to change as well.

In fact, by the time they traveled from Matdan to Ugru, the three of them had already agreed to first provide eight Earth Dragons to meet the Caucasus’s needs. In their view, offering gifts first could greatly strengthen the relationship between the two sides and lay a solid foundation for discussing more substantive issues later.

Komer was quite satisfied with this gift. Initially, he had only hoped to obtain five Earth Dragons to form a squad of terrain dragon warriors whose deterrence outweighed their practical utility. But it seemed these barbarians had higher expectations; otherwise, they wouldn’t have offered eight Earth Dragons at once to please him. This was a good start. Komer wasn’t worried that they would make demands he couldn’t accept. He believed he could firmly control these barbarians, as they were not a cohesive group.

Prior to this, Komer had also received some unfavorable news. Puber was already on his way back to the Caucasus, and the kingdom’s Blue Dove Regiment was on high alert. Yet Philip behaved very obediently. Aside from delivering a perfunctory speech to save face, he took almost no other action and even suspended the plans to reassemble his army. Abnormality often signals conspiracy—this was a lesson Komer had learned from King Cenifer III. Especially since Philip’s most loyal ally, Grand Duke Zelin, also remained unusually silent, seemingly submitting to the kingdom’s aggressive stance.