Chapter 4: Human Hearts

With a hint of regret, Umma watched Brodin break free from the darkness and flee toward safety. She shook her head slightly—she hadn’t practiced like this in a long time, which made her movements clumsy. Though this body was of good quality, it still wasn’t entirely convenient for her, especially since it was a male body.
Having escaped, Brodin no longer dared to be arrogant. The forces of darkness were too powerful, and even his knights wouldn’t be a match for them. If those silent Stormtroopers were sent into battle again, history might repeat itself. Just as Saliman, Brodin, and Karl Liebknecht felt despair setting in, a glow from a red sun finally appeared on the horizon. As if struck by some fatal blow, the entire swarm of dark skeletons and zombies began to falter, seemingly trying to avoid the sunlight from the sky. The skeletons and zombies instinctively gathered around the man in black, as if relying on the dark magic emanating from him to counteract this natural force of destruction.
Taking a deep breath, Umma knew it was time to end her performance. Though these skeletons and zombies hadn’t been specially trained, sunlight alone wasn’t enough to harm them. Yet, the performance needed to seem realistic. With a deep howl, she left behind a remark, “See you tonight!” before leaping into the air. Immediately afterward, the group of zombies and skeletons seemed to flee from the sunlight, disappearing quickly outside the destroyed fortress gates as the man in black left.
Saliman and Brodin found it unbelievable. If sunlight could harm these dark undead, it would be absurd. But the facts before them were undeniable—it was the sunlight that made these undead creatures flee in panic. Yet, her words, “See you tonight,” made Saliman and Brodin’s hearts tighten again. Of course, they had no idea this was just a trick set up by Komer. For them, the most important thing was to avoid suffering further harm from these dark undead.

What happened next seemed only logical. No matter how strong Karl Liebknecht was, he was overwhelmed in the face of these undead creatures. The soldiers were at a loss against them; although they had received specialized anti-demon training, they had never expected to encounter such undead attacks. Anyone would be helpless in such a situation. After discussing it, the three decided to withdraw immediately. If a larger attack occurred at night, the already exhausted Bronin and the nearly broken Metchenov would have no strength left to resist those dark demons, which could lead to the complete collapse of the Storm Infantry Regiment.

To avoid chaos and prevent the assault by the orc army lurking across the Nise River on the floating bridge, the defenders of Bruce Fortress completed all preparations in barely half a day, not even destroying the floating bridge. Bronin feared that destroying it might alert the orcs and lead to the failure of their retreat. They didn’t reveal anything to the residents outside the fortress and instead hurriedly withdrew in batches to the Greenland Forest Path under the pretext of conducting large-scale military drills after lunch.

By the time the people outside the fortress realized what was happening, the Caucasus-Leon Self-Defense Forces led by Fran had already crossed the floating bridge and rushed toward the fortress. The deserted Bruce Fortress immediately raised the bear head flag representing Baron Komer, the lord of Caucasus-Leon.

By the time the residents outside finally understood what had happened and fell into chaos, Komer had already ordered the orc army to cross the market and streets, sealing off all access to the Greenland Forest Path. Seeing the terrifying orc soldiers completely block the docks at Bruce Fortress and the path to the path, all the residents were filled with terror. They didn’t understand why the Homer soldiers hadn’t even offered symbolic resistance—could it be that these grotesque orcs intended to wipe out all these mortal residents?

When Komer led Puber and a large group of people into the chaotic market outside the fortress, the desperate mortal residents gradually calmed down from their panic. It was then that they remembered that Leon seemed to have been entrusted to this baron living in the Caucasus. Although this baron had a poor reputation in Homer and Cyprus, he was at least a noble of the kingdom—and most importantly, a mortal noble. They had also heard that this baron seemed quite skilled, especially in dealing with half-orcs, and even his personal guards were all half-orcs. Could these half-orc soldiers all come from the Caucasus?

After Komer’s speech, the anxious residents finally understood one thing: not only was entire Leon completely under his control, but the fierce half-orcs had willingly accepted the baron as their master. Now, even Bruce Fortress, which dominated the Greenland Forest Trail, had fallen into his hands.

The ownership of Bruce Fortress didn’t have much impact on the residents. As long as it wasn’t some uncivilized half-orc, this prodigal son of Homer could manipulate half-orcs at will. Now that he controlled Bruce Fortress as well, some well-informed people who frequently traveled between Cyprus and Bruce began to look forward to this baron. Everyone could sense the impending storm of chaos in the Kingdom of Nicosia, a storm that would sweep through the territories of lords like Homer and Galle. The orcs wouldn’t be content with staying only in the north of the kingdom; given the chance, they would surely launch an attack without hesitation. What would become of the already struggling central kingdom by then? Although the four great lords might remain neutral at first, could they stay seated when the orcs stretched their ferocious fangs toward them?

Komer knew that coercive measures could only be temporary. The residents were not soldiers—they were mostly small merchants, craftsmen, hunters, and farmers who lived around Bruce Fortress and its original river port. As long as there were troops in Bruce Fortress, the river port continued to operate, and the road from Leon to the Bussen Plains remained open, they could continue living there. To be honest, the tax rates here were relatively low, and it was safe—enough for these residents.

The direct consequence of the destruction of the floating bridge at the Port of Bruce River was the loss of a major transportation route for coal and iron ore in the Leon region, especially in Barnasha and Murray. While Mandu could still manage to solve part of the problem through land transport, the two northern areas could hardly rely on land transport alone to handle the output from their mines. The high costs of land transport made it impossible for merchants to use it on a large scale. To truly revitalize Leon, aside from the ongoing canal projects, the most important solution lay in relying on the important waterway of the Nise River—provided, of course, that the blockade of the Nise River mouth by Homer’s navy was lifted.

With the Port of Bruce River losing its source of goods and the floating bridge destroyed, the disruption of both land and water routes left many residents without a means of livelihood. In fact, the population outside Fort Bruce had already decreased significantly. The garrison at Fort Bruce alone could not provide enough jobs for such a large number of civilians. Inns, docks, taverns, and various businesses declined sharply, casting a shadow over the future of many residents.

However, the arrival of Komer seemed to bring a glimmer of hope to these residents. Although the terrifying half-orc soldiers made them uneasy, seeing these formidable soldiers behave like gentle lambs in Komer’s presence reignited rumors among the residents that this baron was considered a divine envoy by the half-orcs. If this baron could truly bring these unruly half-orcs under control, then it might not be such a bad thing for Fort Bruce to fall under his control—perhaps even better than before. At least communication between the Caucasus, Leon, and Fort Bruce could now be restored. Although the most critical aspects of water and land transport still depended on Homer’s response, even meeting Leon’s needs could allow many goods stored in warehouses to be sold and converted into cash.

To dispel the residents’ doubts, after announcing that Fort Bruce would maintain its previous status and encouraging trade between the residents outside the fort and Leon and the Caucasus, Komer also assured them that the Self-Defense Forces of the Caucasus-Leon region would never harass the locals. If there were any violations, the residents could complain to him at any time, and he promised to give them a completely satisfactory explanation.

Komer immediately announced the lifting of the blockade on the Greenland Forest Trail, allowing residents to move freely. Those who wished to leave Fort Bruce and return to Homer were given permission to do so. At first, some people were concerned that Komer was just putting on an act, but as the first few groups left without any hindrance, the mood of the people outside Fort Bruce gradually stabilized. As long as the half-orc soldiers did not cause trouble, the residents had nothing to worry about. Clearly, Baron Komer had extraordinary control over those half-orc soldiers—over three days, aside from the half-orc sentries on the fortress walls, hardly any half-orc soldiers were seen outside the fortress. The fear that they might harass the locals turned out to be completely unfounded.