Chapter 20: Self-Abuse

Sifnos Island is located on the edge between the South Central Ocean and the Storm Ocean. Proximity to the Storm Ocean causes wild, humid east winds and cool, gentle west winds to collide here, resulting in a complex and changeable climate. To the west from here lies the entrance to the three bays of the South Central Ocean. The Peninsula of Moria and the Peninsula of Cithonia act like two giant crab pincers, enclosing these three bays.

Komer really liked this island’s unique location. Although it faced certain dangers geographically, for Komer, there was only one real threat: the pirate group led by Demisheme. Neither the Carthage Fleet nor the naval alliance of the city-states of Corinth posed a significant threat. Komer had no intention of ignoring the sovereignty of the city-state of Tyros. After gaining Katrina’s approval, he planned to acquire ownership of the island through purchase. For Tyros, which relied on maritime trade, this somewhat distant island was of little use. The pirate group of Demisheme and the Carthage Fleet were fears it could never overcome. If they could get a good price for it, they wouldn’t mind relinquishing sovereignty over the island.

Komer wasn’t in a hurry to contact the Caucasus and Leon. In his view, as long as Pupber remained in power, his policies wouldn’t change much. He had always been curious about why the legend of him exploring the Land of Mang had spread. But the disappearance of Rebrí itself was enough to prove it was a trick by the Church of Light.

Komer spent some time pondering why the Church of Light would use such an excuse to cover up its actions. He concluded that the Church of Light currently had strained relations with the Kingdom of Nicosia and Homer, yet it had no solid evidence to prove it was a remnant of dark forces. A single Rebrí wasn’t enough to prove anything. Using Rebrí’s behavior to refute itself might only trap the Church of Light in trouble. In such a situation, the only option seemed to be to vaguely use such nonsensical legends to cover up, as there was no way to verify them anyway. As for those in the Tribunal, they probably thought he had already been banished to some other world and could never return. Such unfounded rumors were perfect for them.

Komer’s top priority now is to gain control of the island of Sifnos. Although Katerina has given her approval, to truly establish his own naval force there, he still needs the consent of the island’s real owners—the Thirians.
The city-state of Thirium is a member of the League of Corinthian City-States. The League originated from the Delian League, but as Thirium declined and Corinth rose to prominence, the Second League of City-States in the Southern Central Seas was renamed the League of Corinthian City-States after being held in Corinth.
When Komer, posing as a merchant from Susor in the northern interior of the continent, proposed using Sifnos as a transit warehouse, his request was approved with almost no resistance in the Thirian city council. Three hundred thousand gold shields was not a significant amount for Thirium, but for an insignificant island like Sifnos, it was as if they had received three hundred thousand gold shields for free. In the eyes of those merchant councilors, this outsider was nothing but a gullible fool who thought he could use Sifnos as a transit hub between the Land of Thorns and the Southern Central Seas. The Carthage Fleet and the Demiseme pirate group could tear this fool to pieces in just an hour.
Komer had been worried that someone might see through his intentions, but he soon realized he was overthinking it. The Carthage Fleet might be considered decent pirates within the League of Corinthian City-States, but the Demiseme were outright scoundrels. Their unpredictable movements left even the powerful navy of the League of Corinthian City-States at a loss.
Apart from fearing that the pincer formation formed by the Peninsulas of Moria and Sisonia could trap them in the Southern Central Seas, preventing them from entering the three major bays, the Demiseme pirates had become a nightmare for the people living along the periphery of the Southern Central Seas and the Stormy Seas. Sifnos was nothing but a small snack for them. No one had ever thought of using it as a storage site, and yet this fool from Susor had the audacity to consider it as a hub for transporting goods. Even with the permission of the Carthage Fleet, this would still be a crazy gamble, as the Carthage Fleet could hardly focus its main efforts on such a marginal area.

Yet none of these issues were on the Tyrian people’s minds. The fastest completion of the transfer of sovereignty over Sifnos Island was what concerned the city-state’s finance officials the most. Once that fool realized he had been deceived and regretted it, this seemingly easy gain would be lost. The notary office of the Corinthian City-States Alliance completed this transaction with almost the highest efficiency ever recorded. Within less than three days, 300,000 gold shields were transferred from the Kars fleet’s secret account to the new account opened by Komer at the Central United Bank, only to be transferred back to the Tyrian city-state’s financial accounts. Sifnos Island became Komer’s private territory. According to the established rules of the Midland region, Sifnos Island and its surrounding ten nautical miles of sea were now owned by Komer—of course, registered under the name of the merchant Kaladin from Susor.

Mihayevich and Newman began to grow frustrated with Komer, who had been missing for over a month. Though they didn’t fully believe that Komer would simply disappear under the pressure of the Tribunal, the reality before them was undeniable. They found it impossible to believe the absurd claim made by the Tribunal that Komer had gone on an expedition to the Land of Mystery, yet they couldn’t provide any evidence to refute it. Where had Komer and Rebril gone? This question had become the root cause affecting the situation throughout the Caucasus and Leon.

Neither Mihayevich nor Newman wanted to leave the Caucasus, nor did Sorenberg and Vladkov. But unlike Mahagumi and Fran, who were magicians and magic knights with their own pursuits, they were not willing to pledge loyalty to the Caucasus. In their view, perhaps Pupber was better suited to handle daily affairs of governance than Komer, but he lacked Komer’s appealing personal charisma. As seekers of the ways of magic and martial arts, their desire for material possessions was far less than that of others. They needed a partner who could resonate spiritually with them, and clearly Pupber was not such a person.

For Fran, Baoling, Mahagumi, Dragumo, and the others, Komer’s disappearance was undoubtedly a shock. Fran and Baoling already regarded Komer as a monarch they could serve for life. As for Mahagumi and Dragumo and other half-orc officers, they were even more straightforward—they only wanted Komer to be their master and were willing to do anything for him. Now, faced with this reality they were utterly unwilling to accept, they were at a loss as to how to respond.

Perhaps the only ones who remained calm among this group were the administrative officials like Pube and Neptune, aside from the dark forces led by Yi Xu Luo and Uma. No matter what happened to Komer, the Caucasus and Leon had to continue operating according to Komer’s established policies. Although they also believed firmly that Komer wouldn’t just disappear without a trace, the more important thing now was to maintain normal functioning in these two territories.

Eve and Grace were trapped in a state of confusion and sorrow. Before Komer disappeared, they hadn’t realized how important he was to their lives. But once he truly vanished, they realized how life around them had become utterly lifeless—even the sunlight outside the window seemed pale and weak. Eve even found herself losing interest in her favorite preaching. What was happening to the world?

When Lome received Komer’s magical message, she was almost completely paralyzed. For over a month, she had blindly and even obsessively believed that the Grand Sage would suddenly reappear in her life. While mages including Mihajic and Newman suspected that the lord of the Caucasus might have been secretly imprisoned or exiled by the Tribunal, Lome stubbornly believed that the Grand Sage would never just vanish silently from her life.

With a flickering light of hope in her heart, Lome relied on her spiritual connection with Komer to strengthen her faith. As long as that connection remained intact, she was convinced that the Grand Sage had only left temporarily for some special reason and would return sooner or later. Recalling the marks left by the Grand Sage’s naked body on her own naked body, Lome couldn’t help but tremble. The longing for those wonderful moments had become almost a daily ritual for her over the past month.

Looking at herself in the mirror, touching her smooth and delicate body—her firm breasts, flat and fair abdomen, round and full buttocks, and the faint shadow at the junction of her legs—each part filled her with pride in her own physique. Only the Grand Sage deserved to enjoy her body, and she believed her body could only be devoted to him for the rest of her life. That was Lome’s only desire.

And now her loyalty and faith had finally been rewarded. As the magic was transmitted into Lomei’s mind, Lomei, who was caressing her own body out of self-pity, felt as though the Grand Sage’s familiar presence had once again violently entered her body in that instant. The intense stimulation made her scream uncontrollably; her body arched like a ripe shrimp and trembled violently. She realized that she had reached orgasm simply from the Grand Sage’s mental magic transmission.