Chapter Eleven: Easy to Enter, Hard to Exit

Far away in the Caucasus, Komer was unaware that he had once again escaped disaster through fate’s whims. If St. Basil’s Cathedral and the Inquisition truly decided to unite to eliminate Komer’s influence, even though his strength had greatly improved, facing a combined attack from St. Basil’s Cathedral’s forces and the Inquisition’s elites would mean either retreating like a turtle or being utterly destroyed if he tried to resist head-on.

At present, Komer was full of confidence as he worked toward his ambitious plans. Lebrí’s return had relieved much of the pressure on him. The Caucasus-Homer Mage Corps finally had a leader they could rely on. Although the mages practiced their magic in different ways, there was still a need for communication and discussion among them, especially among those who specialized in dark magic. Despite their individual strengths, there was much to learn about enhancing magical power and drawing parallels between different techniques, and Lebrí was well-suited to take on this role.

The strength of the mage corps actually provided Komer with considerable backing. Whether it was the Stormtroopers, the Rocktroopers, or the Homer Knights that Leclerc was painstakingly building, having such a powerful mage force as their core made everything much easier.

Yet this was not enough. Komer knew the various pressures he would face. Silesia, controlled by the Ferdinand family, and Poznan, controlled by the Hainé family, had become major obstacles to Homer’s expansion. Eliminating these two families wasn’t difficult, but the concern was that they seemed to have realized this. Their ties were deepening, and what worried Komer even more was that they were trying to strengthen their relationship with Gaul to his west. If the Gauls got involved as well, his next steps would become extremely difficult.

Even if the Gauls did not explicitly side with him in his confrontation against the Ferdinand and Hainé families, Komer could not ignore their strength. Zerin, that old fox, was not as clueless as Philip and was far more cunning and ruthless. Once he believed his actions might harm Gaul, he would surely strike from behind—something proven once again by the performance of the Resurrection Knights last time.

It is necessary to avoid facing enemies on two fronts as much as possible, but this cannot be guaranteed. Therefore, Komer can only strengthen his own forces to mitigate this danger, maintaining a sufficiently powerful army to deter Calais in the west, so that when at war with the two major lords in the north, Calais will not be easily drawn into the conflict—or, if it is drawn in, it will not affect his main plans. This is what Komer aims to achieve.

The two mountain men, with bitter expressions on their faces, sat in Komer’s reception room, determined not to leave until their demands were met. This left Komer feeling both helpless and amused.

“Chieftain Difanchi, Chieftain Belemon, I have repeated my views time and again. If you insist that your warriors return, I object. I will never abandon those mountain warriors who have bled and sacrificed for my Caucasus, unless they leave of their own volition. The restoration of Homer was achieved through their lives and honor, and everything they have now is the result of their own hard work. To order them to disband, to give up everything they have and go home—this is beyond my power. It would be an act of betrayal. I believe honest mountain men would never do such a thing.”

Hearing Komer’s seemingly noble reasons, Difanchi and Belemon didn’t know what to say in response. His words sounded reasonable, but it was clearly a trap—one disguised as a tempting lure.

Difanchi and Belemon swore inwardly that they would never deal with this man again and would never trust any of his words. The sweet words he had spoken before had now turned into a poisonous poison. Thousands of mountain warriors had become tools in his hands—wasn’t that a despicable tactic? But that was the reality. It was futile for the weak to try to impose morality on the strong. Even Difanchi and Belemon knew it was almost impossible to achieve such a thing, but admitting defeat and leaving shamefully was also beyond their dignity.

The warriors of their own tribe had now become soldiers of the Stormtrooper Corps. The good treatment and strong sense of collective honor had made these mountain warriors, who had long struggled to survive, cast aside their former tribal beliefs. Komer readily agreed to Di Fanchi and Belemont’s request to take their tribe’s soldiers back, on the condition that the soldiers themselves were willing. Although they knew it would be difficult, Di Fanchi and Belemont still tried anyway. The result was heartbreaking—aside from a few loyal individuals willing to return to their tribe, most refused on various excuses. The final demand was that unless Komer ordered the dissolution of the Stormtrooper Corps and sent them home, they would continue to stay in this coveted army.

The treatment Di Fanchi and Belemont received within the Stormtrooper Corps amused Komer greatly. The deliberately strengthened sense of collective honor had gradually made these barbarian soldiers shed their racial prejudices and unite around a sense of belonging to the army. Coupled with the much better treatment compared to life in the Cordillera Wasteland, such a contrast made it unrealistic to expect them to give up just because of a few words from their leaders. After all, humans are the most practical creatures.

“Lord Komer, what you’re doing is truly disheartening. What exactly do you plan to do?” Di Fanchi took a deep breath. He had already discussed things with Belemont. The opinions of the Jia Pon tribe could now be ignored—that guy had already reached some secret agreement with Komer. It was his betrayal that had brought the Jia Rong and Jia Long tribes to this situation.

“No, no, you’re wrong, Chief Di Fanchi. I’m simply acting according to our agreement. You may take your soldiers away, but they also have the right to refuse. I have reservations about that. I still don’t understand why you and Chief Belemont still hold such deep prejudices against me and the Caucasians. Has the Caucasus harmed your interests, or is it my actions that frighten you? I really can’t figure out what I’ve done wrong. Look at the lives of ordinary mountain people in the Cordillera Wasteland—you should be able to see how much better things have become since the Caucasians arrived. Isn’t that enough to prove everything? Yet why do you still stubbornly reject our goodwill?”

After a pause, Komer continued, “As for what I plan to do, I seem to have hinted at it before—my goals are ambitious. I truly hope to have more friends to share in the fruits of this victory. I will prove to everyone that following in my footsteps was the right choice, and that what they gain is well worth their efforts.” Komer’s persuasive gestures, paired with his passionate words, did seem somewhat convincing. However, for seasoned individuals like Di Fanchi and Belemont, it had little effect. They simply watched Komer’s performance coldly until he stopped, sensing it was pointless.

“Mr. Komer, we don’t want to hear your empty promises. We need practical things. Tell us what you plan to do now, what more you expect from us, and what we can gain,” Belemont said coldly and tiredly. “We’re not interested in your fantasies. We’re doing this not because we like or support you, but for the interests of our own tribes. Simply put, you’ve dragged us onto this war chariot, which is moving too fast and has hurt many people. Now we can’t get off.”

After a moment of surprise, Komer couldn’t help but laugh. This Belemont was truly interesting—it was rare to hear such dry humor from him. He was honest, straightforward, genuine, and calm at the same time.

“Very well, Chief Belemont. If you put it that way, it would be dishonest of me to hide anything. It’s simple: I want to conquer Poznan and Silesia. You don’t need to worry about other aspects. But in terms of troops from the mountain tribes, I’ll need another two thousand men, along with the corresponding Rypeng knights and Earth Dragon warriors.”

“Honesty? Does that word even exist in your mind, Mr. Komer?” Di Fanchi couldn’t resist mocking him. “From the start of our dealings, I’ve never sensed such a thing.”

Belemont’s expression darkened even further. “Mr. Komer, you might as well declare outright that you want to annex our Sanjia tribe!”

Komer thought carefully for a moment. “Leader Belemon, my words might not be pleasant to hear, but I still have to say them. If it’s really as you say, I believe the entire Sanjia tribe will benefit, while all you lose are some trivial superficial glories. You’ll just find it hard to accept emotionally for a while. Of course, if you two can’t accept it, just treat it as if I never said anything, but I hope you’ll consider it when you have time.”
Komer’s blunt words instantly tore away the veil that had long shrouded the relationship between them. Revealing it in this way was both expected and somewhat surprising.