Chapter 10: Secret Struggles

The liberation and integration of the Sanjia tribes provided Comer’s Storm Army with a large supply of high-quality soldiers, while also offering ample labor force for the Caucasus and eventhe wholeHomer. The young and strong men from these three tribes crossed the Catalonia River and flocked to the Caucasus. Upon discovering that the region already had a sufficient labor force, they proceeded to enter Leon and Homer via the water routes of Matdan or the land routes of Muscat.

The influx of thousands of strong laborers brought tremendous vitality to Homer and Leon’s economies. Especially in the newly developing Izmel region, industries such as mine development, new workshop construction, port and market construction, street building, and large-scale housing projects, which required massive labor, had been stalled due to a severe shortage of workers. This even led merchants to collectively demand the complete opening of slave markets and reduced taxes on slave trade to encourage the import of more slaves. Although Pube’s rumors attracted some dwarves, they were of little help to mine owners, workshop owners, and builders. These dwarves were not skilled or interested in physically demanding work; they preferred technical tasks such as ore sorting, smelting, and purification. The discovery of high-quality clay by Lake Nirel also attracted many dwarves in search of gold.

The arrival of large numbers of barbarians delighted mine owners and workshop owners who were struggling with labor shortages. The expansion of local infrastructure also demanded a huge labor force, prompting builders to raise wages to attract barbarian laborers. These free laborers were far more motivated than slaves and showed far greater initiative in mining and production. As a result, mine owners and workshop owners had to offer the promise of freeing slaves who performed well through wage redemption, a practice that greatly boosted the motivation of slaves and significantly improved production efficiency across the Izmel region.

As tensions in the south continued to rise and small-scale wars broke out one after another, the two dwarf kingdoms of the Kingdom of Sevilo and the Kingdom of Smyrna were drawn into conflicts with their neighbors. The ongoing wars, coupled with the spread of Pube’s rumors about ancient civilizations, led many dwarves to leave their homelands and move to the Caucasus and Leon regions.

The shores of Lake Nirel became a settlement for humans and dwarves. The fertile alluvial plains attracted many landless poor humans who came to cultivate the land, while the discovery of high-quality clay drew hill dwarves who had a long tradition of crafting exquisite pottery, renowned throughout the Land of Azure. With no attachment to their war-torn homelands, the dwarves naturally chose this place as their new settlement. The rich fishing resources of Lake Nirel also attracted many fishermen from the upper reaches of the Catania River to settle there and fish.

Puber was also considering developing an area at the junction of Lake Nirel and the canal network into a new town. The convenient waterways, strategic location, abundant clay resources, cultivated farmland, and influx of population all provided the conditions for a town to thrive.

Comer and Puber preferred the Caucasus and Leon to Homer and Poznan. In their eyes, the Caucasus and Leon, which they had built from scratch, truly belonged to them. Although Homer was their homeland, they didn’t feel such a deep emotional attachment to it.

In addition to the already stationed Rock Legion and Feather Legion, the Storm Legion, Homer Knights, and Earth Dragon Assault Battalion had also begun quietly gathering along the front lines in Plovdiv. To avoid detection by the Cilicians and Gallics, Fran chose to march via waterways, which not only concealed the army’s movements but also reduced fatigue significantly. They boarded ships in Groningen, sailed south, bypassed Cyprus to reach Odessa, then crossed the Bosen Plain via canals to reach the front lines in Plovdiv.

Comer had already decided to address the Gallic issue first. Once that was resolved, the Cilicians would pose no threat. Cilicia, under Nisa Ferdinand’s control, was already in turmoil due to the intelligence activities of Mahagumi. Noble merchants repeatedly caused unrest, and Nisa struggled to maintain control over her territory, so there was no need to worry about her posing a threat to neighboring Poznan.

Plovdiv was the westernmost major city in Homer, serving as a key logistics hub in the central part of the Kingdom of Nicosia. From here, one could advance westward to Gutenberg, the capital of Gallia, southwestward to Gothenburg, and northwestward to Jazair, now the capital of the Kingdom of Bimom. However, with its flat terrain and lack of strong fortifications, it was easily vulnerable to attacks from enemy forces in the east. It was under such unfavorable circumstances that the Rock Legion gritted their teeth and held firm against the attacks from Gallia.

Komer stood by the riverbank. The faint smell of water was not pungent; instead, it gave Komer a pleasant sensation. Along the banks of the canal, the people of Gallia had engaged in several battles with their own forces over the past few months—battles not large in scale but quite fierce. The Rock Legion had faithfully fulfilled its duty, keeping the people of Gallia trapped west of Plovdiv, preventing them from crossing that line and thus buying time to deal with the situation in Poznan.

Gallia was the heart of the kingdom. Although Jazair had always considered itself a stronghold of nobles, it was Gallia that was the most economically developed and prosperous region. The urban development in Gutenberg also led the way for the kingdom as a whole. Komer gazed absentmindedly toward the west, feeling that an important step toward Gallia was about to be taken.

Komer was immersed in an indescribable sense of glory. Homer had already been conquered, and Poznan was at his feet. Now it was the turn of the arrogant people of Gallia. Komer hated them even more than the people of Homer. Their innate sense of nobility made all non-Gallians instinctively feel humiliated. In the eyes of the people of Gallia, everyone else—except themselves—were peasants, not even the people of Jazair were an exception; in their view, the people of Jazair were nothing but beggars in fancy clothes.

Komer recalled the cold treatment he had suffered in Gutenberg. The indifferent and contemptuous looks in the eyes of those Gallian nobles still haunted him. Only by trampling these people of Gallia underfoot could Komer feel the satisfaction of revenge. For a moment, he even wondered if his difficult-to-abandon complex feelings toward Vero stemmed from this twisted mentality—whether he truly needed Vero, naked and whimpering beneath him, to satisfy his unspeakable dark desires.

“Maybe that’s really the case,” Komer murmured subconsciously.

“Lord, what did you say?” Fran asked doubtfully, standing beside Komer.
“Oh, nothing, nothing,” Komer replied, awkwardly gathering his thoughts. It was rather boring to still be pondering such indecent ideas at this moment. “Fran, everything is ready now. What are we waiting for?”
“Lord, we still need to wait a while. The intelligence from the west hasn’t fully arrived yet. Though I’m confident that no matter what the Gallicans do, they can’t withstand our offensive, I still have a bad feeling.” Fran carefully packed away the Thousand-Mile Mirror. There was nothing worth seeing through it—it was purely an instinctive action.
“Oh?” Komer was surprised and asked intently, “Why do you think so?”
“It’s too quiet. I think the Gallicans are acting too calmly. Although they’ve made some adjustments on the front line, I have a gut feeling that their behavior is too artificial, which raises suspicions.” Fran frowned in thought. “Zerin and Susinov surely know that their military strength is vastly inferior to ours. Even if we’ve deliberately hidden some of our strength, they should realize that once this war starts, it will determine the fate of Galicia and eventhe whole of Nicosia. Let’s wait a bit…”
Fran suddenly stopped speaking, as if suddenly remembering something. A hint of tension appeared on his face. “Lord, this is a war that determines the fate ofthe whole of Nicosia. The Cilicians may not be able to intervene, but what about Princess Kakiya and Prince Hoffman? Could they really just sit idly by? Doesn’t this war affect them at all?”
Komer felt a chill in his heart. Fran’s words brought back that uncomfortable feeling he had when leaving Livonia. Kakiya’s somewhat meaningful words echoed in his mind. He seemed to have been careless and overlooked it, and after returning to the Caucasus, he had seemingly forgotten about it. With Kakiya’s temperament, could she really remain indifferent? If Kakiya wouldn’t stand by, what about Hoffman? And in what capacity would they appear?
Komer began to ponder deeply. Kakiya’s military strength wasn’t reliable, but Hoffman still had the Rebuilt Golden Oak and the relatively intact Blue Dove Regiment, which still held some strength. If these two forces were underestimated, it might indeed cause trouble. But just these two forces alone weren’t enough to change the fundamental balance between the two sides—Komer was confident of that.