Chapter 27: The Purpose of War

After reading the letter delivered by the messenger from Mardan, Haireddin fell into deep thought.
It seemed that the situation in Katin was progressing unusually smoothly—so smoothly that it even exceeded earlier expectations. Apparently, even the lord himself hadn’t anticipated that the members of the Northern Alliance would collapse so quickly and completely. Nicomia had already fallen into the lord’s hands without a doubt, and now the Athenians and Cnossians had to worry about how to deal with the anger of the Nicomians.
Haireddin had never doubted that Lord Komer would win the battle of Katin. From the moment he boldly ordered the Black Flame Knights and various magicians to march toward the Misty Hills, Haireddin realized that this lord had extraordinary ambitions. He dared to divide his forces even before Nicomia was unified, which made Haireddin admire his courage and further strengthened his trust in Komer.
Yet the speed at which the battle of Katin ended still took Haireddin by surprise. The Northern Alliance members were given hardly any chance to resist. After forcing the Athenians and Cnossians to pay a heavy price, they fled in shame. Moreover, the Nicomians retained the right to hold the Athenians and Cnossians accountable. More importantly, the Besarabians had joined the Nicomian camp, posing a huge threat to the Northern Alliance. A semi-circular encirclement was gradually forming, threatening the survival of the small nations and city-states in the south at any moment—a situation entirely self-inflicted by the Northern Alliance.
Now, Nicomia only had the northwestern region under orc control, including Jazair. But this was a tough nut to crack. Compared to the seemingly powerful armed forces of the Northern Alliance, the orcs were the real enemies. Haireddin knew that his lord had no intention of confronting the orcs head-on in the short term. For Nicomia, the time was not yet right. Although Komer was arrogant, he was certainly wise.
Thus, Nicomia’s attention would inevitably be diverted somewhat to the south. But was the Misty Hills really worth Lord Komer’s attention? No matter how Haireddin looked at it, he couldn’t see why so much effort should be invested in that region. There were no special resources, and it was strategically unremarkable. Apart from a group of elves, only the nearby Assyrians showed interest there.

“Boss, is there some trouble?” Drake wiped the thick beard under his chin and took a big gulp of shochu. This liquor made from red reed was highly potent with a strong aftereffect, making it a favorite among those who made a living at sea. It was just a bit expensive, but for Drake now, that wasn’t a problem anymore. The once-down-and-out sailor from the Nightingale’s Dance tavern had now become a renowned captain of an armed warship in the Stormy Ocean and the Southern Mid-Sea.

“It’s not exactly trouble, but it’s certainly enough to keep us busy. We’ve just settled things in the north, and it seems our lord has turned his interest to the south again.” Haiding grinned and shook the letter in his hand. “I really don’t know what the lord is thinking. Could it be that the charm of that elven woman is so strong it has captivated him?”

“Heh, boss, Lord Komer doesn’t seem the type to be easily swayed. He has so many women around him, all of them stunning—princesses, mixed-blood assassins, mages… He has quite varied tastes. How could an elven woman make him lose his head?” Drake didn’t have a deep impression of Komer, but anyone who could make his boss obey must surely not be an ordinary person. Komer’s actions had also won Drake’s utmost admiration.

“Of course, that was just a joke. He’s reached where he is today—how could women’s wishes influence him?” Haiding knew well that Komer must have his own plans. There’s no such thing as early action without profit. Lord Komer’s merchant-like mindset was well-known throughout Nicomedia.

“What plans does the lord have?” Drake was more interested in the specific plans. As someone who made a living at sea, he naturally hoped for a proper war—only then could they prove their worth and earn more.

“Hmph, we need to prepare sufficient armed forces to land along the coasts of the Mistflower Hills at any time. It seems the lord really intends to teach the elves a lesson in the Mistflower Hills,” Haiding speculated.

“Teach the elves? The lord has never fought a pointless battle. What does the Mistflower Hills have? Could it be that Lord Komer plans to occupy it before fighting another war against the Assyrians? I don’t think the lord would be that short-sighted.” Drake shook his head. “There must be other reasons.”

“Other reasons? Heh, aside from land, there seems to be nothing else. Well, maybe one more thing…” Haiding pondered, his gaze drifting toward his brother.

“Boss, that’s right—it’s humans. Only the elves themselves can probably arouse the Lord’s interest. There are at least three to four hundred thousand elves living in the Misty Hills, right? Such a large pool of cheap labor is undoubtedly a tremendous asset for the Caucasus, with its small population and vast lands. Scuffles like slave raids hold little value; only war is the simplest way to seize what one wants—the winner takes all, and the loser becomes a slave. That’s simple.” Drake interrupted his boss, saying firmly, “The Lord expanded his territory in the Caucasus by relying on those crude methods, and weren’t the initial resources a large number of cheap immigrants and half-orcs? It seems the Lord is trying to do the same thing again now.”

Haidred’s eyes lit up. His brother was right—he hadn’t considered this aspect. Now that Nicosia was about to be unified, and the development of the entire Leon region and the Caucasus had reached a bottleneck, the Lord had mentioned this issue to him, either intentionally or not. He had just not been sensitive enough at the time to realize the underlying meaning in the Lord’s words. For the Caucasus to develop further, more labor was needed, and the skillful elves were undoubtedly the best candidates. To turn these elves into part of the Caucasus, war was naturally the preferred method.