Chapter 22: Race

When Komer and his party arrived at the port of Bahomun downstream along the Catania River, the entire city was in an uproar. Whether it was the indigenous people of the Caucasus or the new immigrants from the three northern regions, the half-orcs who had fled the Funiu Mountains and recently gained citizenship, or the barbarians who had traveled from the Cordillera Wastelands to work in Bahomun—everyone was shocked by the news: the Catania River route had truly been opened!

While many ordinary people were still immersed in this tremendous surprise, astute merchants were already considering what the opening of this golden waterway would bring to the Caucasus and what they should do next. Food would no longer be the biggest constraint on the Caucasus. The upper and middle reaches of the Catania River were renowned grain-producing areas, with yields far exceeding those of the Homer and Galle regions. Every year, large amounts of surplus grain rotted in warehouses due to transportation limitations. It was precisely these transportation issues, especially the lack of affordable shipping, that made it difficult for countries like Luxembourg to export their grain, keeping prices relatively low there. The Caucasus could become a major buyer of grain from these regions. Moreover, various necessities such as liquor, cotton cloth, and woolen goods could be obtained from the countries along this route, eliminating the need for sea or land routes. In other words, Homer’s blockade of the Caucasus would become meaningless with the opening of this route. Conversely, the Caucasus’ timber, iron ore, iron products, and even precious stones could be continuously transported upstream along the cheap waterway, bringing unprecedented opportunities to the entire region.

Eve and Grace, along with their group, also watched all this with astonishment. The large arches standing at the dock clearly displayed the name of the place—Bahomun, a town within Lord Komer’s territory. Yet the crowded crowd in this town made Eve and her group feel somewhat nervous and even uneasy.

The transport workers coming and going at the dock were not like those they saw in their daily life; mortals did not seem to have much of an advantage, at least that’s what Eve and her group observed. Merchants and craftsmen with obvious half-elf ancestry were busy running their businesses in the shops along the streets. The master blacksmith in the forge was clearly a dwarf, giving Bayezid a sense of finding a familiar face in a strange land. Even the tax collector passing by seemed to be a half-elf. There were more half-orcs with grotesque faces and strange clothing, as well as tall and fierce barbarians. These people dragged carts, carried sacks, and carried baskets at the dock, shouting slogans as they moved swiftly—this was far from what they imagined a mortal town to be; it resembled more a settlement of exotic races from the southern barbarian regions.

Perhaps sensing Eve and her group’s surprise and tension, Komer smiled lightly and said, “Eve, Grace, don’t be too nervous. The Caucasus is originally a region where multiple ethnic groups live together. Bahomun is adjacent to the mountain people, well, what you call the barbarian territories. Half-orcs have always been the main labor force in the Caucasus, so these two races are more common here. Don’t worry. Even my lord’s guard and local self-defense forces are mostly composed of half-orc soldiers. This is quite normal.”

“You mean your guard is also made up of half-orcs?” Grace really couldn’t understand why Komer would choose those half-orcs with grotesque faces and fierce looks as his guards. Didn’t he worry that these half-orc soldiers might suddenly turn violent?

“Hehe, Grace. Do you think half-orcs can’t serve as my guards? It seems your view has some problems. In the Caucasus, all races are equal, and discrimination is forbidden. Otherwise, the judges will impose severe penalties for inciting racial hatred. Inciting racial hatred is a serious crime in the Caucasus, punishable by imprisonment and fines. So this principle is strictly enforced here. As far as I know, no one has dared to defy this law yet.” Komer laughed. “In fact, my half-orc guards are more combat-effective and loyal than mortal soldiers. I am their only master, and my orders are carried out without fail. That’s why I plan to continue using half-orcs as my guards.”

Komer’s words indeed stirred great waves in Eve and her companions’ minds. From Komer’s usual speech, they had sensed that he seemed to hold no prejudice against different races, but they still hadn’t expected that Komer, as the local lord, would choose the rough and barbaric half-orcs rumored to exist as his personal guards. While races like elves, half-elves, and humans could barely be accepted by ordinary people, races as similar to orcs as half-orcs seemed, in the eyes of mortals, incapable of living equally with them. Yet this notion seemed to have been completely overturned here. Just by seeing the barbarians, regarded by all races on the continent as the most dangerous, living and working in this land, it was clear that Komer was telling the truth—Caucasus was indeed a place full of miracles.

“Look, this is Bahomun, the westernmost port on the Catania River and also the southernmost town in my domain. There are probably over twenty thousand people living here now. The main reason is the presence of a large iron mine and several iron-smelting workshops, along with some logging camps in the surrounding area. Overall, it’s still quite primitive; everything is just beginning, like a large construction site—chaotic, with people everywhere recruiting workers or looking for jobs. It seems we really need to appoint an official to handle government affairs here.”

As Komer introduced everything to his companions, he frowned while observing. Since Bahomun was his direct territory, it didn’t have a dedicated official like Mando did; daily government work was handled by Puber. In just over a month, Bahomun seemed to have changed again—there seemed to be more and more barbarians, with barbarians pulling carts and carrying loads at the docks accounting for over half of them. This used to be the domain of half-orcs. It seemed the barbarians were gradually taking over job positions from them. It was unclear whether this had anything to do with Puber’s barbarian girlfriend.

The streets of Bahomun were already packed with excited crowds—whether they were small merchants or craftsmen, nearby farmers or miners, shop owners or workshop masters, everyone could understand the significance of the lord’s arrival from that merchant ship on the Catania River. Oh, the world had suddenly become so wonderful!