Chapter 3: Loyalty

To be honest, Pober was overjoyed at the departure of that large group. Those guys named Xuro and Uma, along with their followers, kept showing up and disappearing throughout the day. Though it was unclear what they were up to, their dark nature brought a sense of gloom and chill that made people uncomfortable. Moreover, it seemed these people hadn’t contributed anything to Caucasus and Leon at all. Their departure was surely related to news about the leader; sending them to the leader might be the only way to get them to do something meaningful.

As for that woman named Shatima, despite her alluring figure, her somewhat unstable mind made her unreliable. Combined with her excessive strength, violent temper, and fiery personality, Pober always thought she would be better suited for the arenas in the south—provided such arenas accepted female gladiators. Her departure brought only relief, with no other feelings.

On the other hand, Pober was somewhat reluctant to see the four women tied to the leader leave. It wasn’t that he had any special feelings for the leader’s women, but those four women could still be useful in Caucasus. Lomi’s magic skills were even praised by Mihajic, and Grace was undoubtedly an excellent assassin. Eve had already become a key liaison between the lord’s estate and various religious factions in Caucasus and Leon, continuing her studies in white magic while also trying to bring order to the chaos caused by these diverse beliefs. Even that elf girl, Finitz, showed great talent in magic, which made Pober, who had always longed for magic, sigh at the unfairness of fate.

Mihajic, Newman, Sorenberg, and Vladkov were the last to propose leaving for the Underground Ocean. Pober strongly opposed this, fearing that if those four left, Caucasus and Leon would have almost no one left to uphold its military strength. Even those sneaky Rema knights could then act recklessly without anyone to stop them. Pober certainly didn’t want to become a pitiful figure who could only issue orders from a basement.

But Mihajic and the others were also resolute; staying in the Caucasus made no sense for them now. Although Kommer’s whereabouts were known, Rebril’s location remained unknown, and it seemed even the messages sent back from the lord in the south did not mention it, which surprised Mihajic and the others. They hoped to go to the south to find out the truth.

Puber was powerless to stop them from leaving. When Kommer had no news and they could still stay in the Caucasus, now that Kommer’s whereabouts were known, the Caucasus seemed to fall into disarray. This made Puber feel displeased. Was his charisma really that poor? It was quite disheartening.

Fran and Baoling had no time to worry about Puber’s thoughts as acting lord. When they learned of Lord Kommer’s whereabouts, ecstasy and relief instantly filled their hearts. Their hearts, which had been empty for over a month, became secure and steady once again, and everything returned to normal. The half-orc officers under Dragoemo also sensed something from the expressions of Fran and Baoling, the two highest commanders. Though these half-orcs were usually slow to react, their intuition in this regard was not much worse than that of ordinary people.

The self-defense forces of the Caucasus and Leon quickly regained their energetic momentum. Briarnos, Javier, and Bayezid did not leave; like Fran and Baoling, they had more important tasks. Kommer had also made it clear through magic communication that they, along with Fran and Baoling, were responsible for training the Caucasus self-defense forces. Compared to Vladkov and Sorenberg’s sophisticated and domineering methods, Briarnos and the others’ training approaches were clearly more suitable for these strength-based half-orc warriors.

If anyone in the entire Caucasus was most concerned about Kommer’s whereabouts, it was undoubtedly Mahagumi, the intelligence officer of the lord’s palace. As a half-orc hybrid, Mahagumi knew well where his current status came from and who was responsible for it. Without Lord Kommer, Mahagumi would still be a worthless half-orc slave, probably dead deep in some mine in Leon. Kommer’s disappearance filled Mahagumi with constant anxiety and heart-wrenching despair. He didn’t know how he would proceed without Kommer. Without him, Mahagumi saw little meaning in his work anymore; he might once again become just trash in Leon’s mines.

The news of Komer’s whereabouts was like a spring of water poured into a sapling on the verge of dying; Mahagumi, who had been in constant anxiety, quickly regained his vitality. Though eager to see the lord, Mahagumi understood that since the lord hadn’t ordered him to go to the south, he must continue following the established plan. Doing his job well was the most loyal expression of devotion to the lord, he thought.

As the intelligence officer in the lord’s palace, Mahagumi knew that much of his work was no longer purely related to intelligence gathering. Besides focusing on collecting and understanding information about the kingdom and Homer, gathering internal intelligence had also become a major responsibility. Since the opening of the Catalonia River route, developments in the countries along its upper and middle reaches, especially in Rosenberg, had also become targets. The growing closeness between the Three Jia tribes and the Caucasus made the internal situation of the barbarians in the Cordillera Desert equally important. All these factors made Mahagumi’s burden even heavier.

Yet, the more tasks the lord assigned him, the more excited Mahagumi became. This wasn’t only a sign of the lord’s trust in him but also reflected his innate desire to possess knowledge of various hidden aspects of affairs. It was a sense of superiority he couldn’t explain—whenever he thought that only he and the lord shared this information, a proud and disdainful feeling arose in him. He loved this work; he truly cherished it from the bottom of his heart.

But now, Mahagumi realized another oversight in his work: he knew far too little about the intelligence agencies in the Land of the Seas. It could almost be said to be a complete blank. Aside from a vague understanding of the various races, countries, and city-states in that region from a geographical perspective, Mahagumi found he didn’t have anything else of value at all.

This was unacceptable. Although he couldn’t understand why the lord would suddenly head to the Southern Land of the Seas, as an intelligence officer, he had to act according to the lord’s needs. Mahagumi wasn’t willing to wait. Even if the lord hadn’t made any arrangements yet, he should take the initiative and start preparing for it.

After sending off such a large group of people, Puber didn’t feel any inconvenience. He had long become proficient in administrative matters. Neptune was performing quite well in Leon—after a few months, he had become darker and thinner, which worried old Hes greatly, though his spirit remained strong. He had already visited all the towns in Leon and knew the mines thoroughly. It was already remarkable for a local administrator to achieve such things.

The canal from Matdan to Lake Nirel was still progressing smoothly. Comer’s brief disappearance didn’t affect the common people, who saw that the lord’s estate was still functioning normally. The number of barbarians entering the Caucasus continued to rise slowly. On the construction sites of the canal from Lake Nirel to Matdan, there were more and more barbarians. Although they were still far from matching half-orcs and humans in terms of strength, it was a sign that the barbarians were gradually being drawn to the Caucasus’s vibrant energy, unconsciously integrating into this thriving region.

Many barbarians had begun settling in the suburbs of Matdan and Santiago. Although farming wasn’t their forte, aside from the huge demand for laborers to dig canals, tasks like digging channels, quarrying stone, cutting trees, processing wood, and transporting goods were such demanding jobs that only barbarians, aside from half-orcs, could excel at them. Humans had been pushed out of these fields. Shrewd contractors consistently stated in their recruitment ads that they preferred to hire half-orcs and barbarians, and their wages were also much less scrutinized compared to those of humans. Where else could one find such good opportunities?

The influx of many barbarians into the Caucasus still caused some concern for Puber. He had brought this issue up with Comer at the time, but soon the intelligence department submitted an investigation report. These barbarians actually didn’t belong to the neighboring Sanjia tribe, which didn’t have that many idle laborers. A significant portion of them came from smaller tribes around the Sanjia tribe, who purchased identity documents from them to obtain permission to work in the Caucasus tribes.

Puber was once very dissatisfied with this. In his view, he had no objection to barbarians who did not belong to the Sanja tribe working in the Caucasus, but the fee should be earned by the Caucasus lords. How could those guys from the Sanja tribe reap benefits without working? However, Komer rejected Puber’s suggestion, arguing that maintaining stable relations with the Sanja tribe was in the better interests of both the Caucasus and Leon at the moment. Moreover, these barbarians from smaller tribes, once they settled in the Caucasus, could have a certain influence on those truly from the Sanja tribe—a influence that was quite subtle and not easily understood by many.