Chapter 9: The Storm Is Coming

With the addition of Melkin and Badi, Muktese was finally able to set aside his concerns. Under Muktese’s secret efforts, the merchants began to take action, first by raising substantial funds for Kakiya to carry out active lobbying in the coming period, which greatly boosted Kakiya’s morale.

Hidden behind the window curtains, Kakiya watched with complex emotions as the young man stepped calmly into the inner courtyard of her residence. The calmness and gentleness on his face made it difficult to guess what he was thinking. This enigmatic man always brought her a sense of shock and novelty, forcing her to ponder the implications behind his actions.

In fact, Kakiya had already learned of Komer’s arrival in Jazair, but she had no intention of meeting him immediately. As far as she knew, even at the last moment, he hadn’t fully committed himself to her side; he still maintained subtle connections with Hoffman’s faction. He thought he had acted discreetly, but in Jazair, nothing could escape her notice. For money and profit, those nobles would even betray their own wives and mistresses.

Yet this man’s behavior was truly astonishing. Driven by Muktese, the merchants were beginning to show loyalty to her, though still in a subtle and vague manner. It was nothing compared to the coldness and distance they had shown when she first tried to contact them.

Most importantly, some nobles were also showing new signs of movement. Breaking through Hoffman’s noble ranks was Kakiya’s greatest desire, but the deep-seated contempt these nobles felt for her prevented her from gaining any support from them, not even symbolic support. Now, it seemed the frozen situation was thawing—at least Melkin and Badi, two renowned noble representatives, had shown a hint of goodwill, which filled her with joy after struggling so long to gain support from the elite.

Kakiya knew all of this was connected to the young man walking in slowly. His influence within the kingdom turned out to be incredibly deep, enough to draw in established nobles like Melkin and Badi. Even the merchants who had been watching from the sidelines seemed influenced by him and had changed their attitude. Everything he did indicated his support for her, but why then did he still maintain ties with Hoffman?

He was a mysterious figure. If this guy hadn’t demanded the Valley of Dukes in exchange for his full support, Kakiya really wouldn’t have dared accept his kindness. A person without desires was the most unpredictable. Though his ambitions were great, Kakiya preferred dealing with those who had ambitions and desires rather than those whose intentions were impossible to gauge.

“Your Highness, Viscount Komer has arrived,” the personal attendant entered lightly and spoke in a soft voice.

“Mm, I know. Ask him to wait in the reception room. Tell him I’ll be there once I’ve changed,” Kakiya replied indifferently.

“Yes, Your Highness.” The attendant bowed respectfully and left, leaving Kakiya alone.

Kakiya felt she needed some time to sort through her chaotic thoughts. Over the past period, facing Hoffman’s relentless pressure, she had been busy coping, leaving her both physically and mentally exhausted. But such times were often the eve of a decisive battle—she couldn’t afford any slack. Since Hoffman held the upper hand, she couldn’t relax at all.

If the merchants and financiers could shift their ambiguous attitudes to support her, her situation would improve greatly. Though she was still at a disadvantage against Hoffman, she would now have a chance to turn things around. The most crucial factors now were the attitudes of Taze and Matthew. The three major armies were under Matthew’s control, while Taze’s attitude influenced that of many government officials in Jazair. Although the nobles supporting Hoffman had clearly confronted Matthew and Taze, neither of them paid attention to their threats. Having weathered many storms, they were accustomed to the nobles’ feigned strength. It was the four lords of the kingdom that truly concerned Matthew and Taze. And the nobles of Jazair were intricately linked to these four lords of the kingdom—some even colluding with them.

When the enchanting Kakiya finally appeared before Komer, Komer was almost certain she was deliberately trying to suppress his confidence. But Komer didn’t care. The more she did so, the more it revealed her insecurity. He instinctively wanted to sneer, but on the surface, he remained respectful, satisfying her petty vanity.

Dasher Snake stepped into the golden tent adorned with black and yellow patterns of the giant yak with steady steps. The tall, burly man who had been pacing anxiously inside turned around at the sound of his footsteps. His lips, hidden beneath a thick beard, seemed to want to ask something, but he quickly realized he might have been too hasty. After clearing his throat lightly, he stepped forward and asked, “Dasher, how’s the situation?”
“Hmm, there hasn’t been much change. The Iron Cross Corps is still stationed in the west, the Blue Dove Corps has now reached the front lines, and the Golden Oak Corps is defending near Jazair…”
Before the pale, tall man could finish speaking, the burly man impatiently interrupted him, “What about their mage corps? What’s the movement of the court mages?”
“There’s not much activity yet, but there are signs that their court mages might leave Jazair soon to head southeast to Homer, apparently to help Homer conquer a disobedient small lord in the south.” Dasher Snake certainly knew what his ally wanted to hear.
His furry palms rubbed together excitedly, and the deep lines on his forehead seemed to relax as well due to his excitement. Sami Tagore’s thick lips moved as if chewing on something, and his brownish-yellow eyes flashed with intensity. “Hmph, it seems none of these mortals are trustworthy. Such a great opportunity is kept hidden from us. It seems they don’t want us to completely destroy the Kingdom of Nicossia.”
Dasher didn’t respond. He was only responsible for providing necessary information and didn’t want to express any opinions unless directly asked.
After pacing back and forth in the tent twice in a hurry, Sami Tagore clearly struggled with a decision. The other party hadn’t provided any information on this matter and had deliberately concealed it, clearly not wanting the Bimon Kingdom to know these details. Their intentions were obvious—they still wanted the Kingdom of Nicossia, once the strongest country in the northern alliance, to remain in a weak, semi-divided state. In their eyes, the Bimon Kingdom was probably just a tool. Without their help, the Bimon Kingdom seemed destined to stay stuck in the Mogan Wasteland. At this thought, Sami Tagore’s anger flared up. These damned mortals really thought they could dominate everything in this world?!

Dashler lowered his eyelids, seemingly paying no attention to the somewhat agitated tiger clan leader before him. In fact, he rarely saw this normally composed tiger clan leader in such a state. In his memory, this tiger king had always appeared calm and composed in front of everyone, and this had always been regarded as the demeanor of a king by all the Bimons. Even Carter Wolf had to admit that he fell short in terms of presence. But today, this tiger king seemed impatient, and Dashler knew it was related to the information he had provided. Now it was up to this Bimon king to decide how to handle the situation.

“Dashler, in your opinion, which side has the weaker defense— the Blue Dove Corps in the north or the Iron Cross Corps in the west?” The heavy breathing made Dashler realize that this Bimon king seemed to have made a final decision and was now considering which route would be more convenient.

“The northern defense of the Nicocians is definitely weaker. Their fortresses have been completely destroyed by us, so they have to retreat further south to establish an effective defense line. As for the western front, since they’ve had more time to build their defenses, their fortifications might be better. But in terms of defensive strength, the Blue Dove Corps of the Nicocians is clearly stronger than the newly reformed Iron Cross Corps. So, the situations on both sides are actually similar,” Dashler replied factually.

Seemingly dissatisfied with the cautious wording of this snake clan leader, Shami Tagore simply brought up the topic directly: “Then what do you think are the chances of success for this surprise attack of ours?”

After a moment of silence, the snake clan leader replied in a muffled voice, “Shami, have you already decided to take action? Where does your confidence come from? Without the support of those mortals, are we absolutely sure?”

“Hmph, there’s never absolute certainty in anything. War always involves risks! Dashler, we can’t rely on those mortals. They just want to use our Bimon strength to satisfy their own selfish desires. That’s something we both understand. Why don’t they inform us about such an important situation? Why have they deliberately exaggerated the Nicocians’ preparations lately? It’s clear they don’t want us to take advantage of this opportunity. But they overlook one thing—we never rely entirely on them. We have our own minds, our own judgment!” The tiger king pointed at his own head and said firmly.