Chapter 14: Secret Passages
Gazing toward the distant north, Komer couldn’t help but sigh softly. Everything seemed to be on track, and everything was progressing as he had planned. The conflict between Kakiya and Hoffman was currently advantageous for him, at least it made Kakiya more dependent on him.
Perhaps if he asked Kakiya to give up her body, she would without hesitation strip off her clothes and lie in bed waiting for him. As long as he could offer her enough benefits to help her ascend to the throne, she had waited too long for this and sacrificed too much.
But life was often unpredictable. Just as she was gradually moving closer to her goal, the sudden invasion of orcs from the south turned this dream into ashes. That golden throne seemed to hover between her and Hoffman—seemingly within reach, yet always just out of grasp when she tried to reach for it.
The news from Mahagumi was accurate and timely. The orcs indeed intended to establish a foothold in the north of the Kingdom of Nicosia. They had even begun adopting human laws entirely. These guys seemed to have a remarkable ability to adapt, managing to go along with things even without fully understanding them. Yet it had to be admitted that orcs weren’t as simple-minded as imagined; among them were wise ones with a deep understanding of civilized evolution.
At least they understood that eliminating or expelling all mortal nobles from their territory was a wise move. Those vermin, no matter where they were, served no purpose other than causing trouble. Leaving behind some simple, poor mortals and offering them slight favors could easily win their hearts, even leading to harmonious coexistence and integration—exactly what the orcs wanted to achieve.
The fools in the Light Church will soon realize that their support and assistance to the orcs is the most shortsighted act of shooting themselves in the foot. The orcs can rapidly move closer to human civilization in many aspects such as lifestyle, political structure, and production technology, but it’s much harder for them to be transformed by foreign ideologies when it comes to faith. The loss of large areas in the north of the Kingdom of Nicomia and the exodus of many people have caused the prestige of the Light Church in this region to plummet just as quickly as that of the central government of the Kingdom of Nicomia. What they need to consider now is how to reverse this situation, especially to ease the resentment among those displaced people; otherwise, other sects might easily seize their positions.
Yet none of this is Kommer’s greatest concern. News from the Mahagumi intelligence network revealed a startling discovery: during the campaigns to invade the west and capture Jazair, a new type of soldier appeared among the orcs for the first time. Hidden among archers and disguised as them, they used attack powers similar to magic, which led to the widespread collapse of the Golden Oak Regiment and the fall of Jazair within three days.
Similar evidence was found among the remnants of the Golden Oak Regiment and the Iron Cross Regiment, which shocked Kommer greatly.
Did the orcs buy human magicians, or did they develop their own magical powers? Either way, it means that magical power is no longer solely in human hands. But Kommer hopes it’s the former scenario. If it’s the latter, it would undoubtedly undermine the laws by which the Creator God built the world. If a race with powers far surpassing those of individual humans also possesses the unique magical powers of humans, then human history might truly come to an end in this world—it’s simply unimaginable.
However, evidence from various sources suggests that the orcs’ magical powers are not very strong. Magical powers such as fire and lightning, which are most commonly used in warfare, were not evident. Instead, some powers resembling wood and earth magic appeared, leading Kommer to suspect that perhaps living in forests and wastelands for so long has given the orcs powers closer to those of their natural environment. But even this possibility is enough to overturn the long-held dominance of humans in the world of magic.
However, Komer believed that the Light Church would be the first to be shocked and worried by these issues. They had used advanced weapons to tempt and buy off the orcs, forcing them to act according to their own desires in order to satisfy their selfish ambitions. But now, the orcs had fully demonstrated their intelligence and ability to imitate; not only had their manufacturing skills improved, but they had also developed the power to communicate with nature. This development would surely frighten those corrupt members of the Light Church. The orcs would first face pressure from the Light Church, but since they dared to show such strength, it meant they were confident enough. Meanwhile, the Light Church was forced to focus its main efforts on the immense pressure posed by the orcs, otherwise, their foundation—the entire Northern Alliance countries—would be at risk of collapse.
To some extent, this situation was quite favorable for Komer. It could at least greatly reduce the pressure the Light Church exerted on the entire South, as well as the Caucasus and Leon. It might even create opportunities for the Dark faction to develop in regions like Livonia, Pomerania, and Hesse. The ongoing changes in the situation also gave him a chance to catch his breath. The Zuk Valley wasn’t as prosperous as he had imagined—only seven or eight kilometers wide and forty kilometers long—with a population of just two or three thousand people. Aside from Zuk at the southern end, which was barely a slightly denser village relying on farming, the rest were scattered hunters and loggers. No wonder he hadn’t had to put much effort into convincing Kakiya to grant him this territory.
But Komer never intended to treat the Zuk Valley merely as a leisurely farm. The paths in the Little Greenland Forest had already been opened up through the efforts of countless explorers and adventurers. Tracing upstream along the Nise River led to its source, Lake Nise, which was no more than sixty kilometers away from Zuk in a straight line. Although the shores of Lake Nise were a paradise for magical beasts—home to a wide variety and large numbers of them—it would be difficult to clear this area and turn it into a passable route in a short time. However, it wasn’t hard to create a passable path by going around Lake Nise, opening a route through the dense forests nearby, and heading northwest to reach Zuk.
Lake Nisei was not far from Zuk, but the long-standing darkness hanging over the Little Greenland Forest had deterred locals from entering it. It was only when Komer, out of his own considerations, decided to open this strategic route that it was actually put into action.
Puber was quite diligent in fulfilling Komer’s intentions. He quickly built a simple river port near Lake Nisei, allowing for relatively easy access from the port at Fortress Bruce to the area around Lake Nisei. A land route was then established to connect this port with Zuk, thereby linking the Zuk Valley enclave to the Leon region and the entire Caucasus.
Of course, this was merely a basic geographical connection. Due to the threats posed by magical beasts along Lake Nisei, establishing such a land route was extremely difficult. Even the simple port near Lake Nisei was fraught with danger. Within just two months of its construction, it had suffered multiple attacks by magical beasts, resulting in the death of over thirty half-orc soldiers. This enraged Fran, who wrote to Komer demanding that he use his magical resources to eliminate the threat of those beasts, especially after learning of Komer’s intricate connections with dark forces such as the Great Secret Sect in the south.
Although Komer had plans in this regard, he was also aware that Lake Nisei had long been a breeding ground for various magical beasts in the Little Greenland Forest, making it difficult to eradicate them. However, as the situation in the Kingdom of Nicossia deteriorated, the importance of the southwest region to Komer grew. To exert greater influence within the kingdom, he needed to establish Kakiya as a powerful force. Without a military backing, Kakiya was vulnerable to Hoffman sending troops to drive them out of the kingdom and into exile.
In this regard, Kakiya was even more worried than Komer. Mobilizing the small nobles to organize their meager private armies into a unified force had always been Kakiya’s goal, but this idea proved difficult to realize. The small nobles were very reluctant, and by April, fewer than a thousand private soldiers had been assembled, leaving Kakiya deeply disappointed.
Although Komer had a decent armed force in the Caucasus, the distance between Homer and Calais meant that Philip and Zerin would never agree to let Komer’s militia pass through their territory, nor would Hoffman permit such a thing. Thus, it became extremely urgent to open a route from Bruce to Zuck. Komer’s demands were not high—he only needed a temporary route that could barely accommodate an army. As for strengthening connections between the Zuck Valley and the Caucasus in the long term, Komer hoped to use more reliable methods to achieve that.