Chapter 16: Continued Struggle

Komer fell into deep thought. With the central government of the kingdom collapsed and its ability to check the power of the great noble lords entirely lost, Hoffman and Kakiya each took their own sides and clashed head-on. The various lords also began to form alliances among themselves, their intentions obvious—they wanted to prolong the chaos in the kingdom. The longer this lasted, the more cohesion the kingdom would lose. If this situation continued for a few years, the Romanov family’s prestige among the people would be completely ruined, replaced by the great lords, and a landscape of duchies would reappear.

To Komer, whether it was Kakiya or Hoffman, they were merely collaborators—partners who could be abandoned at any time for profit. Allies without strength could only end up in such an awkward position, and both Kakiya and Hoffman were trying their best to escape this situation. Yet this chaos presented a great opportunity for him. Homer had suffered heavy losses in the two campaigns against him, especially in terms of its mage forces, leaving Philip unable to rebuild them in the short term. Meanwhile, he had gained the allegiance of Clarence, Schaeffer, and others, along with the support of Mihajic, Uma, and the Great Secret Sect. Now, he had also acquired the powerful forces of the mountain people. With one side weakening and the other strengthening, this was an extremely rare opportunity—a decisive battle lay ahead.

But at this moment, that old fool Gott began to turn back and reconnect with Philip. The Haine family was also involved. If the Haine family sent reinforcements when he launched a war against Philip, and Gott caused trouble in his rear, the battle that he thought he had a sure victory in might take a complicated turn. It was even possible that the Ferdinand family and the armies of Galay might join the conflict.

The more Komer thought about it, the more alarmed he became. The rise of the Caucasus had already made the great lords feel threatened. If he took the initiative to challenge Homer, it was hard to say whether they wouldn’t join in out of a sense of self-preservation. If he didn’t consider everything carefully, he might indeed fall into trouble.

“Mahagumi, what do you think are the chances that the other three great lords and Homer will unite?” Komer asked after pondering for a long time.

“My lord, if we can defeat Homer in one fell swoop in a short time—by taking control of Cyprus, Odessa, and the Bussen Plain, for example—then the other three lords might consider whether the costs and chances of success justify such a risk. They would likely express their concerns through verbal threats. But once we are locked in a stalemate with Homer, their chances of joining the war increase significantly, and by then we may find ourselves trapped.” Mahagumi didn’t draw a definite conclusion; he knew the forces at his master’s disposal were complex, and he couldn’t predict how things would unfold. He could only make vague guesses based on what he knew about those forces.

“Hmm, are you saying that if we go all out to defeat Homer at once, we stand a better chance of avoiding conflict with the other three lords?” Komer asked thoughtfully.

“That’s my belief, my lord. Of course, we can also use other methods to distract the three lords from Homer, tying up their resources and minimizing our risks in that regard,” Mahagumi nodded.

“Orcs?” Komer and Mahagumi shared a deep understanding without needing words.

“Why not use such a powerful force? If they can use orcs to destroy kingdoms, why can’t we use them to suppress them? We can stir up border conflicts, spread lies to manipulate people—those already terrified of orcs will surely riot. The Ferdinand and Haine families’ fear of orcs is likely growing day by day. The orcs’ actions have far exceeded their expectations; they can’t remain indifferent. Even if the chances are slim, they’ll still fall into our trap.”

Mahagumi smirked. This bastard was gaining a deeper understanding of the dark side of mortals, Komer thought, though he shared that view as well.

“Very good. Leave this task to you. Make sure it’s done properly. If necessary, buy off those nobles to use them as our messengers and hold back their forces.” Komer nodded in agreement.

“My lord, there’s no need to buy them off. We just need to present some seemingly credible evidence. They won’t dare disbelieve it—they’d rather believe it than not. They can’t afford that risk, right?”

Mahagumi smirked again, leaving Komer speechless. This family understood the mentality of mortal nobles with great precision—those cowardly nobles wouldn’t dare risk their lives and wealth, especially when facing incomprehensible orcs.
“Hmm, choose your methods as you see fit. I only need the results,” Komer nodded.
“Then, Lord, when do you plan to launch it? The sooner, the better. I don’t need any preparation—just your order, and I can spread rumors across the four lords’ territories within a week. But it will work best if coordinated with your plan,” Mahagumi asked obediently for Komer’s opinion.
“In a month. I think giving Fran another month should suffice,” Komer finally made up his mind.

Cyprus’s mornings were still as enchanting, the streets quiet, with most people still in bed. A faint golden light had emerged from the clouds, signaling another fine day.

Philip stood by the window, arms crossed. Waking up unable to sleep all night had left him listless, his eyes bloodshot. Breathing in the fresh air from the garden, he gazed into the distance thoughtfully.

“The phrase ‘keeping a tiger as a pet brings trouble’ really fits well. It seems apt for me now. But I no longer have the energy to regret my foolish decision. I must face reality.”

Fortunately, that guy, Gott, had bought him some time. Philip didn’t know why Gott suddenly turned against his opponent, but it didn’t matter. The fact remained: a man like Gott, who knew nothing of loyalty, could betray anything at any time. So it made sense that Komer had been betrayed too. What exactly had happened to make Gott so enraged? Philip was curious.

A barbarian army? Hmph! That damned bastard dared to shelter mortal enemies and even train them into an army. Philip couldn’t even describe his feelings upon hearing this news. Half-orc armies were one thing, but now even barbarians dared to be exploited. The word “reckless” wasn’t enough to describe such madness.

It was obvious that this guy wasn’t solely pushing to expand his military strength for the throne struggle between Kajia and Hoffman—that was just a cover. The real target was likely himself. Vengeful to the extreme? A chill ran down Philip’s spine as he suddenly remembered something Zelin had said to him: if he were in Philip’s shoes, he would marry Tracy to Komer. Those words had sounded harsh back then, and now, a bitter taste filled Philip’s mouth.

Shaking his head, Philip tried to shake off his frustration. Worrying about those issues now was pointless. The priority was to calmly confront the threat from the south. The Haine family had agreed to provide full support if anything happened, but the Ferdinand family hesitated and refused to give a clear stance. Philip knew well that they were waiting to extract a higher price from him—nothing surprising there. It was just that there was still no reply from Calais, leaving a lingering shadow in Philip’s mind. What on earth was Zelin up to?

Philip didn’t believe Gott could offer much help. A short-term blockade no longer had much impact on the Caucasus these days, especially since the Catania River was freely navigable. A naval blockade could hardly weaken the Caucasus anymore. Expecting Gott’s Gray Skulls to fight on land was pure delusion. The real battle would take place on land. Philip regretted building the fortress at the entrance of the Great Greenland Forest Trail to be so weak. If he had thought more carefully back then, he should have built it as a series of three interconnected fortresses in a triangular shape, which would have doubled its defensive strength. But it was too late to regret now.

Philip silently assessed his available forces and strategies.

He was not aware of Komer’s true strength, but he knew that Komer’s main army had been left in Livonia by Kajia to deal with pressure from Hoffman. According to Gott’s information, Komer only had 3,500 newly formed barbarian infantry and 2,000 half-orc warriors. Although this hastily assembled force consisted of lowly races with great strength but low intelligence and little training, as long as he could use fortresses to keep them safely away from the Bosen Plain and prevent them from destroying his supply stores, there should be no major problems. However, without the help of the mage corps, he had one less card to play and could only rely entirely on the mage power of the Haine family. Hopefully, they could teach those ignorant lowly races a harsh lesson.