Chapter 4: The Scroll of Parchment

Is balance the key? Komer pondered the implications. For a territory not yet fully under his control, necessary compromises were inevitable. The old forces had been significantly weakened but not eliminated, and their complete eradication was neither possible nor entirely in his interest. At least, in many cases, they could help him counter those religious forces that coveted Nicosia.

Whether it was the Dark Faction, the Salvation Society, or the main body of the Light Church, none wanted to miss such an opportunity. Komer had to admit that the Romanov family had handled this situation quite well. Even the powerful Light Church had failed to achieve absolute dominance in Nicosia. Instead, the relatively free atmosphere had made the secular forces there much stronger. Of course, this also brought problems—local forces became so powerful that the royal court struggled to maintain control. The Edict of Utrecht only exacerbated the conflict between local forces and the royal court.

Now it was his turn. The Romanov family had failed to maintain balance, allowing local forces to grow out of control. What about him? Although local forces seemed suppressed by him for now, it didn’t mean they fully supported him. Surface compliance might indicate deeper concealment—a lesson Komer knew well from his own journey.

Yet relying on religious forces to completely suppress local powers was even worse. Whether it was the Dark Faction, which regarded him as its leader, or the seemingly ascetic Salvation Society, they could only be used as tools. If left unchecked, he risked becoming a puppet himself.

Balance—total balance. Balance among local forces, balance among religious powers, and balance between them. Only by manipulating these various balances at will could he buy time and create opportunities to strengthen his own forces.

As for Gallia, it could wait for now. Zerin was too shaken by this setback to recover quickly. And Kakiya? He hadn’t decided yet how to deal with her. He didn’t want to provoke backlash from those conservative forces still attached to the Romanov era by taking action on this issue. At this moment, gaining the support of Taze and Matthew was crucial.

A myriad of thoughts troubled Komer. It was then that he realized how daunting it was to rule such a vast territory. He would have to face all the troubles the Romanov family had encountered, and now he also had to consider the olive branch extended by the Church of Pericles—whether it was an olive branch or a trap, Komer couldn’t be sure. Everything needed to be taken slowly.

Komer unrolled the parchment and began to read carefully. This was the parchment from the Great Bear. It seemed to have been written by multiple people, and its content was quite complex, covering a wide range of topics—from special magic spells to the origins of certain institutions in the Church of Light, from little-known secrets of the tribunal to tips for enhancing magical power, from an overview of magic wars to insights into combat experience. It was truly diverse and intricate.

Komer wasn’t very interested in the other parts, but the techniques for enhancing magical power, the combat experience insights, and those magic spells he still couldn’t understand might be quite useful in the future. At least he thought he needed to make a copy of these, and if time allowed, he hoped to copy everything.

The writer of this parchment had a wild imagination, writing whatever came to mind without any systematic organization, like a messy collection of notes. It was quite difficult to read, which was why Komer had given up on it at first. This parchment, treasured by the Great Bear, was undoubtedly valuable, but Komer had spent some time reading it carefully before, only to find it extremely hard to sort through the useful and useless information.

The font was also very small, making it difficult for most people to read, and Komer found it quite challenging as well. Most notably, this parchment had clearly been enhanced using layered magic. Although it didn’t seem very thick, each sheet could be further divided into several layers, and the text appeared to be cleverly suspended in mid-air, allowing the content of each layer to be multiplied several times. Moreover, the edges of the parchment were sewn with fine threads to prevent fraying and ensure its integrity—truly exquisite work.

Komer looked with interest at the last two pages of the parchment, only to find them blank. Apart from faint yellow patterns resembling water stains, there was nothing else. If you didn’t look closely, it would be hard to tell that it was actually a map.

At the very end was a tiger-head emblem, unremarkable enough that Komer hadn’t noticed it at first.

The slightly open mouth on the tiger’s head revealed two playful fangs; it didn’t convey much menace, instead giving off a lively and cute vibe. The yellow-brown patterns were vivid, making this emblem quite unique.
This must be the emblem of the craftsmen’s family. Komer seemed to have some vague memory of it.
The Urgum family, a family that had remained silent for two or three hundred years, hadn’t faded over time. On the contrary, their family honor grew stronger as history passed, and their artworks shone brightly in every corner of the Land of Azure.
They were the most famous magic artifact-making family in the history of the Land of Azure. Every generation within their family produced outstanding soul craftsmen. They were called soul craftsmen because people believed these individuals dedicated themselves wholeheartedly to the Goddess of Art, which allowed them to create such flawless artworks—each one unique and irreproducible.
The presence of such an emblem at the back of an obscure parchment was enough to prove its importance. Yet Komer still had no idea what this parchment represented or contained.
The time agreed with Denebi was running out, but Komer had no intention of breaking his promise.