Chapter 9: Ambitions

No one knew exactly how the conversation between Taze, Matthew, and Komer continued, but at least Taze and Matthew stayed. After a brief stop in Plovdiv, they set sail eastward. Aside from a one-day stay in Odessa for inspections, they headed straight for the Caucasus. After landing at Fort Bruce, they traveled from Bruce to Banasha, then to Muscat, and finally reached Izmir. There, they attended a banquet hosted by merchants from various parts of Nicosia, especially from Jazair, which also gave them insight into the living conditions of these Nicosian merchants in those regions.

They then sailed across Lake Nirel from Izmir, inspected the newly formed city of New Nirel, where half-orcs, barbarians, and dwarfs formed the majority population, and proceeded south along the canal to reach Matdan, the most prosperous port city in the Caucasus. Taze and Matthew stayed in Matdan for three days before reluctantly traveling overland to Ugru. There, they thoroughly examined and learned about various aspects, especially the living conditions of immigrants from the three regions. They then went to Mando to assess the training of the Caucasus army, before returning to Ugru and having in-depth discussions with Fran, Puber, and others who had already returned.

A month later, Taze and Matthew boarded a ship in Bahomond and returned to Plovdiv to meet with Komer again. After returning to Gothenburg, the nobles and gentry in the surrounding areas quickly declared their support, acknowledging Komer’s formal control over all of Nicosia and stating that all nobles in the Gothenburg region would submit to the rule of the newly established state.

Komer knew that Taze and Matthew had thoroughly investigated his entire realm, especially the situation in the Caucasus, over the past month. They needed a definite guarantee that he had the strength to confront the orcs from the north; otherwise, they might choose Katin and the Northern Alliance, who were reaching out to Gothenburg for support.

Kagiyaa was not willing to accept defeat. Hoffman’s sudden downfall had terrified her, but she refused to withdraw from the stage in such a humiliating manner. Thus, the Northern Alliance, already worried about the drastic changes in Nicosia, naturally became her best ally.

Komer threw the thick stack of documents on the desk, thinking resentfully, “That bitch really can’t stay out of trouble and has no sense of her own limitations. Even now, she tries to rely on the Northern Alliance’s strength to hold on. She doesn’t even understand her own strength and still dares to cooperate with those vicious wolves from the Northern Alliance?”

Those bloodthirsty wolves from the Northern Alliance would never willingly be used by others. How could such a good thing exist in the world? Countries like Attica and Knossos, which have long sought to undermine Nicomedia’s position within the Northern Alliance, would be overjoyed if Nicomedia collapsed and declined completely. Supporting a puppet with influence but no real power to disrupt Nicomedia’s situation is the perfect strategy for them.

The Light Church has also been extremely dissatisfied with Nicomedia’s long-standing principles of secular supremacy and religious freedom. Now, they have the chance to overthrow the country’s religious beliefs and use this opportunity to strike at the growing dark forces—killing two birds with one stone.

Unfortunately, his attempt to resolve the Romanov family issue peacefully has failed again. Fortunately, he managed to win over and persuade Teyz and Matthew, two influential figures from the old Romanov dynasty. With Hoffman’s withdrawal, their attitudes now largely determine those of the nobles around Gothenburg.

Komer doesn’t expect the nobles represented by Teyz and Matthew to willingly join his side right away. But he wants them to understand that in today’s Nicomedia, only he can save them. Otherwise, once the orcs turn savage, Gothenburg could very well become a second Jazair. He believes the nobles of Gothenburg would never want to see that happen. And the Northern Alliance, through Kakiya, seeks to advance their own interests, which necessarily requires sacrificing Nicomedia’s own interests to gain support for Kakiya’s side. Otherwise, why would the Northern Alliance support Kakiya?

After his trip to the Caucasus, Komer believes his economic development and military training system are sufficient to strengthen Teyz and Matthew’s resolve, convincing them that only he can stand against the brutal orcs, while the Northern Alliance merely wants to seize opportunities for profit and will never make any sacrifices for Nicomedia.

And they also firmly believed that, no matter what, they were still Cypriots, while those barbarians were merely stepping stones beneath their feet. When faced with a choice between barbarians and ordinary people, they would always choose the ordinary people. “Those who are not of our kind have different hearts”—this saying was deeply ingrained in Tiz and Matthew’s minds, and even now, Komer still hadn’t managed to make them understand that it didn’t apply to them.

The current situation was in a delicate balance. It was said that the orcs were tirelessly implementing their assimilation policies, hoping to create a utopia where orcs and ordinary people could live in harmony in the north of the kingdom. Meanwhile, Kakiya was wholeheartedly clinging to the Northern Alliance, hoping to use its strength to help her regain power. And what about him?

Komer pondered silently. The situation in the Caucasus was stable, with the people wholeheartedly supporting him. In Poznan, Lenta was in charge, keeping things relatively stable and gradually turning in his favor. In Homer, a state of division had emerged—merchants from the central and southern parts of the Busen Plain, represented by Odessa, were beginning to align with him, while the central and western regions, represented by Plovdiv, were wavering and temporarily submitting to his military force. As for the north, led by Cyprus, they continued to resist through non-violent non-cooperation, but Komer believed they couldn’t cause much trouble anymore.

Silesia and Calais had already shown submission, which made it difficult for Komer to decide how to deal with them. For Calais, the only option for now was to let them go—fighting head-on at this stage wasn’t sensible. Once he fully controlled the area around Gothenburg, Calais wouldn’t be able to escape. Silesia, however, had to be taken. Although Nissa had shown enough sincerity, the arrow was already on the string; showing mercy now would only bring endless trouble in the future. Komer refused to allow his territories to develop into a situation similar to that of the Romanov era, where powerful lords became uncontrollable. If he didn’t eradicate the Ferdinand family’s roots now, it would only create future problems.

It wasn’t appropriate for Silesia to repeat Poznan’s fate. The Ferdinand family didn’t have many assets or colonies on the Mainland. Perhaps forcing them to migrate to the Caucasus Ugru would be a good option. Although this might provoke resistance from the Ferdinand family, under his strong military pressure, they would have no choice but to submit if they didn’t want to be completely wiped out.

Of course, to make the Ferdinand family peacefully accept this “proposal,” he also needed to make some compromises—such as preserving all of their existing assets, and even compensating them in some way for their ancestral lands. Only then could they be most likely to accept this “proposal.”

Uguru needed wealthy individuals like these to settle there. A large number of affluent immigrants moving here could greatly boost the local economy, stimulate investment, and drive consumption. Even a group of people who only consumed resources could increase demand for luxury goods in the region. After all, Uguru had plenty of land, and its population, composed of people of various races living together, didn’t need to worry about being manipulated by these outsiders.

As the center of its territory in the south, Uguru couldn’t rely solely on immigrants from those three regions. To turn Uguru into the political, economic, and cultural center of the south, relocating nobles who weren’t well-suited to stay in their original places was an ideal solution. If those in Cyprus continued to act aloofly and distance themselves from him, Komer wouldn’t rule out adopting the same policy there.

Everyone was waiting—he was waiting for the situation to stabilize, Kakiya was waiting for further support from the Northern Alliance, and the orcs were waiting to solidify their position in Jazair. But who would benefit the most from this?

For the sake of his own power, Kakiya could use those wolves from the Northern Alliance against him. He could also bring in his neighbor, Bessarabia. Since that skylark was so highly praised by many, it wasn’t exactly something to be ashamed of. With Bessarabia’s support in certain areas, he wouldn’t have to bear as much pressure.

Alliances and intrigues seemed to be an eternal strategy; it was up to each person to decide how to execute them.

Komer sighed softly in his heart. Had he gone too far? The Flanders in the south, the South Central Ocean, Demisheme in the Storm Ocean, and the entire Nicosia in the north—all of these seemed to have drawn him in. Where would his desires end? Where would his gaze turn after conquering Nicosia?

Komer didn’t know.