Chapter 23: Turbulences in the Wasteland

While Kakiya was troubled by her precarious situation, Komer appeared quite relaxed. His time in the Southern Central Ocean had allowed him to relieve his mental stress—not only through physical satisfaction with Kleiper but also because he had the opportunity to set aside those overly complicated political matters. With all distractions gone, he could do as he pleased, without anyone analyzing the pros and cons of every decision. Take Kleiper, for example: in the Caucasus, Rebri would surely have given him earnest advice, while Puber would have been chattering nonstop.

Sometimes intuition can bring good luck. At least in dealing with Kleiper, Komer acted entirely on his instincts. Her unique background made him realize that ordinary logic couldn’t be applied to her. It turned out he had bet right—her emotional turmoil would bring many changes to Sparta and even the Southern Central Ocean in the future. Komer had thispremonition.

Back in the Caucasus, Komer couldn’t find peace. The submission of the Sanjia tribe was like throwing a torch into a barren wasteland, instantly igniting chaos. Coupled with the efforts he had invested in the Flanders region earlier, the entire Cordillera Wasteland was ignited by the torch he had lit.

Komer’s plans at the Gdańsk Fortress in Flanders were gradually coming to fruition. The Kalon and Kabo tribes were becoming increasingly involved with Flanders, and trade between the two tribes and Flanders had become routine. Despite strong opposition from the Sanwa tribe, the Gdańsk Fortress was still being built, though much smaller than before—more like a customs checkpoint. This was a concession made by Flanders at the request of the Kalon and Kabo tribes to ease the pressure from the Karo and Sanwa tribes.

In this regard, Neptune, who was in charge of governing Flanders at the time, was quite rational. He agreed to the barbarians’ demands. In his view, the Gdańsk Fortress provided the common people with psychological comfort—the belief that as long as the fortress was built, Flanders’ safety would be ensured. They completely forgot that the fortress could be breached even under normal circumstances. Faced with the barbarians’ determination, even if the fortress were restored to its original state, it would still be unable to resist them.

Rather than worrying day and night about barbarians breaking in, it’s better to open the doors wide and let the Franks integrate with the barbarians voluntarily. Only in this way can the barbarians be firmly tied to the Franks. They need to understand that if the Franks truly perish, the barbarians won’t benefit either—killing the goose that lays the golden eggs is undoubtedly the stupidest act.

The Franks, like a magnet, drew the Karlon and Kabo tribes, along with the Tri-Tooth tribe behind them, to themselves. Leveraging its advantageous geographical location and the special relationship established between Komer and the barbarians, the Franks quickly became the supply base for these five tribes. From grain to cloth, from necessities to daily items, the Gdańsk Fortress turned into a tax checkpoint. Caravans after caravans transported various goods from the Franks to the southern regions of the Cordillera Desert, while the desert’s specialties—such as magic metal ores, animal skins, timber, medicinal herbs, and rare animals—became the most sought-after commodities in the mortal world.

Regarding food supply, the Franks adopted a relatively cautious quota system. While gradually meeting the needs of the five tribes, they also deliberately used various methods to restrict the import of surplus grain, preventing the tribes from accumulating sufficient reserves. This was what annoyed the tribes the most. Yet, compared to facing famine threats at any time in the past, they had to admit that at least they no longer had to worry about people dying of starvation every winter.

However, the positive changes in the Franks also brought about some shifts in the situation in the Cordillera Desert, something Komer hadn’t anticipated.

Monteiro stormed into Uri’s tent in a fury, only to see two women kneeling on either side of Uri, serving him by washing his feet. He forced down the words that were already on his lips.

Uri calmly waved his hand to signal the maids to leave, after which Monteiro couldn’t wait to shout, “Brother Uri, Valer and the others are going too far! They dared to invade our Karlon tribe’s territory and steal two hundred loads of grain. I can’t tolerate this any longer. I demand an immediate meeting of the alliance leaders and representatives to address this issue.”

Uri’s eyelids twitched slightly, but his expression remained calm. “Monteiro, calm down. The same thing has happened not only to the Karlon tribe but also to my Kabo tribe. I suspect the Tri-Tooth tribe is in a similar situation as well.”

“What did you say? Hulechi dares to be so audacious?” Monterrey was shocked, then filled with rage. “He’s provoking everyone’s anger—we must make him give an explanation!”
“Hmph, does Hulechi really have that much courage? It’s because someone is backing him up. Even just his own Wale tribe—without that support, he wouldn’t dare act like this!” Uri’s expression darkened. “Some people are jealous of our changes over the past year and want to deliberately stir up trouble. Monterrey, don’t you see?”
“Uri, are you talking about the Karo tribe?!” Monterrey snapped through his teeth. “I kindly invited them to join our plan, but they refused outright and caused us a lot of trouble. Now they want to use the same tactics against us as they do against ordinary people? No way! Do they think we’re ordinary people who’ll just sit back and let them extort and plunder us at will? They’re dreaming!”
“I’m afraid it’s not just the Karo tribe. I think the Sanwa and Khat tribes are also involved. They’re still at war with the Iberians to the east and can’t get enough food or supplies. This year is another disastrous year—they simply can’t survive. I reckon more of this will happen in time. We need to seriously consider what to do next.” Uri’s thin cheeks trembled as he struggled with his thoughts.
“Uri, what are we waiting for? We must act! We knew this day would come. Damn them—they refuse our offers and only resort to despicable methods like theft and robbery. Do they think the food in our hands was given to us for free by ordinary people?” Monterrey’s dark face flushed red, his eyes blazing with fury. “We can’t avoid this outcome no matter what.”
Uri tapped his fingers lightly on the wooden table, deep in thought.
The situation was becoming clear. This disastrous year would surely be too much for the Sanwa and Karo tribes. They could either attack Smyrna and Iberia as before, but now the Iberians had allied with the Smyrna dwarves. Over the past year, Iberia and Smyrna had significantly increased investment in fortifications along the borders, strengthening their defense systems.

What’s even more fatal is that the Iberians formed the first mage corps in the entire Southern Central Ocean region. This area had never placed much emphasis on the power of mages, but the establishment of this mage corps marked a change in that situation. Following the Iberians, the Piraeus people also formed their own mage corps. One after another, mage corps were established, and their power would have a profound impact on the way wars were fought, especially in the battles to capture and defend cities—where the role of mages was absolutely crucial.
Uri, who often traveled under disguise, understood this well. The shock and fear he felt when he saw those mages effortlessly summoning devastating natural forces to unleash everywhere still lingered in his heart. Though the mountain warriors were brave and invincible, Uri didn’t think they could overcome such forces without difficulty, especially in sieges, where such powers were likely to determine the outcome of the war.
The Three-Tooth Tribe and the Caro Tribe must have experienced, to some extent, the power of the Iberian mages. Although there had been no large-scale wars, everyday encounters had made them realize that the balance of power was quietly shifting in favor of the mortals. It was already too late for them to change course—the Iberians and the Smyrnaeans would never accept their demands, and the mortals wouldn’t believe them, just as they themselves wouldn’t truly believe the mortals.
So their gaze turned westward, toward themselves, the Karon Tribe, and the Three-Tooth Tribe.
This was undoubtedly an internal strife among the mountain people, but it was inevitable. Once the Iberian mage corps were established, it meant the beginning of misfortune for the mountain people. As a leader, failing to recognize such a seemingly subtle change could bring disaster to one’s own tribe.
Fortunately, he had noticed this change, and the Karon Tribe had provided him with this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity at just the right time.
“Monterey, although we’ve made many targeted preparations over the past year or so, do you think we can withstand their attacks? Or do we have the strength to fight them?” Uri pondered for a long time before suddenly asking.

Monteiro had actually been considering this issue all along. From the start of trade with the Franks, he knew things would not end well. He could also sense from Uli’s words, explicit or implicit, that war was inevitable—and not against humans or dwarves, but against the mountain people. Since it was inevitable, the only option was to prepare actively. On this point, Monteiro was very clear: whoever wanted to seize the interests of the Karon tribe would have to trample on the bodies of Karon warriors.

“Uli, I don’t want to exaggerate, but we do indeed still lag behind them. If we’re given another two to three years to prepare, I believe we can fight them. But not now. As for the Kat tribe, maybe we can think of a way—if we can get them on our side, perhaps we…”

Uli interrupted Monteiro. “They won’t give us time. This time will decide everything. We definitely need to approach the Kat tribe, but expecting them to join us is unrealistic. At best, they’ll remain neutral, and even then, we still have no chance of winning.”

A dejected look appeared on Monteiro’s face. “Then what do we do? Just tolerate their oppression?”

“Hmph, even if we swallow our pride, it’s hard to avoid it,” Uli snorted coldly. “There’s only one solution now: get the Sanja tribe to join our side and unite against the Sanwa and Karo tribes.”

“The Sanja tribe?” Monteiro shook his head. “Uli, don’t you know the Sanja tribe has already fully embraced the Caucasus? In fact, Difanchi and Belemon don’t have much army left that they can use independently, and they certainly won’t get involved in our internal war.”

“Hmph, it’s not up to Difanchi and the others. Komer is the real master of the Sanja tribe now. We must confront the Franks and make them understand that if Komer doesn’t help us, we’ll have no choice but to fully side with the Sanwa and Karo tribes. Then, the Franks will once again become a backyard for the Karo and Sanwa tribes.” Uli spat out these words through gritted teeth.

“But, but…” Monteiro sighed and didn’t continue.

“Monteiro, what do you want to say?” Uli seemed to have guessed something.

“Wuli, we all know who that guy, Kemer, is. As long as we ask him, he will definitely give his full support. But what about in the future? Will we end up like the Second Sanjia Tribe?” Monterrey said bitterly.
Monterrey seemed to have thought of this earlier as well. He lowered his head and after a long while, said gloomily, “Who can predict what will happen in the future? For now, we can only take things one step at a time. Otherwise, our subordinates won’t agree either.”