The Vastness of Magical Destiny

"Lord, allow me to introduce you. This is Solos, the representative of the Gapeng Tribe of the Mountain People Alliance. He and I are here on behalf of our Alliance to visit the Caucasus and present you, Lord, with a young dragon, the most precious creature of the Cordillera Region, as a token of our sincerity toward the Caucasus Region and yourself. We hope, Lord, that you will further strengthen our relationship with the Cordillera Region, especially in terms of economic and trade interactions, and further open up exports for our Cordillera goods to promote closer economic ties between our two areas."

Clearly, these formal and stilted official words were taught to the barbarian by someone, who now stammered them out in Mountain Language. Even though they were spoken in Mountain Language, Komer couldn’t help but want to laugh upon hearing them.

"Mr. Volen, Mr. Solos, first of all, thank you for coming. The Caucasus and the Mountain People Alliance are close neighbors, and as the saying goes, a close neighbor is better than a distant relative. As long as it doesn’t violate the laws of the Continent and the kingdom, the Caucasus is willing to do our utmost to help our neighbors, especially since this help is mutually beneficial. I am deeply grateful for the two Earth Dragon Cubs gifted by the Alliance, though the number is quite smaller than I had hoped, which is a bit disappointing."

Komer naturally had such grand-sounding responses readily available, neither violating principles nor making explicit promises, while also appropriately expressing gratitude and disappointment. The two barbarians, however, heard different undertones in his words.

Volen, who had dealt with Komer twice before, was well aware of the implications in his statement.

A ban on military supplies was still in place, and the checkpoint established by Bahomon was increasingly strict. Last month, a Caucasus merchant caught smuggling sixty military spears at the checkpoint had all his goods and properties confiscated on the spot, and he himself was thrown into the newly built prison of the Caucasus to await trial by the Caucasus Judicial Officer. He would also become the first prisoner to be tried for smuggling by the 13th Circuit Court of the Kingdom of Nicosia, with the Judicial Officer serving as the presiding judge.

On the other hand, the Galong Tribe, the purchasers of the smuggled spears within the Alliance, suffered the loss of a deposit worth tens of thousands of Gold Shields, and they were too distressed to voice their plight.

Volen knew that the Lord appeared generous, but was shrewd and ruthless in this regard, providing no loopholes for the Alliance’s many Tribes. The Tribes had initially hoped to entice mercenary traders to meet their needs through smuggling, but their plans had failed.