The Vastness of Magical Destiny

Mathew was plunged into deep contemplation; though the beastmen’s movements might not seem particularly alarming—both to the north and west, the kingdom’s military power appeared to be sufficiently deployed—he always had a foreboding feeling. Winter was fast approaching, and conventional wisdom suggests that the beastmen were not fond of waging war in winter. These anomalies could only indicate that the beastmen harbored another plot, but where would this plot stem from?

After carefully considering the kingdom’s military distribution, Mathew felt somewhat reassured. Although the Iron Cross Corps stationed on the western border could not hope to reclaim the old territories of Myron Duchy, Meine, or Susoer, their defenses alone were more than adequate. Still, Mathew didn’t dare become complacent. The beastmen had already used battering rams, high-level weapons that could only be produced in human territories, in the last war, inflicting painful losses on the Northern Alliance. They blew a gaping hole in the central region of the alliance, which continued to bleed and forced the kingdom’s military spending to skyrocket, while the defense line had to be extended from solely the north to both the north and west.

To this day, the channels through which the beastmen obtained such instruments remained a mystery. Fortunately, the intelligence department had confirmed that the beastmen possessed only a very limited number of these machines, and most had been destroyed in the last war due to their lack of operational experience. Up to now, there had been no indication of new equipment appearing among the beastmen, and Mathew didn’t believe that the beastmen’s acquisition of a small number of siege engines could change the balance of power between the sides. War would ultimately depend on comprehensive strength to determine the victor.

Defending the north, overseen by the Golden Oak Legion, should pose no issues. Mathew had already requested His Majesty the King to dispatch a portion of the Fire Shadow Knights and the Royal Court Magicians to the front lines to bolster the defenses. He always felt that this winter might not be very quiet, and that taking early warnings and making the necessary preparations could enable the fastest possible response. His Majesty had agreed to this, and Mathew couldn’t think of anything else to do. Things remained relatively calm around Homer, and Philip had not reacted too aggressively to the Star Chamber Court’s ruling, perhaps because he sensed the intent behind the kingdom’s establishment of the Blue Dove Corps. A proper concession could give both sides an opportunity to step down, which would help stabilize the kingdom.

Mathew was unaware of the imminent danger, and Komer was also oblivious to it. No one thought so far ahead, nor did they anticipate that at this moment, the fate of the Kingdom of Nicosia began to descend into endless darkness.

This was Komer’s second mild winter in the Caucasus. Winters there were never too cold, which initially seemed quite strange to both Komer and the immigrants from the north. With not a single snowfall throughout the entire winter, could this even be called winter? Compared to other regions at the same latitude, the climate in the Caucasus was much warmer, possibly due to its proximity to the Nether Sea. To Komer, it felt like there were only spring, autumn, and an extended summer aside from those two seasons.

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Thanks to the previous year’s bountiful harvest, the immigrants’ living conditions had improved considerably. Although the abundant crops hadn’t allowed the Caucasus Region to become self-sufficient in food, the opening of the Catania River waterway—the Golden Waterway—had alleviated much of the pressure regarding food issues for the Caucasus. However, compared to surrounding areas, food prices in the Caucasus were still relatively high. Therefore, reclaiming wasteland and planting crops remained profitable ventures. From Mattdam to Ugru, from Ugru to Muscat, from Bahomon to Santiago, the plains along these roads had once been forests and shrubbery, but were now gradually transforming into farmland. The arrival of immigrants from the three northern territories also spurred the arrival of other regional immigrants, constantly boosting the population surge in the Caucasus.

The immigrants hoped to take advantage of the warm spring to improve their housing conditions, while the Administrative Officer wanted to use the off-farming season to properly repair the few existing water facilities—a matter that once again rose to the agenda in discussions about the canal from Santiago to Mattdam.