Chapter 649: Volume Seventeen: Dark Descends on Earth - Twenty: Unsolvable Trap
Eve and Finitz’s perfectly delicate appearances managed to impress even the worldly-wise Caru and Boritz, who, despite not being convinced that the Caucasus was a land untainted, found it hard to believe that dark forces could lurk in a region where someone like Eve, openly hostile and dismissive towards their Lord, didn’t sense any evil presence. This led Caru and Boritz to start doubting the rumors of Dark Forces spreading across the Caucasus territory, suspecting them to be the machinations of individuals with ulterior motives.
Izmir is located by the lakeside of Niall, which ranks as the largest freshwater lake not only in the Leon Region but also in the entire southern part of the kingdom. Izmir, situated on the western side of the lake, is rich in iron mines. However, the poor transportation conditions have hindered the development of these iron mines. Often, the iron ore mined by one person would need two to transport it from Izmir to Banassia. It was for this reason that the development of Izmir’s iron mines was severely restricted, until the canal construction project officially commenced and progressed at an extraordinarily rapid pace, sparking a resurgence in Izmir.
Iron mines that were once of little interest suddenly became highly sought after. Everyone understood that once the canal opened, the low cost of water transportation would instantly make Izmir’s high-quality iron ore a hot commodity. By then, it was anticipated that iron smelters would sprout up along the iron mines in large numbers, and the demand for ore would multiply exponentially.
When Caru and Boritz saw a bevy of Barbarians also working energetically on the canal construction site, they could hardly believe their eyes. The presence of Half-Beastmen, Mortals, and even Dwarves on the construction site was not surprising, but the sight of Barbarians toiling away was simply inconceivable. To the southern Mortals, the relationship with the Barbarians was nearly as hostile as the northern Mortals’ relationship with the Beastmen—irreconcilable enemies. When had these fierce and unruly Barbarians become so obedient, willing to work themselves to the bone on a canal project in a Mortal-controlled area? This was truly a marvel of the world!
But the situation before them was just so. The canal project leading from the Volt Mountain Range’s northern foothills to Lake Niall was making rapid progress. Perhaps driven by the prospect that the sooner the project was completed, the sooner Izmir’s iron ore could be shipped out in large quantities, while the goods that had always been transported to Izmir via land route could enjoy the same benefits. Whether it was food or other essentials, the same Gold Shield could likely fetch much more.
These factors motivated stakeholders who had both invested heavily in Izmir’s iron mines and held shares in the canal leading to Mattdam from Lake Niall to aggressively recruit laborers from all over. The Barbarians, who were as tough and enduring as the Half-Beastmen and even cheaper to employ, became the preferred choice for these shrewd merchants. Recruitment ads flooded every corner of the Sanjia Tribe, and the slogan "Go to the Caucasus and make a fortune" became a household catchphrase in the Sanjia Tribe. A large idle workforce from the tribe poured into the Caucasus, with the majority being absorbed by the canal project from Mattdam to Lake Niall.
Many people now understood a money-making channel: simply contract a section of the canal project from the major contractors, then run to the Sanjia Tribe to recruit thirty to fifty Barbarian laborers, bring them back to the construction site, and beyond providing their meals, pay a meager wage that, though considerable in the eyes of the Barbarians, was seen as insignificant by Mortals and even rejected by Half-Beastmen. This became an easy way to profit for those Mortals in the Caucasus who had otherwise failed to make their mark.
The influx of a large number of robust laborers into the Caucasus also made the chiefs of the Sanjia Tribe feel a sense of crisis. However, no crisis was more urgent than the crisis of survival. When the steady flow of food from the Caucasus reached the Sanjia Tribe, and when those mountain dwellers working on the construction site brought home all kinds of cloth, deemed trivial by Mortals but precious to them, along with salt that invigorated the body and medicine that cured illnesses, the chiefs realized they could no longer refuse this overwhelming tide.
They even discovered that residents from other surrounding minor tribes were beginning to sneak into Sanjia territory, paying a sum of money to obtain an identification certificate as a Sanjia mountain person from a tribal priest. With this document, they could rightfully enter the Caucasus in search of work and opportunities to make a fortune.
Caru and Boritz, with their mindset, could not fathom the motives of that yet unseen young Lord—their actions took everyone by surprise. Dealing with the Half-Beastmen was one thing, after all Leon was a mining area dominated by slave labor, and after Homer’s rule collapsed, if a minor lord wanted to maintain control over Leon, he would have to deal with those crude Half-Beastmen and leverage their strength. But what about the Barbarians? Constrained to the Cordillera Wilderness, they launched attacks to the west day after day, year after year, without ever breaking the encirclement. Meanwhile, all other races were united in their stance towards the Barbarians: to never let that scourge spread. Yet, it seemed this Lord of the Caucasus did not worry about or care for this at all—what on earth was he thinking?