Chapter 743: Volume 22: Revival and Rise - 3: Consecutive Arrangements
As soon as Komer set foot in the Caucasus, he felt an indescribable sense of strangeness, a kind of close and familiar warmth that he thought he would never experience again. But this time, he tasted it once more.
Bahomon hadn’t changed much since he left, and in the few months’ time, it seemed that only the proportion of barbarians coming and going on the docks and streets had increased. Everything else was as it had been when he departed.
In the distance, the iron furnaces were still spewing thick smoke crazily into the air, and the dedicated pathways from the warehouses to the docks were always busy. Carts full of crude iron ingots, darkened with oil, were continuously transported from the warehouses to the docks under the efforts of the barbarian porters. There, the half-beastmen and barbarian porters were eagerly loading these goods onto ships. Various cargo ships were receiving flag signals from the dock flagmen to enter the best positions in sequence for loading.
At the dedicated ore dock on the other side, teams of animals struggled to pull carts loaded with ores that nearly broke the yokes to the dockside, where the dirty but sturdy holds of the bulk cargo ships were the best places to load these high-quality iron ores. The scale of the iron mines in Bahomon had expanded several times over. Not only did the ore produced satisfy the needs of the local smelting workshops, but there was also a considerable surplus for export.
Across the river and not far away, two additional mines were about to enter the final stage of production. Considering the current capacity of Bahomon’s port, Puber was already planning to build two new docks on the south bank of the Catania River, exclusively for ore export. Bahomon’s smelting capacity had reached its limit, and expanding it further would increase the demand for coal, adding more pressure to the throughput of the River Harbor docks. Puber hoped to first increase ore production and export capacity to alleviate the financial pressures on the Caucasus as soon as possible.
Komer had arrived in Bahomon quietly without alerting anyone other than notifying Puber and Maha Gummi. He chose Bahomon over Mattdam because it was on the brink of barbarian territory and the first port of entry for those traveling down from the upper and middle reaches of the Catania River into the Caucasus. Not only was it economically prosperous, but it also had a complex population. Even if the Court of the Church of Light planted informants here, it wouldn’t be easy to detect his movements. Having learned from last time, Komer was much more cautious. He didn’t want to relive that past experience, not at least for now.
Komer planned to make a brief stop in the Caucasus before heading to Jazair, feeling the need to put some pressure on Katya in the face of Philip’s frequent activities, or else if the whole Royal Court Magicians of the Kingdom of Nicosia decided to aid Homer against the Caucasus, the barrier would be truly difficult to overcome.
"Progress in the Little Greenland Forest has been significant. We’ve found the source of the Nissai River—the legendary Lake Nissai. Beyond Lake Nissai, advancing westward for about eighty kilometers takes us to the western edge of the Little Greenland Forest, which leads to the Quke Valley. Two adventurers have successfully made a historic crossing; unfortunately, one perished after reaching the Quke Valley due to miasma, while the other was severely injured in an attack by a magical beast on the way back to Bruce Fortress and died shortly after returning to Bruce. Lake Nissai is not large, but high-level demon beasts reportedly appear there frequently. Several species of magical beasts not seen on the Blue Continent for many years have emerged, and at least eighteen adventurers have perished at the hands of these creatures. However, this has now aroused the interest of those exploration teams, especially after learning that some have crossed the Little Greenland Forest, more teams have joined the ranks. I believe that before long, we will achieve even more fruitful results."
"Enough, I didn’t come to listen to your adventures in the Little Greenland Forest, I want to know whether a detailed map from Bruce Fortress to the Quke Valley has been drawn up? Additionally, whether we can find a suitable passage from Bruce Fortress to the Quke Valley, a passage that allows ordinary people to travel, be it waterway or land route," Komer interrupted Puber, showing some impatience.
"Boss, there’s no big problem with drawing the map, but to have a smooth route from the Quke Valley to Bruce Fortress is going to be difficult. The area around Lake Nissai is rife with high-level magical beasts, making it easy to fall prey to their attacks. To bypass this area, we may have to detour quite a distance through the dense forest," Puber was not upset, knowing that his boss was in a bad mood. "Boss, I’m curious, why do we have to secure a route through the Quke Valley to Bruce Fortress? It doesn’t seem too significant to us."
"Hmph, the Quke Valley is our springboard for getting involved in the kingdom, and it’s also an item of trade in my cooperation with Katya. Did you really think that we would help the heirs of the Romanov family with these meaningless tasks for nothing?" Komer said with a cold smile: "I’m not a philanthropist; without benefits, why should I help her?"