The Vastness of Magical Destiny

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Even the construction of a simple passageway through the Little Greenland Forest was exceedingly difficult, stretching over four hundred kilometers from Bruce Fortress to the rudimentary river dock on the banks of Lake Nissai. Although the river was relatively wide, it was bordered by untouched primeval forest, barren and uninhabited. The most troublesome aspect was the threat of magical beasts along the way. To establish a smooth connection between the river dock at Lake Nissai and Bruce Fortress, it was imperative to build intermediary supply stations along the four hundred-kilometer stretch of waterway, which posed even greater danger.

However, compared to the pressure faced by several regions in the southwest of the Kingdom of Nicosia and their need for martial power from Caucasus, Komer considered these dangers to be surmountable. Although the lakeshore was currently avoided due to the dwelling of monster groups, the risk was significantly reduced by bypassing Lake Nissai on land routes. For the time being, this passage was only open to the Caucasus Self-Defense Forces and, at most, some adventurer teams who dared to cross, minimizing the possibility of civilian merchants being attacked.

Even though the passage had been opened, Komer had not rushed to deploy the Caucasus and Leon Self-Defense Forces into Quke Valley. After all, the appearance of a Half-beast Army in Livonia would be too shocking for the mortals in the southwest of Nicosia. Perhaps only when the danger peaked and became critical would the impact and voices of opposition be suppressed to the minimal.

This period of respite was relatively more relaxed for Komer. Although Katya and Hoffman were both preparing their forces and harboring murderous intents, and verbal disputes were becoming increasingly fierce, news from Godeburg indicated that Hoffman was ready to forcibly ascend to the throne to better organize a counterattack against the beastmen, which had garnered support from the Four Great Lords and the majority of the Great Aristocracy. Some merchants also quietly changed their stance, considering Katya, who lacked military power, to be incapable of undertaking the task of resisting and combating the beastmen invasion, especially with the kingdom’s basic armed forces already greatly diminished, making the military support of the Great Aristocracy even more crucial.

Further disadvantaging Katya was the shift in stance by the Church of Light, which had maintained a neutral stance until then. The positions of Onia, the Court Mage Group Chief Mage, and Heseltine of the Nicosia Diocese, changed as they jointly attended Hoffman’s engagement ceremony. Princess Caroline from the Duchy of Basarabia became Hoffman’s fiancée, which greatly boosted Hoffman’s power. Moreover, the blessings spoken by the two towering figures of the Church of Light at the engagement ceremony deepened Katya’s worries. Without military strength and potentially losing the support of religious power, relying solely on the support of middle and small aristocracy and merchants in the Southwest Region seemed insufficient to defeat Hoffman.