CH748 Entering the Extreme North II

***

Before leaving the bank, Alex looked out at the rapidly flowing river that cut through cliffs and rugged terrain. The nature of the river made it difficult to cross without specialised boats.

And with the region’s shipbuilding methods, travel along the river remained sparse—especially since it was controlled by a greedy man like Marquis Bramford and a money-grubber like Baron Corbin, both of whom were too stingy to invest in improving the technology.

’Perhaps it is deliberate,’ Alex mused.

For a moment, Alex entertained a faint suspicion about the entire situation.

How likely was it that the river separating the rest of the empire from the encroaching Great Berserk Beast Forest was controlled by two stingy nobles who were either too tight-fisted or too lacking in foresight to develop the shipbuilding methods and infrastructure needed to fully exploit the potential of the Rotbark River?

Their presence conveniently ensured that the extreme north-east remained well separated from the rest of the empire.

’Well, this could be convenient for me. If the eyes of the empire remain away from here, it will be much easier to develop a territory fully belonging to me before the big players notice anything amiss,’ Alex thought.

He mounted Dread’s back. Flanked on either side by Zora and Eleanore, with Mogal leading from the front and surrounded by the hundred-man formation, Alex continued the journey.

The group spent two weeks retracing their route in the direction from which they had originally come to reach the harbour, travelling along the opposite bank of the river.

The terrain on this side—the extreme north-east and border region—was far more treacherous to navigate. Though there were a few landed nobles in the extreme north, with the convoy passing through three such fiefdoms, the region remained largely undeveloped and sparsely populated.

One commonality Alex, Eleanore, and Zora discovered through their discussions with the domain lords—and their wives—of the territories they passed through was that the landed nobles feared the beast tides originating from the Great Berserk Beast forest significantly.

As a result, they were reluctant to heavily develop lands beyond the major settlements within their domains.

As much as he wanted to, Alex wasn’t quick to dismiss their hesitation as cowardice, as the reality of the extreme north was quite grim.

Low population, literacy, and technological exposure or development meant that the landed nobles here were indeed quite poor compared to their counterparts on the other side of the Rotbark River—with Viscount Dunhill and Marquis Bramford, the powerhouses of the region, likely being the only exceptions.

These nobles—and by extension, their territories—would not be able to recover from the losses they would incur should any major development plan fail.

As such, most of them adopted a modest approach, focusing on developing the capital of their fiefdoms ’for the betterment of their citizens’ while accumulating funds to eventually escape this side of the Rotbark River—which they considered an exile from true nobility and aristocracy, or even a punishment—for the greener pastures on the other side.

With the nobility having largely given up on the region, it was no surprise that the citizenry also led bleak lives, with many harbouring ambitions of acquiring enough wealth to leave for the other side of the Rotbark River, further reducing the already sparse population.

In fact, if it were not for the limitations of transportation technology, the inherent dangers of long-distance travel, and imperial laws restricting peasant mobility, many of the people living in the extreme north-east would leave if given the opportunity.

Almost a month after crossing the Rotbark River, the convoy finally bypassed Frontier Stronghold under Viscount Dunhill’s command and Marquis Bramford’s domain, arriving at the entrance to a valley within an ancient, densely forested, expansive mountain range that led into the Frontier March.

"This is the nameless valley that serves as the entrance to the Frontier March—the region that will serve as our staging area," Saul informed Alex.

Through his shared vision with Senu in the sky, Alex realised that this valley was the only plausible entrance into the Frontier March. The mountain range formed a near-impassable blockade around the region.

"The mountain range cordons off the March, right? Why didn’t the empire build the stronghold here? A fortified citadel or castle here would control movement into and out of the March. Why build the Frontier Stronghold so far away?" Alex couldn’t help but ask.

"Convinced by the nobility, the Emperor decreed that a buffer zone of at least five thousand kilometres be maintained along the border with the Great Berserk Beast Forest. The current Frontier Stronghold was built at the nearest defensible location outside this buffer zone," Saul explained.

"Plus, the Frontier Stronghold was built with funds and resources from the nobles of the extreme north. And as you know, all the surviving nobles of the extreme north are situated outside the mountain range, so they insisted the stronghold be built closer to them and their domains," he added.

"So what you’re saying is that the nobles who survived the border shift after the last Great Tide chose to locate key infrastructure where it could protect them, rather than where it would be most effective at repelling and staging a counteroffensive against a threat to the empire," Alex commented.

"Essentially." Saul shrugged. "This north-east was once one of the strongest regions in the empire, with powerful houses like House Skywalker, but those great houses fell to the berserk beasts one after another.

"It is not without reason that the weaker noble houses gave in to their fear and turtled up while searching for a means to escape this region. In fact, over the last century, there have been many instances of noble houses ’promoting’ out of the region while ’relegating’ others here."

Alex nodded in understanding.

Then, in that moment, a thought came to him.

"Then that would mean enigmas like myself, who would willingly jump into this bleak region, are almost non-existent," he said.

"I doubt the other nobles would put it that way," Eleanore commented.

"They’d probably call you a fool rather than an enigma," Zora added.

Saul merely smiled. However, it was clear he shared the same opinion as the ladies, even if he didn’t say it aloud.

Alex simply shrugged.

Internally, however, he made a mental note to survey this location in the future in hopes of one day building a fortified position here.

’Not only to serve as a last line of defence against the beasts from the Great Berserk Beast forest, but more importantly as a first line of defence to keep all those greedy nobles out of my territory once it develops,’ he thought to himself.

After resting at the valley entrance, the convoy took its first steps into the Frontier March—the place that would become the foundation of a future advanced civilisation.

***