Chapter 58 You Don’t Help Them
The territory chosen by Ikaris was located over 26,000 kilometers southwest of Tartarus Shade. Albeit more to the west than to the south. So far, nothing to worry about.
The Warring Lands teemed with large lakes as big as small seas, as well as rivers so wide that when standing on one shore it could be difficult at times to discern the mountain ranges looming at the other. Most of them were connected to each other forming an uninterrupted network covering almost every land.
Needless to say, with such vast lakes, the presence of islands and peninsulas huge enough to support the rise of a country was not uncommon either, and these were usually the preferred choices of new Lords. Tartarus Shade itself was built on a gigantic island and the fact that it could only be reached directly by water made it all the more difficult to besiege.
Ikaris had just settled for a quasi island. A quasi island because it was in fact a quasi peninsula. A quasi peninsula because the island was connected to the rest of the Warring Lands not by a narrow strip of land, but two. From the north and from the south.
This island appealed to him because it had several sizeable advantages. First of all, it had been unoccupied for a very long time, with an area roughly the equivalent of Ireland, or about 70,000 km2. This was enough to support his rise to the rank of Duke and could easily accommodate up to 4 or 5 million inhabitants;
The only Lord who had once established his fiefdom there had long since perished and had died long before he could properly begin to exploit his territory. The island was poorly documented, but the little information gathered by the previous Lord was promising.
In the center of the island, where the previous Lord had chosen to settle, a fertile valley so vast that it was virtually a plain spread out as far as the eye could see. This valley was naturally shielded by a thick impenetrable forest to the west and south, as well as a mountain range stretching in almost every direction.
Glaciers from the highest mountains gave rise to tributaries that flowed into a lake as large as Los Angeles situated in the northern half of the valley. This same lake had spawned three large rivers that meandered outward from the island until they emptied into the huge body of water ringing its quasi island. To leave the valley, all one had to do was sail on or walk along these rivers and one was sure to remain on the right path.
Deposits of metals, gold, silver, platinum and even unknown ores had been reported in these mountains, while the forests also abounded in game and other Demonic Beasts. In the depths of the forest bordering the valley to the west, mysterious ruins from an ancient era had even been discovered, but the Lord had perished before he could begin the excavations.
So if this land appeared to be so perfect, why had no one claimed it after all this time?
"The C-Cutthroat Island..." Ellie stammered with goosebumps. "Ikaris, are you sure of your choice?"
"Certain." He answered flatly. He had assessed the risk and Magnus had approved his decision.
"I trust you." Malia declared without the slightest doubt in her eyes.
Seeing the illiterate Kitsune's fearlessness, Ellie felt suddenly ashamed to be such a coward. She vowed to change, once again.
Toby, on the other hand, seemed to approve of his choice. He could foresee the strategic value of this location and he had never been a pussy.
Cleome pulled out a ledger similar to Anaphiel's but with the report findings from her own House and muttered with a frown,
"The previous Lord perished within a month due to a Demonic Beast attack. That's the official cause, and I wouldn't be surprised if House Morgunis is misinformed given their... recent track record. But you seem likable to me so let me tell you that if that was the only reason, this island would have been conquered long ago.
"This island-"
" harbors what you call a Tartarus Gate." Ikaris cut her off. "Anaphiel has informed me of this. The Morgunis may not be as highly respected as they once were, but at least their intelligence services seem to be doing their job."
The icy beauty lifted her chin proudly after he shut her cheeky friend up. The leaf-green haired employee decisively ignored her, refusing to give her the satisfaction. Turning back to the boy, she tried to talk him down,
"....And even knowing that you chose to settle there? Are you suicidal?!"
Persuasion failed.
Ikaris just smiled annoyingly. Cleome was itching to knock some sense into him, but in the end she relented. She entered his name into the 3D map with a sigh, then said with a strained smile,
"Ikaris... You are now the new Lord of Cutthroat Island... Congratulations."
In her eyes, he was already dead on borrowed time.
Above Cutthroat Island, the black-winged angel and its falchion representing the emblem of House Morgunis appeared next to his first name, but soon enough his name disappeared leaving only the coat of arms. This was to protect the new Lords' identity.
Their identity was often exposed at the first clash with a neighboring nation, but the six Ruling Houses still treated the anonymity of their new Lords very seriously. Cleome, who was from House Wynken, had to sign a very different contract than the one that Ikaris and the others had signed earlier.
After signing with her own blood, the bespectacled elf uttered an eerie prayer that perplexed all but Anaphiel and Radagad,
"Revered Alishar, Saint of Contracts and Justice, I shed my blood to uphold a Contract in your name. I implore you in your boundless integrity and dispassion to bear witness to my oath and if I should renege on my word to smite me with the full might of your wrath."
Ikaris suddenly felt a presence and the parchment she had just signed gave off a faint scarlet halo, as did Cleome's body, whereupon the spooky light died away.
'What the heck was that?!' He cried out inwardly with the same goosebumps Ellie had felt a moment earlier.
What shocked him even more was that, with the exception of Anaphiel and Cleome, his companions didn't seem to have noticed anything.
"Moo..."
Except for Horny.
Noticing the odd looks the Otherworlders in the group were giving Cleome, Anaphiel concisely explained,
"Alishar is one of the 72 Minor Saints of the Forsaken Lands, a once powerful and revered Sorcerer known for his sense of integrity and justice. The title stuck."
" Meh, it sounded more like the prayer one makes to a god. " Toby snorted contemptuously.
"And it kind of is." Cleome smiled without getting upset. "But I digress. Asselin, how are you doing with your choice of territory?"
The blond nobleman had a hard time making up his mind. He wasn't as reckless as Ikaris, but at the same time he knew he couldn't choose a region too far from his friend.
The teenager had not made it easy for him. Across the expanse of water bordering Cutthroat Island, he was surrounded by Lords attached to enemy Houses. He had no allies within 3000 kilometers. And Asselin was supposed to choose a territory not too far from Ikaris' in these conditions.
"There's no need to worry about that." Toby chuckled as he saw the young man's dilemma. "Choose wherever you want, and to be quite frank the farther the better. It would be a shame if you became enemies in the future by hindering your mutual expansion."
Asselin hesitated, but Ikaris partly agreed with the former military man. In an ideal future, both would be powerful Lords with vast territories. If their nations eventually touched, one of them would sooner or later be forced to assimilate the other. This could be done amicably or through war, but it was best to avoid this situation altogether.
"But what if one of us needs help?" The nobleman rightly objected. Protecting his friends was important to him, a value instilled by his clan from his earliest childhood.
"Simple." Toby shrugged with a sneer. " You don't help them. If one of you is really in danger, all you have to do is run away with or without your Stele through the Transportation Portal. Don't look at me like that. He didn't ask your opinion when he picked his island surrounded by enemy Lords, so why should you give a shit about what can happen to him?"