Ch.153The Last Frontier

Winter of the 58th year of Amurtart.

I awoke from a long sleep and dealt with the backlog of work.

Upon learning that the barrier had expanded to include the plains and coast, I ordered the establishment of a pioneer corps, and soon after, they began heading toward these new territories.

Now Amurtart has seven regions:

The Amurtart Plains.

The Northern Mountains.

The Southern Swamplands.

The Western Forest.

The Pale Coast.

The Ridge Plains.

The Sunset Coast.

Five of these regions have been developed, while the remaining two have become Amurtart’s final frontier.

As long as we cannot exceed the limits of the core, this is where Amurtart’s power ends, and also where it begins.

Settlements of wagons and tents began to appear on the plains, while wooden piers started rising along the coast.

As on Earth, the pioneers were primarily composed of low-income and impoverished classes, accompanied by a small number of experts and officials to assist them.

“Timber over there! Store the food supplies underground!”

“Everyone, keep up your strength! If we don’t complete the dwellings within this week, we won’t survive the winter!”

And the subjects of Amurtart, long conditioned to obey authority, dutifully followed the experts’ instructions. In less than ten years, respectable cities and villages began to form.

The city established in the Ridge Plains was named “Plain Ridge,” while the port city on the Sunset Coast was simply called “Sunset Harbor” because naming it was too bothersome.

After twelve years, stone walls began to encircle the cities, and shops selling luxury goods started to appear one by one.

Villages sprouted up everywhere to supply food and other primary resources to these cities, and fortresses and watchtowers were gradually established to protect them. Considering the area of each region, this was less like pioneering and more like the founding of small nations.

But whether it was pioneering or nation-building, it was a good thing for the people who actually lived there.

Jobs continued to increase, and the population grew accordingly.

There were two main ways the population grew: through births and through immigration. As long as taxes were properly paid, Amurtart could embrace everyone, and indeed it did.

“Congratulations. From now on, you are a citizen of Amurtart. From this moment, you are a subject of Lord Tiberius, blessed by the angels.”

“Th-thank you! Glory to Amurtart!”

“May Amurtart be eternal.”

From the 58th to the 70th year of Amurtart, over 2 million people either immigrated or were born, bringing Amurtart’s population to 7.7 million and further establishing it as a massive nation.

*

“Not much longer now.”

Population grows quickly.

In this era, there weren’t particularly effective contraceptive methods, so when couples were either very compatible or very incompatible, they had no choice but to bear the resulting children.

However, a growing birth rate alone doesn’t increase population.

To truly grow beyond mere reproduction to the level of self-replication, there must be jobs that satisfy the expanding population.

No matter how many jobs there are, if they involve dirty work like cleaning cow dung, educated scholars would rather starve to death.

Conversely, if the work is so difficult that even scholars struggle with it, the uneducated common people would literally have no option but to dig in the dirt for sustenance.

Fortunately for Amurtart, I already knew the strategy and could handle all situations.

Thanks to this, Amurtart has developed smoothly without any bottlenecks, and now it has nearly surpassed Fahrenheit to become the second most powerful nation.

To have achieved such development in less than 100 years—if elves, with their different sense of time from humans, were to see this, they might die of heart attacks from the shock.

“By the way, how are relations with the elves these days?”

“Good, Your Majesty.”

“That’s fortunate.”

Honestly, the elves were now stably managing Elphium, and Amurtart had little need from the elves, so the relationship between the two races continued through inertia.

The trading post, which had already changed administrators five times, was still operating, and while the elves actively used it, they hadn’t expressed any need for a new one.

As a result, the elves now occupied a position similar to that of a tributary state—like Goryeo or Joseon were to the Ming or Qing dynasties.

It was ambiguous whether they belonged to Amurtart, yet they weren’t exactly an independent power either.

In truth, as elves were a race different from humans in many ways, they didn’t seem to particularly mind being indirectly ruled by Amurtart.

Over the past 70 years, Amurtart had helped Elphium whenever urgent assistance was needed.

However, since the end of the war with Fahrenheit, Elphium had never directly or indirectly helped Amurtart even once.

Of course, I knew this wasn’t because they were selfish, but because they lacked the capability, so I didn’t treat them harshly.

“…However, some people criticize the elves for unilaterally draining Amurtart’s finances.”

“My, my. Keep them quiet.”

“As you command, Your Majesty.”

Indeed, one could see it that way.

But everyone knows that even friendly relationships can be ruined when guns and swords are brought out, so I decided to leave the 130,000 elves of Blumen Elphium alone.

If I couldn’t treat them as a constant, enemies would have to treat them as a variable.

*

Meanwhile, as Amurtart’s growth showed no signs of slowing, neighboring countries began to harbor cunning thoughts.

Thanks to the core and barrier system, there was no risk of a military superpower emerging to command nearby nations, but a country with the military might to destroy others, if not rule them, naturally attracts followers.

“No matter how hard we try, we can never defeat Amurtart…”

“But do we need to fight? Our country is actively trading with Amurtart, and if we act arrogantly, we might lose even that piece of prosperity.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to simply align ourselves with Amurtart? After all, Amurtart’s cannons are closer to us than Fahrenheit’s arrows—that’s our reality…”

“It’s clear that Tiberius of Amurtart is aiming for the Grand Monarch’s throne. Rather than remaining silent, if we voluntarily submit and serve as their hunting dogs…”

“Even if we suffer the humiliation of crawling like dogs before the throne, we could at least lick bones with meat on them to our heart’s content…”

…That was the general sentiment.

In simple terms, they proposed not to join unconditionally but to support future wars with troops and supplies—an offer that would be welcomed by Amurtart.

The voluntary submission of nearby countries was perfect for inducing a lethal dose of national pride.

Thus, the three countries that had previously been saved from the heretics’ army made the first move.

“We—Herestin, Dvelussi, and Balkeginia—hereby announce to all northern countries that from this moment, we will actively support Lord Tiberius of Amurtart in the coming war to repay our debt from the previous conflict.”

“Fellow monarchs, war is approaching, so please refrain from rash actions. The time has come to distinguish between the light of the rising sun and that of the setting moon. If you remain stuck in old customs, you will suffer greatly.”

“Join us! Living in Amurtart’s shadow may be humiliating, but Lord Tiberius of Amurtart never abandons those under his care!”

Magical communications and messages through the Adventurers’ Guild were sent to all northern countries.

These messages, naturally, sent chills down the spines of all nations.

They heard that the war they had so desperately wanted to avoid was approaching, and that without clearly choosing a side, they could not escape destruction.

For small countries that had been living as if they didn’t exist, this was essentially a declaration demanding they surrender their sovereignty.

But as always, the world is turned by the strong, and the weak with only pride are met with the boot of the powerful.

Incidentally, Herestin, Balkeginia, and Dvelussi had all their debts forgiven by a highly pleased Tiberius.