Southeast Province

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Southeast Province (東南行省)
Affiliation	Alpha Kingdom
Occupation/Role	Major grain-producing, financial, taxation, and border province of the Alpha Kingdom
First Appearance	Chapter 19

Geography & Administration

Feature	Details
Terrain	Predominantly fertile plains, with scattered low hills locally styled as mountain ranges; most peaks of the Salam Mountain Range are under 200 meters in relative height. 66
Coastline	A coastal province; a vast swamp beyond the Salam Mountain Range is believed to extend toward the sea and forms part of the border with a neighboring country. 107
Counties	Contains fifteen counties; the Dalton Family holds seven county governorships. 142
Landholding	Ninety-nine percent of provincial land is enfeoffed to nobles, while some prosperous large cities remain under direct royal control. 135
Border region	Blood Moon County and the Hundred-Mile Corridor connect the province to the Black Forest Kingdom and became strategically important trade and military routes. 650 709
Defense	The self-funded Blood Moon Defense Line was built along the Black Stone Mountain Range frontier to counter beast tides and external threats. 362 365

Political Structure

The Southeast Province operates as a regional noble bloc within the Alpha Kingdom. Its nobles coordinate at the central level against blocs from other provinces while retaining broad autonomy within their own fiefs. Provincial governors cannot freely compel nobles to act against their core interests, and even royal commands may be resisted when regarded as ruinous. 26 170

The Dalton Family is the province's established leading house, with Count Pierce serving as governor. Its dominance is constrained by royal checks and balances, middle-tier families aligned with the Crown, and the later rise of the Coslo Family. 67 357

Southeast Province Noble Council

The Noble Council adjudicates disputed inheritances and serves as a collective provincial body. It later signed a private trade-cooperation agreement with the Black Forest Kingdom, rather than the provincial government formally concluding a treaty. 67 662

Economy

Sector	Details
Agriculture	Fertile plains and favorable rainfall make the province a major grain producer. Its nobles maintain reserves sufficient to endure a single major harvest loss, though northern provinces depend heavily on southern grain supplies. 105 125
Taxation	The province had been the Alpha Kingdom's leading taxpayer for roughly a century and was described as the kingdom's largest financial and tax hub. 345 651
Iron	Laite County produces high-quality raw iron. During wartime, provincial iron was accepted for weapon and equipment production rather than as a substitute for grain supplies. 159
Magic crystals	A large, secretly exploited magic crystal mine became a major source of provincial wealth and military funding. Its output exceeded 3.8 million Gold Coins in value within a year. 386 651
Salt and fisheries	More than ninety percent of salt in the provincial market originally came from the sea and was monopolized by the Dalton Family; coastal access later created opportunities for competing salt and fishing industries. 372
Trade	After the war against the Giant Centipedes, provincial merchant caravans received ten years of unimpeded passage through three kingdoms. 694

Financial Pressures

Despite its wealth, the province has repeatedly faced market instability. A repayment tax allocation reached 1.3 million Gold Coins—nearly fourteen percent of the kingdom-wide total, above the customary provincial share. 350 352

A later money shortage particularly damaged the economically developed southeastern regions: taxes were offset with physical goods, markets contracted, and nobles and merchants struggled with inadequate currency circulation. 498

Military Strength

The Southeast Province historically possessed substantial wealth but relatively modest military strength. Ten years before the Giant Centipede war, it ranked in the lower-middle tier among the kingdom's provinces in military power. 653 654

Continuous investment in private armies, military reforms, elite training, high logistical standards, and magic-crystal-funded equipment transformed its forces. During the defense against the Underworld Races, its Noble Allied Forces performed close to the level of the Kingdom's Standing Army. 651 653

Military asset	Details
Noble Allied Forces	A coalition of provincial noble armies mobilized for internal rebellions, foreign expeditions, and border defense. 100 275
Blood Moon Defense Line	Province-controlled frontier fortification financed through money, labor, grain, and materials contributed by local nobles. 362 365
Magic Crystal Cannons	Used against the Giant Centipedes; their consumption exposed the scale of the province's hidden crystal reserves. 653 666
High-end experts	The province has numerous Sorcerers and Earth Knights, though it formerly lacked publicly known Great Sorcerers and Sky Knights. 381
Military reputation	After defeating the Giant Centipedes with negligible organizational losses, the province was regarded as the Alpha Kingdom's foremost province in comprehensive strength. 653 668 694

History

Skull Society Rebellion and Postwar Division

The Blood Moon Horn incident and Skull Society rebellion drew the province's nobles into a defensive political alliance. Count Pierce sought to prevent royal-capital powers from gaining permanent footholds in Leighton and White Counties during the postwar distribution of fiefs. 26 60 63

Northern nobles subsequently attempted to seize territory in the province. Local nobles responded through preemptive enfeoffment, economic pressure, and selective blockades that raised grain, daily-goods, and slave prices for the newcomers. 73 83 89

Rise of Provincial Factions

The Coslo Family's rapid expansion created a two-faction balance against the Dalton Family. Competition between the two major houses also spurred provincial military development, though both retained incentives to cooperate when outside powers threatened local autonomy. 275 318 345

Blood Moon Defense Line

Fearing threats from the Black Forest Kingdom and beast tides from the Black Stone Mountain Range, the province united behind the reconstruction of the Blood Moon Defense Line. A fundraising convention set a preliminary budget of 3.8 million Gold Coins, though labor, food, and materials could be supplied internally by the nobles. 361 362

The project was entirely self-funded and locally controlled, including its site selection and construction design. 365

Magic Crystal Mine Concealment

A large magic crystal mine was discovered within the province. Provincial nobles obstructed the royal investigation and issued a report denying the mine's existence, while the mine's proceeds later financed military expansion. 386 651

War Against the Underworld Races

When the Giant Centipede Underworld Race approached Blood Moon County, Count Pierce and Hudson rejected outside reinforcements and deployed the province's forces along the Blood Moon Defense Line. 651

The province repelled the invasion, destroyed or captured numerous high-tier enemies, and forced the Centipede army into retreat. Its performance elevated it from a wealthy regional power to the Alpha Kingdom's acknowledged “first province.” 653

The Noble Allied Forces then occupied the Hundred-Mile Corridor, pressured the Giant Centipedes into strategic withdrawal, and secured commercial access toward the Black Forest Kingdom. 662 666 694

Relationships

• Alpha Kingdom — Constituent province and principal financial-tax base; its wealth gives it substantial leverage in kingdom politics. 345 651
• Dalton Family — Established provincial leading family; Count Pierce governs the province and protects its nobles from outside encroachment. 63 67
• Coslo Family — Major rival faction whose rise created a two-faction balance within the province. 275 318
• Northern nobles — Outside claimants who sought fiefs after the Skull Society conflict and faced coordinated local resistance. 73 83
• Black Forest Kingdom — Neighbor across the Blood Moon frontier; linked by the Hundred-Mile Corridor and later trade cooperation. 650 662
• Hudson — A leading provincial noble and military reformer whose forces and influence were central to the province's military rise. 653 654