Iron Harvest: When Farming Becomes Conquest

Bo Ge had died of exhaustion.

His body, long malnourished, simply couldn't handle the intense physical strain, especially after that fierce tracking battle with Green.

After Bo Ge's death, Roman had given him a grand burial.

This great thief may have gone mad.

But in this land, he might as well have been the one with the lightest touch of madness.

Afterwards, Roman extended an invitation to Dick, Jet, and others to live on his estate.

But they declined politely.

Roman did not insist, merely telling them that he was always ready to welcome them.

After all, "flesh decays in the pot, but it can still be fished out of the stew in time."

Roman sent all the hunters to assist the severely injured guards back to Sige Town.

Three guards had perished in battle, and those with grave injuries would no longer be able to carry out their duties of armed repression.

These casualties were all brought about by Bo Ge, an unexpected disaster.

Regrettable as it was, there was nothing to be done.

Roman prepared to rally more forces.

The former guards were utterly inadequate for his Military needs.

On this foray into the mountains, Roman had acquired several thousand pounds of meat.

This was just enough to offer some explanation to the people of Sige Town for the significant casualties—otherwise, it would have been impossible.

The wild resources in the mountains around Sige Town were abundant.

Brown bears, mountain deer, wild boars, wolves, and the lot could provide three pounds of meat per resident, a rather bountiful harvest.

In this era, some of the nobles' meat supply came from hunting, while the rest was from breeding and animal husbandry.

While disassembling the bodies of the demon beasts, Roman discovered that due to his actions in killing them, his "Hunting" Skill gained Experience Points, and the rudimentary ways of processing the prey appeared in his mind.

But due to the large quantity, it would take all of tomorrow to transport it—Roman generously distributed ten pounds of meat to each of the hunter families living in the mountains.

Unless cured or dried, it would be difficult to preserve the meat for long.

Roman planned for Sige Town to consume these resources as quickly as possible.

He left the forest with Gwivelle.

With that, the matters in the mountains had come to a close.

...

Shasta did not leave with Roman; she deliberately avoided the crowds and went to the docks of Sige Town.

Morry had been waiting there for some time.

Seeing Shasta return safely, Morry breathed a sigh of relief.

He had been on tenterhooks this whole time.

But the first thing Shasta said made his heart leap, "I saw Roman Riptide."

Morry had anticipated that Roman's conspicuous expedition today could not have stayed hidden.

He asked anxiously, "You didn't have any conflict, did you?"

Shasta responded indifferently, "Almost."

Morry felt as if struck by lightning. The witch not only exposed herself but had also nearly fought with Roman?

Did she ever consider how I'd feel about such bravery?

Morry was numb with shock; he kept glancing outside the cabin, fearing that the next second, Roman might appear and surround his merchant ship with his men.

Shasta curled her lips into a faint smile, "Hmph! He's not a bad person, you can visit more often."

Amid Morry's astonishment, she did not elaborate further but gestured for him to set sail quickly.

...

Atop a hill with higher elevation, Roman watched from afar as Morry's merchant ship sailed away from Sige Town.

"Witch, merchant, Church..."

Roman mulled over these terms silently.

He looked down for a moment, snorted, and turned away.

In his eyes, the nobles were all fools.

Farmers are the more numerous fools.

Kings and the Church are the fools among fools.

He held the key to the era's transformation in his hands.

Just wait! Just wait!

He would soon stand up and crush everything of the old world!

He would reshape the world in his own way, with his own thoughts!

He would redefine this land and re-establish a new order!

And in this process, he didn't care how much blood the commoners would spill or how many lives they would give.

Nor did he care how many nobles would die, or if the King would kneel before the guillotine.

Those exalted divine rights would also shatter under the iron hooves of the future's unstoppable torrent.

He would show everyone with facts.

The era!

Was about to change!

He would strengthen the entire land with the power of one man!

...

Morry's merchant fleet followed the Bro River, leaving Sige Town.

Heading north.

The river became turbulent as it slanted through the Silver Dragon Canyon, but after shaking off that rugged mountain terrain and entering the calmer areas, the river surface started to widen again.

In the high skies, a giant flying eagle spread its wings, observing the land with its sharp pupils.

Following the winding river, it spotted the merchant ships below and let out an extraordinarily loud eagle cry, piercing the sky as it dove straight down.

And Shasta emerged from the cabin, her brows furrowed as she looked up at the massive flying eagle and said,

"I wasn't able to bring the sisters from Sige Town."

The eagle circled the merchant ship for a moment, and when it landed on the prow, the entire ship rocked slightly. Its wild eyes suddenly became lively as it spoke in human language,

"Did you fail?"

"The lord there stopped me."

"You handed the sister over?"

"He promised me a noble contract."

"The Prophet Witch saw through the Magic Mirror that the witches here possess Spirit Light potential to become High-level Witches, yet you didn't bring her?"

Shasta said indifferently, "That child named Gwivelle holds the power of Calamity and Luck; she might have some uses in other respects, but she is not fit for battle."

"The operation to slaughter the gods is imminent; the power of any High-level Witch is not to be underestimated."

"So you want to let Gwivelle die prematurely? Send her to her death? She looks weak, pitiable, helpless, and can't even become a qualified warrior."

"Well, my dear Shasta, I hope you aren't overflowing with sympathy but have your own considerations."

"Why did you come to find me? Beast Witch, you should have more important things to do."

"The Prophet Witch discovered that a new sister has awakened in the Northern Land, and her Spirit Light is so strong that it is an unprecedented miracle individual to the Prophet Witch, very likely to be a main force in the operation to slaughter the gods, so all sisters who could went there..."

"If it's just about this, there shouldn't be a need for you to come to me... The Church's rabble?"

"They must have sensed something too; the Prophet Witch said that a Sixth-Rank Dawn Knight named Keton and 50 Demon Hunting Knights were dispatched."

"Are you joking?"

"My dear Shasta, so I came to assist you. You should understand how important the operation to slaughter the gods is to us, we must get her!"

Shasta leapt onto the back of the flying eagle.

The giant eagle spread its wings and soared into the sky, carrying her off into the distance.

...

"I am Shasta, the Nightmare Witch from the Witch Forest, about to head to the Northern Land to find the companion referred to as the miracle individual by the Prophet Witch, to train her into a qualified warrior..."

"If the Church really serves the gods, then we will kill the so-called gods... that's the origin of the operation to slaughter the gods... perhaps compared to the colossal entity of the Church, the power of witches is minuscule..."

"But we can no longer sit and wait for death; awakened witches are constantly being strangled, our power becoming weaker; if next year's operation to slaughter the gods is successful, it will certainly change the future predicament of witches..."

"Here's hoping everything goes well on this journey!"

...