Iron Harvest: When Farming Becomes Conquest

Gwivelle possessed the power of Calamity.

A bizarre, otherworldly force surrounded her, a power that was elusive yet could silently affect her surroundings.

After she awakened, Nova's family encountered many misfortunes that should not have happened.

Basically, anything bad that could happen did, almost leading to complete ruin.

Not until Gwivelle left did the situation for Nova's family gradually start to improve.

In Roman's eyes, however, Gwivelle held not just the power of Calamity but also of Luck, otherwise others would have long since perished in the mountains.

Disease and food were major barriers to survival.

It was extremely lucky for the girl to have not been carried off by wild beasts in nearly two years.

Upon learning of Gwivelle's abilities, Aaron and Green were a bit surprised, yet they held no particular opinions.

Such power over Luck and Calamity was mysterious indeed, but being mysterious was not the same as being powerful.

No matter how mysterious you are, I can still kill you with a single blow.

The most common way to deal with Witches was to throw salt on them.

Gwivelle was different in that she couldn't control her power—she couldn't even distinguish which Calamities she had brought about.

Roman understood why Gwivelle's parents had exiled her.

Not to mention a medieval farmstead, even a modern family couldn't bear it.

Poor folk are extremely sensitive to Calamity, and any setback in life can lead them to curse their fate, which is a quite normal reaction.

"The rope always breaks at its thinnest," and Calamity only seeks out those already enduring hardship.

The resistance of impoverished families to adversity was incredibly weak, unable to withstand any storm.

Sometimes, a single streak of bad luck could exacerbate an already unlucky family's troubles, leading to a vicious cycle.

As a Transcendent, Roman had a strong resistance to Calamity.

Even Calamity had to follow the basic laws of physics.

The influence of Gwivelle's ability was also limited, not constantly active, and at most could result in broken legs or collapsed houses, and even that required certain conditions.

Although there was no clear pattern, Roman always felt it might relate to her emotional state.

For instance, the arrival of the pack of wolves was very peculiar.

He and Shasta were at the brink of a fight when it was suddenly interrupted.

Roman believed it was due to Gwivelle, though he had no proof.

Of course, Roman wasn't particularly wary of Gwivelle. If his Origin Farm were to fail because of her, he might as well slit his own throat.

...

Roman arrived at the Blacksmith Shop.

Inside, eight or nine people were busily forging iron ingots.

It wasn't that Moor was stingy with manpower; rather, the scale of the Blacksmith Shop could only accommodate so many, and it already seemed overcrowded.

This made Roman see Lax's Blacksmith Shop as an eyesore.

Their efficiency was low, although they worked very hard.

Following Roman's orders, these helpers were rewarded with two pounds of wheat each day.

Up until now, they had forged 4 heavy plows.

Due to increased skill levels, their efficiency was also improving.

Roman watched for a moment, the clinking and clanging of iron forging filling his ears, making him feel a surge of excitement, wanting to rip off his clothes and join in, then vigorously gain "Forging Experience +1".

However, he had other matters to attend to.

Roman called for Lax and said to him, "These aren't enough, we need to forge more heavy plows as soon as possible."

Lax's face was haggard. Hearing this, he remembered the silver coins Roman had promised, so he nodded and prepared to keep the furnace burning through the night.

Roman patted his shoulder and called over the steward responsible for the production of the heavy plows.

"All the blacksmith workers should have an extra pound of wild boar meat for lunch and dinner each day. If there isn't enough boar, use other meat instead."

The wild boar had been killed by Shasta; the hunters had found its carcass last night and done preliminary processing—but it belonged to the lord. They didn't dare consume it in secret and had sent it down the mountain early this morning.

After giving these instructions, Roman took away all of the forged heavy plows and led away six oxen.

Roman, riding at the front on a tall horse, kept looking around, searching for a spot with the perfect feng shui. Aaron and Green were driving the oxen, pulling the ox cart. Meanwhile, Gwivelle sat on the ox cart, staying with the heavy plows and following Roman as he aimlessly searched the surrounding farmlands for something.

Green said to Aaron in a low voice, "Want to make a bet with me?"

Aaron nodded and said, "I bet we're going to be plowing soon."

Green was speechless, "That takes the fun out of it."

Aaron asked, "No bet then?"

Green rolled his eyes.

A short while later, not far from Sige Town, Roman found a suitable target.

The extensive farmlands stretched as far as the eye could see.

Sige Town was at the southeastern corner of a basin, with the Silver Dragon Canyon and the docks along the Bro River in the same direction. To the west were the continuous rolling mountains, slightly to the east was Origin Manor, and to the north were vast fields, with an even larger expanse of wilderness beyond.

Because it hadn't been cultivated, it was filled with marshes, secret forests, streams, and other primitive environments.

Roman dismounted from his horse. Compared with other overgrown lands he'd seen, this plot of farmland looked somewhat better; there weren't many weeds, tree roots, or rocks. The sprouts of green grass pushing through the soil were even sparser than in other areas.

Possibly because it had been cultivated more frequently over the years and had ample fallow periods, the ground here was quite flat and offered an unobstructed view.

Roman used his finger to scrape aside the top layer of soil clumps, grabbed some subsoil, and crumbled it in his hands, looking at the soil that was somewhat yellow and somewhat black.

He nodded; the farmland was indeed fertile.

Roman fitted the yoke over two oxen's necks and tied the rope to the heavy plow.

The heavy plow was a large-scale farming tool; its disadvantage was that it required at least two oxen to pull it.

Everything was ready.

Start plowing!

After adjusting the direction, Roman grasped the heavy plow and thrust it into the deepest part of the soil.

The two experienced oxen instinctively moved their limbs and started to drag the tool. The wooden wheels turned, rolling forward.

Just as Roman had expected, the plow's blade was vertical and sharp, and it easily split open the wet soil, turning over the sticky and compacted earth while cutting through the grass roots. It could even function against frozen ground.

This effect pleased Roman very much.

After leading the oxen forward for a hundred meters or so, he then had the oxen stop.

Roman left the oxen and plow there and turned back alone. He said to Aaron and Green, "The two of you, follow this line and plow east for a kilometer, then head north and continue plowing for one thousand three hundred meters."

Green, though he had anticipated this, was still dumbfounded and pointed at himself, "Ah? Me?"

You working the fields is one thing; no one would dare stop you.

But for me, a proud Conquest Knight, to do this, is that appropriate?

Can I afford to lose face like this?

What would other knights think if they knew about this?

Aaron had anticipated this too, considering the three heavy plows and six oxen that Roman had brought.

He had thought they'd each be assigned a plow.

At first, Roman actually did think this, but later realized they had no experience in farm work, so he decided to have the two cooperate for the time being.