Iron Harvest: When Farming Becomes Conquest
Chapter 105 - 9: Morry’s Brother

Chapter 105: Chapter 9: Morry’s Brother

He truly is his student.

Seth nodded imperceptibly, maintaining the Lord’s dignity was their duty, and the latter’s quick understanding made him quite relieved.

But business still needed to be discussed.

Seth shifted the topic. "How many iron ingots did Mr. Hos bring this time?"

"A substantial amount... Is Morry here too?"

Hos found the conversation uninteresting and then looked at the merchant ships nearby, recognizing the boatmen and guards aboard them.

"Mr. Morry is having lunch with Lord Roman."

"I have come here twice and never seen your mysterious Lord, yet my brother gets to dine with him?"

Hos was dissatisfied.

He felt he wasn’t getting the attention he deserved from this remote little town.

He had gone through immense trouble to bring the iron ingots from the Iron Tree region to Sige Town, even having to cross the tumultuous Silver Dragon Canyon. If it weren’t for his brother facilitating the connection, he would never have come to this poor place.

And now he couldn’t even see the local Lord?

Even the offspring of Riptide Grand Duke shouldn’t treat him so lightly.

Seth’s brow immediately furrowed slightly, a subtle movement that more than doubled his sternness.

His face creased deeply and clearly, he spoke in a serious tone, "Is Mr. Hos here to discuss business or to meet Lord Roman?"

Hos was startled by his attitude, like encountering a stern family tutor from his childhood, an unquestionable authority.

"I am naturally here for business..." Hos sounded somewhat tentative.

But he felt it should be this way.

His ship flew the flag of the Iron Tree region, and this was just a small place, shouldn’t they warmly welcome his arrival?

"Then meeting Lord Roman is not important to you, is it?"

"This time I have another business matter to discuss face-to-face with Lord Roman."

"Oh, what business do you wish to discuss with me?"

While they spoke, a calm voice drifted from afar.

Hos followed the voice, seeing a young man dressed in linen shorts and trousers walking leisurely towards them, exuding an extraordinary demeanor.

In an instant, Hos felt his heart seized by those intensely focused crimson eyes.

This was the mark of the Riptide Bloodline.

A voice inside him said.

Hos initially had many complaints, but upon seeing Roman, all dissipated.

"Respected Lord Roman, I am Hos Pereya, here to deliver iron ingots."

Roman was there to deliver Morry, but he wasn’t fond of his brother and said with a light snort, "State your demands, Mr. Hos."

Hos saw his brother Morry standing by Roman’s side, but there was nothing to reminisce about at the moment.

He directly said, "I understand that you can produce a honey-like substance with a sweet malt aroma?"

"That’s right."

Hos swallowed, then said, "Lord El of the Iron Tree region tasted this delicacy and highly praised it. Knowing that the Maltose comes from you, he asked me to purchase some."

"I’ll send him a barrel then," Roman said nonchalantly.

"I’m glad you came here, but my blacksmith shed had to shut down for two days because of your late arrival, which I’m not happy about."

Hos was stunned.

His goal wasn’t just a barrel of Maltose.

My words might have been subtle, but they were clear enough.

"You shouldn’t be asking me how much maltose I want to buy right now, should you?"

Hos, under Morry’s deathly stare, continued, "I hope to buy a large amount of maltose, as you know, those noble ladies and beautiful girls all love the sweet taste..."

Roman nodded, "I won’t sell it to you."

Hos was stunned again, doubting what he had heard.

He pondered briefly,

"I can offer a higher price than Morry!" he said.

Roman looked at Morry. "Is this your brother?"

Morry, feeling embarrassed for Hos but somewhat amused at the moment, tried to suppress the smile on his lips and looked down, "This is my good-for-nothing brother."

Roman nodded slightly, squinting his eyes at Hos, "Is this how your father Selin taught you to do business?"

Hos, rebuked by Roman, turned pale and flushed in turns.

He felt embarrassed and didn’t understand why Roman wouldn’t sell him the maltose.

The amber-colored maltose was golden, crystal clear, and sticky like crystallized amber, not cheap in appearance. The price had soared to 2 gold coins a barrel, and it was in short supply.

One silver coin could only buy a little more than a pound of sugar, almost as expensive as honey!

The nobles were scrambling to buy it, completely insane.

No one knew how much Morry had earned.

Undoubtedly, maltose had become the hottest commodity in the marketplace.

He had speculated on the origin of the maltose and even got a personal confirmation from Roman, but he had not expected Roman to refuse him.

It shouldn’t be!

This minor lord of a poor place had no reason to refuse the ready gold coins!

"I gave Morry the exclusive rights to it. If you want some, go talk to your brother."

Roman didn’t care much about the prospects of maltose, a luxury item that was dispensable.

Morry seemed to be selling well, simply because there was no competition and it was a novelty.

The nobles wanted it and would pay a high price, perhaps even sparking a trend. Noble ladies chased after it, pushing up sales by word of mouth.

It was just bullshit!

It was absolutely inconsequential for the development of Sige Town.

What he was lacking now was not sugary treats but metal bullets.

Roman was focused on other issues.

"How many iron ingots have you brought me this time?"

"Five thousand pounds of iron ingots..." Hos had to abandon the idea.

"I should have arrived in Sige Town a month ago, but due to Grand Duke Fury, Earl El banned all exports of iron ingots. My merchant ship was also stopped, even though I had the friendship of Earl El."

El was the lord of Iron Tree Domain, and a vassal to Grand Duke Fury.

The land had rich iron ore veins and a peculiar type of iron tree with extraordinary properties.

The Iron Tree Domain produced about two hundred tons of iron ingots annually, but most of the steel was consumed by Grand Duke Fury, incessantly feeding a monstrous beast that devoured iron and chewed gold. The remaining iron ingots belonged personally to him, exchanged for supplies needed by the people of Iron Tree Domain.

Even so, Iron Tree Domain was much richer than other regions, and the troops of Earl El were all armored.

The land of Iron Tree Domain was just one source of steel under the control of Grand Duke Fury, not the only one.

The Grand Duke was powerful, with many soldiers and generals, easily able to stand against a kingdom by himself.

Some believed only if Oak and Riptide worked together might they stand a chance against Grand Duke Fury.

But such speculation was meaningless.

Everyone knew the three Grand Dukes were closely united. A hundred years ago, in the "Battle of Silent Valley", they stood together in front of the Church Court’s army, advancing and retreating as one, they thwarted the Pope’s campaign to the west, firmly suppressing the main military forces of the Church within the boundaries of Divine Mysterious, not allowing them to cross even a bit.