Iron Harvest: When Farming Becomes Conquest
Chapter 142 - 14: What’s Wrong with Me Punching You?

Chapter 142: Chapter 14: What’s Wrong with Me Punching You?

Roman had been in Sige Town for 338 days.

This land welcomed a heavy snowfall this year.

The snowflakes danced in the air, turning the entire world into a vast expanse of white. The withered, yellow grassland transformed into a snowy field, like a white velvet blanket, exuding a unique sense of pristine beauty.

Roman was very pleased to see it.

Heavy snow predicts a prosperous year.

The thicker the snow layer, the less likely the soil and wheat seedlings would freeze, promising a more bountiful harvest next year.

However, the heavy snow also had a tangible impact on development.

Construction in Sige Town had come to a halt, as had iron smelting.

Fortunately, the houses at the coal and steel plant were finished, so the ironworkers and miners did not have to trek back to Sige Town through the heavy snow.

They settled there with their families, who had also moved over, and they built a large kitchen where they stored plenty of food.

Of course, the workers in the blacksmith shop and the Wood Factory were busy.

The mess hall and classrooms were also operational.

The meandering river flowed quietly; meals and learning were the top priorities that could not be delayed.

The soldiers in the barracks also trekked through the snow, needing to adapt to all sorts of extreme conditions. The rigorous training would forge them into the most tenacious steel, ensuring they would not panic when faced with adversity in the future.

...

During this season of fluttering snowflakes, the atmosphere in the manor’s great hall was quite comfortable.

The walls were adorned with the fearsome heads of many wild beasts, and a robust flame in the fireplace dispelled the chill brought by the snow.

The dining table was laden with dishes like hazelnut-braised partridge, roe deer boiled with mushrooms, garlic-roasted ribs, and thick cream stews. The piping hot dishes were truly appetizing.

Sige Town did not lack delicacies, with an abundance of game, but the manor did not always enjoy such lavish meals.

Roman preferred simpler dishes, as they took less time to prepare, and he would rather not drain the chefs’ energy.

This was not his custom before, but since arriving in Sige Town, he had constantly experienced a shortage of labor and racked his brains on how to make the most of each person’s abilities.

This sumptuous lunch was to reward Daken.

Roman had him sit near the fireplace and brought over a bowl of thick cream soup for him.

He asked, "Have you gathered all the information?"

Daken had just returned from the docks; his coat was still dusted with snow, and his face, particularly his nose, had turned red and started to swell from the cold.

The small merchant ships of Sige Town lacked cabins, and the icy air that surged into Silver Dragon Canyon suddenly accelerated, whipping up strong winds like steel knives to the face. The biting cold penetrated even the thickest of clothing, which was unbearable to imagine.

His hands and feet were icy, and he was tired, hungry, and exhausted.

After taking a sip of the warm cream soup, Daken’s empty stomach filled with comfort and warmth, and the heat spread throughout his body, making him feel much better.

"Yes, my Lord, I’ve visited every village and market town in that land, and I’m confident in my intelligence."

Roman had a maid bring a pencil and some white paper and placed them beside Daken.

"Draw out the map for me to see."

Daken picked up a piece of tender, aromatic venison with chopsticks and put it into his mouth. While chewing, he took the pencil and began to sketch lines and attach corresponding information.

...

The Earl of Kant had jurisdiction over 17 villages, each with populations ranging from one thousand to two thousand, totaling around thirty-five thousand people.

Five Barons were stationed across the regions, with their domains amassing a substantial population of over ten thousand, comparable to Roman when he first arrived in Sige Town.

There were over twenty Knight domains.

Not all Conquest Knights received a domain.

One could acquire a domain either through connections or by force.

And where there were connections, the lack of force was generally not an issue.

The Earl of Kant openly boasted twenty to thirty Conquest Knights, and with the addition of the Barons and the Earl’s own knights, cobbling together fifty to sixty was certainly feasible.

There was no standing army, but conscripted soldiers were readily available, and forming a company of a thousand was easy.

If fully mobilized, the potential soldier base could reach two thousand. With some determination and time, escalating to an army of three to four thousand was not impossible—a farmer armed with a pitchfork could take to the battlefield.

However, this level would mean full-scale war and did not guarantee the quality of the army.

Even so, in the Wilderness, the Earl could be considered a prominent Noble.

Yet, despite the vastness of his territory, it was fragmented, consisting mostly of wild mountains and ridges, which offered limited military potential and made troop deployment quite inconvenient.

Roman glanced at the information Daken had provided.

One could only say that it was impoverished, lacking in resources, and wholly reliant on agriculture.

But what he valued was the population of Kant Territory.

Kant Territory was located upstream of Bro River, while Sige Town was downstream.

Roman planned to have his troops land downstream, cross mountains and valleys, and launch a surprise attack on Kant Territory. For that, he needed to plot out a route for looting.

He aimed to minimize risk as much as possible and ensure maximum profit.

This required a mass of intelligence to assemble a complete picture of Kant Territory.

In recent days, Daken and those merchants, under the guise of peddlers carrying salt and using business as a pretext, had been traveling back and forth to Kant Territory, surveying the terrain.

Even the most remote and underdeveloped villages had been observed, and then the information was relayed to Roman; what one sees with one’s own eyes certainly cannot be a distortion.

Those Baron Nobles and Conquest Knights, knowing they were from Sige Town, were quite courteous to them, warmly hosting them and probing indirectly about the salt production of Sige Town, inquiring about the specifics here.

Daken, however, spoke with half-truths, claiming to know not much as a mere merchant.

In comparison, Roman’s questioning was much more direct.

He kept asking him about the details concerning those villages, such as the population, Steward, Lord, etc., and received very comprehensive answers.

Roman pondered for a long time,

Finally, he held a pencil and, on the pristine paper, sketched out a marching route, superimposing it over the map that Daken had outlined.

Daken was taken aback.

All because those strong, vigorous lines, visible through the back of the paper, serpentined through two Baron castles and five villages, akin to a sharp surgical blade, vividly slicing off a piece of flesh from Earl Kant.

"My lord, isn’t this action a bit too bold?"

Roman looked very satisfied with his work.

He replied, "Is it?"

Daken, seeing Lord’s confident demeanor, knew it was beyond persuasion and could only silently pray for Roman’s plan to materialize; otherwise, he too could not escape Calamity.

After all, he had staked his entire future here.

"Don’t be afraid, even if the looting fails, my warriors will still be able to return safely," Roman said.

To him, going all-in was foolish.

Roman felt his future was limitless and that after a few years of development he could rise in power.

It’s just that robbery was more efficient, hence the unorthodox strategy.

But there was no need to play a high-stakes gamble with others.

If the looting failed, they would retreat, at most losing one-fifth of their forces. For him, that was within an acceptable range, merely a severe loss of vitality that would take half a year to recover from.

However, if the looting succeeded, it would certainly yield a night of sudden wealth and huge profits.

As for the consequences of the looting? They weren’t even in Roman’s consideration.

What if I punch you?

Those who are disgraced, if they dare, should call upon the Black Iron King to uphold justice for them!

In Black Iron Land, the hierarchy of titles was very chaotic; there was no clear-cut Nobility system.

It could only be roughly divided into four tiers.

The Black Iron King held the highest authority.

The three Black Iron Dukes also held a unique position.

The middle layer was occupied by Earls.

At the bottom were Barons and Conquest Knights.

There wasn’t much to say about the apex of the pyramid; the chaos was in the middle and lower Nobility, whose titles could be used interchangeably.

All had the status of Lord, and unless one was a vassal to another, there was no clear hierarchy.

Roman, personally ennobled by Grand Duke Riptide, naturally did not belong to the true bottom Nobility.

But the problem was that Roman started off at a Baronial level, one of the lowest among the Nobles.

Therefore, he was not a Baron, nor an Earl, just a Lord of a territory.

This sort of Nobility did not have a specific title, hovering between Earl and Baron, authority and power tied to one’s strength.

Roman’s confident and proud attitude, and his consideration of the consequences of failure, provided Daken with a bit of relief.

He was also counting on Roman to bestow upon him enough funds in the future to purchase a large ship, as well as provide a loyal and reliable Merchant Guard fleet.