Iron Harvest: When Farming Becomes Conquest
Chapter 144 - 16: The Manifestation of Heavenly Destiny

Chapter 144: Chapter 16: The Manifestation of Heavenly Destiny

"Morey hasn’t come in a long time," Roman said to Seth.

To be precise, more than a hundred days have passed again.

Since the merchant left in the autumn, he hasn’t appeared in Sige Town.

Seth replied, "Maybe something delayed him."

For a merchant, a delay of one or two months is not a big deal.

But winter is almost over, and still no sign of him.

He probably encountered bigger troubles, making it impossible to break free.

With high mountains and long roads, and cut-off transportation, it’s unknown whether Morry is alive or dead.

Roman can only wait quietly for news.

Now his reach doesn’t extend to lands thousands of miles away, only barely to Kant Territory a hundred miles away.

During this time,

Roman started major construction, building over five hundred empty brick houses waiting for slaves to move in.

The roads for salt, iron, and coal routes have been completed.

He also renovated the blacksmith’s shed and the wood factory.

The infrastructure of Sige Town has greatly improved, plugging the gaps caused by Roman’s rapid development earlier.

...

On the 360th day of Roman’s arrival in Sige Town,

At the end of this winter, Roman issued a summons, gathering all the strength of Sige Town.

"Daken, have you done what I asked you to do?"

Daken stepped forward respectfully, "Master, I contacted all the merchants I could find, rented over forty merchant ships in total."

As for whether this capacity is enough, Roman himself isn’t sure.

It is better to prepare as much as possible; it’s always good to be prepared.

Winter is a slow season for trade, the environment is harsh, and roads are inconvenient; some rivers freeze, and overall societal demand for goods is very small, so those merchant ships are either being repaired or idle.

In such a lean season, it’s extremely easy to rent ships.

They established a reputation with Sige Town in the summer and autumn, and there’s certainly no intention of refusing such a rental opportunity.

Idling is the same as idling, better to earn some extra money.

Small boats can carry seven or eight people, slightly larger merchant ships can carry a dozen or dozens of people.

The former’s rent only requires a few silver coins, while the largest merchant ships require payment in gold coins.

Moreover, the longer the usage time, the more rent must be paid.

"Jet, are my soldiers ready?"

Jet’s face was indifferent, slightly bowing, "I obey your orders."

Behind him stood six hundred fully-equipped soldiers, all of them with solemn military postures, like a steel forest.

Their full set of equipment includes linen lining, soft armor coat, and leather chest armor.

Coarse linen gloves, arm guards, leg guards.

Leather walking boots.

Uniformly dressed, they look like a cohesive whole.

Each wears a domed steel helmet on their head, with a scimitar and short sword at their waist, and their main weapons are spears, longbows, and long-handled axes.

Most notable are the heavy troops, two hundred warriors, each with only a short knife at the waist, wearing half-body plate armor, carrying large shields, solid as a mountain.

"Seth?"

The old deacon nodded, "Four hundred military servants are also ready."

This is a group conscripted from civilians, who are not required to go into battle but only assist in transporting supplies and providing logistical support.

Even so, the selection of these servants was made from over three thousand people.

Most are blacksmith apprentices from the blacksmith’s shed or laborers from the livestock sheds. They are strong in physique and nimble in action, they won’t hold back.

The entire Sige Town has stopped all work that can be stopped, everyone must cooperate with Roman’s plundering plan.

"Good! Very good!"

This winter, whether teaching in the classroom, or visiting the military camp, or selecting qualified military servants, he naturally knew that preparations were solid.

Repeatedly confirming the marching route with Daken, having soldiers continuously conduct training simulations in similar environments, ensuring foolproof planning.

To enhance the combat ability of the Angel Envoy,

Roman smelted dozens of gold coins, over a hundred silver coins, and thousands of pounds of enchanted steel, greatly enhancing the combat ability of some individual soldiers.

He squandered all the metal coins and extraordinary resources.

Preparations for this trip seemed perfect, showing no possibility of failure.

...

Roman’s definition of the "Spring Plan" is very flexible.

It’s basically defined according to the development of Sige Town.

It could start before spring arrives, in order to provide nutrients for the next spring.

It could also start next spring, living up to its name.

Or it could continue after next spring.

Currently, it is undoubtedly the first type, plundering a large population before winter ends, to add to next year’s construction work.

The Pirate Conference, the downfall of the Guardian Family...

Upon learning of these two pieces of news, Roman knew he needed to seize the time to develop.

So he planned to launch the Spring Plan ahead of schedule.

Throughout the past winter, he actively prepared for this plunder battle.

All soldiers went through at least three months of high-intensity military training.

They had a weak foundation, but during this time, they dined on fish and meat, with high-intensity training.

Though they couldn’t be called iron soldiers, they went through a preliminary transformation, becoming qualified warriors.

He rode a pure white steed, giving a pre-battle speech.

"You know what you need to do on this journey!"

"To carry out Heavenly Destiny’s will, to rescue the suffering people. Listen to my command, don’t hesitate! This is a righteous act, an honorable act!"

Roman raised his right fist high, like a semicircle.

Swipe, swipe, swipe!

All the soldiers also raised their right fists, forming a semicircle with their mighty arms, echoing Roman’s right arm.

The military salute designed by Roman, forming a circle when saluting each other, resembling a Divine Ring.

"Set off!"

Roman shouted.

"Set off!!"

The response was deafening.

Everyone quickly moved into action.

Splash! Splash! Splash!

A hundred rafts were pushed into the water by carpenters; each raft carrying twelve warriors, grandly flowed down the Bro River, exiting the basin.

This was the first battle for Sige Town, and Roman was also part of it.

Because there were too many Angel Envoys participating, it triggered the "Noah’s Ark" war mode.

...

[Mainline Mission Initiated]

[To obtain a large workforce, you planned this plund—rescue plan; the ultimate goal is to liberate the people from oppressive suffering.]

[Mode: Integrated Combat]

[Current Stage: 0—1]

[Stage Name: Heavenly Destiny, Beginning Today]

[Stage Introduction: Manifest Destiny, Extending Without Boundaries]

[Recommended Level: ——]

[Battle Record: ——]

...

The rafts reached shore, and warriors set foot on land.

These rafts were not disposable, with significant production costs.

Even so, the transportation capacity was still insufficient, so supplies and livestock had been transported in advance, a process that took a day.

People from Sige Town also had to bring back the rafts, as these were wealth and couldn’t be casually discarded.

Roman reached downstream, needing to travel to Kant Territory from there, a total journey of seventy kilometers through mountainous terrain with undulating paths.

Even well-trained soldiers couldn’t reach it in a single day.

Roman was well aware of this arduous trek and had mentally prepared accordingly.

During the march, they couldn’t be fully armed.

Everyone had to place their armor and weapons on the heavily loaded carriages pulled by draft horses, especially the heavy troops.

Roman rode his white horse at the forefront, leading the convoy and army formation through the mountains.

From the front continually came the crisp calls like those of mountain sparrows.

In winter, birds and beasts are dormant, making such noises particularly noticeable.

Roman knew it was the scout team led by Dota exploring the way ahead, with the calls serving as signals.

If a problem was found, they would produce another bird-like call.

Based on the rhythm of the calls, there were different signals, such as long-short-long, long-long-short, short-long-short, conveying over a dozen different messages.