Iron Harvest: When Farming Becomes Conquest
Chapter 155 - 27: Dare to Fight a Battle to the Death!

Chapter 155: Chapter 27: Dare to Fight a Battle to the Death!

The faint light at dawn gently tore through the heavy night.

The flames gradually died down.

The embers of the campfire drifted with thin smoke.

It was the cold and heavy dampness returning that woke Roman up.

The rest of the soldiers also had a hard time, abruptly awakening with a shiver as they slept, hands and feet stiff with cold. They added wood to the fire, tried to sleep again, but in total, they had only slept for about four or five hours, and the quality of sleep was poor.

But this was the last day.

Therefore, they became invigorated.

It took them an hour to organize themselves and distribute food.

Roman set out toward the direction of the Bro River.

The Heavy Equipment troops were responsible for covering the rear.

...

In the forenoon.

Snowflakes began to flutter in the sky.

They arrived at the castle of Baron Crow, three kilometers away.

Roman couldn’t spare any effort to attack Baron Crow’s castle, as he focused all his energy on the pursuers behind.

Two hundred Heavy Shield soldiers formed two lines, a hundred men each, creating a hundred-meter-long Defense array.

They stood with their backs to the convoy facing the pursuers, retreating step by step—tall, wide shields solid as walls, but heavy, causing their arms to ache. It was manageable when placed on the ground, but backing up while lifting them was arduous.

They struggled to escort the convoy for several kilometers.

Earl Kant’s reinforcements arrived in batches; nearly two thousand men now followed close behind Roman’s convoy.

Twenty Conquest Knights in their shining armor stood out distinctly.

But they hesitated to attack.

They were aware of the previous battle outcomes.

The first ambush could be dismissed as carelessness, a significant strategic error; they hadn’t expected the enemy to have such an elite Heavy Equipment troop.

But the second ambush spoke volumes.

Fifty Cavalry and five hundred Militia, lost to a hundred Archers.

When Earl Kant learned of the outcome, he almost choked on his own blood.

Things were as such.

The enemy was few in number but brave and skilled, all elites, whose Cavalry competence couldn’t simply crush through.

One of theirs could chase down three of our men.

The formation created by Heavy Equipment was a nightmare for any Conquest Knight.

The hundred-meter-long Defense array was enough to firmly protect the convoy behind it, not to mention the surviving Longbow men.

A full-on charge, even if victorious, would be a pyrrhic victory.

Kill one of theirs, and two of ours would fall.

How could one attack under such conditions?

The previous two battles had caused substantial losses.

Now relying on two thousand Militia, a successful assault seemed hardly possible.

If the assault failed, the casualties would be heavy. Could the Kant Territory withstand such a grim cost?

Harassment wasn’t an option either.

The terrain in the fourth village was open, but it didn’t work here; the further forward they went, the more deserted wilderness there was, with no terrain to flank from.

Besides, they had gathered a batch of Archers, but to little effect, mainly due to the range issue.

With a Riptide in the enemy’s ranks, any high-value unit closing within one hundred fifty meters was as good as marching into death; who would dare approach for harassment?

Watching those hundreds of well-equipped warriors, the Conquest Knights felt a chill down their spine.

They watched for a long time, but dared not advance.

...

At noon, Roman reached the dock on the Bro River.

The Heavy Equipment troops maintained their formation.

The upstream fleet, upon receiving Roman’s command, came drifting downstream to Kant Territory and were dumbstruck.

These boat owners thought they were to transport food or other commodities, a relatively easy task.

But now, what the hell?!

What was this confrontation between two armies on the riverbank?

Kant Territory’s Conscript Army, not to mention anything else, had surely gathered in full numbers.

By noon, they had assembled nearly three thousand men; every able-bodied young person in Kant Territory had rushed over.

Although it was a ragtag bunch, their formation was impressively grand.

Roman’s aligning soldiers were few, but they could certainly be considered elite.

Five hundred capable soldiers all stood on the front line, the lightly equipped positioned behind the heavily equipped, the structure of their formation distinct.

Boat owners gaped in disbelief.

They just wanted to make some extra money, never expecting to be involved in a conflict among Nobles.

Military Servants began to arrange for the slaves to board the ship.

There was no other way!

The fleet had no choice but to accept the mission of transporting slaves.

Snow drifted in the sky and the river surged.

Empty ships docked at the wharves of the Kant Territory.

Dense crowds of people boarded the ships under the drive of the Military Servants.

The slaves on the ship watched the Kant Territory fading in the distance.

Their expressions were either sad, helpless, desolate, or sighing.

They knew they might never return to that familiar land again.

The slaves began to embark.

The Conquest Knight grew anxious as the warhorses paced back and forth.

Earl Kant himself came here.

The face of this middle-aged noble was as dark as water.

These people were crucial for the Kant Territory, the foundation of his rule; he couldn’t let them be taken away, or else where would the white bread come from?

What was more important was Baron Hass, whose tendons had been slashed, and Baron Crow, who had been hanged...

The Kant Family had never suffered such a loss in this territory for a century!

All Gods above!

How would other nobles view him now?

How would his vassals view him?

What credibility did the Kant Family have to continue ruling this land?

It had all become a huge joke!

Earl Kant immediately ordered a volley, shooting about five hundred arrows, but the effect was minimal.

The enemy’s remaining Archers also counterattacked, launching a thousand arrows.

Then, in the exchange of fire, more than ten of his own Archers were killed or wounded.

Their shooting speed, range, and accuracy were inferior.

Earl Kant was nearly spitting blood!

How could their military power be so strong!

He couldn’t hold back anymore and forcefully ordered his troops to advance, to reclaim the people and capture Roman tightly bound, insisting on giving an explanation to his vassals.

At that moment, the enemy’s Shield Wall opened, and a burly man with disheveled hair stepped out.

He bellowed, "Do you dare to come and fight to the death!"

His voice was like thunder, his aura astonishing, echoing through the desolate wilderness.

Roman had prepared two plans for the plundering scheme.

The first plan was pirate-styled.

Sailing upstream on the Bro River.

Leading troops to surprise attack Baron Crow’s Bridgehead, swiftly carrying out the plunder.

The advantages were average profit and high efficiency. Depart in the morning and return by evening.

The drawback was that only two villages could be plundered, and after the initial alarm, further plundering became very difficult.

But the second plan was the one currently being implemented.

A big job!

Landing downstream, giving Earl Kant a proverbial stab in the back, robbing five villages along the way.

The advantage was enormous profits.

The disadvantage was high risk and heavy losses.

But both plans relied on water transport, that is, ships.

Daken had gathered over forty large and small merchant ships.

When all the ships were loaded with slaves and livestock, drifting toward Silver Dragon Canyon, Roman discovered that about a thousand slaves were still on the shore.

The plan had no issues.

The problem was the ships’ low carrying capacity.

This was even after Roman had gathered all available ships.

Even with all the slaves packed tightly, only a little more than half were taken.

It was clearly impossible for them to swim downstream.

Silver Dragon Canyon had turbulent currents and was dotted with hidden reefs.

What now?

There was no choice but to have the ships go upstream!