Iron Harvest: When Farming Becomes Conquest
Chapter 191 - 28: Guarantee

Chapter 191: Chapter 28: Guarantee

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The banquet was lively and noisy.

The Grand Duke of Riptide sat at the head seat, while the Grand Duke of Fury sat at the secondary seat.

The ministers were seated below.

Some nobles presented rare treasures.

There were around fifty noble knights sitting in the Dragon Castle hall, with the nobles inside and the knights outside; no ordinary people were present.

There were vassals of the Riptide, vassals of the Fury, and the rest were war knights brought by lords.

Beixites was one of the lords, and his willingness to attend in response to the Grand Duke of Fury’s call undoubtedly showed great respect.

He had a gilded box brought in, and the attendant opened it to reveal a hundred pounds of bright red crystals neatly piled inside.

The price of table salt was calculated in copper coins, but blood salt could only be measured in gold coins.

This was a unique resource owned by the Bexites family.

The Grand Duke of Riptide was indifferent to such a thing, but he had to show some acknowledgment, so he nodded slightly to Beixites.

The head of the Bexites family bowed in return and turned to converse with other nobles.

The Grand Duke of Fury’s influence was extraordinary.

It took more than half a year from the notification to the hosting of this banquet to gather these key figures who could affect the situation of the land, intending to launch a war that would sweep across most of the continent to maintain the Conqueror Order.

Andrew from Ice Island and Ister from the Hot Summer Islands were discussing the differences between the northern and southern coasts; the Earl of El, a vassal of the Fury, was renewing old friendships with Knight Grass, the latter being the Grand Duke of Fury’s First Knight; the Swamp Lord Laurent from the Muddy Swamp was discussing business with Beixites; Beast Carter and the Rock City Lord from the highlands were drinking heartily, clinking glasses constantly...

"Are you in a bad mood?" Pine asked.

The noise of the banquet drowned out their conversation, as they were high enough and far enough.

"Moya should be here."

"Your rebellious vassal family? Gael and Makor carried your will to Iron Flower County. They said Earl Moya, seeing his conspiracy exposed, struck first, so they had no choice but to kill him."

The Grand Duke said coldly, "Because that’s all they dare to say!"

His body was bloated, causing him to sometimes gasp for breath when speaking; now his words were filled with unfamiliarity and coldness.

"If they dared to say that Moya was wrongfully killed, I would strip Gael of all rights, expel you all from Dragon Castle, then..."

"...Pine, do you want to incite a war between us?"

"No, please believe me—on this land, I fear no one but I specifically don’t want to go to war with you. I have never forgotten that when my father abandoned me, you raised me."

"It would be good if you truly thought so! They all say that the Fury family’s minds are unfathomable, impossible to predict, like no one can forecast the direction of the deep ocean currents, so no one can fathom your thoughts. I know that’s the nature of your Fury family... but what did I do wrong for you to treat me this way and plot against my vassal?! I ask you, is the Moya family loyal?"

"Yes!"

He had already known the exact answer, but hearing the admission now, everything in front of him went dark, he closed his eyes in despair.

He wanted to meet his vassal.

They took the opportunity to act, killed him, stripped him of his honor, fabricated false lies, making him die unjustly.

Should it be like this?

How should he explain to others that his eldest son and the Grand Duke of Fury conspired to harm his loyal minister?

It was due to his lack of wisdom and folly that led to all this.

He had neglected government affairs for so long, no longer sensitive to those matters, indulged in the pleasures and the drunken stupor for years, and was unaware that the external situation had developed to such an intense degree.

How was he to avenge their vile deeds?

Once retribution began, the entire Black Iron Land would experience a significant upheaval.

This would be equivalent to the last nuclear bomb for the Conqueror Order that was now teetering on the brink of collapse.

He couldn’t pursue the reckoning; he had no strength left, only grief and indignation.

If only Aaron Moya were still here...

If only his knights were still here...

"Why?" he asked.

"Because you..." in the depths of Pine’s eyes, dark tides surged up, causing ripples,

The members of the Fury family each had different temperaments, but had their own rules and limits, yet they were always careful not to let others grasp their weaknesses.

"I had no choice but to do this; I need the power of the Riptide Family, but the Guardian is an insurmountable hurdle. That family listens only to you, does whatever the Grand Duke of Riptide says, one stubborn Guardian alone could obstruct me for months, and we are running out of time. I need your support."

"Pine, I will support you in many things, you know, as long as it’s something I can do, I will help you. But now, what you want is precisely those things I am unwilling to support you in. What do you want to do that makes you think from the start that I would oppose you?" At this moment, the Grand Duke of Riptide felt a chill spreading in his heart.

Pine looked at his foster father.

His weathered face appeared somewhat terrifying, full of erosion.

In this family, the members were like this; the older they got, the more severely the skin peeled off, and new skin quickly became old skin, layer upon layer.

Eventually, they resembled weathered rocks, roughly worn.

He was silent and gave off a deeply terrifying feeling, where even those closest to him didn’t know what he was thinking.

"I have the Black Iron King’s decree; I must maintain the Conqueror’s order," he said.

"That’s not your ultimate goal! Child, you can’t fool me now," the Grand Duke of Riptide was very sad.

"...You know, my army must blockade the Divine Mysterious, I can’t leave for long, but the Conqueror’s order must be upheld by someone, and Gael is the best, the most suitable candidate."

"So you want to help Gael become the new Grand Duke of Riptide?"

"You disagree?"

"No, I agree."

He seemed to lose all strength, all his weight pressing onto the chair, like a piece of fat embedded in it.

"I can let Gael sit as Grand Duke, but Pine, can you and Gael guarantee to me?"

"...Guarantee what?"

He took a deep breath, "Guarantee that you can uphold the ancestral teachings, observe the covenant with the Conqueror Family! I want you to swear to the Conqueror and his family, to swear to all the people of the Earth Seven Countries, that you will maintain the Conqueror Order, you will protect the Human Clan, you will suppress the Church Court, you will watch over the Nether Sea, you will assist the Elves, Dwarves, Dragon Clan in guarding the front line, you will fulfill your promises, you will never betray..."

He couldn’t finish that sentence; his current body was insufficient to support him saying such a long passage.

The Grand Duke of Riptide gasped, weakly looking at the Grand Duke of Fury.

"Can you do it?"

In the noisy background, Pine nodded, "I can, Alster, I can..."

"If you truly can, that would be great! Then I could peacefully abdicate! But I don’t trust you, Pine, I don’t trust you." He was full of regret.

"The three great families have never been at war; you broke precedent just for some idea in your heart, which is something I don’t know, but it must be very insane. How can I trust you? Pine! Do you know what you’ve destroyed?"

The Grand Duke of Fury stared at Alster, and those words were firm: "I know!"

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