Iron Harvest: When Farming Becomes Conquest
Chapter 219 - 24: I’ll Take You to That Land Full of Hope

Chapter 219: Chapter 24: I’ll Take You to That Land Full of Hope

Nathan galloped frantically on horseback to the forest where they were hiding.

"Elena! Will!" He dismounted quickly, tumbling and scrambling over.

His commotion soon alarmed the people in the forest.

"Is that... Nathan?"

Everyone was incredulous upon seeing him.

"Where are Elena and Will!" the Berserker yelled out.

"Nathan... Nathan, is that you? You’re back?" came a response from the forest.

That soul-stirring voice, only ever heard in dreams, echoed in his ears.

Overwhelmed with joy, Nathan wept, running pell-mell until he soon saw the figure standing in the forest. Her face wasn’t conventionally beautiful, but to him it was endlessly delightful, impossible to tire of seeing.

"Elena! My Elena! It’s so good to see you’re alright."

She was lifted up joyously, the tough and heavy armor pressing against her, making it all but uncomfortable.

She frowned immediately, looking at her somewhat unfamiliar husband.

His stubble was unkempt, though she could see he had tried to trim it. There was blood on his face and body, especially noticeable on his costly armor. His thick brows and piercing eyes, his whole spirit seemed different from before, everything about him felt foreign to her.

He was more muscular now, strong like a bull, but his eyes remained the same, gentle and warm, only now marked by tears, and his eyes so red it was unbelievable.

She instantly understood the panic and fear Nathan must have felt when he couldn’t find them.

She had experienced the same fear, fearing night and day.

"I’m not dreaming, am I?"

"No, Elena, I’m back, look, it’s really me," he said, one arm around his wife’s waist and the other grabbing her hand and pressing it against his face.

The couple reunited after a long time and wept together.

Suddenly, Nathan saw a child standing behind Elena, staring at him.

After setting Elena down, the child immediately clung to her legs, eyeing him fearfully.

Elena nudged Will forward. "It’s Daddy," she told Nathan. "You know, he’s just four years old."

"Will, it’s me, Daddy’s back," Nathan said in a soft and gentle voice.

He spread his arms, but Will ducked away in fear.

Nathan fell silent, realizing he had been away for a year, and now his son didn’t even remember him.

Little Will’s face was grubby, his eyes strange as he stared at him, then ran behind Elena and hugged her legs, whispering, "Mommy, I’m hungry."

"I have food, I have food," Nathan said quickly.

He fetched a bag of dry food from his war horse, filled with strips of meat and bread, and after digging through, he pulled out a handful of candies.

"This tastes good, eat this." It was a soft candy made from maltose.

Timidly, Little Will reached out both hands to take it, he lowered his head to eat one, his eyes brightened, and he bit into it eagerly, looking starved.

"Squad Leader, we should leave now!" Two soldiers also hurried over, Ess prompted.

Nathan suddenly realized, "Elena, I’m here to take you with me, quick, follow me, it’s too dangerous here!"

Elena was startled, "Go where?"

"To a safe place," Nathan urged, spreading his arms while Ess and Lot quickly helped him remove his armor.

"Don’t pack anything, just come with me now."

Elena looked even more astonished, "Now?"

"Yes, we can’t delay, the pirates might come any minute."

"But..." Elena glanced around at the villagers who had gathered, those people quietly watching them.

"But what..." following her gaze, Nathan also saw his former fellow villagers, now homeless refugees.

They had escaped the pirates’ massacre, but their homes were destroyed, they dared not even harvest their crops, and even if they could, there was no foundation for farming anymore.

Everyone was clueless about the future.

Nathan silently grabbed Elena’s wrist and picked up Will, who was engrossed in eating Maltose, to take them away from there.

"Nathan!" she freed her hand.

Everything happened so suddenly; she hadn’t understood at first, but now she did.

"Freeman, Connor, Mage..." she looked at Nathan and named one family after another,

"They helped me! Helped Will! Otherwise, we would’ve died long ago."

Nathan knew these names; he had helped them too.

Since he could pull a plow by himself, after finishing his own work, he would help other families that didn’t have oxen.

So, how had a woman with a three or four-year-old child managed to survive this year? How had she survived this chaotic year?

Naturally, others had helped her.

The lower classes would fight bloody battles over a handful of grain.

But they also helped each other.

If the poor don’t help the poor, then who will?

"You must come with me, trust me, Elena. I heard on the way that the Lords’ armies are coming soon, and the Pirates will also gather their forces here. They’ll face off, and this place will turn into scorched earth..." he whispered to Elena, relaying the news from the road.

The frontlines kept shifting, as did the battlefields.

The Lords began to build low bridges over rivers, blockading the pirate longboats, forcing them into a head-on conflict.

But the Pirates wanted to find a breakthrough to launch a large-scale invasion on the land.

The Lord of Taler County died a month ago, and this area was likely to become one of the breakthrough points.

Then, no one would care about their fate.

Pirates were filth.

But the noble’s coalition was no cleaner.

"Then I can’t just leave! Nathan! Freeman, starving himself, gave his food to me and Will, Connor shared the rabbit leg he caught in a trap with us, and Mage... he drowned while fishing at night, he left behind two kids... they are so helpless!" Elena said sadly, looking down.

"I only came to fetch you and Will, Elena. There are too many of them," Nathan whispered in her ear.

They were all watching him, but he could do no more.

He knew if he brought people with him, Roman would not be angry but would actually be happy.

But for him, it was too difficult.

There were at least a hundred people in this forest; large-scale marching and a cavalry ride were different, requiring more time and fraught with more risks.

"I have to consider my brothers." He was an only child with a brother and sister who didn’t survive to adulthood.

Now, the ’brothers’ he spoke of were the Soldiers behind him.

Roman had taught them to live and die together, never to abandon each other; this wasn’t just his alone to decide.

"Squad Leader! Give the order! I’m Ess from the third platoon of the third company within the third battalion. I will follow your lead!"

"I’m Lot from the fifth squad of the first company within the third battalion. Squad Leader, I will follow you too!"

Two soldiers close by, upon hearing Nathan’s words, immediately stated their support.

They had become Soldiers last year, and after a year, they had laid a solid foundation, both physically and ideologically.

If they didn’t have the fighting spirit or the awareness, Roman wouldn’t have allowed them to accompany Nathan on a long journey.

This journey was not only oppressive and heavy for Nathan; they were also suffering.

In the face of disaster, if the poor don’t help the poor, then who will!?

Nathan had simple beliefs: repay kindness, avenge wrongs, help those in trouble if possible, and if not, so be it.

Now that they supported him, perhaps it truly was possible.

He shouted at everyone using his loud voice:

"I am Nathan, you all know me. Last year I was captured by pirates, but a kind, noble Lord saved me. There are no pirates on his land, it’s very safe and prosperous. As long as you work, you will have enough to eat and drink; there are free houses and clothes. Anyone who goes there will receive such treatment, I guarantee this is true! That Lord also made me the Captain of the guards, and I came here to take Elena and Will. If you want to go too, then follow me. I will take you to that land full of hope!"