Iron Harvest: When Farming Becomes Conquest
Chapter 224 - 29: This Land Needs a Great Ruler

Chapter 224: Chapter 29: This Land Needs a Great Ruler

"Clueless fools!" Green continued to curse under his breath.

"Why even bother with them," Aaron said, "as Roman has told us, when reasoning fails, just treat them as fools."

"I was so close to finishing that guy off!"

"Sure, killing’s easy, but the aftermath is a hassle. We can’t possibly carry all these people back, don’t you care at all about their lives?"

After Aaron spoke to Green, he turned his head and said to Nathan, "Are you alright?"

"I’m fine," Nathan muttered.

"It’s a good thing you guys came."

"We should say it’s good that you left a horse behind for Ess to notify us."

"I never expected them to be so despicable!"

Aaron and Green exchanged glances, then turned to look at the refugees following behind them.

About a thousand of them, stretched out in a long line.

Many of the cavalry dismounted, letting the women and children sit on the horses, carrying the little ones, effectively increasing the marching speed.

For a moment, the two men felt overwhelmed.

The plan was just to bring the wives and children over, but it ended up being an entire refugee camp.

The journey here must have been fraught with hardship and danger.

Some refugees still had blood on them, emitting a foul smell.

They had endured over a month of struggle and hardship but had persevered, which was commendable.

...

They had traveled from that land to this one.

They had fought bloody battles with pirates and dodged the spears and lances of knights.

Barefoot, they trudged across mountains and valleys, pressing on under the scorching sun.

Without food, they sold their horses and weapons for some grain.

Sometimes on the road, they had to slaughter weakened livestock, dig up wild vegetables, and boil tree bark.

All propelled by the grand vision that Nathan painted, fixated on the land of hope.

The poor, who had suffered from plundering, hunger, death, and pain, needed a goal, a vision, a place to put their hopes.

As long as they made it there, they believed life would be better, and they were willing to face all risks to reach their destination.

Some fell, but even more chose to follow.

But who would choose to leave behind their homeland and embark on an unknown journey unless driven by utter despair?

Their situation had become dire.

War and famine brought the same bitterness, the same difficulty.

Change comes from necessity, and understanding comes from change, only by escaping the famine was there a slim chance for survival.

It wasn’t a famine of food they were escaping from, but a famine of soldiers.

Nathan saw all this, his mind was agitated, restless.

When he lost his wife and children, all he desired was to be reunited with them.

But after the reunion, he was confronted with the tragedies.

He knew.

He understood.

This era, this land, the people living in this moment...

... needed a great ruler.

A legendary hero.

An unparalleled king.

A human entity where hope and faith could reside.

Once such a being took up his sword and mounted his horse, he would sweep the world clean with his blade.

When he stood at the pinnacle, that would be the time of world peace.

Then, where the tip of his sword pointed, the masses would follow, where all people would turn.

"I need to ask for forgiveness from the lord," Nathan said.

"You should ask for forgiveness..." Green nodded, "Let me tell you, you’ve done a big number this time, not only losing all your gear and three horses but also letting yourself end up like this, just wait for it! Roman will certainly dock your pay, at the very least half a year’s worth. You’ll be crying for it! Don’t even think about touching a single copper coin after that."

Nathan listened to Green’s exaggerated tone, and it lightened his weary spirit a bit.

He wasn’t good with words, couldn’t express his gratitude, he just silently took note of the incident in his heart.

...

They returned to Origin City around the middle of the Mid-Autumn month.

Everyone was exhausted from the journey with the refugees.

Nathan washed his face and went to see Roman.

"Always acting on your own, knowing only how to cause me trouble!" Roman said with a cold face.

"Master, I was wrong!"

"Wrong about what?"

Nathan frowns in distress; he’s not good at summarizing lessons and can’t articulate what he did wrong.

Roman walks over and thumps him twice, hammering Nathan’s chest forcefully with his fists.

He curses, "Get back in line! The army’s full of recruits, no one knows you! Jet is almost overwhelmed, as Squad Leader you’ve got to step up, train that bunch of greenhorns, or who will listen to you later!"

"Yes!" Nathan snaps to attention subconsciously.

"But..."

"No buts, I’ll take care of the people you brought. Take your wife to the military compound, now get lost!"

"Yes!" Nathan responds, stiff-faced, but as he sees that Roman isn’t planning to dock his pay, he leaves with a smile on his face.

As Roman watches Nathan’s retreating figure, he rubs his temples.

He’s not short of people; he could even move the entire population of Kant Territory over.

But too many people are hard to assimilate.

Those blindly flocking to him will only disrupt the order he’s established.

He’d rather take it slow, assimilate step by step.

And food is another issue.

Of course, these thousand or so people aren’t a big deal to Roman.

He’ll let them rest for a couple of days before assigning work.

Reclaiming wasteland for cultivation, infrastructure - both are bottomless pits.

But the prerequisite is that they must obey and adapt to collective labor, or they’re just a hindrance.

...

As he watches the population grow.

The difficulty of management increases.

Roman begins preparations for the sixth large-scale recruitment.

Indeed, after seven months, Roman is finally ready to recruit new Angel Envoys.

During this time, he’s saved 130 draws and has used Magic Stone resources to recharge, bringing the total number of draws up to 200.

It looks like plenty of resources.

But there are over 23,000 people in Origin City now.

To say one in a hundred would be an understatement.

However, due to the randomness and the low quality of the card pool, the chances of drawing a High Star Level Angel Envoy are extremely slim.

Even if a high-star Envoy appears, he couldn’t afford to keep them.

But the draw must go on.

For this reason, Roman calls on Gwivelle, hoping the girl could give him a luck buff.

"How’s your study of magic going?" he asks.

Gwivelle, standing there prettily, can’t help but smile whenever she sees Roman. "Grandpa Galin says it’s okay."

Seeing her smiling face, Roman can’t help but smile as well, "Show me what you’ve learned."

"Ah?"

"Do it on me, try it out," instructs Roman.

Gwivelle wrinkles her nose, looking serious yet reluctant, "How could that be okay!"

"Don’t worry about hurting me; you’re just a Magic Apprentice."

Reluctantly, Gwivelle casts the spell she’s just learned on Roman.

"Alpha Seal!" Gwivelle forms the Dharma Seal with her hands.

In that moment, Roman clearly feels an invisible force surge into his brain, causing his thoughts to blur and disrupting his mental functions.

It’s brief, but it definitely works.

"Anything else?"

"Yes! There’s also... Delta Seal!"

This is a Defense spell.

It forms a barrier in front of Gwivelle.

But Roman quickly finds the barrier is easily broken.

He only needs to use half his strength to do so.

It’s not enough to defend against arrows either.

Yet, Roman is satisfied.

After all, he is a Conquest Knight.

If Tyson threw a punch at him, it might not take him down, but if he punched Tyson, Tyson would surely fall since it’s a competition of combined strength and Defense.

A Knight Superman is like that.

"Not bad at all, you’ve learned some real stuff."

Gwivelle sheepishly scratches her head, "I only mastered four Dharma Seals. Grandpa Galin says these are Basic Magic, a true high-end Witch can release these spells with just a flick of her finger or a blink of an eye."