Iron Harvest: When Farming Becomes Conquest
Chapter 403 - 7: Is it possible that you are the challengers?

Chapter 403: Chapter 7: Is it possible that you are the challengers?

In the distance, two lines of rising dust sped towards each other.

Like the curtains of a stage converging at the center!

The White Steel Princess charged ahead, her Divine Steed Shadow racing at a speed of thirty to fifty meters per second, instantly widening the gap behind her white knights by several body lengths.

She held high the White Dawn, radiating a dazzling milky-white brilliance.

Opposite her, the King of Lavender also led the charge.

His accompanying priest exclaimed in horror, "No! Master Provence! Don’t engage! We are not their match! Run! Run away!!"

But the King of Lavender would never flee from battle; he was a Fourth Rank knight deserving of his title, and his steed was fine as well, leaving no reason for retreat.

Seeing this, the thrill inside the White Steel Princess exploded to an unparalleled degree, her spirit and energy reaching their peak. Both corners of her mouth rose, revealing two rows of sharp white teeth, sharp as steel, tightly clenched together, exuding an extreme ferocity that displayed utter savagery!

For a fleeting moment, the accompanying priest saw on the forehead of that noble yet terrifying princess a crown, pure white and leaping, reminding him of the shame and oppression the Magic Spell of the Conqueror brought upon the Church Court over the past century...

Though the spell had dissipated, its residual power remained.

...

Splat!

The King of Lavender’s helmeted head flew into the air, blood gushing skyward from his torso.

With just one encounter! The White Steel Princess had slain one of the rebellious kings.

She rode her Divine Steed as if treading on air, slicing off Provence’s head in an instant. Then she again raised the milky-white gleaming sword high, releasing a dazzling glow.

"I am the daughter of Iaos, child of Iolion, the sole heir to the Black Iron Throne!" she proclaimed, "Those who stand with me shall live! Those who oppose me shall die!"

Seeing their master killed, the knights following erupted with reddened eyes, ready to fight to the death, but were quickly slain by the white knights.

More conquest knights fled in panic, pursued and slaughtered by the Vanguard and Oak elite troops, leaving most dead or wounded.

The White Steel Princess swiftly regrouped.

...

Meanwhile, the frontline had grown unbearably bloody.

The enemy casualties were countless, while the spearmen were heavily exhausted.

"Retreat!" shouted Kao.

All the squad leaders and squadron leaders commanded the lines to retreat.

Taking the opportunity, the beast warriors, no longer kept in check, chose to pursue the victory. Once they overwhelmed the front-line spearmen, they could drive them into the rear lines of the River Valley Army, trampling on the undefeated king’s title.

That’s how battles were fought!

Conscripted soldiers recruited from among the peasantry could just be thrown into fighting mindlessly, while the Carter Family had a lot more to consider for winning this war.

But the Carter Family Head keenly sensed that although the River Valley Army was retreating, they were doing so in an orderly manner, like a tidal wave.

When they retreated, they did so across the entire line.

He had a bad feeling.

The situation was rapidly changing, and there was no time for even a moment’s hesitation.

"Beast! Hear my roar!"

The black bear beneath him immediately rose, its hefty two to three-ton body agile, without armor in peacetime but donned in armor during wartime by Carter Family slaves to protect vital parts. It became a true steel beast, with combat power comparable to a fully armored Seventh Rank knight.

It’s unimaginable for such a creature to appear on the battlefield!

Had the Carter Family Head released it at the battle’s onset, it could indeed have easily torn through the River Valley Army’s lines.

But he was unwilling to risk it due to the high stakes.

Now the opportunity had come, and he couldn’t let it slip.

The River Valley Army retreated methodically, truly akin to a tidal wave.

When the tide receded, what emerged were hundreds of immobile black reefs!

They stood in a line! Their black metal armor was stark! Swords held in both hands! They were the unmatched army of the Conqueror!

"Black Iron!!" the Carter Family Head screamed, eyes wide with shock.

As he mounted his Demon Beast, ready to charge into the enemy, the metallic reefs onshore caused him to be seized by dread.

"The guilty deserve to die!"

A low whisper echoed from within the pitch-black and cold helmet.

As the Black Iron gathered strength, the armor absorbed the energy from the Void. The entire sky dimmed, and the sun lost its brightness.

The ten closest Black Iron Forbidden Army members simultaneously sprang forth, hacking down fiercely with their Black Iron Greatswords onto the huge bear-like Demon Beast, slicing through iron like mud, slashing at the neck, stabbing into the heart, chopping at limbs, or thrusting into eye sockets.

The resilient Demon Beast only managed one chilling wail before being shredded to pieces, dismembered alive, leaving only the beast master to flee in panic, escaping with his life.

Thousands of beast warriors met a dire fate!

A hundred Black Iron soldiers formed a line, advancing like a wall, pushing the entire line forward!

To stand in their way was to be shattered, both rider and steed!

There was no match for them!

Overwhelming dominance!

Crushing all before them!

"Advance!!" Kao shouted.

The Central Army’s Guard Blade Shield soldiers stepped forward, launching a second assault.

The cries of battle roared across the vast plains, as thousands engaged in a fight against tens of thousands, eventually breaking through their foes, followed by a flanking charge from the White Steel Princess, leading to the Kingdom’s army’s total collapse, many casualties resulting in a scattered retreat.

...

This battle raged from afternoon until dusk.

Roman realized he had underestimated both the White Knights and Black Iron.

The forces engaged in the war of the kings were all elite, characterized by extremely strong will to fight, daring to fight and kill, fearlessly charging into battle.

Once the chaos of mixed melee combat ensued, white-knuckle to white-knuckle, nobody could overpower the other because there was no absolute advantage.

But facing low-quality armies was a different matter.

That was a complete and utter rout.

Roman thought and thought but couldn’t figure out why. Why would Beast and Lavender dare advance alone knowing full well the White Steel Princess was stationed in Origin City? Did they really think they could easily overpower us?

This inferior theater is a complete mess.

Don’t even know your own level?

Is there a possibility you’re actually the challengers?

Even without the White Steel Princess, the River Valley Army could have defeated the inferior southern army; it just might have been less clean and decisive.

Not everyone possesses strategic foresight and command capabilities.

Regardless, the southern route was already a lost cause, and even if the routed troops regrouped, they posed little threat, and they couldn’t move to the central route either, as that would only increase the logistical burden there.

...

Lavender was slain in battle, the Beast barely escaped.

Upon hearing about the battle state, the upper and central routes were seething, thinking of cursing.

Was this your strategy for this round?

If you’re leading the troop lines, why take them so deep?

We’ve been relying on you to put pressure on the lower route, and yet you turned into pressure for us?

If the Carter Family Head had to speak, he’d likely remark that this round was countered.

Few could match the Black Iron and White Knights.

The upper route was in agony.

Not only because his teammates were inept and playful, but also because he faced issues too.

His forces primarily came from the Rotten Swamp and the Hot Summer Islands.

The former famed for its mercenary prowess, while the latter consisted of tenacious islanders, both were warrior peoples.

They were experienced in combat, advancing steadily along Black Iron Avenue, seizing every foothold step by step.

But the two military fortresses Roman built in Shane Territory and Slater’s Baron territory directly blocked the upper route’s march.