Iron Harvest: When Farming Becomes Conquest
Chapter 91 - 25: The Merchant and the Pirate

Chapter 91: Chapter 25: The Merchant and the Pirate

The only thing that dissatisfied Roman was that Galin still hadn’t come down from the mountain.

He had thought about living a hermit’s life, let him live it then; in the past, there had been people on the mountain to accompany him. Now, that was impossible.

Now, he was the only one left.

Humans are social creatures; those who live in solitude are either gods or beasts.

Looking at Galin, Roman could tell he was a human with social needs.

He didn’t believe that old man could stay up there much longer.

First, he made the two men clean themselves up, put on clean clothes, cut their messy hair, and shave off their scruffy beards. When their appearances were completely transformed, Roman handed them two steel swords forged by Lax.

There were no enchantments, but they were forged with great care!

Dick’s sword was a classic Knight’s Sword, with a crossguard, a straight blade, and a certain width.

Jet’s sword was different; it was a Thin Sword with a slender and highly flexible blade, extremely sharp.

The difference between the two swords made Jet’s heart skip a beat.

But he couldn’t discern anything more from Roman’s red eyes and calm face, so he had to accept the Thin Sword, which suited him best.

His original sword was no longer usable, tattered and, more importantly, it wasn’t his sword. It was one he had stolen from Cangyue Kingdom to disguise his identity.

But in the eyes of this new Lord, all his disguises and masks seemed futile.

Jet felt a sense of fear and respect arise within him for no reason.

He felt that this young Lord possessed a certain remarkable power.

The two Transcendents, having received their new equipment, knelt on one knee and kissed the back of Roman’s hand, quickly completing the succinct and brief loyalty ceremony.

Kao, standing by, watched them enviously; he wasn’t yet qualified, the trainees didn’t have the foundational conditions to become Conquest Knights.

But he knew Roman had high hopes for him, having Aaron and Green train him every day.

His training was different from that of the Guards.

He was trained in actual combat skills, while the Guards were trained in military posture and manners, and Roman placed great emphasis on discipline, making everyone act as a unit.

After 100 soldiers scattered, they had to regroup in the shortest possible time, maintaining their basic combat capabilities no matter the circumstances, with four to five people able to reform formation and counterattack.

Such demands were extremely hard to meet and required long training periods.

The Guards initially spent half a day’s training just to execute a collective right turn and could forget it by the next day, embedding these reflexes into their bones was an immensely difficult task, only achievable through pain and sweat.

Roman was not in a hurry; his demands for the army weren’t high at the moment.

He appointed Jet as the Chief Instructor of the Guards and Dick as the Deputy Instructor and part-time Knight Teacher.

Not just the Guards, but even Aaron and Green were within the training scope.

For now, however, cultivation took precedence.

...

Today marked Roman’s 145th day in Sige Town.

Summer cultivation was a race against time; Roman also led a cultivation team responsible for a thousand acres of land.

But perhaps the pressure he put on the farmers was too much, as they managed to complete the deep plowing and sowing a day ahead of schedule.

While Roman was pleased, he also gave them a day off.

He also found time to work with Jet to formulate a basic training plan for the future army.

Jet’s Talent was "Standardization," and his Skill was "Military Training."

He might not know how to farm, but he thoroughly understood how to train an army.

Regarding the formations and physical training Roman spoke of, Jet grasped and understood their purpose in just a few days.

These training methods were extremely advanced—for their current era.

Because Roman didn’t want a conscript army, but a standing, professional army.

As long as the army takes shape, for most nobles, it amounts to a diminishing attack.

Roman wanted an army that could be quickly formed while possessing both immense discipline and formidable combat strength.

Formation March, troop assembly, hundred-meter sprint, long-distance cross-country...

One training program after another took shape during their discussions.

It was on this day.

A canoe drifted into the docks of Sige Town, bearing Daken who had not been seen for two months.

He looked much more haggard, his face gaunt, dark circles under his eyes, appearing as if he hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in days.

Roman met Daken at Origin Manor.

"Two months out of sight, and here I was waiting for you to bring me slaves," he said, his expression calm, his back straight, his arm resting on the armrest.

Realizing that the slave trader had not shown up for a long time, Roman had anticipated it.

Most likely something had gone wrong.

He had not hung himself from a tree.

In fact, last month he had tasked Morry to stop purchasing livestock and to bring him a large number of slaves the next time he came to Sige Town.

During this time, the small merchant ships passing through Sige Town had brought him a few dozen slaves intermittently.

Just not as efficiently as Daken had.

The geographical advantage of Sige Town was poor.

If all the merchant routes across the land were to be seen as a vast trade network, then Sige Town was merely on the edge of this network.

Commerce here was underdeveloped.

It didn’t even have a name for the basin—only the Riptide Grand Duke had the right, but he did not name it, and even the map of the Black Iron Kingdom did not feature Sige Town.

It was truly a nameless place.

If not for the tributary of the Bro River rushing through the Silver Dragon Canyon, there wouldn’t even be caravans coming to Sige Town—it would be completely isolated from the world, the mountains sufficient to block all passage.

Every place needs development.

Among these, population is of utmost importance.

Daken’s face was pale and ashen, seeming to have taken a severe blow, devoid of the vigor he once had.

"Lord Roman, I had originally prepared seven hundred slaves for you, but something went wrong along the way..."

He had traded over ten thousand kilograms of salt from Sige Town into glistening Gold Coins.

Due to the unstable times, he got more coins than he had expected, amassing over seventy Gold Coins.

He spared no effort in exchanging these gold coins for slaves and rented five cargo ships at Bay Port.

He spent a long time, finally purchasing seven hundred slaves.

He was overjoyed, dreaming of transporting these slaves to Sige Town.

Imagining doubling those gold coins, elevating his worth to over a hundred Gold Coins!

Unexpectedly, an accident occurred.

To save time, he risked passing through Jiehai.

Just crossing that inland sea meant he could save at least ten days of travel.

This was a huge temptation for commercial transport.

As the slave ships grandly made their way through Jiehai.

Then, they encountered an attack by the North Ice Pirates.

The seemingly strong and brave guards he had hired surrendered without putting up a proper fight.

Because the North Ice Pirates were even more robust and fierce than them.