Iron Harvest: When Farming Becomes Conquest
Chapter 433 - 6: How to Eat This Meal?

Chapter 433: Chapter 6: How to Eat This Meal?

There are differences between the Seat Witches.

Margaret is the youngest Seat Witch, with unparalleled talent. However, among the Seat Witches, she is not particularly strong, ranking at the bottom.

She is still young and has potential for improvement, but the Prophet and others have no expectations of her, believing she has gone astray; otherwise, she wouldn’t have been discarded back then.

Years ago, during the Conqueror’s expedition, the Prophet led a group of witches to escape the court and established the Witch Forest. Over the past hundred years, eight Seat Witches have emerged from the Witch Forest.

By the standards of the Conquest era, only Thunder and the Prophet could be regarded as Seat Witches, while the others were merely High Ranking Witches — The witches have been severely oppressed in recent years, leaving no trace of their old combat power, and the external environment is extremely harsh, so the past standards cannot be applied.

Yidene is incredibly powerful; if it’s a one-on-one fight, neither the twins nor Margaret stand a chance. Even when ambushed by many, she still managed to escape from death.

Shasta felt deeply ashamed; while others were challenging their authority, as chamberlain to the lord, they couldn’t uphold his prestige by slaying the provocateurs, feeling quite incompetent.

But Roman’s anger wasn’t about failing to kill Yidene and Betrice.

In fact, although the witches and Red Dragon are important, in his eyes, they’re not that crucial.

If he couldn’t kill them, so be it; the Red Dragon’s vitality is terrifyingly strong, able to withstand so many attacks, whereas a human would be shattered.

What truly angered him was Alex’s attitude.

The greatest advantage of the highest leader of a major power is never personal strength, but vast influence.

"Your Highness, Princess Tashina and Marshal Enya have arrived," Shasta said upon entering.

She glanced at his stern face, sighed silently, even during the massive invasion of the Black Iron Alliance Army, she never saw him show such an expression.

The White Steel Princess strode into the castle hall, dressed in high-waisted pants, long boots, a tight blouse, a slanted cape, and her red hair in a high ponytail, exuding nobility and efficiency; she was fashionably late today.

Tashina had a camp in Fertile City, specifically allocated to her by Roman, where the Black Iron, White Knights, and Oak elite soldiers could have a permanent base.

A few days ago, Tashina requested some officers and slaves from Roman, preparing to train them into elite soldiers to help her capture cities and territories—she always had the ambition, and Roman didn’t mind providing assistance in situations where their interests aligned.

Training soldiers is a long-term task, and Tashina took great pleasure in it. After familiarizing herself with Fertile City, her life gradually became routine. Unless necessary, Roman rarely saw her.

Now she was here.

"It seems you’ve encountered quite a troublesome predicament."

Roman’s face was tense: "Alex has dispatched a witch and a Red Dragon, intending for my soldiers to meet them."

To him, Alex was trying to intimidate him, with Yidene flexing their strength, pushing him into a desperate situation.

The princess sat down leisurely, crossing her legs like Roman usually does, her thigh lines quite attractive.

"They never considered my thoughts," Roman calmly stated. "I only accept alliances, not any threats."

But some thought otherwise, believing he would bow to the storm and chaos, just like the newly appointed King of Ice Island, Nelson, submitted to Alex.

Tashina didn’t expect such events to unfold.

Judging from the broader perspective, there are only three dominant powers in the Black Iron Land—all others are fickle noble powers not worth mentioning.

The River Valley is the weakest among the three powers, with few people, little land, and still in development, but it’s not a pushover.

Since the death of the Black Iron King, those declaring themselves king outnumber the mice in the castle. Although the River Valley has a small population, it consists of elite and valiant soldiers, a testament to the results earned in large-scale battles, full of valor.

The pirates’ actions are equivalent to an insult, and no wonder Roman acted immediately. She pondered, even dragons couldn’t make him submit; what else in this world would make him feel fear?

"The Pirate King made a very foolish decision," Tashina commented candidly.

Power can lead to delusion.

In chaotic times, once you possess a weapon, you can’t help but test its sharpness, disregarding the consequences.

"The problem is not here," anger showed on Roman’s face.

"The problem is, I prepared a meal for one table, but two tables of guests arrived. How do I serve the food?"

He had already exerted all his effort to counter the forces mobilized by the Church and Black Iron.

Now he also faced threats from the pirates.

Yidene dared to say they would burn the River Valley, who can guarantee they won’t do it?

"The pirates shouldn’t target you before conquering Iron Flower County," Tashina shook her head. Perhaps standing outside allowed her to see more clearly.

"The main forces of the pirates and the Church are deadlocked on the Northern Front, neither side having a guaranteed victory," she explained. "If they tackle you instead, it would only allow the Church to take advantage. Alex won’t do that; even considering Ice Island, the pirates’ combined power is no match for the Church."

Unless they dispatched dragons... a large number of dragons... flying over the land, launching attacks directly from the sky.

If so, dragons would pay a bloody price.

Betrice could escape alive after being struck by a Riptide arrow because it is a top member of the Dragon Clan, avoiding critical injuries.

When Roman first arrived, he could barely pull a bowstring, but its power was comparable to a heavy sniper. Now he is a Fifth Rank Conquest Knight who can draw the bowstring into a crescent moon, splitting rocks and penetrating mountains with ease; any low-flying dragons are all within shooting range.

This species is already rare; a single adult dragon is a high-ranking unit. Mastering storms, spewing flames, engaging in close combat, and more importantly, being a flying unit.

Just a few dying in the River Valley would be enough to make Alex mourn.

"How is Mary doing?" Roman turned and asked.

Shasta replied in a cold voice: "Asleep, Lady Philicia and Laisa treated her with the Silver Moon Gem; she should be fine after resting for two days."

The previous battle exhausted Margaret greatly, leaving her somewhat depleted, but the Red Dragon’s injuries were even more severe, requiring at least one to two years to recover.

Roman nodded, the thought of enhancing his strength growing increasingly intense within him.

Lacking resources and population, with limited operational space and too little development time, consistently getting sidetracked by external forces is also a significant problem.

Fighting wars while developing agriculture results in expending double the effort for half the outcome, not only failing to defeat the enemies but also stalling development.

He just had to find another way.

Roman set his sights on the yellowing parchment scrolls, a complete set of Silver Moon Magic that Laisa had brought out from Silver Moon Castle.

Previously, only those with the Silver Moon Bloodline or Silver Moon Knights could master it, but after Diana’s improvements, it became Universal Magic.

With the Black Iron Age ending last year, a new Chaos Era has arrived, marking the age of heroes and gods.

The Church Knights have regained mastery over the Gods’ Magic.

The Yige Pirates have powerful physiques and are born warriors, with even the Igo Witch making an appearance.

In the future, as enemies grow stronger, it’s essential to significantly strengthen the power of the Angel Envoys!