Iron Harvest: When Farming Becomes Conquest
Chapter 434 - 7: See Who Can Outdo Whom!

Chapter 434: Chapter 7: See Who Can Outdo Whom!

The dinner at Fertile Castle was dull and oppressive.

The Red Dragon cast a shadow over everyone, despite having fled in panic, the castle’s atmosphere remained heavy.

The maidservants walked on thin ice, fearing mistakes, and dared not gaze directly at the Lord’s cloud-covered face to avoid invoking a thunderous wrath.

Tashina glanced around and then departed.

She herself had great ambitions and could not follow Roman step by step; that wasn’t being a princess, but a servant.

Roman finished dinner, carrying the tray, he brought Shasta back to the bedroom.

The petite girl lay on the soft big bed, her face devoid of color, lips delicate and pale like winter snowflakes. A soft blanket covered her body, rising like a hill, but her expression seemed to be lost in a nightmare, murmuring something.

The arrival of Roman and Shasta awakened the sleeping girl.

She awoke from a deep dream, turned her head, and saw Roman walking horizontally; the bedroom’s candlelight flickered behind him, accentuating his figure vividly, robust and upright, his features bold and sharp, interwoven with light and dark, lines profound, with candlelight reflecting in his eyes like scarlet gems, unforgettable, forever unforgettable...

"Eat something," he placed the tray on the bedside cabinet.

Margaret suddenly noticed he cared about her, concerned whether she was hungry, he brought her food; she was on his mind.

This sudden and unexpected realization caused her heart to flutter unnaturally, like being stirred by an unknown bird feather, somewhat ticklish.

"Your Highness, sorry..."

"What are you sorry for?"

"I didn’t kill her."

"Mary, this isn’t your fault."

"We had the chance, I failed, Yidene dispelled my spell, but if I pursued..."

None of them could escape; the Red Dragon and Igo Witch would both be dragged into Hell by her.

"If the price of pursuit is your life, then it’s better for you to lie in my embrace." He handed the spoon to Margaret’s lips.

Roman had no doubt about the ability of the Red Dragon and Yidene to counterattack; any high-level unit has the instinct to fight fiercely, when driven to desperation, they will surely pull someone to bury along.

The result of exchanging pieces is mutual destruction; unless on a direct battlefield, the strategist would never choose to exchange.

Because they all believe their pieces have higher value than the opponent’s.

"I can do anything." Margaret closed her eyes; the touch sensation from her head was comfortable and reliable. She said so, but would there be such warmth in that world?

Every time this thought arose, she felt fear, fear of losing, and thus became timid.

"Your duty is to protect my safety, slaying dragons isn’t your mission." He reached out and tucked the scattered blood-colored hair behind her ear; his rough, calloused fingers brushed across her face, speaking softly, with a gentle demeanor as if afraid to scare her, afraid to scare a frail girl lying sick in bed.

But she knew what she really was.

A human-shaped disaster craving slaughter, an evil curse bringing death, the Scarlet Witch pursuing Netherworld shadows.

Yidene. That Igo Witch dispelled her spell, yet also opened a door to the Underworld.

The Prophet forbade her to explore the Netherworld; Lord Thunder believed mana was self-derived, and people believed it was just a spellcaster’s hallucination after potion.

But she truly glimpsed it, her whole body trembled with excitement, the scenes in her dreams grew ever deeper and heavier.

Thousands of scarlet, wandering dragon shadows, and deeper secrets behind those dragon shadows.

These were things unseen in the past, the land undergoing mutations, some terrifying truths are about to be exposed; those dragons are here for this, the prelude to the Dragon King’s Fury.

"Your Highness, you want to learn spells?" Margaret gazed at the scroll tucked at Roman’s waist, it was the Silver Moon Magic she had seen before.

"Correct."

"Then let me teach you." Shasta said.

"Alright." Roman agreed; here in this bedroom, none better suited as teachers.

Mastering spells is no easy task, even though he has browsed many magic scrolls alike, it requires a guide.

Roman’s first spell to master wasn’t Silver Moon Magic, but learning ’meditation’, a kind of basic magic.

Witches are adept at using handprints and spells to enhance meditation effects.

For knights, it’s difficult; any knight finds it hard to endure this tedious process of secluded practice, requiring significant time investment, and the spells mastered wouldn’t be very strong, just basic magic.

"His Majesty Iaos has extremely advanced spell knowledge," Shasta told him, with Margaret quietly and obediently listening beside him.

Roman knew this; to say Iaos had advanced spell knowledge was an understatement; one could call it a kind of rule magic spell, suppressing all Conquest Knights.

But he pondered, how did Iaos achieve this?

——After all, those Seat Witches didn’t have this capability.

Ultimately, Roman could only attribute this to being the greatest knight of the Black Iron Age, it was understandable to have unique abilities.

Conquest Knights are pure forces of violence in warfare units.

The essence of battle is simple: kill the opponent with the simplest moves in the quickest time.

If not aligned with a supporting system, Conquest Knights struggle to efficiently master spells, hence they never explicitly pursue magical power.

Superficial spells, even if mastered, are of no use, only wasting time.

Roman, following Shasta’s instructions, cleared his mind and gradually sensed energy surging within his body.

With the rhythm of his breathing, the pulsing of his heartbeat, the flow of his blood...

Energy is the breath of the body; when fully focused, he can strike with force, even injure opponents at a distance, though not very powerful, it’s the body’s natural instinct in using energy.

"I felt it." Roman opened his eyes and said.

Shasta seemed a bit uncertain, glanced at Margaret, but saw the latter remaining calm.

"Are you certain?" She asked, as it’s only been a brief few minutes.

Newcomers to magic often mistake certain natural body reactions for the flow of energy; even newly awakened witches may confuse this, leading to erroneous judgments.

"I am certain." Roman affirmed, understanding now why higher-ranking Conquest Knights are easier to master spells.

Because their bodies are filled with ample energy, allowing easy mobilization.

One, two, three are Low Rank Knights, four and five are Middle Rank Knights, only Sixth Rank is considered High Rank Knights.

Sixth Rank is a threshold. The Dawn Knight Keton intercepting Green is Sixth Rank; even if not skilled in spells, he can guide internal energy out through extraordinary equipment.

Some White Knights are also High Rank Knights, thus actively wielding sword energy instead of innate techniques like blade force.

"Truly unbelievable..." Shasta muttered. Raised by the Prophet, during conquest, a Fifth Rank Knight took days to sense energy.

Because energy itself is an elusive concept, hard to empathically experience, due to challenging knowledge propagation, Conquest Knights only learn battle, etiquette, loyalty, emblem among other useless things, making it hard to form a unified concept.

You speak of castle gates; they understand it as hip axis, akin to the blind men touching an elephant.

By comparison, her master’s entry speed was too swift, as if faced no obstacle, stepping over it in a breath.

Shasta realized this, feeling intense joy, inexorably excited. "You will certainly become the second emperor conqueror... even surpass him greatly."

"That’s natural, I am Heavenly Destiny. I shall create an era even greater than the Black Iron Age, a glorious Eternal Era!" Roman fully accepted those praises, unabashedly exalting himself.

To him, doing well was expected, or he would not deserve the title of Heavenly Destiny.

Previously, he was busy with governance, needing to review all events, lacking time and foundational skill to learn spells — even if he learned magic, he wouldn’t know to whom to enhance skills.

Now things were different.

First, pull out a batch of Silver Moon Knights.

Isn’t it just a scroll!

Let’s see who can roll over who!

One by one, crushing you all!!