Iron Harvest: When Farming Becomes Conquest-Chapter 308 - 14: Conqueror Order

Roman was accustomed to looking at issues through a perspective that transcended the era, a viewpoint that allowed him to see through the thick fog and understand the political motives of the major powers.

The Church Court wanted to come out.

The Fury Family was helping the Church Court to come out.

To suppress Roman, the Riptide Family had granted the Church Court the authority to mobilize.

As Divine Mysterious and Cangyue went to war, if the Church Court emerged from the Divine Mysterious peninsula, it would significantly strengthen Divine Mysterious’s power on the Cangyue battlefield.

The Black Iron King was preventing the Church Court from coming out, otherwise, the consequences would be unimaginable.

They hadn’t torn off the facade yet. Otherwise, the Black Iron King’s ministers wouldn’t have been able to break through the blockade and come to this land.

"This won’t do," the Finance Minister continued before Roman. "Now Wandong is fighting, the Highland is fighting, the whole North is fighting, Cangyue and Divine Mysterious are also fighting, wars are everywhere. They have trampled the Conqueror Order to worthlessness, which also includes you—His Majesty the King is still waiting for your explanation."

"What explanation?"

"Lord Gael suffered a defeat at the Northern Front, with pirates pressing towards the Southern Border and threatening both the Riptide Domain and Black Castle," Damian said. "This is not something a Lord should be involved in."

Roman hadn’t expected his dealings with pirates to remain a secret from others.

It couldn’t be hidden from anyone.

The Church Court’s assassins were hiding among the slaves; such large-scale migration couldn’t be concealed no matter what.

The minister said, "That’s the second reason for my visit; I came prepared for the possibility that you wouldn’t surrender the gold."

"What if indeed I don’t?" Roman asked.

"Then I leave," Damian said. "I have no wish to demand gold from a King unless I’m tired of living."

The minister looked relieved.

"It seems Lord Roman, you are still loyal to the King."

Roman did not confirm or deny this, merely stating, "If you weren’t willing, you should have come to tell me straight away. I might have ceased trade... perhaps."

But no one told him.

Gael knew, the Black Iron King knew.

However, no one told Roman, allowing him to trade with the pirates and obtain a large number of slaves from the North.

"Lord Gael is at odds with you, and he’s listed your crimes before His Majesty the King—after all, both of you are vassals of Black Iron. But our King has suppressed those accusations; it’s said that Lord Gael was about to rage, and even his demands for a duel with you were blocked by His Majesty the King."

Roman had reason to believe Damian was involved in this affair; otherwise, he wouldn’t speak so vividly.

Gael had accused him, demanding he confess, but all those accusations vanished into thin air because Roman had someone backing him, and he himself only knew about these events now.

Roman saw this as a part of the Court’s game.

The King hoped to indulge the North Ice Pirates to weaken the Riptide Family’s influence, but could not act covertly. If exposed, the Grand Duke of Dragon Castle would declare war directly on the Black Castle.

For the River Valley King, this act was much more convenient; he was an independent ruler with an old grudge against Duke Riptide.

To say it was a fluke was an understatement; the nature of politics and war was to form alliances and coalitions.

The Black Iron King preferred to pin his hopes on pirates.

Thus, in the power struggle, the entire Northern region of the Black Iron Land fell into chaos, becoming a haven for pirate ravages.

What would the people of the North think if they knew this?

Undoubtedly, the River Valley King was a man deserving of death, and the Black Iron King even more so.

Roman’s crime was aiding pirates, while the King’s crime was treason.

The King had betrayed his citizens; he deserved to be put on the guillotine, his head severed for the public to see.

But could the common folk do it?

They couldn’t do it.

Covered in mud, they looked on with eyes filled with hatred at the impeccably dressed royalty and nobles, then did nothing until faced with death, when they would enter Hell, carrying with them those unsolvable grievances.

Even at the moment of their death, neither the River Valley King nor the Black Iron King might have known of the bloody wounds and dark waves in the depths of their hearts.

"Then please extend my thanks to His Majesty the King," Roman said.

Fair is fair, the Black Iron King had shielded him from the pressure coming from Gael.

Otherwise, complications would have surely arisen.

"It’s what His Majesty ought to do, but Lord Roman, forgive my frankness, what ought you do?"

The minister stared directly at Roman.

The conference hall fell into silence for a moment. Only the howling cold wind from outside could be heard.

After a good while,

Roman spoke, "What does His Majesty the King want me to do?"

The minister said quietly, "The Conqueror Order."

For an instant, it seemed as if even the howling wind outside had stopped momentarily.

Roman fell into deep thought.

He knew of this order.

Although it had been established just over a hundred years ago, it had become a sacred order that all seven kingdoms on land were supposed to adhere to.

That is, the strategic order formulated by Conqueror Ioannos based on the geopolitics of the Earth Countries.

Black Iron Land was located at the heart of the entire landmass.

To the north lay Ice Island and Wandong, to the east the Highland Kingdom, to the south Cangyue, and to the west the Free City and Divine Mysterious.

The Black Iron Avenue, built during the Conqueror Period, spread out like a spider web toward the nations, nearly capable of mediating and intervening in all wars.

But the essence of this order was to preserve the power of the Human Clan, to enable it to develop as a whole, peacefully, and to forbid internal strife.

Both the Black Iron King and the Black Iron Duke were integral to this strategic framework, indispensable.

Is the Ice Island Kingdom threatened by pirates?

Black Iron helps Ice Island fight the pirates.

Is the Highland Kingdom invaded by Barbarians?

Black Iron helps the Highland fight the Barbarians.

Divine Mysterious makes a move on Cangyue again?

Warn Divine Mysterious, dare to strike Cangyue again, and Black Iron will deploy troops to fight Divine Mysterious.

The Fury Family’s Reef Castle responds across to the Divine Mysterious peninsula. It not only blocks the power of the Church Court but also the restless Divine Mysterious.

The Oak Family’s Pale Tower stands shoulder to shoulder with the Bar Mountain Range in the south, blocking a gap in the land.

The Riptide Family is positioned in the heartland of Black Iron, highly flexible, able to support whichever front is under pressure in a timely manner.

The role of the Black Iron King was one of command and mediation.

The plan was good, but without the right executors, even the best plan was useless.

From the perspective of those in future generations, the death of Alster marked the start of this age of chaos. The deeply entrenched Conqueror Order collapsed like never before on that night at Dragon Castle. The snap of a single iron ring set off a chain reaction, causing all the rings to fly apart, and from then on, order was no more.

The All Gods poured ominous smoke from the sky down to the earth; the situation was obscure, and sparks of chaos quickly spread within a short span of two years. Warfires scorched the earth, dark shadows enveloped the world, and a long-silent age of upheaval descended. On this dark and fiery stage, various figures appeared amid the flames, whether noble or ignoble knights, power-hungry nobles, greedy and frenzied bandits, believers crying out for Holy War – they mounted their steeds and prepared to enter the fray. Should they stoke the fires, or should they quench them? The horses’ hooves trod the land, flaming fragments blazed, but what burned were not the thorns of the Dark Forest, but countless frail figures, the fuel and provision for the chaos.

The thick black smoke from burning bones added the darkest of strokes to this dimly lit stage.