Iron Harvest: When Farming Becomes Conquest-Chapter 357 - 30: What If We Don’t Play by the Rules? (Just refresh the previous - s to catch up)
Chapter 357: Chapter 30: What If We Don’t Play by the Rules? (Just refresh the previous Chapters to catch up)
"Witch, state your name."
"Sanna Fisher."
"Send my regards to the Prophet," Tashina added.
Sanna was greatly embarrassed, "I am not from the Witch Forest..."
She was Roman’s witch.
All the witches of Origin City swore allegiance to Roman.
Princess Io stared at Sanna, then spoke, "I see, then please send my regards to Lord Roman."
"I will."
The Black Iron Princess continued, "Furthermore, tell him to watch over this place. A storm is coming, and peril approaches."
"Uh-huh." Sanna was intimidated by her words and demeanor, the only other person who could instill such a feeling of trepidation in her was Margaret.
Sanna knew that her status was equivalent to Roman’s; both were of royal rank, both titled ’Your Highness.’
Last year, His Majesty the King had sought an alliance with Roman through marriage, which the latter politely declined. Upon hearing this, she inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief, despite never harboring any expectations. Now, upon meeting the Black Iron Princess, she dared not entertain any hopes at all.
Sanna knew the Black Iron Princess was not a witch.
She once thought the princess was merely a figurehead with no real substance, just another mortal, but now she was startled to see that this woman was beautiful and strong, icy and firm, like a statuesque figure poised high upon a ridge.
She was not a witch, yet she possessed a power even more profound and enigmatic than that of any witch.
"Lastly, tell Lord Roman that I hope he will reconsider the marriage proposal. If he and I wed, and we bear children, a son should be named Ioannos, a daughter, Iaolugos. That child shall rule this land in the future—a domain far greater and more complete than that of the former kings."
After saying this, seeing that Sanna nodded, she departed gracefully, no idle words throughout the encounter.
Sanna stood there agape, watching the lady in white walk away, still feeling as though it was all an illusion, utterly lacking any sense of reality.
"What did she say?" Kao approached.
Sanna recounted the recent events to him.
Kao looked at Dick, "My lord, what do you think Princess Tashina wants to accomplish?"
Dick pondered for a moment and said, "Her Highness is preemptively preparing for war."
Kao frowned, "Is the situation in Black Castle that dire? Don’t they have the Conquest Knight?"
Dick responded, "Ah, it’s hard to say. The princess believes that if things deteriorate to the worst-case scenario, relying solely on the White Knight will hardly be enough to turn the tide."
"My lord, I must see His Majesty the King tomorrow, and I fear you may not be able to attend..."
...
The following day was sunny.
Kao shaved clean and presented himself tidily. Seth had taught him how to groom himself, and the Iron Guard had brought him decent clothing.
He was nearly twenty years old, tall and upright, but his eyes were gloomy, which marred his otherwise passable features.
Led by the Iron Guard, he entered the city gates, passed Copper Coin Street, Flame Street, through King’s Square, Dragon King Gate, entered the inner city, and traversed the courtyard.
Black Castle was not as vast as Divine Castle, but it had a larger population, so densely packed it was absurd, with dirty and chaotic streets, lowly slums piled upon one another, emitting foul smells.
The air was much cleaner in the inner city.
A forest of stone columns stretched out, from hall to hall, temple to temple, arches leading to arches, and winding staircases snaking around.
Kao was received by the Black Iron King, and the lady in white he had seen the day before was also there behind him.
"Roman has done well, but I still have to tell him to stop troubling me for the time being." Iao III, crowned and tapping his fingers on the table. Princess Tashina stood silently by his side, uttering not a word.
"Very well, Your Majesty, I will pass the message to His Highness," Kao followed Dick’s teachings, admitting to wrong readily and without concealment.
Iolion admonished Kao briefly, but the latter complied obediently, never offering a rebuttal.
"Your Majesty, please allow me to offer a few words of advice," Kao said.
"Speak freely."
With permission granted, Kao began to speak of what he had witnessed on the grain transport route: "Do you know that the Church Court’s monasteries and churches have gathered a large number of refugees?"
Iao III sighed, "I am aware of this matter."
He even knew that the Church Court and certain nobles were backing those thieves.
It was only because this grain transport was strong that other nobles could not have protected it.
"There could be... hidden dangers..." Kao hesitated, following the method Dick had taught him, but everyone present understood clearly.
"I understand, they wouldn’t dare to cause trouble."
And they certainly wouldn’t dare to attack Black Castle.
Iolion thought to himself that the Church Court now had no moves left to play; he had thwarted the offensive launched jointly by the Church Court and Pine, and although he had made a grievous sacrifice, the current victor was still the King seated in Black Castle.
This wasn’t surprising, for his political acumen was recognized as far-sighted and insightful among all the kings.
The King had always taken great pride in this.
He was preparing to abolish the tithe tax next.
Since the battle in Silent Valley, the Black Iron Royal Family had been paying the tithe tax to the Church Court to ease the fierce confrontation between the Black Iron Dukes and the Church Court.
The Conqueror Family had been a significant force in maintaining the balance of the scales.
Now that the building was about to collapse, and the scales had tipped, there was no longer any need to pay the tithe tax.
After the successful abolition of the tithe tax, the next step would be to deal with that disobedient rebel Riptide, and to extract all of his technology and resources.
He was still young and not lacking in boldness and strategy, and he could live for another fifty or sixty years. A hundred years later, he would leave a Black Iron Kingdom for the next King that could rival the splendor of the Conqueror Period.
Seeing that the Black Iron King refused to discuss this matter further, Kao could only sigh inwardly.
His impression of His Majesty the King was completely shattered.
Was this man really the ruler of millions?
He saw only a middle-aged man with a square jaw, hollow cheeks, and pale, thin lips; his cheeks were gaunt, and for the first time in months, his worried expression had finally relaxed somewhat with the arrival of grain.
Was it under the rule of such men that he had once lived?
The King seemed to have won the game of wits against the Church Court, and he believed the Church Court would play by the rules.
But what if the Church Court didn’t play by the rules?
Kao was deeply disappointed; he believed his master was more suitable than Iao III for that throne.
The only thing that inspired awe and fear in Kao was the supreme crown forged of bronze and Black Iron.
He refused to linger any longer and before leaving, he asked, "Your Majesty, Black Castle has a tremendous burden of population, may I purchase some slaves here?"
After receiving permission, Kao left the inner city.
With grain, money, and cloth among other necessities of life, he headed straight for the slums.
Poor families, especially those at the bottom, tend to give birth more when they are poorer.
During normal times it was okay, but in times of disaster, they had virtually no resistance.
Their options were limited to selling sons and daughters, sometimes even selling themselves.
Yet, even so, under the banner of the Thorny Iron Ring, they might not be willing to sell to them.
Who would blame them? The reputation of the River Valley King was poor, and if they had to sell, they desired to sell to a good owner. They couldn’t be put under a millstone to be ground to death or watered into the soil, and become material for an Evil King’s casting.
Kao had no choice but to disguise himself as a regular merchant convoy, buying up nearly a thousand children in the slums, three to four years old, seven to eight years old, of all ages. He also bought over a thousand slaves outside the city.
But the affair was soon exposed, and the Church Bishop of Black Castle furiously denounced this despicable and evil conduct.
Kao decisively left Black Castle, returning with his fleet and caravan.
