Iron Harvest: When Farming Becomes Conquest-Chapter 365 - 6: Who is the Rebel?

"I have returned victorious," said the White Steel Princess to Iao III, and seeing that he still wore a troubled frown, she couldn’t help but say with a frown, "Yet you seem deeply unhappy."

"My child, you have briefly dispelled the clouds looming over Black Castle like a white seagull, but I see more shadows, dark as storm clouds, brought by the winds of war from the Divine Mysterious Peninsula. Do you expect me to feel joy?"

Tashina spoke coldly, "If the enemies have come, they shall not leave."

Black Iron King sighed, "Ah, Tana, my Tana, how splendid and exceptional you are. Yet, you were born in the wrong era. You are still too young, born into the Conqueror Family, without a stage to showcase your talents. And you do not realize who you are up against. With the War Hand, I have defeated the Holy War Army twice, but they were ordinary forces. Now, their main army is approaching."

"My father, you too," Iota Hina responded, "look utterly burdened, tired and weak, nothing like the King of Kings. You more closely resemble an old farmer toiling in the countryside. I urge you to lay aside your crown for a moment to catch your breath so that the burdens that follow won’t crush you."

The King offered a bitter smile, "You think I don’t wish to? But someone must wear it; it’s the foundation of our lineage."

"Then give it to me," Tashina said, "If you can’t bear it, pass the crown and the throne to me."

"I cannot give it to you now. This is a crucial time of survival. Let’s get through this crisis... but I’m not sure that opportunity will ever come."

"Father, my father, you are truly pitiable," said the White Steel Princess, "I know you all too well. You yearn to be like the ancient kings—noble, dignified, generous, kind, amicable, and wise. Suitable perhaps for a king who has inherited peace. But at the brink of disaster, your weakness is utterly useless and risks destroying the grand palace that Ioannos built, defiling the Black Iron Throne by the treacherous."

She said, "Your Majesty, when will you understand that might is everything? The Black Iron King should not wait to be attacked; you should strike before anyone else, crushing any traitors at first sight. Yet you long to convert enemies with tolerance and kindness. Should Black Castle fall, only your frailty will be to blame."

The Iron King remained in sorrowful contemplation on the Black Iron Throne, his empire failing, the enemy at the gates, while his daughter mocked him.

But he had to silently bear it all.

Resigned to his fate, Iolion savored the bitter term. My Tana, my prideful and confident Tana, how I love you, more deeply than any other child. Do you know how much I cherish you? You are like another life to me. How could I willingly cast you into the abyss? I would rather it be your children who succeed me, and not you.

Do you understand what it now means to be the Black Iron King? It is truly a curse; you must deal with another dark, deadly, and cold world, joined at the hip to this one.

Iolion saw the boundless shadows rising; before them, another shadow from the Church Court loomed.

Those shadows coalesced into spectral knights and steeds in an invisible dimension, as though a dark mirror of the real universe, stepping forward like suffocating night terrors.

He saw it, of course, he saw it; Ioannos’s magic spell had tightly interwoven their destinies.

Ioa despised the Church Court even more than All Gods. freewebnσvel.cøm

Yet a century after his departure, this land was dotted with churches and monasteries.

The faith of the nameless and faceless ancient gods had thoroughly spread.

"Since you refuse to cede the throne to me, then let the ’Black Knights’ follow me into battle," said the White Steel Princess.

The Black Knights were the Imperial Guard, also known as ’Black Iron’.

The Conqueror had relied on the unrivaled Black Iron Army in his conquest of this land, and the Kingdom was thus named; Black Iron represents the ultimate glory.

Their armor, forged from Magic Steel, Mithril, and Fine Gold, was pitch black as the Abyss. When people saw the Black Iron stand together on the ground, it made the sun in the sky seem to dim; the Armor absorbed light, was highly magic-resistant, a legendary Black Metal.

Though they claim to be knights, not all are cavalry; they are an infantry unit.

The Conqueror embarked on his expeditions, taking all the ’Black Iron’ with him, but his Black Iron Army never returned with him. The Black Iron Kingdom later forged a thousand sets of armor, part of which was lost at Silent Valley; today, slightly over five hundred remain combat-ready.

Some of the Forbidden Army were in their seventies or eighties, their physical strength waning, living reclusive lives. Others were in the prime of their lives, holding positions at Court.

The Black Iron was tasked with guarding the inner city and the safety of the King.

The Iron Guard was responsible for guarding the outer city and the security of Black Castle.

But even the Iron Guard cannot be considered a lesser version of the Black Iron.

Even a thousand Iron Guard would not be a match for a hundred Black Iron—concentrating resources on a select few was the military rule of the era.

Five hundred Black Iron could sweep through fifty thousand conscripted soldiers. A fully-armed Black Iron could kill a hundred ordinary people barehanded.

Not to mention, their weapons were the Black Iron Greatsword, twenty centimeters broad, adding the hilt, were one and a half meters in length, true Broad Swords, weighing over two hundred pounds, yet they could be wielded with one hand.