Iron Harvest: When Farming Becomes Conquest

Roman returned to the simple manor.

He suddenly remembered something.

Roman turned his head and asked Green and Aaron, "Do you want to give yourselves a codename?"

Green looked curious, and Aaron also appeared somewhat puzzled.

"Do you want us to become title knights?"

Only powerful knights who have achieved great deeds or have widespread fame would receive a famous title.

For instance, the First Generation Riptide Grand Duke from 150 years ago was incredibly brave. He drew his bow and shot arrows, shattering the Red Dragon Scale Armor, and thus earned the "Riptide" title.

And this title later became the surname of the Riptide Family.

Generally, only Transcendents of Fifth Rank or higher with significant achievements have this qualification.

A proud expression appeared on Green's face as he said, "Although becoming a title knight in the future is a simple matter for me, I must admit there's still a tiny gap between me and a title knight now."

Green gestured lightly with his thumb and index finger.

Roman explained, "No, it has nothing to do with strength or status, it's just an alias."

Green was initially quite happy, thinking Roman believed he had the potential to be a title knight.

Is that it?

He lost interest, showing a subtle expression, and said, "Then can my codename be Green?"

Roman fell silent, feeling uncomfortable from the pitying look Green gave him, but he restrained himself from reacting.

Roman, with a dark face, pointed at Green and said, "You can go away now."

Green scratched his head, turned, and left, unable to figure out what Roman was up to, wondering why he needed a codename for nothing.

Having learned from this experience, Roman did not ask Aaron.

Green was right. Since they were familiar enough, there was no need for aliases.

So, in "Angel Envoy Management," Roman found the "Character Interface" for the two and directly named their codenames Green and Aaron.

…

Sige Town.

The bomb Roman left behind had everyone bewildered.

Shortly after Roman left, Sige Town also exploded into chaos.

Most people found Agricultural Officer Moor, clinging to him like a lifesaver.

A farmer pleaded, "Lord Moor, do all five of my children have to work at Lord's manor? Only two of us can't handle the farming…"

"Is Lord planning to reduce us all to slaves…"

"Why can't we cultivate the land today? It's the perfect time to sow. If we don't farm, what will the Lord eat this year…"

Such noisy voices overwhelmed Moor's ears like a torrent.

He felt as though he was being submerged in the waves, like a small boat lost in a vast ocean.

"Everyone shut up!" Moor yelled, his face red with anger.

The crowd gradually quieted down as they watched the furious Moor.

Trembling with rage and spitting as he spoke, Moor exclaimed, "Do you think I can change Lord Roman's mind? Forget it! Forget it! What am I, what am I in front of nobility!"

What could he do, feeling wronged and distressed, he could only furiously stomp on the spot:

"If I could change Lord Roman's mind, I would not only have him revoke the order, but I would also execute all you damned lower-classes, so I wouldn't have to stay with you swine anymore!"

Moor pushed through the crowd and stormed off.

The crowd exchanged glances, feeling a strong fear and panic toward the Lord's proclamation—no pretense of gentleness, no peaceful demeanor, but pure, powerful violence!

They could only rely on the once-familiar Agricultural Officer as their only lifesaver.

According to the land lease contract, these free citizens had the right to farm freely, needing only to pay the required taxes.

But their Lord had reclaimed all the lands, and in this respect, Roman, being nobility, had violated the law and would be punished by the King.

But with the King far away in the Capital, how would the distant Black Iron King know what had happened here?

Moreover, such events had never occurred in this land before.

No noble would ever prevent farmers from cultivating the fields; they valued crops even more actively than most peasants.

After all, they only needed to constantly urge the farmers to cultivate more fields and deliver more crops.

The positions of the two parties were not equal, Nobles could breach a contract, while peasants heavily relied on the land lease agreement.

What would the future Lord do to them? Would he be even stricter?

They were not unaware of the dire situations of peasants elsewhere, who, it was said, even had to eat dirt to survive.

That entire afternoon, the peasants of Sige Town had gathered, busily discussing what the Noble Lord would do the next day.

They did not possess great wisdom, but they weren't lacking in cunning.

Most peasants knew that it was impossible for the Lord to reduce them all to slaves.

They could cultivate a lot of land, and they were efficient workers, their hands alone could provide the Lord with soft and fragrant white bread.

Some believed it was just an initial show of power, and as long as they showed enough subservience thereafter, the Lord would surely give them a way to survive.

...

At this time, the merchant Morry returned to the docks of Sige Town.

Morry had visited Sige Town before to establish trade routes, and he had noticed Sige Town's astonishing trade potential, which could produce unimaginable results if developed.

However, Sige Town had no Lord in the past, making development difficult.

Now with a Lord, a son of Duke Riptide, it was hard to predict what changes might ensue.

Being a merchant's son who had dealt with many Nobles, he knew all too well the various methods Nobles often used to extract every last grain from the peasants.

Thus, Morry could sense the brute force Roman was applying, a method so simple it had no disguise.

He was certain the dynamics in Sige Town had shifted.

If possible, he hoped to establish a long-term trade with the area, which could be beneficial for his business.

But his visit was not for business.

It was merely a cover.

Morry boarded his merchant ship.

Inside the cabin sat a figure shrouded in a black robe, whose posture indicated she was a woman.

Seeing Morry return, Shasta lifted her head, her hood revealing only bright red lips and a fair chin.

"Did you find her?"

"No," Morry pulled out a crystal clear Purple Crystal, said helplessly, "Is there a mistake in your information? I've asked all around..."

Shasta coldly said, "Useless!"

Morry took a deep breath, said helplessly, "I don't have your methods. The arrival of the new Lord has thrown Sige Town into chaos, everyone talking about Roman Riptide, and I can't find any other topic."

Shasta asked, "What did he do?"

Morry briefly repeated the day's events.

Shasta's tone was filled with strong disgust, "I know some Nobles have peculiar hobbies, but most do it stealthily. This is too blatant, even sparing no children of the peasants!"

Morry was astonished, "You think he's one of the Church Clergy?"

Shasta frowned and said, "Sending so many children to his estate, isn't that the case? And both boys and girls, Nobles' fetishes truly disgust me!"

Morry, incredulous, looked at Shasta. He spoke about so many significant things; how did she think of...

Considering her identity, Morry had to admit Shasta's thoughts were reasonable.

But he didn't believe the other party was a copper-refining Lord; if he really had those tendencies, he wouldn't have delayed seven days just to do this.

Yes, he wasn't hurried or hasty, but swift and decisive!

That was Morry's first impression of Roman.

As the illegitimate son of Duke Riptide, what hadn't he seen? Even if exiled to this wilderness, he should not focus on those children, and the numbers were too large, something abnormal suggested an ulterior motive.

Was he preparing for war?

Noble Conquest Knights typically select children with excellent talents to train from a young age.

But could Sige Town afford so many people?

Even if it could afford it, it was unnecessary.

Especially abolishing the previous land lease agreements, taking all land into his control, made Morry feel inexplicably fearful.

The geographic location here was unfavorable; the nearest Kant Territory was over a hundred miles away, even separated by wild ridges.

Although Sige Town was not truly isolated from the world, surrounded by daunting mountains, with Silver Dragon Canyon's rough waters and reefs abound.

Did he intend to carve a path through the mountain crevices to the outside world?

But the workload was too great, even requiring part of the mountain to be demolished, Morry felt that Sige Town could not manage such a feat in twenty years.