Iron Harvest: When Farming Becomes Conquest-Chapter 268 - 4: The Truth

Shasta met Roman in the manor.

The latter had been waiting for her for quite some time.

"Greetings to you, River Valley King,"

Shasta, well-versed in court etiquette, bowed impeccably.

"Nightmare Witch, we meet again," Roman said with a smile.

"The person you are today is very different from who you were two years ago," the witch said with mixed emotions.

"But my promise still stands," Roman said cheerfully.

"I thought you were but dreaming back then. Later, I was too preoccupied to remember your proposal. Now, it seems I underestimated your capacity; you surprise me," she frankly admitted.

The once obscure noble had grown into a true King.

"Humans are meant to progress, Shasta. Humans are born to progress," Roman reiterated, gesticulating as he spoke.

"Those who stand still or even regress will only be swept into the garbage heap—they are destined to be abandoned by the advancing times. And I, I have already reached the very forefront, the pinnacle of this era’s waves."

"Alster once said the same thing."

A shadow fell across his face: "He brought it upon himself, but his crimes did not warrant that. I have many things I want to ask you.

"Somebody attempted to assassinate Grand Duke Riptide. Rumors abound that a Witch was behind it; Shasta, convince me with the truth."

"You are wise and sensible. The Church Court is framing us to deplete the power of the witches," Shasta said, noticing the calm on Roman’s face. "It seems you’ve had your suspicions."

"What’s the relationship between the Witch Forest and Alster?"

Shasta pondered for a moment, "He once collaborated with the Witch Forest. The relationship originated from the Conqueror Period; the witches promised to help him, but due to various reasons, the connection between Alster and the witches gradually dissipated."

This secret relationship existed even before Roman was born.

A generation’s time is enough to turn two closely tied powers into entities no longer associating with one another.

It was not strange, simply a normal societal evolution, especially for rulers of the old era, where personal preferences often prevailed over territorial interests.

"What were you supposed to help him do?"

"Help him become the second Conqueror."

"Why didn’t you?"

"...The time was not right."

Roman frowned, "What time?"

"...We were not confident of certain victory. If you were not assured of victory, would you send troops to battle the rebel army? No, you would hunker down in this River Valley, awaiting the opportunity—back then, the witches had not yet amassed enough strength, and the Human Clan was not ready for a true decisive battle. Starting a war would have entangled us in a prolonged and arduous civil conflict, our power would have been exhausted internally, and the losses would far outweigh the gains. The Prophet said that a great upheaval was coming in the future, and in that catastrophe, the Witch Forest would either be reborn from the ashes or be utterly destroyed."

"Who is the Prophet?"

"A witch capable of foreseeing the future, seeing the key moments in the history of development. Unfortunately, the Witch Forest met the second outcome—we did not emerge reborn from the flames."

"You believe in prophecies so much?"

"Heh, it seems you don’t believe in such ethereal things. I advise you, you might not listen, but you should at least respect it. The Prophet’s spell is quite special; she can see the destiny of each person."

"Where is she now?"

Shasta fell silent.

She was not one to divulge everything. Sharing basic information was a show of good faith. As a standout of the Riptide, he earned the right to know these things.

Roman had no choice but to switch topics: "Why didn’t you protect Alster, instead waiting until after his death to attack Holy City?"

"The Prophet can see the future’s direction, but she can’t actually see the future; she didn’t know Alster would be assassinated," Shasta explained. "As for your second question, we had no choice due to the circumstances."

"Why didn’t you have a choice?"

"Because the Witch Forest is now too strong, strong enough to cause certain individuals unease... Don’t look at me like that; what do you think we are? We have endured the long night, nurtured by the world. The Witch Forest at its peak could decimate Dragon Castle. I mean no specific offense to the Riptide Family, but the fact remains, the Witch Forest could take down any Black Iron Duke and his power, even the Fury Family."

Roman’s fingers interlocked, resting on his abdomen, "Then I don’t think Gael poses a threat to you."

"Because it’s not just him, they’re forcing us to go to our deaths. Are we supposed to turn around and fight them? That’s pointless. The Human Clan cannot afford to fight amongst ourselves; that is a path to destruction. On the contrary, if we win, those onlookers will no longer stand by idly. They’ll start to believe in us..."

Shasta gazed at Roman with her brilliant eyes, silently radiating sorrow.

But they had failed.

The Witch Forest had mobilized all its combat units for a slight chance of survival, losing nine out of ten.

Roman let out a long sigh, "So now, what can you offer me?"

Shasta pursed her lips.

Their original sanctuaries had collapsed, and the witches needed to find new places of refuge.

She said, "What do you want?"

Roman shook his head, "Shasta, this negotiation is not about what I want, it’s about what you have. Just tell me what you have."

He still knew nothing about the organizational system of the Witch Forest.

And he only liked people whose backgrounds he thoroughly understood.

Simply put, he wanted them to bare it all, to let him scrutinize the witches’ every detail.

Roman liked to have everything under his control.

"In the Conqueror Period, the court witches had twelve seats, and the Prophet was at the lowest, therefore, she didn’t go on the crusade. Later, she and other witches established the Witch Forest. Not only can she glimpse the future, but she can also awaken the hidden potential within witches. Most of the members of the Witch Forest have had their potential activated. But now, we are scattered to the winds, we have nothing left. Only the Prophet can offer you compensation."

"Why did she go to Cangyue Land?"

Shasta replied with a pursed mouth, "Because Cangyue Land can disrupt the divinations of Divination Masters—the Prophet can foretell the future, but Divine Mysterious and the Church Court also have Divination Masters skilled in Astrology, whose mystic powers are not much weaker than the Prophet’s. Our success in the surprise attack on the Holy City was all thanks to the protection of the Magic Mirror..."

"The Magic Mirror is a Divine Artifact that the Prophet brought out from the Conqueror’s Treasure Vault; it’s said to reflect the entire land, but I know nothing more."

She had said enough, staring at Roman, waiting for him to make his stance clear.

Roman thought for a moment, then suddenly said, "If I send a little witch to the Prophet, would she help me awaken that child’s potential?"

Shasta nodded, "Yes, I guarantee it—so long as she has potential."

"I also want to review the witches’ inherited knowledge."

"That’s possible too!" She answered very crisply, not caring at all about the leakage of their secrets.

This pleased Roman, "Then what would you like me to do for you?"

"We have wounded, but nowhere to place them."

Roman frowned slightly, "Is that all?"

"Yes."

"And you?"

"We will continue to wander."

Because of the Divination Masters, the witches could not gather in large numbers, nor could they stay in one place for long.

Especially witches like Margaret, a Seat Witch, who had a very high risk of exposure.

Now, the Magic Mirror could no longer offer them protection.

Cangyue Land, while it disrupted the Divination Masters, also interfered with the power of the Magic Mirror.

Apart from Cangyue, all of the Witch Forest’s strongholds had been destroyed.

This was the only safe and secure stronghold left.

They still had to go out to draw the attention of the Church Court, to avoid this location being targeted as a witches’ gathering site.

As long as they were active, the Church Court would know that they had multiple hideouts, not putting all their eggs in one basket, and would continue to pursue the elusive witches outside.