Iron Harvest: When Farming Becomes Conquest-Chapter 283 - 19: The Great Vortex

After who knows how long, Nillie returned to the homeland of the Sea Castle People.

This was a place where towering stone pillars stood, built by the Divine People.

It resembled an altar, and also a hall, but had been desolate for a long time.

Massive stones had collapsed; the rough and magnificent architecture was destroyed in an instant, and from those stone structures, one could barely see a glimpse of the semblance of the Sea Castle.

It lay silently submerged at the bottom of the sea, having slept there for many years.

The Sea Castle was home.

But before the Sea Castle, they lived deep in the ocean.

That was their original homeland.

All the Sea Castle People had heard the stories, but nowadays, no one was willing to believe those bizarre and absurd plots were true.

The thoughts of those common folk were not important.

The call from the deep ocean, however, forever troubled some people their whole lives—those imbued with the Secret Power of the Deep Sea always dreamt of the same scenery.

Every ruler of the Sea Castle experienced it.

Nillie was no exception.

Dark, sticky, damp, cold, silent, submerged at the bottom of the sea, she could only hear a woeful sound, like some giant beast moaning.

She had returned to this initial homeland.

Nillie shivered; this place was chillingly cold, its atmosphere eerily unearthly.

Darkness surrounded her, she could not see her hand in front of her face, but somehow, she could faintly see the surroundings, although they appeared hazy.

She turned her head to look around and was immediately startled by the scenery.

In the hazy ruins, countless stone statues stared mercilessly, scrutinizing her.

Some humanoid statues’ decorations and appearances seemed familiar to Nillie.

But some indistinct non-human statues felt alien to her, due to the vast and prolonged passage of time.

They sat side by side like tombstones standing erect, staring straight at her. Wherever she went, those gazes followed her footsteps, relentlessly trailing behind.

In the hazy darkness, she heard a call.

"Nillie..."

She abruptly turned her head, hearing that familiar, feeble voice, and immediately ignored those gazes.

"Lord Deer, is that you? The Sea Castle has crumbled, please come back and take control."

Silence enveloped the darkness, the ocean murmured, but no one spoke; two life forms were communicating.

"Ah, you’ve come as well," Deer said.

"Where is this?" she asked.

"It’s too dark here, I can’t see anything, Nillie, can you see?"

"I can only see one corner, beyond that is just hazy darkness; I see them sitting there, occupying all the corners," Nillie said.

"This is where the rulers of the Sea Castle are destined to be, the Divine People’s Deep Sea Graveyard."

Nillie suddenly exclaimed in fright; everyone seated was her ancestor.

"Lord Deer, how come I didn’t see you?"

"I’m not here; this is just an echo of my spirit," Deer said, "They won’t let me take a seat; I’m not qualified."

"But you are recognized as a ruler of the Sea Castle."

"I am not one of the Deep Sea People, the ocean does not cherish me, this is not my final resting place, Nillie, don’t let this place erode your spirit, the great whirlpool is coming."

"What is the great whirlpool?" Nillie asked.

"The great whirlpool is what destroys everything; haven’t you felt the current becoming more violent?"

Nillie had indeed perceived that force, an increasingly fierce vortex power, pulling at her body like a tornado, sweeping everything, tearing everything apart, destroying everything...

"No!"

She grasped a nearby rock in terror, desperately resisting the ever more terrifying force.

"My kin, don’t let it pull you in, or you’ll never come back. Hurry and find the spiral staircase..." Deer said weakly, as if he were still alive.

Following Deer’s instructions, Nillie found the deep spiral staircase in the ruins, carved by Divine People, descending the stone steps into the shadowy depths.

"All the Masters of Sea Castle have gone through these events," he said.

"Have you experienced it too?"

"I wasn’t qualified."

"Sea Castle is waiting for you."

"But I have already passed away."

Nillie paused, vaguely recalling something.

Looking back, she saw that the statues had all been sucked away by the terrifying vortex, and the boulders too, blown towards the murky and dark sky like scattered flowers, roaring with a sound of destruction.

Hiding in the stairs, Nillie still had delusions that those stone statues were still watching her amidst the storm...

"Go ahead, Nillie, move forward."

Following Deer’s command, she headed down the spiral staircase against the background of the roaring vortex.

Then, she encountered fellow travelers, like her, walking in the spiral staircase to avoid the great vortex—two figures.

One was the Master of Sea Castle from six generations ago, whose jewelry she recognized.

The other was tall and commanding, seven feet in height, wearing a crown. The crown had neither gold nor silver, nor shiny jewels, but was made of black iron and bronze, with seven long sword-shaped black iron spikes standing erect, its outline engraved with the ancestors’ Magic Runes, deep and chilly.

"He’s not from Sea Castle, how did he end up in the Divine People’s Graveyard?" Nillie said.

"Who?" Deer asked.

Nillie described the man’s appearance, the face unclear, but the Black Iron Crown distinctly noticeable.

"It is the Conqueror; it seems he’s also left his mark here," Deer said.

Nillie did not care about the Conqueror; she knew very little about the events of a hundred years ago.

The Master of Sea Castle from six generations ago was leading the way for the Conqueror.

They were exchanging words, which Nillie couldn’t hear clearly; their pace was slow.

In the shadows, the noise of the great vortex endlessly echoed in the spiral staircase, and Nillie quickly passed them.

"Lord Deer, come back with me," Nillie realized she was about to leave.

"I can’t go back, I’ve stayed here too long, three years, or was it five? I don’t remember. But since you’ve awakened the Deep Sea Secret Power, you are truly the Master of Sea Castle, this is where you belong, but not I. I must go to another place... another silent and dark world..."

"We can’t manage without the Master of Sea Castle," Nillie said anxiously.

"That’s why, my dear aunt, Sea Castle now relies on you. I wish you luck," Deer again spoke his last words...

His words disappeared without a trace, as if they had never existed.

"Lord Deer!" she screamed.

As the rumbling noise erupted, she was shocked to see the great vortex above, countless statues and rocks swept up, the deep sea never quiet again.

It rumbled down...

"Nillie." She heard someone speak beside her ear, and when she opened her eyes, it was broad daylight.

Roman gently wiped the sweat from her forehead, "I heard you calling for Lord Deer in your dream."

She appeared dazed, trying to grasp something, but the memories from the dream faded like the receding tide, leaving nothing behind.

She felt an inexplicable sadness, as if she had lost a kin.

Nillie bit her lip, sat down on Roman’s lap, and vigorously shook her body as if on a seesaw, her blue hair also swaying side to side.

She dispelled the terrifying mental shadows.