You were made to farm, and now you're the emperor of an empire?

Chapter 289 The Order of the Conquerors

Roman was accustomed to viewing issues from a perspective that transcended his time, a perspective that allowed him to see through the thick fog and clarify the political motives of various forces.

The Vatican wants to come out.

The raging tide is helping the Vatican emerge.

In order to suppress Roman, Liejia granted the Papacy the authority to mobilize troops.

If the Holy See were to emerge from the Sinnoh Peninsula and join the war against Sora, it would greatly enhance Sinnoh's strength on the Sora battlefield.

The Black Iron King is preventing the Papacy from leaving, otherwise the consequences would be unimaginable.

They haven't completely broken ties yet. Otherwise, the ministers of the Black Iron King wouldn't have been able to break through the blockade and arrive on this land.

“This is not a solution,” the Chancellor of the Exchequer continued before Roman. “Wandering is fighting, the highlands are fighting, the entire north is fighting, Crescent Moon and Sinnoh are fighting, there is war everywhere. They have trampled the Conqueror’s Order to nothing, including you—our King is waiting for your explanation.”

"Explain what?"

"Lord Gale has suffered a defeat on the northern front, and the pirates are advancing towards the southern border, threatening Riftshire and Blackburg," Damon said. "This is not something a lord should be doing."

Roman didn't expect to be able to keep his deal with the pirates a secret.

No one can hide it.

The Vatican's assassins were hidden among the slaves; such a large-scale population migration could not be concealed no matter what.

The minister said, "This is the second reason I've come here. I was prepared that you wouldn't hand over the gold."

Roman said, "What if that's really the case?"

“Then I’ll go,” Damon said. “I don’t want to ask a king for his gold unless I’m tired of living.”

The minister looked very pleased.

"It seems that you, Lord Roman, still have the King's side."

Roman neither confirmed nor denied this, saying, "If you refuse, you should come and tell me immediately, or I might stop the trade... who knows."

But no one told him.

Gale knew, and the Iron King knew too.

But no one told him, allowing him to trade with pirates and obtain a large number of slaves from the north.

"Lord Gael and you are sworn enemies. He listed your crimes to His Majesty the King—after all, you are both Iron vassals. But our King suppressed those accusations for you. It is said that Lord Gael is furious. He kept saying he wanted to challenge you to a duel, but His Majesty the King stopped him."

Roman has reason to believe that Damon was involved in this, otherwise he wouldn't have spoken so passionately about it.

Gale accused him and demanded a confession, but all those accusations vanished without a trace because Roman had powerful connections, and he himself only learned of those connections now.

Roman believed this was part of a courtly power struggle.

The king wanted to let the Arctic pirates do as they pleased to weaken the power of the Rift Armor family, but he couldn't act secretly, otherwise, if he were exposed, the Dragon Keep Grand Guild would directly declare war on the Lord of Black Keep.

It would be very convenient for the King of the Valley to do this, as he is an independent duke and has a past grudge against the Duke of Cracked Armor.

Rather than calling it a lucky accident, it's more accurate to say that the essence of politics and war is about forming alliances and counter-alliances.

The Iron King preferred to place his hopes on pirates.

Thus, in the power struggle, the entire northern part of the Black Iron Lands fell, becoming a land ravaged by pirates.

What would people in the north think if they knew about this?
Without a doubt, the King of the Valley was a damned man, but the King of the Black Iron was an even more damned man.

Roman was accused of being an accomplice to pirates, while the king was accused of treason.

The king betrayed his people; he should be sent to the guillotine and beheaded as a warning to others.

But can those at the bottom of society do it?

They couldn't do it. Covered in mud, they glared at the well-dressed nobles with hatred, and then did nothing until they faced death, carrying their unresolved resentment into hell.

Until the moment of their deaths, the King of the Valley and the Lord of the Black Iron may never have known the bloody wound and dark waves deep within their hearts.

“Then please thank His Majesty the King for me,” Roman said.

One thing at a time, the Lord of the Dark Iron helped him withstand the pressure from Gale.

Otherwise, I reckon things will get complicated.

“This is what His Majesty should do, but Lord Roman, if I may be so bold, what should you be doing?”

The minister stared intently at Roman.

The conference room fell silent for a moment. Only the cold wind howled outside.

For a long time.

Roman asked, "What does His Majesty the King want me to do?"

The minister said softly, "The Order of the Conquerors."

For a moment, the howling wind outside seemed to stop for a brief instant.

Roman fell into deep thought.

He knew this order.

Although it has only existed for a little over a hundred years, it has become a sacred order that all seven land-based nations must abide by.

That is, the strategic order established by the conqueror Ionus based on the geopolitics of the land's states.

The Black Iron Land is located at the center of the entire landmass.

To the north are Iceland and Wandwinter, to the east is the plateau, to the south is Azure Moon, and to the west are the Free Cities and Sinnoh.

The Black Iron Roads, built during the Conquerors' era, spread like a spider web across various countries, and they had the power to mediate and intervene in almost all wars.

But the essence of this order is to preserve the strength of the human race, to make it a whole, to develop peacefully, and to prohibit internal strife.

Both the Dark Iron King and the Dark Iron Duke are key components of this strategy, and neither can be dispensed with.

Is the Kingdom of Iceland being threatened by pirates?

The Black Iron Gang fights pirates in Iceland.

The highland kingdom was invaded by barbarians?

The Black Iron Gang fights the barbarians on the plateau.

Sinnoh has made another move against Azure Moon?
The Black Iron Army warned Sinnoh that if they dared to attack Azure Moon again, they would send troops to attack Sinnoh.

The Raging Tide family's rocky castle echoes the Sinnoh Peninsula. He's not only blocking the power of the Holy See, but also the restless Sinnoh.

The Pale Tower of the Oak family stands in the south, facing the Sea of ​​the Underworld alongside the Baal Mountains, blocking a gap in the earth.

The Rift Armor family is located in the heart of Black Iron and is very flexible. It can provide timely support to whichever front is under pressure.

The Black Iron King serves a role of governance and mediation.

The plan may be good, but if the implementers are not in place, even the best plan is useless.

From a later perspective, the death of Ulster marked the beginning of this chaotic era. The deeply entrenched order of the conquerors suffered an unprecedented collapse on that night at Dragon Castle. The snapping of one iron ring caused all the others to fly off, and from that moment on, order was gone.

The gods poured ominous smoke from the sky onto the earth, creating a smoky, fiery landscape where the situation was unclear, and chaotic sparks spread rapidly within two short years. War raged across the land, darkness enveloped the world, and the long-silent chaos descended. On this dark and fiery stage, figures emerged one by one from the flames: knights, perhaps noble or despicable; ambitious nobles; greedy and mad bandits; and believers of the gods, shouting for holy war. They rode their warhorses, beginning their grand entrance. To set fires? To extinguish them? The warhorses trampled the land, flames burning everywhere, but what burned was not the thorns of the dark forest, but the countless impoverished figures, the fuel and sustenance of this chaotic world.

The thick black smoke from burning the bones added a striking touch to this dimly lit stage.

(End of this chapter)