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

Chapter 405 A Terrifying Legend a Century Later

Roman is a peerless genius in the field of magic. He is incredibly skilled in spells.

He quickly mastered all the basic spells and then turned to studying the more advanced Silvermoon system.

He practiced magic only during the cool nights and handled government affairs during the sweltering days. Maintaining only two hours of sleep each day, his lifestyle was extremely demanding, yet he achieved remarkable results. Behind these achievements, however, lay an extraordinary consumption of resources.

Roman would use his brief sleep time to enter the "Battlefield Simulation" in his dreams, where he would lead his apostle warriors to relive the battlefields he had experienced before.

Every day on that illusory battlefield, he would master new spells, his spellcasting skills progressing from unfamiliar to proficient.

He knew what he was doing. He was the source of everything, the key to everything. He had to strengthen himself, transform into perfection and power, and then pass on the magic he possessed to his apostles. Like a mother beast nursing her young, he would nourish the souls of his apostles.

Only in this way can the valley possess the power to resist external forces.

But there are only so many resources in total; he can't conjure them out of thin air.

Zhu Yuanzhang had to dedicate over a decade to farming before he could seize power and become emperor. The former had a solid foundation, while Luo Man only had a small, underdeveloped wasteland with scarce human and material resources. No matter how talented and diligent he was, he couldn't catch up with the resource development that others had accumulated over thousands of years.

Of course, Roman has accumulated some savings over the years for unforeseen circumstances, and he can use them now without any need to be frugal.

He negotiated with Tashina, hoping that Princess White Steel would offer her dowry in exchange for the resources of the Silver Moon Knights.

Tashina possesses two extraordinary unit types: White Knights and Black Iron Knights. This is the capital that Iolion bestowed upon her, allowing her to wield power over the land.

But this doesn't mean Tashina doesn't need the Silver Moon Knight anymore.

The White Knight's forging technique is almost impossible to replicate, making it difficult for later generations to imitate. Black Iron is even more difficult to replicate. At its peak, the Io Dynasty was wealthy and powerful, collecting taxes from the entire land, which allowed it to operate its smelting machines and pour all sorts of valuable resources into them without hesitation.

She's currently without land or manpower, and her extraordinary units are becoming increasingly rare and irreplaceable. To replenish her forces with fresh blood, she has no choice but to cooperate with powerful forces.

Duke Oak was a good candidate, but his appeasement policy ran counter to her ambitions, and Oak was unlikely to use his family's wealth to support her restoration plan.

In the end, Roman promised to forge fifty sets of Silver Moon Armor for her within two years, in exchange for chests of gemstones, crystals, and mithril.

Felicia, one of the twins, also left during this period.

If the pirates didn't launch a counterattack immediately, the probability of a follow-up attack was also low—they were vengeful and never held grudges overnight.

……

The summer of the sixth year.

Roman didn't get the dragon flames he was waiting for, but he did get a rainless season.

The sun went mad and scorched the earth.

This season should have been rainy, but since the last rain of spring, there have been only scorching suns for sixty or seventy days, with no rain at all.

The sky was stifling and scorching hot, the farmers' skin was sunburned and cracked, the leaves curled up, and even the lush vegetation could not withstand the heat.

The once turbulent Bro River has been tamed by the sun, flowing gently along its course, with its flow gradually decreasing.

Margaret, unusually, spoke to Roman, saying that this phenomenon was just the beginning and that various extreme weather events would intensify in the future.

Drought will reduce food production.

Origin City is situated in a basin with numerous rivers. Abundance City is also located beside the Bro River. Neither city is particularly short of water; Roman manages water resources effectively and has a strong grassroots organization. However, he cannot irrigate hundreds of thousands of acres of land entirely by manpower.

In fact, he had already mobilized all available resources to minimize the losses.

But the local lords were unaware of the consequences of this disaster.

The Black Iron Lands had enjoyed a century of peace. Thanks to its solid foundation, even after two years of turmoil caused by various kings, this vast land had not been torn apart, and the granaries still held grain—at least on the surface, the rule of the Io royal family was still maintained.

With the blessing of the gods, the Black Iron Kingdom's power actually increased further, and its oppression of the lower classes became even more severe, completely disregarding the people's livelihood. Two months after their defeat, the allied forces attacking Plenty City rallied again.

The feudal lords were anxious, and their commander, Macol, was equally impatient.

They need to end this war as soon as possible and send the main force of the Black Iron Army to the northern front to aid the Papal Knights and fight against the Dragon Pirates.

But the blasphemers stood like a rock in the way, unbreakable and unmovable, giving everyone a strong sense of powerlessness.

No one dared to disregard him, much less let him go unchecked.

The Holy See and the Black Iron King's attitude was clear: the blasphemer must be killed with one blow... Even if he couldn't be killed, he had to be forced back to the Origin City in the valley, and the City of Abundance was reduced to scorched earth, forbidding him from having the ability to interfere with the outside world!
The outside must be safe first!

The two supreme leaders, the divine right and the royal right, were of one mind and made this decision, which was also supported by Duke of Rage Tide.

No one can back down now. Even after a crushing defeat, they have no choice but to grit their teeth and move forward.

To boost morale, the Papacy provided more support, and the feudal lords, having learned from their previous experience, regrouped an army of over 100,000 and launched a massive second offensive.

The sky was cloudless and windless, and everyone was listless. Sweat soaked their coats, dust rose, and steam, like steam from a steamer, stretched for miles, enveloping everyone's heads, choking and oppressive, suffocating them.

Marching under the scorching sun, no one dared to look up. They felt that everything around them was dazzling. The land was like a blazing basin, and they were walking on the red-hot basin. Their bare feet felt like they were about to melt. They were weak and powerless. The surrounding air was filled with a stench. Any sound was unpleasant and any color was glaring.

Even simple breathing felt like it was burning my lungs; the heat wave made me dizzy.

The conscripted soldiers assembled by the gentlemen were extremely susceptible to heatstroke; their physical condition was too poor, and so many collapsed and awoke by the roadside. The accompanying priests declared that they had fallen on the road to vanquishing demons, and that the gods would accept their souls. They then left those suffering from heatstroke to die on their own, never to awaken again.

This was a victory for religious faith. Most of the soldiers had no complaints, only cursing the blasphemers in their hearts, and thinking that no matter what the outcome, they would end this arduous journey as soon as possible and be guided away by the gods.

The sun was scorching during the day, and the night was no better, with gusts of hot wind blowing – but they preferred to march at night rather than be roasted to death – so the marching time changed from daytime to night.

However, the harsh environment meant they could only get a little closer each day, which was understandable.

Having suffered a great loss last time, the allied forces were unwilling to advance rashly this time.

This time, Makor planned to fortify his camp, fight a protracted war, and advance step by step, so that he could naturally push his army directly into the heart of Plenty City—Plenty City had no city walls or gates, but was a collection of villages, and he planned to push through in this way.

The summer march was devastating, with countless men falling like bamboo poles, but Macol persisted.

If things aren't going well for him, then the situation on the blasphemers' side probably isn't much better.

Conqueror knights possess basic resistance to both heat and cold, but not everyone is a conqueror knight.

Wearing plate armor, which becomes scorching hot and heavy under the sun, is like being a can in a steamer. The fighting strength of the valley army will inevitably be greatly reduced, and the excellent equipment will become useless.

At that time, their numbers will be an absolute advantage, and they will be invincible...

Until they marched to a certain location.

Everyone stopped in their tracks in front of the 'mountains' without prior agreement.

After several days of marching, the soldiers' eyes, which had become numb and dull from exhaustion, began to show other emotions—pure fear. Some were even scared to death.

The scene reflected deep within their pupils was a mountain range composed of clay and corpses.

Swarms of flies, a vast, dense mass, like dark clouds, danced in the stench-filled air. Dirty bones were exposed, the clay had collapsed, and flesh had been hollowed out by maggots. Skulls were embedded in their surfaces, and maggots crawled out of the empty eye sockets of the skeletons, staring blankly at the black iron road before them.

This was a horrific scene, and the perpetrator of this tragedy was none other than the blasphemer Roman.

When this story spreads throughout the land, people will realize the terrifying true nature of the rulers of this place.

Even a hundred years later, it can still stop a baby from crying, becoming a terrifying legend that chills everyone to the bone...

(End of this chapter)