Iron Harvest: When Farming Becomes Conquest-Chapter 60 - 29 Kindness, Given to Strangers

60: Chapter 29: Kindness, Given to Strangers

60 -29: Kindness, Given to Strangers

The Frost people do not interact with ordinary humans.

Mortals worship the Wind Snow God, yet they do not know that the ancestors of the Frost people are akin to those beings.

Humans remain ignorant of ancient times past, and the pact signed with the Winter King a thousand years ago is now but smoke and clouds.

Now, the Wandong people view the Frost people as barbarians from the Extreme North Icefield—Navaniel did not understand what barbarian meant, but could perceive humanity’s wariness and hostility towards the Frost people, along with some feelings of disdain and arrogance.

Fortunately, the Northern Land is vast enough to accommodate both tribes, preventing significant conflicts.

Currently, the Frost people hold quite a favorable impression of spellcasters.

This is all because of Valia; she is the first Frost person in centuries to awaken her bloodline.

She could harness the power of ice without external aids, truly possessing the childlike form of the ancient Frost Giants.

This means Valia will soon succeed Navaniel and become the Priest of the Ice Split tribe, gathering all the tribes together and leading her people back to the Extreme North Icefield.

Over the past century, the Frost people dwindled from eighty thousand to less than forty thousand today, yet they never abandoned the idea of returning to their homeland.

There lies their true home, where the spirit of their ancestors resides in physical form on the icefield, and the wandering souls on the Northern Land are merely partial radiation of His power.

Navaniel thought: letting this spellcaster interact more with Valia could be beneficial, helping to enhance Valia’s spells and possibly learning some long-lost spells of the Frost people.

He believed the outstanding Valia would not miss this opportunity.

“Grandfather’s daughter is undergoing trials; she is the most outstanding youth of the Ice Split tribe, having ventured alone to Cold Wave Lake long ago to hunt dragon’s abnormal claws.

She doesn’t have much time left, and if she returns empty-handed, it means she has failed.”

Navaniel pointed Shasta in the specific direction and location.

Shasta breathed a sigh of relief that she hadn’t met another Roman.

Upon hearing her intent to take the Witch away, he didn’t shout to kill her, oblivious to how easily she could kill him instead.

The priest of the Frost people was more enlightened than that young yet strange noble.

Shasta made a judgment.

She also said to Navaniel, “I’m not joking.

You really should relocate; the Church’s cavalry will soon come to your doorstep.”

Navaniel laughed again: “Why would they send someone to harm us?

If they come, let them!

The Frost people fear nothing, and the spirit of our ancestors will protect us!”

He was stubborn, and Shasta couldn’t persuade the Frost people; they wouldn’t listen to her.

Navaniel said, “This land has a soul, and the wind and snow convey its will, and we will be enlightened.”

“If you insist, I will say no more, but beware of the Church Knights’ armor and sharp blades; their power is far more terrifying than you imagine.”

Shasta prepared to find Valia.

If Valia were unwilling, she’d have to use force, knocking Valia out if necessary to take her away, regardless of inciting the wrath of the Frost people.

In this matter, she had never been stubbornly principled—she just didn’t know if the giant eagle could carry both of them in flight.

Her other sisters were on their way to the Northern Land; she was not fighting alone.

Narneir said, “Friend, you are very tired now; it’s not suitable to continue a long journey, and your Flying Beast is also famished.

Come to the camp and rest first.”

Only then did Shasta realize she was in bad shape.

She had rushed here, her black and silky hair blown into a mess, extraordinarily fluffy, and her delicate face was cut with numerous fine wounds by the cold wind, the blood from which froze on her face.

She had lost most of the feeling on her skin, therefore didn’t notice, only felt as though her face and body were stiff from the cold, as hard as a piece of iron, sustained only by the mana of the Witch, allowing her to move.

Indeed, she needed some rest now.

Navaniel offered her fresh fish and venison for her to taste.

The meat was all raw.

Shasta thought no wonder the Wandong people considered the Frost people as barbarians from the extreme north.

She only ate some raw fish.

The fish was delicious and tender, without any earthy taste, albeit without seasoning, it was quite palatable.

However, the venison was not as tasty, having a bloody taste and rich with a blood-like flavor.

The giant eagle was also feasting.

It swallowed the delicious venison and then told the nearby Frost person, “Some more, please.”

The young Frost person was obviously frightened, his expression becoming extremely reverent.

Shasta suddenly facepalmed and turned to Navaniel, “She’s my sister; her will resides in the body of the giant eagle.”

“So she is also a spellcaster.

I thought it was the embodiment of the Cloud Tearer,” Navaniel marveled.

They called those ancient beasts the ancestor spirits.

The beasts spoken of by the Frost people differed vastly from those in human understanding.

They revered their ancestors and various beasts.

Those ancient giant beings gradually lost realism in human legends, leaving only vague and strange tales.

Yet in the Frost people’s lore, they grew more profound.

Among them, the Cloud Tearer was the legendary Flying Beast king they worshiped.

It was said that its wings could tear the sky and shatter clouds.

To this day, the tribe in belief of the Cloud Tearer still exists, and feathers are their symbol.

“Our grandfathers were skilled in spellcasting, but we have gradually lost this ability.”

Navaniel handed a cup of deer milk to Shasta.

By grandfather, they referred to the Frost Giants of ancient times.

Though the Frost priests could also cast spells, they had to rely on external objects.

This is something discouraging and saddening.

Starting from long ago, the bloodline of the Frost people grew more dormant, the glorious power inherited from their ancestors gradually disappearing from their bodies.

The Frost people found it increasingly difficult to survive in the Extreme North Icefield; they grew more fearful of the cold and more difficult to bear offspring.

The number of priests dwindled, and some small tribes could no longer hear the voice of the ancestral spirit.

Until one year, the will of the ancestors brought enlightenment, and it was exceedingly clear.

They obeyed this enlightenment, came south, and lived alongside the Wandong people.

These hundred odd years of time passed by in the blink of an eye.

To humans, twenty years would be a generational span, but to the Frost people, a hundred years were merely enough for them to reproduce three generations.

After coming to this land, without the tempering of severe cold, their power faded even more quickly, the number of those with priestly talent dwindled, and newborn Frost people did not even know the full extent of the Extreme North Icefield or the formidable enemies of the Frost people, only learning narrow and partial knowledge through word of mouth.

Navaniel believed Frost people were akin to snowy trees, sprouting branches at the end of spring, growing lush leaves in summer, then entering a period of decline where all leaves fall, roots lie dormant in the earth, and after enduring a long winter, eventually bringing forth sweetness from bitterness, experiencing a full cycle and reincarnation.

No matter how harsh the environment of the north, there will always be life standing against it.

Valia’s appearance was but an omen or symbol.

“Our power passed down through generations, now broken for too long.”

Navaniel sighed, as the Priest of the Ice Split tribe, he could only use some crude spells, not knowing how to pass them down to the next generation, so the decline of Frost people’s power over this century was unprecedented.

Shasta empathized: “It’s the same with human spellcasters; Mages are massacred, and witches are barely surviving.”

“I cannot understand why humans would strike down their own spellcasters.

Frost people only see spellcasters as exalted priests.”

Shasta remained silent.

Navaniel took an object from his bosom and handed it to Shasta: “Friend, this Ice Jade Marrow is for you, may the ancestor protect you from the assaults of wind and snow.”