Iron Harvest: When Farming Becomes Conquest-Chapter 63 - 32 Tears Falling, Emotions Fading

63: Chapter 32: Tears Falling, Emotions Fading

63 -32: Tears Falling, Emotions Fading

Northern Land has shorter days during winter, and longer ones in summer.

The next day, Valia, who was fully prepared, began her hunt for the King of Alien Claws.

In this rare clear weather.

The Frost Witch, with a spear on her back and basking in the brilliant sunlight, leapt into Cold Wave Lake.

Her tall, beautiful body moved fluidly, her snow-white skin shimmered under the sunlight, and her crystal-clear white hair was dazzling too.

This reminded Shasta of the mermaid legends she had heard about, those extremely beautiful creatures residing on certain islands of the Nether Sea, only the bravest sailors had the chance to spot them, and were deeply enchanted, as if their souls had been hooked away.

Valia resembled such extraordinarily beautiful creatures—just in a much larger form.

She treated the freezing water below zero degrees as if it were nothing, her streamlined body seemed to not perceive any resistance, her strong, white legs kicked like a fishtail, and then she swam forward, soon disappearing without a trace.

Shasta followed from the back of a giant eagle.

Soon, Shasta saw Valia emerge from the water and step onto the soil of Lake Heart Island.

She knew the location of the Alien Claw’s nest on Lake Heart Island, the Alien Claws didn’t gather in one place, but they all instinctively came here to lay eggs.

Valia strides towards the nest.

She drew her spear and cleanly killed three guardian Alien Claws, each about five or six meters long.

She then tossed one giant Alien Claw egg after another, each over half a meter in size.

In mid-air, she then used Spells to shoot many Ice Crystals, those formed and malformed Alien Claw eggs all burst open, thick fluid scattered over the lake surface.

Suddenly, the calm lake surface burst into turmoil, water surged magnificently!

Alien Claws reproduce with difficulty, and now they all plunged into a riot, as if their inverse scales had been plucked.

Shasta in the sky was a bit dazed, not expecting Valia’s actions to be so astonishing.

The first to arrive on the island was the Alien Claw King.

It woke up from its slumber, having lived for at least a hundred years, and now it was in hysterical fury, the fury of being challenged at the top of the Cold Wave Lake food chain.

“Frost people fear nothing!” Valia ran forward.

The Alien Claw King swung its huge, dark blade-like claws at her, and Valia conjured a giant ice shield to block.

The half-meter-thick shield immediately cracked, and Valia knelt on one knee to dissipate the force, while her other hand stabbed out with a wooden spear, blinding one eye of the Alien Claw King.

As the Alien Claw King felt pain, its other claw pressed down towards Valia.

Valia agilely dodged away, the Alien Claw King’s left claw hit the ground, then it rotated its body, its four-meter-long thick tail swept across towards Valia, and more terrifyingly, the scales on that tail opened up, covered in barbs, like a thick, thorny vine full of spikes.

Even a cow would be turned into minced meat by this thick tail’s sweep!

Valia used Frost Magic to encase herself into a three to five-meter-tall giant ice pillar, the base of the pillar also froze all the land within five meters, forming a pedestal, as if it were linked to the ground.

Yet she still felt that tremendous force shake her.

Bang!

Crack!

Valia’s ice pillar shattered, flying out diagonally for tens of meters.

But in the next second, she flipped to her feet, her Mana surged within her, she tightly held her spear, which gathered ice to finally form a five-meter-long giant Ice Spear.

She grasped the Ice Spear in both hands and roared as she charged towards the Alien Claw King.

Clang!

As if made of cold iron, its claws collided with Valia’s giant Ice Spear, emitting a deafening boom.

The air exploded, currents tumbling.

The frozen ground and snow were all blown away, swirling up.

But in the next second, all the snowflakes rolled back, sticking onto Valia’s body, she transformed into a ferocious Ice Armor, like an ice giant.

Shasta was amazed, believing this was a special Spell of the Frost people.

She hadn’t taught Valia this kind of Spell technique.

Covered in Ice Armor, Valia’s already towering figure grew even taller.

She confronted the Alien Claw King head-on, using her Ice Spear to pry open its claws, ramming its teeth with her Ice Armor, her spear blade fiercely slashing, cutting deep marks into tough iron-like scales, Dragon Blood spurting from them.

But by then, more Alien Claws also emerged from the lake, swift in movement, joining the Battle.

Valia had the upper hand, her actions were decisive, fighting at close quarters, dodging the claw strikes, she rushed into the blind spot where the Alien Claw King was blinded, attacking from the side, her nearly three-meter-tall body stomping on the ground with a thunderous sound.

Suddenly, she flipped the more than two-meter-tall Alien Claw King over—just like a human flipping a fierce tiger onto the ground, exposing the softer abdomen and neck.

“Ha!”

She fiercely drove her Ice Spear downward, the sharp cold blade slicing open the neck of the Alien Claw King, Dragon Blood surged forth, its huge head thudding to the ground.

By this time, Alien Claws from the front, back, and flanks all attacked at once.

Valia rolled to dodge an Alien Claw behind her, but other Alien Claws launched successive attacks.

Valia swung her Ice Spear, repelling them all.

Surrounded, she grabbed the terrifying head of the Alien Claw King with one hand, ran wildly, all the cold Mana dissipating from her.

A giant eagle descended timely from the sky.

It swooped down, using its talons to grab both Valia and the head of the Alien Claw King, but their combined weight of four to five hundred kilograms nearly prevented it from taking off, at a critical moment Shasta enhanced its strength with a Spell, allowing it to struggle to increase altitude, flying towards the lakeside.

Only the wailing cries of enraged Alien Claws echoed under the sky at Lake Heart Island.

…

“That was really risky just now.”

Although Shasta hadn’t participated in the battle, she felt the residual fear.

Valia put on her beast skin clothes, ready to process the spoils of war—stripping off all the flesh and keeping only the fresh skulls.

She said with a smile, “The spirit of my grandfather will protect me.”

“Is that so?”

Shasta felt no reality in the nebulous legends.

The Prophet Witch, however, was quite wary of this place, claiming it was a burial ground for ancient myths, where extraordinarily large creatures had fallen and their unwilling souls flowed with a special power through this land.

She didn’t know what that meant, but perhaps she could learn something from Valia.

“Navaniel said that the priests of the Frost people could hear the voices of the earth and the snowstorms.

It’s the whispering of the ancestral spirits from beneath the ice and soil…” Valia mentioned, furrowing her brows slightly.

The tribes of the Frost people were scattered across much of the Northern Land, and some had even entered a human kingdom called Ice Island.

Yet, they had never truly lost touch.

The power of the ancestor’s spirit stretched across this vast land, and communication with this spirit could reveal happenings thousands of miles away.

In ancient times, most Frost people possessed this ability, and back then only those with the strongest talents could become priests, but those unique talents gradually faded over time.

Now, having awakened her grandfather’s bloodline and mastered the frost spells, she was supposed to become a better priest than Navaniel.

But Valia had never heard the guidance or felt the responses from her grandfather’s spirit.

She thought maybe the spirit of her grandfather believed the time wasn’t right and hadn’t yet transmitted his whispers into her ears.

So, Valia brought out something to prove that what the Frost people said was true.

Shasta saw that it was a piece of Ice Jade Marrow.

Its white jade body emitted a soft blue glow, sourced from the same type of Jade Marrow she had received.

“This is the blessing of my grandfather.

Every newborn Frost infant is gifted this treasure by the elders until they pass it on to their children upon reaching adulthood.

It is an important medium for the Frost people to inherit emotions.”

Valia held it in her hand, placed her fist over her chest, and then closed her eyes, bowing her head slightly.

Her beautiful face, usually as sharp as a sculpted statue, now softened a bit.

Valia said, “No matter how far the Frost people are from the ice plains or their tribes, the Ice Jade Marrow will guide them home.

No Frost person wouldn’t know the way back to their homeland.”

Shasta hadn’t expected the Ice Jade Marrow to be so special to the Frost people.

Navaniel had also given her a pale blue Ice Jade Marrow.

She found it odd and took out the Jade Marrow she wore.

Upon seeing the Jade Marrow in Shasta’s hand, Valia understood immediately.

She said, “Did Navaniel give that to you?

Then accept it.

Navaniel once hoped his child could become a priest, so he trained him to death, and he really did die…

While I was very young.

“He was named Grozil.

I still remember that silent and introverted big brother.

He was as excellent as me…

Ah, see how hauntingly blue and clear this Jade Marrow is; it was a heavy burden for him, and I’m glad he could pass that burden onto you.”

Handing Ice Jade Marrow to the Frost people was an act of inheritance, but giving it to humans was a gesture of friendship.

Shasta couldn’t help but ask, “Why is it blue?”

“Our ancestral Frost Giants had blue blood flowing in their veins; hence, the emotions of the Frost people are blue.

Wearing the Ice Jade Marrow allows one to embed emotions into it.

Passed down through generations, the color of the Jade Marrow never fades.

But if one party dies, the blue color would dissipate, and if all the Frost people who possessed the Jade Marrow die, it will revert to white, the color that signifies a new beginning…”

“So that’s how it is…” Shasta’s perspective of the Frost people changed drastically; they were not as barbaric and closed off as they appeared, but were a part of some profound and unique tradition.

Just as she was about to listen more, she saw Valia’s pupils suddenly dilate, and crystal-like tears shimmer in her ice-blue eyes.

When Shasta followed Valia’s gaze, she saw the blue light within the translucent, smooth Ice Jade Marrows in Valia’s hands starting to fade, floating up like fireflies…

Specks of clear and lustrous blue light separated from the Jade Marrow…

Each strand seemed to embody the world’s most earnest goodwill and tenderness…

Like an ocean’s vast and deep blue receding, drying out…

Gradually returning to its original color…

The color that signifies a new beginning…

Shasta’s red lips trembled, moved by Valia’s indescribably mournful expression; she felt sorrow for her sister’s sadness.

Then, she noticed the Jade Marrow in her own hand also slowly scattering its pale blue luster…

Shasta clenched her fingers tightly, trying to gather them back, yet unable to stop those intangible emotions from drifting away and vanishing…

Navaniel…

“Shalulu!!!”

Shasta let out a piercing scream!

She uttered the real name of the Beast Witch!

And the soul of the Beast Witch residing within the giant eagle also heard Shasta’s mournful call and woke abruptly from its slumber!

It raised its long neck.

The Jade Marrow hidden under its neck feathers fell, emitting a pale blue glow, like fireflies gradually fading away.

The giant eagle let out an unusually loud cry, flapped its wings creating a blizzard, and took off into the air with the two of them!