The Strongest Farmer in Another World ~I'm a "Farmer", Not a Demon King! ~ - Chapter 288

The Strongest Farmer in Another World ~I’m a “Farmer”, Not a Demon King! ~

Chapter 288   Divine Soldier: Martial Artist and Demon King

Elliot’s POV

The quality of the voice is that of a young man. However, there is a certain discomfort about it.

It’s not just about the youthful quality of the voice. While that is also a point of uncertainty, it’s acceptable because there are individuals who are young yet wield power.

But what can be said about this? From this voice, the words represent the city—or rather, from their perspective, the words represent the entire country. In other words, the speaker of this voice has declared himself as the king.

Nevertheless, despite this, the voice lacks a certain seriousness or dignity. Is the speaker nervous? Making such a declaration?

Even ordinary nobles carry themselves with more dignity, but with this voice, one could easily mistake it for that of an ordinary person.

However, it’s inconceivable for an ordinary person to be here, and it’s equally unlikely for someone to proclaim himself as the Demon King.

In that case, could it be that this lack of dignity in the voice… is because the speaker does not consider it worth seriously addressing even in such a situation?

“Don’t stop! Keep moving forward!”

At any rate, regardless of the reason, it’s not feasible to stop now. Negotiations, if any, have already passed this stage.

“From here on—or rather, it’s already the case, but this is my territory. If you turn back right now, I might consider letting you go… well, it seems like none of you have any intention of turning back.”

Was there nervousness after all? The voice initially seemed somewhat hesitant, but gradually became clearer. Still lacking in dignity, the casual and joking manner of speaking, like that of an ordinary person, became strangely eerie.

“Now, I’ll take this a bit more seriously. Even though it’s self-proclaimed, you’ll regret challenging the Demon King.”

Something is coming!

The moment I heard those words, I inexplicably felt it.

The voice that lacked dignity until now. The lack of dignity remained, but an unsettling feeling increased.

The opponent is going to do something. Thinking that something needs to be done, I decided to activate my skill.

“《Body Enhancement》!”

What I used was not a defensive skill but a skill to enhance physical abilities.

A ‘Martial Artist’ doesn’t have any specific techniques. Skills like 《Slash》, 《Thrust》, 《Projectile》, various combat skills can be learned, but there is no special technique at the end of mastering one thing like ‘Swordsman’ or ‘Spearman’. It’s versatile, to say the least. Good if you consider it, mediocre if you don’t. It can do anything but is not exceptional at anything. That’s the evaluation of a Martial Artist.

In addition, I just activated one skill now, but among the skills, there are three body enhancement-type skills. It’s quite an unbalanced profession.

However, in my case, I was blessed with a constantly active skill learned at the third rank.

Being a Martial Artist means fighting. It’s probably a natural occupation for someone who represents those who fight. During skill use in the midst of battle, I learned a skill called 《Military Merit》, which counts skill use twice for the number of uses. In other words, effectively advancing a rank with half the skill uses.

Thanks to that, I achieved the feat of reaching the tenth rank at a young age. Because I ascended with such a seemingly unfair power, Barbados calls me a ‘fake.’

However, that doesn’t mean the inherent strength of the occupation itself changes. There’s a pride in having the same level of power as other occupations, and in fact, that awareness is correct.

While ‘Martial Artist’ only learns basic skills of other close-combat occupations, by the time you reach the tenth rank, a single swing can’t be stopped by anyone, piercing through and tearing apart everything.

In the case of a ‘Swordsman,’ for example, they only learn the basic skill, 《Slash》, but they have mastered that slash.

Swords, spears, axes, fists, hammers – no one can stop the weapons I wield. I can handle any weapon and defeat any enemy.

Additionally, since my sub-occupation is ‘Healer,’ I can heal minor injuries on my own.

Of course, I can’t instantly heal major injuries like a specialist, so I can only gradually heal them.

However, with most attacks, I won’t collapse and can continue to fight. Even if there’s a large hole in my abdomen, I can barely survive, and given enough time, I can recover. In an hour or so, I could move a little, even with such injuries.

That’s why I’m a ‘Divine Soldier.’ Like an indestructible and versatile soldier from mythology. That’s me.

However, I’m not particularly effective in large-scale attacks, so in battles involving armies, I’m somewhat lacking. But for battles like urban warfare or facing strong opponents, I’m quite suitable.

That said, since I’m leaning towards offense, I don’t have any defensive skills.

Most things can be dealt with through self-enhancement or close combat, so it’s not a problem. However, in a situation where defense is crucial, I have no choice but to handle it with techniques or strengthen myself to endure.

And I chose to enhance myself. I just had a feeling. Besides, trying to dodge when you don’t even know what the enemy is going to do doesn’t make much sense. Even if I get injured, I can heal and continue fighting without any issues.

However, that enhancement was also meaningless.

Well, it wasn’t entirely meaningless. But in terms of blocking the enemy’s attacks, it was utterly useless. After all, the enemy wasn’t targeting me personally but the ground beneath me.

As soon as I felt my footing shake, my field of vision suddenly started to shift. Rather than saying my field of vision shifted, would it be more accurate to say the scenery moved?

Immediately, I glanced around, and in the distance, the ground directly beneath Barbados began to float in the air. Considering the current situation and the scene, it seemed like my own feet were also floating in the air.

However, for me, this level of situation wasn’t a problem. The height was about the fourth floor of a castle, and if I decided to jump, I could easily descend.

Is the enemy also an earth mage like Asbar-sama? If so, should I leave it to Asbar-sama to deal with? When mages of the same attribute use magic in the same place, the one with greater power will take control of the object. If Asbar-sama intervenes in this area, the enemy earth mage may become powerless.

However, it’s not very desirable to go back now and ask for cooperation. Will he even cooperate? Asbar-sama has already fulfilled his role. Forcing that person, who is already unhappy because things aren’t going as planned, to move may not result in proper cooperation. If things go wrong, a significant portion of the city might disappear underground.

That must not happen. For now, it’s not just us facing a problem. So, we should continue like this.

“——!?”

While thinking about this, something suddenly flew towards me in the air.

It was something as small as a grain, but feeling that I shouldn’t take even one directly, I used a skill to strengthen my defense.

“《Body Enhancement – Utmost》!”

In addition to the skills I had used before, I layered another higher-level body enhancement skill and simultaneously extended my arm in front of my face for protection. Even when enhanced, the eyeballs still needed protection.

I had a bad feeling about layering the skills.

With each impact of the flying object hitting me, there was a crackling sound like something bursting, but even with those attacks, I wouldn’t be—

“Ugh!?”

—hurt. I thought so, but at that moment, an impact much stronger than before occurred in my leg, causing me to lose balance and crouch down involuntarily.

While shielding my eyes, I looked down and saw a hole in the thigh part of the armor I was wearing. Though it hadn’t completely penetrated, something the size of a fist was stuck in it. The recent impact must have come from this.

But what is this? … Some kind of seed?

“I wonder if you liked the present from me?”

With those words, a figure appeared on top of the castle wall. Presumably, this person is the source of the voice we’ve been hearing.

Enhanced vision captured a young man with brownish-black hair. He had a good-looking face and was dressed in what appeared to be high-quality attire. Considering the circumstances of making a declaration in such a place, he might not be the “Demon King,” but he could at least be considered of “royal” status.

However, the person who appeared had his forehead pierced by an arrow that seemed to come from nowhere. It was probably Lancia’s doing. Other than her, there shouldn’t be anyone capable of shooting arrows like that.

Despite being daytime, the arrow flew through the air, leaving a streak of light, resembling a shooting star launched from the ground.

“I see, you’re there. Understood. I don’t need another arrow. I’ll finish it before that.”

However, it seems that the recent attack didn’t completely defeat him… No, he might have been a fake from the beginning. Despite claiming to be the Demon King, his voice could still be heard.

But if that’s the case, it could be a bit tricky, couldn’t it? Lancia should be using stealth skills even during this movement, but once discovered, those skills lose their effectiveness. And if her position is revealed, her combat strength would be significantly diminished.

Of course, she should be able to handle regular civilians without any problems, but facing an equal opponent could be challenging.

I hope Lancia has moved to a suitable location and is hiding, but the one claiming to be the Demon King said he would “finish it.” He must be planning something, but what exactly…?

“——Enjoy my present to the fullest.”

The moment the voice of the one claiming to be the Demon King reached us, a slight pain surged from my chest, and from behind, screams akin to being thrown into hell echoed.

“Aaaargh!?”

“Gyaaaaaaah!!”

“Aga-ga-ga-gaah!?”

Hearing the extraordinary screams, I forgot to confirm the pain in my own legs and chest and instinctively turned to look behind.

What unfolded before me after turning around was a scene beyond words.