The Strongest Farmer in Another World ~I'm a "Farmer", Not a Demon King! ~ - Chapter 289

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

Chapter 289   Crown Prince: Why is this happening…

Elliot’s POV

“W-What the…”

Plants are growing out of people’s bodies. That’s the simple way to put it. While that alone is significant, it’s impossible to just call it ‘that alone’ in any way. There are those who, while growing plants from their stomachs or backs, groan and scream while writhing on the ground. Some walk around, shaking their bodies, seeking help. Among them, there are those who no longer move, perhaps already dead.

However, as a commonality among all of them, regardless of the degree, each person had some kind of plant growing from their bodies.

Plants growing from human bodies is impossible. But such an impossible thing is happening right before my eyes.

What is this? What is happening?!

Seeing the scene in front of me, I felt an eerie, horrifying sensation, as if something invisible was scraping away at my mind. Could this be a nightmare? Am I being shown an illusion? I couldn’t help but think so.

“!”

Come to think of it, didn’t I also avoid the seed attacks just now? Thinking about it, I looked down, and from the fist-sized seed, a small sprout was breaking out of its shell.

The sprout emerging from that seed gradually grew larger, and at the same time, an immense discomfort and pain, as if something was crawling and stirring the contents of my leg, erupted. And not just from my legs, but inexplicably, I felt a similar discomfort and pain from my abdomen, which shouldn’t have been directly attacked at all. What on earth is happening!?

“Ughhhh!”

For some reason, the growth of plants on me is slower than on others, but if left unchecked, I’ll eventually be covered in plants like the others.

Thinking about that and imagining myself in that state, I couldn’t stand still.

I need to do something. I have to do something. I must do something to stop this. That thought alone dominated my mind.

Unconsciously understanding that the person standing on the castle wall I saw earlier was likely responsible, I quickly turned around to find that individual—found him.

“《War God Transformation》!”

If I defeat him, this misery will end. Thinking this, I forcibly tore off the plants growing from my body and discarded them. Then, to get closer, I activated the third body enhancement skill that martial artists learn at the tenth rank.

I enhanced my body to the maximum without restraint. After taking a step, I should be able to reach the wall.

However, just before taking that step, the voice, clearly picked up by my enhanced senses, muttered softly.

“《Harvest》.”

As those words were uttered, the scythe that had somehow been held in his hand swung, and the screams heard from behind ceased.

Instinctively turning around, my vision was dyed red. It wasn’t me who had been affected. Not me, but everyone else. Red liquid—blood sprayed like a fountain from the bodies of the soldiers who had been stationed behind. It dyed the sky and the world red.

And despite being on a battlefield, in the midst of a war, with tens of thousands of soldiers behind me, everything fell silent. All I could hear were the unpleasant sounds of water and the rustling of plants swaying in the wind. There were distant sounds, but they were faint moans. It was so quiet that it was hard to believe it was the sound of tens of thousands of people.

“《Incineration》.”

In the midst of such a silent space, my enhanced body picked up a sound I didn’t want to hear.

The next moment, a different shade of red filled my field of vision. A different red than before—flames.

“What is this… What is this! Why has this happened!”

——◆◇◆◇——

Crown Prince Lucius POV

“Well, let’s see how things unfold. It would be great if everything could just end without any issues…”

I think that, but this time it won’t be so simple. If it were that easy to resolve, the kingdom would have taken care of Karakas before it reached this point.

Well, whatever. Since I can’t do anything about the battle anymore, all that’s left is to trust them and wait.

Still, just waiting isn’t my style.

“I have my own tasks to take care of.”

As I muttered to myself in a self-reassuring manner, I switched my focus and gathered the key individuals.

“As for the cup from earlier, does anyone know which village it came from? And where are the soldiers who provided the cup assigned?”

While I refrained from making a fuss in front of the soldiers earlier, now seemed like an appropriate time to inquire.

“Well, um… Was there a problem?”

One of the gathered individuals, a member of the supply unit, responded to my inquiry, looking quite uneasy.

It was only natural for them to feel that way, as a prince and the overall commander of the army had just asked them such a question, inducing anxiety in anyone.

“Let’s overlook the fact that you didn’t seek confirmation from me. It’s necessary for each unit to make judgments on their own since I can’t micromanage the entire army. That’s why we have multiple divisions, each with its own commander.

What I want to address is not there but rather the efficiency of the preparations.”

Efficiency is not an issue under normal circumstances. However, it should be under normal circumstances. The soldiers who brought that cup claimed they didn’t seek permission because I was talking to Elliot, but that sounds a bit odd.

I talked to Elliot for only a few minutes. Nevertheless, by the time I finished and left the tent, it had already been distributed to almost all the soldiers. This seems a bit too fast.

It’s possible that they began preparing when I started talking to Elliot, and I didn’t notice due to the timing. However, that’s probably not the case. After all, they mentioned seeking confirmation from me but proceeded to prepare and distribute it while I was talking. If that were true, they would have waited until we finished our conversation before starting the preparations.

However, that would not have been enough time in just a few minutes.

They had it prepared in advance. After that, they confirmed my state and then distributed it. This sequence was necessary; otherwise, they wouldn’t have been able to distribute it to the soldiers without my knowledge.

However, this raises the question of why they did such an unusual thing. For such an unusual act, there must be some intent behind it.

Perhaps it’s a possibility that the enemy set it up. Alternatively, it could be someone like Father or the Prime Minister, individuals keeping some kind of secret from me.

However, when asked what kind of plan there could be with such simple fruits, I have no idea. I’ve been cautious about poisons, using the purification magical tool covertly, and considering that something might still linger despite not being completely eliminated, I left the sediment without drinking it, so there shouldn’t be any issues.

But being cautious about poisons is something they would be aware of, and still not knowing what the intention was, I decided to call the soldiers to help find an answer.

—However, there was no time to confirm such things.

“…Ah, ah. Nice to meet you.”

Suddenly, a voice from the enemy was heard.

The quality of the voice seemed younger than mine. He might be an adult, but it still had the feeling of someone who had recently become one.

While listening to that voice, Elliot and the others continued without stopping, but the enemy didn’t seem flustered.

Why? If someone gets so close, his voice should inevitably sound panicked… Or maybe he has confidence that he can do something about it?

“Well, let me get serious for a moment.”

Against Elliot and the other three members of the Eight Heavens who were advancing, the voice attacked using a method of lifting the ground.

As a result, Elliot and Barbados, who were advancing, were lifted into the air.

“Hmm. Is that earth magic? I see, I see. Well, as expected, it seems there’s a quite powerful individual on the enemy side.”

” Asbar. …If you were to face that again, could you restrain it?”

“I can, or I can’t, it’s hard to say. However, in order to do that, I have to be constantly vigilant, so I won’t be in high spirits.”

“…Then, I’ll offer additional rewards. If they attack our camp again, I want you to counteract it.”

Those two should be able to descend safely from that height, so there shouldn’t be a need to deal with it. More importantly, it’s about us. If such an attack were to directly hit our camp, the damage would be considerable.

“Hmm. Well, fine. As for me, I can’t stomach the idea of our own camp being tampered with as they please.”

Having obtained his consent, Asbar distanced himself, and then there was further movement from the enemy. The enemy seemed to unleash another attack.

Some kind of attack… It’s quite challenging to target those four who are continuously moving away from the city wall. It requires skill to target moving objects, but even more so, any attack needs a considerably high rank to reach that distance.

However, the opponents are the ‘Eight Heavens,’ the highest-ranking forces in our country.

It’s hard to see clearly from a distance, but somehow, it can be seen. Elliot probably used body reinforcement. He seems to have endured the attack head-on and stopped in his tracks.

Barbados, judging by his continued running, likely avoided the enemy’s attack.

As for Adriana… did she defend with water? A thick wall of water is visibly formed in front of her.

As for Lancia, I don’t know. In the first place, her whereabouts are unknown; her figure isn’t visible. She probably hasn’t been hit by the enemy’s attack.

But as the battle continued like this…

“——Enjoy my gift to the fullest.”

With those words, screams—no, shrieks—resounded from the surroundings.

“Aaargh!?”

“What!?”

Startled by the screams, I looked around, only to see something tentacle-like winding around, or rather, bursting through the bodies of the soldiers around me. What is happening here?

“W-What’s happening!? What’s going on!”

As I looked around again to comprehend what was happening, the same scene was unfolding everywhere.

“D-de—Gaaah!?”

One of the soldiers, who had relatively few plants growing from his body, approached me with a faltering step, reaching out towards me. Midway, he screamed while spitting blood.

Then, the plants growing from his body showed further growth, piercing and constricting his entire body.

“Huh!?”

I let out a pathetic voice, one that was embarrassing even for myself as the leader of my subordinates and soldiers. However, there was no helping it.

Desperately trying to figure out what to do, what was happening, my mind refused to work properly. No matter how much I thought, my thoughts inevitably gravitated towards the horrifying scene unfolding before my eyes.

However, that wasn’t the end of it.

It was far too horrific, almost like a hellish scene, to call it just that.

While I was in confusion, the situation unfolded further, and it seemed like another attack from the enemy. — Probably, it was an attack.

Amidst the chaos of pain and suffering, followed by the bizarre growth of plants from the bodies, various voices echoed. However, those voices suddenly ceased.

In front of me, who had no idea why this happened, the heads of those who had suddenly sprouted plants from their bodies fell. The soldiers’ voices stopped because, naturally, if your head is severed, you can’t make a sound.

However, the heads didn’t just fall; after falling, they floated in the air for a moment. Simultaneously, like a fountain, a red liquid — blood — sprayed from the bodies of those who lost their heads. It dyed the sky, the earth, everything red.

In the midst of the blood shower, the detached heads danced in the air for a brief moment before suddenly losing all strength and falling.

Whether it was to avoid witnessing such a spectacle or for another reason, I collapsed on the spot, gazing down at my own body.

However, what I saw was my own body, soaked in blood, as if I had suffered a severe injury.

Seeing my own condition, I realized for the first time that my entire body was drenched in blood.

Though it was natural given the raining blood, in this all-encompassing red scenario, I had no room to be conscious of such things.

Yet, understanding my own state and realizing that everything red around me was human blood, a wave of discomfort suddenly surged.

“…!”

Unable to suppress the nausea welling up from the depths of my stomach, I vomited while staining my own body.

But… but even then, this hellish ordeal was not over. As if mocking the atrocities that had already taken place, more ‘red’ — flames — were added.

Initially, I could only faintly discern something shimmering in the distance. Fearful of what might happen next, I shifted my focus to that shimmer. Rather, I couldn’t bring myself to focus on anything else. Ignoring the fallen soldiers, the scattered heads, the ceaseless sound of water, I concentrated solely on that shimmering something, as if it alone held my consciousness.

And what I saw as I directed my gaze was flames crawling along the ground.

They were emerging in a way that filled the space between Karakas and our makeshift camp, and furthermore, they were manifesting, enclosing our camp.

These were not all-consuming flames but rather weak, roasting ones. However, that made it even more terrifying. It felt as if they were teasing us, toying with us, as if we were being scornfully tormented.

“Uwaaaaah!”

However, although these flames were initially feeble, gradually their intensity increased, ultimately transforming into something akin to all-devouring fire.

In this state, the surviving soldiers, who had been in disarray, seemed to notice the flames. The shouts that followed were a different kind of outcry, making the surroundings noisy once again.

Upon realizing that there were still soldiers alive, I felt a slight relief. I involuntarily loosened my expression. However, to laugh in such a situation, I might have lost my sanity somewhere.

The earth was adorned with red puddles, the flames painted the sky, and the world was dyed with blood and fire. The two ‘reds’ had stained everything.

“Why has this happened!”

Even Elliot’s cry reached me here… but truly, why had all this happened?