The Strongest Farmer in Another World ~I'm a "Farmer", Not a Demon King! ~ - Chapter 552

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

Chapter 552   Demon King vs. Holy Knights

However, the enemies were not limited to just that.

Following the initial assailants who attacked us, now the ceiling collapsed, and several enemies descended among us.

At first glance, they appeared to be wearing armor, so I thought they might be holy knights, but more and more people continued to descend.

Some wore a combination of clothing and armor resembling dress armor, unlike the full plate of holy knights, while others were dressed entirely in black coats.

They’re probably guardians or inquisitors of some sort. As for the Holy Crusaders… ah, there they are. They’re probably not descending because they’re a group of magic users, but they’re lurking on the ceiling… or rather, on the upper floor, peering down at us through the opening.

…But that’s beside the point. It takes quite some courage to fall from this height in armor. No matter how sturdy your body is said to be, twisting an ankle is unavoidable, and surely some of them must have been injured.

“Now then, is this your ‘escape plan’?”

Yeah, I guess so. Since the ceiling broke despite our precautions, I might as well break it a bit more.

With that decision made, I caused the plants around us to grow rapidly, bursting through the ceiling and smashing it to pieces.

“Ahh! Kyaaa!”

I can hear various screams, but it’s inevitable when the footing suddenly collapses or the ceiling and comrades come crashing down.

I’m a bit worried about the damage to the building, but the trees should support it. It’ll be fine, it’ll be fine.

However, I’m not so soft as to end the attack there.

— Earth Reversal.

The floor that remained clean between me and the Pope suddenly rises up and flips over.

The fallen enemies, as well as those who were confused by the falling ceiling and comrades, naturally end up on the raised floor and are engulfed by the overturned floor, buried beneath the ground.

Some managed to escape the range of the reversal, but I don’t expect to defeat them all with just that.

For now… I’ll scatter about a hundred thousand seeds lightly.

— Sowing.

As I scatter the seeds, screams echo all around. Whether swallowed by the earth or standing aside, almost everyone ends up screaming.

“It seems to be ending quite easily… But you didn’t expect this, did you?”

“Ugh… What are you doing?! There are far fewer enemies on their side than on ours!?”

It seems like they were actually relying on these guys to some extent.

Sure, there seem to be a few who withstand my attacks, but most of them are just useless.

Reacting to the Pope’s words, the surviving enemy soldiers rush towards us, but I make all the seeds I set up beforehand and those I scattered just now grow with “Growth.”

“Kyaaa!”

The seeds pierce through their bodies and grow. The grown plants have claw-like leaves that dig into the flesh, wrapping around the body and binding it up entirely.

If they move recklessly, the claw-like leaves growing from the entwining vines will dig in, causing even more pain.

Wearing armor doesn’t stop “Sowing” with half-hearted armor. Instead, it grows inside the armor, leading to a more miserable fate than others.

Some who were equipped properly or managed to defend or avoid with skills are unscathed, so they come at me.

But…

“Guuh—”

One of the fruits hanging from the ceiling smacks a knight sideways.

“What the hell was that!?”

The knight shouts while looking up at the ceiling, where the fruit that just smacked the knight is hanging.

When you hear “fruit,” you might imagine something soft, not something that could knock over a knight in armor. But this fruit is special. It has a hard shell like a coconut and weighs over thirty kilograms, a huge monster plant.

Of course, the vines supporting such fruits are thick and sturdy. Being hit by one of them, even with armor on, would cause significant damage. Think of it like a flail hanging there, automatically attacking. It’s nothing but a weapon.

Still, since there are only two or three of them growing indoors, it’s not like there’s a barrage—although calling it that sounds a bit odd—there’s no overwhelming attack. If you pay attention and dodge properly, it’s manageable.

That’s why the knights try to approach and launch attacks…

“Aaargh!”

The knight rolls over, screaming.

Then, for some reason, they start clutching their legs, and some even try to remove their leg gear.

“W-what are you doing!?”

“You’re probably insanely itchy, huh?”

“I-itchy? T-to think that! T-there’s no way something like that—being unable to fight over something like that is unthinkable!”

“…No, I’m kinda serious about it, though.”

This is a plant that bears small red fruits. When the liquid from the crushed fruit touches the skin, it causes intense itching.

In terms of appearance, it’s like a bunch of red grains stacked together. In size, it’s different, but think of it as grapes turned upside down, and you’ll get the general idea.

These soldiers of the church stepped into where those fruits were growing. It’s clear what would happen when they trample through the grass, crushing the fruits. And maybe some got into their gear through gaps. Since the fruits themselves are small, it’d be easy for them to get inside.

Now they’re collapsing into the area where those fruits have grown abundantly, rolling around while their armor gets dyed red.

Their armor is probably in quite a state inside.

This is payback since they got a taste of the same thing during the bandit subjugation. It’s pretty rough, you know.

Still, there was one resilient guy who somehow made it to me.

Bound all over his body by plant-like claws, dodging the hammer-like plants attacking from above, turning his entire body red with intense itching from the fruits, yet still standing up to face the Demon King. Maybe this guy could be considered a hero?

…Oh. Maybe he’s a Tenth rank? The Holy Kingdom has three Tenth ranks, and two of them were supposed to be from the church. I think his calling was “Warrior,” and if he can’t avoid it, it’s not hard to understand why he’d just charge in. If he’s prepared to take it, then it probably doesn’t mean much to a Tenth rank.

Well, he should be around fifty years old, so is it really wise for someone of that age to be charging in like this?

But whether he’s a Tenth rank or a hero or whatever, the story isn’t going to let him reach the Demon King like this.

A sudden appearance of a tree between the knight and me.

He probably couldn’t react in time to the sudden appearance. The knight tried to cut at the appearing tree, but…

“Guh, this—”

As the knight slashes at the emerging tree, the surrounding area of the tree bursts, scattering bark like shrapnel.

But I don’t expect that alone to kill the enemy. And that’s fine. In fact, it’s expected. After all, I don’t intend to kill him solely with the bark’s attack.

As the bark flies out, the trunk emits a yellowish smoke.

That smoke contains a potent toxin. Just inhaling a little can cause difficulty breathing, weakness, dizziness, nausea, numbness throughout the body, and various other symptoms, and if you don’t act immediately, you’ll die.

The smoke emitted, however, quickly dissipates into the air, making it impossible for other creatures to realize the danger posed by the tree. Even if they miraculously survive, if they have any remaining fragments of the bark they ingested, symptoms will recur from there.

Furthermore, what I used this time was a plant specially prepared with Flora’s power solely for killing enemies. Its effects are far stronger than usual, and due to its danger, even I rarely use it. But with the opponent being a Tenth rank, there should be no problem, right? They’re a suitable target for its use… or rather, not using it could put me in a precarious situation.

However, the enemy is quite something too. Despite being affected by the poison, he was still enduring.

So, I continue to grow plants one after another, forcing the knight to fight by restraining him.

“To think such a trivial attack could defe—ahhh?”

It’s almost certain that this man is a Tenth rank. After all, he’s enduring this poison. A regular rank would have died long ago.

That said, even withstanding this much poison and moving his body to fight against multiple Treants, the poison is starting to take effect. His tongue isn’t working properly, and his steps seem somewhat unsteady.

“Something’s wrong! The Saints’ Team, heal him!”

The Pope gives instructions upon noticing the knight’s abnormality, but unfortunately…

“——《Sowing》”

Taking advantage of the knight’s vulnerability as he continues to fight against the plants despite being unable to move properly due to the poison, I shoot seeds at him.

“Ugh—”

The knight, taken aback by the unexpected attack, loses his balance and seems about to fall, but still tries to hold on and not collapse.

But…

“——《Growth》”

With those words, it was all over.

No matter how much he tried to endure, if seeds were already inside his body, there was nothing he could do. Plants sprouted from his abdomen, and he perished.

Come to think of it, the Tenth ranks I fought before also died with plants sprouting from their abdomens. I wonder if all Tenth ranks meet the same fate? Well, whatever.

Now then, what was the name of this… um, what was it? Did I even ask? No, I knew it from the preliminary investigation, but uh… oh well, it doesn’t matter anymore since he’s already dead.

“Ugh…”

“……《Sowing》《Growth》”

…Alright, he’s dead!

I’ve also shot parasitic seeds into him just in case, so even if he somehow manages to endure, those guys will take care of him.

Well, setting that aside, there’s only one Tenth rank of the Church left now. And that person is not present here because he’s with the hero. With this, the Pope’s defense has completely collapsed.