The Strongest Farmer in Another World ~I'm a "Farmer", Not a Demon King! ~ - Chapter 571

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

Chapter 571   Request for reinforcements

“Well, to be honest, I think it’s impossible without calling your father. Besides him, we need as many forces as possible, but I don’t think it’s even worth discussing without him.”

“Father, huh… Indeed, if he were here, I feel like he could just cut off everything from the root.”

Not just the root, but it feels like he could cut off the whole thing altogether. I mean, he said he could cut off everything within his reach. It’s so big that he can see everything, so he can cut it.

I think so too, but the problem is that father isn’t here right now. Even if he could solve everything if he were here, he’s not, so it’s just wishful thinking.

“In any case, if we’re going to fight, we need reinforcements.”

Yeah, that’s for sure. We may have a large number of people, but a significant portion of them are non-combatants. Of course, some can fight to a certain extent, but their main profession is something else. Asking them to fight alongside us would just be a waste, leading to unnecessary deaths.

We don’t know if the Holy Kingdom’s soldiers will cooperate, and it’s unclear if they’re even surviving in that situation. If the Holy King is still alive and there are surviving soldiers, they might cooperate. But even then, the question is how many are left.

There probably aren’t that many under the command of a pure-hearted king untouched by the Church’s influence, so it’s probably best not to expect much. It’s better to consider them non-existent from the start.

“Having reinforcements is great and all, but the real issue is whether It’ll stay dormant until those reinforcements arrive.”

That’s also a problem. It was said that its heading towards us, but at what speed? Our response will depend on that. Even if we call for reinforcements, there’s no guarantee that we’ll survive until they arrive.

“Well, there’s not much we can do about that, right? We just have to hope and wait.”

“Yeah, that’s true, but…”

At that moment, or rather, a thought came to mind, so I decided to voice it.

“Come to think of it, what about the hero? Even though he’s like that, he could still be a valuable asset. In times like these, couldn’t we just let bygones be bygones and ask for his cooperation?”

When he fought against me, perhaps because I was human, he didn’t use his skills much. Frankly, he wasn’t using his full strength. That’s why he played around with me so easily. But still, he’s a ‘hero’. This time, he’s facing a monster (?) instead of a human, and if he fights with all his might, he might be able to achieve some results.

Moreover, taking heroic actions to save people seems like something a hero would do, and it’s probably what he wants.

“It’s not for the ones who have been wronged to say that.”

“It’s fine. They caused me trouble too. …By the way, don’t you know?”

I don’t think he’s dead, but I don’t know where he went. If only I had assigned someone to keep an eye on the hero.

“The hero seems to have evacuated to the royal castle.”

I thought so, but it seems that Granny had already confirmed it, and she responded as if it were nothing.

It’s convenient to know various things, but… I don’t know, it feels a bit off.

Well, whatever. For now, just knowing that the hero is alive is enough of an accomplishment.

But the royal castle… So, that means he’s in the area swallowed by that divine tree, right? In that case, he can’t help us in our current situation. He’s useless to us.

“The royal castle… Well, since the church was swallowed, it might not be wrong to head to the nearby royal castle… Haa. So, he’s unavailable for now?”

“But if that tree is moving, it will eventually be freed, right? We’ll just have to talk to him again when that happens.”

“Guess that’s how it’s gonna be… Well, can’t be helped. Let’s just keep him in mind for when he becomes useful again.”

Even if he’s not available now, if we can reunite, he should be somewhat helpful.

In this situation, even that hero wouldn’t come at us aggressively; he’d probably cooperate with us.

“For now, our plan is to gather as much strength as possible while investigating the destination and speed of that divine tree’s movement. Then, we’ll focus on buying time if something happens.”

After that, we moved our camp, and although there was a momentary glitch, the direction in which the divine tree was heading remained unchanged. This means that, as mentioned in the discussion, it’s highly likely that it’s targeting Flora’s main body or the sacred tree in Lilia’s hometown rather than us.

What this means is that we absolutely have to defeat that divine tree, no matter what.

——◆◇◆◇——

Two days have passed since the anomaly occurred. We’ve moved away from the divine tree and set up camp again, observing its movements.

Fortunately, the divine tree’s movement speed is very slow, only about as fast as an ordinary person walks. Well, it was originally a plant, despite being a monster. Considering it was normal for it not to move, it’s understandable that its speed is slow even after gaining the ability to move.

However, the damage caused during its movement is substantial. Everything in its path, whether it be people or buildings, has been swallowed up by the divine tree, leaving only overturned ground and ordinary plants that have sprouted from it.

If viewed from above, the path the divine tree has taken so far would be obvious. After all, green lines have appeared in the midst of the desolate land.

However, there is something concerning about these plants. It’s fine for plants to grow in the wilderness, given the divine tree’s power. But among these grown plants, there are ones that look similar to the cursed and mutated plants that were near the felled sacred tree.

Cursed and mutated plants. Unlike the divine tree, they don’t move from their spot. However, if such things are left along its path, wouldn’t the curse spread?

Even if we wanted to deal with them, they’re similar to Treants, so lower-ranked individuals can’t defeat them, and we don’t have the luxury of diverting people there right now, so we have no choice but to leave them be.

Furthermore, besides the spread of the curse, there may also be a problem when attacking the divine tree.

If it is determined that the best method is to “surround and attack from all directions” in the future, the forest of mutated plants that exists behind the divine tree’s path would prevent us from passing through it. In other words, we wouldn’t be able to surround it from all directions.

Well, we probably wouldn’t attack from all directions, but such concerns remain.

The divine tree is advancing in a straight line like this, but if it continues like this, all civilization might be swallowed up and disappear. That’s what I started to think.

…But how about this? From a human perspective, it’s a monster, but what about from the perspective of the planet? It destroys what it consumes after moving, so it’s a nuisance to humans, but if it then grows plants afterward, you could say it’s regenerating the planet. In fact, even though it was once dead due to a curse, there are plants growing in the former holy country. Among those plants are some affected by the curse, but which is better, a dead wasteland or a cursed forest?

Still, we can’t just let it continue. Based on the direction of the divine tree’s movement, it’s clear that it’s heading towards Lilia’s homeland, the Elven village.

However, rather than the Elven village itself, I suspect the objective is the sacred tree. Whether it’s to increase power or defeat enemies, I don’t know, but it doesn’t matter. The result is the same, as it’s heading there.

And if, hypothetically, it defeats or absorb the sacred tree in Lilia’s homeland, what’s next? Probably, nearby other sacred trees—like Flora—will be targeted.

“Hey?”

“Bell? What’s up?”

We absolutely had to stop the divine tree, and we’ve already requested reinforcements for that purpose.

By now, father and the others is probably on their way here.

Even so, it’ll still take at least another week for them to arrive, even at top speed.

So, I’ve been thinking we need to survive whatever happens during that time… But then, Bell, who was looking out the window, suddenly voiced a question.

“Um, excuse me. Uh, did that thing have leaves on it before?”

“Leaves?”

Upon Bell’s words, I got up from my chair and, just like Bell, peered out the window.

Sure enough, as Bell had said, there were indeed leaves scattered here and there on the branches of the divine tree.