The Strongest Farmer in Another World ~I'm a "Farmer", Not a Demon King! ~ - Chapter 573

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

Chapter 573   Reinforcements have arrived!

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Three days have passed since we began fighting the mutant creatures spawned from the divine tree.

During that time, we’ve been constantly battling.

With no morning or night, we simply continued to kill the relentlessly advancing enemies, stacking up a mountain of corpses.

Yet, the enemy numbers never seem to diminish. Of course not. They’re not coming from somewhere; they’re continuously being spawned from that divine tree.

We have to handle the enemies at a speed faster than the divine tree produces them, but it’s not something we can keep up with indefinitely.

At the beginning of the battle, things were good. Everyone was relaxed, and we could handle the enemies even while taking it easy. We were able to defeat them at a rate exceeding their generation speed.

They are indeed residents of Karakas. The high-ranking individuals are not gathered here for no reason.

However, as it continues, exhaustion sets in. We take breaks in rotation, but in such circumstances, we can’t rest properly, and neither magical power nor physical strength fully recovers. Yet, we still have to participate in this endless battle.

We knew this from the beginning, and it was conveyed to everyone. There is neither purpose nor leniency in this battle.

However, in reality, the situation is much tougher than imagined.

We are accumulating fatigue, while the enemy, with no fatigue to speak of, relentlessly attacks, sacrificing their lives.

For now, we’re somehow managing to maintain the front line, but we probably only have another two or three days left in this situation. No matter how hard we push, it’ll probably just be a week.

Moreover, for some reason, it feels like there are a disproportionately large number of enemies coming at me. It’s probably just because I’m exhausted from fighting so much, but it’s quite a dire situation to feel that way.

“Hey, Granny. Isn’t there some kind of solution? We’re starting to get overwhelmed here.”

Even though I’m a king, I’m also involved in the fighting, but since it’s my turn to rest now, I’ve come to talk to Granny who’s behind the lines.

I know it’s futile to ask. After all, if there were any solutions, we would’ve been doing them from the start.

Even though I know that, I couldn’t help but ask. I know what kind of answer I’ll get, and I know it’ll only confront me with reality. But still, I wanted to distract myself even just a little by asking.

“We’re doing what we can over here. Stop sulking and get moving.”

Granny is still fighting in her original form without using her “Transformation.” Although it’s called fighting, in Granny’s case, it’s more like providing support for allies, and the way she supports is somewhat unconventional for a battle.

But it’s certain that she’s being helpful, and without her, the battle would have been even tougher.

In fact, we wouldn’t even have the luxury of having such discussions.

“When are reinforcements coming?”

“Who knows? It’s been five days since we sent out the message, so if they’re not slacking off over there, they should be arriving soon, I guess.”

Reaching here from Karakas in just five days is impossible under normal circumstances. That’s if you travel normally. Without any baggage and without considering anything else, if you keep running, you might just about make it here in five days.

Even if they come here in such a state, they probably won’t be able to fight properly due to extreme fatigue. But right now, just the fact that reinforcements are coming is a relief. With that information, we can still fight. Even if the reinforcements might be tired, they can fight after resting, and the next day, our fighting force will genuinely increase.

So, I really hope they arrive soon.

“Oh, Demon King! Lady Carmena! The reinforcements mentioned in the message have arrived!”

“Just in time.”

Just as I was thinking that, we received the news that reinforcements had indeed arrived at just the right time.

The voice of the subordinate who brought the news was cheerful, and even without seeing their face, I could sense the relief.

However, as I started to walk towards where the reinforcements were being welcomed…

“Father?! Mother too?! What are they doing here…!?”

In a place where there hadn’t been a crowd before, there were my father and mother, who were supposed to be defending Karakas, for some reason.

“You requested reinforcements, didn’t you? You asked for additional support.”

“Huh? Oh, well, yeah, I mean, I did ask, but…”

I did ask for reinforcements, sure, but that was more of a request for regular troops. I didn’t call for my parents.

Of course, considering the situation, I’m genuinely glad that someone like my parents, who can be expected to be a significant force, has come. But still, I couldn’t understand why my parents had come here. After all, they were supposed to be defending Karakas, weren’t they?

“I didn’t plan to come either, but I heard about it from you, and Rieta insisted,” my father said.

“Mother did?”

“Well, of course, I was worried! Just hearing that Vesnar-kun was going to the Holy Kingdom was dangerous enough, and now there’s some incomprehensible evil targeting you on top of that. How could I not worry…!”

Looking to where my father pointed, there was my mother, looking at us with eyes moistened with relief, and finally, she hugged me.

“No, it’s not me the evil is after, it’s Karakas… But thank you for worrying.”

As exaggerated as this all seemed, I couldn’t help but feel genuinely glad that they were worried about me like this.

“And also, it seems like Filia-chan is sending troops here.”

Filia? …Huh. Filia, that person? Why? Well, I guess maybe she was worried, but she doesn’t have the authority for that. Moving troops is the king’s prerogative, not that of a princess or even a king’s sister. Did she really go that far?

Well, in this situation, any increase in manpower is welcome, but… sigh. I’ll have to go thank her after this is all over. And also Lucius… as a king, huh? Should I bring him a potted plant as a gift? The modern ones move, you know. It’s unusual, so he’d probably appreciate it.

“…Oh. And also father.”

…My own grandfather is just an afterthought, huh. I completely forgot about him.

But, I appreciate it, even if it was an afterthought. The problem is how long it’ll take for them to join us. After all, it’ll take at least a week for them to come from there to here. Even if my mother’s father, the former head of the Aldonov family, Irva, sends reinforcements, it’ll take even longer from there.

The more people there are, the longer it takes, and I have a feeling things will be moving before reinforcements from Filia or Irva arrive.

“Even if we call them reinforcements, it’ll still take time for them to come here from there,” I said.

“That’s true. That’s why only a few are coming all the way here. The rest will head towards the border between Karakas and the Holy Kingdom and wait there. If we get outflanked, they should be able to handle it to some extent,” my mother explained.

Ah, so they’re like a rear support or a cleanup crew. Certainly, even if we manage to deal with the divine tree, it’s uncertain if all those mutant creatures will disappear afterward. They might escape from us or avoid us and head towards Karakas. If they’re prepared to handle such situations, then we can act with confidence.

“But what about Karakas? If it’s attacked in this situation, it could be taken over, worst case scenario,” I pointed out.

I understand Filia’s intentions, and I’m grateful for her help.

But, despite that, I entrusted the defense of Karakas to my father and the others. Yet, by leaving Karakas like this, its defense would be weakened. Although the Holy Kingdom, our main enemy, has disappeared, the neighboring country of Bastok still exists. Moreover, since our kingdom hasn’t officially formed an alliance, there’s a possibility that some nobles might launch an attack.

Still, I can’t imagine Karakas or Flower Garden losing, but there’s a possibility of losing territory.

“It shouldn’t be too much of a problem since the kingdom’s army is keeping an eye on things. Besides, that Glasses Guy isn’t a pushover. Given enough preparation time, he has enough power to end the war alone. Well, saying ‘alone’ might be misleading,” my father reassured.

Ah, right, Edward was there.

Well, it’s not like I forgot about him, but he doesn’t give off the vibe of a fighter, so leaving him behind as defense doesn’t seem very impressive.

But, that’s just my perception, he’s actually quite strong.

Edward’s way of fighting involves preparing weapons and tactics beforehand to weaken the enemy.

The longer the preparation period, the more solid the defense becomes, making it difficult to breach.

This time, it seems like he was prepared for anything, so even if we’re attacked, he’ll gather information beforehand and respond accordingly. As my father said, they can survive the war even without us there.

However, compared to my father and the others, it’s hard to deny that he falls short.

“Besides, if it’s taken, we’ll just take it back,” my father said with a smirk.

That statement, delivered with a smirk, was a quintessential Karakas response.

…Maybe my father was more suited to be the king there than I am?

Well, I won’t yield this position anymore. After all, I’ve decided to fight as the Demon King.