Chapter 321: 169. The Farmer (Part One)
Translated by A Passing Wanderer
Edited by RED
The evil creature possessed a huge torso, a long and thick nose, and two wide, thin ears.
The Farmer.
Insectile legs with claws at the end were extending forth from its back. It looked very different from the appearance of The Farmer that the Holy King had told them about.
The Crimson Cross member who had been impaled by one of the insectile legs stared at the monster with trembling eyes.
‘It has changed?’
This vampire called the Farmer was deliberately changing its body to become even stronger. Since it didn’t answer to the Vampire King, it must’ve freely preyed on the blood of humans to strengthen itself.
This creature was at least a Count-class. No, wait. Maybe even greater than that!
‘Just how many humans did it devour to reach this point...?’
The Crimson Cross member roared out, “Prepare for combat! Our target is a Count-class or higher Progenitor Vampire!”
The ground split apart further and The Farmer rose up to its full height. The Crimson Cross member pulled out a dagger and stabbed it into the insect leg impaling him.
Crunch-!
The hardened shell shattered and blood splattered everywhere. The Farmer screeched loudly and threw the impaled victim away. He rolled around out of control on the ground for a moment, but slammed his palm down and stopped himself from sliding any further, regaining his balance.
The Farmer scanned the agents of the Order of the Crimson Cross and smirked insidiously, “So, you bastards were a bunch of clergymen? Not only did you dare to invade my territory, you even tried to snatch away my slaves... Hmm?!”
The creature’s eyes opened wide in surprise.
The Crimson Cross member who had been impaled through the chest by the insect-leg was standing back up. Runes glowing in golden light had activated on his skin, and the gaping hole in his body was quickly filled back up with new flesh.
‘...Maybe they are not humans?’
Although slow compared to vampires, that regeneration speed was still way too fast for a mere human being.
The Farmer glared at the Crimson Cross members in sheer disbelief. “You bastards, just what are you really?!”
“Kkyaaaahk!”
“It’s a vampire!”
“A demon has appeared!”
The villagers began screaming their heads off.
The fifty Ducal soldiers accompanying the Order of the Crimson Cross quickly retreated and helped with evacuation of the civilians.
The Crimson Cross member who had been searching through the crowd earlier briefly turned his head around to look again, but Alina and her baby had disappeared with the fleeing villagers by then.
“Are you bastards really humans? Your recovery speed cannot belong to a human, after all. Even then, you are not undead either. I can sense divinity coming from all of you, so what is going on here...?” the Farmer muttered in a deep, tense voice.
The members of the Crimson Cross began pulling out and gripping all sorts of weapons, from a scythe to a shovel, a saw, a dagger, and even a crossbow.
“A Count-class, or just below a Marquis-class. Do not let your guard down. Our role is to safely evacuate the citizens and hold our ground until His Majesty the Holy King arrives.”
“...You bastards, are you looking down on me right now?!” the Farmer growled, and took a step forward. Its back wriggled hideously, and another insect-like leg sprouted out from him.
The Crimson Cross members watched four such legs appear on the creature’s back, then lowered themselves into their battle stances.
The Farmer steadied itself on the ground with both of its hands, then its four insect-like legs shook about briefly before its body shot forward with great speed and power.
The creature scythed through the air and flew rapidly towards the Crimson Cross members.
‘Fast!’
‘However, we now possess the Word of the Gods...!’
Their eyes narrowed in concentration. The Aztal Rune amplified their divinity, enhancing all of their senses to their fullest and allowing them to track the incoming Farmer, regardless of its speed.
“Offer your prayers-!”
“In the name of our Lord Saint!”
“We shall subjugate the demon-!”
A crossbow imbued with divinity fired its load at the incoming creature, and the bolt accurately pierced the Farmer’s shoulder. The monster flinched in surprise and stared in shock at where the attack had landed.
The bolt continued to spin, and then completely punched through the monster’s flesh.
‘Huh?!’
Its body threatened to twist around, but it forcibly withstood the impact’s momentum from diverting it, and continued to charge forward.
The four other Crimson Cross members were suddenly enveloped in pure white light. They kicked the ground hard and also surged to greet the incoming Farmer.
The scythe, shovel and the saw were swung around, and three of the insectile legs were severed instantly.
“What is this?!”
The last Crimson Cross member, wielding a dagger coated in holy water, agilely swung up onto the Farmer’s back, severed the remaining leg, then stabbed the creature’s broad back.
The Farmer sensed the holy water entering its body through the wound and screeched out loudly, “I said, what is this?!”, then threw the crimson-robed man off itself. “Just what are you bastards!?”
The Crimson Cross members quickly distanced themselves from the creature. They themselves looked somewhat stunned as they took off their gloves. They stared at the Aztal Rune tattooed on their bodies, extending all the way down to the backs of their hands.
‘...This...’
‘...This is the power Lord Saint granted us!’
The Farmer glared at the crimson-robed humans. “I, I shall not go easy on you anymore! I swear, I shall drink every last drop of your blood!”
The severed stumps of the insect legs dropped from its back, then six even thicker and larger pairs of legs sprouted from it.
The Farmer’s entire body began ballooning up as well. The Crimson Cross members flinched in surprise and retreated quickly.
The monster was shedding its human facade completely now, transforming into an insect. The six pairs of legs planted themselves firmly on the ground to raise its enlarged body up.
Its lengthy hind legs supported its rotund torso. Its belly had become far more bulbous and much heavier, while the upper torso of the Farmer still retained the appearance of its smaller form. The lower half now boasted a huge spider’s head and maw, and dozens of eyes dotting that grotesque head.
The upper torso remained The Farmer, but the lower half had become a spidery monster!
“Ku-oooooooooh!” The Farmer screeched out monstrously. Responding to its call, ghouls began crawling out from the split crevasse in the ground below. It was like looking at a mass hatching of spider eggs that had been buried underground, and the resulting offspring were now pouring out en masse.
The agents of the Crimson Cross gripped their weapons tighter.
“Can we do this?”
“It’ll get difficult, yes.”
“However, we certainly cannot back down.”
The Farmer snickered derisively and glared at the Crimson Cross. “Now come and do your worst, you foolish holy men!”
**
Laurence sucked in his breath. He shrunk his body as much as possible and hid between the boulders.
How many days had it been already?
He had survived by catching and eating rats he found in the cave, and quenched his thirst by drinking drops of water falling from the ceiling. Even then, it was a miracle he had survived this long.
‘Maybe it is the goddess’s grace at work...’
That was what Laurence chose to believe as he leaned his back against a boulder while trying to calm his heavy breathing.
‘I’m at my limit. I must get outside, above ground somehow...’
Laurence looked up at the cave’s ceiling, visible through the gaps of the boulders. He could see what looked like hundreds of ghouls crawling all over the ground, the walls, and the ceiling, trying to escape to the outside world.
The ceiling itself had been broken wide open. That hole had been opened up by the creature called The Farmer, or whatever its name was.
What if he used that hole...?
‘...I’ll be above ground again!’
Unfortunately, the ghouls were climbing up first. Would he be able to survive even if he went outside in that case?
It was then, he heard some screams. They came from other survivors still trapped underground. They were discovered by the ghouls and hunted down.
Their abdomens were ripped open and their intestines were being devoured right now.
‘...Yeah, as I thought. It’s impossible for me.’
Laurence grew pale with fright. He shifted his gaze back to the hole leading to the surface, and inwardly prayed, ‘Oh, dear Goddess Gaia, I beg of you. Please save me...!’
**
“Maintain your formation!”
Ghouls surrounded the members of the Crimson Cross and circled around them. The crimson-robed men pressed their backs against those of their colleagues. They breathed quickly and heavily under their bird-beak masks.
One of the ghouls pounced on the group. Its head was instantly stabbed by a scythe and the undead was brought down hard to the ground.
But making such a large movement would invariably leave a wide gap, and another ghoul rushed in. The Crimson Cross member in the center of the formation fired his crossbow and shot straight through the incoming ghoul.
Another undead was rushing in from the other side, but it was smacked away by a shovel.
“Please save us!”
The Crimson Cross shifted their gazes towards where the pleading voice came from. The ghouls had begun hunting the villagers.
The ducal soldiers were trying their damnedest to fight back, but it was an impossible task for them to stop the tide of the undead.
That momentary distraction allowed the ghouls to get in close and pounce on the Crimson Cross.
The Farmer sneered and roared out, -Struggle unsightly in suffering!-
The claws of a ghoul sliced past the shoulder of a Crimson Cross member.
-Die and become another zombie that serves me.-
Another member’s wrist was bitten, and his hand was ripped off.
-Beg. Plead to be saved. Pray for your suffering to go away.-
The five Crimson Cross members gradually grew tired and were forced into a corner.
-When that happens, I shall grant you an opportunity. An opportunity to become my slaves!-