I'm a farmer, not a hero : Chapter 38

Crimson twin fang.

In the world of mercenaries, there is no one that doesn't know this name. A half-beast half-elf hybrid, she is notorious for taking even the most dangerous quest and completing it without fail. With a blood red fur covering her arms all the way to her neck, and the two falchions sheathed and strapped behind her, one could assume that this was the origin for her name…

But that was incorrect. There is a reason why she was called "The crimson twin fang".

"You should feel honored pushing me this far." The crimson twin fang exclaimed.

A surge of blood red aura started to emanate from her body, as if her bloodlust was manifesting through her aura.

"Is this really necessary? Was that spar still not enough?" The farmer asked.

But his half-breed opponent kept releasing her bloodlust-filled aura, like a beast that can't be reasoned with.

"You know, many think that my nickname came from the color of my fur and the choice of my weapon, But the truth is…"

"'Crimson twin fang' is the name of this technique." She said before engulfing her arms and swords with the crimson aura and taking up her fighting pose.

"Ready for round 2?" She asked with a grin on her face.

Not only is she testing the man's abilities, to her, this is to test her own abilities and the warrior inside of her is telling her that if she doesn't do this now, she may never be able to again.

"Fine!" The farmer replied after letting out a sigh and reversing the grip on his sword.

The crimson twin fang smirks, reversing her grip on her swords before charging at the farmer with lightning speed. In fact, her attack was so fast that the farmer was only able to barely block it with his sword.

"Can you still keep up?" She taunted before creating some distance then attacking once more, this time, faster than the last.

While the farmer was able to block the initial strike, he was able to narrowly dodge the follow-up strike, grazing him on his stomach. Out of reflexes, the farmer created some distance between them but the half-breed was able to catch up to him very quickly, attacking him three times in quick succession.

While the farmer was able to block the first strike, the second and third hits connected, giving him shallow wounds on his left arm and right thigh.

"What?! I'm sure I dodged that second attack." He said to himself.

"Where's that speed you had a while ago?" Crimson twin fang taunted before launching another assault.

While most of the crimson twin fang's attacks connected, they were just shallow wounds that came from her short sword. Now it wasn't because the farmer could only barely dodge those attacks but that the crimson twin fang wasn't being completely serious, like a predator playing with its prey.

"Hey, isn't this a little too much already? I thought I'm going to fight for you guys? Wouldn't it be bad if I were to get injured before the competition?" The farmer asked as he retreated a little closer to the old merchant.

"Don't worry, we brought plenty of life potions… and they're not just any potions you can buy anywhere around here, they're Black republic standard life potions." The old merchant responded.

"Besides, if you can't beat me, then there's no chance you could beat the champion, the flame emperor!" The crimson twin fang stated before charging at the farmer once more.

"And what if you inflict a serious injury on me?" The farmer asked as he deflected the initial attack before retreating back to dodge the succeeding attacks.

"I'm sure you've noticed that I'm controlling my attacks to prevent that from happening…"

"But if I were to inflict serious damage, then that would be one less competitor for me!" The crimson twin fang shouted before attacking the farmer once more.

"Shit! I need to come up with something to end this." The farmer thought to himself.

Hoping to buy some time, the farmer dodges the initial attack instead of blocking or deflecting it, opting to evade as much confrontation as he could until he could formulate a proper strategy; but his opponent isn't giving him any chances.

"Are you just gonna keep on running away?" She taunted as she continued to pursue the farmer, gradually increasing her pace to not let him get away.

Feeling cornered, the farmer slams his sword to the ground, creating a small explosion and sending a cloud of dust and debris everywhere, impeding his opponent's attacks.

"Do you think this kind of trick is enough to stop me?" The crimson twin fang said while covering the lower half of her face from the dust.

By heightening her beastly senses, she was able to detect the farmer through the dust cloud and lunge to attack him. The farmer, reacting quickly, was able to not only block the initial attacks but managed to completely dodge the succeeding strike, surprising the half-breed.

"It's just a fluke." She said before charging at the farmer again.

But every attack she launches is either blocked or dodged completely, not even grazing her target.

"How the–?!" She shouted, perplexed at the sudden change in his opponent's movement.

"Think! There's no way that he could have possibly figured out the secret of the crimson twin fang!" As she ponders on what to do next, the dust cloud surrounding them starts to clear, revealing the farmer with his sword resting over his shoulder.

"Are we done?" He asked with a fed up voice.

"We're just getting started!" The crimson twin fang snarled.

The farmer lets out a deep sigh before entering into sword stance, holding his sword in front with both of his hands. The two locked eyes, despite not uttering a single word, they knew that the next exchange would be the last.

Crimson twin fang starts to let out an enormous amount of aura, trying to squeeze out every ounce of power she could to empower her next attacks. Now, she's extending her aura towards her legs, in hopes of increasing her agility.

And then, in an instant, she dashed towards the farmer in a frontal attack. No feint, no tricks, just pure brute force.

Although the initial attack was empowered with a greater amount of aura than before, the farmer was able to deflect it. She then launched another attack with her other sword, this time, much faster than before but the farmer dodged it by moving his body before grabbing her left arm. What her opponent did shocked the crimson twin fang, giving the farmer an opportunity to end the spar by pointing his sword over her neck.

"We're done." The farmer sternly stated before letting her hand go and removing the sword over her neck, then went to retrieve the scabbard of his sword.

*Clap! Clap! Clap!*

"Splendid!" The wealthy old merchant couldn't help but praise the two fighters.

"Who would've thought that you could beat the infamous crimson twin fang?!" The old merchant, filled with excitement, said.

"I'm sure the outcome would've been different had she gone all out from the start." The farmer replied as he stared at the half-breed who was just standing, gritting her teeth out of frustration.

"I could say the same thing about you." The old merchant said.

"What do you mean?" The farmer turned to the old merchant.

"I may not be a fighter like you, but I know a good one when I see one…"

"Despite being only a man, you're able to best a half-beast like her in a duel. And without even using some fancy technique or power."

"Tell you what… After this competition, come to me if ever you need a job." The old merchant said before going to his carriage as the crimson twin fang remained standing in front of him.

"How?" She uttered.

"You were the first to survive my crimson twin fang. How were you able to?" She asked with a very frustrated voice.

"Did you even bother to check your sword?" The farmer responded.

"No– what?! Why?!" She replied while taking a good look at her swords, with her opponent explaining.

"Since I was blocking your main weapon with my sword, I figured that evading your sub weapon would be the most efficient choice, but I couldn't… Just when I thought that the tip of the blade was about to hit me, I could already feel the tip of the blade sinking into my skin."

"That's when I would dodge to prevent any serious injury. And then, out of desperation to get away, I slammed the ground with my sword creating a cloud of dust. That's when I realized…"

"That there's an extended blade, as clear as glass, at the tip of that short sword of yours." This was when the crimson twin fang realized that there was dust sticking to the blood on her short sword.

"To be honest, I'm amazed at how well thought that technique of yours is, as even if the clear tip part of the blade is smeared in blood, it would still be hard to notice it underneath that crimson aura of yours." Hearing this made the half-breed turn away to hide her smiling face as it was her first time getting praised for her ingenuity.

She starts to walk away, following her employer to their carriage, only to stop all of a sudden. She turns towards the farmer and throws a red potion bottle, which the latter caught.

"The next time we clash swords, it will be me who will come out on top." She declared before leaving.

The farmer just smirks as he uses the red potion he just received to treat his wounds. As the wealthy merchant's carriage disappears into the wasteland, the carriage that brought him to the location arrives to pick him up.

*****

Soon, the day of the swordsmanship competition arrives.

The venue, the colosseum, is packed with spectators ranging from the average citizens, merchants making bets, to adventurers scouting for potential party members.

With the farmer waiting in the competitors' preparation room, the young cleric is left to wander the gallery for an empty seat.

"Hey! Over here!" A familiar voice shouted at her.

It was the iron-faced mage, sitting together with the timid archer, waving at the young cleric.

"I didn't know that you two were going!" She said as she sat right beside them, excited to know that she won't be watching the competition alone.

"Well, our swordsman is participating so… we're showing our support." The iron-faced mage replied.

"I see…" The young cleric uttered, with a bit of sadness over her face.

"Oh! But don't worry! You don't have to cheer for him! It's not like we're supporting him because we want to. It's, you know, merely out of obligation." The iron-faced mage stated.

"Oh but, just between the two of us, I'd rather cheer on that farmer teammate of yours." She added.

"Wait, how'd you know that he's participating?" The young cleric looked a bit surprised.

"Oh! Right! He told us a while back… That actually got our swordsman fired up and couldn't wait for this day to arrive." The iron-faced mage stated.

"Ah! I see…" The young cleric uttered, wondering about the tension that's probably happening in the competitors' preparation room right now.

Meanwhile, due to the presence of a certain mercenary, the preparation room is filled with agitated competitors.

"So, not only do we have to worry about the flame emperor but the crimson twin fang as well?" The arrogant swordsman stated as he stood beside the farmer.

"The best case scenario is, she and the flame emperor fight early during the elimination round. Then we'd just worry about who won in that exchange." He added as he stared at the half-breed mercenary who had her back leaned against the wall.

"Hey!" He called as soon as he turned his face towards the farmer and saw him just nonchalantly sitting.

"How can you be so calm?" He asked rhetorically.

"Why?" The farmer asked with a face that doesn't seem to show any care.

"What do you mean 'why?'?! Do you not know about the crimson twin fang?!" The arrogant swordsman quietly shouted at the farmer.

"She's a notorious mercenary who's known to only take dangerous jobs and almost always never fail!" He continued.

"So I've heard." The farmer replied.

"What? So you already know about her and yet you're still calm?!" The arrogant swordsman was baffled.

"Worrying will only get you nowhere. Whether you fight her or the flame emperor, your focus should be on how to to beat them and not how your defeat is inevitable." The farmer replied.

"Tch! If only you know how strong they are, then you'd probably be panicking like me right now!" The arrogant swordsman responded.

"Is this your first time joining the competition?" The farmer asked.

"Well, yeah! After watching every fight of the flame emperor, I realized that I needed something to boost my attack and only when I got a mithril sword that I was able to perfect that technique." The arrogant swordsman replied.

"But wait, isn't this your first time as well?!" He added.

"Well, yes…" The farmer replied.

"Then how are you so calm? Aren't you getting nervous? I mean, I get that worrying won't get me anywhere but still…" The arrogant swordsman responded.

"Look, obviously you've done plenty of quests… but in those quests, have you ever done where you have to subjugate something of equal intelligence to that of humans? Or is it all just monsters?" The farmer questioned the arrogant swordsman.

"I… Most of the quests we've done are dungeon exploration and dungeon monster subjugation… but there have been monsters that are quite intelligent. I mean, the goblin shaman we subjugated the other day was able to cast some nasty spells." He responded.

"No no, I mean like another adventurer, or a bandit. Have you ever experienced having a fight to the death with one of those?" The farmer clarified his questions.

"One who, not only relies on their primal instincts, but has the intelligence to communicate and make decisions." He added.

"I… No, I don't think I have… But what does that have anything to do with this?" The arrogant swordsman responded.

"You see, there's a difference between fighting wild monsters and humans. While wild monsters are… wild, they still have some patterns that you can exploit to your advantages making them a lot easier to fight than regular humans." The farmer explained.

"I'm sure you'd change your mind if you ever try to fight an ogre." The arrogant swordsman snided.

"Oh, believe me… I had fought one." The farmer responded.

"What?!" The arrogant swordsman looked shocked.

"Anyway, humans are different. They adapt to changes, make new strategies based on the current situation. This is especially true for seasoned fighters. And I'm sure that those beastmen, demonkin, and other races that have picked up the art of fighting, they too act like humans." The farmer narrated.

"Long story short, the reason I'm calm is because I'm treating this fight as just one of the fights I had when I had to protect my farm from bandits." The farmer added, leaving the arrogant swordsman to ponder upon his words.

After several minutes, the already heavy atmosphere became heavier as a young man with long fiery red hair, clad in what seems to be a robe made with red feathers entered the room. He scans the room with a piercing gaze, sizing up every competitor present as if appraising them.

"Ho! Ho! Seems like the competition this time will become very amusing!" He declared before leaving the room.

"Huh? Who was that?" Unable to read the atmosphere of the room, the farmer asked with a stupidly puzzled look on his face.

"Tch! Right, you weren't from here! That's the current champion, the flame emperor!" The arrogant swordsman replied, frustrated at the farmer's ignorance.

"Seeing his reaction, I guess he's talking about the crimson twin fang's presence in the competition." He added.

Just as then, one of the dwarven blacksmiths hosting the competition enters the preparation room.

He clears his throat before shouting,

"Figh'ers! Follo' me to the col'osseum!"