I'm a farmer, not a hero : Chapter 60

"I know that staff but…"

"Who is that man?"

Though the arrogant swordsman could recognize the staff, he fails to do so with the man wielding it; afterall, not only was his outfit different but that his muscular body became thin.

"Hey!" The iron-faced mage calls as she rushes down to get to the arrogant swordsman.

"Pull yourself together! We need to retreat!" She said to him.

"Hey, do you know who that is?" Referring to the man who came crashing from the sky, the arrogant swordsman asked her as they made their retreat.

"I don't know but let's use this opportunity to regroup!" She said.

With the tremendous amount of demonic aura the farmer released, most of the soldiers that did not pass out from the immense pressure were incapacitated; as if a powerful force is holding them down to the ground. Since his murderous intent was directed at the invaders, only the kingdom soldiers were affected.

"HRAAAAAGGHHH!!" The first prince shouted once more, this time to empower his soldier's aura to fight the demon king's hold on them.

"Hoh? To think that you can release them from my hold…" The farmer uttered.

"But then, at what cost?"

Consecutively unleashing powerful auras that could interfere with the demon king's took a toll on the first prince's energy, temporarily incapacitating him.

"I commend you for trying to save your soldiers instead of just running away by yourself. I guess that's what it means to become a prince, someone with power." The farmer said to the prince as he walked towards him, but was stopped by the soldiers and knights that formed in front of his target.

"Protect the prince!" The knight captain shouted, with soldiers in front holding their shields up high.

"Captain!" The prince uttered.

"Perfect timing! I need you to buy me some time." He then ordered.

With the foot soldiers holding their shields up in front while the mages at the rear casting barrier magicka to the frontlines, the remaining army of the kingdom created a wall to protect the first prince.

"Do they not realize that I can just either leap above or circle around them to get to their commander?" The farmer wondered, puzzled at the soldiers' desperate attempt to protect the prince.

But despite having those options, the farmer gripped his staff tightly before swinging horizontally at the soldiers in front, destroying their magicka barrier and sending most of the foot soldiers flying, thus breaking their defensive formation.

The knights who were able to dodge the attack recovered hastily and started engaging the demon king, but they were dispatched easily, even with their advanced aura blade and magic swords techniques.

"Don't even think that you can face the prince without going through me." The knight captain stated.

His sword already engulfed with a powerful aura with reddish hue, he's not only using aura and mana to empower his blade but his life energy as well.

"So you're literally putting your life on the line, I see…" The farmer said.

In his new physical body, he could now distinguish the different energies.

"Then come at me! Or are you just going to burn your life away?" He then taunted.

The knight captain charged at his enemy, letting out a loud warcry to mask his fear of an impending death. Witnessing the newly risen demon king incapacitate almost every soldier of the kingdom army with just his aura, and break their defense with just a swing of his staff, made him realize how powerless they truly are. Eventually, the knight captain's despair ended just as his life when the demon king pulverized him with the cudgel.

"My men… I will not let your sacrifice be in vain." The first prince uttered.

His sword illuminates from an intense light, a mixture of both mana and aura accumulating inside an enclosed barrier on the sword.

In a one big strike, he unleashes the amassed energy at the demon king, creating a massive explosion that destroys the wasteland city's wall facing them.

*****

Meanwhile, at the capital of the human kingdom.

The king, although he's trying to be strong, couldn't help but worry about his son as it has been a day since their last communication with him.

"What was the last message from the first prince and his knights?" The head court wizard asked one of the soldiers from the army's intelligence division.

"Yes sir! They said that the insignia have been engulfed with demonic aura and they will soon move to occupy the wasteland city." The soldier said.

"And when was that?" The head court wizard asked, with the soldier looking a bit nervous.

"Almost 32 hours ago, sir." He replied.

"I see…" The head court wizard uttered.

"Your highness, it would take two days to reach the wasteland city from the badlands mountain, a day should they rush it. Right now, I'm sure that they're either still on route to the wasteland city or have just reached the outskirts and are planning to attack the city, so please rest assured that everything is going as planned." He explained.

"I see…" The king uttered.

Even though he said that, the king couldn't help but still feel anxious.

"Your highness, the first prince trained swordsmanship under the best sword master in the kingdom and studied magic under the best wizard in the continent. Not only that, he's being accompanied by some of the best knights in the kingdom with half of our army's soldiers." The head court wizard stated.

"Even if the enemy is a kingdom of demons, our forces are far superior when it comes to military strategy. They're just a bunch of monsters pretending to be civilized like us." He added.

"You're right." The king replied.

Just as the king became complacent, someone suddenly crashed through the stained glass window of the castle. A thin man in shabby clothes with a sleeveless overcoat, carrying another man on one hand while a staff on the other.

"Who dares come disrespecting the king?!" The head court wizard shouted.

Together with the rest of the court wizards and elite guard knights, they prepare to attack the unwanted visitor.

"Me?" The man uttered before he tapped the ground with the staff, creating a small shockwave that staggered everyone around them.

"I'm the demon king… And I do not appreciate you attacking my territory." He said before throwing the man he was carrying in front of the king.

"My son!" The king shouted as he recognized what was thrown in front of him.

The first prince, though barely alive, is severely mangled. Missing an arm and a foot, with the remaining limbs already in the process of necrosis due to his final attack, it's safe to say that he'll no longer be able to live a normal life.

"You–!" The king shouted before firing an advance tier lightning magicka spell created to obliterate anything it comes into contact with.

"A bit rude for a king, huh?" Though it was a powerful spell, it was easily dispelled by the sacred cudgel.

"Is that any way to greet someone who brought your son back to you?" He added.

"After doing this to my son?! Why wouldn't I?!" The king angrily shouted

"Wizards! Execute Spell: Lightning Prison!" He then ordered as the magicians around them started chanting with some of the non-mage soldiers taking the first prince to safety.

"And to think that this is where my taxes used to go…" The farmer uttered.

As the throne room is filled with the chanting of the magicians, a powerful barrier is formed surrounding the demon king while leaving the top open.

"This doesn't look like a prison nor has any lightning in it." The farmer wondered as he remained standing, observing his enemies with fascination.

As the chanting of the magicians stops, a radiant beam of light suddenly comes crashing down from the sky, destroying the portion of the castle ceiling above the demon king, with the barrier surrounding the intruder protecting the people from the powerful spell.

"If these mages do manage to kill the demon king, the anti-demon magicka in their hearts would activate and seal them… Losing most of my court wizards from a seal will be costly to us but in times like these, I don't have any other options." The king said to himself, rationalizing upon the command he had given.

The barrier starts to crack, suddenly shattering completely and creating a powerful explosion that destroys the center of the throne room. Though the king and the head court wizard remained unscathed, casting a powerful barrier around them, some of the magicians were injured.

"Did that kill him?" One of the magicians uttered as he pulled himself together.

The king and the head court wizard remained quiet. Though they both knew how powerful the spell was, they weren't sure about the new demon king, and so, they're trying to remain on guard.

One by one, the magicians fall to their knees, not due to mana deficiency but due to an intense aura forcing them to submit. From the massive crevice their spell created, the demon king emerges and lands in front of the king, unscathed.

"Look, I don't really care what you do to me." The farmer said as he slowly approached the king.

"But if you try to attack my kingdom again, it won't end with just a warning." He then threatened while staring down at the king's face, glaring at him while releasing a very ominous aura, showing them what the new demon king is capable of doing.

Upon the demon king's departure, the king's court was left in disarray. Eventually, it dawned to them that half of the kingdom's military forces have been obliterated, weakening them for any possible invasion from foreign military forces, especially from the badlands bandits. The different noble factions started blaming one another for the mess the country is currently in and have started discussing the actions they have to take to recover from this loss.

The king was in complete distraught and could not focus on the council meeting, eventually leaving while the meeting was still in progress, losing some of the nobles' support while the others tried to defend him.

*****

Three days after the new demon king stormed the king's castle, the young cleric regains consciousness and finds herself inside the farmer's house, in the orchish stronghold. She quickly went outside to get information regarding the past few days, when she was unconscious, from the orc chief and finds out about the incident at the capital.

Instead of returning back to the capital to report back to the church and the king, the young cleric decided that she will have to investigate the matter regarding the subjugation alone, and indiscreetly, as not only will she be suspected of committing treason for receiving aid from the farmer, now the new demon king, but that she had grown wary of the king and his court of councils for setting them up as pawns in the subjugation quest.

As for the first prince, while it would take him a few months to regain consciousness, his career with swords and magic was over. The damage to his limbs were so severe that even the high priests at the church of the holy father deemed it impossible to heal even with a powerful miracle spell, while the mana core in his body imploded after overexertion on his final attack.

On the other hand, the king was never the same. Becoming more hellbent on dealing with the new demon king, he started conscripting men, both adult and young boys, into the army in preparation for another subjugation attempt. Having experienced the demon king's power first hand made him aware of what they need to do in order to make the mission successful.

Over the course of time, a rumor about the demon kingdom started to spread among adventurers, making them wary of entering the demon king's domain.

"You will find something worse than death when you trespass the cursed land."

Meanwhile, at the demon king's territory.

A horde of undead are marching at the wasteland territory, with high ranking demons acting as their superior. The demon king, the farmer, supervises his soldiers from the top of the extended sacred cudgel, watching and giving precise orders to the high ranking demon.

Upon the demon king's command, the high ranking demons let out a loud roar, signaling the horde of undead to start hitting the ground to till it with the demon king casting a powerful weather altering magic to spread rainfall across his dried up land, rehabilitating it for agriculture purposes.

End of first volume