The Duke's Son :Re-Chapter 189

Chapter 189
Fields?
They weren’t all golden wheat fields.
All types of crops were planted on the endless land. The way they were lined up by type, color, and size without any deviations reminded Jae-Hyeok of a military formation. He couldn’t help wondering if the person who managed the fields had OCD.
In any case, it turned out that Reinhardt was a walled city surrounded by fields.
Jae-Hyeok had always imagined Reinhardt as a wondrous and transcendent land—maybe a place filled with strange animals and unfamiliar buildings, or a grand island floating in space, or perhaps a divine realm full of bright lights and disembodied beings...
In any case, he had expected something completely different from Earth. Looking around, Reingardt didn’t seem like anything special; there was the faint outline of three moons in the sky, but even then, Jae-Hyeok felt no difference in the air and gravity when compared to Earth.
Above all, the concept of agriculture was too familiar.
Looking around at the expanse of farm fields, Jae-Hyeok’s tension slowly faded—but then he took a sharp breath;
No, I can’t relax.
“
[How to avoid the farmers and reach Area Nine (1/2)],”
Jae-Hyeok recalled the title of the chat room he’d seen twice in the Community, and came to his senses.
If that person meant farmers who work in the fields, then it must be hard to pass through here to reach the city. Also, there’s Piaro... Someone who can produce a treasure-level elixir like the golden walnut isn’t simple. And Heartamaru said he likes to farm and visits Reinhardt often.
The more Jae-Hyeok thought about it, the less simple the open fields and unguarded road before him seemed. The farmers surely had some way of protecting their crops from outsiders.
Maybe the fields are guarded by some unseen monsters...
Jae-Hyeok was closely studying the layout of the fields when a loud voice reached his ears.
“Out of the way, out of the way! Make way for Priest Galak!”
Blue-scaled beastmen with crocodile-like faces raced down the main road while carrying a palanquin.
Beastmen?
Are they residents of this place?
Like any player, Jae-Hyeok enjoyed the System privilege of comprehending the language of foreign races as easily as if they were speaking Korean. Thus, at the beastmen’s warning, Jae-Hyeok didn’t panic and stepped back. Truth be told, he wanted to stop them to ask some questions, but on hearing that a priest resided in the palanquin and seeing how splendid the palanquin looked, Jae-Hyeok was wary. Getting involved with someone of high status could lead to unnecessary trouble.
Unfortunately—
“Hey, you!”
The crocodile men abruptly stopped the palanquin and called out to Jae-Hyeok.
“Me?”
“Who else is here except for you?
Ah!
This bastard... Hey! Are you really human? A lesser race, naked without scales or fur...
Puha, puha, puha!
How could a lowly human be here?”
Apparently, there were few humans in Reinhardt.
Looking at Heartmaru, she is a half-blood, but she is still an elf.
It seems in this world, humans are some sort of rare, lesser species. Thinking as much, Jae-Hyeok said politely, “I will disappear from your vision right now.”
There was no time to waste on trivial disputes. He had to return to Earth within ten days to undergo the National Treasure candidate exam, so every minute and second wasted stung.
The corners of the crocodiles’ mouths curled. “
Hmm
. At least humans in this world know etiquette.”
“Humans in this world”?
Don’t tell me that these guys are actually newbie visitors like me?
Just as Jay-Hyeok was thinking, an ordinary-looking man suddenly shouted, “Hey! Don’t make a ruckus. What are you doing in the sacred fields?”
The man’s old clothes were messy, and the sweat stains on his straw hat were clear. Looking at the hand plow in his hand, it was clear that he was a farmer working nearby.
The crocodile beastmen frowned.
“A human working in the fields... A creature no different from livestock dares to raise his head and interrupt the conversation of his superiors?”
A crocodile beastman immediately insulted the farmer. He even bared his yellow teeth and raised one arm like he was going to use violence.
He is strong.
Apart from acting like street thugs, all of the crocodile beastmen moved with the subtle stability of martial masters—their feet were fixed to the ground and spread wide, while their jaws and necks were kept tucked and protected. Not one of them seemed like they would go down easily, no matter how lethal the attack.
As expected, no one arrives at Reinhardt is ordinary. At the very least, they are at my level. They might even be at the level of National Treasures.
“Why are so many outsiders arrogant... ”
Jae-Hyeok stopped observing the beastmen and shifted his gaze back to the farmer. The farmer’s forearm muscles came into sharp relief as he slowly took off his hat.
“No one can pass here unless they are qualified. Either leave quietly or prove you are qualified.”
“Lowly human, you dare to speak of qualifications before Priest Galak? Has this damn livestock lost its mind?”
The crocodile beastmen burst out laughing before inclining their heads to the palanquin, where a beastman adorned in bone jewelry sat cross-legged. Different from its kin, the beastman’s scales were red and covered in abstract tattoos, exuding an ominous aura from head to toe.
The red-scaled beastman, Priest Galak, stopped observing the situation and spoke a word.
“Die.”
Several of Priest Galak’s tattoos glowed faintly, and the eyes of the blue-scaled beastmen flashed with light.
"Kuaaaah!"
The beastmen put down the palanquin as if it were weightless and roared ferociously. The ambient mana vibrated under their pressure, sending ripples through the wheat field.
Jae-Hyeok’s skin tingled as if pricked by countless needles.
S-class!
Having confirmed his guess about the beastmen’s strength, Jae-Hyeok grew nervous. But the farmer remained calm. “Hm. Not bad, nice and fierce. I’ve heard crocodiles eat any small creatures that come into their territory. Maybe if I release them in the rice fields, they’ll have some use... ” In the end, the muttering farmer shook his head and swung his hand plow. Then, there was a sound that was hard to understand—
A wet squelch.
The crocodile beastman who received the farmer’s hand plow to the forehead shivered, and then its eyes rolled into its head.
Meanwhile, Jae-Hyeok, the other blue-scaled beastmen, and Priest Galak all froze.
“Unfortunately, you’re too big. You’ll flatten the stalks instead of protecting them.” The farmer shook his head. He pulled his hand plow free from the beastman, which then toppled forward while spraying yellow blood.
“......?”
“......!”
The shock experienced by the other beastmen was even greater than Jae-Hyeok’s. In their homeland, humans were livestock. Sure, some rare humans awakened great power, destroyed civilizations, and killed many beastmen, but at the very least, no farmer had that type of power. After all, even awakened, all a farmer did was grow and harvest crops.
“W-what are you?”
“How did you dodge our joint attacks?”
The farmer looked at the next crocodile beastman and clicked his tongue.“Your arms aren’t even flexible. There is no way you can plant seeds.”
“What nonsense...
Aaack
!”
The crocodile beastmen fell one after another.
The hand plow sank through their scales and flesh as if they were made of clay, making the beastmen’s large, armored bodies pointless.
“You must be using some trick!” Priest Galak shouted. Unable to stand it any longer, it jumped down from the palanquin. Its tattoos glowed bright, and with a roar, it shot forward like lightning, closing on the farmer in the blink of an eye and swinging its wide hand like a hammer.
However, Jae-Hyeok heard the same strange sound as before.
“
Uhh
?”
Priest Galak’s eyes widened before it tilted its head and collapsed.
The farmer grunted and yanked his hand plow from Galak’s forehead. “Maybe if you crocs wore hats to protect from the sun, you’d have had some brains. Coming out here and causing a ruckus.... I swear... ” As the farmer continued muttering incomprehensibly, the corpses crumbled into fine ash.
What?
This farmer killed them without even leaving a single corpse behind.
Jae-Hyeok instinctively backed away.
Death—
Jae-Hyeok knew the concept well. Under the burden of his duties, he had faced many life-or-death situations. However, to die here, in an unknown place, without leaving even a corpse behind was something he’d never imagined would be his lot.
An overwhelming fear washed over him.
He, the descendant of a great family, the son of the Yaksha, was about to vanish right before his National Treasure candidate exam. Worst of all, his disappearance would invite a new round of rumors back on Earth, bringing down the Kang family’s reputation once more.
Just then, the farmer’s gaze fell on Jae-Hyeok.
“Hey, you. Can you prove your worth to cross these fields?”
“No,” Jae-Hyeok replied immediately. His eyes were still fixed on the hand plow that was soaked in the blood of the crocodile beastman. “I might’ve come here at the invitation and request of some noble figures, but I lack the qualifications to meet the standards of a noble farmer such as yourself. I will quietly leave.”
Of course, even gripped by fear, Jae-Hyeok didn’t forget to hint at a backing. If the farmer valued Heartmaru’s request, or the Reinhardt ticket he’d received from Princess Iris, then he could hopefully escape with an explanation.
“Hm. It’s rare to meet an outsider who understands his place. Nine out of ten people who come from outside are arrogant. You’ve got a good attitude. Moreover, your body is well trained. I’d say you’ve already cleared half of it.”
Contrary to expectations, the farmer didn’t show any interest in Jae-Hyeok’s words. It was as if he hadn’t even heard the part about noble figures or his invitation. Jae-Hyeok was enveloped in a foreboding feeling and took a step back.
“What do you mean by ‘I’ve cleared half of it’?”
“Of course, I mean that you’re qualified to work in the fields.”
“......?”
“Farming is the foundation of the world, and people depend on it for their livelihood. I find you commendable, so I’ll give you a chance to be a valuable person. Haha
.”
“
[How to avoid the farmers and reach Area Nine (1/2)]... ”
Caught by a terrifying farmer he couldn’t reason with, Jae-Hyeok finally understood the struggles of that unnamed player.
***
At the same time, in a different area of the fields.
“This time, this time for certain!”
A different player from Earth was applying ochre-colored camouflage cream to his face while hyping himself up.