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Without a doubt, the moment he saw that, Vlad immediately knew what these plants were. Despite how shocking it was, something within him immediately clicked—an innate connection to all these plants, overflowing with Ki and Demonic Energy at the same time.
Yes, these were the plants he had planted on the farm just yesterday; it only took a night for them to grow to this enormous size, and above all, they didn’t even look fitting for consumption, instead becoming things similar to monsters.
“Those plants…!” Vlad muttered. “Heavenly Demon, are they the ones that I planted?”
[“Hmmm?”]
The Heavenly Demon shared Vlad’s senses as he glanced at the farm itself; he quickly laughed.
[“Hahaha! Yes! It seems you’ve raised quite the bizarre farm, my foolish reincarnation! Murim Plants can grow to become something similar to that, but usually that’s for the Late Stage ones, Low Stage Martial Plants, Herbs, Fruits, Roots, and so on shouldn’t really be this… bizarrely enormous!”]
“Could it be that the natural dark energies of Obscuritas corrupted them? Something similar happened to the Spirit I created by fusing several lesser Martial Spirits, it has the shape of a grape, but it clearly had demonic traits,” said Vlad.
[“Indeed! It appears that there’s an interesting, very interesting effect. Perhaps something to do with this world; maybe your own Arcana is innately corrupted by these dark energies unique to this Realm. But whatever the case, the plants and seeds you planted before that should have grown into Martial Plants or Spiritual Plants through your Skills ended up being corrupted. I’ll call them Demonic Martial Plants!”]
“I guess that’s the only name someone like you could ever come out with.”
[“You dare say my naming sense is bad or outdated, you scoundrel?! …Though, fear not! They perhaps are still fitting for consumption! As long as they aren’t poisonous, right? Even more now, they now have the spectacular added effect of being able to protect your farm on their own! Isn’t that incredible, you idiot? Be grateful!”]
“Yeah, I’m in fact amazed. Is there a way to boost the growth of plants so they grow very quickly using my Skill?”
[“It works using Arcana, no? So as long as you have a lot of that, it should work. However, forcefully making plants grow this way might end up making them poisonous due to the excess Arcana, or they might wither away quickly as you burn through their lifespan.”]
“Plants have lifespans?! Ah, well, it’s worth giving it a try anyways!”
As everything occurred and Vlad glanced at his inventory and noticed he had almost two hundred plant seeds, mostly consumable plants he had bought to expand the farm, he heard Chris’ voice.
“T-This is… Isn’t this the farm you made yesterday?!” Chris asked in disbelief.
“Yeah… I think so,” Vlad smiled in disbelief. “I think I got an idea, mother.”
He glanced at Teressa, who was still looking as the strange and bizarre plants destroyed the heavily armored invaders and the approaching golems.
A single plant alone was not enough at all, but as they attacked in unison, their attacks proved to be quite lethal; they seemed to be even absorbing the essence and nutrients of the soil to work.
However, this could also prove to be a fatal weakness, as the nutrients of the soil were rather limited; eventually, the soil would no longer have more nutrients for their energy, and they would stop fighting.
In fact, a couple of the plants had already seemingly stopped attacking and grew slightly discolored. The few surviving armored monsters quickly rushed against them, and the humanoids swung their halberds and swords, cutting through the plants and reducing them into pieces.
“An idea?! Vlad, what are these things?” Teressa asked.
“They might be our best shot at realistically defending the city!” said Vlad. “However, I’ll need everyone’s help. My Blazing Doppelgangers and I aren’t enough. I need at least thirty people; can you leave them to me?”
“What for?” Teressa asked.
“I’ll spread these seeds everywhere around the abandoned farms,” said Vlad. “And I’ll continuously expand the Domain as I move. While moving, those I bring along will dug out soil and put the seeds beneath. This is our only chance before the larger hordes get to us.”
“So those plants are a result of your Subclass?! To think you can conjure such powerful familiars already! I was completely wrong; you’ve already become a full vampire, my son.” Teressa was proud of her son.
“T-Thanks, but we have to hurry!” he said.
“Of course, I’ll accompany you as well!” she said. “Chris, you too! Camilla, remain with the soldiers. Thirty of you, come with us!”
Teressa was incredibly quick, immediately bringing with herself thirty soldiers. Vlad wasted no time, giving them the seeds in order as they advanced.
He knew that the Blood Potatoes seemed to be defensive plants, so he told them to place them in the front, then he assigned the Moonlight Rice behind, Blood Fruit Trees, and Sweet Venom Lily Roots behind; they seemed to be long-ranged attackers that launched either huge seeds or fruits.
Trees also seemed quite strong, but they took much more soil nutrients to grow; they were much harder, durable, and could even attack use roots aside from firing explosive fruits!
There were many other plants: Black Heart Carrots, Crimson Moonlight Watermelons, and many other types of rice and potatoes, roots, fruits, and herbs.
One of the most notable herbs that Vlad noticed was the Freezing Tea Leaves, which were his mother’s favorite tea.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
This tea was always incredibly cold, good to refresh the body after a long day. Upon growing into Demonic Martial Plants, they were able to briefly freeze targets by releasing cold winds, slowing down their advance considerably!
It was also beneficial that most of the monsters were walking creatures and didn’t seem to be capable of flight; being forced to move forward on their march, they would eventually face the plants.
In only ten minutes, they covered over six kilometers surrounding the Elderbridge’s walls, which Vlad continuously spent his Arcana on blessing with his Farmer Skills.
“All done, Vlad!”
He heard Teressa’s voice through telepathy, as Vlad nodded, quickly rushing back into the walls as the monsters seemed just a few minutes from reaching them now.
“Is this really going to work?!” Chris wondered.
“I don’t see any other option here,” said Vlad. “Chris, tell Argentia to cover and defend the areas that are least protected!”
“O-Ok!” Chris nodded, communicating with Argentia through their connection.
“Argentia! Please protect the areas that are the weakest; we’ll take care of this area!” said Chris.
“Are you sure, priestess?!” Argentia was worried. “V-Very well then! I shall trust you.”
At the same time, Vlad was creating a different connection with his plants.
“I can feel it….”
He had used the power of his two Farmer Skills, [Spiritual Ki Farmer Agricultural Arts (A): Lv2] and [Blessing of the Martial Spirits of Harvest (A): Lv2], in combination with Geomancy.
This way, he manipulated their elemental properties, turning them into durable threads, which he interconnected with his own hands and his Arcana Aura.
Therefore, even while being far away, Vlad was able to actively imbue his Arcana into each plant individually through these blessing threads!
“Now… let’s begin.”
Vlad quickly started infusing more and more Arcana through the threads, rapidly awakening the seeds and helping them grow.
The many Martial Spirits of Harvest within every area of the Domain he expanded floated around the plants, blessing them with their very existences.
FLAAASH!
Bright golden and green light surged from the soil, infused with the nutrients that the Spirits granted. Vlad conjured his Skills combined with geomancy.
One after another, the plants started growing; from seeds they became tiny leaves and then continued growing larger, and larger, and larger.
Eventually, the golden and green auras they exuded turned black, purple, and red, suddenly undergoing mutations!
“It’s working!” Teressa said.
“It’s really working?!” Chris gasped.
This feat was not easy for Vlad though, as it drained his Arcana in tremendous quantities. His natural Arcana stat wasn’t even that high due to his debuff, but when combined with all his equipment, he had an immense pool.
However, even with that taken into consideration, the pool was still not enough to easily raise all seeds into plants. Hence, Vlad took out piles after piles of items he had created and saved to sell later.
Whenever one of his rings or bracelets ran out of Arcana, he would quickly store them and equip new ones, effectively using equipment as if they were magic batteries.
RUMBLE!
“GROOOOHHH!”
The footsteps of the giant Armored Beasts and the Black Golems neared closer as they finally faced off the army of plants, which continued to emerge from the soil.
And as the monsters seemed to be finally within the range of the city, suddenly, a new system message appeared.
Ding!
[The City of Elderbridge has successfully triggered the [World-Wide Event]: {Awakening of the Ancient King of Neburias}!]
[The Ancient King of the Fallen Kingdom of Neburias has awakened from his slumber; his Ancient Kingdom of Underground Dwelling Demons seek to reclaim the surface as their own. After having been defeated by the Vampire Emperor three hundred thousand years ago and sealed away, he wants nothing but the Empire of Iron Blood to fall against his Black Armored Army!]
[He will relentlessly send a new wave of monsters every day until he can completely destroy the Empire of Iron Blood! However, he will bid his time and make sure every city is destroyed in order. He will target Elderbridge, the closest city to his Tomb.]
[Survive the Daily Raid of Hundreds of Enemies to earn Special Event Points, which you can later exchange for special Event-Tied Merchants. The Monsters available for this World-Wide event are limited, and once enough Raids are completed, new Events may happen. So make sure to not miss this opportunity!]
[This World-Wide Event is limited to the area within Elderbridge until the city is completely destroyed. Either defend or run; it's your choice.]
[Tip: The Neburians are fierce monsters that come divided into three categories: humanoids, beasts, and golems. Among every living being in this Realm, their naturally grown biological metallic armor makes them tremendously heavy and defensive foes. However, they’re slow and unable to cast magic and are partially weak against certain elements. Use magic and defense-piercing equipment to deal extra damage against them!]
“T-This is really a world-wide event!” Chris said. “Wait, did every Player here get this message?!”
As Chris wondered that, Vlad didn’t have time to wonder; he glanced at the Tip area, telling him very valuable information! The reason why they had yet to devastate their city with magic was this. They actually couldn’t cast magic!
In exchange for their tremendous physical prowess and defenses, the Neburians were unable to use magic, were slow, and were also partially weak against “certain” elements.
“I guess we’ll have to find out which elements they’re weak against…!” Vlad said. “Mother, the plants will help, but them alone will never be enough. We should join the battle now! Let’s surprise them with a frontal attack!”
“Very well then!” nodded Teressa, her Aura of Frost surging from her body. “Soldiers! Charge!”
Teressa carried everyone with giant platforms made of ice. As she let them step into the battlefield outside of the walls, the giant armored beasts, humanoids, and golems emerged.
“Defend the city!”
“OOOOHHH!!”
With brave roars, the mercenaries, knights, and soldiers that composed their army charged forward. The Demonic Plants immediately began bombarding the monsters with explosive seeds and launching venomous and acidic fruits that slowly dissolved the armor of the Neburians.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Their attacks, resembling small explosions extending across dozens after dozens of foes together, created small sparkles of light amidst the otherwise dark forests surrounding Elderbridge.
The people of Obscuritas could naturally see in the dark, so even if this place was incredibly dark, they were not troubled!
As the soldiers charged into battle, Vlad sent all of his Doppelgangers while supervising the plants over the walls.
“Chris, shoot them down as they approach!” he said.
“Gotcha!”
Chris conjured several elemental arrows that floated around his petite body, which he fired in quick succession, releasing huge explosions of elements.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Ice froze them, thunder electrocuted them, fire burned them, light weakened them or stunned them, and poison dissolved their armor slightly.
Eventually, the accumulated damage started making several of the Neburians die one after another, as Vlad’s Blazing Doppelgangers conjured swords made of fire and copied his swordsmanship techniques.
More plants kept popping up one after another as he continued feeding them with Arcana and Spiritual Nutrients into the Soil. They battled like warriors did, putting their lives on the line.
Many of the plants put themselves in front of soldiers, dying on their spot as they were cut down to pieces, but this helped Vlad minimize casualties!
“Emperor of Blood! You will know the wrath and resentment of the Neburians!”
RUMBLE!
Suddenly, however, a giant of ten meters emerged amidst the dark forest near Elderbridge, humanoid in appearance but burly and with six enormous arms, holding a different weapon in each hand.
Ding!
[The {Raid Boss: 1/3}: [Zergeous, The Giant Six-Armed Black Knight (Tier 5)] has stepped into battle!]
[His presence alone raises the strength and morale of the Neburians, increasing their Stats by 30%!]
“I will destroy these walls! And your city shall fall tonight!”
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