We were always destitute.
We starved every single day.
And so we prayed every morning.
Please, let us die peacefully today.
We prayed.
And we hoped.
But we couldn't even shed tears.
It was a morning that began with the hope that our own death, which would soon come, might result in our family having full bellies. It was every day. It was our life.
Scratch, scratch...
Sharp claws scraped against a stone slab. Letters were engraved. A flickering candle. Hartok's black pupils followed the diary he was inscribing.
And once more, scratch, scratch.
But now, we have changed.
Now we laugh every single day.
And so we hope every morning.
Please, let the chuno we hang out to dry today come out nice and tasty.
We pray.
And we hope.
Even the smiles we try to put on our faces have grown brighter.
It's a morning that begins with the expectation that our dinner table will soon be filled with our family's happiness. It's every day. It has become our life.
"......."
Hartok stopped his hand.
The journal entry he had just written was quite to his liking. There were a few parts he'd need to revise, but this much was satisfactory. Like the giant potatoes that filled the storage every day lately.
With a full heart.
With a firm sense of security.
Just like everyone else.
Hartok murmured honestly,
"....Who would've thought a day like this would ever come to us."
***
"To think a day like this would come to us—those were the 4th Star Master's first words."
"......"
A voice filled the makeshift farming tent, hastily built to replace the collapsed Demon King's Castle. A demon, with a snake-like appearance—the 4th Star Master's messenger—spoke.
"The 4th Star Master mourned for three days and nights upon hearing that the Demon King had suspended the invasion of the human world. And when he heard that farming had started instead of the invasion, he even shed tears. He said that everyone in the Abandoned Lands would suffer greatly because of the Demon King's deluded decision, a decision made after losing touch with reality."
"......."
"And so, the 4th Star Master made a decision. That he would carry out the invasion of the human world with the independent strength of the 4th legion alone."
"...Hoo."
Kim Jangcheol let out a sigh before he even realized it.
The territory of the 4th Star Master was located at the southeasternmost edge of the Abandoned Lands. That region bordered the human world—it was called the Desert of Tombstones.
It was also the furthest area from the Demon King's Castle. That's why it had taken ages for the messenger to even arrive here.
But the news he brought, after all that time—
"So you're saying the 4th Star Master decided to invade the human world on his own, regardless of my orders?"
"Not only did he decide it, but he has already carried it out."
"....What?"
He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Kim Jangcheol was momentarily at a loss for words, then barely managed to say one thing.
"You've gotta be kidding me..."
***
"...You've gotta be kidding me!"
Asurat's cheerful shout echoed through the potato fields. It was almost a cheer. Hearing it, the farming corps demons began to murmur and gather.
"Uh, what's going on, Lord Asurat?"
"Wait, don't tell me... is it that?"
"No way. The one I dug up last time was huge too."
"But you never know, right? The potatoes from this field are insanely good..."
A mix of disbelief.
And yet, a sliver of hope.
It was a moment where everyone's eyes sparkled with anticipation.
Asurat lifted a massive lump he had dug up from the earth and shouted,
"That is what this is, you bastards! It's a new record!"
".......!"
It was indeed an enormous potato.
Even the farming corps members, who had grown numb to oversized potatoes lately, could tell it was exceptionally huge.
Just how massive was it...?
"It's huge! That thing's bigger than Baal's head!"
Baal shouted in awe.
A wild uproar followed from the farming corps.
Asurat, who had dug up the record-breaking potato, broke into his signature cruel grin, overflowing with a sense of dominance, victory, and thrill—and above all, the joy of a bountiful harvest!
"Kahahahaha! Bow down before me, you losers!"
Baal instinctively dropped to the ground.
The farming corps burst into laughter.
From a distance, Sirgi, who had been quietly harvesting potatoes by herself, frowned and cast them a look full of scorn. But even so, her lips curled into a faint smile.
"...Seriously. Hopeless bunch."
"Hopeless, huh. What the hell...."
Crunch!
Kim Jangcheol ground his teeth. Then he turned toward the messenger who had brought him this bolt-from-the-blue news.
"Then, the scale of forces the 4th Star Master has mobilized?"
"The entire 4th legion."
"He's mobilized everything?"
"Yes, Demon King."
"......."
"The 4th Star Master declared that this invasion would decide the fate of the Abandoned Lands. A half-hearted invasion would only provoke retaliation from the human world, and to prevent such a scenario, an overwhelming show of force was necessary."
"......."
"And so, the 4th Star Master gathered even the entire garrison stationed at the Desert of Tombstones, and after declaring that he would never retreat until death, he held the marching ceremony and began the march."
"......."
Kim Jangcheol was speechless. At the same time, he recalled the game data about the 4th Star Master.
'Yeah. He was a textbook reckless warlord type.'
In the game, the 4th Star Master was the first main story boss players would usually face. He also served as the vanguard of the Demon King's invasion force into the human world.
'He had an explosive temper and insanely high aggression.'
This was getting troublesome.
He had never imagined the 4th Star Master would act like this. At worst, he thought the guy would just plead with him to approve the invasion.
'But to actually carry it out on his own—?'
And of all people, that reckless maniac was stationed at the place farthest from the Demon King's Castle. That's why this news had only reached him just now.
Thump… thump…
His heartbeat pounded. Cold sweat poured down his back.
The reason was simple.
'If they invade the human world like this... Aged Kimchi will come.'
Then everyone would die.
Himself included.
The demon race too.
They would all be torn to pieces by that monstrous bastard.
'That's why I halted the invasion in the first place. I started farming to find a way for everyone to survive without provoking the human realm.'
But the 4th Star Master had no clue about any of that.
"Phew...."
This was becoming a headache.
Kim Jangcheol asked,
"So, when did the 4th Star Master hold the marching ceremony?"
Depending on the answer, he could still make it.
If the 4th legion had only recently held their marching ceremony, then they likely hadn't yet reached the border with the human realm.
He could rush over and stop them in time.
Then Aged Kimchi's attention might not turn to the Abandoned Lands. He could avoid drawing aggro from that monster.
'So please.....!'
Kim Jangcheol prayed earnestly.
That the 4th Star Master had taken his time.
That he might still have a chance to catch him.
...But crushing that desperate hope, the messenger calmly replied,
"The marching ceremony was held on the very same day I departed to deliver the news to you, my lord."
"...What?"
"Also, the 4th legion's marching ceremony was uncharacteristically modest. As soon as the brief marching ceremony ended, the legion set off immediately to the southeast. So by now, the entire legion has likely reached the fortress at the human world's border kingdom—or is already surrounding it."
"......"
It was like a bolt from the blue.
Kim Jangcheol flapped his lips for a long while before finally managing to respond.
"...I'm gonna lose my mind."
***
"Did you set all the bowls on the table?"
"Yes, Mom!"
"Oh my, my little Flute's all grown up now. Knows how to set the table for Mom too."
"But, there's only Dad's, yours, and mine."
"Still, putting those on the table is an important job too. You did well, my little blessing."
"Heheh, thank youuu."
Three stone bowls set on a humble dinner table.
Three pieces of chuno modestly portioned into each bowl.
The chuno, simmered in water until soft, gave off gentle steam. A savory scent drifted through the air. A warm smile bloomed on the lips of the family.
Flute's father, a member of the farming corps, thought,
'So this is what happiness is.'
He was happy.
And so he thought,
That the Demon King was right.
That cancelling the invasion of the human world had been the right decision. That war had never been necessary. That there was never a reason for slaughter.
'Yeah. We could've... just lived peacefully like this. We didn't need to harm others or invade them. We could've just farmed the land and lived without hunger.'
They worked hard during the day.
They sweated with diligence.
In the evening, they shared a meal with their family.
What was a matter of course for others was a dream no one dared to even wish for in this Abandoned Land.
Once, that's how it was.
Back then, that's how it always was.
A happy daily life in the Abandoned Land was an unreachable dream—a mirage, something to be longed for in the heart, wished upon like a prayer.
But now, things had changed.
It had become an everyday reality anyone could enjoy. Hard to believe still, but it was undeniably real.
And so they were joyful.
They were happy.
To the point of tears.
"Okay then, thank you for the meal!"
His daughter's face beamed with a wide smile. A warm glance exchanged with his wife after so long. Flute's father felt genuine happiness and made a vow to himself.
'Let's live well again tomorrow.'
***
"Screw tomorrow. We're leaving right now."
Kim Jangcheol ground his teeth like a vow to himself. Zephyros frowned beyond his glasses.
"Is it truly that urgent?"
"Yeah."
He nodded.
As if it were obvious.
"Because we have to stop that 4th Star bastard from invading the human world. If we don't, this land will be thoroughly destroyed."
"And... why is that?"
"You don't need to know."
He couldn't bring himself to explain it.
That a monstrous being with a level of 9,990 existed.
That he had been the one who raised that monster. That, at one point, he had used that monster to slash and butcher everyone in this land dozens of times.
He absolutely, by no means, could tell them that.
'Aged Kimchi must not take an interest in the Abandoned Land. Absolutely not.'
For some reason, Aged Kimchi hadn't come here. There hadn't been any reports of him attacking the Star Masters either.
That meant he had deviated from his mission of exterminating the demon race of the Abandoned Land.
'I was finally starting to feel a little at ease...'
He'd even started hoping it might continue like this.
But now the 4th Star Master was about to ruin this hard-won peace.
'If the 4th legion breaks through the border fortress... and the human kingdom gets fully invaded...'
Then Aged Kimchi would remember the mission he had forgotten. He would come to the Abandoned Land.
Could they stop him then?
No.
Absolutely impossible.
That was something Kim Jangcheol, the one who had raised that monster, could say with absolute certainty—it was a fact, a truth, an unshakable reality.
"......"
Ahh.
The potato farming had finally paid off.
He had started thinking he might finally be able to live like a proper person.
And yet why.
Why now.
Why of all things.
"......."
He almost felt like crying.
But now was not the time to fall apart.
To avoid losing the fragile foundation they had barely established, to ensure the safety of everyone here, including himself, he had to stop the 4th Star Master—whether by force or persuasion—from invading the human world.
So...
"We leave now. Follow me."
Target: the fortress city on the human world border, Magrat.
With grim resolve, Kim Jangcheol burst out of the farming shack.
***
"Even if you make that grim face, what can't be done still can't be done. Follow the rules. Take off that cloak."
This was the fortress city on the human world's border, Magrat.
The frontline in the battle against the cursed Abandoned Land, against the wicked demon race that crawled out of that forsaken place.
A soldier from the fortress garrison barked the command with a stern face, spear leveled. It was a well-honed weapon, tempered in countless battles with the demon race. At the tip of that spear stood Aged Kimchi.
"....."
Aged Kimchi remained silent.
And he looked down at the rag he was wearing—too shabby to even be called a cloak—gifted to him by the village chief of the exile village when he left.
And he thought,
'If I take this off, there's gonna be a problem.'
Most likely.
Because under that ragged cloak lay an outfit that would make anyone recoil in horror(?). Everyone he'd met on the way here had been terrified upon seeing it.
"....."
But he couldn't take off the embarrassingly ridiculous outfit.
He had tried countless times.
Even tried to tear it off with overwhelming force. The result was always the same.
He simply could not take off the outfit.
Maybe it was because it had been put on him by the Summon of Duty itself. Like the weight of the mission he carried. Like the bloody memories of a previous life that could never be forgotten nor erased.
"Oh come now, gentlemen? Ahahaha. This guy's just a bit blunt, you see. He's got a bit of a complex about his body, too. Couldn't you let it slide, just this once?"
Was it the sense of crisis?
The servant, Frontera, smoothly slid between them and the guards. With his trademark shameless grin, he tried to defuse the situation.
It was a gift that had even succeeded in easing the wariness of everyone back in the exile village.
But this time, it didn't work.
"Step aside. Everyone who passes through this gate must undergo a strict inspection of their belongings and attire. It's the rule."
The guards' gazes hardened.
Sensing the change in mood, Asrahan stepped forward.
"Understood. We'll comply, so please lower your weapons."
"......."
But none of the soldiers lowered their spears.
Naturally.
This wasn't an ordinary fortress. And the soldiers here weren't your average guards either.
They were elite soldiers stationed at the frontline, charged with the duty of watching and defending against the wicked demons from the Abandoned Land.
"No one may escape suspicion until the inspection is complete. Remove your cloak, now."
The captain of the guards issued the order.
His tone was nearly murderous, as if this was the final warning.
'I guess I've got no choice.'
...He would have to take it off.
In the end, Aged Kimchi grasped his cloak. He could break through by force, but that would put his young master and servant in a difficult position.
But just then—
BWOOOOOOOOOOOO -!
"...!"
Suddenly, a heavy horn blast echoed from the top of the fortress gate. Urgent shouts soon followed from all over the fortress.
"Northwest! Invasion level 5! High alert!"
One of the guards on the watchtower pointed northwest. A massive cloud of dust was rising from that direction, rushing toward the fortress.
It was the 4th Star Master's legion.
Completely unaware that a level 9,990 monster was already lurking inside this very fortress.
[T/L: I am not getting any support from webnovel platform, so please support me and read ahead chapters on my ko-fi page "RevengerScans" : https://ko-fi.com/revengerscans ]