Pink flowers spread everywhere my eyes could see, surrounded by a low fence to keep them safe from animals and monsters.
As Alesia had told me, it seemed like this was located near the border between the Sin Kingdom and the Virtue Kingdom, a perfect place to plant these flowers in secret.
The barren land sprayed on the edge of the field. The scenery was really different, and nothing grew on that land. The sky was filled with eternal dark clouds, creating shade without sunlight on the land.
And far in the distance, a light purplish color covered the sky, and the ground was colored red due to the interference of the magical border. If I passed the border and arrived in the Sin Kingdom, I wondered if the grass would still be red and the sky was light purple, just like what I saw here or not.
According to Duke Blacktomb, the scenery of the Sin Kingdom was similar to the Virtue Kingdom, so the difference in color was probably only because of the magical border. It disappointed me a little, but not too much.
As such, the difference in scenery made the pink flower field look more beautiful.
A few people dressed in farmer clothes seemed to tend the flowers, watering them and spreading some soil to keep them fresh.
Those farmers looked rather old, had wrinkles, and walked very slowly. Some of them were Humans, and some of them were Beastkins. The ones who seemed to be most affected were Humans as they also coughed thanks to the flower side-effects, which were harmful to Humans.
Narrowing my eyes in displeasure and using <Appraisal> and <Presence Detection>, I found out that they were from a very poor village near him and were given a job by those people in the Pleasure City.
"I need to evacuate them first."
I couldn't just kill them and send them all to the nearby churches. There would be commotions.
'I don't like this.'
Somehow this sight reminded me of Horizon Online, and I clicked my tongue in displeasure. Who knew that something like this and poor villages still existed in the Virtue Kingdom? I thought this place was like a heaven with no deaths, and everything was fulfilled.
My investigation also bore a similar result. However, it seemed like it was only on the surface. If there were no poor villages or people, why would Underground Cities and many orphanages exist? The numbers were also not low.
'I guess I am only blinded by my new stage. I should donate some Gold to the church again and let them take care of the poor villages more.'
Thinking so, I walked down the hill to warn those people. If they didn't want to evacuate, then forgive me for killing them.
Some people noticed me walking toward the flower field, and one approached me after putting down a sack of soil on the ground. Because I wasn't wearing armor nor holding a weapon, he lowered his guard and probably thought I wasn't dangerous.
"Young man, this is a private area belonging to a scary man! If you don't want to get hurt by his guards, please leave this area fast while they are still not awake!" The old man with deep wrinkles on his forehead and near his eyes shouted.
My lips rose into a small smile. I appreciated the warning, so I spoke in a calmer tone than I was about to use.
"Thank you, old man. But I should be the one to say that. This flower field will be destroyed soon, so return to your village with the other villagers. There will be reimbursement later for you and the others, so don't worry about not being able to eat or provide for your family.
"But if you choose to stay, then I can't force you to leave. However, do note that the church will deal with everyone staying in the flower field without exception. These flowers are dangerous and can make people fall into lust, thus are called Devil Flowers and will be eradicated."
Hearing my words, the old man stopped in his tracks, and his weary eyes widened, "A-Are you serious, young man? T-These flowers are Devil Flowers?!"
"Yes." I nodded.
"I am the representative of the church, the Paladin, Arthur Vainglory. In the name of the Goddess Teri, I will destroy this flower field and everyone guarding it. If you want to repent, I will give you 3 minutes to leave right now. Don't worry. You will be forgiven as long as you repent. Ignorance is not Sins."
A loud gulp resounded from him.
"O-Oooh! What have I done?! I… I actually cultivated the Devil Flowers." The old man was trembling in fear and guilt. He looked at me with quivered eyes and nodded firmly.
"Y-Your Holiness the Paladin. I shall comply. I shall tell my friends and leave! But… Can I request something? Please don't destroy the field before the Tyrant guards arrive. They… They stay in our village and will hurt our family if they see something wrong with the field. They will be here in a few minutes. Please!"
"Alright."
'Waiting for a few minutes shouldn't be a problem. It's better to kill them all at once instead of going to this old man's village to find them."
"Thank you! Thank you!" The old man bowed a few times before hurriedly turning his back and went to his companion.
He talked feverishly, trying to explain the situation and my identity to them as they gathered around the old man. The 10 or so men looked at me before turning to the old man, nodding their heads. Thankfully, they were all understanding and bowed their heads to me before leaving the flower field.
However, they didn't return to their village and chose to hide first, as the bad guys were still in their village. If they were known to slack off, their fate would be worse than death.
I nodded at them and went to hide myself. While doing so, I took out a weapon, a brown greatsword with a blade taller than myself. The sword guard was made of gold and was as heavy as a large boulder, and its name was [Cleaver].
This was perfect for burying those flowers. I couldn't burn them because the smoke and smell would affect the surrounding. So my only choice was to root it from the ground and put it in my inventory.
After waiting on the hill for a few minutes, the so-called Tyrant guards arrived. Their appearances were like those of thugs, untidy and only wore some simple shirts. There were a total of 6 men looking around the surroundings with pissed expressions.
"Where the fuck are those old men going?! Are they slacking off?"
"Hahaha, they're actually not here! Are they not afraid that we will rape their daughters after we kill the men in the village?! Even if they look skinny, I bet they are still able to satisfy us."
"Tsk! Where the fuck are they? If we don't send the flowers to Master Tyrant, we will be tortured before we are killed 3 times! Fucking old men!!"
Alright, they were scum.
I already knew since the start, but hearing them saying that loudly was different.
Holding [Cleaver] with both of my hands, I jumped down the hill and landed in front of the flower field. They noticed my presence but didn't do anything except narrow their eyes.
"Huh? Is he the one who chases those old men with that huge sword? Tsk! To think there is actually someone that finds the flower field. Are you from another Underground City, brat?!"
One of them shouted loudly, but I ignored him and stabbed the sword on the ground. Then I used my skill, causing the sword to let out a faint golden glow.
"Prepare for a fight, you guys!" One thug noticed that I was about to use skill and pulled a knife.
But he was late.
"<Mountain Cleaver>"
I muttered the skill name and brought my sword up. At the same time, the ground in front of me was dug out as if a nuke had been dropped, bringing the dirt, soil, and flowers to the sky. That included the 6 thugs as their bodies were minced by the force that brought them up.
The whole flower field that spanned over a hundred meters was dug up at once. Thanks to [Cleaver], my <Mountain Cleaver>'s skill effectiveness was increased. I thought I would need to do this twice, but my status seems to help me finish this once.
Then, I targeted all the flowers flying in the sky and put them in my inventory. For the out-of-range flowers, I used <Blink> to collect them manually.
Following that, I landed a bit away and watched the ground fall back. The thugs were buried nicely, and there was no sign of a flower field in the area anymore.
"Finished. I wonder if the others have started their raid yet?" I muttered as I put [Cleaver] back in my inventory. "They should be fine. More importantly, I should ask the old men whether there are similar flower fields anywhere or not. I doubt they only have one."
I wasn't naive enough to think they only had one flower field. According to what the thug said earlier, it seemed like they needed to fill a quota every day if they didn't want to be punished by this Tyrant.
'He seems strong, but Tristan should be able to defeat him easily.'
And so I began to move to find the other flower fields.
