Farm's Fox (1)
The plan was simple.
"Set it on fire and run."
"…."
Arwen stared at him silently, as if waiting for further explanation. But there was no sign that Woojin intended to say anything more.
She cautiously asked,
"…Um, is that the whole plan?"
Woojin nodded without hesitation.
"Simple, right?"
"So simple it almost feels wrong."
"It can't be helped. There are too many variables."
Designing something overly complex and elaborate would be pointless. One unexpected variable could twist the entire picture beyond recognition.
So it was better to set a single objective and respond flexibly depending on the situation.
"The most important thing is safety."
They were trying to make the enemy suffer. If someone got killed or injured, it would only be a loss. If things showed signs of turning dangerous, they would retreat.
On the other hand, if infiltration succeeded, there would be plenty of entertaining things to do besides playing with fire.
"We could assassinate a few on the side, poison their well, and finish things off with some arson. Don't you think they'd just love that?"
"…."
Arwen's expression turned slightly strange.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"It feels familiar."
It didn't feel like someone else's story.
Just days ago, Arwen had been the bishop governing a mining city. Back then, Woojin had infiltrated the city by pretending to be a dark-side cleric.
"…Were you planning to do that in the city I managed?"
Caught.
***
To put his plan into action, one prerequisite had to be met.
'How do we infiltrate the enemy camp?'
When he had entered the mining city before, pretending to be a dark-side cleric had made things easy.
But this time, there were no humans inside the enemy lines at all. Disguise was useless. He needed a new approach.
He came up with several possibilities.
To determine the most efficient method, he observed the enemy camp for an entire day, calculating his options. The conclusion he reached was—
"…Let's use that one."
He gestured toward a specific direction. Arwen followed his finger.
A bull monster was hauling a massive wagon. After cutting trees in the forest, it was loading both large and small logs onto the cart.
The bull responsible for gathering lumber and firewood. They would use that creature to infiltrate inside the defensive line.
"Is your charm pheromone fully charged?"
"Yes. More than enough."
Then they could begin immediately.
After roughly explaining the plan, they quietly approached the forest together.
Crack! Craaack—
The sound of wood splitting echoed through the trees. As they moved closer, a lone bull came into view, chopping timber while repeatedly gulping down alcohol.
Woojin sent a silent hand signal. Arwen understood and activated her ability.
Pink particles of light seeped out from within her robe's sleeve. As she extended her hand, the charm pheromone drifted slowly toward the bull monster.
Sniff, sniff—
The bull twitched its nose repeatedly, catching the scent. Sweet like wild roses. Its eyes glazed over, drool spilling from its mouth.
'It worked.'
After feeding her plenty of high-quality inner cores, Arwen's ability had grown noticeably stronger.
They stepped closer.
As Arwen approached, the bull lowered itself onto one knee, like a loyal servant bowing before its master.
"How much pheromone do you have left?"
"About eighty percent."
"That's plenty."
Time for the next step.
Woojin examined the wagon before speaking. Arwen addressed the bull.
"When I give the signal, pull the wagon. Return to your defensive line."
"Grrrk… understood."
The bull nodded and grabbed the wagon handles.
At the same time, Woojin, Arwen, and Coco crawled beneath the wagon. Hooking their hands and feet onto the wooden planks jutting from underneath, they clung to the bottom like cicadas.
"Move."
At Arwen's command, the waiting bull began pulling.
The wheels rattled as they rolled forward. Woojin lifted his head slightly to check ahead. The farm faction's defensive line was steadily drawing closer.
"Manageable?"
"Yes. I'm fine."
They endured beneath the wagon until they passed through the defensive line. The position was uncomfortable and awkward, but not unbearable.
Arwen whispered curiously,
"How did you come up with this method?"
"I saw it in a book."
More precisely, a movie. A scene where a criminal escaped prison by clinging to the underside of a vehicle had left a strong impression.
If the guards bent down to inspect beneath the wagon, things would become awkward—
'But they don't seem that meticulous.'
From observing the camp entrance earlier, inspections hadn't lasted long. It was unlikely they would thoroughly examine a lumber wagon.
As Woojin had predicted, the bull gatekeepers gave the wagon a cursory glance and, without much thought, opened the palisade gate.
They had successfully infiltrated the enemy camp.
As the wagon rolled slowly onward, Woojin carefully surveyed the surroundings, calculating their next steps. Arwen continued controlling the bull through a whispered command spell.
"…The charm is about to wear off."
Arwen murmured softly. It was expected. The bull was a powerful monster; the charm wouldn't last long.
Fortunately, the wagon had already reached a remote edge of the camp. That was sufficient.
"Drop."
Woojin released his grip.
Arwen and Coco dropped from beneath the wagon moments later, rolling aside to clear themselves. The wagon continued forward, oblivious.
The bull blinked suddenly, as if waking from a deep sleep.
"Grrrk… Why am I here?"
It muttered to itself, looking around in confusion. But nothing unusual caught its eye. Woojin and his party had already concealed themselves.
"…Did I drink too much?"
Grumbling, the bull resumed its duties, hauling the wagon toward the lumber yard.
Hidden within a drainage channel, Woojin and Arwen quietly watched it go.
"That went smoothly."
"Yeah."
They could proceed with the rest of the plan.
"Let's wait here until nightfall."
In the deep region of the demonic realm, the miasma was so dense that there was little difference between day and night. Still, when night fell, living creatures tended to sleep.
The beasts of the farm were no exception.
The chicken warriors had fixed sleeping habits. They would fall asleep around sunset and wake at dawn—then crow at the top of their lungs, waking everyone else along with them.
'Instinct, hardwired into their bones.'
It didn't seem like something that could be corrected. Because of that, the farm's forces aligned their sleep schedule with the chickens. If they didn't, the crowing would make rest impossible.
'Once the stationed troops fall asleep, we'll be able to move far more freely.'
There were still sentries and night patrols, but if they stayed alert and avoided them carefully, they could slip through the entire defensive line.
So Woojin, Arwen, and Coco remained hidden in the drainage channel, passing the time.
Then—
"…Shh."
Woojin suddenly cautioned them. Arwen, who had been quietly playing around with Coco, fell silent.
Footsteps.
Someone was approaching. Realizing that, Woojin wordlessly gestured. The two of them and the squirrel lowered themselves and crawled along the drainage channel.
After advancing about ten meters, a bull arrived at the very spot where Woojin had been moments earlier.
Its face was flushed red from heavy drinking. Staggering forward, it stopped before the drainage ditch—then loosened its trousers.
Sssshhhhh—
The bull urinated straight into the channel. It must have held it in for a while; the stream went on and on.
'Disgusting…'
Clicking his tongue inwardly, Woojin signaled them to keep moving. Since things had turned out this way, they might as well advance deeper along the channel.
Perhaps dug by bull labor, the drainage channel was wide and deep. As they moved forward, they occasionally raised their heads above the edge to observe their surroundings.
Most structures were tent barracks, but a few older-looking mansions stood out.
'There used to be a village here.'
It had once served as an intermediate base for the dark-side clerics. Apparently, it had since been handed over to the farm faction.
Woojin paid particular attention to the mansion buildings. Smoke drifted from their chimneys. Someone had lit fireplaces to warm the rooms.
Warmer and more comfortable than canvas tents.
The implication was obvious.
'High-ranking ones are staying there.'
Certain of that, Woojin smiled faintly. If he eliminated whoever resided inside, it would cause far greater chaos.
'We'll wait here.'
He clenched his fist and gave a halt signal. Arwen and Coco stopped beside him.
Twenty minutes later—
The busy work sounds gradually faded. The troops seemed to have fallen into deep sleep. Judging the timing right, Woojin climbed out of the drainage channel.
They moved stealthily toward the mansion.
Soon, they spotted three bull monsters stationed around it. Without idle chatter, they stood guard in silence.
"What do we do?"
Arwen whispered.
Woojin considered briefly before asking,
"Can you charm them?"
"If I pour everything into it… I think it'll work. But is that okay?"
It would be a loss—but think of it as an investment.
"Do it."
At his command, Arwen drew out her ability to its fullest.
Shhhhhh—
Her eyes glowed pink. From her forehead sprouted a pair of feather-like antennae—like those of a moth. And wings.
She beat them once. The wind carried the charm pheromone forward, blanketing the bulls' faces.
"Cough! Hack!"
The bulls coughed in surprise. They reacted faster than the one from earlier.
One of them opened its mouth to shout for help. But to cry out loudly, it needed to inhale deeply first.
Inhale—
The moment its jaw opened, pink particles rushed straight into its mouth.
"…Grrrok…"
The eyes of all three bulls grew hazy and unfocused.
Woojin felt deeply satisfied.
'That simplifies things.'
Those precious inner cores had been worth feeding her.
With that thought, he approached the mansion, grasped the doorknob, and twisted. The door opened quietly. Without hesitation, he stepped inside.
'Let's see who lives here.'
He continued inward. Before long, a bedroom came into view. Someone lay sprawled across a large bed, snoring loudly.
It was a sheep.
Strangely, it had a physique and face similar to a human—like a fusion of an adult man and a sheep.
Its hair stood out: tightly curled white wool growing from its head, resembling the white wigs often worn by medieval nobles or artists.
'So this is Probato.'
Probato—the two-legged sheep.
Arwen had mentioned them often while explaining the farm. Probato were nobles who ruled at the very top of its hierarchy.
'And it can use magic.'
A particularly dangerous monster.
Crack!
Woojin grabbed its head and twisted sharply. The sheep's long tongue lolled out.
Dead.
He slit open its chest with a dagger and removed a single inner core. Though small in size, it was dense and heavy—like a lump of lead.
'Not bad.'
It seemed he had struck a vein of gold.
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