Foreign Land Reclamation By a Vegetable-growing Skeleton

Turning his head in the direction of the light, there was an opening not far off. Light streamed in obliquely from the opening. From the angle and size of the entrance, he could guess that the amount of sunlight this place would receive daily would be insufficient.

The nearby water vapor was thin, and the air was turbid, indicating poor air circulation. Normally, such lands were seldom plowed for farming, and crop output would not be high.

But Ange no longer cared. He hadn’t sown anything for a long time, and his Soul of Farming was itching to get active.

Oh yes, he had tended to the Elf Beans in the Holy Kingdom and various crops were growing vigorously in the fields of the Temple of Rest. The cultivated area was much larger than what he had managed in the Temple of Rest for over a thousand years.

However, after cultivating the fields near the Fallen Dragon Lake and on Lake Island, Ange looked down upon such small tasks. Those two areas were so small that he couldn’t even get warmed up before the work was done.

“Ooh!” Ange turned back and called to the Little Angel.

The Little Angel eagerly ran over with the Earth Hammer and began pounding in rhythm.

With the Earth Hammer, Ange had even neglected the Soil Loosening Technique.

“Ooh!” Ange turned and called to the Little Zombie.

The Little Zombie raised its hands, forming a hoe, and quickly began digging. Soon, a ditch was dug out, with the soil being precisely displaced to form two ridges on either side.

Thanks to persistent practice, the Little Zombie had grown into an outstanding ditch-digging master. It could dig exactly where and how deep it was instructed.

“Ooh!” Ange called out to Negris.

Negris reluctantly flew to Ange’s side, allowing a basket to be slung on his back. At the bottom of the basket was a rotating device, from which a rope hung, pulled by Negris’s short claws.

Each pull caused the turntable to rotate once, allowing seeds to fall out one by one. The seeds would then land on the ground at regular intervals as long as he flew along the furrows.

“Huh? Lord Nage, has the seed-sowing tool been upgraded?” Luther ran up curiously to watch.

He had seen Ange sowing seeds before, either by carrying a bag with a hole in the bottom, or by the man’s use of magic to scatter the seeds one by one.

Now that Ange was also busy, he followed after Negris seeded the field and soaked the ground through like a sprinkler with his hands.

After watering, Ange stepped on the ground, leaving a footmark.

The whole process flowed smoothly, leaving Serene dumbfounded. Did they not need a water source? Was he really condensing water using magic? My goodness, had he lost his mind?

Could he really accelerate growth? According to what the Blind Swordsman said, only three hours were needed for the crops to mature and be harvested?

Serene originally had doubts about the Undead God and the God of Knowledge. But now, she believed them to be ‘gods’, the God of Farming!

Ange excitedly unrolled the phosphates from the Temple of Rest, sprinkling them evenly into the furrows with the Pollination Technique to enhance the soil’s nutrient level.

He watered the crops twice during the process, and once the plants bloomed, he activated the Pollination Technique.

After all these steps, three hours later, Serene saw a field of ripe grain, heavily hanging on their stalks.

Serene walked absentmindedly to the edge of the field, staring blankly at the harvested crops. Her face showed an incredibly complex expression, “If we could grow our food this quickly, so many wouldn’t have starved to death. My younger brother wouldn’t have disappeared while searching for food, and we still don’t know if he is alive or dead… My parents…”

She couldn’t finish her sentence, choking back tears that started to well up.

A strong, powerful hand rested on her shoulder. It squeezed gently, as if to transfer some strength to her.

No longer able to hold back, Serene burst into tears. She grabbed the hand and gave it a sharp twist into a shoulder throw.

Caught off guard, Luther was thrown onto the ground, feeling dizzy and disorientated.

After a few more sobs, Serene quickly regained her composure and helped the still dazed Luther up from the ground, “Thank you, I feel much better after beating you up.”

“What…what realm are you in? Your actions were swift. And such strength?” Luther, who had already advanced to high-level Sword Saint, wouldn’t usually be easily overthrown by an ordinary person, yet Serene showed no signs of any power or magic.

“I don’t know, but ever since I sold my soul to the big cat, my strength has increased tremendously.” Serene made a flexing gesture with her arm, showing off her surprisingly well-toned biceps.

Negris interjected, “Divine Arts user. Similar to a Saintess priestess with Holy Spirit Possession, but Dimension Beasts naturally possess great strength and speed. These traits are reflected in her.”

Looking at Serene’s arm, Luther drooled, wanting to touch it uncontrollably, “So, you never practiced fighting? You have an exquisite frame, and your muscle membranes are perfectly tuned. You possess this high level of talent even without training. If you had undergone rigorous training from a young age, eating lots of vegetables, meat, eggs, and milk, won’t you just take off?”

Serene clenched her fist, warning the figure looming close to her arm, “If you get any closer, I will make you take off.”

Whoosh, a figure with a scythe flew past them. The crops neatly on the ground.

After harvesting the crops, separating the grains, and burning the remaining straw into ashes to spread back onto the field, they repeated the series of steps they had followed three hours ago.

With her emotions now calm, Serene couldn’t help but ask, “Are we planting again? If we are, I’ll go first. When the big cat dragged me here, I was taking a bath, and now I’m all sticky.”

Negris replied, “Wait a bit, once the sowing is done, we’ll leave. There’s no light at the entrance of the cave now, so even if we wanted to, we can’t plant anything.”

After a while, once Ange finished sowing the seeds and watered them thoroughly, he led the group out of the cave.

Upon exiting the cave, they realized it was located halfway up a mountain, which extended endlessly on both sides like a great wall. Underneath lay a vast and desolate plain, covered in a black, ash-like substance that reached the ends of the earth.

“Is that…Breathing Soil?” Negris asked, looking at the plains below.

Serene turned back and responded, “Breathing Soil? No, that’s Dead Ash, the ashes of the dead. When there’s an abundance of Undead in one place, this kind of ash forms on the ground.”

“Isn’t that just Breathing Soil? How many Undead creatures are there here?” Negris wondered aloud.

Serene shook her head in response, “I’m not sure. However, once Eternal Night descends, half of the Land of Fallen is swarming with Undead, densely packed like a bustling crowd. We live in that place at the foot of the mountain that’s free from Dead Ash.”

Following Serene’s pointing, Negris saw a narrow strip of land sandwiched between the Land of Death and the mountain range. Looking down from the mountain, the area appeared narrow, but it was in fact, quite broad. There was even a town there, without city walls to protect it.

“What!? You live there? Aren’t you afraid of the Undead? Unprotected and exposed, a wave of Skeleton Zombies could easily wipe you out,” Negris exclaimed in surprise.

With a surprised expression, Serene asked, “Why would we fear the Undead? They don’t tax us, and sometimes they even provide us with food because they’re afraid we’ll starve. All they ask is that we submit our bodies to them after death. With that agreement, we can live peacefully on this land. What’s really scary are those parasites from the church. The refugees who fled from the other side of the mountain said the Church has been collecting taxes for the next hundred years.”

PS: I’m a bit tired and can’t write any more, so I’ll head to sleep. It seems that there are quite a few female readers. I’d recommend the book “Farming Iron Maiden” for those who are interested. You can find the link in the author’s notes.