Farming in a Parallel World and Becoming a God
Chapter 333 - 274: Overcoming Fear with Fear_1

Chapter 333: Chapter 274: Overcoming Fear with Fear_1

The dense fog seemed to have a life of its own, transforming into various shapes with feral, talon-like movements—now a demon, now a bat, now a skeletal face. It was undaunted by the approach of dawn and showed no sign of dissipating.

It wasn’t until the sun began to show that the fog reluctantly streaked towards the direction of Comanso.

Only then did Gaven and the others dare to descend the mountain.

When they arrived at the Thacel Refugee Camp, Kopofiel and his people were busy taking a headcount, unable to hide the grief and anger on their faces.

"Are there still people missing? How many were taken?" Although it risked reopening old wounds, the question had to be asked.

"So far, eighteen people are unaccounted for. They’re searching door to door to see if anyone’s too scared to come out," Kopofiel answered with a grave expression.

The number of missing people was far greater than anticipated.

"How could there be so many?" Gaven was shocked.

"We didn’t have enough time to gather everyone. Some had to hide in their homes. The vampires are not only adept at the Charm Spell but also at Minor Illusion. Even with the assistance of the bards, we almost had our barn and church doors tricked open by them, let alone the ordinary villagers who were simply unable to defend against it."

Kopofiel recalled last night’s ordeal with lingering trepidation; those vampires were not only powerful, but they also employed diverse and cunning tactics.

When they realized that Minor Illusion was ineffective, they immediately changed their strategy.

They stopped trying to deceive their way through the doors and instead resorted to more violent, more sinister methods.

First, they took control of the rats, summoning every rat in the refugee camp.

They commanded them to gnaw at the supporting pillars of the granary, attempting to collapse it and frighten the villagers out.

Thankfully, the Moon Elf bards were there, all skilled in the Mending spell, with some even capable of the Complete Repair Technique. As some rats gnawed, the bards repaired, and they barely held on.

When this tactic failed, they directed the rats to gnaw a large hole in the roof of the granary and, like dumplings dropped into boiling water, the rats swarmed in.

Luckily, the bards had used opera to shift focus in the beginning, dispelling much of the villagers’ fear, spurring their courage, so they did not completely crumble under the rat invasion.

Even so, a few dimwits, out of their wits with panic, tried to open the granary doors to flee, not considering that the vampires were just outside, waiting for this very moment.

Thankfully, Kopofiel and his men were constantly stationed at the granary doors, preventing these fools from making their stupid mistake.

After the rat onslaught was extinguished, the vampires summoned wild beasts from the wilderness, ready to launch a fierce assault on the granary.

But they hadn’t managed to gather enough numbers before daylight came.

After hearing Kopofiel’s account, Gaven said with a heavy tone, "This means war. Tonight, they won’t hide any longer; they’re likely to come out in force, possibly bringing various charmed creatures to attempt to overturn the granary or the church directly."

Kopofiel nodded in agreement. "That’s what we believe as well."

"How are the villagers holding up? Can they last another night?" This was Gaven’s biggest concern.

The nerves of these ordinary people weren’t that strong. After such a tumultuous ordeal, many were probably on the verge of breaking down.

If they were told that they couldn’t run away now and had to endure another night, likely many would collapse on the spot.

"Don’t worry, they’re not so fragile," Kopofiel confidently reassured him about the villagers at the refugee camp. "They’ve come out of fire and blood, struggled to escape, and it took immense hardship to get here. The fires of war didn’t break them, the waves at sea didn’t crush them, and they definitely won’t be cowed by a bunch of vampires. Give them a little time to process the loss of their loved ones. The rest, I’ll take care of in my discussion with them."

"Alright." Gaven decided to trust Kopofiel on this matter.

After all, the man was no ordinary person, but rather a naval general known as the last Watcher of Thacel, who had lived here for a long time and knew the residents best.

"I’ve brought a Gnoll Trapmaker with me," Gaven added. "She can create tunnels and hideouts for people. I plan to set up this tunnel in the church so that most villagers can hide there.

We’ll only leave a few brave soldiers in the granary as a decoy. We will concentrate our main battleground here."

This Gnoll Trapmaker was none other than Susie.

Initially, they played a switcheroo with the Blood Claw Tribe using this very tactic.

Now they were set to use a trap for hiding people, with a mix of reality and illusion.

Upon hearing this, Kopofiel perked up, "That’s excellent news. In that case, I’ll have an easier time convincing them to cooperate with our plan."

"For now, the most important thing is to get them to eat and rest quickly. We have another sleepless night ahead of us..."

While Gaven and Kopofiel were discussing tactics, a disturbance arose in the distance.

"Why are you stopping us? We want to leave this place; we don’t want to die here, become food for vampires, or be the next to go missing."

"The village chief issued the order just this morning; without his permission, no one is allowed to leave the village."

"The village chief? Kopofiel? What right does he have to do this? What authority? He’s just a newcomer. If we hadn’t taken you in, you’d still be wandering like stray dogs outside."

"It’s those of you who are likened to stray dogs that guard your safety, who ensure you’re not threatened by various wild beasts. In times of famine, they find ways to feed you, scrambling with the wolves and stray dogs outside for every bite of food to fill your bellies. And you ask why?"

"It’s because when villagers go missing, they spare no effort to find out why and to rescue them. Now that there’s finally hope, instead of cooperating, you just think about saving your own skins. Is there anyone more selfish and shameless than you?"

"We know, we know we owe the village chief so much, but that doesn’t justify stopping us from leaving. You saw what happened last night; those vampires are too strong, way beyond our capacity to confront. We’re just a bunch of farmers who know nothing but tilling the soil. Staying here is utterly useless. In the end, we’ll just be taken away by those vampires and become their new food. If we leave, won’t that lighten your burden of protection?"

"Once someone sets an example, our village will fully descend into chaos, and everyone will scatter. Who will save our abducted villagers then? Can you really abandon them without a care?"

"Of course, we can’t bear to do that; among them are our dear friends and buddies. But the problem is, what can we do? Under their threat, we shiver in terror, not even daring to show our heads. If you, Mr. Gaven, can find some use for us, even if it means losing our lives here tonight, I won’t leave."

Even without listening to their arguments, it was not hard to discern the reason for their conflict.

Simply put, some villagers wanted to leave, and the militia, led by the young people, forcibly obstructed them, refusing to let them go.

Both sides were adamant, and the argument was heated.

Kopofiel’s face had clearly darkened; he had just assured Gaven that there wouldn’t be any problems at the refugee camp, and now a dispute had broken out, which was a clear slap in the face, the resounding kind.

Kopofiel wanted to rush over and reason with the villagers, but Gaven stopped him, saying, "Mr. Mayor, if you trust me, let me give it a try. If I’m unsuccessful, there’s still time for you to step in."

"You..." Kopofiel’s face was riddled with unconcealable doubt. With the situation as chaotic as it was, he had no confidence in restoring order; Gaven, a foreigner, might not even be heeded by the villagers.

Gaven simply smiled and said, "Rest assured, I know exactly how to deal with them."

"Alright," Kopofiel decided, "I’ll leave it to you then, sir."

"Thank you." Gaven wasted no time on words and immediately activated his combat armor. Energy dragon wings unfolded from his back, and with a gentle flap, he took to the air, hovering at a height of about ten meters.

Such a flashy entrance was as extravagant as it gets.

Whether intentional or coincidental, the spot he chose to ascend was exactly where the sun was rising.

After he ascended, he blocked the sun with his body.

Or rather, the sun became his backdrop. The sunlight that streamed around him and reflected off his combat armor was dazzling, and had his green dragon wings been replaced with the radiant white of angel wings, he would have been the very image of a descended angel.

Even so, exclamations of angels and the arrival of an angel could be heard from below.

Modesty is a virtue.

But it’s important to adapt to circumstances; displaying one’s powerful abilities is the wisest choice when people are in a state of panic.

Unfortunately, Thornspike and Black Nanmu were still en route; otherwise, they standing behind him would have been even more persuasive.

Gaven didn’t even need to speak; his entrance alone had silenced everyone, halting the argument and drawing all eyes to him—exactly the effect he wanted.

It was then that Gaven began to speak, "First, let me introduce myself. My name is Gaven Nort, invited by Mayor Kopofiel to assist in rescuing the abducted villagers.

Please listen to what I have to say to the end. Afterward, whether you stay or go will be entirely up to you, no one will stop you again, Mayor Kopofiel..."

"Mr. Gaven’s promise is my promise," came Kopofiel’s strong voice from the crowd.

Only then did Gaven continue, "Let me first explain the situation we’re facing.

We are not up against regular vampires, but Dwarves Elf Vampires. They didn’t abduct our villagers just to hoard food for themselves, but to rescue a sealed Dwarves Elf Vampire Lord. This is a Legendary Vampire, capable of turning an entire city, even a country, into a city of night.

What we have to do today is to stop those Dwarves Vampires from acquiring more fresh blood and to prevent them from releasing this sealed Dwarves Elf Vampire Lord.

If our attempt fails and this Legendary Vampire is released, then it won’t just be a disaster for one village, but for the entire Battle Valley and even the entire region.

Then where do you think you can flee? Back to Thacel?"

Indeed, it takes magic to defeat magic.

If fear has been the crushing force driving them to flee...

Now it’s time to use an even greater fear to deter them from running or to strip them of the desire to flee altogether, leaving them no place to escape.

As expected, Gaven had barely finished speaking before all faces were etched with deeper despair.

Just the thought of regular vampires was terrifying enough, bringing immense pressure and deep despair.

What level of terror, then, would a sealed Legendary Vampire represent?

If the sun really never rose again, and the land was forever enshrouded in night, with vampires wandering everywhere, they couldn’t just hide in their homes and never leave again.

And with their own abilities, they wouldn’t stand a chance of hiding; one only had to think of last night to know that.

If it hadn’t been for the granary, if it hadn’t been for Kopofiel and the others, if it hadn’t been for those bards, they probably wouldn’t have survived the vampires’ first trap of seduction and deceit.