Chapter 72: Merge?
Late at night.
Ancient Linburg.
The Vice-President’s private reception room.
A high-rank ability-user, kneeling on one knee, emotionlessly recounted the events that occurred near Bean Village during the day.
The grey-haired man listening to the report from his armchair had long lost his smile.
At the end of his account, the high-rank ability-user asked for instructions: “Long-Nose Man is gravely injured, barely clinging to life. Should the Association bestow medicine to save him?”
The grey-haired man: “The Association’s medicine is reserved for useful people like you. That piece of trash… was never worthy of serving the True God in the first place.”
The high-rank ability-user’s face remained wooden, showing no reaction.
The grey-haired man shook his head: “Such useful ‘locusts’, and that waste couldn’t even handle them…”
He pondered for a moment, then his amiable smile returned: “However, his thinking this time was correct.”
“Who would have thought those locusts were our Association’s masterpiece? Even if Bean Village is eaten bare, it’s just a natural disaster. Those stubborn members of the royal family, and those inflexible city lords, won’t find fault with us over a natural disaster.”
His fingers picked at the velvet armrest a few times. He said to the high-rank esper: “Go back and rest for now. When the time is right, others will contact you for a mission.”
The high-rank ability-user rose, bowed, and left the reception room.
Although it was already March, the fireplace in the hall outside the reception room was still lit.
The firewood in the fireplace crackled, the flames flickering intermittently stronger and weaker.
The high-rank ability-user watched the fireplace, the flickering light reflecting in his eyes.
He remembered the cloak waved by the injured low-rank ability-user he had seen in the carriage during the day.
That cloak, fluttering in the wind, somehow resembled these flames.
Sometimes curling, sometimes unfurling, always so eye-catching.
…It seems, a long time ago, someone taught us, “A patrol member’s cloak can also transmit messages!”
“Remember, anytime you see a patrol member waving their cloak like this, it means they are seeking help!”
“You must stop immediately, ascertain the situation, and offer assistance!”
“Because you are the most powerful high-rank ability-users!”
“You—”
We… what?
What are these strange words? How do I have such a memory?
The high-rank ability-user felt his head throbbing as if struck by a hammer, the dull ache growing stronger with each wave.
He couldn’t help but clutch his head.
Just then, two black-robed figures hurried over: “Your Excellency, if Your Excellency has a headache, please do not forget to take your medicine.”
“The Vice-President was concerned you might not have enough medicine, so he sent some more.”
The high-ranking ability-user was helped to drink the medicine.
A moment later, the high-rank ability-user’s headache vanished.
His face became an expressionless block of wood once more, and the light in his eyes completely disappeared.
“Go back and rest, Your Excellency,” the black-robed figures urged.
The high-rank ability-user walked out of the hall.
*
Bean Village.
A busy day began.
After resting well overnight, the villagers had to clean up the battlefield today.
The first step was to collect the locust corpses and take them for composting.
Inside the village wasn’t too bad; there weren’t too many locust corpses. They could be picked up by hand, put into baskets, and carried to a large pit at the other end.
But the hill at the village entrance…
The villagers worked hard all morning, yet only a small corner of the hill had been cleared.
At times like this, having a horse cart would be much more convenient, at least avoiding the back-and-forth trips.
But the only horse cart in the village was Douglas’s private one.
Yesterday afternoon, this cart had already taken Joey, Anthony, and the others back to Emerald Town to report the news.
As for the other animals currently in the village…
There were only the chickens in the coop.
You couldn’t expect chickens to pull a cart, could you?
So, the villagers could only continue carrying the locust corpses on their backs and shoulders diligently.
Until Chu Jiu led an “ox cart” from the Pioneer’s Cabin into Bean Village.
The ox cart’s body was ordinary, without any fancy decorations, and looked very sturdy.
But the ox pulling the cart made the villagers stare wide-eyed—
Why does this ox have three horns?
“Ah Jiu, is this… really… an ox?” Reg asked, shocked, looking at the “ox” before him, which was taller than a person, and the intimidating three horns on its head.
He had seen oxen before, and they didn’t look like this.
“Yes,” Chu Jiu said calmly. “This is a ‘Triangle Ox’, a very rare type.”
Reg: …?
So it’s just that I haven’t seen enough? Do three-horned oxen really exist?
Chu Jiu’s tone was very natural: “It was a gift from the Dwarf Beastmen. I’ve been raising it in my yard.”
“Its name is ‘Golden Horn’. It’s docile and very strong.”
“I saw everyone was anxious for a cart, so I made an ox cart and had Golden Horn pull it out.”
Oh… so it was a gift to Chu Jiu from the Dwarf Beastmen.
Then it wasn’t strange at all.
The villagers immediately accepted the three-horned ox.
Just then, Kakaba jumped from Chu Jiu’s backpack onto Golden Horn’s head, raising its hand and gesturing continuously.
Chu Jiu said: “Kakaba says it will direct Golden Horn to help everyone, so don’t worry.”
The older villagers, who had seen Kakaba before and knew it could understand human speech, responded cheerfully: “That’s great! This will save a lot of effort!”
Chu Jiu patted Kakaba’s head: “Go on, do your best, Kakaba!”
Kakaba knew Chu Jiu, Little Can, and Rawr Rawr Rabbit were about to go look for the locusts’ “birthplace,” so it waved its front paw at them too: “Mhm! You guys do your best too!”
*
Watching Kakaba expertly guiding Golden Horn onto the path, Chu Jiu left the village with Douglas.
The sides of the road from Bean Village to Emerald Town had recently been lush green, covered with ordinary, non-monster flowers and grasses.
Now, they were gnawed down to the roots.
In stark contrast were the menacing monster-type plants.
They were still growing well.
Chu Jiu guessed that the locusts had instinctively avoided those monsters, choosing easier-to-eat food instead.
They hadn’t gone far when Little Can meowed: “Ahead, something is abnormal.”
Chu Jiu quickly ran over and saw only one or two charred locust corpses on the ground, along with several marks from carriage wheels.
Douglas also crouched down. After looking for a moment, he said: “It looks like there are bloodstains.”
Little Can meowed again: “Circle around.”
Chu Jiu did as instructed.
Little Can: “There’s blood from two people. It should be from bites by that last swarm of locusts that escaped yesterday.”
“They had companions.”
“Their companions used fire-type and ice-type abilities to kill the locusts.”
Little Can thought for a moment, then added: “After that, they likely dragged the injured people onto the carriage and cleaned up the bloodstains and insect corpses left here.”
As Chu Jiu circled around, he “translated” all of Little Can’s words.
Douglas nodded repeatedly: “I see. Little Jiu, you observed very carefully.”
Chu Jiu thought to himself, It wasn’t me observing carefully; I didn’t actually notice.
It was just that Lu Qingyan had specifically warned him before not to let other humans discover Little Can’s special abilities. So, Chu Jiu could only attribute Little Can’s “keen observations” to himself.
Douglas frowned: “That all adds up.”
“If they were normal people who encountered injured companions, they wouldn’t bother cleaning the scene to cover up bloodstains, nor would they rush back so quickly…”
“They would only do that if they had something to hide.”
Little Can nodded slightly on Chu Jiu’s shoulder: “Correct. The people in that carriage… suspicious, dangerous.”
“Be careful.”
But I’m right beside you. It’ll be okay.
Chu Jiu patted Little Can’s paw: “Don’t worry.”
Following the trail of locust damage, after about forty minutes, the group finally reached the fork in the road marked with the sign [Black Wheat Village].
Here, they could still see the overturned carriage from yesterday, and the horse eaten down to white bones.
Little Can stared at the ground: “That carriage continued straight on from here, likely heading back to the city.”
“The locusts came from the direction of the fork.”
Chu Jiu nodded and headed towards Black Wheat Village.
Not long after heading towards Black Wheat Village, Chu Jiu saw scattered locust corpses along the path.
Chu Jiu knew this was due to internal cannibalism among the locusts before the “great migration,” caused by their excessive numbers.
…In other words, “Black Wheat Village” really was the starting point of this locust migration.
The group walked into Black Wheat Village.
The sight before them made both Douglas and Chu Jiu’s faces change.
This village should be about the same size as Bean Village; its area wasn’t too small.
Now, looking out, there wasn’t a single ruined house, not a single weed, only a strange expanse of desertified land stretching almost endlessly.
And surrounding the village was wilderness teeming with monsters.
Douglas felt his hair stand on end and couldn’t help but say:
“I’ve been to this village before. Although it was deserted, it wasn’t like this!”
“How is this still a village? It’s practically turning into a black desert!”
Indeed, this expanse of black sand was like a desert encircled by the monster-filled wilderness, abrupt and bizarre.
The group walked further towards the village center, treading on the black sand.
They were clearly far from the village entrance now, but they could still faintly hear the roars of monsters.
Walking a bit further, they could even see giant eight-legged spiders crawling around just outside.
This scene was drastically different from the Bean Forest, where recently no monster sounds could be heard, and it was impossible to see monsters even at the edges.
Douglas sighed: “The road sign here is about to fail.”
“The monsters are just waiting outside.”
“The more deserted and uninhabited a village is, the weaker the signpost’s effect, until it disappears completely… Then this land belongs to the monsters.”
Chu Jiu silently crouched down and placed Rawr Rawr Rabbit on the ground: “Rawr Rawr Rabbit, go check the soil ahead.”
Rawr Rawr Rabbit leaped forward and started digging with all four paws.
A moment later, Rawr Rawr Rabbit returned: “Roar! Roar roar! The soil layers here are very distinct—”
“The top layer has been artificially cultivated, and it still contains countless small holes for hatching locusts. The layer below is burnt ash.”
Chu Jiu sighed inwardly: “Can this soil still be farmed?”
Rawr Rawr Rabbit’s long ears drooped: “Roar roar roar, definitely not in the short term, roar roar roar, after all, both the upper and lower layers have almost no organic matter…”
“At the speed humans cultivate, it would probably take over a year to remediate the soil before anything can be grown…”
Chu Jiu felt a bit dejected.
He pulled himself together and told Douglas his findings.
First, regarding the origin of the locusts.
Chu Jiu said that, in his view, someone first burned the village to ash, then spread soil containing locust eggs over the ashes, using the residual heat to accelerate hatching.
After these locusts hatched, they consumed the last bit of nutrients in the ash until there was nothing left to eat.
Finally, the locusts would migrate towards the place with the most abundant food and no monsters—
And the nearest granary to them was, naturally, Bean Village.
As for the breed of these locusts, Chu Jiu said he speculated they were selectively bred from the most ferocious locusts. Eliminating the milder individuals, keeping the largest and most vicious ones, repeating the process, resulted in the monsters seen yesterday that ate everything in sight.
Douglas was stunned listening to this.
He murmured: “Insects… can be bred like this? Can they be artificially made more vicious?”
Chu Jiu nodded: “Yes.”
This is also part of the theory of evolution—although mentioning the theory of evolution in this otherworld filled with esper abilities feels a bit absurd.
Douglas sighed deeply: “However, breeding locusts, placing them near our village, waiting for them to eat our village bare—this really fits the Association’s usual style.”
He looked around and said bitterly: “Now, I’m afraid this Black Wheat Village will be completely destroyed in just a few days…”
“If this village is completely destroyed, Bean Village will also be affected.”
“After all, it’s too close to Bean Village.”
“If the monsters in this area block the road from the city to Bean Village, what farmer would be willing to move into our village?”
Chu Jiu frowned: “It’s more than just that.”
“If this area is just left alone, even if the monsters don’t enter, wild locusts could lay eggs and hatch here in the future, harassing our village or other settlements again…”
“This entire region will suffer.”
Douglas’s heart pounded with fear as he listened.
He mentally reviewed his manpower and said: “How about this: after the spring plowing season, I’ll find some villagers, burn all this egg-rearing soil again, and then push it into the forest.”
Chu Jiu shook his head repeatedly: “No, no, that method will only make this land desertify faster and become even more attractive to wild locusts.”
Douglas: “Then… what else can we do?”
Chu Jiu clenched his teeth: “The best method is still to cultivate this land again, turn it into fields, manage the water and soil properly, ensure abundant vegetation—only then is it possible to prevent locusts.”
Douglas had never heard of “preventing” locust plagues this way.
Previously, if there was a locust plague, wasn’t it just burning and burying?
From what Chu Jiu meant, he actually wanted to prevent the locust plague from happening at all?
Is that really possible?
Facing Douglas’s doubt, Chu Jiu nodded firmly: “It will definitely be effective.”
Places with better ecological balance and orderly farming are less prone to locust plagues.
Chu Jiu’s tone and attitude dispelled Douglas’s doubts.
The middle-aged man nodded: “I understand.”
If that’s the case… we’ll have to find a way to organize some farmers to come here and reclaim the land…
Chu Jiu was silent for a few seconds, his voice somewhat strained: “Also…”
“Because the soil here has been ruined so badly, the first step must be to remediate the land.”
“Remediating this… will take at least a year.”
“Which means, after a whole year of hard work, they might not harvest a single grain of wheat.”
Douglas’s expression turned to astonishment again.
A year of hard farming, but not a single grain of wheat to show for it?
Even the most diligent farmers would find that hard to agree to.
Reclamation on this scale, rather than organizing farmers, perhaps it’s better to…
Douglas instantly recalled Lu Qingyan’s reminder and the matter he himself had been pushing for recently.
But this matter hadn’t received clear feedback yet…
Douglas’s frown deepened.
Chu Jiu didn’t know Douglas’s specific thoughts at this moment, but he completely understood his current dilemma.
Where could they find so many pioneers willing to work without expecting payment?
As the two were pondering with folded arms, the sound of bells and horse hooves suddenly came from the village entrance.
Turning their heads, they saw two carriages adorned with luxurious patterns.
After the carriages stopped, a driver jumped down to open the door. A woman wearing trousers and riding boots stepped out. She looked to be over forty, with some wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, but her face showed no trace of fatigue.
More than just not looking tired, the lady’s demeanor and bearing were generous and sharp, exuding a cool and heroic aura.
Who… is this?
Chu Jiu was bewildered.
Douglas beside him, however, had already bowed: “City Lord.”
…City Lord?
The woman nodded to Douglas, then said to Chu Jiu: “I am the City Lord of Sea Moon City, Clara.”
Chu Jiu quickly imitated Douglas, bowing to the lady and introducing himself.
Clara smiled faintly: “I know you, Pioneer Chu Jiu.”
“The ‘cough syrup’ you made is very useful.”
Chu Jiu paused, then realized that Douglas must have presented the potion he made to the City Lord during his last trip to Sea Moon City.
Clara added: “Not just the potion.”
“I also heard you used candy to trick the Dwarf Beastmen into coming to that small village and even had them build a unique blacksmith shop there?”
Chu Jiu: “…Yes.”
Besides… calling it “tricking,” wasn’t quite accurate…
Clara: “Besides the Dwarf Beastmen, you also coaxed the Little Birdmen back to your village?”
Chu Jiu: “…Yes.”
Well, coaxing… okay, that was pretty close.
Clara: “The honey given to Bahart previously, that was your idea, right?”
Just as Chu Jiu was about to deny it, Clara said: “Old Village Chief Chang already told me everything.”
Chu Jiu: …
Clara: “As far as I know, besides tricking Dwarf Beastmen, coaxing Little Birdmen, figuring out beekeeping, embarrassing the Association, you even went looking for Old He, the strangest lighthouse keeper in Sea Moon City, and accepted a nearly impossible task from him?”
Chu Jiu: …
Although what the City Lord said didn’t seem wrong, why did it sound like I’m some kind of troublemaking chuunibyou?
Also, wait, how does the City Lord know everything? Even about me going to see Elder He?
It’s almost as if… all these people are constantly passing information to the City Lord.
Clara watched Chu Jiu’s face flush then pale, finding it quite amusing inwardly.
She smiled without speaking, walked past the two to glance at the black sandy ground, and said: “I received a report last night saying a locust plague occurred in this area.”
“During spring, when rainfall is abundant, this itself is unusual.”
“What’s more unusual is that the messenger said the plague was extinguished almost as soon as it began.”
“So I felt it even more necessary to come see what exactly happened here.”
Douglas and Chu Jiu then recounted yesterday’s events from beginning to end.
Besides this, Douglas also stated bluntly that this incident was not simply a natural disaster.
Clara was not surprised.
She turned to Chu Jiu: “You just said the best way to prevent locusts is cultivation?”
Chu Jiu: “Yes. Because—”
Before Chu Jiu could elaborate on his reasons, Clara responded: “I believe you.”
Chu Jiu: !
Clara: “Not only do I believe you, but I’m also willing to allocate some people to reclaim the land for you. I will temporarily pay their wages.”
Chu Jiu: !!
Wow, Sister City Lord is such a good person! Beautiful, cool, and wise!
Clara looked at Douglas:
“This group… we’ll use the method you previously proposed: employ the recovered former Patrol Team members from Sea Moon City.”
Douglas’s eyes lit up, and he bowed deeply: “The City Lord is wise!”
Clara smiled again: “After all, the potion you sent over was indeed as effective as you claimed.”
Chu Jiu, listening and guessing on the side, figured out most of it:
Douglas must have wanted to recruit more people, so he took the potion to Clara and reached some kind of agreement with her, like “If the potion works, let the Patrol Team members help.”
Waah, awesome! These well-trained Patrol Team members will definitely be excellent pioneers!
This way, even this “black desert” can be saved soon!
Just as Chu Jiu was rejoicing inwardly, Clara suddenly looked at him again: “However…”
“I have a condition.”
Chu Jiu blinked, realizing Clara was talking to him.
Clara: “Pioneer Chu Jiu, since you can accomplish so many strange and wondrous things, I also have a strange and wondrous matter to entrust to you.”
Chu Jiu: “Please speak.”
Clara: “Every August, the outskirts of my Sea Moon City are attacked by ‘sea monsters’.”
“Even though there are signposts in the sea, these monster sea creatures still capsize my fishing boats and kill my fishermen.”
“I hope you can find a way to deal with these sea monsters so that my fishermen can go out to sea without worry.”
Douglas’s expression changed beside them: “Your Excellency, these sea… are monsters that even the Patrol Team can’t handle! Chu Jiu doesn’t have any attack-type abilities!”
Clara glanced at him: “That’s why I didn’t arrange for Pioneer Chu Jiu to fight these sea monsters.” She turned back to Chu Jiu: “I heard from Old Village Chief Chang that you once said you wanted to upgrade Bean Village into Bean Town in the future.”
Chu Jiu: “…Ah.”
What does that have to do with the current situation…
Clara: “Then you should also know that ‘villages’ and ‘towns’ differ primarily in their area.”
“Your little Bean Village, how many people can it house in total?”
“An area like this is too strained to be upgraded into a town.”
Chu Jiu: “…”
He had indeed heard Douglas mention this later on.
Clara held up two fingers: “But if the area were doubled, that would be different.”
Chu Jiu listened with a look of confusion.
Clara’s expression turned serious:
“Currently, the Association is obstructing our efforts to establish new villages.”
“However, merging existing villages is something I, as City Lord, can still accomplish.”
“If you, Chu Jiu, can deal with those sea monsters—”
“Then, I will approve the merger of ‘Black Wheat Village’ into ‘Bean Village’!”
Chu Jiu was stunned, and Douglas also wore a look of surprise.
Clara: “So, readily available manpower for reclamation and a future ‘village merger’, in exchange for the condition of ‘dealing with the sea monsters’. Do you accept?”
[Ding!]
The system sound chimed:
[Important Notice!]
[If the scope of the “Honor Area” expands, the Pioneering Degree will not decrease as a result!]
[On the contrary, pioneering progress made within the expanded area will also increase the Pioneering Degree!]
Chu Jiu: !
In other words, once Black Wheat Village is truly merged into Bean Village, the results of reclaiming and farming this land will directly reflect in my Pioneering Degree?
That’s totally worth it!
You know, as Bean Village’s cultivated area increased and with the new irrigation ditch and chicken coop, my Pioneering Degree has been soaring! It already went from 21% to 25%!
If Black Wheat Village’s progress also counts, wouldn’t it jump straight to 30%?!
Such! A! Bargain!
Chu Jiu immediately responded: “I agree!”
Aren’t they just sea monsters that even the Patrol Team can’t defeat? Hahaha, I can always figure something out, hahaha…
Clara nodded with satisfaction: “Very good.”
Meanwhile, Douglas, the middle-aged man accustomed to grand scenes, already had moist eyes: Little Jiu… for the village… for everyone… he’s working too hard!
Chu Jiu: ?
Clara: “Alright, I should head back to Sea Moon City now.”
“Pioneer Chu Jiu, next time you go to Sea Moon City to find Old He, remember to ask him about the legends of the ‘sea monsters’.”
Chu Jiu replied: “Understood.”
…Which means I need to complete Elder He’s request as soon as possible to ask about the sea monsters.
Seeing Chu Jiu nod obediently with such a well-behaved expression, Clara felt a slight urge to tease the child again.
She walked up to Chu Jiu, just about to “scare the kid a little,” when she unexpectedly saw a pair of ice-blue eyes staring faintly at her.
It was just a palm-sized kitten.
But the meaning conveyed in those eyes—”Don’t touch my person”—carried an undeniable deterrent force.
Clara decisively put aside the thought and walked straight towards her carriage.
What an interesting little pioneer friend, and what a fascinating “cat guardian”…
A young man strongly recommended by both Elder Chang and Elder He… can you truly change all this, and save this land that’s sliding into the abyss?
