Witch, Fireball and Steam Evil God

Chapter 311 Locust Plague
“I saw the King of the Black Dragon shedding his scales in flames, bronze gears piercing his flesh, and steam spewing from his molten throat. And the heavens were split open by sulfur. Locusts poured out of the deep, their wings made of brass, their teeth of tempered steel, and their bellies humming with the strange sound of gears. They wore crowns of steam on their foreheads, and their stingers dripped hot pitch. Wherever they went, even the grass sprouted pistons and rivets—Revelation 1:13.”

……

"Your Majesty, the evacuation team is ready. We have mobilized the best summoners in the association to ensure absolute safety along the way."

The minister, who had just delivered a passionate speech in the Royal Square, was now beaming and telling Oled XI about his arrangements as if seeking credit.

The king brought his family and a scepter symbolizing the blessing of the Scarlet Queen.

This catastrophe that swept across the entire kingdom was not necessarily a bad thing for him. The location for relocating the capital had been decided—the mountainous region in the north of the kingdom, one of the few areas where no traces of mechanical monsters had been found. Although the material facilities were not as good as those in the Central Plains, it was safer.

Located atop the mountains, "Dragon's Spine" is a place only the king of the sky, the dragon, can reach. More importantly, it is his homeland, where his family has deep roots in the North, and the current lord is his childhood friend.

"Your Majesty, please rest assured, everything is under our... our control."

A smile appeared on the minister's face.

"It's a pity that Black Steel can't travel with us."

The king sighed. Although the association's elites were escorting them, the journey was long and arduous. To make matters worse, the association's "Tree of Caution" had been damaged by unknown individuals, paralyzing the kingdom's teleportation system. If they relied on monsters for transportation, the journey would take dozens of days, and accidents were bound to happen.

Although Minister Felrock recommended riding flying monsters, the Queen could not bear the bumpy ride, and flying monsters were not convenient for transportation, so she opted for a caravan instead.

"Yes, it's such a pity."

Fellrock feigned agreement, but to him, Blacksteel's defeat was a gift from heaven. If Blacksteel were still alive, all decisions would have to revolve around him, and he would have no say in the matter.

Since becoming the president of the Royal Summoners Association, Blacksteel has always had an autocratic style, and it's long overdue for someone to teach him a lesson!
And now... his time has come!

Fellrock's steps became much lighter. After many years, his family and the people of the Northern Highlands would once again return to the very center of power!

Torches illuminated the capital; it was a sleepless night, and the capital had rarely been as bustling as it was today.

The king then asked, "How is the conscription going?"

"Everything is going as planned."

Fellrock was satisfied with his progress. All it took was an inspiring speech for his "brothers and sisters" to rush to the battlefield like they were on steroids. This was their family's old business back in Dragonspine City. During the dragon invasion decades ago, his father led the people of the North to bridge the huge power gap between humans and dragons with a massive human wave attack, all thanks to a dome speech.

But this time, those who died in the battle were truly dead.

But as long as their power and wealth can continue, all sacrifices are worthwhile.

In the darkness of the night, the torchlight reflected in Fellrock's dark eyes.

This has always been his belief—this is the meaning of the country and the people, isn't it?

The world has always been like this, using the blood and sweat of the majority to maintain the privileges of the minority, and this will not change in the past, present, or future.

As the beneficiary, all he has to do is maintain his privileges.

“Your Majesty, the people of the capital will protect our rear; we only need to move forward.”

"It's time to get going," said Fairrock.

Before dawn, the procession began its march north. Fellrock sat in the carriage closest to Oled XI, watching the vast procession through the half-open window. He knew this scene would be recorded in history. No matter how many years passed, when future generations looked back on this history, they would know that the loyal minister Fellrock had proposed the plan to relocate the capital to Oled XI when the kingdom was in peril, allowing the kingdom, which was on the verge of extinction, to continue.

But then, Fellrock's gaze was drawn to something much more distant.

Whether it was his imagination or not, he felt that something was rapidly approaching them from the depths of darkness, blending into the night sky, and he could vaguely hear the sound of wings flapping.

They are more numerous and denser than the number of convoys.

Perhaps he was just too tired.

Fellrock consoled himself with this thought: it had been a long day indeed; he hadn't rested for a single moment since he opened his eyes that day, and he was only experiencing tinnitus due to extreme mental exhaustion.

But all of this had already settled down, and he really should get some sleep. When he woke up, the caravan would have already left the capital, and even the outline of the city would be out of sight.

He closed his eyes, and after losing his sight, his sense of smell and hearing became even more acute.

Fellrock smelled rust, which was somewhat similar to the smell of blood and was getting stronger. He also heard a commotion outside the car; more than one person had noticed the movement in the distance.

"Buzz buzz-"

The sound of wings flapping became clearer and clearer. When they were close enough, Fairrock realized that it didn't sound like the wings of a living creature, but rather like the sound of a rotating axle.

He had heard such sounds in the artisan hall of the capital, where the artisans always liked to tinker with tools that were incomprehensible to them.

When he opened his eyes again, he could clearly see the dark cloud.

A body made of metal, a dark, jagged wave, the elytra of migrating locusts overlapping to form a tide of death.

The released monsters immediately chose to flee.

Abandoning their master and caravan, the monsters' instincts overwhelmed the bond between them and their summoner, something that had never happened before in the history of the capital.

"Buzz buzz-"

The sound of flapping wings grew louder and louder.

They swept across the wilderness, and Fairrock could vaguely see the changes in the terrain.

The pine needles instantly hardened into steel spikes. The rotating steel teeth cut into the trunk, and the annual rings unfolded into concentric brass-colored circles. Resin gushed from the cracks as black oil, vines twisted into cables amidst the flapping wings of insects, and lichen transformed into rust-colored moss, its pale blue fluorescent energy spreading across the corroded earth.

They are not devouring, but bringing about change.

Fellrock also saw the summoners fleeing in panic, but they were quickly overtaken by the locusts. Their flesh was easily cut open, like pigs in a slaughterhouse, and what flowed from their wounds was not blood, but a copper-colored, viscous liquid.

Someone was calling his name; it sounded like the voice of Oled XI, but it didn't last long.

In fact, the screams of the crowd did not last long, perhaps only a dozen seconds or more, before they were swallowed up by the "black cloud".

The car window was ripped open by sharp wings, and the passing locusts spotted him.

He met those blue eyes.

Perhaps he should give these panicked people an inspiring speech to reunite them.

But Fellrock did nothing, which made no sense.

He could hardly even muster the thought of resistance, because the locusts were so fast that they reached them before anyone could make a reasonable judgment.

What a nightmare.

Fellrock closed his eyes again.

Strange, why would he have such a nightmare?

..............................

"No reinforcements! That bastard Fellrock was a liar from the start!" A shout from the cellar became the last straw that broke the camel's back, and people turned ashen-faced.

When the locusts descended like a natural disaster, the conscripts risked their lives to send a team to the royal city, still clinging to the hope that if they could join forces with the elites of the royal family and the association, they could organize an effective counterattack.

The intricate network of cellars and waterways beneath the capital became the last stronghold for the survivors, preventing the locusts from reaching the area for the time being.

But after sacrificing almost all of their men, the suicide squad brought bad news.

There were no reinforcements from the very beginning.

When they finally entered the royal city after overcoming numerous hardships, they found only an empty palace waiting for them; all the valuables had been taken away.

The only consolation at this moment was that the speed at which the mechanical locusts descended also exceeded the expectations of the royal family and Firrock. The convoy had not traveled far before it encountered the swarm of locusts head-on. And being outside the capital, they could not find any facilities such as cellars or waterways to hide in.

The kingdom's most elite summoners were wiped out in their very first encounter.

What do we do now...?

An old woman asked.

This question silenced all other sounds in the cellar.

The first war between humans and locusts ended almost in one-sidedly. The locust swarms may have taken over the city in just a few minutes, and only a few people who hid in the cellars survived.

However, this is far from over; they are facing many serious problems.

The cellars and waterways lacked food, the contaminated water was undrinkable, and the poor ventilation made it impossible to stay here for long.

Three days, or one day?
Or even less time?
"We need to send people back to the surface to bring back food and supplies."

The returning member of the suicide squad said with a solemn expression that he was now the only one left in the team of more than a dozen people, and he knew very well that his luck had run out. If he returned to the surface, he would probably have a hard time getting back to the cellar.

"Their target is the divine tree, right?"

One of the refugees asked, "I read the Cuckoo Bird Daily. Some monster researchers believe that their destination is the Divine Tree, and the damaged cities just happen to be in their way."

This is their last hope.

Perhaps if they can hold out long enough in the cellar, they can outlive the mechanical locusts until they leave.

The refugees were met with another long silence.

No one can answer this question, just as they cannot know how long this disaster will last, or what the future holds for the kingdom...

At this very moment, Ethan, who was on the surface of the earth, also fell into deep thought.

"You, come here."

He tried to give a command to one of the wandering locusts. Its azure eyes looked at him suspiciously for a moment, then flapped its wings, deliberately slowed down, and flew in front of him, keeping a safe distance to avoid its sharp wings scratching Ethan's skin.

Ethan reached out to the mechanical locust, which seemed to understand his intentions. It folded its wings, landed on the ground, and even offered its head to him.

Yes, it felt just as cold and hard as I had imagined.

"Old Sen, come clean, did you instigate this?"

The little purple bat also stood on the ground, its two wings folded together in a chest-hugging posture, forming a rather peculiar pose.

When the locusts invaded the capital like a natural disaster, they were both present. Rowena and Bi'an were prepared to cause a huge disturbance—there are few situations where two saints could act without any scruples.

But then something unexpected happened.

These mechanical locusts all avoided them, and even the inn where they were staying was spared, forming a peculiar "safe zone" in the city occupied by the mechanical locusts.

In the subsequent investigation, these locusts stopped pretending altogether and even rubbed against Ethan's palm affectionately like pets.

This time, Ethan decided to remain silent until the lawyer arrived.

Because now even he himself felt suspicious, he found it difficult to explain to others why this group of "disasters" who had taken over the entire city in the blink of an eye would obey his orders.

Is it...

Is he the true Lich King?
He could only guess that perhaps it was because he had seen Argos once in a dream, and for some unknown reason, the Old Gods always had a natural affinity for him.

Can you read a map?

He looked down at the mechanical locust lying on the ground, which continued to nuzzle his palm affectionately, without responding to his question.

It seems that these mutated monsters only possess the most basic biological instincts, while losing their intelligence in the process of mutation.

This was exactly what he had found out: the citizens of the capital who had been injured by the locusts had not died—at least they could still move and wander around the city. The only problem was that they moved in a way that was almost exactly like zombies, and they couldn't speak. They would make some indistinct sounds when you got close.

"Who sent you?"

It was still a case of talking past each other. The mechanical locust shook its wings contentedly, and its body began to sway slightly. This attracted its companions, and more and more locusts gathered in Ethan's direction. They all folded their wings and lined up neatly on the ground.

Being patted on the head by Ethan seems to be a kind of reward for the locusts.

This sudden phenomenon also attracted other people.

Not everyone hid underground after the first locust invasion; in this city, there was still one figure fighting alone.

The long battle had left Charlotte covered in dust, and coupled with not having slept all night, her spirit was on the verge of collapse.

Just now, she sensed the movement of the mechanical locusts. She put on her invisibility cloak and followed the locusts' trail.

At the end of the road, she saw the voice she had been longing for.

However, this was far from the meeting she had imagined.

"Sakaki——!"

Ethan heard the sound of gritted teeth not far away, and the blonde girl was staring at him with an incredulous look.

"Don't be impatient yet."

Ethan blurted out, and in his haste, he also managed to pick up a mechanical locust that was rubbing against his palm.

He felt that in this situation, he should use his eloquence to explain himself, but when the words came to his lips, he didn't know how to begin.

"Charlotte, it's not what you think."

Huh?
This sounds a bit strange, like someone caught red-handed trying to have their cake and eat it too.
Charlotte remained silent, still gazing at Ethan, waiting for him to continue.

"Anyway, don't rush."

(End of this chapter)