What's wrong with me, a mage, loving to farm?

Chapter 279. Locust Plague and Two Hundred Thousand People

Miffy left the North to pursue his faith.

However, before he left, he revived almost all the withered edible crops and fruit trees.

That was a large-scale miracle—this kind of "divine magic" actually exists in the sequence of magic, and it is a "wish spell" of almost legendary level.

It is said that casting this magic can grant any wish, but the amount of magic power required will increase dramatically depending on the wish.

It's unimaginable how much magic Milfey could so freely spread miracles; it must take to achieve that.

The only thing that could be directly observed was through the monitoring of the mage tower, where Kroya clearly saw the increasingly intense death magic emanating from Mifein's body.

He was almost like a walking tomb.

"Ugh."

"Hopefully he can use that ticket before he completely loses consciousness."

That was formed by him using the magic of Eden, and it contained a rock musical note that he had painstakingly created; its value was simply immeasurable.

Even death could not stop the ticket from forcibly recalling Mifein's soul, unless something could crush the eternal magic in an instant.

But how is that possible?

Kroya shook her head, looking at the tower spirit with a puzzled expression. "You've seemed a little dazed ever since the disaster began," she asked curiously. "Are you afraid this disaster will affect you?"

"Huh?" The tower spirit was in a daze for a second before it came to its senses.

"I'm analyzing what the mage tower of the mage Illist gave me, and it tells me that only divination can decipher this knowledge."

The tower spirit transmitted some strange magic runes and spell models to Kroya, who looked at them for a while and suddenly felt his head throbbing.

That is clearly a prophetic ability.

Moreover, it didn't seem to be a normal level of divination. The complex magic runes were like a tangled ball of yarn, with no way to find a solution.

"Such a complex divination technique must contain some great secret." Although Kroya himself could not decipher it, he was not without a way.

He quickly arrived at the top of his mage tower.

Besides the Sky Tulips being cultivated here, there is another magical plant.

It grows in a culture medium made with starlight solution, and its appearance is like a nebula-like mist. The shimmering light has a very rhythmic feel, as if it is calling out something.

The starlight of Astraeus, which is fixed at the top of the Mage Tower, is indeed being attracted to it. The small point of light looks like a comet falling and colliding with the nebula.

It bursts forth with an even more dazzling starlight.

"The Eye of Brescina, the Flower of Prophecy".

"I've always been curious about how this thing is related to the eyes."

He complained to the tower spirit, "These archmages always like to name magical plants after themselves, resulting in things like 'eye,' 'hand,' and 'skull'..."

"It felt like I was dismembered."

"If I were to create this, I would absolutely not allow anyone to name it after me."

The tower spirit fell silent for a moment, then thought of the Kroya Plain, named by apprentices and knights, where countless people had been buried.

It wisely refrained from mentioning the matter, and instead inquired:

"So you plan to use this magical plant to help break the prophetic spell?"

"Yes." Kroya gazed at the flowers, seemingly concentrating, but in reality, he was making inscriptions.

These flowers were planted by his own hands; they were originally flowers of prophecy, and he had an innate yearning for all kinds of mysterious prophecies.

After he displayed the intricate magic runes, the flowers became excited—

"Wow! It's a complex prophecy!"

"We want to learn!"

"Master, master! Teach us!"

The flowers' spiritual fluctuations reached Kroya's ears; they were truly quite impatient.

So Kroa didn't delay any longer and immediately gave all the prophecies to the flowers.

After obtaining these complex magic runes and spells, the flowers all began to shimmer with clear starlight, their radiance intertwining and eventually coalescing completely.

The magical runes of prophecy flickered within these nebulae, seemingly echoing the stars in the sky, and even emitting strange "beep beep beep" sounds.

These Eyes of Brescina contain magic he imprinted that allows them to connect and converge, gathering all the power of the flowers, much like an automatically calculating machine.

Given enough time, it's definitely possible.

Kroya nodded as she watched this scene:

"Indeed, divination and astrology are inseparable."

This may be why he could never learn divination. The changes in the stars had nothing to do with him, and he couldn't even remember them, so how could he possibly learn them?

"Now we just have to wait, hopefully we'll get some useful information."

He looked away.

"Master." The tower spirit suddenly leaned closer and showed the image to Kroya: "This is footage that Ryan and Seryu just sent back from outside."

"Hmm?" Kroya sensed the seriousness in the tower spirit's voice and immediately looked over.

The scene was filled with dark shadows that blotted out the sky—locusts, an incredibly large number of them, so many that they covered the sky and the earth when they flew.

Even the recorder's hands, hidden under the light shield, were trembling.

"Lord Croa."

"I am now entering Norland territory, and this is what is happening in the southern border region of Norland."

Ryan forced himself to remain calm and showed more of the scene.

As you can see, these locusts swarm any living creature they see, whether it's a plant or an animal, devouring it without giving it any chance to fight back.

It was like a black storm capable of annihilating everything.

In just a few minutes, the once lush and verdant land was transformed into a desolate wasteland, with bare soil and rocks exposed, devoid of any other color.

After the locusts left, Ryan, carrying the magic recording device, left the protection of the light shield.

He walked across the land, turning over the ground, and found that not only had all the exposed plants disappeared, but even their roots had been completely eaten away.

Kroya frowned slightly.

It's important to understand that a typical locust plague at most consumes everything edible on the ground, leaving the underground roots undamaged, thus giving it a chance to recover.

But given the current situation, it's hard to say whether things can recover.

Moreover, he always felt a strange sense of déjà vu about this scene, as the worker bees released by the mother hive he had taken in to collect resources seemed to be in the same situation.

"Looks like we need to catch some locusts for research."

After making this decision, his expression immediately calmed down: "As expected, it's here—a locust plague."

Although the scene was indeed shocking, he was now in his loyal, impregnable North.

Moreover, as a transmigrator, he had read quite a few novels and was already carrying out a locust extermination campaign throughout the Northern Territory.

Tens of thousands of Feathered Chickens are currently roaming the northern lands, searching for locust eggs that may be hidden in the soil.

They will search the entire northern lands again and again to ensure that no locusts escape.

As for natural disasters outside...

That's not something he can interfere with at will.

Even if he is very capable, at most he can only ensure that there are no problems in his own territory. As for the outside world, we can only see how other countries respond to the disaster.

Although he really didn't have any hope for a world where nobles and superhumans held power so firmly, he still had a sliver of hope that maybe they would actually have some brains this time.

This is no simple disaster. If the population really dies out, the upper levels will definitely become unstable after the lower levels collapse.

Thinking this, he suddenly remembered something.

As a duke appointed by the royal family and the Mage Association, he actually has the power to relocate people, and can even relocate people from various regions of the kingdom.

Unless a duke or member of the royal family opposes him, he can force nobles such as barons, viscounts, and earls to obediently hand over their populations.

He doesn't really believe anyone would dare to confront him head-on.

So...

He looked at Tarling: "Take my scepter to the South and order the local nobles to hand over at least half of their serfs and freemen."

In compensation, I will give them some food and special means to combat locusts.

After a pause, he added, "Bring back any magical beasts and plants you can catch as well. I will create an ecological park suitable for them to live in."

Taling nodded: "Then I'll get on it now."

"Um."

Watching the tower spirit leave, Kroya casually found a place to sit down—almost every space inside the magic tower had sofas for resting and corners stocked with various snacks and drinks.

He sat in the comfortable sofa, his gaze piercing through the layers of the mage tower, and saw Moss, the divine messenger, being corrupted by the light of Eden.

His gaze deepened.

It seems that at some point, strange phantom images of swords, spears, halberds, and various other weapons appeared in this guy's dreams, as if they were clamoring for and yearning for war.

If it weren't for the combined suppression of Eden's light and the Void Moon Divine Tree, this guy would probably have woken up from his dream.

That's really strange.

……

Cloa's orders reached the southern border.

Along with the order came an entire knightly order, a battle mage order, and supporting and reserve magical plant and magical beast battle groups.

The nobles of the Southern Territory immediately recognized the determination of Kroya, the Duke of the Reef. The only duke in the Southern Territory, after entertaining Samir, who led the delegation, immediately secluded himself at home.

Clearly, the Duke did not want to clash with Kroya, and the others certainly dared not have any ideas either.

Therefore, it can be said to be quite easy.

After visiting the Lord of Flame Mountain, Samir began to carry out his plans.

It took about a month to gradually acquire half of the population under the rule of the Southern Nobles, as well as various magical beasts and plants collected along the way, all of which were brought back to the Northern Territory.

Of course, half of the population here refers to those abandoned by the various minor nobles; their retainers and slaves, as well as some free people scattered in the southern border, were not taken away.

The South is so vast, and there's no census like the North. There might be hidden villages somewhere. Half the population, 200,000, only refers to the nobles.

The actual population is certainly much larger than that, but Samir simply doesn't have the energy to search high and low.

Fortunately, no battles occurred during the operation. The only unlucky few who were injured were affected by the piercing cries while picking mandrakes, which damaged their mental strength.

Apart from that, the team only reduced the amount of food they brought, yet they still brought back a total of 200,000 people.

That's a full 200,000 people!

The current population of the North is only 600,000, so this is equivalent to an increase of one-third.

The governors of the North were dazzled by the sudden influx of people, and then overjoyed.

Population! It's the population!

The North's biggest shortage right now is population. After all, golems have limited production capacity, and they can't do everything themselves, since golems' intelligence is still somewhat inferior to that of humans.

So while the serfs who were brought along and the free men abandoned by the lords and nobles were still feeling uneasy, they were met with the baptism of the North—

Two hundred thousand people were brought in batches to a large lake in the central North, where steam was rising and fish were swimming around waiting.

The serfs and freemen almost burst into tears.

"We're going to be sacrificed!"

"Are they going to boil us all alive?"

They thought the vast lake in front of them was the site of some kind of sacrificial ceremony, after all, it was steaming!

The guards maintaining order had incredibly twitching expressions on their faces.

Sacrifice ceremony?

In order to disinfect and exorcise these 200,000 people from head to toe, the mage apprentices worked day and night to prepare potions and even asked the Salt Mountain Knights for help.

Did they think they were going to be boiled?

Samir, who was in charge of this task, looked helpless, recalling the situation when residents first arrived on Han Reef Island, which seemed to be just like this back then.

He shook his head, and with the help of the amplification magic set up by the mages, his voice reached everyone's ears:

"You have just arrived in the North and need to be disinfected."

"The lake before you now was prepared for you by the great Duke of the Reef, our mentor, the supreme Lord of the North."

"Bathing in it will cleanse you of all your impurities, diseases, and any curses that may befall you."

"Now, all of you must go inside. That's an order!"

Having served as governor for some time, Samir knew very well that sometimes orders were more important than good intentions, and these ordinary people who had lived in the Southern Territory for so long could not understand the sudden goodwill of the nobles.

They might even wonder if it's a trap.

But now that the order has been given, they, who have been under the control of the authorities for so long, immediately have a goal and one after another they go directly into the misty lake.

The warm lake water is sprinkled with fragrant essential oils and magic salt, and the little fish that live and swim in it help anxious people cleanse themselves of dirt.

People who were worried about dying smelled the fragrance, felt the gentle nibbling of the fish, and had soft sand under their feet.

That feeling made them forget everything instantly—even if they were going to die, at least they had enjoyed it!

With this self-destructive mentality, they began to scrub each other's backs in the lake. The men and women were on opposite sides of the lake, separated by a water wall so they wouldn't disturb each other.

Although this is a super-large open-air bath that Kroya temporarily set up, Kroya doesn't intend to use it just once. The essential oils and magic in it have been carefully blended.

It is a special bath that can guarantee clear water quality, allowing aquatic life to survive and maintain a near-natural state.

Perhaps more people will come in the future, and they will all undergo a series of procedures here to ensure that they do not carry any plagues, diseases, or even curses.

The world is in such a mess right now, if some weird or ill-intentioned people really sneak in, it will definitely have some impact on the North.

Samir gazed at the lake.

Once this group of people has finished washing, the magical purification device beneath the lake will automatically activate, and the coral purification network will transport all the mud and dirt underground for harmless treatment.

Then came the second batch, the third batch...

The bathing lasted for three whole days before it finally ended. After bathing, people were given new clothes and then arranged to go to the second gate of the North for the second step.

After they arrived at the square, tower-like building, they were asked to register their basic identity information by some seemingly human-looking ground thieves.

Here, they have no room to lie; the sunflowers beside them, constantly radiating warm light, are the best lie detectors.

Anyone found lying would be immediately arrested, detained, and interrogated by the patrolling guards—after all, with such a large influx of people into the North, safety was the top priority.

Even if it is perhaps too brutal and harsh, it is necessary.

When they finally passed the strict information registration with the Earth Thieves and each of them received their own identity token, they were divided up and taken away by the long-awaiting lords from all over the country.

Those who are blacksmiths, craftsmen, gardeners, or even those with some talent for farming and herding will receive special treatment.

Unfortunately, the North doesn't lack talent, but in some ways it is also severely lacking, especially in infrastructure.

More importantly, the huge, special ecological park that Kroya is building, capable of housing magical plants and beasts brought from the Southern Territory, desperately needs these "locals" to work there.

The southern region is hot and humid, and all kinds of animals grow to be enormous, including some unique insect-like magical beasts.

If I had to say something, it would be that the oxygen content is far more exaggerated than in the North. If these plants were planted haphazardly in the North, it would definitely affect the environment there.

Therefore, the construction of a special ecological park is urgently needed. This ecological park will not only contain magical plants and beasts from the Southern Territory, but will also preserve the special customs and lifestyles of the Southern Territory.

This was done partly to preserve the ecological integrity of the southern region, and partly because of Cloa's hobbies.

Kroya really enjoys replicating the scenery of various places so completely in front of him, as it gives him a great sense of accomplishment.

Besides, he was really tired of seeing the same old northern landscapes, so even if it was just for the sake of pleasing the eye, he wanted to see all sorts of strange and wonderful sights.

Before Samir set off, Kloa had already issued an order to construct a basic geometric ecological array on a huge island in the ocean, covering thirty hectares.

He had no doubt about Samir's success and had made preparations well in advance.

After undergoing various forms of screening, the people of the South were finally able to enter the North. Some of them were then sent to the "Southern Gardens," which were under construction, to provide guidance.

One of the lucky boys, a boy named Jacob, was anxiously traveling to the island in a magic ship.

He has no idea yet what a magnificent creation he is about to witness.

Thank you all for your monthly tickets and recommendation votes!

(End of this chapter)