Chapter 105: Captain Frontera (1)

Bzzt! Flutter! Fwoosh! The two sets of wings wrapped with a film fluttered violently. Its 2-foot body flew in the air, riding and gliding along the wind until it hit another locust flying right beside it.

Bzzt! Once the hit knocked the balance off its body, it took a nosedive to the ground, falling and hitting a random branch during its drop.

Thwack! The tree branch swerved as it harshly landed, and this locust, the 86,215th in the entire swarm, shook its body. And as soon as it recovered from the fall, it opened its upper jaw wide and took a bite of the shaking branch in front of it.

Grit! The tree branch was as thick and sturdy as the thigh of an adult, but it was nothing against the locust’s powerful jaw. Its husk and body was chopped off with a single bite. However, the locust refused to let go.

Grit! Crunch! Chomp!

It bit and chomped everything in its way. Anything that could be crushed with its jaws was devoured. Just like that, it continued to fill its stomach without a break. The 86,215th locust gnawed through the bottom of the branch in no time, and using the trunk of the tree as a spring, it leaped high in the air.

Leap! Bzzzzzzt! It let the wind guide its way. The scenery of the vast eastern range passed beneath its stomach. Looking at the green landscape, the 86,215th locust was reminded of the farther eastern land it had left behind.

Bzzzzzzt! The eastern range was frequently described as a wasteland by people. It was where the 86,215th locust originally lived and hatched out of an egg in the spring. After shedding several times, it passed the larva phase. It was only about one foot long at this time. But one day, the environment started to change around it.

“March!”

The blaring noise of a pipe echoed across the wasteland, and it was instantly followed by a thick cloud of sand. An army of humans appeared amidst the sand. They were holding a torch and wielding it ruthlessly. The locust’s antenna got scorched, and it leaped in surprise. The entire swarm started to make way for the west, where the humans were pushing them to. The locust flew westward to survive. The march continued for a few days, but those humans were just as tenacious. They remained hot on its heels, staying close and wielding their torches. Some of the soldiers chattered, and the locust heard what one of them was saying.

“Centurion, is this going to impact the orc tribes living on the opposite side of the wasteland?”

“Of course. You still don’t know it, do you?”

“What do you mean?”

“The new strategy General Mamluk devised.”

“What about it?”

“These worthless locusts will wreak havoc in the entire wasteland.”

“With what? A swarm of locusts?”

“It’s not that simple.”

“Then…”

“A swarm of locusts is just the beginning. All the monsters inhabiting the wasteland will be disturbed because of the swarm of these bugs.”

“Could it be…?”

“Yes, you are right,” acknowledged the centurion as he nodded. “The locusts are voracious. But what do you think there is to eat in the wasteland?”

“Barrel Milk Cactus? Could it really be that?”

“It’s exactly that. The Barrel Milk Cactus is rich in nutrients. In fact, the entire ecosystem in the wasteland depends on them. So, imagine what would happen if the locusts living in the west fly to the areas littered with cacti?”

“They would wipe out all the cactus. The herbivore monsters that eat the cacti and the omnivore monsters alike will experience a food shortage. Am I correct?

“Yes, you’re right. And naturally, all the monsters will flee to the west one by one because that’s where the mountain range is.”

“And at the foot of the mountain lives… the Sand and Steel orc tribe, our target?”

“Now you get it,” the centurion spoke and nodded.

“According to recent sources, the orc tribe has overcome their food shortage problem. They built… a seokbinggo? It’s a pickle for us. The only thing that kept them in check was the food shortage, but with that gone, they’ll soon start to expand in number…”

“It’d pose a great threat to us.”

“You’re right, so we must trample them before they get bigger.”

“Excuse me,” the soldier asked, “but what if the locusts or the monsters travel farther into the west and beyond the range? What should we do?”

“Hmm? Do you mean toward the Magentano Kingdom?” replied the centurion.

“Yes.”

“I don’t know.”

“Excuse me?”

“That’s something the higher-ups should think about, not me. It’s not our problem.”

“Hmm… You’re right…” the soldier quickly agreed.

“We just follow the orders, and that’s it. Like this.”

Blaze! The centurion laughed out loud as he tossed the torch. The 86,215th locust jumped high in surprise. Of course, the locust didn’t comprehend the conversation taking place between the centurion and his assistant in the sultan’s kingdom. And no one in the area had a clue that their current plan resembled the Joseon Dynasty’s cleansing operation against the foreigners in the north. The locust jumped high to avoid the torch, and in all ignorance, it simply flew toward the west.

And at last, it finally found refuge. The whole land teemed with sharp and thorny plants. The Barrel Milk cacti were juicy and sweet. Even though the plant wasn’t its go-to staple, the taste wasn’t so bad. There, the 86,215th locust ate and filled up its stomach to its heart’s content. But its hunger was unquenchable. It wanted to exclusively have the juice of the cacti all to itself, except that it couldn’t. There were simply too many others gathered in the area.

Flutter! The fluttering din of the other locusts boomed throughout the land, and as the locusts gathered up in an unimaginable density, the 86,215th locust underwent a change in its body. Its swarm became alarmingly compact, and they were all squished together. This environment prompted the 86,215th locust to experience the same hormonal changes the locusts on earth go through.

Bzzt! Its wings visibly lengthened in just a few days, and its rear legs shortened. The transformation was an inevitable result of the extreme compact space it was in. Its risk of being eaten alive by enemies was lessened now but competition for food increased. As such, its legs needed for escaping predators shortened while its wings necessary for long periods of travel lengthened. At the same time, its body grew double in size. It was the survival of the fittest.

Bzzt! Bzzzzzzt! In no time, its body turned yellow and two-foot in size. The 86,215th locust flew across the sky with its transformed body. It glided over the eastern mountain range along with the others. The antennae fluttered, and it stole a glance at the abundant land of prosperity. Beneath the western mountain range spanned the fiefdom resided by humans. Unlike the thick and bushy woods in the eastern range, there seemed to be no signs of menacing monsters. There was no need for a second thought. Today, that was their place.

Bzzzzzzt! The 86,215th locust let its body fall with the downward air current, and it rode the wind to make a drastic descent. The human residence came close in no time, and it speedily passed the frantic shouts of the orc miners and cut across the paved road. And it charged into the biggest building it could see.

Crash! The window got smashed, and a table was broken as it crashed into the building. Then, it greedily opened its jaw and chomped anything that could be eaten.

Crunch! The edge of the wooden table was torn in one chomp, forcing a panic-stricken shriek out of a maid.

“Arghhhhh!!”

Emily, one of the maids of Marbella Frontera, was a peace-loving girl. Her daily concerns were composed of where to take the baroness for the day or what the lunch menu would be tomorrow. At times, she found satisfaction in the way her knitting was done. She was an ordinary girl like so many others. And so, Emily almost swooned in shock when she laid her eyes on the sudden appearance of a giant locust on the morning dining table.

“Ackkk! Arghhhh!!!!!”

Emily wondered if the locust was a joke of the devil. Or could it be an evil spirit that threw the organism into this world? That was how giant, grotesque, and awful the locust was. But her fear was short-lived.

Crash! Out of nowhere, a wooden chair was wielded down without a tad of hesitation and with much force. The motion held zero mercy, and just like that, the chair hit the edge of the locust’s stomach.

Crunch! The chitin skin of the giant locust cracked, and half of its stomach was busted by the chair.

Kiaaaaaah!! The 86,215th locust flailed violently as it made a sharp noise. Its leaking guts smeared on the table as it rubbed the skin of its body hard against the wood. At that moment, the creature heard the sharpest outcry it ever heard from a human.

“Emily! Help me out here! Now!”

It was the baroness. She held up the chair she had brandished and gave a hard, powerful blow. Wham!

This time, it was its chest. A portion of its wings and chest was crushed. The locust opened its upper jaw toward the baroness to end her, but Emily was quick enough to turn the table upside down. Tumble!

Humans possessed a massive amount of strength when faced with a crisis. The strength this 16-year-old girl boasted was too strong for her age. Regardless, thanks to her sudden outburst of power, the baroness was safe. And the locust lost balance and toppled to the ground, and it moved for a second until it died.

Crunch! The chair punished the bug once again, smashing its head. The liquid splattered in all directions, staining the white dress of the baroness. But she remained unmoved and unperturbed, for it was a trivial thing.

“Emily, are you all right?”

“Yes… I am fine, my lady.”

“Come, take my hand and follow me.”

Their peaceful breakfast time was already ruined. The baroness saw a swarm of locusts blanketing the blue sky from a distance through the broken window. Her hands shook in fear. Grabbing her hands firmly, the baroness ran along the corridor until she met the baron coming in her direction. The baron’s face turned ghastly when he saw the locust’s bodily fluids smeared all over her dress.

“Marbella! Are you hurt? Is everything okay?” he demanded.

“Yes, I am fine. What about you?”

“I am fine, too,” said the baron.

“But you…”

Her gaze moved to his shirt, which was stained with the bug’s blood. Not only that, he was holding a sword in his hand. She assumed that he had gone through a similar experience as her.

“Let’s move first. Over here.”

The baron led the way, sprinting along the corridor. The sound of shattering windows inside the closed doors rang aloud while they ran. And each time, everyone flinched as they all knew what it meant.

What in the world is happening…?

The baron’s face went pale as a sheet. A sudden swarm of locusts in the morning? He had never even dreamed of such a thing before. This type of disaster sweeping over the land escaped every bit of his wildest imagination.

I need to quickly gather up the guards.

The baron thought so as he went down the stairs at the end of the corridor. He then came up with various ways to respond to the swarm of bugs.

I need to put up a defense line together with Sir Bayern. Thankfully, the locusts are not as strong as the wild ants. Since my soldiers are well-trained, each can take care of about five or six in a breeze. If we form a file and fight properly without breaking it…

Clack! The baron opened the mansion door, only to be frozen in shock.

What is this…

His face was frozen, and the only thing that moved was his eyes. From left to right, they scanned and processed the situation in front of him by sending the information to his brain. He analyzed the sight and finally came to realize and make sense of the situation.

I know locusts move in swarms… But how can there be this many?

What lay straight ahead was… locusts. They were everywhere in the garden. The flowers the baroness cherished and the trees he personally tended with care were now being eaten up by these bugs. He ballparked the number in the garden, and it easily went over hundreds! And slowly, they turned toward his side in unison.

Bam! The baron slammed the door shut, breaking out in a cold sweat. The shivers felt like an electric shock in his body. His breathing grew raspy.

W-what do I do?

The plan to gather up the soldiers and Sir Bayern evaporated in thin air the moment he laid his eyes on the locusts that took over the garden. When their gazes met him, every plan and operation he had formed prior crumbled to pieces.

This… This is hopeless…

Everything went blank in his head. Nothing popped into his head. The only response he could manage was bolting the door shut. That was all he could think of.

“Dear? How’s the outside situation?”

Marbella asked, and the baron wondered if he should be thankful that she wasn’t allowed a peek at what was happening outside. Should he put on a nonchalant face and suggest hiding in his place? The baron found himself of two minds.

Thwack! Thwack!

The bolted doors jerked like someone was banging it with a large hammer or a voracious beast was chewing the door.

“Arghhhhh!!”

Emily, who was looking around beside them, shrieked aloud, drawing the baron couple to finally see the doors being penetrated by ten upper jaws of the locusts. And when they clamped shut, their teeth bored holes larger than human fists.

“Woah…”

The baron was terrified when he realized what was happening.

The locusts are chomping down the door.

No, to be technically correct, it was the whole house that was being gnawed by the locusts!

“Eek! You bastards!”

The baron wielded his sword at the locusts trying to make their way into the house by eating up the doors. Their bodily fluids splashed in all directions, but two more jumped at the exact spot one locust died. Two died, only for three to jump and eat the doors. The holes started to widen, but the baron’s frantic sword saw no stop. The baroness joined in by grabbing a flower vase. Emily held up a candlestick, crying. At last, the doors finally broke down completely.

Crush! The doors were already breaking as more than 20 locusts latched onto them. As the doors grew smaller in size, the weight of the bugs was too much to bear. And soon enough, the doors crumbled down.

Crash! Snap! As the doors snapped in half, the swarm of locusts entered freely, their eyes glimmering in hunger at the humans.

“Piss off, you pests! Ackk!!”

The baron brandished his sword, but it was pointless. There were just too many bugs. One man’s sword stood no chance against the waves of bugs.

“Move back! Now!”

They retreated, rushing back to the way they came. They went up the stairs, but they could not run beyond the entrance of the second floor.

Crash! Tumble! The doors that lined up the corridor crumbled, broke, and snapped. Locusts flooded out of the broken doors into the corridor. And just like that, the baron couple and Emily were trapped on the stairs by the swarm of menacing pests.

“No… No…”

The baron bit his lip. The baroness held up the vase, and Emily clutched the candlestick in tears. He direly wanted to protect them, but nothing sharp came to his mind. Doom. That was the only thought that overwhelmed him.

“Honey…”

He held out his free hand and tightly held her soft hand. The locusts came closer from both sides. They were drawing near. The baron wondered if he should be thankful that his last moments were with his loving wife. The baron couple shut their eyes amid the despairing romance. The locusts spread their upper jaws toward them. Their rear legs crouched to pounce at the human meal. Just then…

Bong…! Bong…! All of a sudden, the entire place was gripped with a clear, reverberating noise. It sounded like a bell. Or a large cauldron lid. The noise reverberated throughout the land with much intensity. The swarm of locusts stopped dead in their tracks at the noise. At last, the baron couple heard a strangely familiar voice.

“You pests! What do you say? The sound of the cauldron lid is getting you all so excited, right? Isn’t it demanding your attention?!”

Bong! A clear, ringing noise started to come closer. At the same time, a welcoming voice rang even louder in their ears.

“Over here! If you’re enticed, come get me! I am Captain Frontera, you bastards!”

Bong! The majestic sound of the vibration echoed throughout the land, and the baron couple murmured the owner of the voice by reflex.

“Lloyd…?”