Chapter 106
Daaaaaaaaang—!
A low, clear resonant sound echoed.
It sent a steady vibration through the air.
The vibration struck the locusts’ bodies.
It stimulated the auditory organs below the junction of their thorax and hind legs.
The auditory organs relayed the signal to their nervous systems.
And the nervous system responded to the stimulation:
Follow that sound.
Patzzzt!
The 132,645th locust, which had been about to leap at Baron Frontera, paused.
It relaxed its hind legs.
It let go of the position it had assumed to pounce on its prey.
And quickly turned its body the other way.
Toward where that low, clear resonance had just sounded.
Out the window.
Leap!
The 132,645th locust leapt.
It darted out of the shattered window and escaped the mansion.
The other locusts did the same.
As if an invisible collective unconscious were controlling the swarm.
As soon as the first locust turned and exited, the rest spun around too.
They all rushed to get out at once, causing chaos.
The remaining windows all shattered.
Window frames were crushed.
They trampled each other.
In this frenzy, they poured out of the mansion like an ebbing tide.
The resonance struck their auditory organs again.
Daaaaaaaaang—!
‘What is this…’
Baron Frontera’s eyes went wide.
The locust swarm pulled away from the mansion in an instant.
It was an unbelievable sight.
“Did you hear that just now?”
His wife’s voice asked.
The baron turned to his wife.
“I did. That voice that came with the sound, like a huge bell being rung…”
“It was Lloyd.”
The baron and baroness met each other’s eyes and nodded.
No doubt about it.
No matter how far away in the world, even in the depths of hell, it was their son’s voice.
The next moment, the couple moved as one.
They raced down the stairs.
Rushed past the wrecked entrance hall.
Crossed the now-empty courtyard in a flash.
They stopped at the front gate, where the view was relatively clear.
And they saw it.
Thousands, tens of thousands of locusts moving in the same direction.
At the head of the swarm, two fine horses racing forward.
And two people driving those horses.
“…Lloyd? Sir Asrahan?”
The couple muttered in shock.
As their muttering faded, another locust belatedly flapped through the air in a panic.
It shot past the entrance to the baron’s mansion.
It landed on the roof of the village’s only tavern.
Ignoring the startled tavernkeeper’s scream, it leapt again.
And merged into the throng of tens of thousands of its kin.
This was happening all over the Frontera estate.
Daaaang—!
The resonance sounded.
A locust that had been swallowing straw in a barn flinched.
It even spat out the straw it had in its jaws and rushed toward the sound.
Daaaaaaaaang—!
Again, the low, clear sound rang out.
A locust that had been about to pounce on a calf in the stable paused.
It abandoned its tempting prey and flew out of the stable.
Daaaaaaaaaang—!
Once more, a heavy vibration echoed.
The shepherd boy who’d been crying in fear.
The huntress girl who’d been resisting beside him.
The engineer holding his family’s hands in prayer.
The young mother crying out to protect her nursing infant.
All of them saw the locust swarm, which had been about to attack them, freeze in its tracks.
They saw the locusts abandon their prey and open their wings to follow the resonance.
And everyone finally witnessed it.
A sight unfolding across the whole territory, something none of them could have imagined.
Daaaaaaaaaaaang—!
Javier’s sword, still sheathed, swung down.
It struck fiercely against a chunk of iron.
Daaaaaang—!
A pitch-black pot lid, 1.2 meters across, let out a heavy resonance.
From behind the pot lid, Lloyd’s shout rang out.
“Nice! One more time!”
Lloyd, racing his fine horse with the pot lid raised like a shield.
Beside him, Javier matched his pace, swinging his sheathed sword in response to that shout.
Swaaaaash, Daaaaaaaaang—!
Javier struck, Lloyd blocked.
The swung sword sheath and the battered pot lid.
Each time Javier struck the pot lid Lloyd held up, a low, clear resonance rang out, loud and strong.
And every time, more of the locust swarm gathered.
Of course, that didn’t mean the two were being surrounded by the swarm.
It was thanks to the fine horses enchanted with sprinting magic.
“All right! Monster herding just isn’t right without kiting!”
“What do you mean, ‘kiting’!”
“It’s a thing! Again!”
“Yes!”
Thudthudthudthudthud, Daaaaaaaaang—!
At the head of the stampede, the resonance shook the air.
Each time, the size of the pursuing locust swarm grew.
A faint smile formed at the corner of Lloyd’s lips.
‘Good. Everything’s going according to plan.’
The locust swarm was gathering successfully.
The monster herding plan was working perfectly.
Suddenly, Lloyd remembered the novel Iron-Blooded Knight.
‘It was about the orc tribes of the eastern wastelands.’
In the novel, the orcs survived by hunting monsters for food.
But the hunts didn’t always succeed.
Going hungry was common.
And if even their stored food ran out?
At times like that, the orc tribes used a survival method.
They would strike a large gong at the heart of the wilderness, producing a low, clear resonance.
‘It said this kind of resonance lured the locusts that lived in the wastelands, the Rocus locusts. The book explained that the vibration was similar to the sounds the locusts make during mating season to attract a mate.’
He’d decided to trust that memory.
It was the only way to lure the locusts into one place.
‘First, I have to gather them. Then I have to take them out in one shot. Otherwise, how am I supposed to hunt down that many one by one? There wouldn’t be a blade of grass left in the barony by the time I finished.’
Without this method, grass, houses, and people in the territory would all get devoured.
And as for himself?
He’d be ruined.
That kind of bad ending was absolutely out of the question.
He had to wipe out the locust swarm as efficiently as possible before disaster struck.
And for that, he needed to gather them all in one place, where they’d be easy to wipe out.
‘That’s the basic principle of monster herding. Just like this!’
Swaaaash!
Javier’s sheathed sword came swinging down.
He blocked it with all his strength using the pot lid.
Daaaaaaaaang—!
‘…Ugh.’
Javier had swung so hard that Lloyd’s hand and arm gripping the pot lid tingled all over.
A tremendous vibration and wave surged through his entire body.
It was like being inside the Bosingak Bell as it tolled grandly on New Year’s Day, or like hugging a giant, thunderous concert subwoofer to his chest.
He felt slightly nauseous.
“Hey?”
Lloyd peeked at Javier from the edge of the pot lid, giving him a sharp look.
“I’ve been feeling this for a while now, but are you putting some personal feelings into your sword-sheath swings against the pot lid?”
“Sir? What do you mean?”
Javier, riding alongside on his steed, glanced over as if he genuinely didn’t know what Lloyd was talking about.
“I’m just faithfully carrying out the operation you suggested, Lloyd.”
“Uh, is that so?”
“Yes. Like this.”
Swaaaash, Daaaaaaaaang—!
‘…Oof!’
Lloyd’s insides flipped over again.
His gaze narrowed further.
“Your swings seem even stronger than before.”
“If I hit harder, the resonance will be louder, and the locust swarm will gather more effectively.”
“Really? Want to switch? You take the pot lid?”
“Why would I?”
“I think I could hit even harder. With [Triple Detonation].”
“I refuse.”
“Why?”
“Because I prefer it this way.”
Swaaaash, Daaaaang—!
An even stronger swing struck the pot lid.
Lloyd’s face twisted in pain from the impact.
But the results spoke for themselves.
The locust swarm began to pursue them even more persistently.
‘Good, the plan’s working.’
Honestly, he hadn’t been sure if this would really work.
But it was going even better than expected.
He felt like the Pied Piper—or rather, the Young Master who lured monsters with a pot lid.
“Again! One more time!”
He willingly raised the pot lid.
Javier’s sword sheath came down, and Lloyd blocked it.
At this point, it didn’t matter who was hitting and who was blocking.
It would be fine even if he got hit a hundred or a thousand more times.
‘As long as the territory is safe, this is nothing!’
If it meant a happy and secure future, he’d gladly endure this much.
With renewed determination, Lloyd quickly surveyed the situation.
‘Good. The monster herding is working perfectly. Now it’s time to minimize the damage.’
The crucial first step of the plan, the herding, was a success.
Now it was time to expand the herding area.
He had to gather as many locusts as possible.
That way, it would be much easier to wipe them all out at once.
“All right! Let’s make a full circuit around the outer edge of the territory!”
“Understood.”
The two turned their steeds toward the estate’s outskirts.
They raced down the main road.
Passed the central village.
Passed several settlements.
Crossed fields, paddies, and orchards.
Each time, they struck and blocked with the pot lid.
They constantly sent out powerful resonant waves.
Wherever they ran, more and more locust swarms joined the chase. Fifty thousand, a hundred thousand, one hundred fifty thousand—soon over two hundred thousand, and still rising without end.
But Lloyd wasn’t satisfied.
“To the south!”
After making a wide loop along the outer edge of Frontera territory, Lloyd pointed south.
Toward the Marez reclaimed land.
No, he was pointing even further—past the reclaimed land.
“To the viscounty! Stay close!”
“Understood.”
A brief glint flashed in Javier’s eyes.
Lacona Viscounty?
It was a little unexpected.
‘Could he be intending to help them, too?’
In truth, relations between the barony and viscounty were far from friendly.
They were closer to being enemies.
But looking at it another way, the residents there had done nothing wrong.
‘He’s putting aside his grudge with Viscount Lacona and prioritizing the safety of the people there.’
Javier nodded.
If the Frontera Barony was under attack by locusts, the neighboring Lacona Viscounty to the south could not possibly be unscathed. Its people would be suffering from this calamity as well.
It was something Javier hadn’t considered.
He glanced at Lloyd with a trace of admiration.
At that moment, a message appeared before Lloyd’s eyes.
Ding-dong.
[Javier Asrahan is impressed by your righteous actions and feels admiration.]
[Javier Asrahan’s affinity toward you has increased by +3.]
[Current relationship with Javier Asrahan: +8]
[You have earned 54 RP for slightly improving your relationship with a main character.]
[Current RP: 4083]
‘Huh. Righteous actions, huh.’
Lloyd couldn’t help but let out a wry smile.
Apparently, he was being misunderstood a bit.
‘It’s not out of righteousness at all.’
It was true he intended to help.
But he wasn’t rushing over to Lacona Viscounty out of sympathy or a surge of chivalry.
There was just one reason he was headed there now:
To protect his well-placed straw.
‘As long as Lacona Viscounty is safe, I can keep collecting water taxes for years!’
If the place was ruined?
All the work he’d put into setting up the water supply would be wasted.
His “straw” for siphoning off years of water fees would be lost.
He had to prevent that unfortunate outcome.
And from a locust-extermination perspective, this was the obvious choice.
‘If we leave the swarm attacking the viscounty, it could circle back and hit us with a second wave.’
If the viscounty was devastated, the swarm might come back to the barony.
So if he was going to wipe them out, he might as well take care of the ones attacking Lacona Viscounty too.
“So let’s go! Faster! Ha!”
He urged his steed onward.
He gripped the pot lid tighter.
The sprinting magic on the horses truly shone now.
Thudthudthudthud—!
They reached the outskirts of the viscounty.
As expected, the viscounty was in total chaos too.
The entire territory was blanketed by a massive locust swarm.
Everywhere, people’s screams and shouts mixed with the sound of beating locust wings, creating a chaotic symphony.
“Let’s go! Ha!”
He kicked his steed’s flank.
They dashed forward without hesitation.
They crossed the main road and raced through the villages, cutting straight across the entire viscounty.
Together with Javier, he unleashed a booming resonance.
The bleeding guards fighting for their lives.
The fleeing farmers and wives.
The crying boys and girls.
Even the newborn baby grinning at the locust about to eat them.
At that life-or-death moment, everyone heard the resonance in their ears.
They were saved by the sound created by Lloyd and Javier.
Bzztzzztzzzt!
Hundreds of thousands of locusts covering the viscounty took to the air.
Abandoning their prey, they chased after Lloyd and Javier.
It was a successful monster herding.
“Good, now back to the barony!”
They charged ahead.
Leading a combined swarm of five hundred thousand locusts, they advanced.
It was a march designed for extermination.
‘Marez reclamation land. The riverbank. All I need to do is reach there.’
Lloyd thought of the spot where he’d stationed Ppodong, Bangul, and Hamang.
The area he’d prepared in advance for this operation—the so-called extermination zone.
He would wipe out the locust swarm there.
He’d send them all off with a group ticket to King Yama’s afterlife career counseling session.
That’s how determined Lloyd was.
* * * * * * * *
(T/N: i apologize for the super delayed chapters, baby time was so rough. baby is currently on a sleep regression phase. good news though, i should be back to our regular release rate (or even faster) by the end of this month. we’ve got everything arranged, so we’re all set. )
