Chapter 137 - Pest Crisis
Actually, this is in fact what Zhao had imagined it to be, just like in the Black Wastes. Zhao would never send anyone to manage them. Rather, he would let the slaves build villages and let them restore their identity as normal civilians.
It seems like the Purcell clan also understand this concept. To get the horse run, you have to let the horse graze. Give the slaves a better life than other slaves, let them build their own families, and let them reproduce. In fact, even if the Purcell clan is a respected and big clan, it is impossible to buy several hundred thousand slaves each year to supplement the need for workforce. Instead then, they let the slaves increase their number by letting them get married and have children. Since those children are born from slave parents, these children are also slaves already after being born.
Zhao and Green saw several small villages, didn't observe them much as they have an important matter to do first.
Zhao chose a location far away from the villages and stopped. He has not yet attacked using pests and would like to see what this ability can do.
Green is standing next to to the motionless Zhao, really curious as to how powerful the ability would be. Both of them unexpectedly thought of the same thing.
Zhao slowly raised his Ghost Staff and whispered "Cast Pest".
Immediately, the Ghost Staff sent a projection in front of Zhao. Then the voice said "Please select the host cast area, 1 acre, 10 acres, 100 acres".
Zhao immediately understood what it meant and chose 100 acres. The projection didn't disappear after, instead changes pictures and the voice said "Please select the cast density, one (per plant) two (per plant), three (per plant), four (per plant), five (per plant). " Altogether, five options.
Zhao thinks, looked at the crops that looked like wheat, with a heavy heart, chose the highest per plant, which is five.
Zhao thought he has finished up, has not thought that again the images on the projection changes and the voice said: "Please select the duration of survival of the pests, a day, ten days, a month".
Zhao immediately choose a month, the voice didn't said anything after and then the projection vanished. Instead, a yellow light comes out of the Ghost Staff, it flashed and disappeared. Then Zhao and Green heard rustling sounds coming from the wheat fields in front of them. They looked down, in their hearts, they feel scared.
The wheat field in front of them, on each wheat has five large insects, desperately chewing the wheat.
Zhao and Green looked at the scene, their scalp tingling. They did not think that these pests can eat up the wheat so fast.
Zhao straightened himself, took a deep breath. Green stood up, shocked, looks at Zhao and said :"Master, is this what you said "Cast Pest" function?"
Zhao nodded and said: "Yes, this the "Cast Pest" function, which in front of us attacks the 100 acres field, in which 5 pest is on each wheat plant".
Green looked at the wheat in from of them and was shocked more, in this stretch of good wheat field, suddenly there are large insects, five on each plant. This is really too scary, a godlike ability. Zhao has not told Green that these pests have a month long life, though he is not clear about this himself. He thought that in this one month, the Purcell clan will kill the pests steadily as soon as they know of it, making it impossible for these insects to live for a month, thus not telling Green about it.
However, Green also saw people in the scene, remembered the space magic, thus quickly calming down and said: "Master, do we put the pests to other places?"
Zhao nodded and said: "We will, we will surely cast them, I want these pests to eat all the wheat in the Ica plains".
Green chuckled, Zhao jumped across the hundreds of acres of field while casting pests all over, then continuing to the next place.
Zhao didn't know the total area of the ruined wheat fields. He casts pest all over the field in an orderly manner, starting from the woods, letting the Purcell clan think that this pests are a natural in the area.
This evening, Zhao and Green are really tired as they kept running all over the place. Zhao did not put out the special zombie that he had. Strange to say, when he makes a zombie, undead in space also looked like zombie, though the appearance didn't change, which is a very good thing for Zhao.
This time, Zhao did not released any undead, because it is too big, easily exposing them and leaves traces. Once the people of Purcell clan sees those traces, they might conclude that the pest plague is artificial, in which case, ain't amusing.
It will be dawn in three hours, Zhao and Green returned to the space to rest. Green knew that the slaves won't be working not until the sky is completely bright, supervisors won't let them rest for a long time. If they wait till it is dawn to rest, they might leave some traces and be found out.
They are really tired that night, after entering the space, went to bed immediately. The situation on the fields though, is actually a lot more awful than what they had imagined.
Zhao underestimated the destructive power of the pests to the crops. Five large bugs that never stops gnawing the the wheat, the damage is hard to imagine. that night, there are many wheat plants that has become just a pole rod.
More frightening is that those large bugs, after gnawing a wheat, has not disappeared, instead crawled onto other wheat plants.
Zhao had not counted the fact that in just that night, they had changed more than a hundred places, which was all due to Green being an eight level warrior. Otherwise, this degree is impossible to achieve.
In other words, Zhao and Green, just this evening, has placed enough pests to more than a hundred places of wheat fields, 5 bugs on each wheat plant. This mighty insect army had began to develop, already has eaten the wheat plants in those 100 acres of wheat fields.
Zhao and Green went into the space and sleep, so naturally they did not know what's happening outside. Upon daybreak, slaves starts to work on the fields, mainly to remove weeds and kill bugs if they find any.
Right now, the farming season is not on a busy stage, therefore, the slaves are relaxed while going to the field to inspect them.
Zhao let the pests on that land, as a slave started to inspect, he looked stupid, scalp tingling.
Large insects was gnawing on the young wheat plants, basically seeing no complete plant at all, leaving only a green straw.
Forget about the slaves, not even the supervisors looked stupidly on the scene, cannot believe what they are seeing, this is just too terrible.
Suddenly, a slave responded, shouts loudly while keeping the wheat on hand, while stamping the pests on the ground.
With the slave's action, other slaves begun to throw the pests on the ground and trample them with their feet.
The supervisor has gotten sober, complexion not looking good, looks around. He did not go along with the slaves to kill the pests, instead, turned around and ran back to their village.in the small village, scaled wildbeasts are being raised. They are usually used for farming, but in case of emergency, can be used as a ride to deliver messages.
Just that the supervisor have seen, these bugs didn't just infested a small area. He looked around and has seen that a large area of wheat fields had been attacked already. Although not sure of the scale of damage, but one thing is for sure, if the pests won't be suppressed the soonest possible time, there will be a big reduction in the grain yield in the Ica plains.
What the supervisor does not know is that, like him, many of the supervisors around Ica plains are already doing the same thing, riding scaled wildbeasts to run toward the relay station of the Purcell clan.
The reason why the slaves gives in so much effort to suppress the pests infestation is that if their grain harvest was to be reduced, the amount of food they obtain also gets reduced. In turn, their life would not be too good, if food is reduced, they will also be sad.Every village has a relay station placed by the Purcell clan. It is like a small inn, usually used as message relay stations, the place is also where they give aid to the slaves and be used as granaries during harvest time.
This is how the Purcell clan control the whole of Ica plains. Whenever there's any sign of trouble, they can obtain the news the shortest possible time.
Notes:
-This chapter was MTLed. Translation and editing was done solely by me. Please leave a comment for constructive criticisms and advice. Thanks.
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