Given Asterion's size, these locusts could only be considered a minor nuisance. However, for the Grimalkynes, whose average height was only one meter, these locusts were somewhat life-threatening.
The locusts flying in the sky practically blotted out the sun, impenetrable even to the scorching sunlight of the Wildspire Waste. On the ground, the locusts had settled in thick layers, stacking one atop another until they formed a sea of insects sufficient to drown a Grimalkyne.
Uh, a sea of locusts capable of drowning a cat was definitely no joke. The Grimalkynes out on patrol had even fled back using swimming strokes, causing a panic of meows within the cavern.
Under normal circumstances, locusts are herbivorous insects that feed on plants; they don't eat meat, nor do they attack other creatures. But when massive numbers of locusts gather to form a plague, no plant can survive their mandibles. And when the plants are mostly eaten, these guys might just bite people—oh, or bite cats.
Mistaking an animal for a plant and taking a bite—even just one bite—was enough to wound fragile animals given the sheer quantity of them.
Occasionally, it could even be fatal.
When the patrol squad of Grimalkynes fled back to the nest, several locusts were still hanging off their bodies, refusing to let go. Thanks to the Lynians having a layer of fur as a base defense, they only suffered a fright rather than severe injury.
Uh, that doesn't seem like good news either?
Asterion remembered that swarms of locusts would even strip an animal's fur, mistaking it for vegetation. If the Grimalkynes stayed submerged in the sea of locusts, they might just turn into completely bald, hairless cats... He imagined that scene for a moment and found it a bit terrifying.
It wasn't just the surface world that was being destroyed; Asterion's underground kingdom also suffered from the locust invasion. These guys really had no sense of boundaries, drilling in through underground tunnels or cracks in the rocks. They didn't even spare the damn Brightmoss on the walls, gnawing it all clean in one go!
Locusts passing through—across his past life and current life, this was the first time Asterion had such a profound understanding of the phrase.
It was useless even if he hid in his own nest. Asterion sat on his haunches with a solemn expression on his dragon face, watching the Grimalkynes wave their nets, jumping around the nest to catch the invading locusts.
The cats were playing a huge role at this moment. After all, it was actually quite difficult for Asterion to deal with such small-bodied, high-quantity creatures. The number of locusts killed by swinging his sword-tail was a drop in the bucket compared to the massive scale of the plague.
The cats, however, were different. They were agile, possessed amazing dynamic vision, and knew how to coordinate with one another. But even so, faced with the locust army constantly finding cracks and gaps to invade the nest, the cats still couldn't exterminate them completely.
"Ah! Over there, meow! Hurry, hurry!!"
"I caught it, meow!! Kill it, meow, kill it! Bad bug, meow!!"
"So tired, meow. When will we finish catching them, meow? My tummy is hungry, meow..."
Amidst a chaotic chorus of meows, the Grimalkynes' stamina was limited, after all. The locusts, however... at least for now, seemed infinite.
Under high-intensity physical labor, the Grimalkynes got hungry very quickly.
Hmm? Even the Kulu-Ya-Ku brothers were busy working. Umm... Kulu-Ya-Ku... Bird...
"..."
Hmm? For the Kulu-Ya-Ku brothers, arresting locusts seemed to be right up their alley.
With unprecedented agility, a beak pecking up, down, left, right, north, south, east, and west without stopping, and seemingly withered bird claws accurately grabbing one or two locusts with every strike to crush them to death—it seemed to be getting a bit addicted to the game.
Biting them to death, pinching them to death, stomping them to death—though anything that entered its mouth was eventually spat out. The Kulu-Ya-Ku brothers only loved eating eggs in their lives. Even if they occasionally ate some meat strips now under Asterion's influence, the quantity wasn't large.
Completely unable to empathize with the Grimalkynes' troubles, the Kulu-Ya-Ku brothers seemed to have found a stage to express themselves, acting quite arrogant.
"Guga!!" (Look! Cub! I caught a lot!!)
"Roar." (I see it, I see it.)
Asterion was a bit speechless, and also found it a bit funny. No matter the time, the Kulu-Ya-Ku brothers were always so carefree and simply happy... Uh, applying these words to a wyvern seemed a bit odd.
It had become smarter, but it seemed it hadn't become that much smarter.
"Guguga!!" (Hahahahaha!)
The last time Asterion saw this confident look on the Kulu-Ya-Ku was seemingly when he was just born and had first met it. At that time, the Kulu-Ya-Ku had cracked open a stolen egg and presented it to him with this same triumphant posture.
It was nice.
His strength was currently sufficient to shelter the Kulu-Ya-Ku's safety. Since that was the case, he might as well let it continue being happy like this.
"Big—Big—Big—Big trouble, meow!!!"
Just as Asterion was letting his mind wander while watching the many Grimalkynes jumping up and down catching locusts, suddenly, a Grimalkyne rushed into the nest, stumbling and crawling. The shout was somewhat heart-wrenching and carried a hint of sobbing.
"It's all gone, meow!! The mushrooms are gone, meow! The garlic is gone, meow! The herbs are gone, meow! Everything we planted is gone, meow!!!"
"What, meow?!"
"Impossible, meow!!"
"Quick, let's go see, meow!!"
Completely unable to stay calm, the Grimalkynes instantly fell into a panic, running along the path the messenger Grimalkyne had come from.
By now, Asterion's underground kingdom had undergone several expansions. With Asterion's nest as the center, underground tunnels connected the mushroom-growing caves and the Glavenus tribe's old grounds. Aside from that, there were large and small caves used for living or storing supplies.
Disaster had struck them all—Asterion had already realized exactly what had happened. Sure enough, when these Grimalkynes returned to the nest, every single one of them looked as if their souls had been sucked out, hanging their heads, hunching their backs, dejected to the extreme.
"Roar." (Great losses?)
Looking at the Old Shaman who had returned with these dejected Grimalkynes, Asterion asked.
"Yes, meow." The Old Shaman sighed deeply. "These bugs have already run into the mushroom-growing caves, meow. The herbs planted near the old tribal grounds were eaten clean too, and even the dried ingredients we were airing out in the caves were mostly eaten, meow—we're finished, meow!!"
At first, he could barely maintain his composure, but the more the Old Shaman spoke, the more agitated he became. By the end, the cat was so agitated he was wildly waving his cane, beating a locust passing by him to death; smashing it into meat paste wasn't enough to vent his anger.
"How are we supposed to live now, meow!! We don't even have seasonings to cook for the Boss, meow!!"
"We're doomed, meow! Boss, don't abandon us, meow!!!"
He wasn't a character who stayed calm in a crisis to begin with; his usual steadiness was all an act to look like a qualified Shaman. So when an accident happened, the Old Shaman completely panicked.
As for Asterion... he didn't feel much originally, until he heard the Old Shaman say that the seasonings the Grimalkynes planted and collected had been ruined by the locusts—damn it! These pests!!!
Given Asterion's heavy palate, he consumed a massive amount of seasonings with every meal. The Grimalkyne tribe loyal to him had to send out many cats to gather or grow enough seasoning to meet Asterion's consumption.
But now, the seasonings stockpiled in the nest had been ruined by the swarm of locusts, and as for going out to gather—what was there to gather outside right now?! The sky-filling locusts had eaten the surface plants of the Wildspire Waste almost entirely clean!
Even if life energy could accelerate plant growth, it would still take time. In this window of emptiness, wouldn't he be unable to eat delicious food??
Furious!!
"Roar!!" (Quiet! I will not abandon you!)
A roar quieted the Old Shaman and the restless Grimalkynes a bit. Asterion looked around.
The locust plague was destined to pass; he didn't doubt that. Locusts had to eat to live, but they had already gnawed away all plants wherever they went. Eventually, these locusts would inevitably starve to death in large numbers due to a lack of food.
What annoyed Asterion were the evil consequences the plague would bring. Even if the locusts were destined to die, they would destroy the foundational ecology of the Wildspire Waste before their deaths. No plants meant the bottom-tier herbivorous monsters would die in large numbers due to lack of food.
The death of herbivorous monsters meant that monsters occupying the predator niche in the ecosystem would starve—or more likely, die in battles fighting other monsters for food.
The territories tacitly divided between monsters would become blurred in the future. Hunger would drive all life living in the Wildspire Waste to compete with one another, and only the most excellent batch would survive.
Undoubtedly, under normal circumstances, the Grimalkyne tribe would spend a torturous time with scarce food, monsters made more ferocious by hunger, and dying clansmen—if they hadn't met Asterion.
"Roar, roar!" (No need to worry about food issues. I will hunt for them.)
This was where Asterion's confidence lay. Even if the monsters of the Wildspire Waste were about to welcome a hunger-fueled battle royale, he had the confidence to be the final victor. The Grimalkynes could survive just eating the scraps that fell from his mouth.
The guarantee from the Glavenus Boss calmed the Old Shaman down a bit. Compared to food scarcity, what he feared more was that the Glavenus Boss would leave them because the Grimalkynes couldn't provide delicious food.
"We, we can eat these bugs, meow!" Had a sudden inspiration, the Old Shaman suddenly said: "These bugs are edible too, meow! I caught a few before, meow! They taste pretty good after roasting, meow!"
"Eh? Really edible, meow?" A Grimalkyne next to him opened his eyes wide and said, "They won't be as nasty as those beetles, right, meow? Bitter, meow?"
"No, no, very delicious, meow! Just have to remove the wings first, meow!" The Old Shaman said with full confidence.
"Roar!" (The bugs this time cannot be eaten.)
Before the Old Shaman could regret it for the rest of his life, Asterion spoke up to stop him.
Thanks again to Animal World, thanks again to various science documentaries. Although he couldn't remember the specifics clearly, Asterion still remembered that locusts beginning to move in swarms would secrete deadly toxins in their bodies, causing creatures that ate them to feel nauseous, vomit, or even lose their lives.
No need for excessive explanation; Asterion just threw out a sentence, "This type of bug is poisonous when moving in groups," and that was enough. The Grimalkynes only needed to obey.
He was a bit annoyed, but Asterion didn't have any good solutions either. If he were certain Elder Dragons capable of manipulating natural weather phenomena, he could fly out right now and unleash an ultimate move to clear the sky-blotting locusts. But he wasn't—and besides, even if he were an Elder Dragon, could he really clean up these locusts without scrubbing the surface of the earth?
The ones flying in the sky, visible to the naked eye, could indeed be cleared in one go, but what about the eggs laid by the locusts? A female locust breeds every three months, laying over forty eggs at a time. How many female locusts were in one plague?
These eggs and larvae lurked in the soil. Unless an Elder Dragon used the power of natural disasters to scrape the land, there was no way to clear them. And once an Elder Dragon started scraping the land, it would be no different from the locusts passing through—it might even be worse than letting the locusts pass.
Living is really hard.
Sighing on behalf of the life in the Wildspire Waste, Asterion finally decided to use a bit of the life energy he had just accumulated to add a cover over his ears and the exposed orifices on his body—he had originally wanted to save it, but gave up on that now.
He left the locust extermination in the nest to the Grimalkynes. Asterion prepared to go out for a stroll, and incidentally check how the Hunters would deal with this kind of disaster.
It might look like just adding a few scales, but once the evolution ability was activated, it consumed a large amount of life energy, which truly made Asterion's heart ache... All that eating recently was practically for nothing.
Walking all the way back to the surface world while stepping on popping locust corpses, it was clearly still broad daylight, yet at a glance, it looked like dusk. The whole world had turned dim; the shadows cast by the overwhelming locusts under the sunlight seemed to drape a layer of black gauze over the Wildspire Waste, making it exceptionally gloomy.
He didn't know where this plague came from or how long it had lasted; Asterion only knew that the land near his home was probably going to be plucked bald.
With every step he took, he could feel the stickiness between his toes and even smell the scent of locust juices. Asterion bent down, opened his mouth wide, and took a bite. The toxins contained in the swarm of locusts meant nothing to him, and they burst with juice when crushed by his teeth.
Hmm... actually not bad. Although the amount was small, these locusts did indeed contain minute traces of life energy.
Asterion's actions startled the locusts resting on the ground. They suddenly sprang up and took flight, like a thick, dark cloud shifting its shape as it flew into the sky.
And after they left, Asterion saw several bare branches—he remembered clearly that there should have been a patch of yellow-green low shrubs there. Now, only the withered main trunks remained; even the slightly thinner branches had been gnawed clean.
This was a natural disaster.
Not a storm, nor an earthquake or mudslide, but a natural disaster caused by living things.
They were clearly just some inconspicuous little bugs—a roadside Herbivore could stomp a dozen to death with one foot—yet the destruction they caused to the ecosystem had already exceeded what most Elder Dragons could cause.
Even though the Kulu-Ya-Ku brothers were catching locusts happily right now, before long, it would discover that its egg-stealing career had become incredibly difficult—there wouldn't be that many eggs left for it to steal.
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