by Michael Sisa
Jackpot.
A subtle grin started forming on Lark’s lips. The insects numbered hundreds of thousands, if not millions. The amount of shells they’ll be able to collect would be enough to build thousands of wooden houses.
The Black Famine feared all throughout the Kingdom and the Empire was actually a blessing in disguise for Lark.
“Young Master?”
Lark turned around when someone called his name.
It was a middle-aged man wearing a worn out tunic. He bowed his head the moment he made eye contact with Lark.
He went straight to the point. “Sir, the thing which killed the Black Famine. The substance the farmers burned to kill those insects… Could you tell me its name and how to make them?”
Those around them were momentarily taken aback when the man suddenly asked the Young Master how to make the product. It was easy to realize how valuable that information was, since it could potentially save the entire Kingdom. Any sane man would ask compensation in exchange for that piece of vital information. Yet, this man was asking for it straightforwardly.
They expected the Young Master to refuse, but contrary to their expectations, Lark answered after a pause. “Kelnup. That’s the name of the substance. It’s easy to make them, actually. Freshly picked larendew grass, monochrome stone grinded into dust, fresh manure of any farm animal, and magworth roots. All in equal proportions. Mix them thoroughly. Afterwards, add castrel oil. Same amount.”
The man’s eyes widened for a moment after hearing the ingredients from Lark. He probably did not expect the Young Master to divulge such information easily.
Lark chuckled upon seeing this. “What? Do you think I’m lying?”
The man shook his head. “No... That’s not it. It’s just that…”
I didn’t expect that you’ll tell me how to make that thing this easily.
The man did not voice his thoughts out loud. He simply stared at Lark for a moment, then bowed his head. “Thank you.”
Lark smiled. “You’ll need a lot of it to kill an entire swarm though.” He looked at the open gate of the town. Some of the farmers tasked to burn the kelnups were coming back, probably to report what they found.
Lark stared at the man wearing worn out tunic. Although the man was suppressing his mana from leaking out, Lark could sense it. He was sure that this person was not ordinary. He knew that this man would probably leak the method of creating kelnups to another party.
But such a trivial thing did not matter.
On the contrary, he would like it if such a thing were to happen. The method of killing these pests should be spread all throughout the entire Kingdom. It was time to end the so-called Black Famine.
The farmers’ blood and sweat. The time they sacrificed to cultivate the lands. I cannot let mere insects destroy that.
“I’m going to take a look around,” said Lark. “It’ll be great to see those damnable insects sprawled all over the ground.”
***
After Lark left, Mikael immediately went towards the direction of the Mines. He went towards the forest, at a place devoid of people. He took out the gemstone entrusted to him by his Majesty.
After channeling mana into it, he started writing down the method of dealing with the Black Famine to the King.
Your Majesty, I have found the method to kill the Black Famine.
Anyone would be stunned speechless upon seeing his opening line.
Mikael enumerated the ingredients stated by Lark. Each of them were fairly common goods. With the power of the sovereign, it would be easy to gather them en masse.
Even now, Mikael could not believe that such an easy method to kill the black insects existed.
But he saw it with his own eyes. He saw how the swarm dropped dead like flies.
“Lark Marcus,” he mumbled the Young Lord’s name.
Mikael’s eyes glimmered for a moment.
He was sure now.
That young man’s horrible reputation was nothing but a façade.
My daughter, Elaine. You told me that I was assigned to the worst candidate. You told me that it’ll be nothing but a waste to go to this place.
Mikael clenched his fists.
But it seems that you’re wrong. We’re both wrong. Lark Marcus is a genius.
Chapter Thirty
Reports continued pouring from different cities all throughout the Kingdom. King Alvis’ stomach churned as he read them one by one. These past few days, he felt that he had grown a decade older.
Currently, the throne room was filled with his ministers. Despite staying up all night, they still failed to formulate a solution to the Black Famine.
“Something…” mumbled the King. “Anything! If the Black Famine continued destroying the crops…”
Black circles surrounded the eyes of the government officials. These old men had been the backbone of the Kingdom for several decades now. They all knew the current state of the Kingdom. The food deficit. The impending invasion from Mullgray Islands and the Empire.
A messenger entered the throne room. “Your Majesty, the report from Golden Wheat City has arrived.”
King Alvis and the ministers turned grim. Golden Wheat City was the Kingdom’s major producer of wheat. They sincerely prayed to the Gods that the city was untouched by the swarm.
“Report,” said King Alvis.
The messenger unfolded the scrolled parchment. He swallowed hard, then with a dignified voice, said, “As of the moment, the fields of Golden Wheat City haven’t been touched by the Black Famine yet.”
Everyone in the throne room heaved sighs of relief.
The messenger added, “But there have been sightings of the desert locusts in the nearby village. Lord Chase estimated that in the next few days, his city will be the swarm’s next target. He’s requesting for assistance, Your Majesty.”
The room broke into uproar. Murmurs and buzzes filled the air. They momentarily forgot they were in the presence of his Majesty.
“This is why I told you to mobilize the Royal Magicians! Just blow up those damnable insects! Burn them! But this damn Baron! Yes, I’m talking about you, Baron Rysler! Weren’t you the one who kept hindering my plans?!” one of the ministers spat.
The man called Baron Rysler turned livid. “Have you gone senile, old man?! If you mobilize the Royal Magicians to clear those damn bastards, the Empire will surely use this opening to take away our lands! Can you take responsibility once that time comes, huh?!”
A woman chided. “That’s right! And besides, it’s impossible to take care of the swarms using fire magic! You’ll need at least Grand Scale Magic to wipe off half their amount!”
An old man joined the fray. “This is why I kept telling everyone to allocate more budget to the Ministry of Research! But everyone kept insisting that we should use them for the military instead!”
The debate continued. King Alvis merely sat there, silently listening to the arguments of the old men around him. His head throbbed. His stomach churned and he resisted the urge to vomit on the ground. The stress these past few days had piled up.
Unable to endure the ruckus any longer, he snarled, “Silence!”
His angry roar reverberated through the entire throne room. Immediately, silence befell everyone. The ministers realized how disgraceful they acted.
“Apologies, Your Majesty.” The ministers bowed their heads.
King Alvis sighed. Even if they bickered with each other, no solution would come out. “We can’t let Golden Wheat City become prey to the swarm.” He paused and stared at everyone. “We’re mobilizing the Royal Magicians.”
This was a dangerous move, since they would be risking an invasion from the Empire. But King Alvis knew that if Golden Wheat City fell from the swarm, the damage would be greater.
It was a gamble. An all-or-none situation.
Upon seeing the resolve within the King’s eyes, the Ministers stopped their complaints from coming out of their mouths.
“Baron Rysler.
” King Alvis glared. “If I hear that you attempted to stop the magicians from moving again, I’ll personally see to it that your head falls in the plaza.”
The Baron could feel the murderous intent behind those words. He swallowed dry spit. “I wouldn’t dare, Your Majesty.”
Baron Rysler was a former professor in the Magic Academy. Three of the fifteen current Royal Magicians were his students in Magic Theory. Thus, he had enough say in the mobilization of the magician’s army.
King Alvis’s leg had been frozen stiff from sitting on the throne since last night. He stood up, groaned, and said, “I need to sleep. Everyone is dismissed.”
The ministers bowed. “Yes, Your Majesty!”
The King went out of the throne room and went back to his room. Upon reaching his bed, he slumped his body immediately.
He was dead tired. He momentarily had the urge to just sleep the problems away, to never wake up.
But he remembered his subjects. His loyal retainers. His citizens. The Kingdom passed down to him by his father. He could not abandon them. Until his last breath, he wanted to protect everything.
When he was about to fall asleep, a soft tang! sound was heard in the room. King Alvis was very much familiar with that sound. He went down his bed then approached the gemstone embedded on a stone pillar. As expected, a new message had arrived.
“From Mikael?” King Alvis remembered the veteran who never left his side during the Bloody Thorn Plains Incident fifteen years ago. The veteran who protected his life several times during that war.
He started reading the message. Soon, his eyes grew wide and his entire body quivered.
“W-What’s this?” he breathed. He read the entire message once again.
A method to kill the Black Famine?
He could not believe that the method would be revealed to him like this. Moreover, the ingredients listed were common goods. With a simple command, he could gather these things en masse.
Mikael had been his trusted aid since he was just the Crown Prince. He would never lie to him.
Fatigue immediately washed off King Alvis’ body. He immediately issued out his commands. According to Mikael, the Lord of Blackstone Town used this method to annihilate the swarm.
If this really worked, then there was still hope for Golden Wheat City. And the same went for the other cities in the Kingdom.
***
Golden Wheat City was the second richest city in the entire Kingdom, next only to the Capital. Blessed with rich fields, it supplied almost half of all the wheats and poultries in the Kingdom.
Lord Chase, a man in his middle forties, stood on top of the wall encircling the city.
Unlike the other Lords, he was born a commoner. From a lowly serf, he climbed up the ranks and eventually reached the position of a clerk in the Lord’s Castle. The previous Lord took great liking to him, even going as far as letting him marry his daughter, Allessia.
After the previous Lord’s death, Chase inherited the title and started governing the City. Of course, this was met with ridicules, criticisms, and rebellions from the other nobles. But with the backing of the commoners, all discontents were quelled.
Twenty years had passed since then. The various reforms Chased initiated made Golden Wheat City what it was today. The forests he transformed into farmlands with the intent of giving jobs to the locals became the largest producer of wheat in the entire Kingdom.
“Lord, the swarm has destroyed the crops in Thanan Village,” reported one of his vassals.
Chase flinched. It was the closest village here. By foot, it would take only a day or two to reach it.
“Lord, if this continues…”
“I know,” said Chase. He bit his lips. He felt helpless, powerless.
Almost a year ago, the Black Famine struck the Kingdom. Fortunately, Golden Wheat City was untouched by the swarms.
It was truly a miracle back then. And because of that, they were able to mitigate the damage to the Kingdom. Golden Wheat City reduced the prices to the bare minimum, selling it to the affected cities within the Kingdom. Of course, people with intent of taking advantage of the catastrophe appeared, but they were immediately culled by the Royal Family.
Chase closed his eyes. His entire body bathed in the morning sun.
The last time he felt this powerless was when the previous Lord died from an unknown sickness.
Once the swarm came, he would be unable to do anything but watch as the crops wither. It was frustrating.
“Lord, there’s a message from the Royal Capital.”
Chase opened his eyes. He received the letter from his vassal.
“This is…” He momentarily stopped breathing. After regaining his composure, he roared, “Gather all the officials here! Now!”
Those around him jumped in surprise. They had never seen the Lord this agitated before. They looked at each other, and after a nod, enthusiastically replied, “Yes, My Lord!”
Soon, the officials of the city gathered before Chase. More than half of these men were of common birth. After all, Chase did not discriminate between nobles and commoners. As long as one had the ability, he would be able to climb the ladders of hierarchy in Golden Wheat City.
He went straight to the point, “I want everyone to gather these things for me.” He started enumerating the ingredients mentioned in the letter personally sent by the King. “Make haste! Time is of great essence!”
Although confused, the officials heeded his instructions.
“Salom,” said Chase.
“Lord?” One of his vassals replied.
“Prepare the carts. A hundred of them,” said Chase. “Make sure they’re ready five hours from now.”
“A hundred,” repeated the vassal. “But Lord, it’s impossible to gather that amount. Unless we—”
“—Issue a decree to the Merchants Guild.” Chase’s voice was firm. “Force them to let us borrow the carts and horses if necessary.”
The Merchants Guild was no pushover. The vassal thought that he would probably have to risk his life to finish this task. Still, he did not question his Lord’s will. “As you wish.”
Everyone started moving. Several hours passed, and soon, all preparations were completed. Thousands of gold coins were consumed with this single task.
“Do it like we’ve discussed,” said Lord Chase. Exactly a hundred carts were lined up before him. Each of them were filled with barrels. “To your designated positions! Move out!”
Horses neighed, and the carts moved to different directions. Their goal was to create a tight net covering all the farmlands. According to the King, the smoke produced after burning this so-called kelnup was lethal to the swarm.
Dusk came. Their fears became reality. The swarm arrived.
The insects flew over the city, casting a large shadow over everyone. For some reason, the wind seemed more freezing than usual. Majority of the citizens of Golden Wheat City were aware of the swarms currently infesting the entire Kingdom. They knew that if those insects started devouring the crops, everything would wither and die.
Lord Chase furrowed his brows.
This has to work. I cannot let these bastards destroy the crops!
With great determination, he shouted, “Fire the signal!”
Three magicians started chanting their magic. Soon, three balls of fire shot towards the sky and exploded. The various groups stationed all throughout the farmlands saw this. Immediately, they ignited the kelnups. It burned easily, creating thick white smoke which swirled up into the sky.
As everyone held their breaths, a miracle unfolded before their eyes.
A few minutes after the thick white smoke covered the sky, the black insects started falling down one after another, creating a torrential black rain.
Everyone’s jaws were slacked upon seeing this. They could not believe that the Black Famine – feared even by the Empire – was being culled like this.
No one knew who shouted first, but soon, the entire city burst into cheers
. The news of the swarm’s death spread like wildfire.
Lord Chase clenched his fists. He had to thank his Majesty for this.
“Salom.”
“My Lord?”
“Send a report to the Royal Capital,” said Lord Chase. “Tell them that we have successfully killed the Black Famine.”
END OF VOLUME 2
Author’s Notes
Hello! Thank you for purchasing the second volume of Legend of the Arch Magus. Again, I’ll be needing your help with reviews since the algorithm of Amazon requires at least 50 reviews before they promote someone’s work. Also, you can read the drafts at Patreon.com/crazyblackchili. I try to update the story there every now and then. Judging by the current pace, I’m capable of producing only 2 volumes per year, unfortunately. Again, thank you for the support!