SBCEJM -Chapter 88 The Sky Is Falling! A Disaster Worse Than War Has Arrived!

“Marshal! This is bad! The northern sky is collapsing!”

Feng Zexuan rushed out of the tent. She looked up—and nearly scared herself to death.

Something was swallowing the sky.

A massive black cloud was pressing toward them.

“Holy crap! What the hell is that?!”

She hurriedly pulled out her telescope.

Locusts!

An endless swarm of gigantic locusts!

Each one was as big as a baby’s fist!

【Oh my god! It’s a locust plague!】

【Aren’t normal locusts only thumb-sized? Why do these things look mutated?!】

【Ding! Detected: ultra-large locust swarm. Estimated quantity: 6 billion. Individual size is three times larger than ordinary locusts, with ten times the appetite!】

【Estimated outcome: within one month, all crops across Great Xia could be devoured, causing a famine affecting tens of millions!】

Feng Zexuan’s scalp went numb.

【Six billion? And they’re all giant monsters? This is literally trying to starve humanity to death!】

Xiao Mingyu’s face turned pale.

“What kind of monster is that?”

“A locust plague.”

Feng Zexuan lowered the telescope, her tone grave.

“An unprecedented super locust plague.”

The moment she finished speaking, a deafening buzzing roar swept across the sky. Even the ground seemed to tremble.

The first wave of locusts began descending to feed.

Feng Zexuan watched with her own eyes as a lush green field became barren dirt in mere minutes.

“Good lord…”

Chen Jin stared in shock.

A small tree as thick as an arm was swarmed by hundreds of locusts. Crunch crunch crunch—

Three minutes later, only a stripped trunk remained.

The people of Tingxia Kingdom fell into chaos.

Some knelt on the ground and kowtowed desperately.

“It’s over! Heaven is punishing us! We surrendered to Great Xia and angered Eternal Heaven!”

Others grabbed weapons and charged at the swarm.

“To hell with gods! I’m fighting the locusts!”

Even more people crowded around Feng Zexuan, shouting over one another.

“Great Xia Marshal! Please save us!”

“You command three hundred thousand soldiers—you must have a solution!”

“Marshal, you’re our savior!”

Xiao Mingyu looked at the panicked citizens, anxiety twisting his face.

He had just become king, and now this natural disaster hit.

Why was his luck so terrible?!

Feng Zexuan continued observing and realized the swarm was moving southward.

【No! If these locusts enter Great Xia, the nation’s agriculture is finished!】

【A locust plague is far scarier than plague or war!】

【I finally conquered this land—I can’t let a bunch of bugs ruin it!】

She turned to Xiao Mingyu.

“Come. We need to discuss countermeasures.”

Inside the tent, Feng Zexuan got straight to the point.

“These locusts absolutely cannot leave the northern desert! We have to eliminate them here!”

Xiao Mingyu clenched his teeth, determination flashing in his eyes.

“Just tell me what to do. I’ll cooperate fully, no matter the cost.”

【The guy’s a bit dumb sometimes, but at critical moments he’s reliable.】

“I need every available person involved in extermination efforts.”

“Done!” Xiao Mingyu agreed without hesitation. “I’ll organize manpower immediately!”

Feng Zexuan instantly summoned all the generals.

“Listen up! This time our enemy is locusts, but tactics still matter!”

“First: borrow every chicken, duck, and goose from nearby farms. These are natural predators of locusts!”

“Second: establish a reward system. Trade locusts for grain and silver to motivate the people!”

“Third: all soldiers will participate fully in extermination efforts! This is a war to defend our homeland!”

“Fourth: gather every combustible material available. Prepare fire lines to repel the swarm!”

The moment the orders were issued, the entire camp sprang into action faster than if preparing for a siege.

The Great Xia soldiers each showed off their own methods.

Some shot locusts with bows, skewering several with one arrow.

Some used long spears like kebab sticks, threading locusts together in strings.

Others simply smashed them with shields—smack smack smack—the sounds never stopped.

Zhao Xiaobao carried Xiao Bai and ran toward the swarm with hopeful excitement.

“Xiao Bai, meow a few times! You could handle Xiongnu warriors, so these bugs should be easy too!”

“Meow~”

Xiao Bai let out a few soft kitten cries, blinking its blue eyes innocently.

The locusts showed absolutely no reaction.

They continued eating grass as usual. A few even flew toward Xiao Bai, seeming curious about the fluffy creature.

“It doesn’t work?!”

Zhao Xiaobao stomped angrily.

“You always fail at the critical moment! Weren’t you super powerful normally?!”

Xiao Bai scratched Zhao Xiaobao’s hand with its tiny paw, as if saying:

I only work on Xiongnu men~

【Ding! Emergency item unlocked: “Locust Nemesis Bundle”! Includes: ultrasonic insect repeller, bio-lure traps, and flamethrower! Only 8,888 melon points!】

“Exchange it!”

At this point Feng Zexuan no longer cared about wasting melon points.

A full set of equipment appeared instantly.

She tested the ultrasonic repeller and pressed the switch toward the swarm.

Bzzzz—

The locusts immediately scattered in panic, as if they had encountered a natural enemy.

【It works! But it only stops them from feeding. To wipe them out completely, we still need manual extermination.】

When the people of Tingxia Kingdom heard they could exchange locusts for food and silver, their enthusiasm exploded.

An older herder woman charged into the swarm wielding a broom while shouting:

“You damn bugs! You dare eat my grain?! See if I don’t beat you to death!”

A group of children carried bamboo baskets, enthusiastically collecting dead locusts.

“Mom! I caught a hundred! How much grain can I trade for?”

Even eighty-year-old grandpas came out leaning on canes to help.

“That big one over there! Catch it!”

The entire grassland transformed into a gigantic battlefield.

People shouted, horses neighed, insects buzzed, birds cried.

Watching the nationwide mobilization, Feng Zexuan felt deeply moved.

In the face of disaster, humanity could always unleash astonishing unity.

She herself didn’t stay idle either.

Drawing her sword, she charged into the locust swarm.

【This is more exhausting than actual war! At least Xiongnu soldiers don’t fly everywhere!】

【And these locusts are so disgusting—they’re triggering my trypophobia!】

The system thoughtfully activated the “cute filter” again.

All the horrifying locusts instantly transformed into chibi-style little monsters.

Green mini dinosaurs flapped tiny wings.

Pink piglets squealed while chewing grass.

Colorful little birds chirped noisily as they flew around.

【HAHA! Much easier on the eyes now! I’ve suddenly got motivation to slash them!】

Feng Zexuan drew her sword and charged into the “monster” horde.

One slash—and over a dozen “mini dinosaurs” vanished with sparkling coin effects.

【So satisfying! This is even more fun than gaming!】

Xiao Mingyu stared at her in total shock.

Why had the marshal suddenly become so excited?

Just moments ago she looked miserable, and now she was acting like she’d been injected with adrenaline.

Right as everyone was desperately exterminating locusts, Feng Zexuan unexpectedly discovered a fatal weakness of the giant swarm.

Passing by an area of burning wild grass, she noticed the locusts reacting like they had seen ghosts, desperately fleeing in the opposite direction.

【Huh? These bugs are afraid of smoke?】

【System, analyze what’s going on.】

【Ding! Detected: special smoke compounds! Smoke produced by burning this wild grass has a powerful repellent effect on locusts!】

Feng Zexuan’s eyes lit up immediately.

“Everyone, listen up! Gather as much of this wild grass as possible and burn it along the southern route! Establish a smoke defense line!”

The moment the order spread, everyone moved instantly.

Xiao Mingyu personally joined the grass collection efforts.

“People on the east side gather grass! West side handles the fires! South side maintains the fire lines! North side continues extermination efforts! Work together!”

His command was orderly and efficient, greatly improving the people’s impression of their new king.

Soon, walls of smoke rose across the grasslands.

The results were immediate.

The giant locust swarms panicked at the smoke and fled northward frantically.

Watching the swarm retreat in disarray, everyone erupted into thunderous cheers.

“We succeeded!”

“The locusts are retreating!”

“We won!”

As Xiao Mingyu watched the cheering citizens, he experienced for the first time the true weight of responsibility as a ruler.

【HAHA! Let’s see you bugs dare come back now!】

Just as Feng Zexuan was celebrating proudly, she suddenly noticed another enormous black cloud approaching from the distance…