A Mortal’s Immortal Gourd
Chapter 62: The Insect King

Ergouzi’s locust extermination team, after days of fierce battles, ate their fill every day. His team had already gathered over a thousand people.  

At this point, the entire locust swarm in Daqing Township had been mostly wiped out.  

However, several remaining locust swarms had all merged into one massive super swarm.  

Ergouzi observed from a distance and counted at least 100 mutated locusts over five inches long within the large swarm.  

These mutated locusts were no easy foes—they were fast, powerful, and had sharp serrated legs that could easily cut through flesh.  

A normal person encountering just one mutated locust would have almost no chance of defense; it was a death sentence.  

With only two geese, five martial artists, and over a thousand ordinary people, if they fought the swarm head-on, at least five or six hundred would die.  

These displaced people were scattered like grains of sand. They could handle easy battles, but if one or two hundred died in battle, the rest would flee.  

At that point, even the few martial artists under his command would be in mortal danger.  

Therefore, he had not dared to act rashly and had let everyone rest for a day, using this time to prepare for battle.  

But now, with over a thousand people, they had only about two dou of grain daily.  

That was about two to three jin of grain for every hundred people. They had previously survived by eating locusts, but if they didn’t fight, everyone would starve.  

Having just eaten well for a few days, today hunger had returned.  

It was historically difficult to go from luxury to austerity; everyone was gripped by panic over hunger.  

Despite barely eating for a day, these people were not listless; instead, their eyes were bloodshot and their fighting spirits high.  

Adding to this was the slight toxicity of the locust meat.  

Eating a little was fine, but eating too much made one stronger, more irritable, and aggressive.  

However, for these starving displaced people, this minor poison was no worse than a skin rash.  

Under everyone’s eager anticipation to fight, the next morning Ergouzi ordered the locusts saved from previous days to be fried, and two dou of grain to be cooked into thin porridge.  

After a full meal, everyone carried large bundles of firewood and set off.  

Ergouzi himself carried a tightly sealed wooden barrel; no one knew what was inside.  

“Captain Zhang, the locust swarm is right on the small hill ahead.”  

The constable, responsible for monitoring the locust swarm’s movements, pointed toward a small hill in front.  

Actually, even without his words, everyone could tell—the locusts were too many.  

Several nearby mountains had been completely stripped bare; not a single leaf remained.  

Above this hill, countless dense black dots formed a continuous patch, like a huge cloud rising and falling, making one’s scalp tingle.  

The displaced people who had loudly demanded to exterminate the locusts yesterday were now sweating on their foreheads, their fighting spirit halved.  

At this moment, they could only be grateful they followed the right leader; the captain had already made plans.  

Ergouzi had everyone lay down the firewood bundles on a nearby open patch, spreading them out on the ground.  

More than a thousand bundles of firewood covered just over two acres.  

“Scholar Zhao, bring all the green leaves you prepared.”  

Ergouzi ordered, and Scholar Zhao quickly led several displaced people carrying large bundles of green leaves.  

Now, with the great drought in the land, finding these green leaves was no easy task and required much effort.  

Everyone piled the green leaves on the ground, then Ergouzi opened the mysterious barrel in his hand.  

Curious, everyone craned their necks to look—it was just a barrel of clear water.  

Ergouzi poured all the water onto the green leaves.  

After a day of sun exposure, the leaves had wilted, but upon absorbing the water, they immediately regained vibrant life and looked even greener.  

Then he had everyone scatter the leaves over the dry firewood.  

With everything set, everyone quietly retreated around the firewood, silently waiting for the locusts to arrive.  

They didn’t wait long before some locusts found the green leaves and seemed to discover they were delicious, quickly spreading the news by tens and hundreds.  

A large black cloud rose on the hill, densely packed as it flew this way.  

The firewood piles, covering two to three acres, became thickly layered with locusts, which even began fighting each other over the leaves.  

Many displaced people pulled out flint and tinder, ready to set fire at any moment.  

“Captain, can we light the fire?”  

Scholar Zhao asked softly beside Ergouzi.  

“Mm!”  

Ergouzi nodded, about to order the fire to be lit.  

Just then, dozens of five- or six-inch-long insect kings flew in, surrounding a giant locust over one foot long.  

This locust was jade green all over, its swollen abdomen thicker than a fist.  

As the large locust appeared, the swarm that had been fighting over leaves instantly quieted and all lay still, not daring to move.  

The large locust landed on the firewood pile and greedily devoured the green leaves, and the other locusts didn’t dare eat a single bite.  

“Wait!”  

“Don’t light the fire yet!”  

Ergouzi hurriedly stopped Scholar Zhao because he had just used the Qi Observation Technique and sensed a powerful aura from that large insect king.  

This aura was somewhat similar to a human cultivator at the Qi Refining stage but even more wild and fierce.  

He wasn’t sure if he could take on this insect king, but among the locust extermination team, few could escape with their lives.  

The swarm’s strength had far exceeded his expectations.  

The county government had only given him two dou of grain; now that he had food, he didn’t want to risk his life for just that.  

However, his warning came a bit too late. In the distance, a displaced person had already thrown a lit torch onto the firewood pile.  

Once one person did it, soon there was a second, then a third...  

These people were no disciplined army but displaced folks gathered just to survive.  

Soon, the chaotic crowd of over a thousand ignored his orders and all lit torches, throwing them into the swarm.  

Since it had come to this, Ergouzi could only grit his teeth and lead everyone into battle.  

“Increase the fire!”  

“Hurry, throw more torches!”  

Ergouzi felt the fire spread too slowly; the flames hadn’t fully risen before locusts began flying away.  

This rare chance had to kill as many locusts as possible.  

Immediately, he activated his spiritual energy, and after a few breaths, a fireball the size of an egg appeared at his fingertips.  

This fireball radiated intense heat and ignited the firewood pile instantly upon contact.  

At the same time, two giant white geese flew into the air, flapping their wings to drive the locusts that had just flown from the fire back into the flames.  

With people wielding bamboo sticks to beat them on the ground and the two white geese blocking the sky, many locusts fell into the fire.  

“Squeak squeak squeak...”  

Just then, the giant insect king over a foot long burst from the flames.  

Behind it followed more than a hundred insect kings several inches long and a dense swarm like a black cloud.  

His two white geese took the brunt of the attack first. The locusts were too many, and the geese were alone; they couldn’t hold them off.  

“Puff puff puff...”  

One mutated locust after another collided with the geese, tearing feathers and splattering blood.  

If this continued, the two geese would die.  

“Return!”  

The geese obeyed and flew back to Ergouzi, their bodies covered in wounds but still holding their heads high, spreading their wings in a show of strength.  

The swarm, led by the insect king, surged out of the fire but did not leave, circling overhead like a dark cloud.  

However, the overall swarm was much smaller than before, at least half had been burned by the fire.  

The locust swarm seemed enraged, their wings rustling sharply, suddenly all diving toward the people below.  

“Ahhh...”  

Terrible screams immediately rose from the crowd. The serrated legs of the insect kings easily tore through skin.  

People kept falling, writhing and wailing, and after just a few cries, they lost their breath.  

“Everyone, gather around me!”  

“Anyone who dares flee will be killed without mercy!”  

Earlier, people were too scattered to set the fire properly. A few faced the swarm with no defense.