My Farming Domain Is Broken

"Do you know anything about locusts?"

"They eat the farm," Rowan answered.

"I understood that part."

"They will land together, strip every leaf they can reach and move to the next field. Killing them one at a time will be useless, my lord."

Carlos looked at the wheat.

The Common Farmland held two hundred young plants. The Rare plot was almost ready for another harvest, and the Tidal Silverwood grew in the Spirit Farmland.

Every valuable part of his territory was food to the swarm.

"How do we stop them?"

Rowan thought for several seconds.

"Smoke can drive insects away. Water can make their wings heavy."

Carlos then turned toward the kitchen. The only place that could generate smoke was the kitchen.

Mira had also heard everything and already limped toward the door.

"I can make smoke," she said. "The kitchen has four fires and a wide chimney."

"Your ankle."

"I do not need to run to burn something, my lord."

She smiled as if producing enough smoke to cover the territory was an ordinary cooking task.

Carlos checked the timer.

[Time Until Wave 2: 08:41]

"What do you need?"

"Dry wood to keep the fires alive and wet leaves to make the smoke thick."

Carlos opened his inventory.

He still had Greenleaf, Dry Branches and hundreds of wood from the conquest and trades.

"Take whatever you need."

Mira accepted forty wood, all nine Dry Branches and eight Greenleaf.

She looked at the Greenleaf.

"This is edible."

"The wheat is more important."

"I agree but still hurts. I could have used this in a dish..."

Mira returned to the kitchen and Carlos pointed toward Blue.

"Can you spread water over the fields without flooding them?"

"Bloo."

Blue lifted both hands.

A stream rose from the Mana Spring and separated into several thin lines. They moved above the wheat and fell like light rain.

"More area needs to be covered but less water, try again" Rowan instructed.

Blue tried again.

The lines became smaller and spread farther apart.

Rowan walked through the fields, showing the Sprite where the soil was already wet enough.

Carlos looked toward One.

"You stay near the Rare plot. Shoot any group that gets through."

One bounced.

Brann stood beside the dead boars with his hammer.

"What do I hit?" he asked.

"Anything that lands."

The Bearkin grunted.

That plan was simple enough for him. Carlos and Rowan built three smaller smoke piles around the fields. They placed dry wood underneath and wet leaves over the top.

Mira came out of the kitchen carrying a burning branch.

She used it to light every pile.

White smoke began rising around the crops.

The kitchen chimney released far more.

Mira had closed most of the vents and filled all four fires with damp plant material. Thick smoke poured from the chimney and moved across the territory.

Carlos coughed.

"Can you send it toward the fields?"

"I cannot control the wind," Mira replied cheerfully. "But Blue might control the water inside the smoke."

"There is water inside the smoke?" he asked making Mira look at him for a moment and then smile. A person couldn’t be good with everything.

Carlos looked at the Sprite.

"Can you?"

Blue stared at the smoke and reached toward the nearest cloud.

The smoke moved a little and then it broke apart.

"Try again," Carlos said.

Blue pulled moisture from the Mana Spring and mixed it with the smoke. A thick white mist formed above its hands.

[Blue has combined Water Control with an environmental effect]

[Skill action discovered: Smoke Mist]

Blue pushed, and the mist rolled over the Common Farmland.

"Bloo!"

"Good. Now go and cover the rest."

[Wave 2 will begin in 1 minute]

Carlos ate one of Mira’s emergency meals and recovered part of his stamina.

His spear would not be useful against the swarm, so he equipped an Iron Axe instead. The wide blade could strike more than one insect if they reached the ground.

Rowan retreated toward the Lord’s hut along the path he had marked between the fields.

Mira remained inside the kitchen and continued feeding the fires.

Brann stood in the middle of the Rare plot.

One waited beside the Spirit Farmland while Blue floated above the Mana Spring with both hands raised.

[Wave 2 has commenced]

The black cloud entered the territory but the sound was what came first.

Thousands of wings struck the air together, producing a constant hum that made Carlos’s skin crawl.

Then the Ironbeak Locusts appeared through the smoke.

Each insect was longer than his hand. Dark metal covered the front of its head, forming a pointed beak capable of cutting through stems.

The first group entered Blue’s Smoke Mist. Within moments, their wings became wet and Carlos could notice that the locusts flew lower.

Several dropped directly into the wheat.

"Now!"

Blue pulled more water from the spring.

Rain spread across the field.

The locusts tried to escape, but the smoke confused their direction while water gathered on their wings.

Dozens fell.

Carlos ran between the rows and swung the axe.

Iron shells cracked beneath the wide blade.

[Ironbeak Locust eliminated]

[Ironbeak Locust eliminated]

[Ironbeak Locust eliminated]

Notifications appeared faster than he could read.

Brann used his hammer like a flat tool, crushing entire groups against the soil.

One fired into clusters before they landed. Its Level 2 Water Shot burst apart in the middle of the swarm and knocked insects from the air.

But three hundred were too many to stop in one place.

A large part of the swarm moved around the smoke and attacked the Rare wheat plot.

The crops disappeared beneath black bodies.

"Blue, right side!"

The Sprite turned and the Smoke Mist moved too slowly.

Carlos ran toward the plot but saw their Ironbeaks were already cutting through leaves.

--

Crop Damage: 2%

Crop Damage: 3%

Crop Damage: 5%

--

Mira opened the kitchen door and a wave of hot smoke escaped.

She used a large wooden board to push it toward the field.

"Blue! Take this!"

The Sprite grabbed the moisture in the smoke and pulled.

The cloud changed direction and soon covered the Rare plot.

Locusts rose from the wheat only to lose control of their wet wings.

Carlos reached them, his axe rose and fell again and again. One joined him from the other side too.

Brann moved through the field, crushing insects carefully enough that his hammer did not hit the crops.

For five minutes, none of them stopped.

The smoke burned Carlos’s eyes. Water and dirt covered his clothes. Dead locusts formed a black layer between the rows.

The remaining swarm became smaller.

[Ironbeak Locusts remaining: 71/300]

Blue’s body began losing its shape.

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