It was time to take back the village.
I asked Kevin to scout ahead with the drones. Given how high their beast-kin traits were, I’d worried about seeing something gruesome—like the village women being hauled off—but there were no such scenes. It was a relief for my mental health.
The real question was what they were actually up to. The Magellan remnants—or rather, the Demon King’s Army—were digging a hole near the river adjacent to the village. I could see a Boring Machine. Were they extracting soil samples?
‐They even have an Underground Probe. What could they be doing?‐
Hmmmm. I had an incredibly bad feeling about this.
‐Kevin, can we investigate too?‐
‐I have an underground drone, so I can run a quick scan.‐
‐Do it now.‐
It would be one thing if they were just looking for a gold mine, but I had a hunch it was something far worse.
‐Um, I’m detecting compounds.‐
‐Specifically?‐
‐It’s a mix. The ground looks like it’s been contaminated with chemicals... Wait a second. These are Locust eggs...‐
Okay, that was definitely not a joke. Was this a chemical dumping ground? Could the high beast-kin traits of the locals be a result of these chemicals? Maybe they mutated due to some kind of endocrine disruptors. I might need a Doctor to give them a proper diagnosis later.
And then there were the Locusts. Usually, Locusts were a terrifying threat, but we weren't afraid of them anymore. We had a countermeasure.
‐Do we have the Locust-B-Gone?‐
‐Got it right here.‐
Locust-B-Gone. It was a chemical derived from a specific mold found in a Magellan Food Storage. It was basically just a mold that grew because they were bad at storing their rice and flour, but it was incredibly effective against Locusts. If Tatiana’s barrier was the defensive infrastructure for pest control, then Locust-B-Gone was the fast-acting insecticide.
We could use the Locust-B-Gone to secure the area and buy time, then use the barrier for long-term prevention. We had finally conquered the Locust threat. This Locust-B-Gone was currently being mass-produced back in Magellan. It was easy to culture using a medium of rice bran, and the extracted powder was lightweight and easy to transport. All you had to do was dilute it a thousand times with water and spray it via drone. It worked on the eggs, too.
The only real problem was that it worked a bit too well on other pests besides Locusts. When you’re spreading something into the wild like this, unlike in controlled agriculture, you don’t want to over-kill. It’s a classic story: you accidentally kill off some unknown underground microbe and suddenly trigger a massive disease outbreak. But that’s just a matter of hindsight. If Space Locusts swarmed, the environment would be destroyed regardless.
In Chronos and Magellan, a significant number of wild flora and fauna had already gone extinct. We had samples, so we could technically clone them, but that always felt a little off. Besides, we couldn’t account for the microorganisms. If some super-obscure mushroom went extinct, nobody would even notice.
‐Once we finish off the Magellan remnants, we start spraying.‐
‐Roger that.‐
Now, time to deal with those remnants. I planned to have the locals launch their assault after nightfall. First, I prepared the Locust-B-Gone. I drew water from the river and mixed it with a spreader agent—a surfactant to help it stick to leaves. This particular spreader was also effective underground; apparently, it clung to underground sugars... but I didn’t need to worry about the fine details.
I fed the powder into a machine that mixed it with the water and spreader agent. It was quite loud, but the Magellan remnants were making so much noise with their own geological survey that they didn’t even notice us. I loaded the finished solution into the drones and put them on standby. Usually, agricultural chemicals need to be used immediately or they spoil, but this spreader agent kept the mixture stable for half a day.
Once the Locust Annihilation Drones were ready, it was time to move in. A night raid under the cover of darkness.
I donned my night-vision goggles and slipped into the enemy camp—which was actually just the village they’d stolen. My targets were the Magellan remnants, likely the same group that had been acting as spies for the Ozen Alliance. Their weapons were old models. I’ll take the heat for criticisms that modern weaponry is changing far too fast, as we’re the ones responsible for most of it.
First, I targeted an isolated soldier. His movements were amateurish. He wasn't even working in a pair—what an idiot. Two-man cells are vital. Oh well, easier to capture. I choked him into unconsciousness, tied him up, and left him in the tall grass.
From there, I systematically picked off the patrolling guards. I choked out the soldier guarding the lights, then did the same to the guy who came to investigate why it had gone quiet. Eventually, the commander realized something was wrong, so I cut the power to the entire camp. In the pitch black, I began pummeling the combatants one by one.
By the time the high-aggression types tried to deploy with their weapons, it was already too late. I tossed a Grenade filled with Anesthetic gas into the Command Headquarters. A few of them tried to bolt in a panic, so I signaled Kevin.
‐Judgment!‐
He used a Self-destruct Drone to blow them up along with their vehicle. That was the signal for the locals to make their move.
‐Take back the village!‐
‐Awoooo!‐
I left the workers to them. Have at it, guys. Just don’t kill them all; I need to interrogate them later.
Finally, I headed for the one man I’d saved for last. He was inside a lavish-looking tent.
‐Magellan Magistrate Kichikusho-no-suke! In the name of heaven, I, Leo-mune, shall punish your wicked deeds!‐
I just made up the name on the fly. The middle-aged man was in a complete panic. He really didn't have a sense of humor.
‐W-Waaaaaaaah!‐
He pulled out a beam pistol. Yep, that’s high treason. He fired, but I lightly stepped aside. You’re not gonna hit me!
‐I-It’s not hitting him!‐
Well, yeah. I could see exactly where he was aiming by looking at the muzzle. There, and there. And there! I dodged every shot until I was standing right in front of him.
‐Hah!‐
I brought a Hand Knife down on the hand holding the gun. His wrist and the pistol both bent in a very unnatural direction, but I decided to ignore that.
‐My hand! My haaaaand! My fingers!‐
‐Shut it!‐
Leo-kun Punch! He went tumbling out of the tent. I was about to follow up with a kick, but the villagers arrived.
‐Judgment!‐
‐Awoooo!‐
And so, the villains who bullied the locals were vanquished. I sat in the tent with Kevin, waiting for rescue while the sound of the locals pummeling the idiots served as our background music.
‐You know, this whole incident really made me realize something,‐ Kevin said, sounding thoughtful.
‐What’s that?‐
‐Someone really needs to keep a leash on you, Leo.‐
What a rude thing to say. And here I was, being such a perfect hero of justice.
One of the locals approached me then. ‐King. We want to burn them at the stake.‐
‐Hey, I told you no killing! Look, just use them as dartboards for now!‐
‐W-Wait, you! You’re the King of Chronos, right?!‐ the remnant shouted. ‐Are you really okay with this kind of inhumane treatment?!‐
‐Don’t care, dummy!‐
‐I’ll talk! I’ll talk, I’ll tell you everything!‐
‐Good grief, I guess it can’t be helped, nya. Fine, punishment over. But if you lie, it’s back to the stake.‐
‐It was the Ozen Alliance! They told us to use the Locusts to take back the country!‐
‐Okay, stake time.‐
‐Hey, Leo, you can’t actually kill him.‐
It couldn't be helped, nya. And so, the matter was settled.
...Or so I thought.
Raven-kun gave me a very stern lecture afterward. So sad.
Galaxy of the Rakshasa Vol. 12 goes on sale December 25th!