Chapter 124: Chapter 119 Exterminate Insects_i

Translator: 549690339 |

Fourth’s only remaining antenna had already targeted the giant hornet.

It felt like a sniper rifle had zeroed in on it.

When the giant hornet was about seven or eight meters away from Fourth, its antenna began to tremble at a high frequency.

The hornet seemed completely unaware and continued to approach the hive.

As a result, the next second was tragic.

The insect’s body plummeted to the ground like a plane crashing, showing that Fourth’s effective long-range attack was around ten meters.

The other termites couldn’t compare to Fourth, as their attack range was likely much shorter.

For a Grade Three termite to deal with a Grade One giant hornet, it really seemed like bullying.

The two were simply not on the same level.

Just when Qin Niu thought the hornet was going to crash headfirst into the ground, at about two meters from the ground, it fluttered its wings and took to the air again.

It then flew directly towards Fourth.

The other termite’s antennae all pointed at the hornet, but they seemed to have received a command signal from Fourth and didn’t attack.

As the hornet flew toward Fourth, Qin Niu was somewhat worried it might attack Fourth.

To his surprise, it landed obediently in front of Fourth like a well-behaved grandchild.

Fourth, without any courtesy, climbed onto its back.

Then, the hornet took off again and flew straight toward Qin Niu.

Carrying Fourth, it fluttered in front of Qin Niu.

By the looks of it, it had been completely controlled by Fourth.

“Fourth is really too strong.”

Qin Niu extended his right hand, and the enormous Golden Ring Bumblebee, under Fourth’s guidance, steadied itself onto his palm.

Fourth swung its single horn with a hint of pride towards Qin Niu.

“Well done!”

Qin Niu was very pleased with Fourth’s performance.

Going out to hunt precious insects with the ant army in the future should become much easier.

However, his Insect Trace Identification skill was still weak, and for the time being, he couldn’t detect the traces left by those high-level insects.

The rarer and more advanced the insect, the more concealed its whereabouts.

A high level of tracking ability is required to locate their presence.

“Let’s capture this hornet now and eradicate its nest tomorrow!”

Qin Niu produced an Insect Jar and enclosed the hornet inside it.

Worried that Xiao Qing would come looking for him on the mountain if he returned late, he took the large army of termites and descended the mountain while it was still light.

The termite army had become incredibly formidable, and he was going to use them to help eliminate pests in the fields.

After arriving home and having dinner, Qin Niu said to Xiao Qing, “You can go to the backyard tonight to absorb the medicinal essence of those herbs for your cultivation, with no need to worry about them withering away!”

“All right! Thank you, Master.”

Having witnessed Qin Niu’s special abilities, she gladly accepted.

No one can refuse the temptation to grow stronger.

After making arrangements for Xiao Qing, he took the termites out the door.

The moon that night was large and round, casting a beautiful glow.

“Tomorrow is the fifteenth, I wonder how Miss Wang’s cultivation is progressing?”

Even though Qin Niu was now an Insect Master, he still had no way to intervene in other people’s family affairs.

Not just him; even the lord of Black Tiger City could not interfere in the family matters of others.

Parents’ orders and the matchmaker’s word could wholly decide who their daughters would marry.

He arrived at his cornfield, only to find that the locusts were even more numerous than in the morning.

Even at night, one could hear the constant rasping sounds of munching.

They were voraciously gnawing on the corncob leaves.

“Fourth, I leave the unified command to you. Eliminate all the pests in the field,” Qin Niu commanded as he released the termites.

There were over a hundred of them.

He couldn’t possibly take all the special termites with him; he had to leave some behind to defend the Ant Nest.

Even though the nest entrance was now very small, the Ant Queen had her own separate chamber, there was a dedicated nursery, and the nest’s defenses were very well done, but one can never be too careful when navigating the waters of uncertainty.

Qin Niu had to always be cautious.

Just as he released the termites, a frog appeared before him, and Qin Niu was startled.

Frogs would eat anything they could swallow.

Larger bullfrogs would even dare to eat mice and venomous snakes.

This frog was a smaller Spotted Frog, which was more common in the fields.

Before it could make a move, it suddenly flipped over onto its back, belly up, limbs outstretched and trembling.

Qin Niu knew it must have been the work of the Ghost Ants.

Over a hundred special termites together were like a small army, and their power was truly terrifying.

In silence, in less than a second, they had toppled the formidable Spotted Frog.

What a sin!

Seeing how powerful the termite troop was, Qin Niu was now reassured. He left the task of pest elimination to them,

while he himself started to collect insect eggs in the cornfield, accompanied by four Worker Ants.

It wasn’t for any other reason but to help the Ant Queen enhance her breeding skills.

He had another idea: since feeding insect eggs to the Ant Queen could quickly improve her breeding skills, it should have the same effect when fed to the bee queen.

He would know once he tried it out.

After all, he had long since solved the problem of food and shelter and now had plenty of time to devote to training and nurturing his pets every day.

His proficiency in catching insects was continuously increasing.

Additionally, as the termites killed the locusts one by one, his labor points also kept growing intensely.

For each insect they killed, as their master, he gained o.oi labor points.

With Fourth and the Grade Three Tiger Striped Iron Armor Ghost Ant leading a group of Grade Two worker ants and Grade Two soldier ants in concerted combat, the efficiency of pest eradication was frighteningly high.

Busy working until midnight, the pests in an acre of land were all eliminated.

Qin Niu counted the termites—117 in total, not one missing.

In the fields, the frogs had collectively run into bad luck that night.

As long as they entered the termites’ attack range, they were either controlled by the Puppet Ants or directly attacked by the spiritual waves of the Ghost Ants, ending up belly-up on the ground, motionless.

They weren’t dead, though.

After a while, they would recover and be back to normal.

If the termites’ spirit control and mental attacks were effective against frogs, this indicated they would be equally effective against other small animals as well.

Next time, Qin Niu would further explore the application of their special abilities.

The only pity was that there were too few of them.

If he had tens of thousands of special termites, he felt he could even take down a fierce beast.

Gathering the collected insect eggs onto his back, he called back the termites and went home.

Passing by other people’s crops, he could hear the rustling noise of locusts nibbling on the leaves. It was as dense as rainfall.

The number of locusts exceeded imagination, and it seemed that compared to the morning, many more had migrated over.

He unexpectedly discovered lights moving in one of the fields.

It seemed that someone else was also dealing with pests at night.

Qin Niu stopped to look closely, and under the bright moonlight, he could see the face of the person.

The other party also noticed him and looked back.

“Master Qin, it’s you!”

Xu Zhenchang was busy working in the field.

This piece of land was his, and though it was poor soil, under his management, the corn seedlings were growing quite well.

At least they were far better than those of anyone else.

But they couldn’t compare to Qin Niu’s acre of corn.

Qin Niu was proficient in all farming skills: planting, fertilizing, weeding, and tilling, all of which he could perform to a high standard. Plus, he had his own unique formula for mountain fertilizer, which was as effective as modern fertilizers.

Ordinary mid-level farmers really couldn’t compare with him.

“The village chief really is our village’s model of hard work! Working in the fields so late at night.”

Qin Niu responded.

“Haha, you flatter me! You are a distinguished Insect Master, labouring in the fields even at night. That’s truly remarkable! Are you also dealing with the pests?”

Xu Zhenchang beamed with joy at being praised as the model worker of the village by Qin Niu.

He might not feel much when praised by others, but being complimented by Qin Niu, a person of high status, was extremely gratifying to him.

“Right, I discovered that there were quite a few locusts in the fields during the day, so I came over to deal with them tonight.”

Qin Niu readily admitted.

“This batch of locusts is very strange; they don’t look like the local variety and have probably migrated from elsewhere. Their numbers are huge, and it appears this is just the first wave. I’m afraid more will keep arriving. I’m particularly worried about our crops this year.”

Xu Zhenchang approached with his lamp, a worried expression on his face.

“It is quite critical; the corn is at a crucial stage of maturity. Harvesting now would result in shriveled seeds and significantly reduce the yield. But if we don’t harvest and the pestilence worsens, they could easily consume it all.”

Qin Niu had assessed this batch of locusts.

He even had a few of them caged.

All were evolved special locusts, with terrifyingly strong gnawing abilities.

After finishing the leaves, the succulent, sweet corn would be their next target, even more delicious than the foliage.

“Master Qin, as an Insect Master, do you have any good strategies to deal with these locusts?”

“Not at the moment. And I only discovered these locusts today, so I’m not familiar with their habits yet. If I make any significant discoveries after researching them, I will inform you and the villagers in time to help everyone deal with these locusts.”

Qin Niu was indeed an Insect Master, but Insect Masters weren’t omnipotent.

Each Insect Master had their own area of expertise and wasn’t equipped to handle every type of insect.

With Qin Niu’s current colony of ants, as long as the locust plague wasn’t incredibly terrifying, protecting his own acre of corn wouldn’t be a problem.

Moreover, his corn was growing exceptionally well and should mature earlier than everyone else’s.

Those ears of corn were already full and swelling, rapidly maturing and changing.

The estimated advance in harvest time by about eight or nine days was likely not a problem.

“On behalf of all the villagers, I thank Master Qin in advance! Alas, this batch of locusts is very formidable. I’ve tried the most commonly used control method, wood ash, which had no effect. Generally, insects are attracted to light; I tried using oil lamps in the fields to lure them, but it was ineffective. I don’t know how to deal with them anymore.”

Xu Zhenchang looked distressed.

Capturing so many locusts by hand was simply unthinkable.

Moreover, they were highly vigilant. As soon as they sensed someone approaching, they would immediately hop away, flying off into the distance.

Not everyone had the refined insect-catching skills like Qin Niu.

“Don’t worry, village chief. There’s always a way to figure it out.”

Qin Niu consoled Xu Zhenchang briefly and then headed back home.

All the way, hearing the dense sound of locusts feasting on the crops made his skin crawl..