CHAPTER 109 (2): MIST, BLACK MOUNTAINS X INSECT PLAGUE, DARK MAGE

Southern Cambrook County, five o’clock in the evening.

There was still time before sunset, but thin mist was already rising from the rural path, coming from the forests on all sides with no discernible source. It was quite peculiar. Surely it didn’t just appear out of thin air, did it?

A group of over ten people walked along the path, led by two suited men: Bishop Keith from the Church of Heavenly Father and Deacon Darcy from the Church of Nature. Their relationship should’ve been strained given their different faiths, but these two were clearly exceptions.

As a deacon, Darcy’s only focus was on advancing his career, while Bishop Keith didn’t put on airs like the bishops of other dioceses. He was also an easygoing man with no perverted interests.

Of course, it was possible that due to the declining influence of the Church of Heavenly Father in Windsor, he couldn’t afford to be haughty even if he wanted to, and he didn’t dare to dabble in perverted pastimes.

Both of them were experienced mages. They followed the clues and exchanged opinions, quickly making discoveries.

“I remember the fog started in July,” said Bishop Keith. “Something major happened at that time—the Death Knight appeared in Londan.”

“Yes, ever since the Darkness Knight struck a heavy blow on the Church of Nature, the Archdeacon position had remained vacant for a long time, and the cult minions hiding in the dark got bold.” Darcy broke the earthen mound in front of him with a kick. Bugs scattered in all directions, crawling underground through the cracks.

These were striped arthropods that looked similar to centipedes. Their scientific name was millipede, also known as thousand-leggers. They were divided into numerous segments with a pair of legs on each.

Millipedes were carnivorous arthropods, though the smaller ones were primarily herbivorous. Because they damaged crops, they were generally considered pests. The most disconcerting part of them was their appearance.

Darcy frowned as he watched the millipedes disappear underground. “A few days ago, the university made a report where their entomologists detailed the reasons for the millipede outbreak. The reasoning was so convincing that I almost believed it.”

“I saw the report, too. It says that the problem stemmed from a new species of millipedes with extreme reproductive abilities. The city government thus formed an extermination team...”

They looked at each other and shook their heads. It would be good news if it were just because of a new species.

“Darcy, do you think the fog changed the bugs and gave them unprecedented reproductive abilities, or is this the work of heretics?” Bishop Keith asked.

Darcy didn’t respond. They were heretics to each other.

Realizing his mistake, Keith corrected himself, “Do followers of Death and Darkness tamper with bugs?”

“As far as I know, no one likes bugs. The possibility of fog-induced mutation is high...” Darcy didn’t want to jump to conclusions. He was just an ordinary Silver-rank mage. The question was beyond his capability.

“I do know a few evil gods in hell that are related to bugs,” he added, looking at Keith disapprovingly. If he had something to say, he should just say it. Both of them would be held accountable should they submit a report to the higher-ups late.

“It’s impossible. Evil gods are sealed in hell, and their power cannot influence the mortal world. Even if their faith spreads, the number of followers would be pitifully small. I lean toward two other possibilities.” Keith shared his theories: first, fog-induced mutation, which was quite common; second, a dark mage was conducting forbidden experiments.

Dark mages weren’t mages who followed the Goddess of Darkness, but wanted criminals in the magical world who pursued what they claimed to be the truth of magic, stopping at nothing to achieve their goals.

While they seemed similar to mages who believed in freedom of faith, dark mages were far greedier, and their methods far more vicious. To obtain great power, they often conducted cruel sacrifices, usually to the evil gods in hell.

Keith and Darcy continued to walk and talk, soon reaching a ranch where the owner was cleaning up the millipedes in the feed. Learning that the group consisted of investigators from the university’s entomology department, he quickly started complaining.

“These bugs are no longer satisfied with hay. They eat meat, too. Last night, they swarmed into the cattle pen. Thinking about the swarm still gives me chills...”

“I heard that in the neighboring village, their unburied dead got half eaten by the bugs. When the body was discovered the next day, the belly was full of them.”

The ranch owner described the situation in vivid detail, even showing them his achievement last night: dead millipedes formed a one-meter pile with viscous fluid and foul stench. The sight could cure anyone of gluttony. They couldn’t help but want to keep their distance.

Darcy’s heart clenched. He picked up a wooden stick and inserted it into the pile of dead millipedes. A wisp of barely perceptible white mist dispersed, instantly attracting Bishop Keith’s attention.

The fog was related to the millipedes. They could create fog!

The two men shared a look before leaving with their people, their pace quickening.

“The first fog changed the millipedes, and they became part of the fog itself, including their offspring. The city government’s extermination team can’t solve this problem. I have to report to Londan head office and ask them for reinforcements to eliminate this swarm.” Darcy was worried about the dangerous fog. The millipedes might have mutated further. Today, they were eating corpses; tomorrow, they could start eating people alive!

“I still think it’s related to dark mages.” Keith thought differently. “Or why are the millipedes the only ones mutating, and not the other creatures?”

They had different theories, but both planned to report to the higher-ups. There were too many millipedes, and they had too little manpower to handle the cleanup.

***

At twilight, the fog on the country road gradually thickened. With the last ray of light fading, rustling sounds grew louder. The group boarded a bus and returned to Cambrook City via the highway. There were sounds of tires crushing something, making all of their stomachs churn.

Suddenly, the bus stopped. The driver stared ahead in shock. Under the headlights, countless millipedes crawled and swarmed into thick lines that covered the entire highway like a fishing net.

Darcy’s heart went cold, scalp tingling. Beside him, Keith closed his eyes to focus his senses.

“No mana fluctuations. It doesn’t seem to be the handiwork of a dark mage. Drive through. There are just a few more millipedes.”

The driver nodded, making the cross sign on his chest before starting and accelerating the bus. The sound of millipedes bursting under the tires continued. There were so many of them that the passengers could clearly feel the bumps when the bus ran over them. The driver had to slow down to avoid slipping.

The millipedes seemed endless, emerging from the farmlands and forests on both sides, filling the highway in a black mass.

Keith’s expression grew increasingly grave. “Something’s wrong. Everyone, prepare for a battle. The millipedes are coming for us.”

As soon as he said that, countless millipedes piled up into a tall wall, blocking the bus’s path forward.

“Don’t stop. Accelerate and keep going.”

Keith jumped to the top of the bus through the window, holding a sacred tome and reciting scriptures. White light illuminated the night sky. Warm sacred power dispersed the filthy evil, the incredible ripples extending for miles. Wherever the ripples passed, the millipedes scattered and fled toward the shadows. The wall of millipedes collapsed on its own. Keith held his sacred tome up, illuminating the path forward.

Behind the bus, millipedes refusing to admit defeat rolled forward, quickly forming a large sphere rolling in irregular patterns. The rustling noises eroded Bishop Keith’s thoughts, making him slightly dizzy.

Darcy jumped onto the top of the bus and slapped Keith’s mouth with a hand, feeding him something green and spicy. The aggressive smell cleared his mind and burned the nerve endings, instantly waking him up.

“What is this?! I feel like my trachea’s on fire.” Keith got into a coughing fit, eyes welling with tears.

“Hell peppers I cultivated. How is it? You’re awake now, aren’t you?”

“Damn it, I’m a clergyman,” Keith said even more furiously. “How can you feed me peppers from hell?”

It’s not actually from hell. Just a figure of speech. Darcy didn’t waste his breath explaining. He simply said, “Watch the front. I’ll take care of the bugs behind us.”

As a disciple of Nature, Darcy had mastered quite a few faith-based spells. Unfortunately, his mediocre talent prevented him from reaching great heights, and he couldn’t handle the significant obstacles they faced now. Since it couldn’t hurt to conserve mana when possible, he chose to use entry-level elemental magic.

A wall of fire rose from the ground, measuring five meters wide and ten meters tall, blocking the swarm’s advance. Just as the swarm dispersed, preparing to move to the left and right sides, a violent wind descended, further stoking the fire and spreading it into rolling waves of heat. The millipedes crackled as they burned, the black smoke rising toward the sky.

Thanks to the blazing flames, the swarm came to an abrupt halt. Darcy let out a sigh of relief. The situation was still under control. If nothing unexpected happened, the swarm should be unable to catch up after this successful delay.

Rustle!!!

Just then, overlapping crawling sounds came from all directions. Darcy’s expression tightened. He could sense through his spores that countless millipedes had emerged from underground, their numbers too great to be calculated. It was as if all the millipedes in the world had gathered in this place, which he found disagreeable. He erected three walls of fire to block the left, right, and back, shouting for the driver to floor the accelerator.

Good news, they had something to write in their reports. There was a dark mage nearby.

Bad news, the dark mage didn’t plan to let them go.

The millipedes charged at the bus from all directions, no longer intimidated by the light and flames. The mages in the bus each responded with fire walls, gales, or holy light, assisting their respective leaders.

The bus roared down the highway at night with flames blazing around it. If there were only a few of them, the millipedes’ attempt to stop the bus would be akin to a mantis trying to stop a chariot, but the swarm seemed endless; their numbers were too great.

It started raining bugs from the sky. The swarms on the left, right, and back repeatedly broke through the blazing walls, violently slamming into the windows and coating the glass in a layer of sticky, foul fluid. The stench thickened and threatened to knock the mages unconscious, while the driver struggled to stay alert, using custom-made hell peppers to clear his mind.

Atop the bus, Darcy and Keith were beginning to falter. Darcy, especially, had exhausted too much of his mana and could no longer maintain the walls of fire to block the swarm’s attacks.

The defensive flames were overwhelmed by the swarm, and the fire coverage shrank continuously as countless millipedes rained down from above. At this critical moment, Bishop Keith unleashed his mana to conjure a giant hand of holy light, making a sweep to prevent a disaster.

Darcy had run out of mana, and Keith didn’t have much left, either. They stood on the bus looking at the roaring millipedes behind them, both smiling bitterly without a word.

The sea of millipedes rolled toward them, rising dramatically and covering the pale moon in the night sky for a moment before crashing toward the slowing bus. Darcy and Keith squeezed their eyes shut, both feeling regret. What a terrible way to go, dying as millipedes’ food.

Boom!

A violent hurricane swept across the area, shattering the bus windows and carrying away the stench. It was so incredibly strong that the bus went backward as the tires skidded. The sea of millipedes about to engulf them instantly disintegrated, falling to the ground like raindrops.

Darcy and Keith barely managed to steady their footing. They opened their eyes in surprise, exchanging glances.

Is that you?

Of course not.

A badass to the rescue!

In the dark, a figure rushed toward the bus and jumped, leaping over the two men standing on the top of the vehicle to land directly behind it.

Rumble!

The ground shook continuously as four walls of earth rose, blocking the millipedes swarming from all sides. Standing on one wall, Wayne looked down at the sphere of bugs rolling toward him, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes.

Restless fire elements gathered from all directions, easily tearing through the thin mist and drilling into the ground. After a moment of silence, streams of fire erupted from underground. The resulting sea of fire stirred and rumbled, the blazing red light gradually spreading through the air.

It looked as if the fire had ignited the night sky.