The Villain Changed the Ending

045 Grasshopper Beast

****[A certain peasant]****

Around the walls of the royal capital, fields are spread widely.

The man pulled the cart and went far through the field.

At the back of the cart, a few goats follow on a leash.

Behind the goat, another little kid jumped after the mother.

The man walked diligently, occasionally looking at the wheat fields around him.

Every time the wind blew, the fields swayed gently, as if they were rippled.

The seeds sown last fall had grown into a wheat field.

Some have even started to flower.

Seeing the bee buzzing around looking for a flower, the man smiled.

If they grow well, they can be harvested in early summer.

‘I think this year will be pretty good.’

Last year, there were many things that Isaac did not ripen properly.

But this time, for some reason, I feel fine.

‘At least it’ll be better than last year.’

The man walked for a long time to the distant field, making the castle walls look small.

The field furthest from the wall is his.

The real owner is, of course, separate, but the father and he succeeded in cultivating the field on the spot.

Only the owner on the paper was different, but this field belonged to him.

Somewhere away from the field, he saw several people like him leading cattle and grazing.

There is also a person in the place the man looked at yesterday.

‘I came out a little late because I had something to do… tsk tsk.’

The man clicked his tongue slightly.

‘It can’t be helped.’

He looked around the field, looking for a spot with the most grass.

After putting the cart on the spot, the goat’s rope, which was deliberately tied short, is lengthened.

As the goats started grazing, the man inspected the field and the traps he had set up around it.

It’s a simple noose tied with a line, but rabbits and weasels are often caught, and it becomes a pretty lucrative source of income.

It is forbidden to enter the forest to hunt, but in the case of animals that harm the fields, it is secretly allowed.

But today nothing was hanging.

The man’s shoulders drooped.

It is time for the second daughter to get married, and marriage talks are going on.

‘ha.’

The commoner’s dowry was not much, but it was still a burden for the poor.

If a few rabbits gather together, it seems that they can somehow rub it together, but it is a difficult task.

The man let out a long sigh and looked blankly at the sky.

If money doesn’t come together like this, you may have to sell a goat.

A sigh came out spontaneously.

Then suddenly the goat cried anxiously.

“Why is that, you bastard?”

As I said that, I was about to turn my head, but something strange caught my eye.

“Oh, what is that?”

Far away, near the ground, it was black.

It looked as if a black dust cloud was rising.

I squinted and looked at it, but someone else shouted.

“Uh! Uh! That! Perhaps.”

I got goosebumps for a moment.

Because the man also realized what that cloud was.

As if the castle wall had noticed, the bell suddenly started ringing.

dang… dang… dang…

The man hurriedly turned around.

The man who was about to run, hesitantly, ah, a goat, made a noise and clung to the cart as if tipping over.

I tried to untie the rope tied to the cart, but my hands were shaking and it didn’t work out.

But I can’t abandon this goat.

These guys, who give milk, make money when sold, and become food in the winter when there is nothing to eat, are the lifeline of the whole family.

Others were already running, screaming.

You just stop and do this.

“Damn it!”

The man muttered something like chewing and then started pushing the cart.

The goat cries and runs with the cart.

When I look back, the dust cloud that seemed so far away is moving forward.

It’s still a long way off, but I think I’ll catch up soon.

The man had no choice but to leave the cart and start running alone.

A goat tied to a cart cries loudly.

Is it struggling to follow the owner?

The cart rattled and made a noise.

As I ran, the sound of the goat gradually faded away.

how far have you come

Curious about the dust cloud, I looked back and saw a huge grasshopper behind the goat and the cart.

“aaa!”

The man turned his head again and started running.

A huge demon resembling a locust.

The group of monsters that my father had seen once when he was young appeared.

“Sah, save me! Somebody save me!”

The man ran frantically and shouted for his throat to burst.

****[Oscar, the main character] ****

In early spring, when the socialite season was in full swing, Princesses Goruka and Louise returned to the meadow.

The Marquis of Hoven, his maternal grandfather, was very sad, but the next chieftain, Goruka, could not be away from the tribe for too long.

Even if they weren’t specifically the next chieftain, each and every one of the warriors in the grasslands who used magical energy to shoot a bow was precious.

It was a time when wars between tribes frequently occurred, so Goruka’s heart must have been more urgent.

A few days after the two left, a report arrived from the civil servant who had been with Captain Max.

It is said that the distribution of the profits brought by the ship is almost complete.

On the back of the brief report, records such as the type, quantity, and quality of the cargo piled up on the ship were attached one after another.

“The ship side is going to be difficult from now on.”

As I muttered, one of the aides working in the office nodded.

“That’s right. You’re probably working right now with no time to eat or sleep. But this side has a lot of work at once too.”

Since all profits are received in kind, subsequent processing is difficult.

The merchants that bought our goods were all different, and because of that, there were several places to contact.

Looking at the list, there were items that had never been brought before.

You have to find a store that will repurchase unfamiliar items for you.

All of that couldn’t be dealt with on the spot, and the royal capital had to go out to confirm or contact the company.

Everyone is busy anyway.

I had just picked up the next letter when the bell started to ring.

Dang… dang… dang… dang…

Unlike the bells that tell the time, they keep ringing continuously.

“What’s going on?”

Before I could speak, several aides ran out.

It seems to be to find out the circumstances.

I also left the office and headed outside.

Soldiers come running from across the hallway.

The butler could be seen behind them.

He came running with a rare bewildered face.

“What’s going on?”

“It seems that the locust beast has appeared. All the soldiers of the royal capital will respond to it, but it will not be easy to catch it.”

“Prepare the bow. Call the magic troops.”

I headed out

However, the head butler and the escort captain stood in my way with pale blue faces.

It’s something you wouldn’t normally do.

“No, master.”

“Duke! You must evacuate.”

The head butler and escort captain shouted almost simultaneously.

The butler stepped closer to me and said nervously.

“Master!

Employees are running through the hallways.

The servants were desperately closing the windows and doors of the mansion.

Soldiers began to gather around me one by one.

It is as if a man-made wall is spreading in a circle.

The soldiers were nervous, but the butler and escort captain seemed scared.

It was probably not because of the locust witch, but because of the fear of losing myself.

I lightly pushed the butler and went forward.

“I am a nobleman and a duke of this country. If I hide like a coward in front of the Witchbeast, who will respect me and who will follow me? Don’t stop me.”

This time, the captain of the escort came closer.

“Duke, if the opponent is a human, no, even if it’s an ordinary witch beast, I won’t be so impatient. However, grasshopper witch beasts have wings.”

“I know.”

I saw the face of the escort captain.

“It’s okay. There are no absolutes in human affairs, but I will not die. It’s not like I haven’t hunted monsters for a while… You know it’s familiar. Even if I die, I won’t hide like this and wait for everyone else to die. It can’t be.”

“…”

The grasshopper witch is carnivorous.

From nob le mt l dot com

Just as a swarm of locusts move while devouring all crops, the group of locust beasts will leave this place only after consuming all humans and livestock.

No one knows why swarms of locusts occur.

Grasshopper demons are rare, but they exist in normal times.

But every few decades or even hundreds of years, they form a huge group.

I’m not sure where it’s coming from, but I’ve heard that if you notice it, it will suddenly appear in a huge group.

At least hundreds of them.

If the flying and jumping locust beast attacks from all sides, and even above the head, even a person with high martial arts cannot easily deal with it.

It’s okay if it’s just one or two, but if they keep attacking after you, you’re bound to get hit in the end.

And they don’t leave this place until their stomachs are full.

Since the butler and the escort leader know that fact, they are trying to separate me from them and hide me.

However, if the aristocratic head of the family hides and saves his life, it leads to social death.

Aristocrats enjoy many privileges, but they come at the cost of defending their country and territory.

Whether the enemy is a human or a monster, it doesn’t matter.

The captain’s face contorted for an instant.

But he killed his emotions and hung his head.

“I’m sorry. I was presumptuous.”

Meanwhile, an attendant came with a bow.

Seeing that the head butler’s face was blue, I tapped him on the shoulder.

“Head butler, take care of me here while I’m gone.”

“master!”

There is no time to talk any longer.

I went out of the mansion

Outside, the magic unit and ordinary soldiers were gathered.

It seems they haven’t all gathered yet.

there are not enough numbers

I divided the soldiers, leaving some in the mansion, and sending some of the magic soldiers to the Hoven and Petrie families.

The soldiers of the Magic Squad can all shoot bows and are very strong.

A small number will be enough power.

‘Everyone should be safe.’

Women will probably evacuate to a safe place.

The same goes for dukes, but most of the mansions of nobles have a place with an iron gate in case of enemy invasion.

Even if there were a lot of grasshopper monsters, it wouldn’t be able to penetrate iron or thick stone doors, so that’s okay.

The grasshopper demon is not very strong.

Compared to other demons, they were weak.

It is difficult for normal people to deal with, but it is possible to deal with it with a sword and bow.

The reason they are dangerous right now is not because they are strong, but because they have wings, attack from above, and there are many of them.

‘So it’s okay for the women who are hiding.’

Unlike women, the head of each family must fight for their lives.

Of course there will be people who die.

‘Will Grandpa be okay?’

No matter how famous and brave he was in arms, it is already a thing of the past.

I took a look in the direction of the Marquis of Hoven and mounted my horse.

By the time I led the soldiers and left the mansion, the entire royal capital was filled with bells.

A loud, dull chime is mixed with a small, sharp chime.

After leaving the duke’s house and running for a while, screams were heard from all directions.

People who are terrified run somewhere.

I could see the guards of the royal capital running ahead.

But he seemed flustered and didn’t know where to go.

A magician ran towards them.

“We are the soldiers of the Duke’s family. Which direction is the Witchbeast!”

“That… I don’t know.”

Several guards come running from the other direction.

It was only after the magician caught them again and questioned them that they finally learned that there was a locust beast at the southern gate.

“let’s go.”

As I speak, the soldiers follow.

As I approached the southern wall, I began to hear the harsh sound of flapping wings.

These guys are a little different from the real locust swarm.

Even with wings, it was more like jumping far than flying in the sky.

This is the story I heard from Goruka.

He says he heard it from his father when he was little.

In other words, these guys can’t fly over the castle wall.

You have to run up the wall, so if you can kill it outside, you will be able to minimize the damage inside the royal capital.

The gates were already closed.

It seems that the door was closed as soon as they found a swarm of locusts.

I opened my mouth to the soldiers gathered at the gate and the terrified gatekeeper.

“It’s Duke Weiss. Open the door. I’ll go out and deal with them.”

The guards and gatekeepers of the royal capital who had gathered near the gate opened their mouths as if they had been hit.

“What are you doing blankly! Can’t you hear the Duke!”

When the captain of the escort shouted, the gatekeeper and the guards moved belatedly.

The gatekeeper ran to the small gate beside the large gate.

The thick latch on the door is pushed aside with a noise.

The sound of the flapping of locust wings came through the air on the high walls.

My mind got confused.

‘There was no story like this in the novel…’

The characters are all characters in the novel, but the events that take place are not subtly intertwined.

Maybe this is different from the novels I know.