A discussion was taking place between three people in a special earthbound boat at the entrance to the earth arch under the Spectre Lighthouse in Crystal City.
Uluru was shivering a little.
The other two who spoke had unusual identities and origins.
One was the White God’s chosen seer, a former martial practitioner and spectral healer, Lady Medicine Put. She was now also based in the Ghost Lighthouse, and had been working to push the Imperial Ghosts to come out of the tower and rebuild the old capital of the Empire.
The other is Locust Jue, the wise man of the bully locust clan, who was handpicked as a prophet by the Yao God and led his clan to fight their way out of their instinctive bondage and find a path to integrate into the Yao civilisation.
The locust swarms left behind gradually evolved into the present-day killing flying locusts, most of which are muddled and only know how to plunder food, often killing each other for food.
In front of the two prophets, Uluru was really a bit nervous.
“…… Mr Uluru, tell us your opinion?”Locust Jue looked at him.
The Uzi’s body stiffened as he flipped out a book and wrote on it with a feather quill: You mean, about the locust swarm?
“Yes.”
Locust Jue, who was much smaller than a human, flopped down on the seat, the two thread-like tentacles on top of his head swaying gently as his compound eyes looked earnestly at the Uzi man in front of him.
Ululu’s mind wandered.
Crystal City, after a series of reconstruction and reorganisation, had now completely expelled the locust swarms to the outside of the city, and having the Flame Totem and the Green Rose guarding it had also made the swarms cut off their way to sneak in from underground.
However, the swarms still lurked in large numbers near the outskirts of the city, and at any time they could burrow out of the earth and launch attacks on the citizens of Crystal City along the way.
This was by far the most serious law and order problem, not only affecting the residents of Crystal City, but also threatening merchants and labourers who came here from other cities to conduct trade.
The martial cultivators cleared tens of thousands of locust swarms, but due to the killing flying locusts’ extreme reproductive power and their lack of avoidance of cannibalism of their own kind, the dead simply became rations for the living.
The purging operation outside Crystal City lasted for several months, and the results were really average.
Locust Jue’s thought was that since the gods had not destroyed this race, it meant that they had some sort of value. To deal with the plague, it was better to block it than to spread it.
It proposed that the bully locusts be used to communicate with the local killing locusts – the two were themselves a source, and there was no barrier to communication between them.
After years of killing the local killing locusts, there were also various groups. The style of the groups in different regions is also very different, some locust groups are steady and conservative, some are radical and crazy, some are roaming and hunting, and some are keen on stealing.
Locust Jue thought that he should find the groups among them that could be recruited and have them used for Crystal City.
In this way, the movements and intelligence of the Killing Flying Locusts would be very clear, and for every additional group of collaborators, there would be fewer potential enemies and threats.
It had made attempts and found that a portion of the Killing Flying Locusts had the will to do so. The harsh and barren wilderness life, as well as the precarious life-and-death hunts, were not what all locust swarms wanted.
Locust Awareness was also very frank about its intentions.
It was both for the sake of Crystal City, and also wanted the Killing Flying Locust clan to be like the bully locusts of the past, gradually getting rid of the primitive life of drinking hair and blood, and entering the circle of civilisation.
Of course, changing the way of existence of a clan was not an easy task and needed to be done in a gradual manner.
……
Uluru wrote a sentence on a piece of paper with a pen, then picked up the paper and showed it to the two prophets.
–I think it’s a good idea to try it out with the Flower Boat.
“Is this one of the newer earthbound boats? I came in a hurry and haven’t had a good look at it yet.”
Locust Jue flew out from the side exit and observed from mid-air.
From the air, this shuttle-shaped earthbound boat was medium-sized, like a paddle sailing boat without sails, stranded in the mud and sand.
Unlike other fully enclosed groundwalking boats was that three tall green roses were planted on top of this shuttle-shaped boat, and they watched over each other at an equidistant distance.
Thorny branches and green petals grew from the maroon coloured groundwalking boat, giving it a strange and magnificent beauty.
Locust Jue immediately understood the ingenuity of this earthbound boat.
It flew back into the boat and said with some awe, “Using a green rose to act as a defensive weapon, whenever a locust swarm attacks, it will be attacked by the spikes shot out from the rose……. Terrific ingenious idea!”
“Uluru is a true genius.”Yakutou smiled, “It’s certified by Fabiani.”
Uluru’s finger flipped the page, revealing the writing on the next page.
–The green roses cultivated by Lord Pinkman are not picky about their environment, transplant well, have a mild temperament, and can grow tenaciously as long as there is soil and water.
–The hardest part is actually the transformation of the groundwalker. The above ground environment was completely different from the underground, and only the bottom of the Ground Walking Boat could touch the soil and stones. Many of the Uzis participated in the improvements together, but the flower boats could never get up to speed, they were slower than even camels, and they could only navigate in flat areas at the moment.
“It’s a minor problem, it doesn’t matter.”
Locust Jue said, “It’s much more durable than a mule or horse, and as long as it’s manned by a Uzi, it not only ensures the safety of the passengers inside, but also carries goods intact. It’s truly an epoch-making vehicle, it’s not to be missed!”
“Uluru has more than that in mind.”
Medicine Put said for this Uzi geologist, “He wants to use the flower boat to recapture those deserted farmlands, protect them by planting green roses, and gradually restore the planting areas outside the city.”
Locust Jue sighed, “Indeed, this is the long-term solution. Crystal City can definitely be revived, and Flower Boat will become an extension of the city.”
Ululu was slightly relieved.
Although he had followed his teacher Fabiani to meet many heroes, it was the first time he had faced it alone.
If it weren’t for the presence of his teacher’s wife, Lady Yakutake, he felt certain that he would have been unable to speak clearly.
But whether it was recruiting and assimilating locust swarms, or building flower boats to expand roses outwards, all of them relied on Crystal City’s own strength, and manpower was inevitably insufficient.
And in terms of connecting and attracting the outside world to stimulate Crystal City’s own strengths, Lady Medicine Put took a crucial step.
Uluru believed that it was what she did that laid the foundation for everything that followed.
“Let me also talk about my progress.”
Yakutobi tapped her head with her finger armour, the murmur in her armour slightly lessening.
“Not too long ago, I have formally reached an agreement with Yao City’s Temple Guild’s Guild Leader, Chubirole, Salt City’s Seer Shippo and Mayor Coppersea, and Saniro’s Mayor Chapman.”
“Crystal City’s Ghost Lectures will officially be held regularly in the three cities.”
“The speakers are all experienced Imperial Ghost Remnants. The Fifth Dreadnought Empire is skilled in military science, pharmacology, architecture, and casting and smelting, and the lecturers will also speak on these areas, imparting the valuable knowledge that the Empire has accumulated.”
“And the city on the listening side will pay a remuneration, part of which will be given directly to the main lecturer. The best of the lecturers will be hired as Professional Ghost Lecturers, and will not only lecture at the Crystal City’s lighthouse, but will also go on tour to various cities.”
Medicine Put paused and said, “In this way, the nearly 100,000 permanent ghost residents of Crystal City will all be able to utilise their individual skills. As long as they have the knowledge and experience, they can cash in on wealth, reputation, and dignity.”
“The valuable knowledge left behind by the Empire shouldn’t be buried, it’s only good to circulate it.”
She smiled, “By uniting what we each do, Crystal City will surely recover quickly. Combined with the direct revenue from glass products, the city will get better and better, far beyond the Imperial period.”
“By then, maybe this place won’t be weaker than Yao City and Salt City.”
The three were discussing how to utilise the imperial heritage even further when a white light lit up from the Ghost Lighthouse.
“This is ……”
After confirming it again and again, Medicine Put shouted in surprise, “A spectacle, a new spectacle has been born in Crystal City!”
“This is the …… Ghost Academy.”
“Ghost Academy! The gods bestowed the name!”
All three people were excited.
They could all clearly feel that the Spectre Academy, which was advanced from the Spectre Lighthouse, had an even greater power than in the past, and it would be a sign of Crystal City’s re-emergence.
