Chapter 0591 – The Rat Disaster

"According to what I read in the Sutra Pavilion—especially in a book about hybrid rice and another on plant grafting—it seems that through grafting and breeding between different species, their genes can intermingle and merge. I don't entirely understand what 'genes' are, but it feels similar to crossbreeding wild boars and domestic pigs, resulting in a new type of pig somewhere between the two."

"Previously, I grafted Sichuan pepper with chili peppers and cultivated them no fewer than dozens of times before finally succeeding. That's how I created the true Numbing-Spicy Heaven Chili. Grafting is never a one-shot success. Failure is completely normal."

"This time, I've grafted a snow pear tree with rice. I'm hoping to blend the delicious sweetness of the pear into the rice—crisp, fragrant, and sweet. Imagine how wonderful that would be! I've already tried several times. Whether it will work or not, everything rides on this batch."

The man surnamed Song murmured to himself.

He was filled with anticipation about this new breed he was cultivating.His mood lifted immensely.

If successful, this strain could even evolve into spiritual rice. And with that, profound changes would ripple through Xuanhuang City. After all, cultivators consumed spiritual grains, which significantly boosted their cultivation.

"This land is a paradise for humanity. I must work hard to make Xuanhuang City stronger."

Now that he knew the world held spiritual grains and herbs, his goal was to breed crops infused with spiritual energy. Currently, all he had were ordinary rice seeds and vegetables. While the crops grown here had a much higher yield—and thanks to the environment, some had started mutating and even absorbing a trace of spiritual energy—they hadn't fundamentally evolved. They tasted better than before, yes, but they remained mundane.

Maybe after many planting cycles and generations of refinement, over years or decades, they might finally mutate into true spiritual grains. But that was only a chance—no one knew how long or how many attempts it would take for such a transformation through natural providence.

That was why he sought ways to accelerate the evolution of rice—to help it reach spiritual grain level.

What he truly enjoyed was that feeling of success—that thrill of repeated transformation and the joy of each harvest.

Old Song was in a fantastic mood.

He made his way to the fields step by step.

But upon arrival, his expression changed dramatically. His entire body trembled.Everywhere he looked, rice stalks were broken—not just a few, but massive swathes of them.

After the mutation, the rice had been growing rapidly—its stalks longer, thicker, and tougher. Even the most basic rice varieties here could grow to two or three meters tall upon maturity, yielding significantly more grain per plant.

Especially his newly cultivated hybrid rice—it stood as tall as three to four meters. Each grain was plump and nearly the size of a grape, sparkling like pearls. Truly delightful.

But now, they were all toppled over.

Stalks chewed through. Rice destroyed, devoured.

His three acres of fine land were more than half-ruined. And neighboring fields showed the same devastation.

"My pear-rice… it's all gone. Completely ruined!"

"Rats! Damn rats! How did so many suddenly show up? Could this be… a rat plague?"

"My pear-rice was almost ready to harvest—and then a rat infestation shows up? All those months of work… all for nothing! I'll kill you damn rats!"

Old Song trembled in rage at the sight of his fields.

The rice was ruined. Throughout the fields, enormous rats were gnawing and tearing apart the crops. Their eyes glowed red with bloodlust. Even the smallest ones were as big as a several-month-old puppy. The largest rivaled calves in size—an utterly terrifying sight.

They rampaged unchecked.

No one knew where these rats had come from, but the moment they appeared, they descended on the fields and ravaged the crops with terrifying speed.

Crack!

Old Song swung his hoe with practiced precision, bringing it down squarely on a rat chewing at a stalk. There was a sickening crack, blood spurted, and the rat's skull exploded open.

"This is a fierce beast—but only at the first tier. Where did all these rats come from? So many… This harvest is truly finished."

He glanced around and noticed that the rats weren't retreating—they bared their fangs and charged at him with glowing red eyes. These weren't ordinary rodents. They were beast-class rats.

"Damn it! Where did these rats come from? My crops…"

"My vineyard is gone! Everything's ruined! All that effort—wasted because of these rats!"

"So many rats! Quick, alert the city! We need to kill them all—this is a rat plague!"

By now, other people had arrived from the city and spotted the same disaster: massive rats swarming the fields, devouring everything.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Alarming bells rang out through Xuanhuang City.

"Quick! Rats are devouring the crops! Destroying the fields! Kill the rats!"

"So many of them—and they're all fierce beasts! It's a rat plague! The rats are assaulting Xuanhuang City! They somehow crossed the Ironblood Great Wall and are now outside the city! Months of crops are lost! Huge damage!"

"Let's go kill rats! These are fierce beasts—we can eat the meat, use the fur and bones. Wanbao Hall buys beast materials at steady prices. Normally, we can't go deep into the wilds—but this is the perfect chance! They ruined our food—let them pay with their lives!"

The moment news reached the city, countless citizens—some still eating breakfast—rushed to grab weapons and stormed outside.

The Hunter Hall reacted instantly.

A flashing red emergency mission appeared on the task board.

Purge the Rat Plague!

Large numbers of fierce rats have appeared in the outer fields, destroying crops and potentially spreading plague. This could lead to a devastating epidemic in the city.

Kill one fierce rat and bring its tail to the Hunter Hall to claim a bounty: 1 Eternal Coin per tail.

The more you slay, the more you earn.

Run, hunters!

"What a generous reward! The bounty is huge. Rats are social animals—they gather in swarms and become overwhelming. But with enough hunters, exterminating them won't be hard. Rats are one of the weakest fierce beasts individually."

"I can practically see the Eternal Coins running toward me. This one job might earn more than several days' worth of hunting. With enough people, safety isn't even a concern."

"These rats dare mess with Xuanhuang City? They're dead. This is suicide. Let's go! Who's with me? Kill some rats and score a feast. We only have to turn in the tails—the rest of the meat is ours. Sell it off, and that's another profit!"

Dozens of bounty hunters in the Hunter Hall sprang into action, rallying their comrades and rushing out.

But the task proved more difficult than expected.

By the time large groups arrived at the fields, they found something strange: the rats had vanished.

Only a few rat corpses remained, along with ruined fields and scattered crops.

"What's going on? Where are the rats? Weren't there supposed to be rats everywhere?"

"Damn it, they escaped—must've dug tunnels underground. Fierce beasts normally aren't that smart, especially in swarms. Why would they retreat? We only killed a few—there's no way that scared them off. Something's off here… Could there be a Rat King directing them?"

"So many burrows… They did tunnel out. Damn those rats—pulling this kind of trick. We thought it would be an easy task, but it's much harder than expected."

"Find a way to force them out of their tunnels. Otherwise, they'll just come back again. This is serious. A true rat plague."

The rats refused to fight head-on. Instead, they employed guerrilla tactics: retreat when the enemy advances, attack when the enemy retreats.

Even rats were using strategy now. People began to feel a creeping headache.

Thousands of rats hidden underground—that's a disaster waiting to happen. If they erupted again, the chaos would be immense.

"Heh heh!! These rat swarms… their bloodlines are naturally suppressed and influenced by our Ratman Tribe. Any one of us can become a natural-born king among them. I now control the nearby rat hordes—over several million strong! This time, let's have some fun with these humans…"

"First, ruin your fields. Then raid your grain stores. Devour everything. Let's see how long you can last without food. Chaos… chaos is so much more fun. Peace is just too boring."

Deep underground, a ratman cultivator in black robes let out a sinister laugh.