Chapter 524: A Chill
Though Earth Locusts had evolved to their current state and might not stand out on Earth, they were terrifying in every respect.
Yes, a bug was still a bug, and the locusts that had drifted into this world were far from the most heavily mutated creatures on Earth. But their threat could never be underestimated.
About a week later, a caravan left the Qinggelie Empire's border by a narrow road, following a familiar route toward the neighboring kingdom.
Every year after early spring arrived, they visited the villages along the Lunsogt Kingdom's border to buy the local specialty, Tenderheart Greens, from the villagers.
In the Kadel Region on the Lunsogt Kingdom's northern border, the sunken terrain and the changes in the Radiant Star created a unique climate, producing a natural rhythm of temperature differences and humidity at the transition between winter and spring each year.
This was also one of the essential conditions for growing Tenderheart Greens.
This vegetable, somewhat resembling the stalks of amaranth on Earth, was delicious whether eaten raw or stewed. Cooked with meat, it brought out the meat's rich aroma, making it a product that sold exceptionally well.
Its yield was generally low. On plots of the same size, ordinary grain crops produced over ten times as much as Tenderheart Greens.
Ordinary commoners had "no right" to concern themselves too much with enjoyment. Filling their stomachs mattered most, so in the past, each farming household there had grown only a little Tenderheart Greens to indulge their appetites now and then. Most of their fields were still devoted to grain.
That situation changed when the merchant Dokler and his caravan passed through those villages and happened to stay overnight in one, where he tasted Tenderheart Greens for the first time.
The outer stalk