The Bee Dungeon

Chapter 356 - Bee-hold the Might of Dragons?

As the sun rose, countless bees flew in and out of the Beecity’s shortcuts. The blinding and digging bees who kept watch over the night returned for their rest, while the rest of the hive of hives awoke and began to deploy. The First of the Fifth’s First Daughter kept watch over them all, filling in the queens who had slept over the night’s events. Then, she moved to allocate the days honey deliveries and organize the hive of hive’s foragers. Even with an ongoing battle, the daily work of the hives continued. Nectar and pollen needed to be gathered, honey needed to be processed, and deliveries needed to be made to those bees who did not make enough honey to grow at the rate the hive of hives wished.

And in the course of that, the First Daughter organized a new delivery, to the hive of hive’s newest defender. This one she kept watch over personally, just in case she needed to address any complications.

Soldier bees from the First of the Fifth’s Second Daughter, her Second Sister who was in charge of honey deliveries, carried honeycomb containing regular mana honey to the newest room in the King’s realm, where the sky was as colorful as a field of flowers and the forest fully lit even though the sun hadn’t fully risen yet. There, they approached the newest defender, one the King had called a dragon.

The dragon popped an eye open as the bees approached and made a low growl at them. It...apparently was not ready to join the hive of hives and didn’t even want the bees flying close to it. The First Daughter was not to deterred, though, and ordered the soldiers to place the honeycomb down as close as the dragon would let them fly.

She then danced, sending out her mana to the dragon. It refused to connect with her, but she sent the mana in an open dance like the Fourth of the Seventh had used when speaking with the bees from the Beyond, before they had joined the hive of hives.

“Food for new defender, can eat if want. Let know if want other kinds.”

There had been some question among the hive of hives whether or not to donate honey to the new defender, given that it seemed hostile towards the hive of hives and even angered King in their first meeting...but the First Daughter insisted. She herself had received honey she didn’t deserve from the Fourth of the Seventh, at a time when they were supposed to be part of rival hives, and everything she had achieved since was only possible because of that generosity. There were plenty of other examples from the hive of hives as well, like how King taking care of a crippled soldier led to Beero and the hive of hives or how the Fourth of the Seventh welcoming back an exiled drone led to the hive of hives discovering the drones’ ability to link hives. The First Daughter’s own queen mother, the First of the Fifth, had once intended to dominate the Apiary queens and compete with the Firstborn and even the Conduit. She said the Conduit came and cared for her when she realized her mistake and now she was the queen freely giving her honey to all the hive of hives.

So, the First Daughter did not mind how the dragon was acting, many a bee had done the same prior to learning about the hive of hives. She would give it honey whether it deserved it or not, as she had received in the past. Perhaps one day it would come to understand the hive of hives as well. But even if not, the dragon was new defender raised by King. As caretaker of the hive of hives, the First Daughter would see to it that everyone and everything that belonged to King was taken care of, she’d take care of them as well as her own brood.

That was what the Fourth of the Seventh have done for her. That was what the hive of hives meant to the First Daughter.

So, after dropping off the honey, she ordered the bees to withdraw and watch from a distance. The dragon slowly rose to its feet and crept towards the mana honeycomb. It sniffed at it, then stuck out its tongue and licked the honeycomb.

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A moment later, it pounced on the comb and devoured it whole.

The First Daughter made note that mana honey suited it and so confirmed she would need to arrange ongoing deliveries for the dragon.

“Everyone, the Tower Guards are beginning another assault! It’s a big one!”

The dragon stopped eating and began to growl, confirming it had received King’s message as well. The First Daughter paid it no further attention, beating her wings as fast as they would go to return to King’s side. Whether the new defender joined them or not, it was time for the hive of hives to fight.

Belissar frowned even as he reported what he was seeing to his Tower’s defenders and his allies. As the sun rose, Starami’s forces marched into the Tower once more...but this time was different. This time, about a hundred Tower Guards marched in formation, followed by wyverns both with and without riders and drakes, though only a handful of kobolds came with them. Leading them was a group of five Tower Guards who strode forward with their heads held high.

Belissar could feel the mana wafting off them the moment they stepped into the Tower. Looking at them with his mana sight was like staring into the sun, looking at their eyes somehow made him shiver, like he was facing down the wolf shade back in the first purification. He could tell right away...those five were dangerous.

Wardmaster Varilold took his report seriously and began gathering the Compact’s forces to respond. The hive of hives assembled the bee army by the Orchard’s shortcut wall, ready to deploy any and all of their number to any room necessary. The karnuq gathered as well and Belissar gave Chief Rohsuak a whole tray of swirled honey, just in case. Belissar thought for a moment, and then even reached out to the dragon hatchling and asked it to come. The young dragon didn’t seem all that ready for a battle...but it was still one of the strongest individual monsters he had.

The dragon let out a rumble and beat his wings and jumped...only to crash into the ground. After a few such tries, he managed to get airborne and began to fly...in a random direction nowhere near the Aurora Forest’s shortcut. Belissar had to tell him to turn...which caused him to lose control and spiral into the side of a tree.

Belissar questioned whether he should bring the dragon after all, but there was no further time for second guessing. Starami’s force quickly marched through the Hall of Purification and now stood before the door to the Abyssal Trench. One of the five in the front cracked their neck and stirred up their mana.

A coat of water in the shape of a serpentine dragon formed once more...only far larger than the ones the Tower Guard had used the night before. The watery dragon grew large enough to engulf not only the five Tower Guards in the front, but the entire hundred-strong force behind them and all of the monsters they had brought along. The water coat was so dense it was nearly opaque, partially obscuring the soldiers and monsters within, and the mana comprising it so powerful it glowed. It almost appeared like a real dragon had formed around them, its scale-like waves glimmering with the inner light of the mana.

And as soon as it formed, the dragon moved through the door, braving the Abyssal Trench once more. The dragon coat easily repelled the water of the trench, not bothered in the slightest by the heavy pressure now weighing upon it. It swung its serpent-like body back and forth, slithering through the water like a snake on the ground. It swung its tail at a seemingly leisurely pace, yet it moved through the water faster than the previous Tower Guards even at their maximum pace.

Before long, it encountered the effects of the mana storm. Belissar held his breath as the dragon swam right into the path of a rapid current...

The dragon pushed straight through it with hardly a deviation.

It then hit a sphere of darkness...but the dragon kept moving forward without panicking. Before long, its head burst out the other side of the sphere and it carried on its way without harm.

And then came the key moment. An area of extreme pressure formed on the dragon’s center, subjecting it to the same forces that killed the previous Tower Guards. Now Belissar would see if the mana storm would stop Starami’s forces dead...

A ripple formed on the dragon and spread across it, causing its scales to glimmer. But the dragon itself remained whole and continued forward, its inhabitants apparently no worse for wear.

It could survive the mana storm. It could pass through the Abyssal Trench.

And that meant...it could deliver Starami’s army to the other side. Belissar’s face darkened. Now...his bees and his allies would have to face that army directly...and the five Tower Guards who were tough enough to ignore a deep-sea mana storm....