Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 1048 - 163: The Killer Bee

Chapter 1048: Chapter 163: The Killer Bee

"Coo, coo, coo," a few odd bird calls came from the tree canopy. It had taken the expedition team three days to traverse the Mountain of Misdirection, which was over two thousand meters high. Normally, for Legendary Rank professionals and Demigods, mountain ranges over two thousand meters wouldn’t even warrant a concern, and they could cross them in half a day. Even at a slower pace, one day would be sufficient. However, the Okain Mountain Range was recognized as the dividing line between life and death on the Yarran Continent. Even a powerful military force like the expedition team had to be extremely vigilant in this environment. There are many dangers like the drooping silktree that are hard to detect on the outskirts of the forest, and no one wanted to become the first casualty of the team just on the periphery.

"Even if you call out like that, I still can’t understand you," hearing the bird calls, Flare helplessly said, looking up, "Without reflecting the meaning of the agreed-upon calls, no matter how much you call out, it’s useless. Come on down now."

"Oh, I was just calling out randomly," Pannis, hanging upside down from a tree branch as if swinging on a swing, said while swaying, "There’s no danger ahead, and I’ve found an abandoned campsite. We can rest there tonight."

Once they crossed the Okain Mountain Range and entered the dense forest in the basin, the expedition immediately transitioned from a loose marching formation to a tighter defensive formation. The physical professionals surrounded the caster professionals in the center, using their bodies as defense to protect their more vulnerable teammates. In fact, with small teams adventuring, formations would vary according to the number of people, but overall, they were centered around the caster professionals for offensive power. Unless the team had no caster professionals, or the capabilities of the caster professionals were low, they would choose a different formation style.

As for Pannis, he and the Elf Queen were two exceptions. Both were very familiar with the forest, and had strong survival skills within it. Thus, they took turns working as scouts outside of the team. For a team adventuring in the jungle, an excellent scout could significantly enhance the safety of the entire team. But most of the time, the adventure in the Forest of Death was dangerous for everyone. Sending a scout to wander alone in an unfamiliar forest was akin to sending them to their death, so very few teams would dispatch scouts in the Forest of Death.

However, Flare and Pannis were different. One was as familiar with the forest as with her own home, and the other’s senses were exceptionally keen and mastered a variety of professional skills. No matter how adverse the environment, it was hard to trap them. With these two taking turns as scouts, at least the team didn’t have to worry about threats from the environment or ambushers, and could focus on emergent events. Nonetheless, just dealing with spontaneous events already caused the team a lot of headaches. The troublesome aspect of the Forest of Death was often the spontaneity of these events. Flare and Pannis took turns scouting partly to leave one person able to detect emergencies in time.

"Doris, take five steps to the left." Flare didn’t have time to respond to Pannis’ words, but quickly warned, "Move slowly, don’t rush, okay, you can stand down from alertness now."

"Hmm, a killer bee’s nest, huh?" Pannis looked at Doris’ direction while hanging from the tree, then let go and dropped down. As he neared the ground, he twisted his body and landed steadily on his feet, with a unripe fruit in hand that he had plucked from somewhere, crunching into it. The fruit’s bright green color made it seem sour to those watching him eat. Pannis didn’t realize this, however, and crouched next to Doris to examine the ground for a while, stroking his chin and saying, "How about we have honey-glazed wolf ribs tonight? The honey from killer bees is considered one of the world’s finest delicacies. Remember the dishes with honey we had at the Elven Royal Court banquet? They were all made with killer bee honey."

"Don’t go provoking them if it’s not necessary. You know how troublesome they can be," Flare said, shaking her head with a wry smile, "If you want honey, wait until we’re back at the King’s Court. We have specially cultivated honey there, and we’ll give you some."

"That’s cultivated honey; it’s not as tasty as wild honey," Pannis said, though he was still forcibly pulled aside by Catherine. The knight girl knew that under normal circumstances, Pannis was all talk and wouldn’t really do something foolish, but it was better to be safe than sorry, especially if he wasn’t in a normal state, so it was best to pull him away quickly. While pulling Pannis aside, Catherine still took a glance at the ground, which appeared ordinary and showed no sign of a bee’s nest.

"What exactly is a killer bee?" After pulling Pannis aside, Catherine asked, "And why do they build their nests on the ground? With so much rain in the Forest of Death, aren’t they afraid of water getting into their nests?"

"Strictly speaking, this isn’t a complete killer bee nest, it’s only part of one," Pannis explained, "Killer bees are quite large, each bee is about the size of my fist, and there are tens of thousands in a nest. How big do you think their nest would have to be? If it hung from a tree like a normal beehive, I suspect it would quickly collapse under its own weight."

"Indeed," Catherine said thoughtfully, nodding, "So they build their nests on the ground?"

"Underground is part of their nest, well, the main part, but this part is sealed off," Pannis said, "When building their nests, they choose a dead, hollow tree, and build the entrance of the nest at the core of the tree’s trunk. Then they extend down to the ground and gradually use their venom to erode the soil sideways, eventually forming a vast underground cavity. Inside of this cavity, they coat it with a special bee wax to ensure the nest’s waterproofing. However, its biggest flaw is that this wax makes the soil fragile, if too much force is applied, one could collapse the nest just by stepping on it."

"And then the killer bees will come out to get revenge?" Catherine said. "No wonder Her Majesty the Queen granted Doris the Priestess’s body size earlier."

"Of course, they’ll seek revenge. These killer bees are very vengeful," Pannis said with a sneer. "It’s said that they can swarm out continuously for three days and nights to chase down their enemies. Once targeted, it’s quite difficult to escape unharmed."

"Tens of thousands of bees the size of a fist." The knight girl imagined the scene, a sky filled with killer bees chasing after the enemy, who no matter how fast they ran could not evade these flying attackers. The sight truly filled one with a sense of despair.

"Look, there are the killer bees." Suddenly, Pannis tugged at the young girl’s arm and pointed towards a withered tree not far away. "It’s best not to get close to them. They have a strong territorial awareness, and getting too close means getting attacked, but at least they won’t pursue you."

Following Pannis’s gaze, indeed, several fist-sized killer bees could be seen clinging to the surface of the withered tree. These small magical beasts had a grayish-brown appearance, almost the same color as the tree. Even if they crawled around, it would be hard to spot them from a distance. Due to the distance, it was not possible to see their exact shape, but at their tails, one could clearly see a long, sharp stinger. The dark stingers were about three centimeters long, shimmering chillingly in the light.

"These creatures are carnivorous. The four large mandibles at their mouths are extremely sharp, able to even bite off a chunk of flesh from those of Legendary Rank," Pannis explained. "Then there are their tail stingers, actually formed from a special liquid inside their bodies. A single killer bee can form about ten stingers from this liquid, and after use, they can secrete more to replenish them over time. Shh, look at those butterflies, sacrificing their lives to give us a demonstration."

At the entrance of the beehive, several butterflies flitted over, these brightly colored creatures were apparently magical beasts, but far less aggressive than most. However, while the butterflies weren’t too aggressive, the killer bees were something else. Catherine barely saw a blur before hearing a few soft ’thuds’. The butterflies twirled down to the ground like fallen leaves, motionless.

"Such incredible speed," Catherine gasped. "With that velocity, it’s really hard to keep track visually."

"Yes, it’s hard to see their movements when they attack," Pannis agreed. "They are too fast. Even the reaction speed of a Demigod won’t be enough. Moreover, the stingers are amazingly powerful when shot out. Just look at the marks they leave on the trees."

However, in reality, the stingers had not left any noticeable marks on the tree. The slender stingers had plunged directly into the trunk, not only entirely inside but also leaving an almost imperceptible thin hole. Judging by the depth of the hole, the stingers had penetrated more than ten centimeters into the wood.

"Moreover, their stingers possess a piercing property with quite a high penetrating ability. Ordinary Legendary Rank Shields can barely withstand them, but a few more hits and they will definitely be pierced," Pannis continued. "Even a Demigod’s Shield, if tens of thousands of killer bees attack at once, could be penetrated if one is not careful, directly threatening the life of the Demigod. So unless absolutely necessary, never provoke them. They are far too dangerous. Every year, many Demigod magical beasts die from the stings of these killer bees, which are classified as having Legendary Rank attack power."

"And yet you still want to steal their honey," Flare remarked sarcastically, drawing closer before asking more details. "You found an abandoned campsite?"

"Yes, a few simple huts and a shape-maintained stove," Pannis nodded. "We can make use of it just in time. This will save us trouble tonight."