BD - Chapter 247 - Bee-ginning the Assault

Belissar’s eyes widened.

“Wait, dungeon masters revive?”

Nenavann nodded.

“Indeed. From what we understand, it is at the discretion of your patron god, so it is not guaranteed like with the conduits, but it does happen. I would still try to avoid death if at all possible, but you don’t need to worry about Princess Finnakynne joining the fray. She’s…well, I have reason to believe she will be revived if worst comes to worst.”

Belissar frowned, clenching his fists.

“I wish I had known that earlier…”

Nenavann gave him a sympathetic look.

“As did many of us, but I believe there is a reason the gods do not tell us this at the start. I do not think they intend for us to rely on it.”

Belissar sighed.

“I guess not. And I know the bees wouldn’t want me to risk myself regardless. I know I don’t like Niobee getting hurt even though she’s a conduit.”

Belissar reached up and brushed Niobee as she danced on his head.

“King stay safe! Workers and soldiers protect!”

Nenavann smiled as he watched the two.

“It is indeed the dungeon monsters’ reason to exist. It can be a difficult lesson for us of the Circle, I am glad you seem to have accepted it.”

Belissar sighed once more.

“As much as I can.”

He took a deep breath before sending his mana throughout the Tower.

“Ok, everyone. Let’s begin.”

Nenavann gave him a nod and crossed his hand over his heart.

“I wish you success and safety, Belissar. I will defend your Tower as my own until it is done.”

Belissar nodded back and then stepped through a shortcut to the Orchard. There, he found the bees and karnuqs both finalizing their preparations. He noticed Juosiutik running around between the hunters, handing out pots. She had dark bags under her eyes and an intense glare on her face.

“This one is made with toxic bee honey, make sure you throw it as far away as possible. This one is burning honey, it will set the entire tunnel on fire. This one is shocking honey…”

Belissar waited for her to finish her latest explanation before grabbing her attention.

“Juosiutik…are you alright?”

Juosiutik spun around. She narrowed her eyes for a second before letting out a sigh. She replied with a whisper.

“…they killed my parents.”

Belissar’s chest tightened as Juosiutik’s brow furrowed.

“I know I can’t go along but…I won’t let them get away with it. Tower Keeper…please avenge my parents for me.”

Belissar thought of his own losses, his parents and the old beekeeper. He nodded grimly.

“We will.”

Juosiutik let out another sigh and her shoulders drooped. She trembled slightly and took a deep breath before letting out a single word.

“…good.”

Belissar turned and glared at the shortcut leading to the Tower’s exit. That was yet one more reason to commit to this effort. He marched over to the shortcut and looked over the army once more. The bees were hovering and awaiting his command, the newly evolved Firstborn personally flying at their head. The karnuq tied up the last of their supplies and took up a formation before him, Metsaitti, the other karnuq with combat blessings, and Hirkolos in the front. Princess Finnakynne was zipping about all around them.

Belissar let his mana flare with the fire he felt in his chest.

“Let’s protect our home.”

He marched through the shortcut to the sound of buzzing wings.

***

The army marched to the entrance underground. There, Belissar returned to the rear, where he would wait with Chief Rohsuak to coordinate the effort. Metsaitti and the Firstborn took up the lead and began the march underground, where they’d meet up with the sigmaka.

They made their way slowly, however. In the days the Tower was preparing, the spiderkin had posted lookouts where the entrance tunnel linked up with the Underway proper. The digging scouts reported two lookouts there at the moment. The bees, however, had a plan to deal with them.

Underneath the tunnel where the spiderkin waited, the digging workers had hollowed out a small burrow. The little workers dug slowly and steadily, their efforts too small for the spiderkin to notice. And so, a small hole opened up near the spiderkin without alerting them. The workers quietly widened the hole until it was just large enough for a soldier bee.

Then, a digging assassin bee quietly climbed out of the hole and took to the air. Mana wrapped around her wings to muffle her buzzing as she positioned herself above one of the spiderkin. She glanced at the other while sending her mana back down into the hole.

A communer received her message and passed it along. A digging worker climbed out of the hole and flew over to the other spiderkin. She gently landed on the spot the assassin had indicated, carefully avoiding the hairs on the spiderkin’s chitin. She found a chink between the spiderkin’s chitin at the spot indicated and covered it with pheromones and mana.

A moment later, a handful of toxic bee workers climbed out of the hole and took to the air. They followed the pheromones and mana guiding them to join the digging worker at the weakspot. Once in position, the digging worker signaled the communer, who passed it on to the assassin.

The assassin dove down on one spiderkin while the toxic workers stung the other. Both spiderkin hissed and whipped around, but the bees had already taken off. The bees dove back down into the hole while the spiderkin scraped spears against their abdomens as best they could. The spiderkin flailed and panicked…but soon the toxins spread through their bodies. The hive of hives drew first blood.

Once the spiderkin lookouts were down, digging bees climbed out of their burrows and began disconnecting the webs in the area. The army resumed its march down and arrived in the Underway proper. They sent a messenger to the rotcap field and soon, Fourth Queen Pezuya appeared with a band of sigmaka warriors. She glanced over at the fallen spiderkin as she greeted Metsaitti.

“So, you’ve met the enemy already.”

Metsaitti nodded.

“As quietly as we could. They’ll know something’s happened but won’t know our numbers just yet.”

Fourth Queen Pezuya frowned.

“Then we had best move quickly while we still can.”

And so, the march into the Underway began.

***

Finnakynne giggled again as she zipped overhead of the vanguard, her bee partner following along. It had been all too simply to convince Beely and Neny to let her take the lead on account of her being most likely to revive. Her parentage came with its share of annoyances but it had some nice perks here and there.

And now, finally, she would get to toy with mortals! No more trying to talk circles around old farts! No more playing the same pranks on the other Circle masters that they had long figured out! No more listening to her mother drone on and on about how much better she was at manipulation! She was finally free to do as she pleased, and everyone would even thank her for it!

Well, probably not the spider people, unless she went with the seduction route. But she had agreed to cooperate with the plan, so that was out. For now. Once she got over them all being less than a century old. For now at least, she’d play the good girl.

Just then, the karnuq that could sniff mana and the bees both stopped advancing.

“Spiderkin, up ahead.”

The bees confirmed.

“Seven!”

The lead karnuq, Metsaitti, nodded and turned to her.

“We’ll engage directly, can you get ahead of them and cut off their retreat?”

Finnakynne saluted enthusiastically.

“Right away, as you command! Forward, my accomplice!”

The monster bee trapper following her did her little salute dance and then the two were off. Finnakynne giggled as she wove her magic, concealing the both of them from view. While following plans wasn’t her style, she had to admit she liked this one. Having a monster bee trapper trap spiders in a web on their way out? Hilarious!

Soon, they found their quarry. The spiderkin hid in the dark and launched a volley of arrows at the vanguard. Karnuq hunters held their shields up while monster bee archers and sigmaka took shelter behind them. Finnakynne and the trapper took that as their cue and zipped forward.

Finnakynne, however, did not notice the webs hanging from the roof vibrate as she flew past them.

One of the spiderkin turned and swung its abdomen up at her. Finnakynne let out a squeak as a web net spread out in the air all around her, slamming her into the roof.

“H-Hey! No fair, I was invisible! How did you see me?!”

Her protest went unanswered as the spiderkin focused back on the vanguard. Fortunately for her, the monster bee trapper hadn’t been caught and landed beside her. She touched the web net with her front legs and pulsed her mana through it, reducing its stickiness, then began peeling it off the pixie princess.

In the meantime, the monster bee archers, karnuq, and sigmaka all responded to the spiderkin attack with volleys of their own. The spiderkin had woven web shields to help catch arrows, but these were small compared to their bodies, so they scattered and clambered up the walls to avoid the attack. Not all of them succeeded.

Finnakynne was just hanging there watching as she waited for the trapper to free her. So, she watched as arrows and giant stinger pierced through the skin and chitin of three of the spiderkin. She watched them hiss and scream and bleed.

For once, she fell silent. This was…a bit different from beating up shades.

The spiderkin retaliated again and this time they were spread along the ground and up the walls both. The karnuq had to angle their shields to protect the group’s heads, so a few arrows made it past around their feet. Finnakynne heard the shouts and screams from her own side as a few took arrows in their feet and shins. Fortunately, the karnuq were prepared this time, and cut the webs attached to the arrows with metal swords courtesy of Tammy.

Finnakynne’s eyes went wide.

“T-This is…”

She was interrupted, though, by the trapper tapping on her just before she dropped from the roof.

“Small one free now!”

It took Finnakynne a second to remember to fly. She shook her head and then slapped her own cheeks.

“Get it together, Finny. T-These are just mortals, and you’re going to toy with them!”

She started to fly forward again…but the spiderkin were already running away after losing half their numbers. Thanks to her getting caught, the trapper didn’t have a chance to prepare any traps behind the group, so there was nothing slowing them down. Finnakynne’s eyes widened and then she clenched her teeth.

“Oh no you don’t! Get back here!”

She beat her wings harder to catch up to them, but then she felt a web attach to her back. She spun around to see the trapper now holding her back.

“What are you doing?! They’re getting away!”

“Too far now, need return to army.”

Finnakynne held in a screech as she watched the spiderkin scamper away, and tried to avoid glancing at the ones left behind and riddled with stingers and arrows. Her first time toying with mortals…hadn’t gone as she had expected.

Author’s Note:

You know, Finnakynne, you probably picked the wrong mortals to start with. Spiders are a tricky non-bee for even bees, much less pixies! But not to worry, Juosiutik has already prepped the “burn it with fire” back-up plan!

If, you know, vengeance-fueled arson counts as mischief.

Anyways!

How will the assault go? Will Juosiutik avenge her parents? Will Finnakynne get to toy with the mortals after all? Tune in next time, to find out!