Chapter Ninety-Three: Luring the Snake Out of Its Hole

The giant bee clan truly hated smoke. So when the fire was lit and the smoke surged skyward on the wind, they instantly poured in confusion out of the nest, wheeling through the air again and again to avoid the approaching haze.

And when Jia Zhengjin finally led his party to the underside of the swarm, kindled a bonfire beneath that monstrously huge structure, countless frenzied giant bees burst forth and spiraled up into the sky.

“It works!” Seeing the giant bees being driven out of the swarm, Jia Zhengjin felt a surge of delight. But that quickly turned to frustration, for he realized that destroying this nest was basically a fool’s dream.

The nest was simply far too large.

To put it another way: if you were a construction worker without any demolition tools, how could you possibly tear down a supertall tower with a hundred stories or more?

He also discovered something else: these giant bees did indeed hate smoke, and they would leave the nest to avoid it and fly into the sky. Yet the moment he tried to get close, they would lift their rear ends and fire cannon-like stingers from behind, driving him back.

Even stranger, those stingers seemed to replenish themselves automatically. After being fired, another identical one would emerge from within their bodies. This puzzled Jia Zhengjin greatly. Could it be that their bellies were nothing but stingers?

At first, Jia Zhengjin had also considered burning the swarm down with a great fire. Though the swarm was huge, its materials were all flammable. If he could ignite it, success might still have been possible.

But now he could not even get close, and that gave him a terrible headache.

What was he to do?

Clearly these giant bees feared or despised smoke, yet beneath the thick clouds they still held their line and did not flee the city as they had before.

“Ah—I understand!” Jia Zhengjin suddenly clapped his hands. “There must be a queen bee inside! That’s why these giant bees, though afraid of smoke, refuse to leave!”

Then what should he do? If he could not approach, he could not burn the nest. If he could not approach, there was no way to succeed.

And for the sake of their queen, these giant bees plainly would not keep any distance from danger. Though they did not dare dive through the smoke, they also would not allow Jia Zhengjin to touch the nest.

What on earth could be done? They could not simply be left at the edge of the city; they would surely attack again and destroy it.

Jia Zhengjin closed his eyes in deep thought, then a spark of inspiration flashed through him. He hurriedly asked Wolf, “Are you confident you can lure that red fire-breathing giant python over here?”

Wolf knew which serpent Jia Zhengjin meant; the topic had come up before in idle conversation. After thinking for a moment, he said, “If it were a direct fight, I’m afraid I wouldn’t stand a chance. But if all I have to do is lure it out, the odds should be fairly good.”

“But there’s still a chance of failure, right?” Jia Zhengjin asked.

“There is some risk. After all, I’ve never truly faced it head-on,” Wolf replied. “I know nothing about it.”

“Then are you willing to gamble your life on it? If you succeed, we get rid of both the giant python and the bee nest. If you fail, you’re finished!” Jia Zhengjin looked at Wolf tensely.

“I follow your command,” Wolf said with a smile. “I fear nothing!”

“Good!” Jia Zhengjin said. “Honestly, I hate sending you to your death too. But right now this is really the only way. We can’t just stand by and watch these giant bees finish building their nest. By then, this city may never know peace again! Remember this: if it can be avoided, you must survive and come back alive!”

“Yes!!” Wolf pointed toward the depths of the forest. “That’s the direction, right?”

“Right! About fifteen kilometers in. Can you manage it? You must draw the fire-breathing giant python all the way to the bee nest!” Jia Zhengjin asked worriedly.

Wolf nodded. “I’ll do my best!”

“Then we’ll withdraw a little and keep the smoke going. We’ll wait for your return!”

Wolf gave no reply. In a single bound he vanished into the dense undergrowth.

Jia Zhengjin ordered Tina, Perlyn, and the five hundred kobold warriors to retreat carefully. After falling back about six hundred meters, they lit another fire in the clearing, sending smoke billowing everywhere and forcing the giant bees away.

What followed was a tense wait.

Five minutes passed, and he had not returned.

Ten minutes passed. The fire beneath the hive died down, and the smoke gradually dispersed. The giant bees began returning to the nest, yet Wolf was still nowhere to be seen.

Fifteen minutes passed, and still there was no sign.

By the thirtieth minute, Jia Zhengjin had nearly concluded that Wolf was in grave danger, perhaps already swallowed by the red fire-breathing giant python—when suddenly he saw him, in werewolf form, racing on all fours at astonishing speed toward the bee nest.

“Wolf! Where’s the serpent?!” Jia Zhengjin called down from above.

“Behind me!! Don’t make a sound!!” Wolf shouted as he sprinted desperately onward.

A few minutes later, uproar broke out in the forest behind him. Countless beasts fled in blind panic, scattering in every direction.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Great trees crashed one after another, and a massive body writhed madly as it pursued Wolf at terrifying speed, opening its maw to spew searing flames toward him.

Luckily, Wolf was both swift and quick to react. He dodged the flames nimbly, then shot past the bee nest at blistering speed.

Buzzzz!

Startled, the giant bees flooded out at once, but they did not see Wolf streaking by. Instead, their first sight was the enormous, crazed fire-breathing python charging straight toward them.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

The giant bees instantly attacked, countless stingers flashing with cold gleam as they shot toward the massive red python.

The serpent had been chasing Wolf, but once it came under attack by the bee army, it immediately bared its fangs in fury and unleashed a blast of scorching flames at the dense swarm overhead.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The battle roused every giant bee inside the nest. They surged out in a tide, launching a fierce assault on the red fire-breathing python.

Seizing the opening, Wolf swiftly returned to the hilltop, panting hard. “That was close. I nearly got eaten!”

“Beautifully done!” Watching the savage melee below between the red fire-breathing python and the giant bee clan, Jia Zhengjin reached out and slapped Wolf on the shoulder. “Now all we have to do is watch the tiger fight from the mountain, then destroy whichever side is left standing!”

“And if the one left standing is still at full strength?” Wolf asked.

“Then we’ll have to return to the city and think of another feasible plan,” Jia Zhengjin said with a helpless shrug.

As they spoke, the red fire-breathing python and the giant bees were still locked in fierce combat. Neither side had any complicated thoughts; they were simply fighting for territory. The python’s power was astonishing, and each terrifying burst of flame incinerated large numbers of giant bees.

Looking at the bodies strewn across the ground, Jia Zhengjin very much wanted to rush in and harvest the honey at once. But he knew he could not; to do so would be to court death.

The giant bees attacked just as frantically, showing no fear of its flames in the slightest. Tens of thousands of them joined together, striking its body with their sharp stingers.