Zig thought that the creatures were fascinating but understood that saying that out loud would be terribly disrespectful to the dead.
The team was able to follow the blade bees using the trail of prey they left behind and made swift progress in their search.
The number of blade bees did not increase as they progressed, and they eventually reached the spot where they would regroup with the team who went from the opposite side of the nest.
“Looks like we got here early,” Norton said, setting the team at ease. “Let’s take a short break.”
Everyone was still on alert, the tension remaining in the air.
Norton approached Zig as the latter was leaning against a tree.
“The monstrosities have been behaving strangely as of late.” Norton started, sticking his greatsword into the ground to lean against it.
“Really? I don’t know much about monstrosities.”
“Their change in behavior isn’t much of a problem in itself. The problem is with how much it’s been happening across the board.”
Norton counted the number of incidents with his hand.
“The appearance of a ghost shark, the swarm of saber-clawed insectoids, spellweaver mantises infesting double-horned blue beetles, crag drill dragons and three-faced ogres appearing outside of their habitats…and now a stray spell hitting a blade bee nest? All of that happening over a short period of time seems highly unlikely.”
“Hmm… Now that you mention it…”
“I’m beginning to think that all of these incidents are connected.”
“Aren’t you jumping to conclusions? Maybe it’s just a string of unfortunate coincidences.”
“I can accept one or two, but this many unrelated coincidences? Something has to be up.”
“I see.”
Norton was enthusiastic as he shared his views on the strange occurrences that had been happening. He tried to convince Zig that something was happening but had little luck doing so. He would overreach with his speculations, putting them under “too wild,” in Zig’s opinion.
Meanwhile, Zig silently and casually calculated the range of Norton’s weapon and memorized the length of his stride. He needed to prepare for the inevitable time when everyone related to the incidents would come together.
Any information he could get his hands on beforehand was of great value. He learned that after his ignorance allowed Elsia to put him in a world of hurt. It seemed that he would be able to observe Norton’s fighting style today, so he counted that as a silver lining in this mess.
Zig was already thinking about the possibility of fighting Norton.
Diplomacy had failed him every time ever since he got here, so he decided to resign himself to his fate sooner rather than later.
He was already considering beating everyone who came at him and stripping them of their possessions for damages. Maybe that could work.
He banished the temptation from his mind. Even if that worked, wanting things to turn out that way was a bad sign for him as a person.
Eventually, the other team appeared and regrouped with them.
The time for small talk was over. They needed to get back to work.
“That took a while. Did you run into some trouble?”
“We found some survivors along the way and brought them with us.”
The adventurers celebrated quietly for finding the missing survivors. They didn’t think anyone around the nest had survived.
“That’s good news. How many?”
“Six. They hurt their legs in the commotion and couldn’t run, so they dug a hole with magic and hid inside it.”
The adventurer laughed, recalling the confusion that ensued when the team stepped into the hole the survivors were hiding in.
“I thought blade bees could dig since they made their nests underground,” Zig wondered to one of the Sibasikul scouts.
The scout flinched when he looked at Zig closely but provided him with an explanation since he saw Norton talking to him earlier.
“The blade bees have different functions. The ones we usually see are soldiers tasked with hunting prey and eliminating external threats. They can’t dig holes. There are worker bees whose sole function is to dig and build the nest. I’ve never seen one myself, though.”
“Those tails don’t look like they’re suited for underground life. I guess monstrosities have roles to play too. Thanks.”
Zig thanked him and left.
After exchanging information with the other team, Norton gave the order to move out.
“The transport team will stay here and send survivors to the guild after treating their injuries. The search team will spread out and look for more survivors. Be on alert for more who have dug holes to hide in.”
This meant they would have to look through the woods with a fine-toothed comb.
Zig returned to Siasha as the other adventurers grouped with their usual parties.
“All right. Commence—” Norton stopped before he could give the order. The adventurers stared at him. Clearly something was wrong.
“Norton, what’s—”
Norton hushed his comrades when they called out to him.
“Quiet.”
His eyes were now fixed on the deep woods.
Zig also noticed the anomaly.
“Zig?” Siasha asked.
“This is bad.”
Cold sweat formed on his forehead.
A breeze came through, carrying with it the sound of a low drone—countless wings buzzing to stay hovering. There came the sound of trees cracking in the distance.
Everyone watched as the pressure mounted until several adventurers eventually burst from the forest at a desperate sprint.
“Take cover!” Norton shouted, noticing the calamity before them.
A black cloud—those were the only words that could describe the congregation of creatures before them. The black cloud was made of small dots the size of children and moved with a low and ominous hum. The swarm of blade bees was heading toward the adventurers, blotting out everything behind them.
“Siasha, wall!”
Siasha gave a nod and immediately started casting at Zig’s signal.
She slammed one hand to the ground to activate her spell. A gigantic wall instantly sprouted out of the earth.
However, their enemies could fly, and one bit of wall wasn’t going to do much against them. All the bees needed to do was go around it, but the point of the wall was to draw their attention.
Although the search team had been prepared to move out, the transport team was only getting settled and weren’t ready to escape. Zig and Siasha could get away in time, but the transport team would be decimated. That was why Zig ordered Siasha to make a wall—to physically hide the transport team and cover them from the blade bees.
Several adventurers gasped. It didn’t take long for the blade bees to spread out.
The rest of the team understood Zig’s intention of drawing the blade bees’ attention, although it took them a little longer than Siasha. They quickly moved away from the transport team, splitting up into three directions.
Groups of six, three, and four acted as decoys for the blade bees.
Zig, Siasha, and Norton were with three survivors who had just escaped.
The blade bee swarm wavered in the air, seemingly hesitating after their prey split up, before launching into one direction.
“Damn it, just our luck!”
Perhaps it was their great number or the fact that they were fixated on the prey they had been chasing, but the blade bees followed the party of six with a loud buzzing that made your skin crawl.
“What happened out there?!” Norton asked the adventurers who had just joined them.
They were a swordsman, a man with a bow slung across his shoulder, and a woman with mage-like robes. The three adventurers were on the younger side but didn’t have the air of greenhorns.
The archer and swordsman answered.
“W-we were hiding, but then another big monstrosity came and found us!”
“The noise caused all the nearby blade bees to gather! The big guy was instantly massacred by the swarm!”
The mage-looking woman didn’t seem to have much endurance and was mainly focused on keeping her breathing steady.
“Any other survivors?”
“We didn’t have time to check! I think there’s a lot left out there, but I don’t know the exact numbers!”
Fortunately, the adventurers had not been decimated after all. Though, this was hardly the time to celebrate.
“Siasha, can you cast your spells?”
“N-not while I’m running!”
Casting on the move required a lot of stamina and lung power. Siasha grew up in a forest and wasn’t lacking in endurance, but she didn’t have enough to cast spells while running. She would be consumed before she could finish casting her second spell.
These weren’t the kind of enemies you could fight with a sword. Even a master would be overwhelmed by the swarm in an instant. A seasoned mercenary and a powerful witch were helpless against the great swarm that knew no fear.
Zig and Norton would be able to get away, but they couldn’t just leave the adventurers to fend for themselves. Even if they were the ones who had brought the swarm to them, they were still in need of rescue. Because he had taken up the job, Zig would only abandon them as a last resort.
“I’ll carry you!”
“Huh? What are you—eep!”
Zig picked up Siasha and slung her over his left shoulder, her head facing behind him.
The sudden scoop caused her to let out a cute, startled yelp, but this was not the time for him to appreciate such things.
Zig did his best to maintain his speed while keeping Siasha steady with one arm.
“Run offense!”
“Of course! I have it covered!”
Siasha settled her breathing before starting her incantation. The strong smell of magic surrounded Zig as countless stone spears appeared.
“Don’t hold back! Let loose!”
The stone spears flew at his signal. The sheer mass of the projectiles shook the air.
The spell Siasha unleashed made a whizzing sound as it crashed into the black mist. She had adjusted the speed of her magic to match the rate of the swarm’s flight, leaving no time for the bees to avoid it.
Although more speed meant more power, the blade bees weren’t known for being robust. The stone spears tore through them like a spoon through pudding. A mere graze was all it took to turn them into mincemeat, and hitting their wings meant they could no longer fly. The rain of magic fell on the blade bee swarm, reducing their speed.