Three more hornets were approaching the hive.
'Oh, the problems never come alone! Now this, too!'
I clenched my hammer and looked around me. Despite the losses, there were still many more bees ready to fight.
"Split into groups! Be ready to pounce! There are three more of these bastards, and it might take a hundred bees to bring down one hornet, but there are thousands of us! We can make it!"
The bees raised their hammers and their fists. Their cheers were boisterous and impossible to make out. The sound was so loud, some dust began falling from the cave ceiling.
I flew past the bees, doing my best to wave and shout them into three teams, so all hornets could be ambushed the moment they would dare to set wings inside our hive.
Good thing most of these bees were Foremen Bees! They had ranks to organize themselves with and were pros at organizing others. It made things easier.
Suddenly, I felt a familiar pleasant smell break through the stench of hornets and blood.
"Nectus! Get away from the entrance immediately!"
Ambrosia was here, and now she grabbed my arm.
"What? Amby, what are you doing here?! It's too dangerous!"
"Yes, exactly," she said, pulling me deeper into the hive. "I *knew* someone needs to keep you in check and alive. Command from here, not there."
I was helpless to resist Ambrosia's pull. We stopped a couple dozen meters farther from the entrance, well behind the backs of a few thousand bees. A couple dozen of her Attendants hovered near us, looking bloodthirsty.
"Stay here," Ambrosia told me sternly. "Don't get any closer to the enemies. That armor won't protect you."
She wore no armor at all. She wasn't *supposed* to be anywhere near here…
Before I could explain this all to her, the hornets had arrived.
〔Hornet〕
〔Health〕: 31 / 31
〔Stamina〕: 21 / 29
〔Hornet〕
〔Health〕: 31 / 31
〔Stamina〕: 20 / 29
〔Hornet〕
〔Health〕: 31 / 31
〔Stamina〕: 22 / 29
This trio didn't explore our defenses. They immediately rushed inside and flew toward their pinned sisters.
A new wave of bees flew at them, aiming to pin them down. Blood flowed again as the hornets resisted—but the numerical disadvantage was too high.
Soon, two hornets were separated from each other and fully balled by the coordinated efforts of my bees. But each of them resisted fiercely, leaving a new dead body with each swing of their claws before those were pinned by bees.
The third was almost balled: bees clung to each of her gigantic limbs, grabbed the hornet's wings with their claws. Only death would make them fall.
And there were many fallen… Then the hornet tore into bees she could reach with her teeth, killing even more.
A thought pierced me like a knife.
'If back then I've taken the Death Grip gene, maybe fewer bees would have died today.'
I didn't take it, because I didn't want my daughters to be disposable.
But by doing so, I was ignoring major strategic advantages of bee species and only bringing more failure.
"Look out!" Ambrosia shouted, snapping me to the present.
She was pointing outside, where I saw *another* hornet flying into our cave.
"Shit! Quickly, someone—ball that bitch!" I waved at the nearest squadron of still free Foremen Bees. "Attack!"
My voice was hard to hear in the surrounding noise. The nearest bees turned to where I pointed, but among the others, many were too distracted to notice the new hornet in time.
She tore into their ranks like a circular saw into a future plank. At first, she tried to go to her sisters; then, the dozens of bees attacking her distracted the hornet.
I watched the monster slaughter bees left and right. Sometimes, a bee or several would grab the hornet's limbs and try to bring her to the ground—but the hornet freed herself faster than she could be pinned.
And in her rampage, the hornet got so close to me and Ambrosia, that I could see the murder in her eyes!
〔Hornet〕
〔Health〕: 29 / 31
〔Stamina〕: 13 / 29
〔Species〕: Murderous Giant Hornet
〔Age〕: 41 d
〔Remaining lifespan〕: 52 d
〔Attributes〕
> Strength: 29
> Agility: 51
> Endurance: 31
> Defense: 45
> Intelligence: 4
> Perception: 49
〔Special abilities〕
Flight II, Stinger V, Sharp Teeth IV, Claws II, Attack Pheromones, Defense Pheromones
〔〕〔〕〔〕
She barely had a scratch on her. All the bees achieved so far was to drain the hornet's stamina.
Now she looked at me—no, right next to me. Her antennae moved.
"Ambrosia!" I realized. "She felt your scent—get away!"
Too late—the hornet shook off a few more bees and charged at us.
All I knew at this moment was that I had to protect Amby at all costs!
"BIIIIIIIITCH!" I shouted, leaping up. My stone hammer flew upward with the force of my jump *and* my swing.
I threw it right into the hornet's giant face, and to my own shock, hit the mark! The rock on my hammer struck the hornet right in the right eye.
〔You deal 1 damage!〕
The hornet flinched, and ten more bees hung on her limbs at this moment. One cried out and broke her hammer over the hornet's beating wings.
The hornet fell to the ground with a loud thud, only to try standing up.
There were enough bees right near us to keep the hornet down, but she could get up and get to murder again in seconds.
"Someone has to finish her quickly!" I shouted.
My own remaining weapons were all on my armor. I tried to pull a bone spike free when I saw Ambrosia dashing toward the hornet.
"Amby?!"
She looked like a wrathful goddess of nature as she hovered over the hornet's head. The monster stared at her with two saucer-sized eyes and struggled, trying to bite.
"Keep her down!" Ambrosia ordered, stomping down on the hornet's face. "Don't let her even twitch!"