Chapter 112: Chapter 112

The karnuq were making a bit of commotion around the small one after she prayed at the Shrine of Bees and Belissar gave her more honey, but he ignored them. He was busy reviewing all the latest messages once more.

A challenger has been fully blessed.

A challenger has selected a blessing unique to your patron.

Gained additional 10 DP.

Tribute received. Your patron grants you this portion:

- Ground Mana Flower x1

Ground Mana Flower absorbed.

Sufficient samples gathered. Ground Mana Flower now available.

And most of all, the King was greatly pleased with the Second of the Sixth’s transformation. Thus, why the First of the Fifth Read the latest chapters on NovelHub - completely free!

This was fine. The First of the Fifth continued to repeat that to herself as she paced around endlessly.

That is, until she felt the stirrings of mana shifting through the entire realm. It was a subtle thing, further away from her senses than normal. As if it were traveling beneath the ground instead of through the air.

The First of the Fifth perked up and crawled outside. What she found…was not nearly as subtle as she first thought. A patch of the ground near the prime gathering area was glowing bright.

Which meant she was about to receive new flowers.

But even the First of the Fifth was not prepared for what appeared when the glow faded. A third patch of mana flowers now appeared…but this one was entirely different from the other two. Instead of the blue and clear glow of the regular flowers, these ones were pure brown from stem to petal, blending in with the dirt beneath them. Their stems and leaves hung low while their roots spread wide, clinging tight to the ground. And whereas the other mana flowers left their mana drift through the air in aimless puffs of mist, these ones directed their mana down. She see the sparkle of mana traveling through their roots and into the dirt around them, solidifying and strengthening it.

This…this was something altogether different. Not the base mana flowers, which held mana but little else, doing little with it besides accumulation. Not the specialized but mundane flowers that produced interesting but normal compounds. No, this was more akin to the flame radish flowers, gathering and transforming mana into a new form that could act upon the world all by itself…but to a far greater degree than even those.

The First of the Fifth was halfway to organizing foragers and guards to stake her claim on the new flower when she paused. And then she began to tremble.

The King…loved…all bees. Which meant he made this for…

She slowly, ever so slowly, forced herself to begin dancing.

“…forget previous order. Go to Apiary queens, tell to gather by new flower.”

The workers seemed confused but moved to carry out her command. The First of the Fifth then turned to the new flower patch and stared at it, trembling the entire time.

The Second of the Sixth couldn’t help but buzz her wings loud as she flew over to the gathering area…and saw the brand-new flowers.

There it was. The First of the Fifth’s plot had finally been revealed. This new patch of flowers was more unique and powerful than any the Second of the Sixth had ever seen…and it was just the latest of a whole slew of new flower types, on top of the number of mana flowers doubling. There were so many new flowers, in fact, that no one hive was large enough to monopolize them all. Not even the First of the Fifth's.

So, what had she done? She had parceled out the existing flowers one by one, pretending she was being charitable so that each hive would be pacified. And now, once the greatest prize of all appeared, she would swoop in and snatch it all for herself.

And all the other Apiary queens, having accepted the previous favors, would be entirely unable to complain. Including the Second of the Sixth. It was beyond frustrating…but she had been played.

The First of the Fifth slowly flew over to the new patch and pointed to one of the flowers.

The Second of the Sixth buzzed her wings again. Yes, she knew! They all knew that! Was the First of the Fifth not satisfied in merely staking her claim?! Did she want to go through and claim every last flower, one by one, just to rub it in?! Did she…

The First of the Fifth then, even more slowly, flew to the next flower. She trembled as she danced.

“This one, First of the Sixth’s.”

The Second of the Sixth froze, as did all the other Apiary queens.