Chapter 291: Chapter 291

Belissar smiled at Tarwantrad.

“Thanks for your help. Looks like we might be able to complete some of those missions sooner rather than later.”

Tarwantrad shook her head.

“I did nothing but alert you to what your bees had already achieved. And we have not yet decided what to trade, but I think I have an idea. As far as bee species are concerned, I have seen monster versions of honeybees, bumblebees, and carpenter bees in your tower. Are there any others?”

Belissar shook his head.

“No, all the others are evolutions of those three.”

Tarwantrad nodded and made a confident grin.

“In that case, would you like some of mine? I have some species you don’t have represented yet.”

Belissar’s mind crashed. Tarwantrad…had more bees? Bees he didn’t have? His jaw opened and closed a couple of times as he stared blankly until his mind resumed. Once it did, he had to wonder why he was so surprised. He knew Tarwantrad was surprised and excited to see his bees, but that didn’t mean she didn’t have any of her own.

That would eventually be desirable to try and acquire new rooms but would absolutely not be in any of his current rooms. As of now, there was no room he wished to flood. The bees’ and karnuq’s homes were out of the question. Even the empty battle rooms were no good, as he didn’t want to interfere with the bees’ or the karnuq’s ability to fight there.

As he thought about it, the potential dangers of both these features led him to a single conclusion: he needed more room slots. If he could build a new room, he could try to fill it with water stones and vapor hemlock without worry, adding a new layer of defense unlike any he currently had, as well as creating a new environment that either the swimming or toxic bees might be suited for. Additionally, more boons were incoming and he didn’t know what sort of flowers Tarwantrad might have available. He may quickly find himself needing even more rooms in the very near future.

Which meant that…it was time for another expansion.

Belissar took stock of his defenses. His Dirt Tunnels trap layout was slightly improved, though he didn’t expect it to stop an expansion shade. The digging queens, however, had managed to raise enough squads of digging soldiers to deploy on their own. They weren’t numerous enough to stop a shade themselves, but they could potentially ambush or harass a shade while it was distracted by the traps.

The battle Fairy Grove had no innate defenses besides whatever mysterious effects its fairy circles might have, but the soldier bee army had trained there enough to fight. That might give them the chance to attack a shade while the trees and the confusing effects of the room gave them cover.

The battle Lava Field was much as it was before, though now that the Third of Sixth’s hive was safely in a second Lava Field he could let shades into the room with confidence. Like the digging queens, the burning queens had raised enough soldiers now that they could fight. Perhaps they would be able to slow a shade down and increase the chances for the mini-volcano’s boulders to strike. There was the Lava Lotus node there too, though likely not in sufficient numbers yet to make a difference.

As for the battle meadow, the bees were assembling a new palisade complete with a bunch of cross-pollinated thorn rose bushes. It was not complete yet, but it did provide an additional obstacle for one of his wooden platforms, in case they needed the wounded soldiers to pitch in.

But, as always, the battle meadow’s strength came down to its defenders rather than its features. The soldier bee army continued to train and grow. The Flower Meadow queens had raised a new lancer squad and an archer or two, while Beero had managed to assemble a second battlecaster squad. The bumblebees had grown even larger, now coming up to Belissar’s stomach.

The karnuq had not been idle, either. Tyhgak had received a blessing while Metsaitti and Noigakkuq continued to train with theirs. The karnuq had begun refining their blacksmithing as well, the iron shields they had now were noticeably less lumpy than previously. But ultimately, it was neither of those that surprised Belissar the most.

Belissar was in the karnuq village, reviewing the state of the karnuq hunters with Chief Rohsuak and Metsaitti in preparation for the expansion, when he heard a shout.

He turned to find Juosiutik walking briskly towards them, twitching as if she wanted to run but keeping to her pace. She held a round pot in one hand and a jar in the other, holding both very carefully and with gloves.

“Hi Juosiutik, did you need something?”

Juosiutik smiled and shook her head.

“No, I have something for you instead.”

She knelt down and gingerly placed her cargo on the ground. She motioned to the jar.

“Deathcap poison, thickened with mana honey. If I’m correct, it should be extremely toxic, not to mention imbued with mana. Should be thick and sticky enough to coat our spears and arrows with, but the hunters need to be really, REALLY careful. I’ve been working with the bees on antidotes but we haven’t tested them, and with how toxic this is we might not have time to apply one even if they work.”

She gave Metsaitti a pointed look at that and he nodded.

“I’ll make sure the hunters are absolutely aware of the danger.”

She stared at him a moment longer before motioning to the other pot. Belissar now noted that there were slices of fire radish wrapped around it.

“Well, this is really simple. Just a pot full of mana honey and some fire radish, as you see. Throw it, it breaks, mana honey covers the fire radish and…well, you’ve seen what happens.”

“Sorry, I’m trying to figure out something better.”

Belissar shook his head and smiled.