Chapter 30: Chapter 30

Belissar sighed as he checked the first set of flax he had prepped. Retting was slow going given the lack of water in his Tower. There was some dew in the morning, and the flowers were clearly getting water from somewhere, but there were no bodies of water he could leave the flax in. Drying them afterwards would likewise take a while since the only thing he could do was leave it out in the sun.

So, the first set he had prepped wasn’t ready for further processing yet. Which meant...his task today would be prepping more batches. Yet another day of picking apart the stems and leaves and seeds by hand.

Belissar heaved another sigh.

But there was nothing for it. The textile plant node produced more flax each day. And since Belissar would prefer not to wait for this entire process every time he needed fabric, he needed to at least build up a decent stockpile. So, he had no choice but to keep at it.

He couldn’t help but wonder if other Tower Lords went through all this.

But fortunately for Belissar, something was about to change.

Ongoing purification limit reached. Minor purification required.

Minor purification attempt in 3 days...

It wasn’t exactly a week since the last time, but close enough apparently. Belissar smiled and leapt up...before frowning and shaking his head. Right, a purification attempt meant a battle, and meant more of his bees would likely perish. It was not a happy thing. That he would have to put aside his flax work to prepare for the coming fight was a small silver lining, but he’d rather do flax work the rest of his life than see his bees come to harm.

His preparations might be done, but his bees still had more they could do. Each day meant another day of training for the soldier bees, and so reduced the chance they would be caught by the shade. Each day meant more soldier bees born, and so a greater advantage for the army. Belissar may have wanted to get it over with for himself, but he would not deny his bees any advantage he could grant them. He was not the one who had to fight the shade, after all.

So, he put aside his restlessness and tried his best to focus on his task as he waited for the countdown to finish...

Two days later, Belissar once again stood by a roaring flame next to the Apiary entrance, holding a torch in his hand. The soldier bees assembled in the sky above the gateway, waiting as the last few minutes passed.

Minor purification attempt commencing.

Another shade formed again, this one the same size as the minor purification before it. And once again, a squad of soldier bees dove down and stung it, all of them hitting their mark. The shade roared and snapped at them as predicted, but again the soldier bees flew just out of its reach.

But this time, no second wave came.

Instead, the first squad paced their retreat, flying just outside the range of the shade’s tail and jaws. The shade snarled and ran after them, pouncing and whipping its tail around to try and catch the bees buzzing around it. But the four soldiers dodged and weaved together, passing each other by in different directions and confusing the shade’s aim. Still, the storm of fang and claw and sharp tail meant the single squad couldn’t launch any attacks of their own, giving up ground as they were forced to retreat back.

And that was exactly the plan.

Suddenly the shade yelped as the ground vanished beneath it. It fell into the Pit Trap with a crash, and then sticky honey with a slightly purple tint sprayed all over it from a nozzle in the wall. Belissar smirked.

He wanted to test the effectiveness of the Pit Trap and Sticky Honey Trap combo, so he asked the bees to adjust their strategy this time. The bees were tasked with luring the shade onto the nearest trap...and they had succeeded. The rest of the soldier bees now sprung into action and began hovering around the pit. Belissar himself lit the torch in his hand and began walking forward.

Even as the monster was collecting itself, another squad of bees dove down into the pit and stung its back. The shade roared and swiped its tail at them...but the honey stuck it to the ground. It only took a moment for the shade to break its tail free, but that moment was more than enough for the bees to have escaped.

The tail strike was slow as well, weighed down by the honey and kindling stuck to it. So, the next squad of bees had little issue evading and striking their mark was well. The shade thrashed about but it couldn’t reach the honey stuck to its sides.

So, it took a deep breath instead.

The next squad of bees prepared to scatter before noticing the walls of the Pit Trap all around them. They had no choice but to fly straight up at maximum speed as a cloud of black mist filled the Pit Trap. Belissar frowned.

That was...not something he or the bees had thought of. The confined space was working against them now. The bees couldn’t approach as long as the black mist was present.