Armed Bee Swarm

"Choose a side and join?"

Wang Wu pondered it, but what he had just witnessed told him that even if he joined, he would only be cannon fodder.

If those two Giant Eagles were Great Demons themselves, that would be one thing. What he feared was that they were merely the vanguard of Great Demons.

Of course, he also had to consider the nature of this war. Was it a life-and-death struggle between two Great Demons, an ordinary conflict, or merely a contest over dividing territory?

Or perhaps this was a genuine slaughter competition held by both Great Demons to select Sprites with greater growth potential?

"I can't join. With this little body of mine, I can't withstand any tossing about. No matter who wins or loses, nothing good will come of it for me."

"But is this really something I can simply choose not to join?"

"I need an excellent hiding place."

"I'll hide for a while first. Once this war is over, I can worry about everything else."

At that thought, the first place Wang Wu thought of was still that rock crevice. What a wonderful hiding place it had been. As long as he dug a little deeper...

What a pity.

He rejected that idea in his heart, then wondered whether he could dig a hole in the ground instead.

But he rejected that idea again almost immediately.

Things would not be so simple.

Those two Giant Eagles had dropped their banners and recruited so many Sprites. Was it for fun, or to bolster their ranks?

Were they so full they had nothing better to do, taking on things that brought no benefit?

Then what exactly were these Sprites for?

They certainly would not be useful in a frontal clash. One stomp would wipe them all out.

But what if they were used for searching, scouting, sentry duty, and vigilance?

Wang Wu could imagine thousands, even tens of thousands, of Sprites scouring every hill and valley, not even sparing an ant nest.

Hide?

Where could he hide?

Did he think he was the only one who could dig holes?

So what if he could set up formations? Before these Sprites, who were born experts at burrowing, did he really think he had left behind no trace at all?

His Level 5 Stealth Talent could evade the Giant Eagles' sweeping gaze, but when an ant army passed by him, he would have nowhere to hide.

"This is a three-dimensional, comprehensive, systematic mode of warfare. They leave no way out for themselves, and none for their enemies either!"

At this thought, Wang Wu was nearly despairing. He no longer needed to consider digging a hole to hide in.

"Is joining truly my only option?"

Just as he was thinking this, Wang Wu suddenly heard a buzzing sound. A squad of Armed Wild Bees was flying over from several dozen meters away.

"Damn it!"

Wang Wu inwardly cried out in alarm. The patch of grass he had chosen for concealment this time was excellent in every respect. Its only flaw was the dozen or so tiny wildflowers growing there. Their fragrance was faint and unobtrusive, nothing special to other Sprites.

But he had not expected to encounter this squad of Armed Wild Bees here. There were twenty of them in all, and they were now swaying through the air straight toward this patch of grass.

It was already too late for Wang Wu to leave. He could only hope that his Level 5 Stealth Talent was strong enough.

In the blink of an eye, the squad of Armed Wild Bees flew into the grass. They flew swiftly and powerfully; one could tell from the sound of their wings vibrating, which rivaled an engine.

At that moment, six Armed Wild Bees landed and began methodically gathering from the petals. It was worth mentioning that one pair of their wings continued to vibrate faintly, providing considerable lift. Otherwise, those fragile little flowers could never bear their heavy bodies.

It had to be said, these flower thieves really knew how to cherish delicate blossoms!

Just as Wang Wu thought this, a flicker of danger flashed through his heart. The next second, with a buzz, he was stung seven or eight times across the back.

Had he been discovered?

How had they discovered him?

Wang Wu was completely dumbfounded, but he could only bolt from the grass with his head in his arms. His back burned fiercely, the pain piercing straight to his heart.

Only then did the relevant information arrive belatedly.

"You have encountered an Armed Bee Swarm!"

"Due to your own bloodline, as well as the Armed Bee Swarm's innate hostility toward bear-type lifeforms, your Level 5 Stealth Talent has been suppressed. Once the distance between you falls below twenty meters, the chance of you being discovered by the bee swarm increases by 50%!"

"You have been attacked by an Armed Poison Bee. You have suffered 20 points of sting damage. Because your Defense is 9, you have negated this sting damage."

"You have been poisoned by bee venom. You have been injected with venom and suffered 5 points of bee venom damage."

"You have been attacked by Armed Poison Bees ×19. You have negated all sting damage!"

"You have been poisoned by bee venom. You have been injected with venom ×19, suffering a total of 95 points of bee venom damage!"

"Fuck! This bee venom can stack damage without limit?"

Wang Wu was dumbfounded, but he no longer tried to run. Run his ass—within just a few seconds, his body had begun to go numb and swell. The pain was so intense that his soul felt as though it were leaving his body.

And those twenty Armed Wild Bees were still madly darting around him and stabbing him.

These wild bees were unlike honeybees. They did not die after stinging once, but could sting repeatedly.

Fortunately, the bee venom in their bodies was indeed single-use. Once it was spent, there was no more.

Wang Wu was already paralyzed where he lay. He could not even kill one Armed Wild Bee to take down with him, and could only watch helplessly as the Armed Bee Swarm swaggered away.

Damn it, they were too vicious.

Wang Wu remained conscious, but he had truly lost control of his body.

A few Mantis Swordsmen could take him out now. Well... it seemed they still could not kill him.

But if he encountered his nemeses, the White-Haired Rats, then he would definitely be dead.

In his dazed state, he did not know how much time had passed before he suddenly felt himself moving. Some little creatures were dragging and carrying him. No way—had he triggered a rescue sequence?

But he immediately realized that there were not so many good things waiting for him. He was being hauled away as a corpse. But what kind of Sprite was doing it?

Wang Wu soon found out, because his body left the ground and began rising into the air.

Spiders.

More than a dozen Black Spiders the size of washbasins bustled about. At some point, they had wrapped him into a zongzi and were transporting him up a large tree.

Hey, do you bastards even have eyes? I'm not dead yet!

No, whether he was dead or not did not seem important to these Black Widow Spiders. What mattered was that he was food, and his flesh was surely delicious. As delicious as the Scorpion Priests he had once eaten. Devouring him would probably yield at least a hundred points of spiritual energy.

As Wang Wu thought this, his vision began to be obscured. The last thing he saw was that he had been brought into the crown of a tree more than thirty meters high, then hung from a rather sturdy branch with Spider Silk, like a slab of air-dried cured meat.

And on this tree, there were dozens more slabs of air-dried cured meat like him.

Oh no!

Wang Wu remembered. This was the large tree more than a hundred meters away from where he had been lurking. It stood over thirty meters tall, with an enormous crown and a trunk so thick that at least five people would be needed to encircle it.

Such a large tree was undoubtedly an excellent ecological habitat. The fact that this Black Spider colony could occupy it showed the strength of their Lineage.

Soon, Wang Wu could no longer see anything. However, his Level 5 Danger Sense still allowed him to clearly distinguish the movements and paths of those Black Widow Spiders.

Of course, only within a range of just over twenty meters.

Within that perception, an exceptionally huge Black Spider, at least as large as a round table that seated five, came skittering over. Its powerful jointed limbs handled Wang Wu as though he were a child's toy. After examining him, it made an incomprehensible rustling sound, apparently very satisfied with the quality of this piece of meat.

Then, in the next second, the enormous Black Widow Spider bit directly into Wang Wu. No—it was more like a needle piercing into him and injecting some indescribable liquid.

Wang Wu felt as though he had downed three jin of erguotou in one gulp. He passed out instantly.

Before completely losing consciousness, he vaguely saw several lines of information.

"You have been attacked by a Widow Spider. Due to your 9 points of Defense, you are immune to this attack's damage."

"You have been injected with Spider Toxin. Within 72 hours, your flesh and internal organs will turn into a pool of delicious liquid. You will be made into a premium Spider Daughter Red."

"Because you possess perfect resistance to ordinary snake venom, and because a large amount of bee venom currently remains in your body, the three toxins are neutralizing one another. Unknown changes may occur..."