The Secret of the Blood Jade Bees

But they could only choose to attack from a distance by throwing stones.

They had not brought any weapons. Perhaps they could make some themselves, but the exam had only just begun, and there had not been enough time.

They could not affect Brown Bear at all.

They did not dare step forward either. There were still quite a few Blood Jade Bees left, and they did not want to be attacked.

Then something unexpected happened to the examinees. The Queen Bee that had been swatted away actually led the other Blood Jade Bees away.

It even knew to avoid danger and seek safety.

Honey was already flowing from the hole smashed into the hive, and Brown Bear had begun licking it.

It even bit off a corner of the hive.

Although Brown Bear might have been stronger, the examinees would still rather face Brown Bear than the overwhelming swarm of Blood Jade Bees.

Lucky did not compete for the honey.

Through Phoenix's vision, he had already discovered many enormous hives within the forest.

Quite a few Blood Jade Bees lived there.

He also made another discovery. There were many flowers in the forest, but only other bees could be seen gathering nectar from them.

Not a single Blood Jade Bee was in sight.

Their nectar-gathering target seemed to be within the mountains.

Lucky caught up with the fleeing swarm of Blood Jade Bees. Since the Queen Bee was intelligent, he wanted to know what they would do next.

He then discovered that the swarm was actually flying toward the mountains.

The entire Bremen Mountains were shrouded in a thin layer of mist, making it impossible to see clearly within.

Starting from the foothills, the trees in the mountains grew taller, and even the weeds stood over half a meter high.

There was no mountain path leading upward. This was an even more uninhabited place.

Lucky did not enter the mountains. Instead, he had Phoenix follow them.

Lucky had noticed that many creatures in the forest avoided approaching the mountains whenever possible, as though something terrifying lurked there.

Together with the examiner's warning, even more dangerous creatures probably existed in those mountains, perhaps even Magical Beasts.

In any case, he shared Phoenix's vision, so he did not need to enter personally.

He would pass the exam first.

Lucky headed toward a nearby hive site while keeping his attention on Phoenix's perspective.

With Lucky's strength, collecting Blood Jade Bee honey was naturally easy.

It was somewhat regrettable that he lacked any spatial ability. Otherwise, he would have wanted to take all the honey away, and he would not even have spared the hive.

The hive's structure did not seem simple either. It could be used as food or medicinal material.

It was some sort of rare treasure.

After collecting the honey, Lucky left the forest directly.

It took him less than three hours.

"As expected, you were the first to pass the exam." The examiner was not surprised when he saw Lucky appear.

"This Blood Jade Bee honey is your reward for passing." The examiner did not covet the Blood Jade Bee honey Lucky had obtained.

"This honey is a rare divine-grade product in the outside world, with many effects..." Perhaps afraid Lucky did not understand, the examiner explained it to him.

It could improve one's complexion, slow aging, and prevent many illnesses.

It was also said to help with weight loss and virility. Outside, it was the kind of product that would sell like crazy the moment it appeared.

"There are still more exams ahead, and it would be inconvenient to carry around. You should keep it, Examiner Husum." Lucky had seen too many good things. Without a spatial ability to store items, he found it troublesome and simply gave it to Husum.

"You really don't know the value of things."

Lucky did not mind the examiner's words and casually asked, "The flowers these Blood Jade Bees collect nectar from do not seem to be in the forest?"

"You noticed that in such a short time? You truly aren't simple." Husum offered a word of praise.

"But I can't tell you that." Husum smiled.

"Does it have something to do with the mountains?"

"Let me give you some advice. The Bremen Mountains are a very dangerous place. Even Hunter teams face danger when entering them."

"You are not a Hunter yet. Once you become one, you can learn about them through the Hunters' specialized intelligence network."

"Don't think that just because you've learned Nen, you can go anywhere you please."

Husum's words carried both advice and warning.

In fact, Lucky had already discovered what was happening in the mountains.

That swarm of Blood Jade Bees encountered attacks from many birds, as well as some perfectly concealed chameleons. They could not be detected at all through vision alone.

The once-massive force was quickly reduced to only around a hundred bees.

Why had the Queen Bee led the Blood Jade Bees into the mountains?

Lucky returned directly to the airship.

He focused all his attention on Phoenix.

From what he could see, the Blood Jade Bees entering the mountains was practically a suicidal act.

What exactly was the reason?

By the time only the last Queen Bee remained, it could no longer continue forward.

Its path was blocked by spiderwebs, with many millstone-sized spiders obstructing its way.

Was this where it would end?

Lucky was considering whether to save the Queen Bee and find out where it was headed.

But a disturbance erupted in the mountains.

It drew Lucky's attention.

Phoenix immediately flew toward the source of the commotion. As for the various raptors in the air, it was as if none of them could see Phoenix.

This was Phoenix's talent. Although it could not control birds, it could make them refrain from attacking it.

Of course, even if they attacked, Phoenix was not afraid.

It flew several thousand meters toward the Queen Bee's destination.

At last, it saw the situation clearly.

A high mountain—more precisely, an enormous hive over ten meters tall—appeared before Lucky's eyes.

Seeing it, Lucky could not help thinking of the Chimera Ant nest.

There was actually such a huge hive!

A gigantic spider and a large group of spiders were fighting the Blood Jade Bees that filled the sky and covered the ground.

It seemed they were fighting over territory.

The largest Blood Jade Bees here were only as large as Queen Bees. There did not seem to be any bigger ones.

But they flew faster and attacked more fiercely.

Their force was also immense. Lucky noticed that even when entangled in webs, they could quickly break free.

This group of unnamed spiders was simply no match for the Blood Jade Bees.

Under Lucky's control, Phoenix flew higher.

He then discovered that the hive was located on a steep cliff.

Below it lay a circular basin.

Lucky could not share Phoenix's sense of smell, or he surely would have smelled an incomparably rich fragrance.

In Lucky's vision, the basin was a sea of crimson.

It was filled with red plants, with Blood Jade Bees constantly flying in and out among them.

Lucky also noticed that some Blood Jade Bees carried individual plants away in different directions.

Some settled near the basin, while others flew beyond the mountains.

Only after raising his viewpoint did Lucky discover that several enormous hives surrounded the entire basin.