Ninth spun the slingshot around and fired several shots in rapid succession. The whizzing marbles turned into rolling fireballs, forcing the bees behind her back.
Then Ninth covered her nose and mouth and climbed up the tree trunk. Seizing the right moment, she pounced on Tenth in midair and hugged her as they plunged back into the Miasma Sea. Having just adapted to the miasma, her eyes immediately became bloodshot again, tears gushing out uncontrollably, but Ninth could no longer care about any of that.
Wiping her face, she tore open Tenth's clothes and saw that a venomous stinger had pierced through her right chest. She could even see her lungs laboring like bellows inside her chest cavity.
"Dammit, how did this happen? Tenth, who ambushed you?"
Tenth wheezed heavily, unable to say a single word. She could only point upward with difficulty.
Following Tenth's gesture, Ninth looked up and saw a yellow figure floating in the air. Its metallic exterior clung to its body like armor.
It had a slender waist, and a sharp venomous stinger extended from beneath it before curving over its head, making it look both dangerous and beautiful. The moment it appeared, all the surrounding bees vanished, as though they feared it.
After recognizing it, Ninth's eyes widened, and her voice trembled. "Flower-Tailed Venom Bee! Isn't that the most venomous kind of bee? What is it doing here?" Ninth instinctively wanted to flee, but the instant she saw Tenth still gasping for breath, she changed her mind and covered Tenth's wound with her hand.
Blood continued to pour from Tenth's body, while the bee venom spread through her bloodstream. Tenth's face turned deathly pale under the toxin's corrosion, her breathing grew ragged, and her pupils began to lose focus.
Knowing that Tenth's life had begun