Free Web NovelChapter 21: Alliance With Bees
"I need some of your honey, and I can see you have a hive over there in that tree. It’s not every day that I get to meet a Blue Queen Bee, so I need to make use of this moment."
The Blue Queen Bee didn’t move at all. It seemed to be waiting to hear the other end of the agreement.
Charles smiled like he was a salesman about to earn a customer.
"I will give you a better chance at fighting against the people that come after me," he proposed.
The bumblebee didn’t move, which meant that it wasn’t yet convinced.
Not good enough?
Charles scratched his head, trying to think of more to say. Of course, he could fight against this creature, but he would rather not have to.
Besides, if the Prince was following after him, he wanted to make things difficult for the man.
After all, Charlotte was on the 100th floor. She wasn’t a final boss that he was open to other people facing, even if he did severely doubt that they would be able to make it there.
"The people coming after me are the Prince with a party of 10 elite fighters. It’s the strongest party I’ve ever seen enter this tower."
The Blue Queen Bee’s wings jolted slightly. Finally, she had reacted.
Charles silently rejoiced. He knew that he had won.
The bee made some buzzing noises before flapping its wings. Somehow, the small wings carried its blue body over to the hive, where a hundred other smaller bees were resting.
When the bee came back, it held an object in its stick-like arms and dropped it on the grass in front of Charles.
It was a piece of blue honeycomb the size of a small human.
Thanks... But I didn’t need this much.
Charles brought out another one of his vials and used it to store a small piece of the blue honeycomb. He also tasted some and found it to be delicious and replenishing.
"Bzzz!"
When he looked back up at the bee, it was towering over him, looking down at his small form with five red eyes.
"Oh, sorry. I almost forgot."
Charles activated his skill and thought of a law that he could keep running without draining too much of his mana.
﹂[Editor’s Authority Cast] ~ Awaiting authoritative words...
He didn’t want to get the Prince killed.
Although the Silverblessed Kingdom had its issues, the royal family themselves were not incredibly evil. The taxes in the city were very high, and slavery had not yet been abolished, but killing the young Prince wouldn’t solve this.
At least not right now.
So instead, he just decided to make things more difficult for them.
By now, they were sure to be tired. With one of their greatest assets taken away from them, the fight would be much harder.
"Using swords is not allowed in here."
Charles felt a chunk of his mana being drained from his body. He also felt the urge to put away his makeshift dragon scale dagger, but since it wasn’t a true sword, he managed to resist.
The Blue Queen Bee seemed to tilt its head sideways, confused.
Meanwhile, Charles was having another taste of the honey.
"They are all sword wielders. Without this, it should make the fight much easier for you."
The bee seemed to think about this for a few seconds before making another buzzing sound.
This one was more high-pitched, which made Charles assume that the bee was pleased with the offer.
So, with that, Charles took the spoils of the alliance and headed towards the door on the far side of the room.
It was time to begin the second half of the climb.
...
On the 50th floor...
Prince Cain, Knight Ruth, and Knight Mary pushed open the doors to the 50th floor and almost fell flat on their faces.
They were all in poor condition. Especially the Prince.
He had suffered numerous injuries, ranging from cuts to bruises to burns.
As for the two knights, their armour had been shattered, leaving them dressed only in their undergarments, with their swords on their backs.
"Everything... was going so well..." Prince Cain said between breaths. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com
It was the truth.
Once they reached floor 40, everything went to hell.
They had come up against a horde of creatures that managed to catch them off guard.
The creatures were not of a high grade, but their goal was to adapt to the weaknesses of a party.
This was where they had been dealt the most damage. Since then, the climb had only become more and more difficult.
Now, as Prince Cain looked up, his eyes landed on a giant bee with blue fur.
He wanted to accept defeat, but he refused to.
He told himself that if that adept soloist had made it this far, then surely he could!
As the Queen Bee called for its children, ten bees, each the size of a human head, emerged from the hive and headed towards them.
Prince Cain rose to attention and roared at his allies.
"Fight! Draw your weapons and fight!"
Knight Ruth was the first to react, tiredly reaching for her sword.
However, when she tried to pull it from its sheath...
"It’s— it’s stuck..."
Stuck?
Cain tried to draw his own weapon and found that she was right. It felt like he was trying to lift an entire ton.
Only Mary was able to draw her great hammer, except she hardly had the energy to wield it.
Still, she charged forwards and began swinging it at the enemies.
As Prince Cain watched his knight attempt to solo the 50th-floor boss, he bit down on his lip in rage.
He knew that this tower was especially difficult. He didn’t even expect to make it this far in the first place.
The only thing that was motivating him was that man... That man!
With gritted teeth, Prince Cain pulled out an item from his clothing. It was a return crystal that, when crushed, would bring them back to their chosen location.
Without hesitation, he crushed the crystal. freēwēbηovel.c૦m
After a blink, he found himself standing in the throne room of the Silverblessed Kingdom palace, with Ruth and Mary beside him, eyes wide with disbelief.
"Why have you returned?" a sudden deep voice came from the direction of the throne.
Prince Cain looked up to find his father staring at him.
King Brandon.
The next words almost got stuck in his throat, but he just barely managed to croak them out.
"Father, we... we were too weak."
