The 1 Million Army Sets Fire to the Beehive (1)
pBzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz~
pBzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz~
pA short while later, as the mana glow from the horizon began to slowly fade, the coronation ceremony of the new emperor was underway.
pNearly a million worker bees, including those from the waterfall area, had gathered, so the narrow Stone Fracture Empire resembled a mountain of bees.
pI descended back to the ground on the bee suit, and every bee in the hive sent me a look of fearful reverence.
pBzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz~
pBzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz~
pThe bee suit is a target of fear for the honeybees, but not of hatred. To be precise, for the honeybees it should be seen as an object of awe — a being they respect yet wish to keep at a distance.
pIn reality, the bee suit rarely hunts honeybees. They don’t like honey much, and their larvae are too small to serve as adequate prey.
pOn the contrary, the bee suit hunts wasp nests with genuine passion. So from the honeybees’ perspective, having a bee suit that thoroughly shakes their eternal enemy, the wasps, leaves them feeling both fear and a trace of respect.
pI stepped down from the bee suit and headed toward the center of the plaza.
pThe ancient forest’s emperor, who would lead a million honeybees, was none other than me.
pIt wasn’t much of a coronation ceremony.
pSimply receiving the empress’s bee sting. That was all.
pAs I accepted the empress’s bee sting from the worker bees, the status window immediately responded.
pThe item you have acquired is the Empress Yeliza Beta’s Bee Sting.
pClassification: Unique
pAdditional Skill: Empress Honeybee’s Pheromone
pSpecial Notes: All female honeybees can absorb this into their bodies.
pAnd right after, the quest completion window popped up.
p★ Quest completed! ★
pEmpress’s Gate
pYou have passed the test of the Empress’s Gate and become the emperor of the honeybees.
pOwnership of the Ancient Honeybee Gaeggul has been acquired.
pIt was done.
pI had acquired the ultimate rejuvenation elixir that reallocates stat points, the Gaeggul filled with honey.
pBut standing before the hive brimming with honey, I felt completely at a loss. Since a single honeycomb was the size of my head, eating over a hundred kilometers of it here seemed impossible.
pBut this was inside the tower, after all.
pThe moment I touched it, the honeycomb larger than a hundred kilometers shrank instantly to the size of a human palm in the human world.
pI carefully stored several hundred kilometers of it in my inventory, then checked the remaining time.
pTime limit: 5 days 10 hours 16 minutes 42 seconds left.
pI immediately swung the Empress Yeliza Beta’s Bee Sting and shouted.
p“Tonight!”
pBzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz~
pA million bees flapped their wings in response to the new emperor’s speech.
p“A full moon will rise for the first time in this ancient forest!”
pBzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz~
p“We will rely on that moonlight!”
pBzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz~
p“We will turn the wasps’ nest that has tormented our honeybees into a sea of fire!”
pBzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz~
p“If we fail to win by tomorrow morning!”
pBzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz~
p“This Stone Fracture Empire will be destroyed by the wasps’ full-scale offensive!”
pBzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz~
p“So there is no room for choice. For the sisters who do not participate in tonight’s raid, there is only death awaiting them!”
pBzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz~
p“Everyone! Follow me and take flight!”
pBzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz~
pAs I took off on the bee suit, all the honeybees of the kingdoms rose up in unison.
pWhen I looked back, an astonishing sight unfolded — a scene I doubted I would ever see again in my life. A hundred million massive honeybees were sweeping together like a sandstorm and taking off.
pI flew ahead in the vanguard toward the passage connecting to the third basement level.
pThe honeybees followed in a massive wave behind me. Since the mana glow was still faintly remaining, their flight posed no major problem.
pUpon reaching the ceiling’s ventilation, I turned and shouted toward the million-strong army.
p“Everyone, stay attached to the ceiling until further orders!”
pAs the emperor issuing strict military orders, the million-strong army all clung tightly to the ceiling of the fourth basement level and rested.
pI called for Ganeungi.
p“Select the most agile one thousand soldiers from each kingdom and send them up. I have instructions.”
pAfter issuing the order, I immediately drove the bee suit into the hole and ascended to the third basement level. Work that had been ongoing since before my departure was progressing smoothly there.
pAnd the cheerful face in charge of that work spoke to me.
p“Gilma-nim!”
pIt was none other than Han Yejin.
p“Whoa, how did you get such a wonderful ‘vehicle for flight’?”
p“I’ll tell you later. Right now, please report quickly.”
p“Ah, sorry. The current work progress is…”
p* * *
p32 hours earlier.
pI had concluded that Han Yejin was absolutely necessary for the success of this operation, and decided to deploy her into the mission.
pSince the time limit kept shrinking second by second, I had to prepare everything needed to conquer the wasp nest alone, or there wouldn’t be enough time.
pHan Yejin was a brave and adventurous woman skilled in rock climbing, a guild member. Therefore, she quickly marked the waypoints for the first, second, and third basement levels, then went out with me to handle the procurement of necessary supplies.
pAs soon as we returned to the third basement level, we shared one potion each that I had bought at great expense.
pThe potion you have acquired is the Potion of Evil.
pClassification: Normal
pFunction: Maintains physical functions in normal condition without sleeping for 48 hours.
pThen the bomb manufacturing process for the wasp nest conquest began.
pThe work was simple.
pInflating mana juice into small rubber balloons and tying them.
pHowever, no matter how simple the task was, producing a hundred million bombs in just twenty hours seemed impossible at first glance.
pBut I had one hundred and fifty loyal Rotter workers.
pThe more work is repeated, the more proficient it becomes.
pTherefore, with division of labor, the efficiency of all tasks explodes.
pSo I organized the one hundred and fifty Rotters into fifty teams of three workers each.
pOne Rotter for injecting mana juice into the balloons through the small inlet.
pOne Rotter to receive the mana juice after opening the end of the balloon.
pOne Rotter to tie the transferred balloon.
pThe time required for these three to make one bomb averaged about three to four seconds.
pAbout seventeen bombs per minute.
pAbout one thousand per hour.
pTwenty thousand in twenty hours.
pDividing the work among fifty teams meant a hundred million balloon bombs would be completed in just twenty hours.
pThis was possible because the Rotters didn’t sleep or eat.
pOf course, the Ougres who helped move heavy mana drums and arrange the finished bombs at designated locations would also contribute greatly to achieving the goal, so there was no need to say it.
pAfter confirming that the work was progressing smoothly, I entrusted the overall responsibility for the production of the one hundred million bombs to Han Yejin and left the tower.
pHan Yejin had been suddenly tossed among so many Rotters and Ougres, so she was a little tense. But seeing those monsters obediently obey my commands, she seemed to be adapting quickly, which put me at ease.
pMy head felt like it would explode.
pFor the bombs, we should be able to finish preparation on time…
pThe problem was the searchlight side.
pHoneybees couldn’t fly in complete darkness. Therefore, for the night raid, a “full moon” had to rise in the fourth basement level.
pTheoretically, creating artificial moonlight was no problem.
pBy shining a massive searchlight using mana fuel through the ventilation between the third and fourth basement levels, it could be solved.
pHowever, the problem was a shortage of hands.
pIt would be nice if there was someone reliable to handle this.
pWhile pondering that, upon returning to the outside world through the waypoint, I checked the text messages I had received and was startled.
pThe message was from Ha Insu.
pTomorrow, my family and I will be departing for Singapore. Thank you very much for everything in the meantime. Although I would have liked to meet in person and say goodbye, since you are busy, I am sending this text message as a sign of gratitude.
pThe twenty billion won in damage compensation you gave us last time is an amount I can never afford.
pAlthough you were kind enough to care, it wouldn’t be appropriate to return the entire amount, so we will receive an appropriate sum and transfer the rest to Representative Ji Yosin.
pOnce again, thank you. Until we meet again, take care.
pA message from Ji Yosin followed.
pDeputy Choi, Ha Insu sent me money as a farewell gift before leaving for Singapore.
pIt’s a full fifteen billion in cash.
pHe said he wants me to deliver it to you… What’s going on?
pI had squeezed two hundred and fifty billion from Jang Pomi and compensated Ha Insu with twenty billion won.
pBecause of Jang Pomi’s scheme, his arm was cut off and reattached; now he had to leave his grandmother with dementia behind in Korea and immigrate to a distant foreign country, suffering tremendous damage. Compensating him with twenty billion was not excessive at all.
pAfter all, the money was something I had taken from Jang Pomi, so from my perspective there was no loss.
pBut Ha Insu was a truly honest and humble man.
pWhen he thought the amount was too much, he sent back fifteen billion without hesitation with only five billion remaining.
pAt that moment, a bold idea flashed through my mind. I might have thought it because there was no time and too few hands.
pThe time limit for this quest was only a week.
pRight now, one person’s work was too much.
pI had been feeling the need for reliable staff to handle the overall guild affairs besides Han Yejin. But I hesitated because I couldn’t bring unverified people into the underground where I monopolized everything.
pWith this opportunity, I would slowly let them handle work outside the tower, observe their character, and it wouldn’t be much of a concern.
pI immediately called Ha Insu.
pHa Insu answered right away.
pYes, Benefactor-nim.
p“Ah, Teacher Ha, I just checked the text messages.”
p“Ah, that’s…”
pI cut him off.
p“Ah, I’m short on time right now, so I’ll be direct. If I can provide you with a job in Korea at a salary equivalent to Red Tower, what do you say? Will you still go to Singapore?”
p“A job in Korea? The narrow space on the bottom floor of a high-end restaurant will soon reach the ears of those empire guys?”
p“It’s not waiter work.”
p“Then what? I was told it’s theft, and besides waiter work there’s nothing else I can do…”
p“…It’s guild work.”
p“D-did you mean make me a hunter?”
p“No. You won’t be entering the tower at all. Of course, you won’t fight monsters either. Just think of it as a clerk handling various tasks for the guild.”
p“…As I mentioned before, I have to take care of my grandmother with dementia… It would be wonderful to get a job in Korea. However, can I really work as well as when I was a waiter…”
p“You don’t have to worry about that at all. However… you must be able to start work immediately.”
p“R-right now?”
pAfter that conversation, I ultimately succeeded in scouting him.
pA short while later, when I met him, I had carefully purchased hundreds of pre-marked searchlight models, the prefabricated scaffolding to install them in a circle, and lightweight cranes to support them.
pHa Insu was a graduate of an industrial high school with a good head for work, so he seemed capable enough to handle the searchlight installation.
pI took him to the dilapidated building where the waypoint for the redevelopment area was hidden, and left him to do the assembly.
pSince the available space for the double-arm belt was not yet large enough, we couldn’t move the completed searchlights into the pocket dimension, so we would finish them on the waypoint and carry them directly to the third basement level.
pThen, ten hours earlier, I had jumped to the fourth basement level to meet the empress of the honeybees, trusting that Han Yejin and Ha Insu would finish their work.
p* * *
p“…So approximately a hundred million have been surpassed as of about twenty minutes ago.”
p“Researcher-nim, I’m really sorry for all the hard work you’ve put in overseeing this entire operation. But please push a little harder and keep working. The honeybees who return after the raid have one last operation to complete.”
p“Understood. I already went out earlier to replenish mana juice, so there should be plenty in stock.”
p“Well done. If the situation prevents you from reporting to me like this in the future, please use your own discretion and move flexibly. I always trust your judgment!”
p“Thank you!”
pI immediately left through the way and headed to the redevelopment site.
pHa Insu had already finished his work and was testing the crane.
p“Is it all done?”
p“Yes, it’s done. …I’m worried it might not work well since it’s my first time.”
p“It’s fine. As long as it operates, there’s no problem. Please test it.”
pAfter confirming through the test that the crane and lighting worked perfectly, I returned to the third basement level with them.
pI had the Ougres install the crane and lights in their positions, ran the test again, then called for Ganeungi.
p[Each kingdom. 1,000 soldiers. Dispatch. Completed. Queen. Assembly. End.]
p“Excellent! And Ganeungi! Now it’s your turn to shine!”
p[Anything. Just the command.]
pI extended the Empress of the Honeybees’ Bee Sting and said.
p“First, absorb this.”