Apotheosis

The path extended all the way to the end, but a bee nest seemed to be blocking it.

If Zen wanted to proceed, he'd have to pass by it—undoubtedly, it was a great risk.

If the barbarian bees sensed danger, they'd pose great trouble.

While Zen wasn't completely certain about the barbarian bees' power, he at least knew that they weren't to be trifled with.

But since he had made it that far, he couldn't just turn back.

After making up his mind, Zen took a deep breath and began restraining his aura, slowly moving forward along the corner. His movements and footsteps turned extremely light.

As far as Zen was concerned, the bees weren't particularly aggressive creatures, so long as they weren't disturbed.

The difference between barbarian bees and honeybees was significant but their habits seemed to be the same. At the very least, the barbarian bees had built their own hive as their own territory. So long as Zen didn't attack it, he could avoid getting himself into any trouble.

As he slowly approached the beehive, he could observe everything more clearly.

The fist-sized barbarian bees flew in and out of the countless hexagonal openings on top of the hive. Upon taking a closer look, he noticed that under their stomachs, a ball of fur was growing, stained with a drop of seven-colored spring water.

The bees directly collected the seven-colored spring water and consumed it like nectar.

It was no wonder that the barbarian bees could fly. Even Zen wasn't currently able to fly. After all, he couldn't break free from the powerful attraction force. The barbarian bees fed on the strength source all year long. While flapping their wings, they could escape the place's attraction force.

The closer he got to the hive, the more cautious he became.

When he was about 80 feet away from the hive, a bad feeling overcame him, like someone was spying on him.

Zen grew alert.

Though Zen received the best treatment in the Collapsing Mountain race, that didn't mean that he was immune to danger. In the place without rules, he wouldn't let down his guard.

Stopping in his steps, he looked around. There was nothing around him other than a cave in front leading to the top, but it was empty.

After some observation, Zen finally made a discovery. There were two cracks in the middle of the giant beehive, a pair of eyes hidden within them.

These eyes were made of countless compound eyes, with countless small grids. Zen could see his own reflection in each of the grids.

He was being carefully watched by this very pair of eyes.

The feeling made Zen's hair stand on end. What the hell was this hive?

The two eyes were at least ten times larger than those of an ordinary barbari

ted to each other and eventually converged into a single path.

But the hive was blocking it.

The Collapsing Mountain warrior wouldn't climb up the cave he fell from and Zen just told him about the dead end on the road behind them. There was only one way left for him to go.

But the beehive was a problem.

"What should we do?" The Collapsing Mountain warrior asked out of the blue.

Zen curled his lips in thought. Though the warrior had initially seemed hostile, now, he just looked helpless and upset with the outcome. In Zen's eyes, the warrior's character wasn't exactly pleasant.

After staying there for half a year, Zen knew that the Collapsing Mountain members didn't lie. So long as they had any reason to hate someone, they wouldn't bother hiding their hatred.

If they needed help, they would turn to others for help without hesitation. But Zen was used to this way of doing things. He didn't bother with the warrior and only said, "We can only pass through carefully. As long as we don't disturb the bees, we'll be fine."

Even after the huge commotion, the bees gave them a warning without attacking, so they didn't seem excessively aggressive.

"There could be one problem though—the queen bee is in the hive," Zen said.

"What?! There's a queen bee here?" The warrior almost roared, but then covered his mouth as his eyes filled with fear.

His reaction made Zen curious. "Isn't it normal to have a queen bee in the hive?"

The bees normally relied on the queen to breed and produce descendants. It seemed unlikely that the barbarian bees were an exception to the rule.

"No! It's not like that. It's definitely abnormal to have a queen bee!" The warrior looked terrified as he said it.

Seeing the expression on his face, Zen realized that he'd taken the matter too lightly.