The one leading the bees was very clever, possessing an impressive level of intellect and wisdom.
From the moment it detected an anomaly, it had the bees move in pairs to avoid being picked off one by one. It had even deduced from the hunting patterns that she had a way to scout their movements, and it used that knowledge to set a trap in an attempt to wipe them all out.
Although it had fallen one step short, that was merely due to a miscalculation of her side’s strength. Returning now, the enemy had likely figured out the weaknesses of her scouting. Otherwise, why would the bees, which usually flew at a low altitude in the forest, take the abnormal step of climbing so high into the sky?
‘A truly terrifying enemy,’ the mushroom thought. ‘High stats and expert micro-management. How are new players supposed to survive this?’
“Same as before, we run toward the Swamp Area.”
Based on past experience, once they reached the edge of the Woodland, the bees would give up the chase. In gaming terms, they would kite the enemies until they dropped aggro.
But this wasn’t a game. If she had to guess the reason, the Swamp Area was likely the territory of another magic beast, and the bees were afraid to cross the boundary. Since the enemy of an enemy was a friend, they would be relatively safe once they reached their ‘friend.’
As for how to get there, that was indeed a problem.
“I feel like if we aren’t running away, we’re on our way to running away,” Lumina complained.
Her hair flew behind her as she wove through the forest. As she ran, she tapped her staff lightly against a nearby tree, using **[Summon Treant]** once again to transform a **[Screaming Wood]** into a solid shield.
Just like the previous one, other than looking a bit ugly, its defensive stats were beyond reproach. Perhaps because she had chosen a particularly large Screaming Wood this time, its maximum HP was even higher by 50 points.
After giving the Treant the command to block the enemy, the Elf continued her flight for survival without looking back.
‘We might look miserable, but we aren’t always running away,’ Marlow thought. At the very least, they had been high-spirited when facing the Slimes.
Well, except for the Acid Slimes. The Elf simply couldn’t allow the few clothes she had left to be ruined, so she had retreated quite shamefully.
After deploying the mushrooms, there was only so much she could do, so she focused on monitoring the enemy’s movements for the Elf.
Before Lumina’s summoned Treant could even engage the bees, they saw the Bee Knight Legion lined up in a row in the distance. Every one of them held their Rapier upright, maintaining a charging stance.
She knew that the Bee Knights possessed a powerful piercing skill and that their charge was devastatingly powerful. However, the current distance seemed a bit too far. They didn’t have the ability to interrupt the enemy’s build-up, so was there really a need for the bees to maintain such a cautious safety distance?
Before she could think further, a silver torrent became unstoppable in the next instant. It was like a **[Silver Iron Curtain]** crashing through, severing every obstacle in its path.
That natural barrier, the forest of Screaming Wood that was perfect for hiding, was completely leveled. A massive cloud of dust rose into the air. The summoned Treant may have resisted for a moment, but it ultimately met the same fate.
‘Hey, they’ve got to be hacking.’
Previously, a Knight Bee’s piercing attack could only knock down one tree. Now that their numbers had increased, the power seemed to have multiplied several times over.
There was no relevant information on the System Panel yet, so she could only assume the enemy was using a **[Battle Array]** — a method of increasing an army’s strength through proper formation and positioning.
Bees using military tactics was something this mushroom simply couldn’t block.
Alright, that was pure nonsense. She believed that even if she arranged her mushrooms in the exact same formation, she would never achieve the same effect. There was no point in dwelling on things she couldn’t understand; if she didn’t focus, the Elf would be split in half by the time the bees charged again.
The knights quickly resumed their stance.
To be honest, this move had too many flaws… it required a charge-up time, the direction couldn’t be changed mid-way, and there was a recovery period after the dash. But given those exaggerated stats, none of that seemed to matter.
‘The Queen Bee controlling these bees must find using this squad of knights very stress-relieving. After all, who doesn’t love a bulldozer that flattens everything?’
As a fellow Lord of Fungi, she was incredibly envious.
Marlow timed it perfectly. The scattered mushrooms all aimed at their respective targets for a **[Spore Salvo]**.
Mushrooms capable only of **[Spore Ejection]** could hardly deal damage to the armored knights; she was well aware of that from previous encounters. Therefore, these rapidly grown common mushrooms were only meant to obscure the enemy’s vision and hinder the bees other than the knights.
At the same time, she checked to see if copying the bees’ positioning would increase her damage. As expected, it wasn’t that easy.
“Dodge to the right!” she shouted to the Elf.
The lined-up knights launched their charge again, but a significant gap appeared in the right wing of the formation.
The mushrooms carrying **[Paralysis Toxin]** had prioritized the knights on the right. The toxin’s effect interrupted their build-up, buying the Elf a narrow chance at survival.
This was already a great result. As for taking the opportunity to finish off a few knights, she hadn’t even considered it. Only the Elf’s **[Light Bullet Magic]** could effectively kill a Knight Bee, and turning back to risk a kill was clearly too greedy.
Besides, finishing them off wouldn’t be easy. Even if they were hitting stationary targets, the mobile knights and regular bees would move to block and interfere with their attacks.
After weighing her options, she urged the Elf to speed up. They couldn’t waste such a good opportunity.
After successfully taking some of the bees out of the equation with the sneak attack, the power and distance of the knights’ charge were noticeably weakened. At this rate, they might actually escape without further incident.
Though she wanted to thin the knights’ numbers further, the opportunity didn’t present itself. Previously, because she had used many regular mushrooms, the **[Spore Ejection]** was a major threat to the regular bees but could be resisted by the knights. It was likely for this reason that the Queen Bee didn’t let the regular bees stay near the knights, avoiding pointless casualties.
Now that the enemy knew about the **[Paralysis Toxin]**, the Queen Bee certainly wouldn’t let the regular bees stand idly by in the back. When it came time for cannon fodder to do their job, the enemy wouldn’t hesitate to sacrifice them.
As she expected, the regular bees joined the battlefield and began clearing out the threatening mushrooms. However, while the knights could have cleared them out quickly, not a single one was diverted to deal with the troublesome fungi. Furthermore, the number of regular bees seemed low — far fewer than the overwhelming swarms she had seen before.
She soon had her answer.
The knights reorganized their team, including the group affected by the **[Paralysis Toxin]**, and rejoined the formation.
Seeing this, the mushroom thought it was impossible.
The **[Paralysis Toxin]** might not be great — it only restricted mobility and was rarely fatal — but it should have been enough to prevent the knights from launching a synchronized charge.
Yet the bees’ stance made Marlow feel like all her work had been for nothing. The Knight Bees raised their swords one by one as if they hadn’t been affected by the toxin at all.
No, they were affected.
Their movements had become stiff and slow. However, every knight maintained that same delayed rhythm. Even the knights that hadn’t been attacked by the mushrooms slowed down to match them, and every single individual moved in perfect synchronization.
‘So as long as they can act in sync, even the individuals affected by paralysis won’t hinder the charge?’
This was truly disgusting.
Not only that, but a familiar buzzing sound echoed from the sky ahead. Lumina and Marlow instinctively looked up, only to see a dark army of bees blocking their path of retreat.
Now she knew where the rest of the bees had gone.