Reincarnated To Evolve My Bee Empire

The expedition comprised dozens of Beemarine squads, each of which headed for its own designated nest. But I checked all of Bloodhero's plans on the matter, then prepared to take personal command of the squad which would go to the most dangerous of the places.

Although, it wasn't all that dangerous. Most egg clutches weren't even guarded by their parents! It was all a matter of discovering them, which Beehounds could do easily thanks to their sharp smelling.

The problem was those egg clutches that *were* guarded.

Most feathered lizards—just lizards, but feathered—were relatively small creatures. Even just a dozen Beemarines could defeat one without suffering losses, although they would have to depend on their venom. This will render them unable to sting again until their stingers grow out again.

There were also plenty of lizards that were much larger. The biggest I've seen so far was over two hundred meters long! This was on the level where bees just stung enemies' vulnerable spots until they ran away. Killing a creature that size was a task that would lead to dozens of dead (at least!).

And since lizards were all stupid, instead of fighting them, the expeditions would sneak into their nests when the parents were off hunting, then carry the eggs away on prepared carts.

Thus, the squad I was leading had only a thousand Beemarines in it. To think about it—I've morphotyped so many Beemarines by now, that a thousand was only a small fraction of their total amount! Most were guarding our borders, instead of staying in Hive Supremo.

These Beemarines weren't the young and fast-flying ones, but that was alright, because they were walking on foot and pulling wooden carts with them.

Because of that, it took them three full days to reach their designation.

I flew this distance in minutes and met them there, anticipating a possible fight against one of the larger lizards. However, the truth turned out to be much more boring (and safe).

There was just the lower-end-side of an old, fallen-down pillar mountain. Its inner rock had crumbled into pieces long ago, turning the entire thing hollow.

It looked like a dark, opened maw. What parent in its right mind would put eggs there?

Of course, this was a common behavior among reptiles—they laid their eggs into dark, wet spots and generally left them be. But this was just disappointing.

Just proved the inherent superiority of having over 30 intelligence.

A Commando Bee from the squad that has been monitoring the "nest" and its inhabitants for a while approached me and the Beemarines when the pile got on the horizon.

She saluted.

"Father. Report—the feathered beast didn't approach the egg clutch for the last two and a half days. Half of my squad is watching it to warn if it returns. The eggs are in the cavern."

"Lazy lizards… It's just like the preliminary report said. Alright, Beemarines—let's see how we will get these eggs outside. But leave lookouts first."

"Yes, Father!"

The squad's Chief Beemarine quickly organized her girls. Soon, the first explorers went into the mountain cavern, while the second group pulled our carts over the uneven ground.

With me nearby, Beemarines worked with extra effort. I rewarded it with smiles and encouraging words (since I had no intention of pulling these cards myself).

Inside of the cave was damp, warm, and smelled bad enough that I winced. Hundreds of other insects were crawling around us like lovecraftian horrors with too many hands and legs.

Woodlice, centipedes, even cockroaches… This was their city.

I shuddered and looked ahead of us instead. Thankfully, these insects weren't interested in us.

The cavern wasn't deep enough that we needed to light candles. Just half a hundred meters in, we saw them—the eggs!

Almost a dozen, and each was ten-meters-tall. I excitedly flew closer to look at it.

〔Lizard Egg〕

〔Health〕: 10 / 10

〔Stamina〕: 0 / 0

〔Species〕: Lace Monitor Lizard

〔Age〕: 18 d

〔Remaining lifespan〕: 20 y

〔Attributes〕

> Strength: 0

> Agility: 0

> Endurance: 21

> Defense: 20

> Intelligence: 0

> Perception: 0

〔Special abilities〕

〔〕〔〕〔〕

"Wonderful, just wonderful. Monitor lizards? These are the biggest… So we will get the most profit from taming them! Now, let's put these eggs on the cart!"

This required a hundred Beemarines working together for each egg, but we came prepared: the Beemarines had ropes, and the carts were large and sturdy enough to fit the eggs.

Two hours later, we left the cavern—and there was still not a sight of the eggs' parents.

"This went way easier than I expected," I told myself. "But as I remember, there is another nest nearby I could help to raid. What do you think, Destroyer?"

"We are ready to fly where you will, Father!"

She got some of my blood recently; the rest of her squad didn't, so the Beemarines under her care right now were taken from the youngest generations. But judging by the paranoid way they watched the surroundings, she taught them well.

"Then let's go."

***

I just wanted to look at more lizard eggs without waiting for another week for them to arrive. Since the nest I headed for belonged to one of the small lizards—a mere skink—I expected no resistance.

This was confirmed by the Commandos watching the small burrow in the ground.

"Father, we didn't expect you! The Beemarines are already gathering the eggs. The feathered beast has left and is not expected to return in at least three more hours. Our patrols are ready to meet it if it returns earlier."

Inside the burrow, the bees were, with great effort, rolling eggs toward the exit and the carts waiting there. Each egg was three-meters-tall, and there were two dozen of them. But again, my appearance cheered them up immediately!

And I was cheered up by the sight of so many potential beasts to tame.

However, I was soon alarmed by the strangeness in their status.

〔Lizard Egg〕

〔Health〕: 8 / 8

〔Stamina〕: 0 / 0

〔Species〕: Pygmy Blue-Tongued Skink

〔Age〕: 6 d

〔Remaining lifespan〕: 6564 d

〔Attributes〕

> Strength: 0

> Agility: 0

> Endurance: 14

> Defense: 15

> Intelligence: 0

> Perception: 0

〔Special abilities〕

Venom Resistance V (MAX)

〔〕〔〕〔〕

'Venom resistance? Since *when* did these lizards become venom resistant?'