In the end, if someone left me without the ability to walk, it wasn't Tabletina—it was Ambrosia!
But Tabletina sure helped.
That evening, I drained 12 health points worth of blood, and shared them among 22 Beemarines.
11 of them were my bodyguards, and 11 others were just bees suggested to me by Bloodhero for their combat achievements—which meant they weren't just brave and vicious, but also cunning and skillful.
Bravery and viciousness were too common among Beemarines to count as achievements!
By next morning, I found that my electrical organ had fully charged, and my health points recovered to 〔26/36〕. The regeneration I stacked for myself was really helping—this was twice as fast as I healed before. Perhaps even *thrice* as fast.
But there, good news ended.
A royal breakfast in Royal Chambers.
Since furniture was invented, I arranged for them to be rebuilt to accommodate me and Ambrosia better. Now there was a separate sleeping room and a dining room, and both had leather flaps as doors instead of wax.
Ambrosia and I were sitting in the dining room, eating our breakfast of honey-covered pancakes made from crushed pollen and ant eggs. Our table and stools were covered with green caterpillar leather to protect us from splinters, and a Queen Attendant Gratitude-16 was eagerly serving on us, refilling our wax cups with fresh nectar from a clay jug.
A truly royal breakfast! Although having a waiter at it was a bit too much for my taste, Ambrosia insisted, claiming that instead of pouring from the heavy jug, I should focus on chewing better.
And the Attendants were always eager to serve.
"Father, this is *really* urgent!" Bloodhero exclaimed, suddenly bursting into the Royal Chambers.
I almost choked on my food.
"Ah!" Gratitude-16 gasped, jerking away. Her heavy jug fell from her hands and would've smashed onto the floor if Ambrosia didn't react faster.
She caught it mid-air, set it on the table, and sent a glare at Bloodhero.
"Is Hive Supremo attacked, Military Adviser? Announce yourself next time."
I was still coughing. That piece of pancake!
Bloodhero paled under Ambrosia's glare, but kept her chin high. From behind her, Attendant Giver-Of-Things peeked through the door, looking really apologetic.
"She dashed past us so quickly, we didn't have the time to warn you about her arrival…" Giver-Of-Things whispered.
Gratitude-16 already slunk back to the wall.
"Mother-Queen, this really couldn't wait! The messenger flew in the dark all night to deliver the report. The green giants have moved from their previous location and had almost reached Camp Rich last evening—if you flew high enough, you could even see them between the pillar mountains!"
I paled and coughed harder to clear my throat.
With how huge I imagine the green giants be, I bet one could see them for hours of flight away as long as there are no obstacles. But so *they* could see far and there was nothing good about it.
"Wait, so this news is several hours old already, Bloodhero?"
"Father, you know how long it takes to fly from Hive Supremo to Camp Rich. If something happened overnight, we wouldn't know yet."
"True. But I hope it didn't. Most creatures sleep at night, just like bees. Those that don't aren't as active during the day."
Nevertheless, I shot to my feet.
"There's no time to waste, Bloodhero. We must hurry! The strike force is ready, I hope? We must fly to Camp Rich. It's time to see these giants with my own eyes—and then possibly strike them with my own hand. Remind me, how many soldiers were stationed near Camp Rich?"
"Two full thousands were guarding the camp itself, and four more spread around the surroundings and around the borders, including the nearest fort. Those are the forces that must have already gathered there to guard the place unless something out of turn happened."
A force like that could give even a hundred-meter-tall giant something to think about. At least, I hoped I would. Humans—if the green giants were human enough—didn't have a badger's thick skin to protect them from a bee's sting.
But I didn't even want to imagine the losses a massive fight like that would bring.
'Camp Rich is where we dig gold! Even if the amounts of gold must seem tiny to giants, gold is still gold! I doubt it's any less valuable in this world than in mine. If the green giants find out about it, they won't leave Camp Rich—and Bee Empire—alone!'
"I'm ready to help you put on your armor, Father," Grateful-16 chimed in.
"I've sent a messenger after the strike team on the way here, Father. They should be waiting for your orders at the entrance, or close to it!"
"Wait, Nectus." Ambrosia suddenly stood up, too, and walked around the table next to me. Then she took my half-eaten pancake and brought it to my face, staining her fingers with even more honey than there was before. "Don't leave hungry. You will need a lot of strength for this journey, and even more for what lies after it."
I blinked, staring at the pancake near my lips, and felt blood rushing to my cheeks.
Bloodhero and Attendants have delicately turned away.
"Ah… You are so right, Amby. Thank you."
I took the pancake out of her fingers; but before she could take them away, I grabbed her wrist and licked the sweet fingers with Ambrosia's new sharp claws.
"What are you doing? There's way more honey on your own pancake."
Although Ambrosia's voice and expression were still calm, her cheeks were now flushed, too.
Grinning, I let her go.
"There's honey, sure. But you are the sweetest, Amby!"
"You and your silly praises…" she muttered, smiling.
I finished my pancake in three bites and downed a cup of nectar in one gulp.
"Now, my dear girls. It's time to fight again. Get me my armor and a good spear! Ah, I only wish I could ride a dragon into this fight, too…"