Chapter 9: The Swarm

The gears in Polius’ mind came to an abrupt stop when the swarm appeared. An abundance of questions sprouted up within him, yet there was no time to look for answers. 

The Nevula Bees struck swiftly, aiming straight for the village. 

Polius’ instinct kicked in and jump-started his sluggish mind. He shouted out, “Guardians!”

The Guardians stepped up with their arm guards readied in front of them, prepared to block the oncoming storm. 

“Hunters!” Polius commanded. 

A barrage of arrows bolted out towards the Nevula Bees. The swarm glided like a river stream and evaded the arrows without any struggle.   

Polius clenched his sweaty palms as the alarms in his head rang louder and louder. 

Time was like a flickering candle flame, and the village’s wick was slowly burning out. 

‘You must stay composed. Both inside and out.’ A voice from the past echoed in Polius’ mind, shaking his heart. ‘The you right now may appear to be calm, but your mind is a chaotic mess. Easily rattled by the simplest of things.’

In a split second, the words that haunted Polius had also settled his distressed mind. His train of thoughts had finally got back on track. 

“Hunters! Ready your bows,” Polius ordered. 

The Hunters followed their Chief’s command without fail, drawing their bows and locking in arrows, ready to fire at any moment. 

With each passing second, the distance between the swarm and the Guardians shortened drastically. It wasn’t long before the bees were  a mere one meter of distance away from the Guardian’s defense line. 

Within the warriors, anxiety slowly built up around their hearts like walls— walls that slowly trapped them into a corner and suffocated them. The closer the Nevula Bees got, the higher the walls grew.

“Fire!” Polius commanded. 

Polius’ words and the barrage of arrows flew over the Guardians’ heads, instantly shattering their walls of apprehension.

Hundreds of bees were pierced through and skewered to the ground from the abrupt bombardment. 

It was a timely attack that required the utmost courage. Fired any later and the swarm would have overwhelmed the Guardians. Shot any sooner and the bees would have dodged the barrage, wasting another set of arrows.

Despite the walls being torn down inside the Guardians’ hearts, the tension in the air did not lessen as the surviving Nevula Bees struck against the Guardians’ arm guards with a vengeance.

Even with their best efforts to withstand the impact, the Guardians were nevertheless pushed back from the collision. They dug their heels deep into the ground in an attempt to resist, but even then the swarm was able to repel them backwards. Yet the Guardians refused to lift their soles, causing long trails to be left in their wake as the swarm pushed them back.

Their arms, numbed and bruised from the swarm's attack, held strong even as their heels arched against the ground, refusing to back down. Knowing that all they knew and loved laid behind them, the Guardians gathered their strengths and let out a roar, pushing the bees back!

The effort left the Guardians panting, but fortunately for Igysil, the Hunters weren’t affected by the front line being forced back. Their focus remained sharp, ready to attack whenever given the signal.

Polius squinted at the bees’ display of strength. He could feel the stress of the situation scratching at his throat as if there was a knife held against it, yet he called out nonetheless.

“Hunters, draw!” 

The Hunters drew their bows the moment they heard the command, locking in their arrows while the Guardians steadied their stances. 

Thousands of pitch-black eyes drilled into the Guardians’ bodies, each filled with the same venom. Although they had just managed to repel part of the swarm even with the Guardian’s united front, some of their courage couldn’t help but vanish when faced with the seemingly endless rows of bees hovering before them.

The swarm struck out, darting towards the Guardians once more. Albeit this time, they led with their stingers first. 

“Theo!” Polius shouted out. 

An energy wave rippled out from Theo, passing through the warriors and clashing against the swarm, halting the bees’ momentum in a flash. 

The energy wave ravaged the Nevula Bees’ bodies, corroding a small part of their nerve systems and causing small patches of green to appear within the bees’ pitch black eyes—limiting their vision and rapidly infesting their pupils. Without their sight, the bees wobbled around without a sense of where the sky and earth were, with some even crashing directly to the ground. 

“Hunters, fire!”

Another volley of arrows sliced through the air and pierced through numerous defenceless bees. 

Making full use of the small window of time before the bees reacted, Polius commanded, “Guardians, now!”

The warriors rushed forward with their strength gathered into their legs, and with a swing of their arms they bashed their arm guards against the struggling Nevula Bees—smashing those still in the air and within reach, down to the ground. 

Within moments, countless bees laid scattered across the battlefield. However, despite the swarm’s numerous casualties, the bee’s numbers were still endless. 

The swarm quickly regained their senses, darting back into the sky and grouped up together into a giant sphere that blocked out the sun. 

As the swarm moved, each and every bee let out a loud buzz, causing the village's forces to look up in dread. The sound seemed to bounce from bee to bee, ricocheting across the sphere and grew faster, stronger, louder with every bee it passed.

A bright yellow hue exuded from the bees, radiating an unfathomable presence that changed the sound wave into a force to be reckoned with.

One Hunter couldn’t help but swallow her saliva at the terrifying scene. Yet none of the warriors turned their sights away as their focuses heightened, waiting for their Chief’s instructions. They were ready to strike at any given moment. 

Polius attempted to channel the astral energy within him, but alas, the energy dispersed like the wilting of a flower. His body had yet to recover from the previous battle.  

Even Theo was left gasping for air after his previous astral skill. The warriors could only remain alert as they continued to observe the bees’ peculiar behaviour. No one could make heads or tails of what the swarms were doing.  

“Hunters, again!” 

A barrage of arrows soared through the air, aiming straight at the swarm’s sphere formation. However, just before the arrows were about to land—the bees opened up their formation—letting the arrows fly past them and plunged to the ground.

Once the arrows hit the ground, the Nevula Bees started to move. They split apart into ten groups of thirty bees, with each group forming into a small spherical formation out of the Guardian’s reach.

Their buzzing was deafening even when they had split into several smaller groups. 

Meanwhile Igysil’s valiant warriors remained mute, waiting for their Chief’s next command.

Polius’ bare skin tingled as the swarms directed their sights towards him, singling him out from the warriors he stood amidst. Although he was facing a precarious situation, Polius could no longer hear the thunderous heartbeat that seemed to roar like a lion in his ears. Instead his mind was clear like an untainted lake, even when he was under the full pressure of the daunting swarms before him.

The first group of the bees darted forward, flying straight over Guardians, moving towards the village’s gate where Polius stood his ground. 

If the entirety of the swarm had moved their buzzing would have caused the Guardian's ears to bleed, damaging their hearing and crippling their ability to fight.

Yet, fortunately for the Guardians, the swarm had only sent one of the small group of thirty bees, saving them from going deaf. 

Without any means of action to stop the bees, the Guardians could only stare bitterly as the small swarm disregarded their presences and flew right over their heads, just out of the reach of their weapons. 

The Hunters steadied their bows and readied their aim—waiting for their cue. Each second felt like a millennium as the danger drew closer, yet the words they waited for never appeared. 

Polius lifted his right hand, stretching out his fingers. This simple action was of no meaning to the bees, so they continued on their path. 

Black markings etched themselves onto Polius’ calm face as two dark lines ran through his eyes and slid down towards his neck. Once there they rushed beneath his collar, slipping into his clothes, and wrapped around his arms before finally arriving at his palms. 

Polius’ sharp verdant eyes began to glow with a lustrous sheen, transforming into emeralds: the gemstone of hope. The air around Polius altered along with his abrupt changes, bringing forth a presence equal to only the entirety of the Nevula Bee swarm. 

However, Polius’ metamorphosis only lasted a few seconds before dispersing in an instant. The markings disappeared and took along the mighty presence that he had exuded moments before brought forth. 

Yet even in face of this sudden change, Polius did not move nor did his hand drop from its position in the air. His sight remained on the advancing group of bees. 

All of the warriors were startled from the incomprehensible developments. With no orders from their Chief, the Hunters’ anxiety soon reached a peak as the bees were only mere seconds away from where Polius stood.

The Hunters tightened their grips on their bows, ignoring the sweat that was accumulating in their palms. They maintained their calm appearances yet their hearts screamed with questions.

As the Hunters boiled themselves within their own cauldrons of questions, the small swarm abruptly froze in place. 

Then the yellow aura that the bees exuded began to shake. Their big round eyes seemed to bulge out from their sockets, and for once since the battle started, seemed to carry a tint of anxiety.

Almost instantaneously, the bees’ auras blazed up like a bursting volcano. Their transparent wings flapped rapidly with an unmatched fervour, releasing a sound wave that was harsh on the ears as a show of dominance. 

Igysil’s warriors were once again left stunned by the strange development. They could only stare between the swarm and their Chief, wondering what was going on. 

Under both the warriors’ and bees’ watchful eyes, the edge of Polius’ mouth etched up—creating an undeniable smirk. The swarm’s rage intensified while the warriors were still bewildered as to the truth of the situation. Yet somehow, they felt as if the knife that had been itching against their throats had vanished.    

At last, the warriors realised that their Chief had somehow gained the upper hand. Though while the tension had lessened, they did not dare to relax. The warriors focused, awaiting their Chief’s next command. 

Polius slowly made a grasping motion with his stretched out hand. The bees trembled at his action yet not a single one dared to move from their spot.

From the forest behind the swarm, a small shadow crept out—wrapped in roots that rose up from the ground. 

Two antennas with fuzzy soft tips dangled out from the creature’s forehead. Its whole body was covered in short yellow fur and two brown ring patterns covered around its neck. Encased on its round head was a pair of two gem-like eyes that was the reflection of the night sky—dappled with glints that resembled the dazzling stars.

It had an uncanny resemblance to the Nevula Bees that was before Igysil yet they weren’t the same at all. From its fur-covered body to its dwarf size, it was almost as if it was a completely different species of bees altogether. 

However, the very moment the creature was dragged out of the forest, the Nevula Bees’ anxiety only skyrocketed further up as their buzzing strengthened.   

“Ruler Class, Zenon Bee. The queen of the Nevula Bees, while small in size, their intellect knows no bound of physical limitations,” Poilius muttered. An old lesson of the past yet it has become so relevant now… that old man. Tch.

Polius mustered the meagre astral energy within him to gather at his throat. “I know you can understand me, Zenon Bee.” His voice reverberated throughout the battlefield. 

Although his voice wasn’t deafening, it had drowned out the swarm’s clamorous buzzing. 

“Retreat now and everything will be forgotten. You can relocate your hive to another spot and we’ll never seek you out,” Polius said. 

As soon as Polius’ voice faded away, the boisterous buzzing returned in full force. The swarm was indignant at Polius’ words as if he had insulted them by providing a compromise. 

Meanwhile, the Zenon Bee’s eyes maintained their calmness similar to the vast ocean, indifferent to Polius’ offer. 

Polius furrowed his eyes at the swarm’s reaction. He tightened his fist, digging his nails into his palms. 

A high frequency noise screeched out from the Zenon Bee as it squinted its eyes in the pain from the tightening of the roots that had ensnared it. Immediately, the swarm’s buzzing escalated to a new height, breaking past its previous record and becoming a pandemonium of its own right. Their anger had reached its limit at Polius’ actions. 

Just as the swarm leaned their body forward, another frequency reverberated throughout the battlefield, putting a halt to the swarm’s intended action.  

Polius never shifted his sight away from the Zenon Bee since its appearance and before his eyes, he saw the bee’s small round head bobbed down and then up. Upon witnessing this sight, he released his grip, loosening the roots that had wrapped around the Zenon Bee.

After a moment of “silence”, the Zenon Bee flew up and stared down at Igysil while still maintaining the deep abyss that permeated in its eyes. A translucent aura radiated around it with each flapping of its transparent wings—slowly covering it away and blurring it from the naked eye.   

Then the Nevula Bees began to circle around their queen, and not before long, the Zenon Bee had completely disappeared from sight—leaving behind a rotating sphere made of bees in the sky. 

As the bees continued to orbit around the Zenon Bee, their yellow aura manifested from within them and covered the entire swarm. The aura was like a living fire that the bees bathed in, it then manifested into a face with two giant horns and sharp fangs bearing out. 

It resembled a common toy sold in Apis’ festivals during their blessing days, a demon mask. The face began to twitch as a roar rang out, shocking the battlefield. 

Then without any warning, the face vanished as the aura transformed again. Two giant wings and stinger materialised from the sphere. With one flap of the wings, the swarm flew off into the sky. 

“How cute…” Polius muttered before collapsing into Theo’s arms.