After a night of rest, Maxine was back at full strength and she warped back to the city that Sandra was at. Unfortunately Sandra wasn't anywhere she could see, so she made her way to the city wall. Once there, she focused her gaze at the four-horned kanzil camp. As before, they had yet to make any offensive moves, but every instinct she had was screaming at her to run. This can't be good. My survival instincts are rarely wrong when they go off. But what could it be?

"Welcome back," Sandra said as she flew down from the air.

"We need to get out of here," Maxine stated with a slight edge to her voice.

"Why? What's wrong?" Sandra asked.

"It just feels like something very nasty is about to happen around here," Maxine replied as she scanned the four-horned kanzil's camp for anything out of place, but kept her spiritual sense on the outside of the handful of tents that were present. Where is the female four-horned kanzil? On second thought, I rather not know. She's probably indulging in some debauchery involving multiple men. 

"I'll ask Elder Miyan. Maybe she knows what it is," Sandra said as she turned around and look at the Seton Academy's ship.

While Maxine waited, she finally realized what had her on edge. The energies in the air were being rapidly drawn towards the four-horned kanzil's camp. Is someone breaking through? It's strange though. I don't know of anyone that needs THAT much energy to breakthrough to the next stage. Unless... they are breaking through from gold to immortal stage. That would be very bad.

"Elder Miyan said that the four-horned kanzil leader made a formation array," Sandra said, "Although she doesn't know exactly what kind it is. She thinks it's a teleporation array."

"That's concerning," Maxine said, "They could bring all sorts of trouble through that thing." Sandra didn't seem too worried.

"It doesn't matter. If there is a genuine threat, Elder Miyan will resolve it," Sandra stated, "But if things get too bad, she may just grab all of us and flee. She isn't exactly under any kind of contract to protect this world afterall." 

"I'm aware of that," Maxine said. And she has no obligation to get me out of here either. 

When she carefully examined the four-horned kanzil camp, Maxine spotted the formation array that Sandra told her about in the center of the four-horned kanzil camp. It was drawing in tremendous amounts of energy as it charged up. It looked like it was about to activate.

Without warning it activated and blinded her in the process. Once her vision returned, Maxine counted ten gold stage and one thousand silver stage four-horned kanzils that were standing on top of the formation array. However it seemed that the array was slightly damaged from being used.  

"Well, that confirms Elder Miyan's suspicion," Maxine said, "I wonder how many times they can do that. If it's too many more times, we will be in some serious trouble of being overwhelmed by their sheer numbers."

"I welcome the challenge," Aziel said boldly as he flew down from the sky.

"You say that now, but when you see just how badly they will outnumber you, you will be regretting your previous words," Maxine replied coldly. Aziel ignored her and looked at Sandra.

"My wife-," Aziel said happily as he tried to hug Sanda, but she cut him off as she slapped his hands away, "I'm not your wife yet, so keep your hands to yourself."

"Whatever you say, dear," Aziel said with confidence, "But in the end, you will be mine. Just accept it." 

"You're making it too easy to hate you," Maxine said coldly to Aziel. Aziel gave Maxine a hateful glare, but he quickly hid it.

"This doesn't concern you, whore," Aziel said coldly. Maxine felt a very strong impulse to kill Aziel for calling her that, but restrained herself.

"Call me that again and I will kick your balls so hard that they will be permnamently fixed to your chin," Maxine said with cold fury. Aziel paled slightly as he took a few steps away. He clearly believed that Maxine would do it.

"You wouldn't dare," Aziel said defensively.

"My master has done far worse. I might as well maintain the tradition of ruthless action against fools," Maxine said with a frightening calm. Aziel backed up a few more steps steps before glancing to the left and regained his courage.

"Hollow words, whore," Aziel said as he was clearly confident that he would avoid any reprocussions. Maxine lunged at Aziel in blind fury. Just as she reached him, she kicked as hard as she could at his groin, but her foot stopped a mere inch from his groin.

"That's far enough," Elder Miyan said calmly while grasping Maxine's ankle. Meanwhile Aziel had fallen on his butt and was pale as a ghost.

"He goaded me after I warned him to watch how he addressed me," Maxine stated angrily as she retracted her leg, "Don't tell me your academy protects idiots that insult those that are stronger than themselves?"

"Let it go," Elder Miyan told Maxine.

"Fine," Maxine said as she turned around, "But if he tempts fate again, I don't care what you say or do. I won't let anything stop me from punishing his stupidity." 

"I warned you about your lack of respect towards me," Elder Miyan said coldly just before Maxine slammed into the ground. A great weight was pushing her down and it only took Maxine a moment to realize Elder Miyan was using her immortal essence to grind Maxine into the ground.

"Respect is earned and you havn't earned mine," Maxine retorted as she struggled to get back on her feet. It felt like her joints were grinding together, and just as she got on her hands and knees, several invisible blows that she didn't even sense coming hit her sides in rapid succession. The pain from the strikes caused her to fall back down due to the pain they caused. 

"Stupid bitch," Aziel mocked Maxine, "That's what you get for daring to harm me."

"Last chance to shut your mouth, Aziel," Maxine warned through grit teeth even as she was being beaten by the invisble blows unleashed by Elder Miyan. 

"And what are you going to do about it? Elder Miyan has you pinned and she will only hurt your more for threatening me," Aziel mocked Maxine again, but in the next moment, he was violently slapped by Elder Miyan.

"I'm punishing her for disrespecting me, not because she tried to harm you," Elder Miyan growled as invisible blows kept raining down on Maxine's back, "And if you act like a fool again, I won't stop her from doing whatever she wishes to you. I don't care how much your family has paid me to look after you. I have a limit to what I will tolerate. Is that understood?" 

"Yes, elder," Aziel said unwillingly. 

"Good. Now leave Maxine alone if you know what's good for you. I will not warn you again," Elder Miyan said as she finally stopped raining invisible blows onto Maxine and Maxine felt the pressure increase once more before it let up entirely. Maxine's back felt like it had been beaten bloody when the attacks finally stopped and a memory surfaced in her mind of when she awoke in this body. That bitch. I didn't want to remember that! She is so much stronger than me that this is practically bullying. Just how much more powerful is she than me? 

Sandra ran to Maxine's side and Aziel flew to a different section of the defensive wall. "Are you alright?" Sandra asked worriedly while Maxine sat up.

"Nothing that I can't heal from," Maxine said confidently as she touched her bruised ribs and checked the damage with her spiritual sense. She was surprised when she didn't find any broken bones. All she found was a massive amount of bruising. Most of which was focused on her back muscles. I was almost certain I would have at least a broken rib. I guess I'm sturdier than I thought. It still hurts like a bitch. I will be tender for the rest of the day even with eating a few snake fruit.

"Still, you should take it easy," Sandra said with concern, "Elder Miyan isn't known for being gentle when disciplining students."

"No arguement here," Maxine said as she slowly got on her hands and knees.

"Here, let me help you," Sandra said as she moved to help Maxine onto her feet.

"Thanks," Maxine said and felt pain lance across her back. Her legs nearly buckled, but she remained standing.

"I told you she wasn't gentle. In fact, I'm amazed that you can even stand. Most students that suffer from her rough hand are bedridden for weeks after she's done with them," Sandra reminded Maxine, "Just let me get you to a bed, so you can rest. You may be hurt far more than you realize."

"No, need," Maxine said as she grit her teeth and stood on her own, "I just need a few moments to get used to the pain."

"Don't be stubborn," Sandra reprimanded Maxine.

"I'm not being stubborn," Maxine said as she retrieved her last purple snake fruit from her dimensional ring and devoured it, "I'm just very aware of how much punishment I can take. This is not the first time I've taken a beating from someone far stronger than me." She felt the pain in her back quickly alleviate some, but it didn't disappear entirely. However she could now walk on her own.

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"I know, but still. I don't like seeing you in pain," Sandra complained as several other Guardian Mothers approached and they looked very curious at the statement Sandra just made as a few of them raised their eyebrows.

"We have other things to worry about," Maxine said while still feeling unsteady on her feet and she pointed out at the teleportation array in the four-horned kanzil camp, "They're bringing in reinforcements. This will be a difficult fight at the very least."

"No, shit," Cassandra said as she walked up to the group, "The same thing is happening at the other warzones. Those four-armed assholes are determined to grind us to dust this time."

"Maybe," Maxine said while examining the teleporation array, "I think that array can only bring in silver stage and below now that it is damaged. It's leaking too much energy to bring in anyone with greater strength."

Cassandra squinted her eyes as she gazed at the teleporation array. "How can you tell?" Cassandra asked without moving her gaze, "I can barely see the damn thing."

"We are using spiritual sense to look at it and Maxine is right. That teleporation array can at most bring in peak silver stage cultivators two more times before it falls apart," one of the Guaridan Mothers said and when Maxine looked at her in confusion, she added, "I studied formation arrays at the academy. The first thing they taught was how to identify damaged formation arrays and how to fix them."

"Still, that's a lot of troops that they are going to bring in," Maxine said grimly, "It will be a hard fight no matter how you look at it."

"Will your beasts make a difference?" Cassandra asked.

"They might, but if you havn't noticed, my constructs are rather stupid. They only know how to do a few things," Maxine replied as another group of several thousand four-horned kanzils arrived in a flash of light within their camp.

"Can't you just make more of them to make up the difference?" Cassandra asked.

"I wish I could, but there are limits to how many I can control at once," Maxine replied. I still have fifty five wolves in the shadow world and another twenty spread out protecting my loved ones from their shadows. Even if I brought them all here, it wouldn't make that much of a difference anyways.

"That's too bad," Cassandra said and Maxine felt something slightly off with her.  

"Is everything alright?" Maxine asked while eyeing Cassandra, "Something feels different about you."

"I don't know what you are talking about," Cassandra said as a very faint blush appeared on her cheeks and Maxine finally realized what was different with Cassandra. Oh, it seems she has been taking some time to spend with Decaan. Should've realized she had that after sex glow. 

"Alright, alright. I won't pry," Maxine said happily, "How's Decaan?"

"He's being studied by some eggheads. They can't figure out how he can develop strength like draconic warriors," Cassandra complained, "He barely has any time to spend with me."

"It shouldn't last too much longer," Maxine consoled Cassandra, "There is very little difference between how bloodline holders and other humaniods cultivate."

"Well, that's good to hear," Cassandra said and she looked towards the four-horned kanzil camp, "But still, it won't matter much if those creeps overwhelm us. Do you have any ideas on how to beat that?" There are at least fifty gold stager cultivators over there and twelve thousand silver stage ones as well since the last time that teleporation array activated.

"Not unless I can conjure up an ... army," Maxine said as she remembered the village in the shadow world and her bees. She quickly sent our her spiritual sense to check on both of them.

The village didn't have the forces she needed. The strongest person there was silver stage rank four and wouldn't make that much of a difference. However her bees were another story. The bee matriarch was silver stage rank three, and she had over one hundred thousand warrior bees that were just slightly weaker than herself. She didn't bother counting the millions of worker bees since thier strength was only copper stage. Yes, that will do nicely.

"Maxine? Why did you say it like that?" Sandra asked, but Cassandra remained silent. 

"I think I have a way to help," Maxine said confidently, "I need a large space. A very large space to summon the 'army' that can even things out." At the same time, Maxine sent a message to the bee matriarch to collect all of her drones and warrriors into the hive.

"How big of a space are we talking about?" Cassandra asked cautiously.

"About two hundred yards by one hundred fifty yards," Maxine said without thinking.

"What kind of measurement is that?" Cassandra asked. Shit, I forgot they don't have an equivalent to a yard.

"Nevermind. I'm looking for something roughly one eighth the size of your training yard," Maxine corrected herself.

"There are a few clearings outside of the city, but only one place within the city that would work. I'm not sure if it's what you want though. That place is fairly exposed," Cassandra replied. It wouild be better to bring them outside of the city. I've got no idea how the locals will treat my bees. Hell, I don't even know how the people from Seton Academy will treat them either.

"Just take me to the clearing that best suits my needs that is outside of the city," Maxine replied. Cassandra gestured for Maxine to follow. 

They flew for a twenty minutes before they came to a huge clearing in a forest. It was far enough away from the city that the four-horned kanzils were unlikely to find it anytime soon and the trees were tall enough that it would make spotting the massive bee hive from a distance.

"Here it is," Cassandra said, "Is this good enough?"

"Yes, it will do nicely," Maxine said as she landed next to the clearing with only grass growing in it, "No matter what you see, do not attack. Understood?"

"Alright," Cassandra said uncertainly.

Maxine focused on the hive. She did a quick measurement and the clearing infront of her. It was actually bigger than what she needed. With that out of the way, Maxine opened up a massive portal benieth the hive to move it to the clearing. Within moments, the massive hive was placed in the clearing. It looked like a small mountian considering it was over sixty feet tall.

However the bees didn't fly out enmasse like she had expected. Instead a small group came out. In the lead, was the bee matriarch, but she hardly looked like a bee anymore. She had a rough humanoid apparance with a human face, but was still clearly an insect, albeit a large one, due to her shiny yellow and black exoskeleton as well as the oversized insect wings fluttering on her back. She stood easily at five feet tall, but Maxine could tell that the bee matriarch had upgraded her carapace and muscular strength due to how she moved.

Her escorts were winged wasp-like creatures that stood three feet tall with eight limbs. They had scorpion tails and claw-like pinchers reaching forward that wouldn't look out of place on a lobster. Their exoskeletons were thicker than what she would expect and they had four wings similar to dragonflies. I have a feeling those are her most powerful warriors.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE THOSE!?" Cassandra nearly screamed as she retreated a few dozen steps. Seriously? She has an insect phobia? Never would've thought that just by looking at her.

"Those are my pets and I would appreciate it if you didn't attack them," Maxine replied calmly as she watched the bee matriarch slowly fly towards them.

"Mother, thank you for summoning me. How may I assist you?" the bee matriarch asked in english when she finally came within ear shot and she kept glancing at Cassandra cautiously. Mother? That's ... unexpected.

"Before that, I see you've been busy strengthening your hive. It's very impressive," Maxine praised.

"Thank you, mother. I've been trying my best," the bee matriarch said.

"I can see that. What would you like as a reward?" Maxine asked bluntly and the bee matriarch became nervous.

"I... I would like a name," the bee matriarch requested, "You've given Silky a name and I've been your daughter for nearly as long as she has. I just want my sister to call me by name rather than what I am." She's talked to Silky? That explains why she called me mother earlier and I agree that she needs a name.

"I see. You feel neglected," Maxine said and felt more than a little remorse for treating the bee matriarch that way, "Alright, then. Your name is Kerrigan now. Do you like it?" 

"Yes, I love it," the bee matriarch said happily.

"Good," Maxine said, "Now I've called you here to help defend a nearby city with your warriors. How effective are they in battle?"

"My warriors are able to fight against opponents at the same level as they are without taking injury due to the alterations I have made to their genome. Their outershell comes from a beetle that won't die even if a human steps on it, their physical strength was derived from a type of dung beetle, and their speed also come from a beetle that's found in Austrailia to create a very fast, strong and durable warrior bug. And to make them more deadly in close quarters, I've given them a modified scorpion venom on the tips of their pinchers," Kerrigan reported. Jesus, no wonder it takes all of the allied races to push back the hive when they try to expand. Each of their basic warriors are lethal.

"Excellent," Maxine said approvingly, "Oh, before you deploy your warriors let me notify the people here of your presence here. I don't want cause an incident because someone is afraid of insects."

"Understood, mother," Kerrigan said, "Is it alright if I expand my genetic database from the local insect population?"

"Go right ahead," Maxine said, "Just don't damage their ecosystem." 

"I won't. I only need a few dozen specimens of each species to fully map their genome," Kerrigan stated confidently.

"Alright then. Just send a few scouts to keep an eye on the four-horned kanzils in the meantime and flank them if they decide to attack," Maxine said and turned to leave.

"Mother, wait," Kerrigan said quickly, "I don't know what these 'four-horned kanzils' are."

"Oh, that's easy enough to solve," Maxine said as she sent a mental image to Kerrigan via spiritual sense, "Is there anything else?"

"Just one thing. Can I have a hug?" Kerrigan asked hopefully.

"Of course, you can," Maxine said and gave Kerrigan a hug. It felt strange giving a hug to someone that felt like they were wearing full plate, but Maxine ignored it.

"Thank you, mother," Kerrigan said and she turned around.

"You're welcome," Maxine said and watched Kerrigan fly back to her hive with her warrior bugs. Well, now I have two daughters and I didn't give birth to either of them. 

Cassandra flew down beside Maxine and asked, "So did it agree?"

"Yes, she agreed to help and you better notify your people not to attack any huge insects," Maxine said to Cassandra, "Kerrigan will take mesures to defend herself and that won't be pretty."

"I will let my people know," Cassandra said calmly, but immediately after she became visibly uncomfortable, "Before that though, can I ask you something?" What's this about?

"Go ahead," Maxine said while keeping her tone neutral, but inside she was very curious.

"Is there any way you can tell if I'm pregnant before any medical tests could?" Cassandra asked nervously.

"Yes, I can tell it within a few days of conception," Maxine replied confidently, "But is it really wise for you two to try for that during an invasion?"

"We only did it one time without protection," Cassandra said defensively, "That's why I'm asking you to check."

"Give me a moment," Maxine said with a sigh as she touched Cassandra's stomach and probed her womb with spiritual sense. She didn't find any sign of a pregnancy, but decided to be thorough by checking two more times just in case.

"Well?" Cassandra asked in a reserved tone.

"You're not pregnant," Maxine said calmly, "But I'm not that surprised. It's notoriously difficult for gold stage cultivators to become pregnant without a specilized potion, doubly so for bloodline holders."

"Thanks," Cassandra said with disappointment, "Well I best get back to my people."

"And I should talk to the people from Seton Academy," Maxine said, "So might as well fly back together."

Cassandra simply nodded and the both of them flew back to the city. During their flight, Maxine thought about their chances. Kerrigan and her brood definitely increase our chances of victory here, but doesn't guarantee it. I just hope I don't have to go full-hydra again in battle any time soon, especially if I can't control it. I wonder if there is another way to give myself a boost in power. Maxine remembered about the maximum number of cores any cultivator could have. I could try combining four of my constructs to my essence armor. But I dare not use incompatible ones. It's best to use four shadow wolves or ravens to test it out and I need to find somewhere secluded to do my experiment. I don't want to let everyone know my capabilities until I show them off publicly. Although if I'm being honest, I don't even know how long I would be able to maintain it and that's exactly why I'm going to try it just after I let Sandra know about my bees.