Mei Wu felt herself at edge. She felt that way since she and Kasumi Ai saw the Queen Bee entering their area the moment they finished the dual cultivation session that took the whole night.
They would have been mortified had they not noticed the serious mood around the queen of bees, causing them to immediately straighten up despite the awkwardness, and the Queen Bee, despite not saying anything from her mouth -since she was still unable to speak with her current level- Mei Wu heard the meaning from the emotions emanating and reading the intent of the giant bee.
Something like that was almost as easy as breathing nowadays. To think that in only a month, her Qi sensing skill skyrocketed so high she could practically understand any beast if she stayed with them for a few minutes at least.
But that aside, there was one worrying, and dreadful fact that the Queen Bee told them about, from what she was told by the Worker Bees that were just outside the hive.
The Xie clan would attack in a couple of hours, maybe less, really.
"So it's really going to happen, huh?" Mei Wu heard her lover mutter, and she fully agreed with that resigned sentiment.
Despite knowing that it was very possible to happen, there was the small hope that the inevitable would be delayed to a better time.
'Then again, what I and Ai'er were hoping for was for that delay to continue until we were ready. And of course, we would never be ready if we were inside the hive all the time.' Mei Wu admitted to herself, knowing that no matter what, unless the Xie clan's group was somehow dragged away, it was simply inevitable for the clan members to discover the hive.
That alone was enough to stress Mei Wu out, and her lover didn't take the news much better, with the serious yet anxious expression, but the surprise didn't end there.
The Queen Bee, looking contemplative, suddenly gave them a really shocking and baffling question.
'Would you like to fight them with my hive as well? Or even fight them on your own first? You have thirty minutes to give me your answer.' she told them as if she didn't ask something outrageous or illogical.
It wasn't even a question, really, but a choice. Instinctually, Mei Wu and Kasumi Ai understood the meaning, but intellectually, it was rather shocking.
"What?" they spoke at the same time, looking at the Queen Bee who while feeling just a bit amused, was still as serious as ever.
The Queen Bee felt amused, really. Making them feel shocked or awkward just seemed like a rather good way to waste time. Still, she decided to just tell them.
'I told you; you are given a choice to join the fight and even be the ones to start it with your enemies. Of course, you can just not do so if you wanted.' it couldn't get clearer for her two non-bee not-really-subordinates.
'You have half an hour to decide. Choose wisely.' before they could even ask another question, she exited, leaving them stupefied.
In her mind though, not noticed by the alraune and the human, the Queen Bee was genuinely curious about their answer. It wasn't exactly a test, per se, and it won't change how she treated them for the most part, but she still wanted to know what they would pick.
Would they decide to hide and let her and the hive do all the fighting, or would they join, if not even be the ones that initiate the fight?
The Queen Bee was determined to protect them regardless, and she would prefer if they were not in harm's way, yet a part of her wanted to see the two women go wild and just destroy the opposition as best as they could.
Plus, if they truly desired to be strong, they need to know when to punch above their levels to advance. And as much as she didn't want to admit it, she knew that Ksumi Ai and Mei Wu would end up leaving the hive at some point.
And she was no longer able to think of just killing them for the sake of that. They gave her so much rewards ever since she met them, Kasumi Ai in particular. Killing or crippling them just because she wanted them to stay in the hive and they wanted to live would be futile, and quite disgusting in her opinion, surprisingly.
'These two seem to have grown on me, huh.' she thought to herself. Well, even she isn't immune to change, after all, especially mental change.
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'Well, I had never imagined that I would be given this kind of choice.' I thought to myself as my brain seemingly tried to reboot now that the shock was leaving my system.
I, I didn't know what to think of this situation, honestly. The freaking Queen Bee herself was asking us to choose if we wanted to fight the Xie clan elders and disciples, or if we wanted to leave the fighting to her.
Mei Wu had already returned from her own shock, and her eyes met mine, and it seemed as if silence was all there was as we stood there, looking.
In the end, I broke the silence.
"So, about that..."
"I know..." Mei Wu sighed, and I was surprised she didn't drop to the ground from how she seemed tired, emotionally at least.
Of course, the answer was clear to us, and it was honestly strange we even decided the same thing so quickly.
"We will be fighting them." despite how it felt as if it should be a question, I did state it as if it was an absolute fact.
"Yes; yes we will." she answered, her eyes closed and her body trembling just slightly before that stopped. "Honestly, I'm afraid of it, Ai'er. This isn't some 'weakling' like Xie Li, or a random bandit or beast. We're talking about a clan elder, two of them, along with whatever powerful beasts and items they will most likely have. And the moment they disappear, more of the clan would definitely appear, or even worse, other clans and sects would invite themselves to the drama as well."
I understood her. I really did. I too, was afraid, and I knew that this threat would be much stronger than I've ever faced before, and that winning wouldn't simply give me a permanant chance to relax.
The moment the Xie clan's search group vanishes for good, and the news reach the important figures, we would either have to run away, or to stay holed inside the hive and hope that the Queen Bee could protect us all the time.
Yet I knew for a fact that she would not be able to do that. Any normal Level 7 [Overlord] would be able to defeat her with high difficulty, even easier if their beasts and skills are highly effective against the Queen Bee's own skills. Any warrior above that would have easier time crushing her, with the army of the hive giving a moderate challenge at best.
A part of me wanted to simply drag Mei Wu and abandon all these situations. Maybe find a faraway farm to live as 'mortals' away from the power-hungry entities, but that was frankly impossible. Trouble would always appear, and if I wanted to survive, I needed to be at least strong enough that nothing on this continent could harm or cause danger to me and Mei Wu.
In other words, I needed to become a Holy Beast, as far as my physiology as a beast meant, or to be an Innate warrior, since I could cultivate. Anything else and it was just trouble.
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With that, the decision was clear. Difficult, but surprisingly simple.
"We will crush them." I spoke with confidence.
Just like how I didn't run away when I fought that Black Wolf when I first reincarnated, and just like how I didn't retreat whrn I had to deal with Xie Li, I will just fight against the Xie clan members, even if they were stronger than me.
Though, it certainly helped that I was absolutely sure that I could actually fight against them. I didn't want to think of myself as the strongest, but I was rather certain that they would not be so overwhelmingly stronger than me. At least, they aren't as ridiculously strong as the Queen Bee, who even now, I couldn't verify if I could actually win against. I would certainly be able to fight for a while, maybe give a good fight, but that's it. The gap between our levels were still too much.
Defeating the Xie Clan Elders won't be as difficult.
"... I can't believe I am actually feeling the same." my love sighed again, yet a smile graced her lips, "Well, it feels a bit like a fairy tale, but I guess we are the underdogs who should rise and fight against our opressors... or something like that? Personally, I feel it's more for revenge as well when it comes to me. And to prove them wrong."
Her eyes narrowed, and I got the impression that she was trying to glare at the search group from here. If so, that's one hell of a glare.
I definitely loved that determination and rage on her face.
"Neither Xie Li, nor the majority of the elders, or the clan treated me with the respect they so seemed to love to get, so I shall repay their lesson and crush them underfoot to wipe out their presence from my mind for certain. Not to mention, if we keep running away from every enemy who is slightly stronger, we will never grow up. Don't you agree, Ai'er?"
The Apoptosis Qi seemed to pulse around her, waiting to be unleashed and downgrade the power of her targets to a level where she could just squash them. In return to that desire, I found myself grinning.
"Of course. You don't have to ask me." I gave her my answer.
She was absolutely correct though. One cannot just keep escaping the moment a threat appeared. A bit of a Protagonist "trait," but honestly, I believed that I was doing it more logically, since I wasn't offending a bunch of OP enemies just because. Here, the enemy is arguably not too strong, and we have backup in case things got too difficult.
As for 'offending' the rest of the Xie clan and the other warriors, well, we will cross that bridge when we reach it. Life in this world isn't easy, and in this reality, there was one single, almost-absolute rule to apply in these situations. One given by one of the many series I so loved back when I was on Earth.
"If you don't fight, you cannot survive."
"Indeed." Mei Wu loved my response.
With that, we went to tell the Queen Bee about our choice.
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Time quickly passed, and I, along with Mei Wu, found ourselves close to where the entrance of the hive was. The army of the Queen Bee, along with her majesty herself was behind us.
I was honestly nervous as hell as I looked in front of me, focusing my senses as much as possible. It was time, now, I felt it in my blood and very soul. This was the moment of the fight, and my instincts warned me that this would be the point where the hive would be invaded from. There was only one other entrance for the hive, according to the Queen Bee, but it was designed to be so far away from where currently are, so there was no way the Xie clan elders would discover it, especially since the Worker Bees were heavily focused on working close to where I was before I got invited to the hive.
"This is seriously terrifying, honestly." Mei Wu spoke, already summoning her Grimoire and the Impurity Eater, the beast seemingly excited, and hungry.
"True, I would be shaking in fear had I been any less determined." I answered as I felt sweat dripping from my forehead as I waited for them to break the ceiling and enter, as my monstrous body's giant mouth expanded, Qi generating the most poisonous and deadly nectar I could create.
My heart was beating wildly, I felt it would burst as I felt fear and excitement continue to rise so strongly inside my very being.
Suddenly, instincts flared, as the sensation of danger, along with a strange sensation of the sheer want to prey on the enemy made themselves known.
It's close... It's close, so close!
I could almost feel the different Qi that seemed to roar in defiance closing, as if trying to reach us.
"Come! Xie Clan Elders!" I whispered so faintly even Mei Wu didn't even hear me, though she sensed what I wanted.
And then... the ceiling shattered as if made of glass.
My eyes widened only slightly as I sent a torrent of pollen and poisonous nectar towards the enemy, and Mei Wu's beast, under her command, gleefully floating to utterly gouge out the impurities of the enemies, with no intent of making the process harmless.
Two seconds had passed since the beginning of our attack.
"Ghk!"
"Ack!"
Two voices, one sounding old, and another distinctively feminine yet seemed practically non-existent as if muffled or silenced, echoed, as if pained. I and Mei Wu noticed as Qi, different from the one filling the nectar I unleashed, was making itself known. Massive, and wild, Qi that seemed to want to bite at something.
And from that Qi, a part of it seemed to be syphoned, or more accurately, painfully ripped out. No, this wasn't the Qi, exactly.
Impurities, at least some of them, were forcefully taken.
Our first attack was a success, and while we hoped that this would be the end of it, it was not to be.
"They're coming!" Mei Wu whispered as she gripped her daggers harder, and I prepared myself, my vines and oversized leaves on the ready.
"Ha!" a voice that seemed more like a roar hit our ears, and the Qi rose, and with a burst, my nectar and pollen seemed, for the lack of better word, to detonate, splattering across the wall and the ground, yet it didn't reach us.
"So that's Xie Yao, huh. And he came ready for war..." I spoke, as I gave a determined yet worried smile.
'Interesting...' the Queen Bee, despite not planning to get involved in our fight right away, declared. Clearly, she was curious about this. Honestly, the interest she was giving was somehow fitting yet odd at the same time.
"Yeah, I never saw him like this before. He's really planning to go all out here." Mei Wu spoke, as she too looked at our opponent. One of them, at least, since the other one had long hidden herself probably before the fight even began.
In front of us, was a monster. One that looked almost human, but did not belong to one, it seemed. Arms that seemed to be made of silver-colored metal and iron, with sharp claws, and the same thing was with the legs. The robe that Mei Wu told me the elders of the Xie clan usually wear was tattered, showing a chest that was so full of muscles, all now made of solid metal that I knew would easily shatter normal diamond. Many scars seemed to fill his chest, a proof of the many battles he must have fought, and survived.
The only wound he had was a small hole just below his chest, from where the Impurity Eater's ability forced the impurities out of his system, and I was sure his Qi pathways were rather damaged by that.
Yet, I couldn't sense him showing that pain at all.
"Well, this is a problem..." the man, looking to be in his fifties, but no doubt older, spoke. No longer did he seem to be in pain from the poison that must be in his system, but to assume that he had nothing to protect himself from poison is also foolish. He only looked at us, nothing but steely determination on his face, also taking a metallic silvery sheen, as a giant and sharp horn was protuding from his forehead.
A shiver ran down my and Mei Wu's spine at that. I didn't know if it was due to fear or something else, but I was certain that the fight would be very difficult for us, especially when...
"Retreat!"
My instincts screamed at me as I stepped back, dragging Mei Wu with me via one of my vines the moment she gave the order, as a moment later, the ground where I just was cracked, and I sensed as if a presence made itself known to me, but it then disappeared just as quickly.
"That's definitely the other elder, Xie Xiu. She has a concealing technique or a beast for sure." I found myself speaking, my senses trying to find the hidden woman, but no luck. It seemed that only Mei Wu's ridiculously sensitive Qi sensing ability could smell the elusive woman and her beasts.
'As promised,' my body tensed as the Queen Bee's intent made itself clear as I could feel her retreating by a dozen meters, 'I will let you fight as you desire. Don't die, that's an order.'
"..." I saw as Xie Yao seemed almost a bit more relaxed as the Queen Bee retreated back, no doubt liking this development. His expression though didn't change at all, and his aura seemed as fierce as ever, and he suddenly looked towards Mei Wu, and I noticed her almost stiffen for a second as I moved my vines around her in an almost-protective manner in case we got attacked by the hidden female elder.
"So that's where you were, huh." he spoke seriously to her, voice harder than any steel, "From how you act, you seem to have long abandoned our clan. I also presume Xie Li is dead, right?"
"Whether he's dead or not won't change my fate if I lost or surrendered, would it?" Mei Wu retorted with a grin.
"Not at all." he admitted, "But I just wanted to be certain."
With that, in a second, he summoned his Grimoire. I couldn't even determine if he summoned it in an instant, or if he was taking his time to focus by talking to us.
And in a flash, a silver-ranked level 4 Saber-toothed Blazing Tiger made itself known, roaring with ferocity as the area immediately turned hot, the remains of my poisonous nectar burning and turning into nothing.
I instinctively retreated along with Mei Wu as we saw Xie Yao's body grow in height even more, nearly reaching four meters, almost reaching the ceiling, muscles bulging even further, and now, he looked as if he was furious. We couldn't even notice the beast he brought out to do this, such was how quick he was when it came to summoning his beasts
I gulped, yet neither I or Mei Wu retreated more than a few steps. Thus, the fight began in earnest as I initiated the fight once more, with the Impurity Eater returning to our side, and using its second ability to enhance the purity of our Qi as it expanded and allowed me and Mei Wu in its domain.
"Natura Aeterna Nirvana."
"Malignant Tumor Apoptosis."
And our determination shone.