Chapter 51: Effective Use of One’s Resources Part 1

「Ooh, this bee over there seems to be quite strong.」

「…… Ah, that’s because it is the Queen Bee of the Empire Bees.」

「Wouldn’t that mean that she should have generals and ministers serving under her or something like that?」

「…… Umm, are we really sure we want to do this?」

It might be going a little overboard, I admit…… No, but there was nothing wrong with me wanting to try just a little bit harder, right? Especially with all of those items right in front of me. Yeah.

「Depending on how the situation develops, there are three ways in which we can approach this.」

First one, the one that I originally wanted to go through: Operation Hyena. The fact that the Bees managed to take down the beetle leaving so many items behind was simply way too good to pass up.

We were going to try to pick up as many items as we possibly could, using the fact that the bees would probably be exhausted after the beetle fight and would be unable to retaliate as swiftly as usual.

The second one was called “Finishing Off the Victor”.

If by some miracle the stag beetle managed to emerge victorious, we would try to sneak up on him and finish him off, taking whatever items we could while we were at it. But we would obviously prioritize the hive items, since they were probably rarer and more valuable than those that would fall from the beetle.

The third strategy was fairly simple. It was called “Last Man Standing”.

It was just an assumption that they would kill each other off and leave only us left standing on the battlefield.

「That is why I would like them to do their very best to try and kill each other off as swiftly as possible.」

「Oh, how delightfully devilish of you……!」

No, I wouldn’t go so far as to call myself a devil…… A demon, or a cruel angel, yes. But never a God or Devil.

「Right, let’s go and get this party started, shall we? Come on, you insects, step on it over there!」

In order to do some solid damage to the beetle, it was necessary to pry open it’s armor and attack its delicate wings and back.

The bees managed to do that and were now bombarding the beetle with a rain of their own stingers, however some of them were being crushed by the beetle’s massive body just slamming itself right into them.

This almost seemed like a raid battle to me. A group of small beings tried their best to slay a giant monstrosity like that. While their numbers were growing thin, the bees continued their assault on the beetle in hopes of taking it down.

However, the beetle wouldn’t go down that easily, at least not without putting up a fight first. It was quite a formidable foe, for it took so many stingers and it was still able to move and fight back. It was like a violent storm that would strike you with lightning at any moment.

It was using its strong jaws and legs to crush the soldier bees and then make a bloody mess out of the generals at the back that were giving orders to them.

「Ooh, won’t you look at that, Emul. The Queen finally decided to move her ass and join the battle.」

「Hawah……!」

Seeing their Queen in front of them, the bees started to regain their composure when their frontline was about to collapse after having the chain of command broken. The Warriors attack the beetle with even more tenacity than ever before while the other bees form a defensive line of sorts around the Queen.

Then, the stag beetle began to glow while striking blow after blow to the bees. Was that light magical? Or maybe it was some sort of skill?

「Now then, Emul. What do you think? To whom is the Goddess of Victory going to smile this time around?」

「S, say what!? Could you please explain this to me? I don’t think I understand!」

You could have just said “I don’t know” or “It’s hard to say at this point in time”. That would have been enough.

Both parties wanted to live, and in order to see that ambition granted they clashed with one another, putting their lives and their survival on the line.

And the conclusion of their battle is……

Its shell is broken and full of cracks. It’s jaw fell off and its left eye was no more, having been pierced with a huge needle of the Queen Bee. But it ultimately managed to pierce her with its giant horns, killing her on the spot.

The rest of the bees, having lost their ruler, scattered around and ran away, clearly indicating who the victor is.

「Not exactly the Plan #3, but…… I guess it’s good enough.」

The body of the Queen Bee explodes into the myriad of polygons. The resulting explosion upon her death was way grander than that of other bees, since her body was appropriately bigger.

「They didn’t take safety measures into consideration and here’s the result……」

After the Queen Bee was gone, the stag beetle was still left standing, looking as though he was itching to fight even though it was clearly on death’s door right now. What an incredible display of tenacity that was. However, it would be that exact pride that would spell his doom.

「Now’s our chance, while it is distracted with honey.」

If it was a battle of gladiators in the arena, then the stag beetle would be titled a victor here and revered by the people. But it was not an arena battle. This was “real life” where there was only one rule to be followed: survival of the fittest.

There was no greater foolishness to commit than choosing to continue to fight knowing full well that you are wounded and weak. There was no shame in running away, not if it was going to mean that you were going to survive.

「Now then, give me that sweet EXP and items and be proud of yourself.」

The Queen did a good job weakening the beetle down. Thanks to that fight I was also able to grasp a good idea about the beetle’s move set, as well as the fact it was fairly weak to physical attacks.

Well…… That about wraps it up.

· Stag Beetle

A beetle that doesn’t back away from the fight. Very stubborn and rich in materials used for creating both weapons and armor.

They fight from the day they are born into this world, so the especially old ones are especially powerful and tenacious.

· Stag Beetle’s Jaw

The jaw of Stag Beetle that it used to crush its food and opponents alike. They are so sharp and powerful that no human can hope to survive meeting with them.

There’s no shame in running away from such jaws.

· Stag Beetle’s Heavy Shell

A heavy shell that makes the Stag Beetle so incredibly tanky. Nothing besides the Stag Beetle can handle its weight and hardness.

Armor made out of this shell is a symbol of the will to not back down from any hardship.

· Stag Beetle’s Scale Fan

A strong scale that covers the body of a Stag Beetle. The secret behind its hardness is that many smaller scales create a single “scale” like that.

On the battlefield the only way is to go forward. Going forward with scales like that guarantees victory without fail.

「Hey, it looks like we managed to get our hands on some quality items right there.」

「Mumumu…… I don’t know why, but I’m feeling a bit weird……」

「No need to feel that way, Emul. You see, that beetle…… It had a choice. It could have choosen to escape. I wanted to face it sometime later, but…… He chose to stay and fight to the bitter end. We need to respect that.」

「What about the Empire Bees, then?」