As Ram lay on the wet ground, the faint sound of wings flipping reached his ears—a steady, rhythmic thrum, growing louder by the second.
The noise was unmistakable, like a giant hornet buzzing, fierce and sharp.
But as it closed in, Ram's expression hardened; he could tell there wasn't just one of them. There were two.
He extended his Divine Consciousness, stretching it carefully to check the incoming creatures. Soon, the creatures entered the range of his Divine Consciousness.
Two tall, humanoid bee-like figures flew toward him, hovering close. Their bodies became clear in his mind—a combination of intimidating bulk and bizarre detail.
Each creature had a muscular, armor-like body covered in black and yellow stripes, giving them the menacing look of a wasp but with far more bulk and strength.
Their four muscular arms held sharp, spear-like weapons in the top two hands, with their sharp ends facing toward the dark clouds, and the bottom pair was clenched, ready for battle.
Their heads seemed disproportionately small compared to their powerful frames, with large black eyes that covered most of their heads, and a pair of antennae twitching to pick up any movement.
Behind them, a long, pointed tail jutted out, sharp and deadly, vibrating slightly with every beat of their transparent wings.
The two humanoid bee creatures floated closer, careless, buzzing with a sense of assumed victory.
Ram could make out their voices, speaking in a rough, guttural version of the Blue Star's common language. He strained his ears to catch their words, realizing they were talking as if he was already dead.
"Another weak human, how dare he come alone to our territory," one of them scoffed, its voice cold, tinged with arrogance.
"Did you see that pathetic shield?" sneered the other. "Barely slowed down the commander's blood stinger for even a moment."
"These assholes..." Ram gritted his teeth, a flicker of anger sparking within him, but he kept his expression blank, hiding his expressions.
They thought he was finished, that he was just another easy kill.
As he lay still, Ram felt every bit of the rain's weight on him, but behind his stillness was a carefully controlled pulse of spiritual energy, spreading out like invisible threads across the muddy earth.
With his strong spirit attribute, he could sense something far more dangerous than the two approaching bee-creatures, a silent but powerful presence lurking nearby, just waiting for the right moment to strike if he made a wrong move.
He knew he had only one chance to act. The two bee creatures swaggered forward, completely unaware of the web he'd spun beneath their feet.
They came close—close enough for Ram to hear the clicking of their mandibles and the low rumble of their cruel laughter.
When they were just two meters away, Ram's eyes narrowed, and with a mental command, a sudden burst of thick vines erupted from the ground around them.
"What—!" one of the creatures hissed, but the vines tightened like living shackles, coiling around their limbs, and their bodies, even binding their deadly stingers.
The vines gave them no room to struggle, forcing their arms down and immobilizing their wings. Their once-arrogant expressions quickly contorted into panic as they tried, and failed, to wrench themselves free.
In the next instant, wooden spears shot out from multiple directions, emerging from the trees and ground, and rushed straight at the captured creatures.
They struck with pinpoint accuracy, piercing the joints of their armor-like exoskeletons, slipping between the plates, and stabbing deep into their flesh.
The two bee warriors shrieked, their eyes bulging as their struggles weakened. But just as Ram began to catch his breath, the hairs on the back of his neck rose.
[ Racial Characteristics:
[Hive Loyalty]:
Bound by a biological imperative, the Hive Guard is compelled to protect its hive and obey its queen without question.
[Regenerative Armor]:
Hive Guards' thick, bio-striped exoskeleton is capable of regenerating over time, hardening further when subjected to consistent damage.
[Swarm Call]:
All Hive Guards are connected with each other since birth, this ability allows the Hive Guard to call nearby hive members in times of distress, amplifying its own attributes by 20% for every additional hive member within a hundred meters, up to a maximum of 150%.
]
[ Skills:
[Sonic Strike]:
The Hive Guard's wings can produce a high-frequency soundwave, temporarily disrupting an enemy's senses and concentration when in close range,
[Enhanced Vital Stinger]:
Equipped with a retractable stinger, capable of piercing dense material with a force equivalent to a top Silver-Tier attack.
[Venom Infusion]:
Their stingers can channel venom directly from their tail glands, imbuing their attacks with a corrosive, paralyzing effect.
]
As Ram scrolled through the information, he became more and more interested in these creatures, compared to cavemen, the Hive Guards were on the next level, with both strong defensive and offensive abilities.
This explained their careless advance earlier—they believed themselves untouchable in their hive domain.
What stood out most to Ram, was their racial characteristics, the Swarm Call which looked similar to the Herd Mentality of cavemen, and the Enhanced Vital Stinger.
"The increase in attributes is huge compared with cavemen. In front of these guys, cavemen really looked rubbish, it's no wonder they are one of the lowest races on Blue Star."
If these guards had managed to summon backup before he'd captured them, he could have faced a deadly wave of reinforcements.
Although he could escape, he won't be able to capture anyone. However, he still felt slightly scared thinking about facing a similar attack from before.
Ram carefully extended some Life Energy toward one of the unconscious Beemen, channeling just enough life energy to close its minor wounds and regain its consciousness.
He watched as the Beeman's antennae twitched, its black eyes flickering to its senses with a dull, confused gaze that quickly sharpened into alarm.
The Beeman struggled against the vines binding it, but Ram tightened his control, keeping the creature immobilized as he leaned forward, his voice low but commanding.
"Easy there. I only want information. If you cooperate, things can stay... painless."