Chapter 921: Hive Queens Are Scary

Chapter 921: Hive Queens Are Scary

Jake and Vesperia hadn’t ever really spent that much together, and he truly didn’t know what she was actually capable of. All he had seen from her was her ability to enter fighting mode, which ultimately wasn’t her main power.

She was a Hive Queen. A living one-woman army that commanded an entire hive of powerful insectoids to overwhelm and slaughter anyone who dared oppose her. Her personal ability to fight was a last resort or to be used only alongside her workers and soldiers. Well, primarily soldiers, Jake reckoned, as workers were meant to stay back at the hive.

Now, after a few years, Vesperia had plenty of time to learn more about her abilities, but more importantly, to actually create some creatures for her hive. Something she enthusiastically wanted to show off.

“My internal space serving as a temporary hive has expanded significantly as I have progressed through C-grade, and I have even absorbed unique treasures provided to me by the Endless Empire to facilitate further growth. This has led to me having an internal space capable of storing at least a few million creations, though I have far from filled it up. To do that, I will likely need some more Hive Queens to assist me,” Vesperia happily explained, as Jake nodded along with interest.

“Have you made any more Hive Queens yet?” Jake asked.

“Only two so far, and both of them were made without any fertilization,” Vesperia answered nonchalantly. “I find it too early for me to look into any potential mates. Besides, if they are too weak, their Records will only end up weakening the Hive Queen.”

Yeah, Jake wasn’t going to touch that topic with a ten-foot pole. He sure as hell wasn’t going to discuss Vesperia’s potential love life, though going by the tone she spoke with, it didn’t seem like she viewed the act of fertilization as anything that had emotions involved in it. It was purely a way to potentially improve the Records of a Hive Queen.

“One of those Hive Queens is in my stomach right now! I’m making a wasp farm!” Sandy added happily.

“That’s nice,” Jake said with a smile. “How about the second one?”

“Would you like to see her?” Vesperia asked. Jake nodded his head without any hesitation, quite curious for sure.

“Do note this one is still very young,” she said, as Jake felt the movement of magic. That is also when he learned that the way Vesperia summoned things from her internal world wasn’t just like pulling stuff out of spatial storage.

A large yellow spinning portal appeared, and a few seconds later, a pretty damn massive wasp walked out. It had no humanoid features at all but just looked like a big wasp with a surprisingly huge thorax compared to the wasps he usually saw. Jake also felt that this Hive Queen was barely in C-grade and not particularly strong either... likely because it was focused on tending to and expanding hives.

[Vespula Hive Queen – lvl 208]

It was even an entirely different race. A Vespula Hive Queen. Still a wasp but far from a True Royal. Jake wasn’t disappointed or anything, though. The mere fact Vesperia could create a creature like this all on her own, possessing a full Truesoul and being its entirely independent being, was incredibly impressive.

“She hasn’t had time to learn to change her form yet,” Vesperia quickly clarified as she looked at the large warp.

The warp bowed its head toward Vesperia before it looked at Jake. “I greet the Sire of the True Royal.”

Yeah, Jake definitely shouldn’t be surprised the big wasp could talk and responded politely: “Nice to meet you, too.”

“As you can see, despite being young, Hive Queens are born with the same innate knowledge that I was, albeit far less. She is only a year old and already ready to establish her own hive once a suitable site is found,” Vesperia explained.

“I see,” Jake nodded, impressed.

Could he just mention how fucking scary eusocial insects like Vesperia were? She could create creatures that could make more creatures, creating a massive army within only a few years. He totally understood why many sought to eradicate any ectognamorphs once discovered on a planet, as should they go uncontested, most planets would be overrun.

“Alright, please return to the Internal Hive,” Vesperia said to the young Hive Queen. It bowed its head once more and quickly walked back through the portal, which did make Jake wonder...

“Say, can others enter the portal? Could I?”Updated chapters at novelhall.com

“I apologize, that’s not possible. Only creatures I have created can enter. Even that Hive Queen cannot make any spawns within, and I wouldn’t be able to house anything she makes in the future either,” Vesperia said very apologetically as she deflated a bit.

“Why apologize? That’s not necessarily a downside. It means the space is far safer by default, and enemies have no possible way to sneak in and hurt the young within. In fact, I would say it’s a feature more than anything else,” Jake said, shaking his head.

Vesperia smiled as his words quickly pepped her back up. “Hive Queens are far from the only spawns I have made. Actually, they are the only creatures not truly part of the Vespernat Lineage.”

She proceeded to bring out more wasps to show off. Three pretty different insects appeared, all with varying names, looks and purposes, their races pretty explanatory.

[Vespernat Soldier - 267]

[Vespernat Worker- 255]

[Vespernat Pollinator - 248]

All of them looked purely like insects. The Soldier was the biggest of them at about three meters long, and it definitely looked designed to fight. The Worker and Pollinator looked a lot less dangerous, especially the Pollinator. Rather than a wasp, it looked more like a cross between a wasp and a bumblebee, with its many soft hairs, making it look pretty cute.

“Oh, that was just a choice for this demonstration, and due to the peculiarity of the transformation of these guards,” Vesperia said as she looked at the four Queen’s Guards. “Transform.”

Instantly, they reacted as all four of them grew in size, and within seconds, they turned into carbon copies of Vesperia in her warrior form. Even their auras changed to resemble hers, and without his Bloodline, he wasn’t sure he could have told the difference. Jake even tried using Identify...

[Vespernat Hive Queen – lvl 284]

“Are these...?”

“Look-alikes,” Vesperia said, smiling. “A tried and true strategy of old."

“That’s... impressive,” Jake said, as he kept comparing the four of them to Vesperia. “Are these also considered drones, or?”

“Partly,” Vesperia clarified as she motioned toward one of the Queen’s Guards, who promptly spoke:

“We live to serve the Queen and have the required mental faculties to do so efficiently,” she spoke in a voice that was even identical to Vesperia’s.

“Having a look-alike that couldn’t even act like me wouldn’t be a very good one, now would it?” Vesperia said proudly. “You four may return to the hive.”

The four of them nodded and went through the portal without saying anything more. After they left, Vesperia closed the portal again.

“Ah, I should mention their ability to mimic me isn’t a known ability and shouldn’t be shared, as it would make it far less effective,” Vesperia casually clarified that she had just revealed one of her big trump cards.

“Of course I won’t share anything,” Jake reassured her.

“I totally would if they had the right bribe,” Sandy also decided to jump into the conversation. “Ah, who am I kidding. I wouldn’t do that to my little sister Vespy.”

“That actually reminds me,” Jake said, looking at Vesperia. “Are you alright with Sandy calling that nickname? I know that Sandy can be a handful, and I would gladly give the big worm a stern talking to.”

“It... it’s fine,” Vesperia said a bit shyly as Sandy jumped right back in.

“Vespy is also having mixed emotions about having her own name already and you not naming her like the rest of us. Seeing as your naming convention sucks, Vespy totally sounds like the name you would have given her if you had been the one to decide, so me calling her that makes her feel like we’re all closer,” the worm once more inflicted panic upon Vesperia.

“... if you want me to also call you Vespy, that’s totally fine?” Jake muttered. “And... well, that probably is the kind of name I would have given.”

“Make it a special family name!” Sandy wriggled happily.

“I... I would be fine with whatever Sire wishes to call me,” Vesperia said.

“That means she wants you to call her Vespy as that sounds way more familial,” Sandy just wouldn’t let up causing Vesperia mental attacks.

“Vespy it is then,” Jake smiled as he saw Vespy blush, making him instinctively reach up and pat her head. Her only response was to lower herself a bit, making it easier for him to do so.

“I must say, your abilities surpass my expectations,” Jake said happily while still rubbing her hair. “You really are a one-wasp army. Do you also remember what we talked about earlier regarding you helping me with something?”

Vespy’s head instantly shot up as she looked at Jake. “What is it?”

Jake smiled and shook his head and pulled back his patting hand – much to Vespy’s disappointment - before explaining. “While preparing for the Prima Guardian to arrive, we are addressing as many potential risk factors as possible. The skies, seas, and land are very much covered, but the subterranean world is still mostly unexplored. What we do know is that there is quite an Isoptera presence that, last time I heard, is far from fully addressed. There might even be some ants or other hives, too.”

“Does Sire wish for me to make contact with these hives and eradicate or place them under our control?” Vesperia asked nonchalantly.

“Not gonna lie, as long as they are addressed, I don’t care how you do it,” Jake shook his head. “But I would still be careful. They are underground, where I don’t know how good your variant is at fighting, seeing as you’re wasps and all. They also had a lot of time to grow, so they might have become quite powerful. Not to mention the fact that much of the underworld remains unexplored, and I don’t know what other dangers might be waiting. As I said, much of it remains unexplored.”

“Firstly, Sire, the Vespernat lineage does not struggle underground. Many of the offshoots from the Lineage are underground dwellers already, and we are more than adapted to that kind of environment. Perhaps not as much as other True Royal Lineages of the Endless Empire, such as the True Royal Lineage ruling the Isoptera line, but in the end, they are only Isoptera. My goal will also not be to fight them. Simply to announce my presence and allow them the honor of swearing fealty.”

Jake furrowed his brows. “Are you sure they will be that receptive? What if they choose to fight back?”

Vesperia looked at Jake with a perplexed expression. “Why would they ever fight against the honor of submitting to a True Royal? One who even acts with the blessing of their True Royal ancestors? Even if I asked the Hive Queens to all kill themselves, it would be the greatest moment in their lives, simply for having the privilege of carrying out a direct order from me.”

... had Jake ever mentioned that True Royals Hive Queens are mega scary?