Selene's smile made Draven hold his waist in pain—his backside hurt so badly he couldn't leave the house for two whole days.

  This firsthand experience made him fully realize just how formidable the Violet Carpenter Bee was.

  He hadn't been idle during those two days. Lying in bed, he whispered plans with Liliana, brainstorming all sorts of ways to deal with the Violet Carpenter Bee.

  Although their lethality was limited, even the ordinary sting of a Violet Carpenter Bee was enough to make him, a high-level werewolf lord, suffer unbearable pain.

  If he could make good use of this, it could definitely become a deadly weapon.

  Of course, all this depended on the Violet Carpenter Bee having a large population.

  He hadn't been prepared before—who would have guessed that Selene was so ruthless as to secretly throw the stinger on the ground to ambush him?

  If it came to a frontal fight, not to mention ordinary Violet Carpenter Bees, even the entire swarm from the whole hive would struggle to get their stingers into his body!

  But when the swarm's numbers grew huge and launched an overwhelming assault, that was when even lord-level people would suffer.

  While his backside was still sore, Draven took the opportunity to slack off. The task of planting Aetherbud was entirely handed over to Viola.

  Selene's words were sharp, and her attitude was even more impatient, but the seeds she gave were indeed valuable.

  Aetherbud not only provided ample pollen for the Violet Carpenter Bees but was itself a magical herb infused with power.

  Such a plant had to be grown in the village. To ensure successful planting, Viola sowed only a small amount of seeds at first, planning to gain experience before expanding cultivation.

  This caused the village's planting space to become tight. So, Viola simply moved the entire breeding area outside the village.

  Now the children had plenty of space to run and play freely. The little rabbits Viola raised had become everyone's pets.

  Draven had no choice but to let Liliana take charge of controlling the Violet Carpenter Bees.

  After all, if even he couldn't bear the pain of a single sting, what if the children got stung? They'd be crying their eyes out.

  Fortunately, Liliana not only had the Beast Taming Ring but also the druid's ability to communicate with the swarm.

  In the past two days, there were no reports in the village of anyone being stung by Violet Carpenter Bees.

  It seemed the little girl was indeed doing a good job.

  With his backside no longer hurting, Draven stopped slacking off.

  He had been thinking about the secret Selene mentioned—if he could find another Violet Carpenter Bee hive, that would be perfect.

  So, he took Liliana to the Violet Carpenter Bee's nest. From the enormous hive, the queen bee slowly crawled out.

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  Liliana picked up the queen and walked to the entrance. Then she transformed into a huge brown bear, letting out a sharp, piercing roar.

  The bear and the queen bee screamed at each other, and Draven found it strange—this was the first time he'd realized bees could actually make sounds.

  After a strange exchange, the brown bear nodded to the queen, then changed back into the little girl.

  "She says she recognizes the way, but it's a bit far, and she can't fly right now."

  "Recognizing the way is enough." Draven rubbed her head, gesturing for her to hold the queen tight as he prepared to ride the Nightmare Horse to find the hive.

  But Liliana shook her head and refused."The swarm will lose control if separated from the queen!"

  Liliana was right. Did they have to wait for the queen to lay all the eggs in her belly? How long would that take?

  Draven thought for a moment—weren't there still a dozen or so fist-sized worker bees in the hive?

  They were not small—they were all low-level magical beasts, probably having followed the queen bee for some time, very likely emerging together from the old hive.

  Draven asked Liliana to try communicating with them, but they refused.

  It wasn't that they were unwilling; within the entire swarm, only the queen bee could produce a buzzing sound, while the other Violet Carpenter Bees relied on body vibrations to make noise.

  Liliana had transformed into a giant bear but had no wings, so naturally she couldn't communicate with them in more detail.

  After hearing this, Draven stroked his chin and decided to try another approach. He instructed Liliana to call out one of the fist-sized worker bees and then directly bound it with a forced contract.

  Then Draven tried commanding the worker bee through the contract to lead the way and search for the old hive.

  This trick worked. Although he could sense the worker bee's resistance, it still fluttered its wings and flew out.

  Draven told it to slow down, then mounted the Nightmare Horse with Liliana, following closely behind the worker bee.

  Along the way, he gained a new understanding of the Violet Carpenter Bee's speed.

  Although they were low-level magical beasts, their flight speed even surpassed that of the mid-level magical beast Nightmare Horse.

  If he hadn't kept telling the worker bee to slow down, they really wouldn't have been able to keep up riding the Nightmare Horse.

  The Violet Carpenter Bee flew steadily north, the direction very clear.

  Draven worried whether they would fly out of their territory when suddenly the worker bee started circling in midair, then slowly descended.

  Arrived?

  Draven was momentarily stunned and looked toward a not-too-high hill below. Could the old hive also be within the former territory of the serpentmen?

  Why, then, had they never detected any trace of the Violet Carpenter Bees? He grew suspicious, carefully controlled the Nightmare Horse, and followed the worker bee down.

  The worker bee kept circling above the grass. Draven and Liliana cautiously approached. At first glance, nothing seemed special.

  Only Liliana squinted her eyes and, uncertainly, said,"I seem to sense something underground."

  Underground?

  Draven took a few steps back with Liliana, took out the Magic Lizard Cloak, and shielded Liliana in his arms, hiding their presence.

  Then he summoned the Hand of Death and carefully parted the grass before them. Soon, a hole about the size of a basketball appeared.

  The hole showed no abnormalities, and no Violet Carpenter Bees flew out.

  Draven gathered his courage and moved closer with Liliana to inspect the entrance.

  The cave was deep and bottomless. He reached inside and faintly felt airflow. Like when he previously explored the hive, he began to delve deeper into the cave.

  But this cave was winding and narrow, covered in many spider webs, completely unlike an environment where wasps would dwell.

  If it weren't for the worker bee guiding the way and Liliana's sense, Draven would almost have doubted they had found the wrong place.

  As time passed, his face grew pale. The cave was deep and dangerous, and even his high-level leader's spiritual power began to falter.

  Helpless, he stopped exploring and led Liliana to follow the direction the cave extended.

  Fortunately, the cave didn't descend continuously; otherwise, without breaking through the surface, it would have been impossible to locate the hive.

  Judging from the cave's size and degree of abandonment, Draven began to suspect this cave was likely not the old hive.

  It seemed more like a tunnel dug by the new queen bee to leave the hive. But why would the new queen use such a troublesome way to split the hive?

  Shouldn't she still be able to fly if she didn't have many eggs in her belly?

  Draven shared his guesses and doubts with Liliana.

  Liliana wrinkled her nose, didn't pay much attention, and lazily said she didn't know, meanwhile urging him to hurry so she wouldn't miss lunch.

  Draven fondly rubbed her upturned nose, then took her over the hill to a crack in the ground.