"Violet Carpenter Bee," Draven murmured the name quietly in his mind, his eyes reflecting a trace of seriousness.

  At first, he hadn't immediately recognized these unusually large bees. It was only after thoroughly probing with his senses and discovering the massive hive hidden deep inside the cave—over three meters in diameter—that he suddenly realized the true identity of these insects.

  This was the legendary Violet Carpenter Bee.

  He finally understood why the Eyebrow-Patterned King Serpent would rather abandon the important task assigned to it than leave the cave entrance.

  It wasn't because the orders were unimportant, but because this hive was simply too tempting. Even Draven himself couldn't help swallowing hard when he sensed the rich, sweet aroma from the hive mixed with magical fluctuations.

  The honey produced by the Violet Carpenter Bee was no ordinary ingredient. Not only was its texture delicate and its fragrance unique, but it also contained a special magical energy that could gradually enhance physical constitution and mental strength.

  More importantly, it had an extremely rare effect: raising one's potential limit. This meant that individuals who consumed this honey over the long term had a greater possibility for future growth—even those with limited talent could break through their originally destined limits. It sounded like a myth.

  No wonder the Eyebrow-Patterned King Serpent had no time for the task Draven had given it.

  However, he quickly noticed something unusual.

  If it was just greed, the Eyebrow-Patterned King Serpent could have easily barged into the hive and swallowed those stinging bees one by one like it did with wild beasts before.

  After all, judging by magical power levels, the strongest Violet Carpenter Bee was only low intermediate rank—two full tiers below the mid-high rank of the Eyebrow-Patterned King Serpent.

  But the problem was, it didn't dare go in!

  It only dared to stay at the cave entrance, waiting for the worker bees disturbed by the rain to fly out, then quickly darting its tongue out to scoop them up and swallow them. It didn't look like hunting, but more like sneaky stealing.

  Why was that?

  Draven knew that Violet Carpenter Bees were not known for their attack power. They were not poisonous bees either—their venom was mild and would not be fatal if stung.

  Suddenly, a scream pierced his ears, sounding like someone dousing boiling water on a raw wound. The scream was sharp and fierce, like a piglet being skinned alive.

  Draven whipped his head around. Liliana had been stung.

  She had just transformed into a brown bear and dug through the cave entrance, apparently disturbing the hive's order. Dozens of black-and-yellow striped worker bees, each about the size of a fist, rushed toward the bear, their sharp stingers gleaming coldly through the mist and rain.

  "Damn it!" Draven gasped.

  Violet Carpenter Bees didn't rely on deadly venom; their attack was very direct. Their stingers were like tungsten steel spikes that pierced through skin and muscle straight into nerves, causing intense nerve pain. Not fatal, but it felt as if one's soul was being torn apart.

  "Run! Get down the mountain!" Draven quickly hid under his Magic Lizard cloak, suppressing all his aura while shouting loudly.

  Down the slope, the brown bear rolled wildly, without a trace of grace, tumbling and crawling into the muddy water. Liliana was clearly in so much pain her consciousness was somewhat blurred; she didn't care about appearances and flopped straight into the muddy pond by the creek at the foot of the mountain.

  Instinctively, she piled wet mud onto herself, trying to dull the stinging pain from the bee stings.

  Taking advantage of the moment, Draven summoned the Hand of Death.

  The black shadowy arm silently lifted the already exposed hive. The buzzing surged like a tide, and a dozen Violet Carpenter Bee workers immediately rose from inside the hive, quickly forming a ring in the air to protect the hive's core.

  The queen! It was a slightly larger bee, with a stable but reserved magical aura.

  Draven's eyes sharpened. Without hesitation, he commanded the Hand of Death to sweep out, forcing the outer workers away. These workers reacted swiftly, scattering at the instant the Hand of Death swept by, their movements astonishingly agile.

  Truly elite workers. But Draven wasn't trying to kill them all.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  While clearing the outer defense, he focused and launched a Forced Contract. An invisible mental wave pressed down on the queen.

  The queen suddenly stiffened; her once restless wings slowed and stopped, her suspended form in the air quieted as if bound.

  Success. Without hesitation, Draven ordered the queen to recall the workers outside.

  After a moment, the buzzing above intensified, and the workers chasing Liliana quickly turned back and flew into the hive.

  Only then did Draven relax and run down the mountain. He found the brown bear by the creek, nearly buried in mud.

  "Liliana!"

  The bear rolled over, transforming back into human form.

  Her face was smeared with mud, her hair clumped into strands, tears mixed with rainwater, sobbing while punching the ground and cursing.

  "You liar!" she cried, her face scrunched up."I'm going to tell Sister Viola you tricked me into a death trap!"

  Draven couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time, quickly pulling her out of the muddy water.

  "How was I supposed to know they were so fierce? Didn't you have your father's protection? Isn't it supposed to be impervious to knives and spears?"

  "You lied! They're not knives or spears—they're needles! Small! Sharp! And they hurt like hell!"

  She cursed and screamed, acting like a brat who'd just been spanked. She insisted Draven check the wounds, and when he took off her clothes, he saw only a few faint red spots—no broken skin or bleeding at all.

  Unlike ordinary bees, Violet Carpenter Bees don't leave their stingers in the skin after stinging.

  Their stingers can be used repeatedly!

  Draven crouched in the mud, carefully wiping Liliana's mud-covered little face with a relatively clean piece of animal hide.

  Tears streamed down Liliana's cheeks uncontrollably, mixed with sobs, as she kept pounding on his chest. Her punches weren't hard—more like frustration and venting. Draven didn't push her away; he just stood there, letting her release her emotions.

  "All right, all right, stop crying," he coaxed softly."I'll take you to get revenge, okay?"

  At those words, Liliana looked up, tears still lingering in her eyes, but clearly hesitating for a moment. Draven knew she would fall for that, so he immediately sweetened the deal:"Not just revenge—I'll even let you eat as much from those nasty guys' old hive as you want, until you're full."

  Sure enough, Liliana stopped crying, pursed her lips, and a stubborn expression appeared on her little face. She seemed reenergized and jumped out of his arms in a flash.

  But her movement was too sudden, hitting the spot where she had been stung by the Violet Carpenter Bee.

  "It hurts!" Her mouth twisted, and she started bawling again.

  Draven twitched the corner of his mouth, holding back a laugh as he scooped her back up, gently soothing her again. Once she had calmed down, he took the chance to run toward the hive and broke off a large piece of honeycomb, its surface dripping with golden honey, releasing a sweet fragrance.

  He squatted down and handed the honeycomb to Liliana.

  Sniffling, her teary eyes blurry, Liliana licked it once. The honey slid into her mouth, instantly sweetening her eyes. Though tears still hung there, she couldn't help but lick a second, then a third time, mumbling indistinctly,"So good~!"

  Before long, the crying turned into the sound of eating. Like a child just coaxed with candy, she hugged the honeycomb and sat on the ground munching on it, finally showing a long-lost smile.

  "Eat up, this hive is yours," Draven said generously, waving his hand."Eat as much as you want—until it's all gone."

  Liliana licked her fingertips, her eyes shining bright, her face full of greed and satisfaction for the honeycomb.

  Seeing her mood fully stabilized, Draven finally turned his attention to the bee queen he had contracted.

  The queen was large, with a head ridiculously big and a swollen abdomen seemingly stuffed with eggs. Golden rings evenly decorated her body like natural patterns. Just one look told him she was in the breeding period.

  "Can you fly?" Draven tried commanding her through the contract, but the queen only fluttered her wings a few times before crashing heavily to the ground. It looked like she couldn't lift off at all.

  Draven sighed silently and withdrew the command. As expected, she was pregnant and couldn't fly for now.

  However, with the queen present, the entire hive was like having a leash. Though the dense swarm of bees around was astonishing in number, not a single one made an aggressive move.

  They hovered silently in the air, their wings lightly moving, looking more like a disciplined army than an irritable wild swarm.

  Draven glanced roughly at the hive's size and estimated that this Violet Carpenter Bee colony probably had just recently moved into this mountainous area.

  He had heard legends that a Violet Carpenter Bee hive could grow larger than a stone house, and if it continued to develop, this group's threat would only grow stronger.

  And the key problem was—the queen was not to be trifled with.

  Even top-tier leaders had to be cautious facing a fully matured hive. The sting wasn't deadly, but no one wanted to experience that agonizing pain twice.

  Liliana's calm behavior today probably meant that her mystical teacher had done something to ease the pain. Otherwise, given how she usually throws tantrums and rolls around, she'd probably still be writhing on the ground now.

  To shut Liliana's little mouth that might start tattling as soon as they returned, Draven's eyes flickered with an idea for compensation.

  He picked up the still slowly wriggling queen and called Liliana to return with him to their resting cave. Using the contract, he ordered the queen to keep all the worker bees in place and not to follow them.

  Back in the cave, Draven took out a beast-taming ring and handed it to Liliana.

  "Here, this is a gift for you."

  Liliana tilted her head and looked at him, giving him a‘what are you up to now?' expression.

  "You want me to contract it?" she hesitated softly,"Druids aren't supposed to do things like this."

  "Contract it, and you can eat honey every day," Draven shrugged and added,"Otherwise, if the hive belongs to me, you can only watch me eat."

  Liliana looked down at the half-eaten honeycomb still in her hand, hesitated for a second, then slowly nodded."I'll contract it!"

  From the start, he never intended to keep the queen himself.

  Though Violet Carpenter Bee honey was valuable, it wasn't very useful to him. He couldn't carry the hive on his back, nor had time to tend hundreds or thousands of worker bees. But Liliana was different—she had the time and the right talent.

  Although her combat awareness was a mess, often striking wildly without distinguishing friend or foe, having this swarm of stinging bees would at least help her protect herself better in battle. Plus, it would also serve as indirect training for her coordination and command skills.

  "In the future, it won't just be you eating honey. The defense force of the entire Black Flag Territory will gain an extra layer of protection."