Full health is the kill threshold, no matter if you're a god or a demon!

"Great Devourer, calm down!" Nigellas's projection flickered under the oppressive force, but he forced himself to speak, "Although my avatar has been defeated, it hasn't revealed our true objective! The centaurs aren't allies of the Abe Bees; they're not friendly! Besides, he couldn't possibly know the value of the unformed queen bee! Samuelas and Caiaras have already infiltrated the Crystal Mountains; they're far more skilled at infiltration and intelligence gathering than I am. Once they successfully enter the temporary hive, with the tools you provided, they're absolutely confident they can capture the queen bee!"

Gorgon's compound eyes stared intently at Nigellas for a long time. Then, its massive body slowly leaned back, the oppressive aura lessening slightly, but its voice remained icy:

"That would be for the best. Nigellas, remember our deal. I provide the whereabouts and acquisition method of the 'Heart of Hyperion,' and you, the Three Assassins of the Mist, bring back for me the living, unformed Queen Bee of the Abe Bee. If, due to your mistakes, the Queen Bee dies, becomes bound to the Hive City, or is taken by other forces... you should know what the consequences will be."

He didn't finish speaking, but the sudden drop in killing intent within the nest, and the aura of those high-ranking Zerg guards locking onto him, already spoke volumes.

"The Heart of Hyperion is key to our Mistborn's next advancement!" Nigellas said solemnly. "We want to avoid failure even more than you do! Rest assured, Samuellas and Kayarath's abilities far surpass mine, especially for missions requiring covert operations. You just need to remain calm and await good news!"

"Hmph!" Gorgon snorted and plunged his head back into the fungal carpet.

Watching the terrifying Insect King merge back into the creep, Nigellas breathed a sigh of relief. The pressure the Insect King exerted on him was simply too great. If the Insect King were to get serious, he would have absolutely no chance of escaping!

Moreover, he wasn't as confident as he claimed.

If we capture the queen bee and want to bring her back, we'll need the boundary tree. What if the centaur hasn't left?

When his two companions run headlong into him, Nigellas doesn't think they'll get away with it...

Unfortunately, there are too many restrictions on avatar actions. Not only is their level suppressed, but they also can't use the system's various functions in that area. After all, they are "invading" the newbie village, so how could there be no means of restraint? Now they can only pray that their two companions don't run into that damned centaur!

"Teshuan...I'll tear you to pieces sooner or later!!" he cursed viciously.

The insect hive returned to silence.

Gorgon's consciousness sank into a huge, pulsating, translucent insect egg beneath the living city, within which a curled-up, humanoid silhouette with thin wings on its back could be vaguely seen.

"Unformed queen bee... Once I devour you and assimilate you, I can break through the level 500 barrier. At that time, with you taking my place in guarding the hive, I will break free and be invincible!!"

It gently raised one of its forelimbs, its fingertip touching the air.

The air ahead distorted, revealing a blurry patch of light and shadow.

In the interplay of light and shadow, the outlines of a continuous mountain range refracting seven colors can be vaguely seen, as well as deep within the mountains, a cluster of buildings resembling a giant honeycomb, composed of countless hexagonal crystalline structures.

The Liuli Mountains, the settlement of the Yabe Bee People.

The twilight, as sweet as honey, bathed the colorful, crystalline mountainside.

The amber-colored honeycomb fortress, constructed of hardened beeswax, sits quietly deep in the valley, blending seamlessly with the majestic honeybee tree.

The tree canopy cast a soft, pale golden glow, which mingled with the dim light emanating from the fortress, illuminating the entire area in a warm and sacred light.

The low-ranking worker bees vibrated their transparent wings, moving orderly between the hive fortresses, transporting newly collected pollen and dew. They would use these to make various magical potions with special functions made by the Abe bee race.

It includes not only healing potions and mana regeneration potions, but also potions that can increase movement speed, immunity to freezing, armor, block, physical damage reduction, critical strike chance, and other attributes. There are even magical potions that directly cause damage with effects such as poison, fire, and ice. In fact, strictly speaking, the relic Liu Nian obtained, the "Gift of the Shadow Spider Queen," can also be considered a type of magical potion.

The Abebe people have a special profession called Alchemist. This profession sounds like it involves healing and saving lives, but it's not. It's a profession that relies on potions to fight.

On the gathering platform, several bee-man players were meticulously sorting their day's loot. From the distant garrison fortress came the rhythmic scraping of armor and the sound of weapons cutting through the air—that was the training ground and combat arena…

Everything looked no different from any other evening.

Deep within the Holy Throne of Honeybees, the soon-to-be Queen Honeybee, sitting on a flower-shaking bed, was listening to the report from the nursery leader Freya about the constitution of a batch of newly emerged larvae. Her gentle face was originally filled with kindness and focus, but inadvertently, she frowned, and the slender antennae on her forehead suddenly trembled slightly.

Something seems off... the pheromones smell wrong...

A hint of coldness crept onto Miya's warm, jade-colored skin.

"Freya." She gently interrupted the nursery chief's report, her voice still gentle, but her eyes had subtly sharpened. "Pause for a moment. Go to the Healing Honey Palace and, in my name, check the honey dew consumption records for today's 'Quiet Nest Chamber.' Oh, and while you're at it, also check if the magic fluctuations of the Honey Cleansing Shield base are stable."

Freya didn't hesitate at all, bowed and accepted the order: "Yes, sister." She turned around lightly and quickly disappeared silently into the corridor leading to the Healing Honey Palace.

Miya slowly rose from the Holy Throne, her slender body enveloped in the pillars of light cast from the dome. Her long, pale golden curls moved without wind, and the pair of transparent bee wings covered with star patterns on her back were trembling slightly—a subconscious behavior when she was uneasy.

Her perception was like a sophisticated radar, silently spreading out from the Holy Throne of Honeybee to the entire Hive Castle.

Inside the Nurturing Hall, the young bees breathe and beat evenly; before the Brewing Altar in the Spirit Brewing Hall, Commander Cyrus's steady rhythm of honey-making resonates; in the Garrison Fortress Training Grounds, Commander Nicola's resounding rhythm guides the warrior bees in their training; the babbling waters of the Pure Fragrance Pool at the Gathering Platform; even the faint glow of magical energy flowing within the walls of every section of the Beeswax Corridor…

Everything seemed normal.

But Miya's heart sank little by little.

The pheromones didn't disappear; instead, they became clearer and clearer!

There must be unseen enemies who have infiltrated their fortress.

It didn't resemble wild monsters, nor any of the hostile player races she had ever encountered; she remembered their pheromones.

This is a new "flavor"—empty and cold, as if it has "erased" a part of its existence from the world, leaving only a blurred "outline" moving.

Knowing she couldn't wait any longer, Miya immediately gave the order in the channel:

"The entire fortress is on combat alert. Unknown intruders have broken in; number and location unknown. All officers, restrain your units and do not move. Vanguard Commander Nicola, lead your personal guard to seal off all outer passages of the Holy See. Shadow Commander Vayne, activate the Great Buzzer and locate the intruders!"

The command was given, and the entire beehive castle immediately "came to life".