CHAPTER 474: A SNOW GROVE

This revelation was already shocking and concerning, but it was made worse by the direction from which the danger would come.

Not from warm and wet places where all kinds of plants grew in abundance, but from cold and harsh mountains that reached so high into the sky that bees barely could comprehend their size.

The Bee Empire had plenty of outposts in the lower parts of the mountains, since they housed many metal and mineral veins vital for our industry. However, after travelling high enough into the mountains, bees would start suffering from the cold and thin atmosphere.

Even with warm clothing, bees terribly endured any substantial cold. Only good heaters were able to save them from it in the long term. Mechas were lifesavers for work in cold environments (in rare cases where this was necessary)—they could be insulated and heated, serving as a portable hive for workers inside.

Of course, it was easier to send humans to do various tasks in the cold instead.

But this time, cold was coming toward us in the form of several avalanches that—according to Undecided’s prophecy—would fall on our mountain settlements in a week.

These weren’t any ordinary avalanches. They were created by evolved mountain plants!

I wanted to know more details, but this was all Undecided knew at this point. Of course, time would show her more of the future—but it also meant that this catastrophe would get closer.

I immediately gave orders to evacuate all settlements that could be affected by avalanches—even those that weren’t touched in Undecided’s prophecies.

Then I had to see those evolved plants myself. Luckily for me, Hive Supremo was standing close enough to the mountains that my astral projection could reach them from here.

With a group of a hundred scouts, I flew to the mountains.

Only as astral projections (without dragons, at least) bees could fly high enough to see the mountains in all their glory, with snow-covered peaks and lush bottoms, first covered in pillar mountains, then only in ordinary forests. These forests became lower and lower in height until all that was left was sparse cold-resistant grass and various lichens.

At this point, I sent all the scouts to explore the mountains themselves and gather information about possible places an avalanche could start at.

I also set out to explore the place, but was quickly distracted by the pure natural beauty of the mountains. There were very few beasts to distract from it with their ugly bug-like forms, but plenty of breathtaking valleys and shining snow.

Although things became weirder if I flew to hover over the snow piles, because every snowflake was the size of my head. If I were here in a physical body, it’d be easy to walk over the cover of snow without disturbing it—but digging through would’ve been a nightmare.

By this point, one of the scouts sent me a message, alerting me that her squad had found something alarming.

I immediately teleported there and was greeted with a shocking sight.

On a tall cliff, amid the pure-white snow that shone almost painfully in the sunlight, was growing an entire grove of trees that stubbornly resisted wind and cold!

They had gnarled, bending trunks and blue needles that grew in thick brushes over their branches. Their roots went into snow and cliff sides as if there were no difference between the two, and I saw places where the roots threatened to break stone into pieces with time.

Then there was the size of the grove. It spanned at least several kilometres! No wonder the scouts found it so quickly.

The fact that some trees evolved to grow even in the snow wasn’t too concerning by itself, but...

’Father, this is one of the places where, from Oracle Undecided’s report, that fell on the Bee Empire an avalanche had started. I think this is the reason for it,’ the scout hovering over the place together with me said.

I could see that.

’If the trees break enough stones, they could easily create a chain reaction that starts an avalanche...’ I replied.

The wind that was constantly blowing over the mountains stopped for a moment.

’There’s another thing, Father,’ the scout added in the resulting quiet. ’I’ve been one of the prospectors who explored this area for mineral resources three months ago. These trees didn’t grow here back then.’

I frowned.

Trees could grow very fast—to the point of reaching maturity within weeks!—but for an entire grove to appear so quickly was still concerning.

Then a motion caught my attention. I teleported there and looked closer.

No, I didn’t imagine it. The wind wasn’t shaking the trees’ branches, but they still moved slightly. Very slightly...

I kept staring at the tree from up close for a full minute. The scout didn’t ask questions, but instead stared at the tree together with me.

The tree’s branches grew a little.

Its root moved for a millimetre, and a tiny stone fell out of the mountain cliff. The wind blew again, throwing handfuls of snow at the trees and in through my astral being.

’They are growing! They are growing fast enough that we can see it with naked eyes!’ I exclaimed.

With this kind of speed, how large will this grove become in a week? What about two?

There was so little competition so high in the mountains that these trees could easily take them over. By then, their god will likely earn enough influence for this conquest that these trees could become something...

Really scary.

I also wasn’t sure that the avalanches that would fall on the Bee Empire were caused by an accident.

’I’m returning to the Hive Supremo. Keep scouring the mountains for any more groves of these trees. Study them closer, too. Find their defence mechanisms—use telepathy to lure some wild beasts toward them, perhaps? Pass these orders to the rest of your sisters.’

’Yes, Father!’

I teleported away. Perhaps if the Bee Empire prepared well, we could protect our buildings from avalanches...