CHAPTER 476: THE AVALANCHE

In the next week, the citizens of the Bee Empire worked hard to prepare for the avalanches. The people were evacuated from the areas that could be affected, and resources were prepared for the speedy clearing of the consequences.

Thousands of mechas and humans travelled to this area with shovels and cats. Even several prototypes of gasoline-powered bulldozers were taken from their places in stone quarries and moved to the mountains.

Teams of builders rapidly prepared temporary shelters for all evacuated people and built defensive embankments to protect at least part of the infrastructure from avalanches.

At the same time, scouts kept exploring the mysterious ice-hole trees. Together with prophecies from the Oracles, they brought me more concerning information every day. Humans also helped a little, although not in a way I expected.

By the end of the week, I could compile a picture of the abilities of these trees. I didn’t know how full exactly this picture was, but it had the worst of them.

The ice-hole trees didn’t just resist cold; they thrived in it. They grew only in places covered in snow or ice at least half the time, but they also caused their appearance.

Humans gave Whisper their old maps, which showed how far down the mountains went their snowy parts years ago. According to Beehound scouts, now the snow has moved for hundreds of kilometres down the mountains!

Not by itself or because of some global cold—it was spread by the ice-hole trees!

Scouts have found that they suck warmth out of anything that approaches them. This was why beasts died when they got close. If the scouts weren’t travelling over the mountains as astral projections, they’d already be dead, too!

And the Oracles told me that these trees would grow rapidly on the places affected by the avalanches—even more rapidly than those higher in the mountains! It was as if they not only sucked in all the surrounding warmth, but used it to fuel their growth.

Perhaps not ’as if’.

This meant that if the Bee Empire wasn’t prepared to meet the ice-hole trees, we would be invaded by them. On even ground, they won’t be able to spread their seeds as fast and far as before, but I was sure they would evolve something.

Armies of fire-breathing soldiers were already in position. With them were piles of wood, coal and living rocks for burning. They were ready to melt the snow and burn the trees, but I feared our efforts might not be enough.

***

When the day X came, I came as an astral projection to watch this sight. By this point, the only things the snow and rocks would cover were going to be pillar mountains and empty buildings.

The sight of an avalanche was not something you could see every day!

I wasn’t the only one watching. Far away, millions of bees and thousands of humans were also watching the distant mountains and waiting for orders to move and clear up their mess.

The avalanche started slowly. I couldn’t tell when exactly the snow began moving, or when this movement became too strong to mistake for a blizzard.

Just as I couldn’t tell exactly when this movement grew to the size of an unstoppable, thunderous force!

Clouds of snow raised by the avalanche covered the mountains, but even they couldn’t fully hide the stream of snow and debris that ran down the mountain cliffs. I saw countless gnarled trunks of the ice-hole trees poking out of the snow—they suffered from the catastrophe they created themselves.

But it didn’t feel like a failure on the side of trees. If anything, every branch that could carry seeds and spread them over the avalanche was a victory on the trees’ part.

The avalanche moved forward, swallowing first the snowy parts of the mountains, then covering the grass, the trees and the pillar mountains alike. Even these rock giants fell under its power, and only their tops poked out—sometimes.

From a distance, the avalanche seemed to move deceptively slowly. I knew it would take longer than a dozen minutes for it to stop, but it was still shocking to see something like this just last and last and last...

Until, finally, the thundering of the avalanche turned into a distant rumble. From reports of scouts all over the mountains, there were still avalanches going on in other places, but the one in front of me was over.

As the clouds of snow settled, I could see snow and dirt covering places that were just recently lush and green. Workers already moved toward the mess, ready to clean it.

But half an hour later, when they had reached closer to the thicker piles of snow, I saw them stop and retreat a little. A short while after this, I got a report from Workharder.

’Father, the workers can’t move deeper into the avalanche. They say it’s too cold out there, despite their warm clothing! The mechas also experience malfunctions because of it.’

I frowned.

’Is this because of the snow? Or because of the trees buried in this snow?’

’I think it’s the latter, Father. The soldiers are ready to start the fires—I just wanted your order.’

’Start the fires—but in one place and carefully. Although fire might be the best weapon right now, you remember our prognoses from earlier, don’t you?’

’Yes, Father. Or I wouldn’t have asked! The last thing we want is for our fire to make the trees grow only faster. Anyway, I got you! Will be done in the best way possible.’

After this, I saw a group of bees and mechas move away from the rest. They carried baskets of various burnable fuel, which they put into the deep snow, at the edge of their comfort. Then the fire-breathers set them on fire with a few dozen spats of napalm.

As the fire grew, I teleported closer and watched the snow melt around these bonfires. Around me, bees and humans watched in tense silence as well.

Would this work for us or against us?