CHAPTER 484: RESEARCHINA’S PLAN

Researchina’s suggestion was to use acid, which, when heated, turned into a highly toxic and corrosive gas. By exploiting the hot air currents above the frozen forest, this gas could be launched into the sky over the ice-hole trees.

Then the cold air from below will cause the acid to solidify again, turning into mist or even drizzle that will fall on the trees below, covering and killing massive areas of the frozen forest at once.

This was a much faster and more efficient way of spreading the acid over the trees than hoses that required pumps and constant replacement because of corrosion.

However, if anything went wrong, this acid cloud could cover our own people! The consequences of this were scary to imagine.

But Researchina didn’t lose her cool.

"I calculated everything thrice. The air currents over the area are extremely stable, and there are several pillar mountains that can serve as safe launch points."

"I understand the risks of this plan, Father, but I estimated that the potential results are worth it. By using our acid reserves in this way, we could clear up to five percent of the frozen forest’s territories at once with only the first launch. This will not only allow us to reduce the length of cordons and free more people from having to stand there, but also reduce the amount of seeds the trees produce."

I rubbed my forehead. Researchina’s arguments were well thought through—I couldn’t find anything against them.

This risky movement now was better than continuing to fight the ice-hole trees in a standstill that slowly sapped the Bee Empire’s resources, reduced the speed of our expansion elsewhere, and made us more vulnerable to attacks from other directions.

"Very well. I give my approval—but first I will triple-check your calculations myself, Researchina."

She smiled a little.

"Thank you, Father. I will explain everything you have questions about."

By this point, Researchina knew physics better than I did, despite her more practical approach to it than I was used to. However, after I read through the fine details of her plan and consulted the maps, I found better launch positions for the acid clouds.

They weren’t drastically different from the ones suggested by Researchina, but it would be easier to evacuate people from them if something went wrong.

I also made sure that the people in these areas will be ready to evacuate at any moment.

***

Workharder and Bloodhero worked as quickly as they promised—within a day, extra forces travelled to the cordon around the frozen forest and joined the fight against the ice-hole trees and their seeds.

This shifted the balance of power toward us, but not by much. There was still almost no progress in clearing the avalanche on that day.

The next day started even worse, because the weather was especially sunny and hot. I have been hoping for a storm for a while now—it would’ve given us a breather, since tree seeds won’t be able to fly during it—but instead we got awful wet heat.

The mist near the ice-hole trees was especially thick, and the trees themselves grew even faster than usual and released even more seeds. Seeds that were almost impossible to see through the mist, even with heat vision.

On that day, the trees made a small but still step back toward us, claiming some of the territories that we had cleared before.

After this, the news that Researchina’s plan was ready for the first launch sounded like music to my ears.

The gas cloud launch pad was hastily built on a tall branch of a living mountain. It was wide enough to easily host all the barrels with acid brought there by a Queen-class mecha and a few pulleys.

The steel barrels (enamelled from the inside to resist corrosion, of course) were put on coals, where they could be heated slowly and steadily to avoid violent reactions.

All the bees working there were Beemarines with limit broken ’Thick Skin’ and full venom immunity, but they still wore thick leather clothing and masks with simple goggles for protection. Even the mecha near wore a leather "cloak" over itself.

None of these bees feared that the acid would harm them, but they still acted with extreme care, because they knew that something worse might happen if they failed—their sisters would be harmed. And for no good reason.

From this position, the warm wind was blowing right toward the sky over the frozen forest.

’Everything is ready, Father,’ Researchina messaged me. ’Are you watching this?’

’Yes. Where else would I be?’

’Then you can give the workers the signal to start.’

Which I did.

’My girls! This is your Father speaking. Execute the operation, and remember—this is done to protect your sisters fighting the frozen forest below, and those who are working in areas untouched by it yet. This is for the Empire!’

"For the Empire!" The Beemarines cheered. Emboldened by my short speech, they moved with extra speed, placing heavy barrels on the coals.

With their evolved strength, each bee could easily carry (at least over ground) things of her own weight, and even more if she tried. This wasn’t quite the colossal strength of ants, but approaching it!

Thanks to this, the heavy operation was done quickly and without incidents. The barrels were opened, the coals lit.

Soon, yellowish, almost invisible steam flew up from the acid barrels. Its column was swiftly pulled by the wind and carried forth, toward the ice-hole trees, where it became invisible in all the mist surrounding it.

’What if the regular mist will dilute the acid to the point where it becomes harmless?’ I wondered anxiously.

By my and Researchina’s calculations, this shouldn’t become a problem, but we could be wrong. Hell, Researchina was a self-taught physicist, and my knowledge of physics ended somewhere between high school and wiki articles!

But it was too late to worry now. I could only wait for the acid steam to become clouds and hope they didn’t fall on my people!