Chapter 351 Anvil Bee

Thordin was acting incredibly mysterious.

The stocky dwarf, whose knotted muscles seemed to fuse with the iron armor he wore, refused to reveal what he had found to the other two.

Instead, using an exceptionally delighted tone, he simply urged Xia Nan and Margaret by the campfire to get up and get ready, all while hastily rummaging through his backpack.

Xia Nan had been about to head out to train, planning to come back for dinner after finishing his exercises.

He had originally intended to politely decline.

But when he watched the dwarf pull two fire starters from his bag and deliberately shove that particularly cumbersome iron helmet onto his head, and recalled Thordin's earlier mention of a "massive feast,"

Xia Nan already had a few guesses.

Compared to his surprise, Margaret seemed to have long grown accustomed to the dwarf's personality.

They had known each other for years and weathered countless adventurer quests together.

Much like a certain caustic Rogue they used to know—someone who seemingly got along with no one yet fit perfectly with the rest like a puzzle piece—their long period of rubbing shoulders meant that despite their vastly different personalities, they shared a collective aura when operating as a team.

After asking Thordin a quick question and seeing his face full of mystery and unwillingness to share, the swordswoman didn't press further. She carefully tucked the Oathkeeper Blackwood party emblem away close to her chest and stood up to get ready.

She certainly knew how to weigh her priorities.

Even though they were in the middle of a quest, this was their personal rest time after making camp. They had no extra guard duties, the area around the caravan camp had long since been cleared of danger, and they had even set up numerous warning traps.

Stepping away for a bit wouldn't hurt.

Besides, Thordin was a veteran Level 4 adventurer; he wouldn't inexplicably bring danger to the group.

For him to show such a delighted expression right now, there was a high probability he had truly found something interesting.

"An hour at most, it won't take too long!"

Seeing Xia Nan's somewhat hesitant expression, Thordin stuffed the fire starters into his belt pouch, squeezed a slightly exaggerated look onto his rugged face, and chuckled softly.

"Just follow me. When the time comes—I guarantee you'll be satisfied!"

Having traveled together for seven days, he had roughly figured out the preferences of this black-haired youth who looked overly young but possessed outstanding strength. The dwarf sounded exceptionally confident.

'I have to take the first watch tonight anyway,' Xia Nan pondered. 'If I push my training back by an hour, the six-hour cooldown for [Gravity Etching] will perfectly finish right after my watch ends, so I can practice once more before resting.'

'With this stout dwarf acting like this, tagging along to take a look won't hurt.'

With that in mind, Xia Nan nodded and accepted the invitation.

Following Thordin's lead, the group left the camp and walked into the woods to the south for about twenty minutes.

Soon, the trio arrived at their destination.

Xia Nan had a strange look on his face.

His outstanding Perception had allowed him to roughly guess the identity of the "massive feast" the dwarf mentioned two minutes prior.

Sure enough, accompanied by a dense buzzing that grew louder as they approached, a massive, dark-brown "stone" clinging to the thick trunk of an oak tree came into his view.

It was about the size of two adult torsos, with a rough, hard surface and an irregular, coarse texture, looking exactly like a miniature fortress.

The buzzing was coming right from inside. If one looked closely, they could spot dense, neatly arranged tiny holes across its surface, as well as—

dark green bees circling and hovering all around the hive.

"Anvil bees?"

Margaret blurted out subconsciously, a look of surprise on her face.

"Don't these bees usually only appear in mining areas? Why would they be here—"

"Heh heh." Thordin the dwarf flashed a smug grin. "I just so happened to spot one when we were setting up camp earlier, so I tracked it down. Didn't expect to actually find it."

"Tsk, tsk."

The usually composed swordswoman couldn't help but smack her lips as she faced the massive hive ahead.

"Then it really is a massive feast."

Xia Nan couldn't understand what the two of them were talking about at all.

Even though he had allocated plenty of time during his stay in Rivervale Town to study and supplement his adventurer-related knowledge as much as possible, he still had a clear gap in his knowledge reserves compared to veteran adventurers who had piled up countless quests—especially when it came down to specific ordinary little creatures like this that weren't monsters.

Without feeling embarrassed, he took the initiative to ask the two for details about this kind of bee.

The anvil bee was a special creature commonly found in high mountains and mining regions.

About the size of an adult's thumb, they lacked the usual yellow-and-black stripes of most bees. Instead, they sported a much darker, deep bronze color that gave off a metallic luster under the sunlight.

Thanks to their unique physiological structure, the high-speed vibration of their wings during flight sounded just like small hammers rapidly striking metal, hence their name.

Anvil bees had unusually robust bodies and thick, resilient wings, allowing them to endure long flights while carrying heavy loads to bring pollen, tiny mineral particles, and mineral-rich clay back to their Anvil Beehive.

Their mouthparts were particularly unique, resembling miniature chisels capable of scraping necessary mineral particles right off rock surfaces. Their stingers were long, sharp, and laced with a potent neurotoxin. A single sting might be bearable, but faced with their massive swarm numbers, even creatures powerful enough to be dubbed "monsters" didn't dare approach their hive.

Notably, anvil bee honey was one of the owlbear's favorite foods. The beasts' thick, multi-layered down feathers were more than enough to deflect the desperate stings of the vast majority of the bees.

If one wanted to earn an owlbear's friendship and approval, anvil bee honey made for an excellent gift.

Of course, that had nothing to do with Xia Nan.

"So... the 'massive feast' you mentioned earlier is the honey from these anvil bees?"

Xia Nan shot a subtle glance at the iron helmet the dwarf had specifically shoved onto his head before setting out.

"Right!"

Noticing nothing of his gaze, Thordin nodded heavily. Through the visor slit of his helmet, his eyes remained glued to the enormous Anvil Beehive ahead as he subconsciously swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

As a traditional clan dwarf who had grown up among the high mountains and mine shafts, Thordin was no stranger to anvil bees, and he knew exactly what their honey tasted like.

That soft, amber-like texture that was thicker than ordinary honey, that rich, sweet flavor carrying a uniquely mellow aroma—

he hadn't tasted it in the many years since he left his clan to adventure on his own.

Anvil bee honey was rich in trace elements extracted from plants and minerals, providing a slow, sustained release of energy. Combined with its wonderful taste, it was a highly sought-after provision for adventurers and dwarven miners alike, prized as a rare food capable of strengthening the body.

Its complex flavor profile and composition made it a perfect base for brewing certain top-tier spirits. Fine vintages from specific dwarven master brewers could even fetch exorbitant prices at auction houses.

If added during cooking, it imbued ingredients with an unmatched depth and complexity, enough for nobles to specifically introduce it to their guests at banquets, garnering high praise.

For dwarves, this honey could even prevent a disease caused by a prolonged lack of sunlight and specific mineral radiation. There were also rumors that it aided in wound healing, cured indigestion, and boosted physical constitution.

Dwarves in some regions were even willing to trade gold or gemstones for it.

It was an expensive ingredient in the truest sense of the word.

Thordin explained a lot to Xia Nan.

But it really all boiled down to two points:

"Delicious! Valuable!"

And for Xia Nan, those two points were an absolute critical hit.

If following Thordin here had initially just been out of respect for a fellow teammate and a bit of idle curiosity, then after the dwarf introduced the top-tier culinary and commercial value of the honey...

the nature of the situation had completely changed.

"So, what do you say? Do you have a plan?"

Xia Nan took the initiative to ask Thordin, staring at the massive Anvil Beehive on the oak tree ahead.

Hearing this, the dwarf pounded his chest vigorously, his thick palm striking his metal armor with a dull thud.

"Relax, I've got experience dealing with these little guys.

Listen to me: in a bit, we'll do this first, and then—"

A party made up of two Level 4 Class Holders and one Level 2 Class Holder whose actual combat prowess far exceeded his level.

Setting aside actual "monsters," to the vast majority of ordinary creatures in nature, they were existences standing at the very top of the food chain.

Even the most vicious wolf pack or a protective mother bear or tiger wouldn't dare look their way twice.

Their extraordinary physical attributes, combined with their combat techniques and gear, allowed intelligent races to slaughter wild beasts in a completely one-sided massacre.

But faced with this Anvil Beehive right now, the group needed to be exceptionally careful.

After all, neither Margaret nor Xia Nan had the defensive capabilities to simply ignore the stings.

Even Thordin, serving as their vanguard, had put on his helmet.

Following the plan they had quickly hashed out, Xia Nan took the fire starters the dwarf had handed him and gathered a few bundles of shrubbery from the surrounding woods.

He found an upwind spot and carefully lit them.

Crackle—

The faint firelight flickered as thick, dark gray smoke caught the light forest breeze and drifted silently toward the Anvil Beehive.

Just to be safe, Xia Nan secretly cast [Gravity Control]. He manipulated the invisible gravity to keep the thick smoke tight and stable, turning it into a diagonal column rising from the ground to pour straight into the hive.

Accompanied by their unique, crisp metallic hum, the buzzing of the anvil bees' vibrating wings abruptly spiked in volume.

Thumb-sized dark green bees began crawling out of the fortress-like hive one by one.

About two-fifths of them were scattered by the thick smoke Xia Nan poured in, wobbling as they fled in all directions.

The remaining three-fifths, however, stubbornly weathered the smoke, circling fiercely around their home.

At this moment, seeing that the rest of the bees wouldn't be dispersed anytime soon, Thordin—iron helmet on his head—suddenly leaped out from the nearby bushes.

He held his shield in his left hand and raised his Faceted Hammer with his right.

Roaring at the dense swarm of anvil bees spiraling in the air ahead, he slammed his Faceted Hammer fiercely against his shield.

An invisible wave instantly washed over the airborne swarm.

The dwarf had actually used a Taunt combat technique straight on the bees.

Since they weren't intelligent creatures and acted almost entirely on instinct, Thordin's Taunt wasn't actually all that effective on the anvil bees. But right now, their hive was under assault by thick smoke. That little bit of influence was more than enough for the agitated swarm to lock onto the dwarf as the prime culprit attacking their home.

The very instant his Faceted Hammer crashed against the round shield with a metallic clang, the massive swarm surged toward him like a dark cloud, their buzzing overlapping into a single roaring drone as they engulfed him.

Without a shred of hesitation, Thordin spun on his heel and sprinted madly away from the area.

Veiled in the twilight, the fully armored dwarf and the swarm on his heels looked just like an iron ball rolling through the woods, kicking up a thick cloud of dust in its wake.

Seeing that Thordin had lured the vast majority of the remaining anvil bees away, Margaret, who had been waiting in the wings, quickly stepped forward.

She held an open empty sack in her left hand and tightly gripped a small, cold-gleaming dagger in her right.

A Level 4 [Swordsman] Class Holder.

Even when wielding a Short Dagger she didn't often use, her bladework was sharp and perfectly precise.

In less than a minute, the hive—nearly the size of two adult torsos—was cleanly sliced off, piece by piece.

Respecting Thordin's customs just as he had specifically requested earlier, Margaret didn't destroy the hive completely. She deliberately cut away only the half storing the vast majority of the honey, leaving the other half—where the bee pupae and larvae lived—attached to the tree.

With that, their plan was successfully completed, leaving only the cleanup.

By the time Xia Nan and Margaret braved the night air and returned to camp carrying the sack packed with honeycomb, Thordin the dwarf had already beaten them back. He was sitting by the campfire, baring his teeth in a grimace as he plucked a bee stinger from the back of his hand.

Having grown up in his clan deep within the mines, the dwarf knew exactly how harvesting anvil bee honey worked, and he had his own little tricks for escaping a swarm's pursuit.

Truth be told, for Class Holders of their caliber, no matter how troublesome anvil bees were, dealing with them was actually quite simple.

Never mind Thordin and Margaret—even Xia Nan, who was only at Class Level 2 and hadn't learned many combat techniques, could think of ten thousand ways to get the honey.

The truly difficult part was doing exactly what they had just done: ensuring the vast majority of the anvil bees survived, and safely preserving the section of the hive housing the larvae after harvesting the honey, all so the swarm could endure.

Xia Nan could understand Thordin's intentions. He figured it was partly because anvil bees were too rare to wipe out in one go—this way, they could come back to collect more honey if they ever craved it—and partly because of the ancient traditions of the dwarven clans.

But since they had already successfully gathered the honey, Xia Nan didn't pay it too much mind. He just thought that when he tasted it later, if it really was as delicious as the dwarf claimed, he might ask him how long it took for the hive to recover.

Then, when the time came, he could come back with Thordin to collect some more, or pay the dwarf to save a bit for him.

"Yeah... this stuff won't expire anyway. I can keep a few jars on me and give them to Barn when we get back."

Even though the blacksmith was built sturdier than a Bugbear, he supposedly had dwarven blood and had grown up in the clan lands, so he shouldn't be opposed to this kind of honey.

They had worked together so many times and were on very familiar terms.

Bringing back small gifts for friends after a long trip was a habit Xia Nan had formed way back in his past life; it didn't require any overthinking.

He was just pondering whether he should save some for Adeline and the others when, before he and Margaret even reached the campfire, several figures walked over from the side, calling out in greeting.

Leading the way was the caravan owner, Horac, bearing a friendly smile on his round face. Behind him followed his gaunt, serious-looking assistant.

A few camp hands trailed closely behind the pair, carrying steaming iron pots.