Chapter 334 - 190: The Ferocious Poison Bee King’s Uniqueness! Nurturing the King is Nurturing the Entire Swarm? Taming the Swarm

Chapter 334: Chapter 190: The Ferocious Poison Bee King’s Uniqueness! Nurturing the King is Nurturing the Entire Swarm? Taming the Swarm

CRUNCH, CRUNCH—

The Ferocious Poison Bee King, clutched tightly in his hand, was trying to tear at Chen Chong with its massive mandibles. But no matter how it attacked, it couldn’t inflict even the slightest damage on the hand covered by Rock Body Transformation.

It was all futile.

Having captured the Ferocious Poison Bee King, Chen Chong finally got a clear look at what the "king" of these dangerous creatures actually looked like.

Compared to an ordinary Fierce Poisonous Bee, the Ferocious Poison Bee King was about a third larger, with bigger mandibles, a longer stinger, and a more intimidating carapace and downy fuzz. Other than that, there was nothing particularly unique about it.

It was completely different from the unique and instantly recognizable queens of typical ant or bee colonies. If you weren’t looking closely, you’d never know it was the king of the Fierce Poisonous Bees.

’Perhaps for a special creature like the Fierce Poisonous Bee, I can’t judge it by the standards of its ordinary counterparts...’

But size was rarely the deciding factor of strength among living creatures. To better understand the Ferocious Poison Bee King, Chen Chong used his Identification Skill.

[Name: Insect · Ferocious Poison Bee King]

[Species: Pseudo-Extraordinary Creature]

[Rating: C+]

[Ability: King of the Swarm]

[Description: The king of the Fierce Poisonous Bee swarm. It is responsible for breeding with the queen to propagate the swarm, and it enjoys the swarm’s protection and contributions. Its lifespan far exceeds that of an ordinary Fierce Poisonous Bee. It loves to consume Fire Silk Flower honey and all kinds of flesh and blood. It once accidentally ingested a portion of flesh from an insectoid Extraordinary Creature, thereby gaining Extraordinary Power and becoming a Pseudo-Extraordinary Creature. This caused the swarm’s population to explode in a short period. However, due to the limited amount of Extraordinary Creature flesh consumed, it has stalled at this level. Perhaps feeding it more flesh from Extraordinary Creatures will allow it to fully ascend to the level of an Extraordinary Creature, further increasing the swarm’s power...]

[Note: The Fierce Poisonous Bee is a very special type of insect. The king is the source of the swarm; they prosper and suffer together. The stronger the king, the stronger the swarm. If the king is harmed, the swarm will also be affected, and vice versa...]

Oh?

Chen Chong was stunned.

He hadn’t expected a single use of his Identification Skill to provide so much information, with each new piece more shocking than the last.

’The Ferocious Poison Bee King is actually a Pseudo-Extraordinary Creature?’

’Its level is probably similar to the Terror Wolf King from before. The only difference is that the wolf pack’s strength was nowhere near that of the bee swarm.’

Furthermore, the Fierce Poisonous Bee swarm’s way of life and rules of procreation seemed vastly different from a normal bee swarm.

But then again, this thing was no ordinary bee swarm to begin with, so it was normal for there to be differences. Chen Chong didn’t dwell on it.

However, the information from the note had resolved a long-standing question for Chen Chong...

’So the reason this swarm was so difficult to deal with was because the king had accidentally eaten the flesh of an Extraordinary Creature and become a Pseudo-Extraordinary Creature?’

Although it hadn’t fully reached the level of an Extraordinary Creature, a Pseudo-Extraordinary Creature was still far stronger than an ordinary creature. This wasn’t just in terms of combat power; its very genes would undergo changes.

’Is that why the swarm’s population is so large, and why each individual Fierce Poisonous Bee is so strong...?’

’No wonder.’

If other Fierce Poisonous Bees existed in the Primitive Jungle, and they were all like this—creatures whose combat power was more terrifying than some actual Extraordinary Creatures—how many of the surrounding beasts would be living in misery?

If this particular swarm was just an exception and other Fierce Poisonous Bees weren’t so exaggeratedly powerful, then that would make more sense.

After all, a single Fierce Poisonous Bee could trade its life for that of a mid-sized beast. With thousands of them combined, who besides Extraordinary Creatures like the Blood-tooth Python or Stone Claw Eagle could possibly handle them?

Chen Chong estimated that a normal swarm of Fierce Poisonous Bees would probably only have about a hundred members, and their combat power would be weaker as well.

’Only then would it be more in line with the characteristics of insects and the food chain...’

Chen Chong also took the opportunity to identify the ability called "King of the Swarm." He discovered it wasn’t a direct combat ability but one that affected the entire swarm.

Its effect was just as the final note described: as the king grew stronger, the swarm would be affected and rise with it.

But this also had a downside. If the swarm of Fierce Poisonous Bees was harmed, the king would suffer too.

However, the loss of one or two bees was trivial to it. Only the simultaneous death of a tenth or more of the swarm would truly affect the king....

Chen Chong’s eyes lit up when he read this.

’This ability might be useless to me and everyone else here, but for a social insect like the Fierce Poisonous Bee, it’s an absolutely god-like ability!’

’Doesn’t this mean that by raising just the king, I’m effectively raising the entire swarm?’

’If I go back and raise the Ferocious Poison Bee King into a full-fledged Extraordinary Creature, won’t the swarm’s strength increase right along with it?’

As the Ferocious Poison Bee King’s Extraordinary Level continued to rise, perhaps...

One day in the future, even ordinary Fierce Poisonous Bees could become Extraordinary Creatures!

Chen Chong was astounded.

’Holy crap. The thought of walking around with a massive swarm of Extraordinary Creatures—ones that are fearless in the face of death and can reproduce like crazy... The mere image is almost too incredible to imagine.’

But that was just a thought for now.

Raising Extraordinary Creatures wasn’t that easy. Besides, he still didn’t know how strong the Ferocious Poison Bee King needed to be for the swarm’s power to increase along with it.

Still, at least he had found a direction for cultivating the swarm.

Not only could they produce Fire Silk Flower honey with special effects, but they could also provide combat support. Taming and raising them had only upsides and no downsides...

...

"Good job. I’ll give you a reward when we get back!"

Chen Chong patted the Rock Armor Eagle perched on the remains of the mud tower, feeling both joyful and gratified.