Chapter 384: The Cunning of the Wolf — Outsmarting the Venomous Bees and the Da Hei Xiong

After emerging from the Wolf King's icy cave, the Northland Wolf returned to its own den, filled with confidence and high spirits. Distracted by the little wolves around it, it curled up on the dry ground and pondered for a long time. Finally, watching the wolf pups play gave it inspiration, and it devised a way to survive the venomous bees' attacks, as well as a method to defeat the Da Hei Xiong alone.

As for capturing a Human, that was not too difficult; it only needed to ensure that on the way back to the Wolf King's dwelling, it could resist the urge to bite the Human to death.

It let out a howl, summoning its companions who shared the same den. Once everyone had gathered, they all ran over to rub against its fur fawningly, seeking to gain more favor.

It was not yet the leader of this den, so it used its head to push away the companions crowding it, and with whimpers and whines, it issued its orders.

The Forest was vast and lush; finding a suitable, scrawny Da Hei Xiong and a venomous bee nest that was relatively small was not easy, so it needed the experience and wisdom of its companions.

Regarding this, its companions told it everything they knew and led it to scout the area in person.

After searching several bear dens and prioritizing the exclusion of giant mother bears with cubs, the cunning Northland Wolves set their sights on two male Da Hei Xiong living alone.

After luring them out for observation, it chose the scrawnier one of the two Da Hei Xiong.

Afterward, with the help of its companions, it found a relatively small, newly split venomous bee nest in a remote part of the Forest.

Although Northland Wolves also liked the Honey from bee nests, the venomous bees in the Forest were quite different.

The worker bees in these venomous bee nests were only slightly larger than those in other nests, but the soldier bees within were huge, numerous, and their tail stingers were venomous, capable of repeatedly stinging enemies. They were dangerous, ferocious animals that a Northland Wolf could not afford to provoke.

For this, it was already prepared.

On a midsummer day, it first summoned the brave Northland Wolves from other dens to watch the battle, then it took the lead while the rest of the Northland Wolves watched from afar; everyone gathered at its den.

It did not waste effort howling about anything else and went straight into action.

The first step exceeded the expectations of many Northland Wolves: it ran to the Pond in the middle of its den, rolled around on the bottom, and coated its majestic, smooth wolf fur in a thick layer of pond-bottom silt.

This silt was foul-smelling and heavy, but its body was strong enough to bear the weight. Furthermore, to endure the stench and prevent it from affecting its nose and senses, it had spent many days prior quietly nudging the silt with its nose, familiarizing itself with and enduring the smell.

After covering itself in black, gooey silt, it ignored the other Northland Wolves and began to run with long strides, heading toward the den of the scrawny, solitary Da Hei Xiong.

After waiting a moment, the other Northland Wolves watching the battle followed, trailing far behind by scent.

Upon arriving at the Da Hei Xiong's den, it waited for the other Northland Wolves to lie down and watch from afar before rushing directly to the entrance of the bear den to howl. After attracting the attention of the Da Hei Xiong sheltering from the heat inside, it even urinated directly at the entrance of the Da Hei Xiong's cave.

The Da Hei Xiong inside smelled the scent, was immediately enraged, and rushed out, intending to stomp it to death, but it dodged nimbly. Immediately afterward, it ran straight toward the chosen venomous bee nest.

The enraged Da Hei Xiong immediately ran on all fours; its speed was not slow at all, and it followed closely behind the filthy Northland Wolf that had provoked it.

Behind the bear, the watching Northland Wolves did not know where the brave challenger was going, but they immediately followed, trailing far behind the furious Da Hei Xiong. Some of the faster ones even overtook it from the side, following the scent right beside the challenger.

It hurried and scurried, finally managing not to be caught by the Da Hei Xiong in hot pursuit, thanks to the silt on its body gradually hardening in the sun and slowing it down.

Ahead was a venomous bee nest built in the middle of a low cliff. It turned directly and ran up the cliff. Huffing and puffing, it ran to the top of the cliff in one breath and took a moment to pant and rest.

The Da Hei Xiong in hot pursuit had superior stamina, far exceeding that of an ordinary Northland Wolf. Seeing that the foul-smelling Northland Wolf had found a dead end, it stood up on its hind legs, let out a howl, and swaggered over.

It was not nervous at all and squatted in place without moving.

It waited until the Da Hei Xiong—which, though scrawny, was still far larger than a Northland Wolf—approached, then turned and ran toward the edge of the cliff.

Upon reaching the edge of the cliff, it leaped off. Although this low cliff was not high, it was not a height that ordinary animals dared to jump. But it was different; after a powerful leap, it did not jump directly toward the grass below the cliff, but instead aimed straight for the trunk and branches of a large tree beside the cliff.

A precise jump, like an antelope hanging its horns or a swallow threading a needle. Its front paws landed accurately on the tree branch, leaving the other watching Northland Wolves stunned.

But this was not the end; it turned again, used its hind paws to push off the trunk, and leaped backward toward the cliff face.

The target was precisely the venomous bee nest hanging halfway up the cliff.

A venomous bee nest crawling with soldier bees looked very terrifying to beasts. Except for some autumn Da Hei Xiong who valued sugar over their lives, no other ordinary animals in the Forest dared to provoke these guys. Especially since these black-and-yellow striped soldier bees were each as large as a Human palm, and their tail stingers were seven or eight centimeters long—they were completely specialized attack weapons.

The brave wolf was fearless. In mid-air, it kept its mouth tightly shut and narrowed its eyes to a slit to observe. After flying through the air for several meters, it slammed directly into the bee nest.

How could a nest filled with larvae and large amounts of Honey withstand the impact of a strong Northland Wolf covered in silt? As soon as the Northland Wolf latched onto it, the nest broke away from its anchor point on the cliff and fell from mid-air.

Splat.

Both the bee nest and the wolf landed on a pile of soft branches and leaves on the ground. Needless to say, these cushions were also things it had ordered its companions to bite off day and night, carry to the cliff, and drop from the top to the bottom.

Even with these cushions, it was still uncomfortable, but it knew it had to leave immediately.

It scrambled up and quickly leaped out of the pile of branches. The structurally soft bee nest, however, was not so lucky; it had already split in two upon falling. The soldier bees resting outside the nest were dazed at first, completely unaware of what had happened, until their precious nest was smashed in two, at which point they went insane.

The queen bee in the nest panicked, immediately shaking its antennae to have the attending worker bees surround it, and released a large amount of pheromones, ordering the soldier bees to kill every living thing nearby.

At the top of the cliff, the Da Hei Xiong, originally angry and surprised, saw the shattered bee nest below. Its eyes lit up, and it extended its long, barbed tongue to lick its mouth. It didn't care that it wasn't autumn yet and that its body fat wasn't enough to withstand long, venomous stingers. It hadn't eaten Honey in years! Ever since it grew up and left its mother, it had never had the ability to get Honey. This time, that Northland Wolf had started it! I just happened to be wandering by, and I just happened to see a broken bee nest. It has nothing to do with me. Those big bees that sting so painfully, if you want to find someone, go find that Northland Wolf. I'm just passing by, I'll just take a little Honey and leave. Hehe.

Thinking of this, the Honey-obsessed Da Hei Xiong rubbed its thick bear paws together, quickly arrived at the side of the cliff, and rolled down the low hill from a less steep spot. Then it immediately ran quickly toward the bee nest.

The Northland Wolf, which had run to the side first, had been watching the Da Hei Xiong's movements. Seeing the opponent head straight for the bee nest, it finally breathed a sigh of relief, and its silt-covered mouth curled up.

All the venomous soldier bees flew up from the nest, buzzing as they vibrated their nearly twenty-centimeter-long wings simultaneously. The shocking buzzing sound was like a thousand birds with bad throats chirping at once, or like the roar of a waterfall; it was incredibly noisy.

They had received the absolute command of the queen bee. They were already in a foul mood because the nest had fallen and shattered, and now, having received the order to kill all life in the vicinity, they became even more frenzied.

The daily activities of the venomous bees were relatively conservative; as long as one did not approach their nest, one would basically not encounter attacks from the exceptionally powerful soldier bees. And since the venomous bees' nests were all built in remote, hard-to-reach places, they rarely had conflicts with other animals in the Forest, unless the other party was specifically targeting them.

The little Squirrels, Xiao Tu Zi, little marmots, little snakes, and so on, watching from under the cliff, all became targets of the soldier bees' attacks. Long tail stingers descended from the sky, piercing and killing some of the smaller animals. Larger foxes, hedgehogs, and wild cats were chased by the soldier bees; a slight prick from a tail stinger would inject venom into their bodies, causing the entire animal to swell up rapidly, followed by several soldier bees swarming them, biting off their eyeballs and faces, and driving their stingers through their brains.

And just as the soldier bees were slaughtering everything, the Da Hei Xiong, forgetting its life for the sake of Honey, rolled down the gentle slope of the cliff from the side. After getting up, it ran on all fours straight toward the shattered bee nest. Although it was a bit worried about the frenzied soldier bees, its mind was filled with the thought of just going up, grabbing a pawful, and leaving. Just one pawful.

Or maybe it couldn't be a little more? Just one more lick? I'll just lick it once! Really!

The Da Hei Xiong, thinking very pleasantly, braved the attacks of the soldier bees guarding the shattered nest, enduring the pain just to get a handful of Honey.

It lunged at the bee nest lying on the branches, scooped with its thick paw, and grabbed a large piece of the nest along with Bee Pupa onto its paw. It immediately scrambled up, carefully cradling the paw covered in Honey and Bee Pupa, and then its two thick legs ran quickly, attempting to get away from there.

Not far away, the Northland Wolf, covered in sun-dried mud shells and mud, immediately darted out from behind a tree. It had been hiding all this time, having to endure the soldier bees biting at the mud shells on its body and stinging the mud. If not for the protection of this sun-dried silt, it would likely have been swollen all over by now, waiting for death with its eyes closed.

But its preparation was very successful. Firstly, the foul-smelling silt on its body made the soldier bees, which relied on scent and vision to identify animals, mistake it for a large lump of mud; only a few soldier bees recognized it as a Northland Wolf.

Secondly, the thick mud on its body allowed it to block the most lethal venom of the soldier bees and also block some of the soldier bees' tail stinger pricks.

As for the few attacks that pierced the mud, it endured them through sheer willpower.

Now, the moment had arrived. That greedy Da Hei Xiong had gotten a pawful of Honey from the nest; it couldn't let the Da Hei Xiong get away!

The Northland Wolf darted out from behind the tree, and while the Da Hei Xiong was panicking, closing its eyes to dodge the soldier bees' attacks, it opened its mouth and bit down on the leg of the Da Hei Xiong as it ran on its hind legs.

"Awoo!" The clumsy Da Hei Xiong's hind limb was injured, and it fell to the ground in an instant. Not only did the Honey on its front paw fall to the ground, but it also smeared it all over its body in its panic.

The Da Hei Xiong let out an angry howl, opened its eyes, and saw that it was the stinking Northland Wolf that had knocked it down. Licking its paw with regret, it glared with murderous intent, pushed off with its legs, and lunged forward, waving its claws.

The Northland Wolf did not confront the Da Hei Xiong at all; it ran away directly, specifically running in the opposite direction toward the bee nest. The furious Da Hei Xiong didn't consider much else, roaring as it swung its claws left and right, charging toward the fleeing, dodging Northland Wolf.

The large number of soldier bees that had been slaughtering life in the vicinity were suddenly stopped by a special vibration sound emitted by the queen bee. This vibration sound was urgent and rapid. It immediately caused all the soldier bees to fly back to the nest in a hurry.

As soon as they returned, they saw their natural enemy—the annoying Da Hei Xiong that always came in autumn to steal their winter food supplies—dancing wildly beside the hive.

This made the soldier bees, whose natural duty was to defend the hive and the Queen, grow urgent; they buzzed, increased their wing-beating speed, and as they flew rapidly toward the Da Hei Xiong, they extended their tail stingers to the maximum, while the venom sacs in their abdomens prepared all their venom.

Like suicide drones, the hundreds of soldier bees were like a black and yellow dark cloud, surrounding the standing Da Hei Xiong all at once, the terrifying buzzing sound echoing throughout this area beneath the cliff.

The Da Hei Xiong was completely surrounded by the flapping soldier bees; it squeezed its eyes shut, swung its paws forcefully, using its long bear claws to crush the soldier bees flying and attacking around it, then followed up by stomping them into pieces.

It was not worried about these little things attacking it; every autumn, it would try to provoke the hive, and although it had not yet managed to take the Honey alone, it had never been hurt by these little things that tasted numb.

Unfortunately, all of this had been anticipated by the cunning Northland Wolf; it seemed the Da Hei Xiong was the natural nemesis of the poison bees, but that was only useful in autumn. In autumn, these Da Hei Xiong, which needed to survive the winter, would eat until they were extremely fat, and their thick layers of fat were naturally unafraid of the soldier bees' long tail stingers and toxins; what a pity, it was now midsummer, and this Da Hei Xiong's physique had not yet reached the level of autumn's binge-eating, so it naturally could not block the soldier bees' stinging attacks.

Sure enough, the Da Hei Xiong felt pain all over its body, as if something had been inserted under its skin. And a feeling of numbness was spreading from its body surface.

As the Da Hei Xiong continuously killed and injured the soldier bees, those soldier bees, stimulated by the death of their companions, became even more ferocious and fearless; they no longer attempted to fly, but instead clung directly to the Da Hei Xiong's body surface, then used their mouthparts to tear at the black bear's skin, while at the same time, their tail stingers jabbed directly from the bear's skin into its body at zero distance.

The Da Hei Xiong, covered all over in soldier bees, would normally never have opened its mouth, but it was truly in unbearable pain, no matter how it used its paws to slap at its body, crushing the soldier bees on it into meat paste. But more soldier bees continued to replenish their numbers and continue their attack.

In pain and panic, it could not help but open its mouth to cry out, completely forgetting its mother's teachings.

"Awoo—" Halfway through the cry, two soldier bees crawled into its mouth, which left it terrified.

These two soldier bees, not caring about their own lives, directly stung their tail stingers into the Da Hei Xiong's rough tongue.

Although the two of them were instantly killed when the Da Hei Xiong closed its mouth and chewed, the Da Hei Xiong felt that it was finished.

Unlike its skin, which could still resist the soldier bees' stinger toxins, its tongue began to swell immediately upon being stung. The swollen tongue even made it difficult for it to fit its mouth open.

The Northland Wolf, lying on the ground nearby and pretending to be a Shitou or mud, saw that after the Da Hei Xiong opened its mouth and cried out half a sound, it fell to the ground from its standing position in less than five breaths.

The two paws that had been slapping at its body also moved to its head, attempting to swat at the soldier bees.

The Northland Wolf remained motionless, patiently waiting for the results of its cunning and wisdom. The other Northland Wolves, who had been watching this place from not far away, began to howl in low, incredulous, and excited voices after witnessing a Da Hei Xiong they found difficult to contend with fall to the ground.

Some Northland Wolves even jumped slightly in excitement, and their tails, which they never wagged, began to wag for the first time in history.

The Da Hei Xiong was dead after all.

It did not die from the soldier bees' attacks, but from suffocation after its nasal cavity was stung by a tail stinger and its nose swelled up.

After it died, those frenzied soldier bees continued to attack for a long time, even tearing open the Da Hei Xiong's belly with their mouthparts and crawling inside one by one. They crawled around inside and used their tail stingers to pierce its Viscera.

It was not until the Queen in the broken hive calmed down and sent out pheromones to soothe all the soldier bees that these soldier bees remembered the safety of their own Queen.

They flew up, their bodies stained with bear blood, and the rapid vibration of their wings caused a large amount of fresh blood to be shaken into a blood mist that drifted in the air, which was quite terrifying.

The soldier bees flew back to the broken hive, sadly gathering around various parts of the hive to help the worker bees rescue the larvae and Bee Pupa that could still be saved, feeding these little ones precious Honey.

Yet, many soft larvae could not withstand the scorching midsummer air outside and died, twisted and dehydrated from the sun.

The Queen crawled out under the care of the worker bees, inspected the messy hive, and then flicked her antennae to count the Warriors remaining after her victory over the powerful enemy.

The situation was not good.

The timid Queen trembled and shrank her body; after considering for a while, she communicated with her Chief Soldier Bee and Chief Worker Bee, deciding to leave this unsafe place and build a new hive in a nearby location with more flowers and more dangerous terrain.

She had not been too satisfied with the location of her first hive after leaving home anyway, but who told her to be in such a panic to settle down after leaving home, resulting in finding such a dangerous place.

She told her decision to all her subjects, and all the soldier bees and worker bees wagged their bulging abdomens to agree with the Queen's decision.

Thus, several of the strongest soldier bees carefully lifted the Queen, who was flying unsteadily, while other soldier bees grabbed the hive pieces that the worker bees had bitten into small chunks to take away, and the worker bees carefully took care of the uneasy larvae, finally retrieving the Honey scattered on the ground and the bear claws, and followed the flying soldier bees away to build a new home.

They would piece the broken hive together as much as possible in a new place, and then build a larger and safer hive than before.

After all the poison bees had flown away, the motionless Northland Wolf carefully crawled up; it even boldly took a nap.

It got up and inspected the surroundings, then came before the long-dead and unrecognizable Da Hei Xiong, opened its sharp teeth, and began to bite the Da Hei Xiong's neck.

When the surrounding Northland Wolves watching the battle carefully approached, they saw that the cunning Warrior was proudly squatting beside a massive black bear head.

Although covered in dried mud and looking slightly disheveled, that cunning Yongqi made all the watching Northland Wolves consciously quiet down, gather around it, extend their front paws, and prostrate themselves on the ground to pay their respects.

Looking at the respectful posture of all the Northland Wolves, this Northland Wolf Warrior raised its head and howled.

Now, of the three challenges, only one remained uncompleted.