CHAPTER 473: THE MORE WE CONQUER THIS LAND, THE MORE IT RESISTS

In these months, we prepared and began implementing a plan to test any seeds before they were planted. Thankfully, after some thought, the Empire Council realised that we don’t have to delay all crop plantings by the time necessary to grow a plant sample for testing.

In our warm climate, it was possible to plant a test sample in a garden right after harvest. By the time the fields were ploughed and ready for planting again, the test plant would already grow enough to know if it was dangerous.

Even in the regions that were too cold, test samples of plants could be grown in pots or greenhouses. With the advent of plastics, they could be made much more easily than using glass, as soon as there was enough plastic made.

But new chemical refineries and new oil wells were built every week.

Also, by now, all fertile fields were controlled by bees, even if humans worked on them—otherwise, beasts would just eat all the crops. If I gave an order, within a day, nobody would be able to approach them—even humans!—without being burned or shot.

Thanks to all this, the plant testing was implemented in most of the Bee Empire without throwing a wrench into the food production schedule.

Because of this, when more plant evolutions appeared, most of them were discovered ahead of time. Those that didn’t were various plants that people of the Bee Empire didn’t grow intentionally—weeds, largely.

Many plants developed venoms which made them inedible, sometimes along with spikes that made them hard to get rid of. A few got acidic sap or even snapping mouths that tried to attack the Physician Bees studying the growing plant.

The tests didn’t tell us, though, how many seeds in a batch were evolved. In my experience, when gods spread their evolutions, they usually started with an adult creature, not with a seed. But maybe this was just because I was a champion of bees.

Either way, I ordered to burn all the evolved seeds. Although Beemarines with their venom immunity could probably still eat them harmlessly, I didn’t want to risk it. Too many things could go wrong—for example, what if someone mistook food items and ate a meal from poisonous seeds by accident?

This was a hit to our food production, and a noticeable one. The Bee Empire had to use some of its stores, and to replenish the losses, Ambrosia and I ordered to delay the founding of a hundred new sub-hives on the developing frontiers of the Bee Empire.

The last steps in conquering the half of the continent not separated from us by mountains were delayed for months because of these damned plants!

And not only our crops evolved, of course.

The weeds and other wild plants became more dangerous and more fertile. They carried their seeds by wind and other means all over the place.

There was no other way to stop them except by burning them if they grew too close to places used by the Bee Empire.

"The more we conquer this land, the more it resists!" I said to Ambrosia over one dinner. "It’s the gods! They know they are losing, and they start acting desperately, I’m sure. Now..."

I clenched my fist over a fork.

"I feel like the only way to stabilise the situation and to make sure that control is ours is to kill everything that doesn’t submit to us fully. No... Kill even these creatures, because I don’t trust them not to evolve into something backstabbing. Like aphids and slugs—they didn’t evolve against us, but who said they never will, like chicken? Leave nothing but humans, bees and dodos. And dragons, I guess. At least those who are already grown. They probably won’t evolve..."

Ambrosia swallowed a spoonful of her meal—slug burger with a side of minced peas—and smiled dreamily.

"This doesn’t sound too terrible."

I narrowed my eyes on her.

"You aren’t supposed to encourage this..."

"Why wouldn’t I? There are a lot of practical problems with this idea, like the lack of food sources, but... It would be nice to feel fully safe at once."

I sighed.

"Won’t you miss the sights of nature? At all? At this point, you can’t even see forests if you look from the entrance of Hive Supremo. It’s just forges, train stations and dragon landing pads as far as you can see. The trees grow only on the tops of the pillar mountains in sight. And I remember the times when everything below was red and blue and green!"

Amby shrugged, and it made me feel silly.

Of course, she wouldn’t miss the sights—she barely left the hive before my appearance!

"Maybe our daughters might feel uncomfortable because of this change... But they will adapt. They will also always choose the safety of the colony over something as trivial as this, and the Artist Bees will replenish any needs they might have in seeing pretty things."

Amby paused.

"I still have a hard time believing that seeing pretty things is a ’need’ that must be satisfied."

"It’s true. This isn’t just a morale boost, it just makes people feel better and be more productive!"

Then we repeated an old argument where I explained that culture was not just here to add points and make some bees happy—it had a physiological effect on people. Which we could’ve measured if Physician Bees didn’t have more important things to do.

Amby was doubtful about the ’actual effect’. After all, my data came from humans, and humans from the other world! Could this really apply to bees?

This argument didn’t lead to anything, but it was less depressing than thinking that this world would need to be burned to the ground so that bees could thrive.

However, a few weeks later, I had to think about this again when Undecided brought me a prophecy.

According to it, in a week, a new danger will fall on the borders of the Bee Empire. And this danger will come not from beasts... but from plants again!