Athena in Tower Defense Game! [LitRPG]

Chapter 72: Imminent War And Doom

Athena had been resting against the trunk of a tree when she suddenly felt a sense of impending danger. Her eyes snapped open, and at the same moment, Mikmik, who had been lying quietly beside her, also sensed something was amiss. It lifted its head, its sharp eyes fixed intently on the opposite bank of the river.

The serene environment, previously filled only with the sound of flowing water, was now disturbed by an unusual noise. A massive giant bee, its size comparable to that of a small helicopter, was rapidly beating its wings and producing a loud buzzing sound as it flew across the river.

Its enormous body cast a dark shadow in the air, creating an intense sense of oppression. Unlike the golden-yellow giant bees she had encountered before, this one was entirely black, devoid of any other color, as if it were an emissary born from darkness. Clearly, it belonged to a completely different species- no, entirely new level!

Although it wasn't heading directly towards Athena, she immediately went on high alert. The bee's flight path indicated it wasn't targeting her, but its sheer size made it impossible to ignore. Once it had flown a considerable distance away, Athena exhaled heavily, feeling the blood begin to circulate through her body again.

This was no ordinary giant bee. It was highly likely to be the king of its species. For unknown reasons, it had ventured out, indicating that its hive could be nearby. If the king bee was already so formidable, the presence of a queen bee would be even more daunting.

Realizing this place was too dangerous to stay, Athena and Mikmik decided to head in the opposite direction of the black bee to avoid any confrontation.

However, as they progressed, the situation became increasingly unsettling. Along the way, Athena encountered numerous other black bees, each the size of a football, patrolling in groups of five, their presence omnipresent in the surroundings.

In almost every corner, she could see them. During one such encounter with another group of black bees, they spotted her first. Without hesitation, Athena drew her Moonlight Bow and shot an arrow at one of them. Due to the sheer number of bees, she refrained from using her explosive fireballs to avoid attracting even more attention.

Her hands moved swiftly, not pausing for a moment. Two more arrows shot out, their cold gleam cutting through the air with lethal precision towards the giant bees.

“Swish! Swish!”

With two muffled sounds, the bees, which had been hovering mid-air, plummeted like kites with broken strings. Though not dead, they were now wingless and defenseless. Mikmik was already at their side, ready to finish them off.

Before she could catch her breath, she saw two more bees’ stingers darting towards her, their speed astonishing, closing in within the blink of an eye.

Reacting instantly, she made her Moonlight Bow vanish and summoned a pitch-black axe, shimmering with a mysterious light. Gripping the axe handle with both hands, she swung it forcefully, cleaving one stinger in half and dodging the other.

Her feet pushed off from a tree branch, sending her hurtling forward. The branch creaked under the immense force, nearly snapping. Athena charged towards the two bees, her axe slicing through the air with blinding speed, bringing them crashing down to the ground.

As she landed, leaves scattered around her. Nearby, Mikmik had already dealt with two more bees. Without lingering, they continued their journey, moving swiftly.

Other black bees on patrol soon heard the commotion and started converging on the location, but many of them remained focused on their original patrol routes, indicating more pressing matters at hand.

By the time reinforcements arrived, they found only the corpses of their fallen comrades, with Athena long gone.

After this skirmish, Athena altered her course again. This time, however, she encountered not black bees but the previously seen yellow ones.

They were spread out, forming small patrol teams of five, searching the area. It was clear that the black and yellow bees were from different species.

As she traveled further, regardless of the direction she took, she kept running into these patrols. Starting to doubt her own judgment, Athena found a quiet spot and opened the regional chat channel.

-----------------------

"This regional war is ridiculous, monsters everywhere, and it's pitch black."

"I don't think I'll make it back alive. My shelter is going to end up belonging to these monsters."

"Why are these bees so huge? They look like flying lumps of coal."

"Stop spamming the chat. It's full of messages from people in the regional war."

"I ran into them too, but mine were yellow."

"So many bees everywhere. Have I wandered into their swarm?"

-------------------

It became apparent that Athena wasn't the only one encountering this situation. The entire black forest seemed to be teeming with these bees, both black and yellow, now spreading out and engaging in battles.

The bees' extensive patrols meant inevitable clashes with players.

The system notification always came so abruptly, catching people off guard and giving them no time to react. Even though it was anticipated that the situation would be complex, no one expected it to be this severe.

A single bee posed a certain level of threat, but a squad of bees could kill a player. The onset of war between two large swarms was a nightmare for all the players present.

Especially considering that Athena had initially seen the queen bee. The inclusion of such a high-level unit elevated the war to a new, unprecedented level.

Defend against humans, defend against monsters, defend against giant bees…

Athena ultimately decided to run along the river because she noticed that the density of bees was the lowest by the riverside.

As soon as there was movement on the river again, she had already nocked an arrow on her Moonlit Bow, ready to shoot in that direction.

Suddenly, emerald green vines sprouted from the ground as if by magic, growing at an astonishing speed. They intertwined and entwined with each other, and in the blink of an eye, these vines formed a tightly woven, impenetrable green wall blocking the way ahead.

The arrow shot by Athena spun rapidly against the vine wall, eventually piercing through, but even that brief pause was enough for the person behind it to evade.

Athena raised an eyebrow. Even though she had witnessed a variety of tactics today, she was still amazed by the opponent's vine wall defense.

The person on the other side, seeing her fierce attack, shouted in panic and fear, "Big Dream, it's me, Big Bear! I was wrong, please stop shooting!"

Athena heard the shout but still aimed her bow in that direction.

It wasn’t until she heard the system notification.