Chapter 1103 Key Ingredient
Not only had the golden bees become impatient, but Leon could also sense uneasiness from the other golden bees in the hive.
Considering a human was trespassing on the golden bees' sacred land, it wouldn't be strange if the golden bees were alerted by his presence and felt apprehensive towards him.
They didn't know whether he was a friend or foe.
However, he already saw the effects of his casually cultivated sunflower. Thus, he didn't doubt that the rest of the golden bees in the colossal hive would welcome his presence with joy.
Bzz, bzz~!
As the golden bees around Leon continued to buzz with impatience, Leon smiled before casually giving in to their demands.
"Alright, alright. You'll get your sunflower," Leon promised.
Shortly after, he channeled his power into the sunflower floating above his hand, quickly accelerating its growth until it reached the same size as the previous giant sunflower.
"Alright. It's all yours," Leon uttered as he released the giant sunflower toward the large swarm of golden bees.
Bzzz, bzzz!
The golden bees immediately retreated out of the giant sunflower's direct flight path, fearing they would harm it.
A smaller group flew underneath the giant sunflower and supported it with their bodies while slowly descending to the ground. They treated the giant sunflower carefully as if it was the most precious treasure in the world.
Nevertheless, after the giant sunflower reached the ground and took root in the rich soil, the rest of the golden bees in the area flocked toward it in droves.
With their attention away from Leon, he was able to study the golden bees' sacred home again in earnest.
At the same time, he figured he would need to adjust his plans.
"Given the immensity of the golden bees' numbers and strength, the current empire isn't ready for direct management. Bringing the golden bees into the empire at this time would be like leaving behind a ticking bomb," Leon thought.
After all, it wasn't peaceful on the surface. On the contrary, it was very chaotic.
"The golden bees can be docile, but they are, by no means, harmless. It'll only take a single incompetent or wicked person to turn the golden bees into a disaster," Leon muttered.
The damage would be unimaginable once the golden bees felt threatened and attacked humans indiscriminately, especially since they can't differentiate between the humans that meant them harm.
"That's why I can't bring them to the surface yet. Instead, I should send elves here to cultivate the flowers. There's no need to set up a honey production base when there's already one. That would be inefficient," Leon thought.
Of course, that was only true because he could set up Teleportation Arrays and eliminate the time cost of traveling the great distances that existed between the empire and the golden bees' hive.
Nevertheless, he still needed to figure out how to collect the honey without upsetting the golden bees.
After all, even if the golden bees were hard workers like honey bees and produced excess honey, more than they ever needed, there was still a chance that they wouldn't like outsiders taking their extra honey.
That said, Leon eventually realized his concerns were unfounded while he was observing the golden bees.
The golden bees took the nectar extract back to their colossal beehive and produced their honey in a steady stream for some time before a separate group of golden bees from the hive suddenly decided to approach Leon.
From a glance, Leon could see they carried several small pieces of honeycombs filled with ripe honey.
"Is this for me?" Leon quickly realized the golden bees' intentions.
As if the golden bees understood his words, they buzzed with joy and dropped the small honeycombs toward him.
Of course, these small honeycombs were only considered small compared to the golden bees' large bodies.
But to Leon, they were like full-grown watermelons raining down on him.
Nevertheless, Leon calmly accepted their gifts, pocketing each honeycomb into his Worldspace without missing a drop of honey.
At the same time, it became clear to him that the golden bees knew how to be grateful and return the favor.
After all, it was impossible to produce honey from his sunflowers' nectar so quickly. Thus, he received the honey from their reserve.
He gave them nectar-rich sunflowers, and they gave him honey in exchange.
Both sides benefitted.
Leon doubted he could find another insect group in the subterranean world that could coexist with humans and elves better than the golden bees.
In other words, the golden bees were invaluable allies.
It didn't take long before the golden bees eventually depleted the giant sunflower's nectar and turned their attention back to Leon.
Although the giant sunflower would gradually make more nectar, it was clear that a single sunflower was hardly enough to satisfy a colony as large as the golden bees.
It was far from it.
As such, Leon cultivated several dozen more giant sunflowers for the golden bees before slipping away from their land.
He had seen enough.
The land surrounding the colossal hive was flourishing and filled with floras, making it quite a suitable place to live.
Once the elves move in, there'll be an overall improvement to the already flourishing land.
"I should settle this issue first," Leon thought.
Although he already had power, food, and water source, and it was only a matter of time before unifying the entire Infertile Plains, securing an additional source of food and medicine was not a bad idea.
After all, honey has many applications and benefits in food and medicine.
For example, even some of the strongest healing pills, like the Divine Life Pill, require honey as a key ingredient in their alchemic concoction.
The Divine Life Pill was a tier-9 divine pill that could heal all mortal wounds and even increase up to ten-thousands years worth of lifespan.
In other words, it could practically revive a Divine King with one foot in the coffin.
But of course, not just any honey can be used to produce such a pill; only honey created from Life Nectar can be used to refine it.
Even so, Leon was confident he could cultivate a flower with Life Nectar one day.