SWDnovel Chapter 349 A wise person knows when to yield.
Chapter 349 A wise person knows when to yield.
Black Tiger threw a punch, the force of which exploded with true energy, creating a loud boom.
The dozens of bees were shaken away, crashing into the stone wall and buzzing around.
But even more swarms came.
The men of the Blackwater tribe rushed up with torches, the flames sweeping across the bees, crackling and popping, filling the air with a burnt smell.
But the iron-backed bees are fearless and relentless, burning one batch only to have another come, as if they have no regard for their lives.
A man was stung, screamed, clutched his neck and fell to the ground. His face swelled up like a pig's head, his lips turned purple, and his whole body convulsed.
"Damn it!" Black Tiger yelled anxiously, turning to shout at Lin Chen.
"Your Highness, please leave first. This thing is strange—"
Lin Chen didn't move.
He put down his wine bowl and slowly stood up.
With a flick of his finger, a burst of true energy shot out, striking the queen bee that was still buzzing around.
The queen bee is the size of two fists, entirely black with golden stripes on her wings, and hides deep within the bee colony.
Struck by Lin Chen's true energy, it exploded into a pile of mush with a snap.
The swarm instantly lost its commander.
Tens of thousands of iron-backed bees spun in the air, spinning around like headless flies, their buzzing creating a chaotic mess.
Lin Chen raised his hand, his five fingers spread open.
A surge of powerful true energy erupted from his palm, transforming into a transparent wall of energy that pressed down relentlessly.
The swarm of bees seemed to be gripped by an invisible hand, struggling desperately, their wings buzzing, but they couldn't move an inch.
Lin Chen flipped his hand over.
boom--
All the iron-backed bees were crushed into powder by the true energy, falling down and covering the ground with a thin layer of black ash.
The whole process took less than three breaths.
The entire room fell silent.
Black Tiger stood there, mouth agape, fist raised in mid-air, frozen in place.
The men with torches were stunned; they didn't even realize the torches were almost burning their hair.
Black Tiger swallowed hard, looked at the ash on the ground, then at Lin Chen, his eyes wide like saucers:
"Is this... is this the power of a terrestrial immortal?"
Lin Chen clapped his hands, sat back down, picked up his wine bowl, took a sip, and said calmly:
"The bee wine is good. Fill me up with two jars later."
Black Tiger was stunned for a while before he reacted, then slapped his thigh:
"Fill it up! Fill it with ten jars!"
He scurried off to make the arrangements, then turned back after a couple of steps, his face beaming with smiles.
"Your Highness, could you teach Black Tiger that move you just used?"
Lin Chen glanced at him: "You can't learn it."
Black Tiger chuckled and scratched the back of his head:
"Indeed, indeed. With your abilities, Your Highness, Black Tiger will probably never be able to match them in his lifetime."
He turned to leave, then remembered something and turned back to ask:
"By the way, Your Highness, how did you find the queen bee so quickly? That thing is very well hidden."
Lin Chen took a sip of his drink: "Its buzzing sound is different from other bees; it's half a beat faster."
Black Tiger was impressed and gave a thumbs up: "Your Highness is awesome."
……
After Black Tiger had walked away, Blue Phoenix rested her chin on her hand and whispered:
"You did that on purpose, didn't you?"
Lin Chen didn't speak.
Blue Phoenix blinked: "With your abilities, you could wipe out the bee swarm before it even enters the village."
"You insist on waiting for them to rush in before you take action, is it to teach that fat black guy a lesson so he won't keep nagging?"
Lin Chen glanced at Lan Fenghuang and chuckled, "You talk too much."
Blue Phoenix chuckled, picked up a wild fruit from the table, took a bite, and mumbled:
"But that fat, dark-skinned guy is a clever one. Do you think he orchestrated that 'swarm attack' just now? To test you?"
Lin Chen picked up his wine bowl but didn't reply.
In the distance, Black Tiger was shouting and directing people to move wine, his face full of a simple and honest smile. He was completely different from the person who had just cautiously asked "What are Dayan's plans?"
Blue Phoenix tilted her head and looked at it for a while, then muttered:
"This black tiger doesn't seem to be a man from the Southern Yue region."
Lin Chen ignored her and took a sip of his drink.
The sweetness of the honey wine still lingers on the tip of the tongue.
……
After arranging the wine and cleanup for Lin Chen, Black Tiger sat down again, poured Lin Chen a bowl of wine, and handed it to him with both hands, his hands trembling slightly.
"Your Highness, Black Tiger submits."
Lin Chen took the bowl: "What's there to serve? If you go all out, you can do it too."
Black Tiger chuckled twice, his smile a mix of embarrassment and genuine respect.
He drank a few bowls of wine with Lin Chen, and became more talkative, but this time he spoke the truth.
The Blackwater Tribe poured out all its resources—how many people, how many soldiers, how much food, how much medicine—like beans spilling from a bamboo tube.
Lin Chen listened, occasionally asking a few questions, and got the gist of it.
Black Tiger may look rough, but he's actually very shrewd.
He was testing the waters, probing Dayan's thoughts and assessing his own capabilities.
Now that they've tested it out and know how powerful it is, they're showing all their cards and adopting an attitude of "I'm impressed."
This kind of person is intelligent, but intelligent in a measured way.
After finishing his meal, Lin Chen got up to say goodbye.
Black Tiger escorted them to the entrance of the village, then suddenly shouted, and one of his men led a horse over.
The horse was jet black, glossy and smooth, with strong hooves and a long, thick mane that shimmered in the sunlight.
The horse was fitted with a brand-new saddle, silver stirrups, and black leather reins studded with copper nails.
Lin Chen glanced at it and asked, "What's this?"
Black Tiger said, "This is the horse king of our Blackwater tribe, named 'Black Wind.' It can travel ten thousand miles a day without a problem. If Your Highness takes a liking to it, then please accept it."
Lin Chen looked at the horse; it was indeed quite good.
Although it couldn't compare to the vehicle he used to sign in on the system, it was still half a head taller than the Snow Dragon Steed ridden by the Great Snow Dragon.
He nodded: "I'll take it."
Black Tiger grinned, then clasped his hands in a salute, bowing very low.
Lin Chen boarded the carriage, and the curtain was lowered.
The carriage slowly started moving, and Black Tiger stood at the entrance of the village, waving until the carriage disappeared into the dense forest.
Lingbo reappeared at some point, walking unhurriedly beside the carriage, her white robes fluttering gently in the wind.
She glanced in the direction of the village, her eyes flickered slightly, but quickly returned to calm.