Reincarnated To Evolve My Bee Empire

Sadly, I couldn't witness all the mecha's might firsthand—after its test was over, my duties called me back to Hive Supremo. The longer I left my Advisers unsupervised for, the longer would be the stack of unread reports I would get, some of which might actually be important!

It was very similar to turning on a real-time strategy game like "Starlaris", going away to make yourself tea, and returning to 15 useless diplomacy notifications and 1 "if you don't read this you are going to explode" notification.

But in the next few days, I paid close attention to Titania's doing through reports and occasional visits.

The ore deposit which Titania was going to dig at was pretty far from Hive One-Of-The-Best. Just reaching this place was already a challenge for the mecha and took a massive amount of ethanol fuel.

But it was also another proof of its might! The mecha's long legs crossed distances as fast as an average bee's wings, and whenever it passed some workers or soldiers, they would all stop and gape at the sight.

Within a few days after it was "let out", the overexaggerated tales of how tall and mighty the mecha was flew all over the Empire.

Within the next month, they became only more exaggerated! The reports about Titania's mining operation told me it was an astounding success. It easily dug massive pits through earth and—with somewhat more difficulty—drilled holes in stone.

Then, ordinary mining groups could lay gunpowder charges in there and blow all this rock, unveiling ore within. The rest was a matter of sorting.

Things-Things already made plans for metal smelting ovens the size of the mecha, which were supposed to increase effectiveness of our smelting operations by a large percentage, even when the cost of using a mecha to operate them was included into calculations.

Meanwhile, Engine-See's team met and dealt with the various hurdles of active work.

At first, they had to constantly power down the mecha to clean its joints from dirt, despite the protective cloth covering it. But afterward, Engine-See's team designed and implemented a joint design that could be covered with wax to become almost waterproof. Although the wax had to be replaced often, at least it was cheap.

"Cheap" being an abstract term, of course. The Bee Empire still didn't use money and operated on quotas. It only worked because bees were easy to satisfy and never took more than they needed without express permission, innately fearing to steal resources from the colony.

Communism at its best (and worst).

There were a few work incidents, too, but overall, Titania and her piloting team did a great job. The new pilots and engineers were also being trained slowly—even already smart Researchers required a lot of knowledge to operate or build a mecha, and practical training was hard to organize.

However, it was becoming more and more clear to everybody that more Princess-class mechas were going to be built soon, and they were going to be the best thing ever.

Some bees actually took it as a sign that we might eventually exterminate humans entirely and replace them with these mechas.

I didn't pay these rumors and whispers in the thought-scape of the hive much mind until Adviser Bloodhero asked me whether we were about to plan a sneak attack on Naregan Kingdom soon.

"That's not going to happen. You hear that?" I replied immediately. "Are you *really* suggesting we kill the goose that lays most of the iron eggs we make our things from?"

Bloodhero recoiled, looking utterly confused.

"Eggs? We… Father, I apologize, but I don't understand what you've just said!"

I let out a breath.

"Yeah, I really messed up this saying. Forget it. Instead, tell me what you think—if we were to attack a human army, what would be more effective, an army of a million Warrior Bees or an army of a thousand mechas?"

Bloodhero tilted her head, thinking. The faces of other Advisers became thoughtful, too.

"If the human soldiers have torches, then mechas should be more effective. But if they only have ordinary weapons, then an army of a million bees will easily defeat them."

"But what if mechas had guns?" Researchina asked, smiling. "The cannons, but for a mecha's hand. We can make ones like these…"

"Say that again when you understand how to make a semi-automatic weapon that doesn't explode, Researchina," Things-Things countered, only to get a sharp look in return.

"They wouldn't have exploded if your people didn't mess up the barrel-making process."

"It was *impossible* to get right! It was just badly designed from the start!"

"Quiet, daughters," Ambrosia interfered. "As leaders of this project, you share fault equally for every bee who was harmed in the gunpowder explosions. It doesn't mean that you can argue about it during the Council meetings. Especially when your father clearly has something in mind that he wanted to say."

I smiled broadly at Amby.

"You are reading my thoughts again—not literally, of course. Yes. My point was—we don't even *need* mechas to kill humans. We have plenty of soldiers for this! Mechas will help us deal with the aftermath. They can even carry human bodies to places where they can be easily scavenged."

"Are we starting a war, Father?" Bloodhero asked, becoming businesslike. "Everything is ready for a mass mobilization of our garrisons."

"Not yet. But soon—and I want you to think about incorporating the mechas into your combat and logistical plans." When Bloodhero nodded, I turned to the stack of reports on my table. "Now, what's next on the Council's agenda?"

"Father, I have something," Oracle Undecided suddenly said, rising from her seat and approaching the main table.

"Hm? Of course, speak."

She did, sounding much more certain than average, which never bode well.

"The dream revealed itself to me… It's taking shape now. In a week's time, people from the Vardish Empire will come to speak with the High King Farini… No. To declare an ultimatum!"