Reincarnated To Evolve My Bee Empire

Bloodimina could be happy, although she didn't feel like it—only a half of a percent of the bee army was sick.

Which was equal to 1048 bees. Most of them were Warriors, but there were a few dozen Builders and Craftsmen that traveled with the army to support it. There were both morphotyped and baseline bees among this number.

Physician Bees led by Medicia gathered them all in hastily built quarantine buildings, but for the announcement Bloodimina had to take, she gathered these bees outside on a forest clearing near the camp. Although they were all from different squads, they organized themselves in squads and linear formation by the force of habit.

Bloodimina looked these bees over. Many of them already showed more obvious signs of the illness—large sores on her faces and even larger on their tails. There were a few coughs here and there. Some people just looked too tired to be standing here under the swelteringly hot sun.

"Soldiers. You've already been told that you are sick with the Flaying Flu. Some of you already know how dangerous this sickness is. Now it has become even worse, since it evolved to afflict bees. We can't let it spread over our army, or worse, over the Bee Empire—and we don't have the resources to heal you, or even to quarantine you until you fight it off yourself."

Bloodimina made a weighted pause. Most bees kept staring at her, waiting for her to continue—they were soldiers and thought like soldiers, which meant only when ordered. But realization dawned on some faces, followed by frowns.

"You must all leave the camp and die somewhere where you won't spread the illness further among local beasts that will just spread it even farther," Bloodimina said. "It'd be best for this area and our future conquest of it if you burned your bodies. Clear?"

Now there were a few gasps. Bloodimina was sure the bees were commenting about their orders among each other, but they used telepathy for it, so she didn't hear a thing.

That was another reason for her to dislike telepathy. She preferred to know when people were whispering right in front of her!

Nobody still spoke aloud. Bloodimina raised her voice and her fist.

"Soldiers and workers of the Bee Empire! All of you are always ready to lay down your life on the battlefield, I know. This task is harder, but it's just as important! Lay down your lives for the Bee Empire, so none of your sisters has to watch her skin open in sores like yours!"

The loud speech was like a spark that ignited a fire in the eyes of gathered people. Even Medicia's squad of Physicians looked less emotionless than when they just stood there, watching.

The sick bees erupted in responding shouts, raising their fists in the air, too.

"Yes! For the Empire!"

"FOR THE EMPIRE AND FOR FATHER!"

"Yes, Grand Commander, yes! We are ready!"

"It's the greatest honor to die for the Empire!"

"Yes, it is!" Bloodimina shouted back. "You will be remembered, sisters!"

This brought on even more cheers from gathered people. Bloodimina watched them in silence with a small, proud smile on her lips.

Her people were all soldiers, even if they weren't Warriors worthy of her approval.

When the shouts almost died down, a bee (a Warrior judging by the sign drawn on her shirt) flew up to hover slightly over the crowd and shouted, "Grand Commander, a question! I have a question!"

This made people nearby pause in their prideful and boastful cheers. Bloodimina frowned—she didn't expect questions, and she didn't like it.

"Ask it, Warrior."

"Grand Commander, if we have to die to not spread the Flaying Flu… This means our weapons and other personal items are already contaminated, right?"

"The personal items of people in quarantine are stored there until the bee gets healthier or dies. Usually cleaning them with hot water is enough to get rid of any contaminants," Medicia said before Bloodimina could ask. "Items of these bees are also stored there. We can still reuse them."

Bloodimina frowned.

"But what if the cleaning *doesn't* remove the Flaying Flu virus from items?" she asked. "There's a risk of that, right?"

Medicia clicked her tongue.

"Of course there is, Grand Commander. I was about to ask you about these items when both of us will be less busy with everything else."

Bloodimina nodded and turned to the bees waiting for her answer.

"Yes, the items you had are contaminated. They will be destroyed after this to make sure nobody gets infected by them."

"Then… Can we take them with us, Grand Commander? If I could choose how to die, I want to die in battle, taking as many enemies with me as I can! And so are my sisters. Let us take our weapons and go kill a bunch of wild beasts before we set ourselves and them on fire with our breath!"

When she heard this, Bloodimina couldn't resist smiling and even clapping her hands once.

Her subordinates, her younger sisters—they were even better than she hoped.

"Yes! You can do it. Medicia, arrange for these people to take their weapons and armor. As soon as this is done, you will leave the camp to your last, most glorious battle! Your sisters will watch you from afar, and this story will be remembered in theater plays all over the Empire. I will tell Father about it myself. For the Empire!"

"FOR THE EMPIRE!" the bees echoed, saluting Bloodimina with fists raised in the air.

It only took an hour after that for these bees to get their equipment and leave the camp. The only people following them were a few immunized scouts that Bloodimina asked to tell her the final tale of these bees, and also to make sure all the bodies were properly destroyed afterward.

At the same time as Bloodimina cut off the hand of her army (or more like a finger) to save the body, Gresch was doing the same with humans.

However, when Bloodimina checked how this was going, she could only shake her head in disappointment at human nature.