Winter Lord: Starting with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 167 The Mage Awakens
In the southwest corner of Hanshanling, rows of neat beehives stand scattered in the sunlight.

“The location here is pretty good, sheltered from the wind and sunny, and close to the stream.” Louis squinted as he looked around, a hint of satisfaction in his voice.

A knight in a crimson cloak stood respectfully beside him, occasionally glancing at his notebook.

That was the person in charge of directing the trial bee colony.

“The beehives were made of red cedar as you instructed,” the beekeeper reported. “The inner layer is coated with icestone powder, which can provide adequate insulation against the cold.”

Louis nodded slightly, walked to one of the beehives, squatted down, ran his fingers across the wooden surface, and carefully felt the warmth of the wood grain.

"Very good. And what about the fragrance mist device?"

"Installation is complete." The beekeeper paused, then walked over and pressed the switch on the back of the beehive.

With a soft "click," a small bottle popped out of the bottle opening, and mist slowly gushed out.

The mist was as fine as silk threads, shimmering slightly in the sunlight, and carrying a faint, delicate plant fragrance.

This is a specially formulated soothing mist.

The aroma is extracted from "Frosty Leaf Vine", "Night Snow Moss" and a small amount of "Dark Silver Leaf".

It was specially made to suppress the manic behavior of the Blue-striped Bee, which is almost a self-destructive instinct.

"The atomization frequency is set to once every four hours." The beekeeper pointed to the set of wheels on the top of the beehive. "The nighttime interval has been shortened to three hours, and an automatic sensing array has been added based on your last suggestion."

Louis smiled approvingly.

Taking a few more steps forward, he looked up at the rather peculiar "tops" above the beehives.

That wasn't an ordinary wooden plank, but a transparent animal hide treated with the skin of wild animals from cold regions, which was flexible and slightly elastic.

The knights used it to build a dome, making the beehives seem to be enclosed in a warm, miniature greenhouse.

Sunlight streamed through the translucent membrane, illuminating the beehives and even tinging the mist on the ground with a warm, gentle hue.

“That should keep them from getting too agitated at night,” Louis said casually.

Of course not, things didn't go smoothly from the start.

The first group of blue-striped bees that migrated to the new environment did not show adaptation, but rather restlessness.

On the first night after nightfall, the buzzing inside a beehive suddenly intensified, as if something was struggling frantically on the verge of being suppressed.

The hive walls were violently struck, the lid bulged several times, and some bees even crashed through the ventilation holes, hissing as they rushed into the cold night.

"The swarm has escaped!" the night patrol knight shouted, his battle aura instantly igniting, a cold light piercing the darkness and sealing the hive entrance.

Louis arrived upon hearing the news and saw several faint blue lights appearing in the air; these were the remnants of flame left behind when the Azure-Striped Bees self-destructed.

"The self-destruction rate is higher than expected." He frowned, looking at the beehive with charred marks.

He was so calm that it didn't seem like he was watching a group of dangerous creatures on the verge of going out of control, but rather like he was unraveling a complex mystery.

"Seal the box and record it. Increase the spraying of the fragrant mist." He ordered, "Tell the alchemy apprentices to increase the ratio of 'Frostleaf Vine' and 'Night Snow Moss' by another percentage point, and raise 'Dark Silver Leaf' to its stable limit."

"Yes!"

The spraying frequency of the atomizing bottles was also forced to be adjusted from every three hours to every two hours.

The thick, fragrant mist, almost enough to condense into water droplets, spread around the beehives. The night wind couldn't disperse it, and even the moonlight could see the faint, silvery mist enveloping the hives.

However, the core of bee swarm agitation is not just due to unsuitable environment.

It's the queen bee.

"The queen bee refuses to build a nest..." the beekeeper reported in a low voice. "They seem to still have a strong attachment to the pheromone scent of the old nest."

If the queen bee refuses to settle down, the entire colony will descend into chaos.

Disorder and self-destruction are only a matter of time for the group to break down.

Louis stood on the edge of the slope, silently watching a lone bee fall into the night in the distance, feeling a pang of heartache, after all, it was all money.

The next morning, he personally drew up a diagram and rearranged the beehive array.

"The original planar arrangement has been cancelled and replaced with a stepped arrangement, with the southeast being lower and the northwest being higher, and the distance between each hive mimicking the hanging height of a natural beehive in a secluded valley."

As he explained, he sketched on the drawings, "The internal structure is hollowed out to imitate the recessed nest cells of a rock wall, and residual queen bee pheromone liquid is added."

This is a brand-new attempt to simulate the natural hanging nest layout of Nanlin Valley.

Beehives are no longer just rows of cold, impersonal tools, but have become "homes" constructed in the style of nature.

The alchemy apprentices who came along stayed up all night, their eyes bloodshot.

The knights worked in groups of three, taking turns on night watch and recording the events three times a day.
Bee colony size, queen bee activity, honey collection frequency, and nighttime activity.

Several days later, the wind on the frost-covered slope could no longer dispel the soft humming sound around the beehives.

The three boxes of blue-striped bees have already established a stable nest.

The atomizing device continued to spray fragrant mist on schedule, and the knights took turns keeping watch at night.

But the initial sense of pressure that made people tense has gradually dissipated.

The queen bee's activity range is marked, her status is recorded, and her behavior is predictable.

What was originally the biggest uncertainty has now been brought under control.

There were a few minor disturbances, but the self-destruction incident never occurred again.

"They've really settled down," a knight murmured, gazing at the blue-striped bees slowly crawling among the hives, somewhat incredulous at the tranquility before him.

During the daytime, the bee colony was able to fly out on its own and begin collecting nectar. After some time, they moved to a special beehive.

The specially designed honey collector slowly turned on, and a faint, warm fragrance wafted out along with the light mist.

This is the first batch of "fighting spirit honey" collected.

Its color is a soft, pale gold, and it glows slightly when poured onto a silver spoon, as if it has a spirit and ripples gently with the airflow.

“It smells good.” Louis took the honey spoon himself and dipped a drop on his fingertip.

Louis put the honey in his mouth; it was sweet with a hint of bitterness, bitter with a cool sensation, but after the coolness, a warm feeling spread through his body.

It was a very slight but real acceleration of the flow of battle qi, like a gentle breeze brushing over the core of battle qi, bringing a slight boost.

“Not strong enough.” Louis opened his eyes and calmly commented, “But it’s acceptable.”

After confirming that the trial breeding base on the edge of the Fir Ridge had successfully domesticated the swastika colony, Louis was somewhat pleased, but it was not time to relax yet.

“Important resources must be transferred back to the Red Tide Territory, where there is sufficient protection and resource security.”

Red Tide Territory is not only the foundation of his territory, but also the core of his military power.

Louis could only feel at ease with important assets like the Blue-striped Bee colony in the Red Tide Territory.

To ensure the safety of the bee colony, Louis personally oversaw the preparation of a specialized transportation plan.

The transport carriages were converted into "fog-lock boxes," which are sealed beehives that can control temperature and humidity.

Built-in magical distillation device can slowly release a fragrant mist made from frost-covered vines at low temperatures, continuously and stably suppressing bee swarms.

Now, things at Hanshanling are gradually getting back on track.

The cold-berry processing workshop has been completed and is ready to start trial production of the first batch of fruit pulp. The mountain plum seeds have taken root and sprouted on the mountainside.

The small workshop that pickles frozen fish emits a salty aroma every day.

Cold gravel and red cedar were continuously loaded onto transport vehicles and sent to various places.

The three boxes of trial-raised blue-striped bees were loaded onto a carriage and prepared to be sent to the Red Tide Territory.

Everything blossomed and bore fruit as planned.

"It's time to go back."

Behind him, a reinforced, sealed carriage was parked in the dark alley. The carriage was surrounded by multiple battle aura barriers, and inside were the three boxes of precious Azure Pattern Bees.

In the other vehicle, Lyshill lay quietly on a stretcher covered with soft animal hides and herbal packs, his face still pale, with faint traces of dark black marks remaining at the site of his wounds.

He remains unconscious, yet Louis did not hesitate: "Take him with you, back to Red Tide Territory."

After all, the main target of this trip is him, so how could they leave him in Hanshan Territory?

However, to avoid causing unnecessary commotion and gratitude among the people of Firwood, Louis chose to leave quietly.

So, in the dead of night, an inconspicuous convoy quietly set off, heading along the mountain road.

After three days of travel, the earthen buildings and castles of Chichao Territory finally unfolded at the edge of the horizon, as if welcoming their long-lost masters.

At that moment, Louis lifted the curtain from inside the carriage and watched as the familiar city gate slowly opened, as if an old friend who had been waiting for many days was quietly welcoming his return.

"...Finally back."

He leaned against the soft cushions of the carriage, still holding an open notebook in his hand, but his gaze had already slipped from the pages and sunk into the depths of his thoughts.

There were still too many things waiting for him, each one capable of keeping a lord from sleeping.

Just then, the sound of rapid hoofbeats approached.

"Report—Sir!" The young knight appeared by the carriage window, panting but unable to contain his excitement: "That... the injured man you rescued in the cave, he has just woken up!"

Louis's eyes narrowed, and he immediately got up.

Behind the caravan, a small medical carriage was moving slowly, its interior covered with clean animal hides.

Louis lifted the curtain and immediately saw the mage.

Lyhill lay there quietly, pale-faced, his forehead covered in cold sweat, and his lips slightly purple.

Those eyes were half-open, but their gaze still seemed somewhat unfocused.

"here it is……"

He looked at the decorations hanging from the ceiling of the carriage, hesitated for a moment, and spoke, his voice so hoarse it was almost inaudible.

“You’re awake.” Louis crouched down to look him in the eye, his voice low and gentle. “I am Louis Calvin, a viscount, who happened to save you in the cave.”

Leisher's eyes flickered slightly, as if he had remembered something.

“Thank you, Lord Louis,” he said softly, with gratitude.

“My name is… Leahy.” He paused for a moment, as if searching through fragmented memories in his mind. “I’m sorry, my mind is a bit muddled right now.”

Then Leahy suddenly clenched his teeth, a complex emotion appearing on his face.

It was as if she had remembered something, or as if she was forcibly resisting the urge to recall it.

“Thank you,” Leisher said softly, his voice trembling but clear. “No matter who you are, I owe you my life.”

The wind outside the window stirred the curtains, and dappled sunlight fell between the two of them.

Louis slowly spoke, "Can you tell me what happened?"

(End of this chapter)