The safe area used (for a long ti now) for the plant testing was standing on a small island in a massive marsh. The island was so small that I could stand on one of its ends and see the other—at least if I chose the narrowest place. I couldn’t see the edges of the surrounding water the sa way.
This made it perfect for testing various plants, since even if they got out of hand, they wouldn’t spread farther than the island. And to guard the place from roaming insects and amphibious beasts, bees built a floating fortress here.
It was standing on a human-made boat, and a garrison of Warrior Bees was constantly scanning the surrounding waters for signs of predators.
Currently, there were a few other plants grown on the other half of the island; the other half was given to five usnea trees.
The usnea trees grown on the island looked much more dangerous than the ones I’ve seen until now on our side of the mountains. They clearly must’ve used a lot of genes which their kin were currently defending themselves with against the smooth-back deer.
First of all, the trees’ gnarled branches now had spikes. Each spike was the length of my arm and looked sharp enough to pierce flesh with ease. Whether they could pierce steel and the mouths of evolved deer was another question.
The spikes grew with enough space between them for a bee to easily get past them. They still promised to be a danger to cold-immune but not physically protected gardeners. A wrong move could end badly here.
The spikes weren’t the only difference.
Before I went to see the trees, Physicians had already arranged for several samples of them and their wood to be taken. The extrely sensitive olfactory senses of the Beehounds let them spot a change in the chemical composition of the usnea needle-like leaves.
After this, the leaves were fed to test caterpillars (so of those we fard for at). When these caterpillars died, it beca clear that the usnea trees developed venom.
Tests showed that only needles and spikes had them—the rest of the tree parts were safe.
Finally, these trees had noticeably larger flowers. Unlike the flowers of regular usnea trees, these flowers had a little nectar in them, which was also edible (and according to the testers, delicious).
Even my astral projection could sll the scent of nectar that ca from the pale blue flowers of the trees standing in front of .
Unlike what I feared, I didn’t hear any thoughts from them. There was only emotion—the sa cool patience I felt coming from the Champion Tree. Perhaps it was the peak of what they could experience.
The lack of intelligence in trees was a relief.
Before my eyes, a group of gardeners pushed a cart of coal to a tree standing separate from the others. They stopped at the edge of the cold aura, lit the coal in the cart and pushed the entire thing into the aura. A few Physicians were watching from a safe distance.
The tree moved imdiately, swallowing the warmth as quickly as fire was devouring the coal. Its branches began growing in length before my eyes, but I—and the Physicians—watched its flowers instead.
Their petals dried and fell off; seeds began growing in their place.
Usually, there were only two or three seeds with little puffy "umbrellas" on each flower. Since there were dozens of flowers, this ant a lot of seeds.
This ti, a single flower grew an entire dandelion’s worth of seeds! There were at least a dozen.
The gardener bees imdiately flew to them with their gardening machetes and cut the seed boxes before the wind could carry the seeds away.
Now I knew what Usnea God improved in their trees, and thinking about it made wonder.
They added at least two new genes to the "mainline" trees AND created a champion. Surely that should’ve cost them a lot of influence that could’ve been used much earlier to defend against the smooth-back deer.
Why didn’t Usnea God spend their influence back then?
Perhaps they got the influence recently, but why would this happen? Because of so victory in another world? But in other worlds, the Ga of Evolution went much more slowly.
I felt that all this was suspicious, but I had no proof of Usnea’s cheating. Plus, as long as they were my ally...
When I returned from my inspection, I ordered mass plantations of usnea trees. Most of them were going to happen in the foothills of the mountains—on the other sides of the ice wall, but far from the rivers. These trees would be fard for seeds and nectar.
But many loads of seeds were carried to the sea, where transport ships will carry them after the expedition army. After it lands and secures a safe place on the shore, the army will plant the trees, too. Although the main part of the army consisted of Beemarines, there were also cold-immune bees who could do this.
***
Two weeks later, the expedition force set foot on the distant shores on the other side of the continent. The sea-based telepathic chain carried to the news of their first victories against the smooth-back deer.
These were massive beasts, by accounts of my girls, and they could survive a lot of things—but not an assault of stingers, bullets and fire! Although they were fierce combatants with extrely sharp horns that doubtlessly killed many other beasts, they couldn’t hit soone as small and agile as a Warrior Bee.
Their at also turned out to be edible.
The larger problem for the expedition force was local insects, but the bees there knew well how to fight enemies their size.
By the ti this report reached , they were already planning to build a permanent base on the shore and plant so usnea trees at a safe distance from it, as per my order.
And on the sa day I got this wonderful news, I was told that the Champion Tree wants to speak with .
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