When they got a little closer, a dozen bees immediately came forward to greet them. Levi noticed that they basically didn't have any armor on them, and only had some grass, leaves and the like in key parts as shields, obviously for defense.
The strength will never be high.
But it's no wonder that the wings on their backs are very thin, and the lift they provide is probably limited. Once they wear heavy armor, it is likely to seriously affect their movement speed, and they may even be unable to fly at all.
Just as they were thinking about it, a bee man holding a wooden spear and looking like a squad leader stopped them: "Stop, this is the territory of the great witch Greta, please explain your purpose!"
Is it a witch, not a mage? Levi suddenly understood. It seemed like this was a wild path again, but he didn't know whether it was a human or some other race.
But on the surface he remained calm: "I am Levi, the chosen hero. I heard that there is a powerful witch here who can command the bees. I wonder if you would like to meet me?"
Although he wanted to dig some tasks here, it would be the best thing if he could hire these bees as scouts.
But before the other party expressed his attitude, he felt that he still needed to be cautious and could not rush into the house rashly. After all, this was not a relatively safe novice village.
The bee team leader wanted to say something more, but at this moment a surprised female voice came from the hut: "God's Chosen Hero? I didn't expect such a distinguished guest to come to visit!"
Along with a series of coughs, the door of the hut was opened from the inside, and then a mysterious woman wearing a hood, with most of her face buried in the shadows, walked out.
"I am the witch Greta. I wonder what this God's Chosen Hero wants from me?"
Levi glanced at the bees again. Even though they were suspended in mid-air, their wings made almost no sound. Obviously, there were some differences between the flying methods of flies and mosquitoes. They had to move more carefully.
Be more hidden.
Seeing that the other party was so direct, he simply stopped covering up: "I want to hire some bee people as subordinates. What are the requirements?"
"Hire bees? It's not impossible, but we have known each other for a long time and are very affectionate. You may have to pay a certain price."
"What price?"
If you are talking about money, this is often the most time-saving and energy-saving option.
Witch Greta immediately let out a few villainous laughs, and then continued: "The first-level bee soldiers are 5 silver coins each, and the second-level bee heroes are 10 silver coins each. In addition, if the God-chosen hero
If you need level 0 troops, I still have some artificial bees and giant bees here, and I can give you a lower price, just charge 2 silver coins."
At the end of the sentence, Greta the Witch sounded like she was taking advantage of you.
But Li Wei couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth. The recruitment price was generally several times more expensive than in the village. Did he regard himself as the chief culprit?
Even if the flying unit is indeed very rare and you really need it, you can't price it like this, right? Why don't you just go and grab it? Is it because the robbery doesn't come as fast as this?
So he shook his head directly: "Although I really want some bee subordinates, the price is too high and I can't accept it."
Of course, he didn't leave directly, because one look at the other party's appearance, he knew that the matter still needs to be discussed, and the witch was probably asking for a high price.
The witch Greta was not annoyed when she heard this. She laughed evilly again: "Is that so? If you can help us solve some troubles, I can also lower the price. There may even be bees who directly pay the price out of gratitude.
I may be loyal to you, my lord."
Levi immediately knew that the topic was coming. This witch's personality was a little weird. Really, you could just say that you have a task for yourself. Why go around in such a big circle?
After all, you still don’t have any experience dealing with God’s Chosen Heroes, right?
"What exactly is the trouble?"
"Well, five or six miles to the north from here, there are some fallen tree people occupying an extremely rare sea of flowers in the rocky highlands. There are about twenty or thirty of them. This has brought great trouble to my bees.
Troubled, children can’t always eat meat, they also need nectar as a supplement.”
Only then did Li Wei know that the bees can also eat meat, and besides the trolls and these bees, there are other small forces in the rocky highlands. It seems that the gnolls' control over this place is not so complete.
.
But that's not important, he is more interested in other words.
"A tree man, not a rat man? Will a tree man also become corrupted?"
Witch Greta was silent for a few seconds, and then said: "Yes, any thinking and intelligent creature has the possibility of falling. Even angels have fallen angels, so how can the tree man be an exception?"
"If you, sir, can defeat that group of fallen tree people, I can make the decision and give you one level 2 bee and two level 1 bees. In addition, the recruitment price of other bees will also be directly halved."
Although it is still very expensive even if it is reduced by half, considering that the opponent is a flying unit after all, and this is a wilderness, it is not easy to replenish troops, so overall it is considered okay.
The system prompt popped up immediately, and the task description was just as the other party said.
Now that he had been recognized by the system, Levi nodded in agreement, and then asked again: "What is the strength of the other party and what are its characteristics?"
"Well, they are all fallen rotten tree people, with thick skin and thick flesh. They have the strength of level 2 to 3. A small number of elites may have dark power, and it seems that some of them have become special tree incarnations.
This further strengthens their strength."
"Tree incarnation?"
Treants are not a particularly rare type of weapon. Natural wood elves can recruit level 2 treants, and there are occasional recruitment opportunities in the wild.
Their characteristics are rough skin and thick flesh, good strength and physique, but they also have slow attack speed and movement speed, as well as the most deadly weakness of fire.
In Levi's view, tree people are like a weakened version of the earth element to a certain extent, and they can only be used as human shields.
But this was the first time he heard the special term "tree incarnation".
Faced with Levi's questioning, the witch Greta did not have any impatience, because the more carefully the other party asked, the more she sincerely wanted to complete this task. If the other party agreed casually, then went very recklessly.
To destroy those tree people, she would have to doubt their ability or intelligence.
So she just explained very patiently: "The local jackals are divided into spots, stripes, and purple-black hair. This is based on the differences in their original races. The same is true for the tree people."
“Birch trees are extremely hard and deadly when dried, and their tree incarnations are more powerful in attack;
Oak trees are tough and long-lived. Although their tree incarnations move slower, their defense is particularly outstanding;
The willow tree is the messenger of spring and the source of life. It can slowly restore its own health near water."
"Based on the differences in their original tree species, they will be slightly different after becoming tree people and awakening the tree incarnation. Other rarer tree species may also transform into tree people with rarer abilities."
"Of course, ordinary tree people cannot do this on their own, and even ordinary druids cannot do it. Either there is a special advancement of druid - tree shepherd, or there is some treasure.
Already."
At this point, even though he was covered by the hood, Levi seemed to be able to feel the other person's eyes shining.
This girl doesn't look like a good person. If she goes there directly without asking, isn't it possible that she will suffer a big loss later?
So he decisively started to bargain with the other party: "If there is a tree shepherd, it won't be this price."
Need more money!
Although Levi did not say the last and most critical three words, the witch Greta obviously understood his meaning.
She immediately rolled her eyes and laughed: "Well, there is indeed this danger. In this case, I will give the promised bees to you in advance. If there are really tree shepherds, as long as you can get them back
How about killing its iconic item and giving it to me, and then I can make up some extra reward afterwards?"
Levi was a little surprised that the witch Greta was so easy to talk to, and now he was becoming more and more suspicious of her intentions.
But no matter what, the system will not lie. Following the other party's words, he also received a prompt saying that three bee people were requesting allegiance to him.
So he nodded decisively: "Okay, then it's settled!"
Even if it is a sugar-coated bullet, he has to eat the sugar-coated bullet first. He does not think that the other party can be bigger than the rules of the system. Since he has decided to be loyal to him, then be his subordinate obediently!
Suddenly, he remembered his promotion to an official magician, so he tentatively asked: "One more thing, do you know how to be promoted to an official magician?"
In fact, when he asked, he had roughly anticipated that he might not get a particularly satisfactory reply.
After all, the other party's name already indicates that she is a witch, not a magician!
As expected, Witch Greta shook her head: "Sorry, I'm just a lowly witch and don't know the situation in this regard, but I heard that it requires a magician of at least level 10 to preside over a magic ceremony.
OK."
Li Wei was a little disappointed, but he nodded and thanked him before turning and leaving.
After they walked away, the witch Greta still stood there and laughed evilly, while a dozen unusual bee-men floated out of the hive.
Compared with ordinary bees, they are larger in size and closer to humans. Even their wings look much tougher and thicker. Especially the female bee in the lead has a unique ability that is completely different from other bees.
appearance.
Unlike ordinary bees who clearly have the characteristics of bees, she does not have the layer of long black and yellow hair on her body, there are no tentacles on her head, and her eyes are not compound eyes.
In addition to having two pairs of translucent wings on her back and an extra pair of arms roughly at the ribs, she looks closer to a real human being, and she is also a beautiful woman wearing beautiful clothes woven from flowers and grass.
.
It's just that she wears a big hat that looks like a mushroom cap, which doesn't match her body shape and makes her look a bit stupid.
"Mother Greta, why do you tolerate a high elf so much? We can also fight!"
The witch Greta, who originally seemed very cunning, now seemed a little kind: "Janet, your mother and sisters all died in the battle for freedom. You are the only surviving little queen of the tribe. They
We are also the only remaining soldier bees. Before more bee eggs are hatched, we can no longer risk wasting any power."
"Although this is not the Underdark, it is still full of dangers. Those jackals are really unusual, not to mention those tree people are particularly restrained towards you bee people."
"If he can really succeed, it will be very helpful to your revival. Let's let him recruit some bees and consider it as his contribution to the revival of the race!"
Although she was still a little confused, the female bee named Janet nodded vigorously: "Yes, Mother Greta, everything is for the revival of the bee tribe!"