>>723120209
Hornet shows up 5 times in Hollow Knight
>Green Path (fight)
>City of Tears
>Kingdom's Edge (fight)
>Herrah's bedside (optional)
>Black Egg Temple (optional)
If you absorb Herrah before beating Hornet's second fight and don't go for the Radiance fight, Hornet shows up a grand total of 3 times in the story. Once to fight you without explanation, again to lore dump on you in front of the Hollow Knight statue, and finally in Kingdom's Edge. I'm not sure, but I think the Kingdom's Edge fight might also be optional since I don't think you need King's Brand to fight Hollow Knight, which would make the total Hornet Encounters... 2.