The ice on the river is shorter than the river bank, and there is a slope about one decimeter high between it and the river bank. The protagonist cannot see the river bank clearly when standing on the ice.
Therefore, without any hesitation, the protagonist climbed up the slope of the river bank on all six limbs.
When the protagonist sets foot on the north bank of the river, he doesn't know the meaning. This is the first time he has set foot on this land, and it is also the first time that the entire Big-headed Ant Kingdom has set foot on this land. But the protagonist knows that this won't be the only time.
Since the river bank is located on a low ground, the field of vision is limited by the nearby terrain and vegetation. So after looking around, the protagonist selected a nearby huge straight dry tree that had lost all its leaves, and quickly climbed up We went up and found a place with a good view on the top of the tree to look around.
Then, a whole wilderness suddenly appeared in front of the protagonist without reservation.
This is a huge wilderness, and the terrain is generally flat. Only at the end of the protagonist's field of vision can there be a blurry scene of mountains. In addition, there are some low hills scattered on the east side of the wilderness along the river, blocking the protagonist's field of vision.
Most of this wilderness is the sphere of influence of the Pavement Ant Barbarians, and it seems to be wider than the territory of the Big-headed Ant Kingdom.
In the wilderness, the white snow and dark soil are staggered, forming the most basic background. Large areas of gray-black dry leafless woods, shrubs and weed stems are densely dotted in it. In addition, there are also some streams dotted here and there. , ponds and water moorings.
Judging from the vegetation, this is a fertile land that is no less fertile than the south bank of the river. Coupled with its vast area, it is no wonder that the Pavement Ant Barbarians can make use of its resources and continuously reproduce a large number of people, even year after year. The meaningless southern expedition was carried out at a huge cost.
When he was on the big banyan tree before, the protagonist's attention was focused on the river bank, and he was not in the mood to look into the distance like today. In addition, the height of the big banyan tree is limited, but today this tree is more than 20 meters high, and the field of view is wider. The protagonist can see the whole of Hebei today.
After a rough browse of the terrain, the protagonist memorized some important geographical locations in his mind and formed a simple map. Then, after confirming that there were no signs of pavement ant activity nearby, he climbed down from the tree.
The original temporary departure base of the Pavement Ant Barbarian Army was in an open space not far away. The protagonist walked along the snow-free road opened by the enemy, stopping and carefully approaching the entrance and exit of the base.
The location of this departure base is very particular. It is built on a high place in an open field. The terrain is about half a meter higher than the surrounding area. As long as there is no heavy rainfall, there is no need to worry about the danger of flooding.
The area around the entrance and exit has obviously been cleared by humans, and there is no vegetation. However, there are still stumps of cut grass stems on the surface.
The surrounding snow has also been cleared, revealing the true nature of the soil, which will be more conducive to the army of pavement ants absorbing the energy of the sun.
The protagonist hid behind a rock not far away and observed patiently for a while, but did not see any enemies coming or going. After touching the ground with its tentacles, I did not feel the vibration of ant activity coming from the underground. So the protagonist boldly sneaked into this base.
As soon as he climbed in and out of the entrance, the protagonist felt a strong breath of paving ant barbarians blowing towards his face.
As he lives in the ant world for longer and longer, in addition to retaining his human side (such as eating cooked food and thinking like humans), the protagonist also gradually masters some of the skills of ants, such as walking on six legs and using tentacles. comminicate.
Using their antennae to receive odor information is also a natural skill of ants. Different races, different nests and even different individuals have different smells. Ants mainly rely on this to distinguish between ourselves and the enemy and each other.
The protagonist has long been familiar with the common smell of the pavement ant barbarian army. At this moment, he feels that the enemy's smell in this temporary base is extremely strong.
Since the physiological structure of ants is different from that of humans, the smells that identify their identity cannot actually be said to be what they taste like. Unlike humans' classification of scent, pungent, and bitter tastes, the odor information that ants can distinguish is more complex. Perhaps due to the mentality towards the enemy, the protagonist finds these smells disgusting.
Such a strong smell does not mean that there are still enemies active in this lair, but it is just a remnant of the large number of enemy troops that lived here before. Now that the enemies have just left for half a day, the smell will not dissipate in a short time.
The protagonist searched around the nest despite the unpleasant smell, and finally determined that all the enemies had evacuated, and not even a single pavement ant could be seen in the base.
Not only are the pavement ants missing, but many of the nests in this base that are clearly material warehouses have also disappeared. Only some food residues were left on the ground: grass seeds and bran, insect exoskeletons, etc.
It can be said that the enemy was very well prepared for evacuation and took away everything that was still useful. Moreover, the entire base was tidied up in an orderly manner. Even the feces and corpses were not visible. It seemed that both of them should have been thrown into the garbage dump according to custom.
Judging from the fact that the base has been cleaned very clean, the enemy may still want to come back, otherwise there is no need to bother cleaning up before leaving. Moreover, the enemy is not worried that this base will be occupied by the Big-headed Ant Kingdom's army. Anyway, the Big-headed Ants cannot move in the wild in winter.
The protagonist searched around but did not find much useful evidence. The reason why the enemy suddenly gave up attacking "Linshui City" and evacuated is still unclear.
However, the protagonist noticed a problem: the size of this starting base is not large compared to the army it carries, and it is not deep from the surface, so the temperature of the nest is not as comfortable as the heated "Linshui City" , no wonder the enemy is in a semi-frozen state every morning when he gets up early to bask in the sun.
Judging from the size of the starting base, the enemy did not expect that attacking "Linshui City" would turn into a long and hard battle. Perhaps this was what ultimately prompted the enemy to retreat.
Considering the sunset time, the protagonist can only conduct a general inspection of the base, but cannot conduct a detailed inspection.
After feeling that time is almost up, the protagonist crawls back to the ground. The sun has begun to sink into the ground, and the protagonist's heart is sinking a little - once it gets dark, the whole world will become perilous.
Fortunately, there was still enough time. The protagonist hurriedly followed the path he came from, crossed the river and returned to "Linshui City" to spend the night.
Soon after he got into the hole, the last ray of daylight dimmed.
