After the poor and boring winter, in this fertile spring, the ants basically don’t have to worry about food.
But there are many things that the protagonist needs to worry about.
Because with the arrival of spring, according to the plan drawn up by the King's Meeting last autumn, as long as it is fully implemented, the offensive and defensive momentum between the Big-headed Ant Kingdom and the Pavement Ant Barbarians will be reversed. This is a big deal for both ant kingdoms and both races.
The protagonist has sent messengers to contact other deputy nests and "Dongyang City" before, but there has been no reply yet.
Before receiving new information, the protagonist can only make his own preparations.
He took a small group of worker ants with him and climbed up the suspended rope bridge again.
Due to a spring rain two days ago, the rope bridge seemed a bit slippery. The big-headed ants tightly grasped the exposed fibers of the rough hemp rope under them to avoid falling into the river water.
Now, the river that was originally completely frozen has thawed, and the water is slowly but surely flowing eastward. The corpses of water spiders and big-headed ants that were previously frozen on the ice have completely disappeared into the waves.
On the river, some insects that need water to thrive are flying nearby. Water spiders are walking dexterously on the water, creating a circle of ripples on the water. The protagonist can't help but envy their ability to float.
If the big-headed ant originally had half a chance of survival if it fell off the rope bridge, now it is a near-death situation if it falls into the river. The flowing water will wash away those who fall into the water. There are countless predators on the river and in the river - water spiders, dragon lice, water flies, etc.
I don’t know if it’s because of the precipitation, or if the hemp rope has become heavier after being wetted by water. The protagonist feels that the height of the river from the rope bridge is now lower.
The protagonist and his big-headed ants successfully crossed the rope bridge and came to the north bank of the river again.
It is also a scene full of life, with all kinds of insects and plants enjoying the wonderful time of spring.
However, unlike the south bank, the protagonist has not seen any ants moving around this area, because there is no sub-nest of the pavement ant barbarians in a small area nearby. The protagonist estimates that the winter has just ended, and the pavement ants are also searching for food near their nests, so they won't come all the way to the river in a short time.
This is good news. The protagonist needs to use this time to build a fortress at the bridgehead on the north bank of the river and drive a wedge into the enemy's territory.
This was a plan that had been made before. If the plan went well, the Big-headed Ant Kingdom would have to defend passively every winter from now on, and then invest a lot of troops and materials in spring to regain the lost territory. The situation would be greatly improved.
The previous plan also included building a pontoon bridge, but the protagonist has taken advantage of the favorable winter period to change the pontoon bridge into a suspended rope bridge and has the construction in place. Now only the bridgehead fortress needs to be built.
The protagonist leads the team to the bridgehead dug last winter, which is located at the roots of the tall tree on the north side.
The tall tree has not yet sprouted young leaves, and the protagonist still does not know its species.
At the root of the tree, the protagonist did not find the hole dug out at the old site last year. Judging from the mess on the ground, there should have been a small waterlogging here during the melting snow and rainfall.
The soil is basically dry now, but it seems that the original small nest has been washed away. The protagonist shook his head and led everyone to start work again.
A messenger was sent back to "Linshui City", and soon the "Linshui City" garrison was sent to the construction site on the north bank of the river for construction. The fourth legion of the Divine Envoy King followed closely behind. They set up a wide-ranging warning circle nearby, ready to strangle the pavement ants that inadvertently broke into this place at any time.
Time, the protagonist needs at least a week to build a bridgehead fortress, hoard supplies and mobilize troops. But he was not sure whether he could avoid alerting the enemy during this week.
——I am the dividing line——
The construction of the bridgehead fortress has been started for three days, and the building structure has been basically completed.
This is a fortress commonly used by the Divine Envoy Army. It is very similar to the structure of the southern fortress of "Dongyang City".
The fortress is located on the north side of the roots of the trunks of tall trees on a higher ground. It is surrounded by a circular open space surrounded by a concrete wall about one decimeter in diameter.
There are trenches and drainage ditches outside the city wall, and there are drainage holes at the root of the city wall connecting the trenches outside the city.
The open space within the city wall is where the army gathers, and the highest point in the middle is the entrance to the underground lair. An ant seal was piled up at the entrance and exit to enhance the waterproof ability of the entrance and exit.
The underground part is built as a standard ant nest, deep inside the land, avoiding the intricate tree roots. There are warehouses, nurseries, queen ant chambers and dormitories. The big-headed ants even collected white pebbles from the river bank and laid them. A small conference room.
A combustion chamber is also set up here, which is traditionally arranged in the middle of the deepest part. The exhaust port passes through the center of the nest. When the flames burn brightly, it can significantly increase the temperature of the nest.
Overall, this is a small fortress that can accommodate approximately three to four thousand big-headed ants and supplies for half a year. Fortunately, this kind of fortress has been tested and can hinder the performance of enemies with numerical advantages and achieve long-term persistence.
After the "Bridgehead" was built, in the next few days, fire, fuel and grain storage were continuously transported from "Linshui City". The combustion chamber of the "Bridgehead" was quickly put into use, and the granary and material warehouse were quickly filled. Full.
However, this kind of transportation also comes at a high price. Every day, ants transported accidentally fall into the river, and most of them have never been traced again.
In this regard, the protagonist can only try to avoid transporting when the wind is strong, and then accept this loss.
In addition, the protagonist reduces the amount of transportation. The fourth legion of the God-Emissary King was officially stationed as a "bridgehead" garrison, and then searched for food and supplies nearby to avoid relying too much on the fragile rope bridge transportation line.
Fortunately, the Divine Envoy King's army, which was carrying out construction projects on the north bank of the river, did not encounter an army of pavement ants. The few pavement ants that accidentally broke into the vicinity were quickly killed by the defenders who were waiting for them.
The pavement ant barbarians have obviously not smelled anything different from the missing people. After all, it is normal for ants to disappear. Although they are the most civilized race in the world, they still have many natural enemies, and a single ant cannot No match for these ferocious natural enemies.
Just like primitive humans have long faced the threat of beasts when acting alone. As the team expands, whether they are primitive people or ants, their strength will be greatly enhanced, and they will no longer be afraid of savage beasts.
There is also new news that some of the messengers sent out have returned!
