The northern expedition army of the Big-headed Ant Kingdom marched day and night, quickly heading towards "Linshui City".
The next day, the Northern Expeditionary Army entered the area that had been ravaged by wildfire last time.
In these disaster areas, the indelible traces left over from the last sky fire disaster can still be seen on the surface: the black and scorched corpses everywhere are still eye-catching, and some surviving trees and shrubs are also covered with traces of smoke and fire. ——Desolation, barbarism, decadence.
But among the debris and scorched earth, fresh greenery is also sprouting, the buds of new weeds.
Wild fire, in spring. The poem aptly shows the tenacity and tenacity of weeds. The life of grass is the lowest, but the life of grass is the most vital.
As an important part of the ecosystem, this land can tolerate the temporary absence of trees and shrubs, but it cannot tolerate the temporary absence of herbaceous plants, otherwise it will collapse.
Although insects have suffered heavy losses in successive spring colds and summer wildfires, some species that are good at long-distance migration have fled this unfortunate land.
But there are always some tenacious survivors who live in this land that has regained its vitality and survived a difficult year, waiting for the recovery of vegetation and the revival of their own communities.
On this scorched earth, many common obstacles in other areas have been turned into charred debris. Therefore, the terrain is flat and the army can move extremely quickly.
Before dusk that day, under the guidance of Ram Bofo, the liaison officer sent by the protagonist, the Northern Expedition camped at a sub-nest closest to "Linshui City" to rest.
The army moved intermittently, and it took less than half an hour for them all to gather at the campsite. The king and his bodyguards were welcomed into the warm and comfortable underground of the auxiliary nest to rest, while the ordinary king led the large troops and continued to make do in the wild for one night.
Fortunately, the weather is hot now, and the temperature is not low even at night, so the ants gathered in groups do not feel any discomfort.
Under the bright moonlight, a small-scale squirming black shadow on the ground contained a huge power.
——I am the dividing line——
Early the next morning, the Northern Expedition set off at the urging of the kings.
Because the message package sent by the liaison officer sent by the King of Gods was very clear, saying that the river must be crossed today.
The God Envoy King did not explain any reason to these kings, but the only means of crossing the river was in the hands of the God Envoy King.
Being able to complete the impossible task of crossing the river is generally regarded as a miracle by the kings. In this matter that concerns the safety of the entire army and the great cause of the Northern Expedition, even if some kings do not like the God Envoy King, they will not do it at this time. Demon.
The army was still arranged in a marching column half a meter wide and tens of meters long, marching toward the northeast in a mighty way.
As "Linshui City" gets closer and closer, a new and vibrant scene appears in front of everyone, which seems very different from other disaster areas.
On the land near the river, there is abundant water and sufficient light. Large tracts of new young leaves of weeds spread out, covering large tracts of land.
These are the fields where the weed seeds sown in "Linshui City" have sprouted.
Wildfires completely destroyed the tangled natural grasslands and shrubs. As long as seeds are sown on flat land, with appropriate light, heat and water, these grass seeds will germinate quickly and grow even faster, forming patches of grass. An oasis in a scorched earth.
Although it's still a long time before the grass seeds are harvested, the lush "oasis" spread along the river bank has already attracted many insects.
Snails and caterpillars like the tender green leaves, aphids need fresh sap, and predators follow their prey.
However, the rulers of this oasis are ants. In the farmland very close to the nest, there are traces of ant hunting teams everywhere. They do not need to leave the nest too far to hunt. Now the hunting ground in front of their home is prey within a few miles. Where the density is greatest.
The army's route avoided farmland so as not to disturb the abundant prey inside.
This route was planned in advance by the protagonist, relying on the guidance of pheromones. Unexpectedly, the Northern Expeditionary Army who did not know the path departed from the main nest and ran around.
The army quickly gathered at the wooden bridge leading to the island where "Linshui City" is located. Facing this natural bridge made of fallen tree trunks, the Northern Expeditionary Army was jammed at the head of the bridge. It was obvious that the half-meter-wide team could not pass at the same time. The bridge can only narrow the width of the march and slowly pass through the wooden bridge.
The Northern Expeditionary Army who passed the wooden bridge was led directly across the rocky ground of the island to the rope bridge, waiting to cross the river.
They were not allowed to move freely on the island, and the Angel King's army was waiting for them at the location leading to the trunk of the big banyan tree (where the entrance to "Linshui City" is located) and the underground breeding farm.
The protagonist does not want those self-righteous and high-minded kings to take the opportunity to inquire about the reality of their territory.
In fact, some kings and their guards did want to enter "Linshui City" to rest.
As the most noble privileged class in the kingdom, the kings have always done whatever they want. But this time, the Divine Envoy King's army unceremoniously blocked those who wanted to force their way into the lair, as well as those who asked for meat and honeydew.
Naturally, this also caused serious dissatisfaction among some kings. However, at the critical moment of the Northern Expedition to cross the river, no king was so blind that he led the crowd to cause trouble for the protagonist.
At the point where the rope bridge crossed the river, the congestion of the Northern Expeditionary Army was even more serious. After all, the wooden bridge had a tree trunk for passage, while the rope bridge was just a thin rope.
At the bridgehead, some messengers continuously conveyed information packages to the commanders of the regiments and squads that were about to cross the river, and then they relayed them to all the soldiers.
The content of the information package contained some requirements and tips for crossing the river. This was the experience gathered from the blood of the legion of the Divine Envoy King who had lost hundreds of members due to falling into the river while walking back and forth on the rope bridge.
The first batch of Northern Expeditionary troops began to step on the rope bridge as required. They tried to walk on the rope bridge, with their six limbs firmly hooked on the thick fibers on the rope, and crawled forward little by little.
The rope bridge is not motionless. Although the long rope has been tightened as much as possible, under the action of its own weight, it is still high at both ends and low in the middle. The rope swayed under the river wind, sometimes gently, sometimes violently, which greatly increased the difficulty of crossing the river.
Even if the Army of the God Envoy King has emphasized the difficulty of crossing the river, it is inevitable that some ants will be thrown off the river by the constantly swinging ropes and die.
Fortunately, the rainy season is over now, and it has been a bit dry recently. If we go a little further back, the river surface is already close to the lowest point closest to the rope bridge, and there have even been serious incidents where aquatic dragon lice and other predators ambush ants crossing the river.
Due to limitations in crossing capacity, it took until evening for all the Northern Expeditionary Army to cross the river!
