These young soldiers, they only know how to complain, complain about hunger, complain about too little time to travel, complain about this and that.
Do they think they can easily escape the pursuit of outsiders?
Only with extreme caution can you escape from those terrifying enemies who are hunting you everywhere.
Our species faced the coalition forces organized by outsiders twice and failed twice. I was able to survive both escapes until now because of this caution.
However, the time of hunger is indeed difficult, but in the dark night, everyone can't see, so they can only hide, hoping that the sun will rise early tomorrow.
The next day, we set out at dawn. When we were thirsty, we drank some dew condensed on the grass blades and stones. When we were hungry, we took the opportunity to catch some small insects that were very close, some of which we didn’t even look at on weekdays. The gnats in my eyes, half hungry and half full, the sun is already high in the sky.
I immediately asked everyone to hide. This time we chose an abandoned hive in a tree hole.
The soldiers were reluctant at first, but they stopped advancing under my insistence.
After a while, there was a dense flapping sound in the sky - the damn flies came out again.
Only then did the soldiers convince me that once discovered by flies, we would be chased and put into danger.
There is no nearby tribe that can provide us with additional help. The tribes we encountered along the way were all slaughtered by outsiders. This time, the outsiders dealt a cruel blow to our family.
This makes us worried about our own tribe too!
But when we are on the run, we don’t dare to think too much and we can only rely on ourselves!
——I am the dividing line——
A few days later, the giant and the broken leg finally entered the territory of our tribe.
For several days, we had only a short time to travel, enduring hunger, thirst and fear that tortured us all the time.
Days like this almost drive some soldiers crazy, and few can persevere.
Some warriors are so hungry that they actually try to hunt some hard-to-catch prey alone. Once they are injured and unable to move, we have no choice but to give her up.
This even included a warrior from my tribe, the only surviving warrior besides me and my broken leg.
She did not die in the decisive battle, nor did she fall in the first few days of the most difficult escape. But in the end, she lost to hunger.
One night, when the moon was shining brightly, she ran out alone to catch a grasshopper that was chirping in the grass.
But the night is these nocturnal insects’ home, not ours. With her limited vision, she lost the advantage of ambush and was kicked hard by the Grasshopper.
When she stumbled back, we found that one of her limbs was broken, her abdominal carapace was kicked open, and she had serious internal injuries.
She could no longer go on the road, so Broken Leg and I could only bear the pain and leave her behind. If she stays where she is, her ending is doomed to be tragic.
Some soldiers finally became dissatisfied, left the team, and went on their own. I don't know what happened to them.
Although the warriors who followed me all looked miserable, most of them returned to their tribes.
The tribe with broken legs and I, as well as the tribe of giants, were the farthest among them, but we finally came back.
The nests of the two tribes were very close to each other. The giant and I briefly said hello, then we parted ways and each returned to his own tribe.
Fortunately, everything is business as usual in our tribe.
Along the way, we have seen too many tragic scenes of being massacred by outsider tribes, and we have been worried about the safety of our own tribe. Now I can finally relax.
Our tribe is relatively far away from outsiders and the decisive battlefield, and it is also safe.
In the last few days of our escape, we could only occasionally hear the sound of flies every day, which seemed to indicate that the pursuit of outsiders was weakening.
Finally...safe.
——I am the dividing line——
Back at the tribe, Broken Leg and I had a big meal, completely ignoring that the tribe's food reserves were not too abundant and we had to save them for the winter.
The queen ants all came to visit me and Broken Leg. In fact, they only saw the two of us coming back, and they had roughly guessed the outcome.
But when we told them the situation of the war and that basically all the warriors from the tribe died, sadness still spread throughout the tribe.
I blame myself very much. Although I know that this is not entirely my responsibility, as the chief warrior, I still feel that I have failed the expectations of the entire tribe.
In the next few days, Broken Leg and I were unwilling to go out, neither to hunt nor to participate in tribal activities.
The two of us were just lazily basking in the sun on the branches at the entrance of the nest, eating the meat brought back by other members of the tribe, and then, together with the giant on the opposite tree, we paid attention to each other.
The eldest male ant came to see me once. He told me that many warriors look like this after returning from a defeat. We both still have to recover and look like brave warriors.
Strangely enough, in the tribe, what I disliked the most was the only male ant, the old male ant. I think he is cowardly and useless.
But now I find that I, Broken Leg, and these most powerful warriors are also cowardly and useless.
In addition, what the old male ant said made sense, and I suddenly felt that I no longer disliked him so much.
So, Broken Leg and I began to try to resume our normal lives, started hunting, and started participating in border patrols.
The giant on the opposite side was also affected by our influence and began to gradually return to normal.
We would meet during border patrols. Under the leadership of the giant and I, the two tribes are now very harmonious and there is no conflict.
Patrols from the two tribes, even led by the giant and I, communicated near the border, playfully marking the border with excrement in each other's presence.
Although both tribes have lost some warriors, food has been relatively sufficient recently. The queen ants have begun to lay eggs at a faster pace. It won't be long before new warriors will join the tribe.
At this time, I suddenly realized that I was old.
As a warrior who emerges from the pupa in spring, I have lived longer than most warriors. If I survive this autumn and winter, I will be considered longevity.
Although my body is still strong and my senses are sharp, when I think about it, I realize how old I am.
New warriors are constantly growing, and there are several good ones among them. They have often won the duels within the tribe recently.
Although I still maintained my position as "chief warrior", I already felt threatened.
As for her broken leg, she has even lost two duels, and now she has no intention of challenging me anymore.
At this moment, I realized that in addition to outsiders, time is also our enemy!
——I am the dividing line——
The peaceful life could not last forever!
On this day, an alarm came from our tribe!
