The mysterious ants that launched the siege were counterattacked by the parasitic katydids who were trapped in a fight. Although they finally won, they also left behind dozens of corpses.
This katydid, in just over an hour of fighting, caused a loss of the mysterious ants, which was even more fruitful than the army under Suzaku who had fought hard for several days. Its terror and strength were evident.
In the end, the mysterious ants carried away the corpses of their companions and pavement ants on the ground. The corpses of the katydids were abandoned, and all the living parasitic fungi were minced and killed.
As for Suzaku and the others, they had already fled far away, and the mysterious ants stopped pursuing them.
After the battle was reported to the protagonist, the protagonist analyzed it and felt that the mysterious ants' combat effectiveness did not seem to be as strong as imagined. At least they were in the same position as ordinary ants when facing parasitic katydids, and were in the same position of being crushed in individual battles. You can only win by relying on quantity and organization.
The protagonist feels that facing this katydid, his Divine Envoy King Legion will only need to pay double-digit casualties to win. This is the leap in combat power brought about by more advanced organizations.
After that, the protagonist also sent flying knights with a few worker ants to return to the battlefield. When it was safe, he cut up part of the katydid body, including its front legs, wings and mouthparts.
——I am the dividing line——
The defensive battle of [Purple Leaf Licheng] that lasted for several days ended. Although the pavement ants finally lost seven nests and lost tens of thousands of troops, and the main nest was opened wide because of this, it was not without success. reward.
Although it was not possible to rely on [Purple Leaf Licheng] to kill a large number of enemies as Suzaku had expected, this defensive battle had bought enough time for the defense of the main nest. Hundreds of thousands of troops gathered from all over the Pavilion Ant Barbarian Kingdom to the main nest. The nest forms a powerful force.
But the more important gain is the valuable experience brought back by Suzaku and other male ants who escaped from this defensive battle. These male ants allowed the fellow ants in the main nest to have a comprehensive understanding of the enemy's tactics for the first time, and they could make targeted arrangements in advance.
The experienced male ant commanders were immediately entrusted with important tasks and commanded the new main army one after another, preparing to avenge their disgrace in the next battle.
However, just when the pavement ant barbarian army was gearing up to fight another victorious defensive battle like last year and completely eliminate this mysterious enemy that suddenly appeared, the mysterious ants changed their previous tactics of fighting and fighting. Style, stand still.
It is not accurate to say that they are standing still. These mysterious ants are not staying motionless in [Purple Leaf Licheng]. Instead, they seem to be planning to live here permanently. They have begun to build massively and are constantly sending small-scale troops to search the surrounding areas, as if they are looking for something. .
The only thing you can't see is these mysterious ants looking for food. They are really weird ants.
The protagonist speculates that the abnormal behavior of the mysterious ants is related to the parasitic katydid. Judging from the information fed back by the flying knight, the mysterious ants, like the ants, seem to have their eyes on fire when they see the parasitic fungi, and they will kill them quickly.
Maybe the mysterious ants have noticed that there is a parasitic fungus base nearby similar to the swamps in the southern hills? Is that why such a powerful parasitic katydid suddenly appeared? This is just a guess from the protagonist.
On the other hand, the pavement ants were a little confused. Although Suzaku and the others saw the parasitic katydid, due to the confusing ability of the parasitic fungus, these male ants just thought that the mysterious ants were fighting a fierce katydid.
Ants often encounter fierce insects. It is normal to kill or be killed. The appearance of a fierce insect will never affect military operations.
The pavement ants are unable to figure out the abnormal behavior of the mysterious ants, but the enemy's plan to station themselves not far to the north of the main nest for a long time is something the pavement ant barbarian army does not want to see.
If we rely on favorable terrain to fight a defensive battle, the pavement ants still have a chance to win, and there are precedents for success. So in the field, the paving ants must have dozens or hundreds of times the strength advantage to have some confidence.
And if the pavement ants are allowed to take the initiative to attack the fortified mysterious ant camp, no matter how reckless the pavement ant commander is, he would not want to do this.
So, now it's the pavement ants' turn to fight to the death.
Not only because they are worried that the enemy will continue to strengthen their defenses and stay here permanently, there are already hundreds of thousands of troops gathered in the main nest, and more troops are gathering. Perhaps the final total strength will be close to one million.
If these troops continue to be lost in defensive battles, they will not put a huge burden on the food reserves of the main nest. Even the corpses of these soldiers can replenish the food reserves. But if the enemy delayed the attack, so many troops would be enough to overwhelm the main nest within half a month.
After all, it is easy to mobilize troops, but the primitive transportation methods of the ants can hardly transport enough food to the main nest in time for the astronomical figures consumed by six or seven-digit ants every day.
Although the main hive has a strategic location and rich products, the food production capacity of itself and the dozens of nearby secondary hives can only stably supply an army of about 300,000 people at most.
The food crisis suddenly befell the Pavement Ant barbarian army.
——I am the dividing line——
On this day, more than a dozen pavement ant legions swarmed out from the main hive, and after gathering, they divided into three groups and headed north [Purple Leaf Licheng].
These paving ant troops did not attack [Purple Leaf Licheng] over their own capabilities, but had other missions.
When Suzaku was sitting in [Purple Leaf Licheng] before, he knew that this place was very fertile, with large fruit trees surrounding it. The fruits produced could not only be used as food, but were also sweet luxuries that ants liked very much. Pavement ants do not know how to graze aphids and scale insects, and natural fruits are one of their only sources of sweetness.
According to the pavement ant scout report, the mysterious ants did not collect the sweet fruits that pavement ants are eager to eat, and they did not even go to the fruit trees. Due to the recent signs of a food crisis, the Pavement Ants decided to send a wave of troops to the orchards to rush back a batch of fruits.
These fruits can be dried and stored for several months, a luxury that only the queen and male ants can enjoy.
As for the possibility of fighting with the enemy, the pavement ants have also considered it. However, the scouts reported that the mysterious ants were not interested in this fruit forest and almost never came here, so there might not be a fight.
Even if they are unlucky enough to be attacked by an enemy, the male pavement ants are happy to see the result. The second order of the troops sent out is to attract the enemy towards the main nest if they are attacked.
At that time, maybe the main nest troops can use their numerical advantage to counter the encirclement and eliminate some of the enemies. Or the enemy has to attack the main nest in advance, where the pavement ants have the advantage to book a battlefield battle.
The paving ant barbarian army can also consume excess ant colonies in the flames of war and completely get rid of the food crisis.
