Although the pavement ants successfully brought back some dried fruits from the orchards, this food is not durable and is specially provided to male ants and queens. Ordinary worker ants are not entitled to enjoy it. Even if restrictions were lifted, the quantity of these fruits would not be enough to support such an army of pavement ants.
The food crisis lingering over the main nest of pavement ants has not been alleviated. On the contrary, it continues to intensify as the army continues to gather and the mysterious ants stand still.
For the next week, the mysterious ants continued to linger near [Purple Leaf Licheng], turning a blind eye to the main force of the Pavement Ant Barbarian Army that was so close at hand.
At this time, the remaining three groups of mysterious ants were still launching attacks, and the easternmost group had already reached the branch nest in the eastern part of the Pavement Ant Barbarian Kingdom.
In order to support the important eastern branch and to alleviate the food crisis, the Pavement Ant barbarian army had to divide its troops. After leaving an army of 300,000 in the main nest, the remaining troops were divided to support the other three battlefields. The key goal was to rush to support the eastern branch. nest.
This also means that the strategy previously formulated by the Pavement Ant Barbarian Army has gone bankrupt - the previous plan of the Pavement Ant Barbarian Army was to gather the main force in the main nest, use defensive warfare to weaken and finally defeat the main force of the mysterious ants, and then eliminate the other three enemies. military.
Now, we can only do the opposite, and after repelling the remaining armies, we can then devote ourselves to the decisive battle with the main force.
The war on the north bank of the river is still as hot as the weather, but the protagonist's attention to this side is decreasing day by day, and the flying knights come less and less.
This is because, as the walnut boat fleet takes shape, the attack on parasitic ants in swamp areas is just around the corner. The focus of the God's Envoy King's army has shifted here.
——I am the dividing line——
The protagonist has been in [Great Lake City] for more than a week, and now he rarely even goes back to [Dongyang City] which is not far away.
More and more of the Angel King's legions are undergoing their final water training here, and as the first batch of combat troops, Rambotu's fourth legion has basically achieved its training objectives.
In a few days, the walnut ship fleet will be formed. Now in this small inlet on the shore of the Great Lakes, the "ant fleet" that has never appeared in this area almost completely occupies the calm harbor.
The bees responsible for pulling the walnut ship fleet are also in place, and the ants have specially built new nests for these bees near [Great Lake City].
All sixty walnut boats have been completed, connected together by ropes and ant glue, forming a chain formation. Now, just waiting for the soldiers and supplies to board the ship, the fleet can set sail.
——I am the dividing line——
July 24th, an unbearably hot day. The protagonist estimates that it is now Dog Days, and there will be very few heavy rains in midsummer this year. Although it is not conducive to food harvest, the calm weather is a very beneficial guarantee for the fleet's navigation safety.
On this day, the walnut ship fleet officially set sail.
The protagonist and the twelve flying knights each ride a fly mount and hover in the air.
On the ground, Lambert directed the soldiers of the Fourth Legion to board the ship one after another. At this time, one-sixth of the walnut boats that were connected as a whole were parked on the shore. The ants could board these boats and then reach other walnut boats floating on the water through rope bridges.
The walnut ship has enough food for the fleet to eat for a month, as well as a lot of ant wire, rope, beeswax and other materials to repair the ship.
After all the soldiers boarded the ship and were in position, the protagonist asked a flying knight to notify the towing flying knight group on standby.
Under the leadership of the temporarily appointed team leader, a total of 180 flying knights controlled the bees and arrived at the target walnut ship. With the assistance of the crew, the bees were connected to the ship with ropes.
Then two-thirds of the flying knights entered the cabin and were on standby. The other flying knights were responsible for three bees each and began to fly forward together, pulling the walnut boat fleet completely into the water.
Thanks to the bees' instinct to move in groups, the walnut ship fleet does not need to occupy 180 flying knights at all times, which accounts for 60% of the current total number of flying knights in the Legion of God's Envoy.
After all the ships of the walnut ship fleet parked on the shore were launched, the bees led the fleet out of the inlet. At this time, there was a headwind, and the sails on the ships did not dare to open. The bees pulled the huge fleet against the wind, making it difficult to fly.
Fortunately, the entrance of the inlet was not far away. After finally entering the waters of the lake, the bees landed on their walnut boats to take a rest. At this time, the wind direction was suitable, and the crew members used ant wire to pull up the simple sails.
Driven by the wind, the walnut boat fleet moved little by little to the northeast.
The protagonist has been riding Xiao Qing II to follow the fleet. This is the maiden voyage of the fleet. The previous plans were all conceived. The protagonist is not sure whether the actual voyage will go smoothly. He can only keep following and seeing Fang An.
Fortunately, the fleet sailed very smoothly, the waters of the Great Lakes were calm, the walnut boat was well sealed and safe, and there were no accidents on the first day.
Near dusk, the walnut boat fleet ended today's voyage early. Pulled by bees, the fleet docked at the shore. Some of the outermost walnut boats in the fleet were brought to the shore by inertia, and then the entire fleet was fixed to nearby plant stems through ropes. to prevent it from being carried away by water and wind at night.
The ant warriors can rest in the walnut boat overnight, but the inside of the boat, which is always swaying with the water waves, is obviously not a good place to rest. Lambotu still followed the original plan and took most of the soldiers off the ship and dug a temporary nest near the anchorage to rest.
Only a few soldiers remained on the fleet.
As for the bees being unable to spend the night in the open air, the Fourth Army did not have enough time to dig an underground nest that could accommodate 180 bees overnight. Under the control of the flying knight, these bees untied the ropes connecting the ships and flew back to [Great Lake City] to rest.
Anyway, the walnut boat sails a day's sailing distance, and the bees fly there in ten minutes, and they can just fly back the next day.
Even if they finally reach their swamp destination, it only takes the bees less than an hour to fly one way.
On the second and third days the fleet continued its advance.
On the fourth day, the fleet arrived at the mouth of the river where the stream flows into the lake. There was a reverse flow of water here. Relying on the exhausted efforts of the bees and the blessing of the wind, the walnut boat fleet successfully entered the stream and went upstream.
On the fifth day, the wind direction was not good, and the current and wind were reversed. The fleet had to stay on the shore all day and made no progress at all.
On the sixth day, there was a light rain, the wind direction changed, which was conducive to navigation, and the fleet set off again.
On the eighth day, the fleet was finally approaching its target—the parasitic swamp! !
The protagonist has been worried about the safety of navigation, but another arduous battle is about to begin.
