This time, Task Force Centipede was finally covered by friendly troops on the left and right. With so many troops advancing separately, even if there were enemies, as long as they were not a large group of enemy troops, it would be difficult for them to sneak up on the flanks silently. As for the small group of enemies, even if they exist, they won't pose much of a threat.
Instead, it was the front of the task force. This time there was no forest ant unit to lead the way.
Centipede spread out two squads of scythe-hunting ant scouts from the 10th legion and explored the ground ahead. This was a textbook reconnaissance arrangement for the Angel King legion.
Hunting ants are natural hunters and the best scouts. No matter what the terrain is, even rugged and tortuous forests cannot stop them.
At the same time, the forest ant and ant team in the 101st Legion were scouting nearby trees to prevent the scene of the enemy falling from the sky from happening again.
The task force's search in the trees was not as comprehensive as the previous forest ants. It just ensured that there were no ambushes on both sides of the marching route. The troops on the ground stopped and went, but the troops in the trees could keep up.
The task force advanced for a while, and the ant-hunting ant scouts suddenly reported that they had discovered a cave on the ground. The entrance seemed to be about the size of an ant cave. The scouts explored the shallow areas near the entrance and exit, but no enemy was found yet. trace.
After hearing the news, Centipede hurriedly took his men there. Near the cave, he found some clues. The mycelium scattered near the entrance of the cave is half dry. This kind of mycelium is the plant species of leaf-cutting ants. Centipede has seen it from the leaf-cutting ants that are vassals of the Angel King's legion.
The mycelium here seems to be the leftovers eaten by the leaf-cutter ants inside, and basically only the most unpalatable mycorrhizal parts.
After sending an exploration team into the hole, they found that there were no ants inside, but leaf-cutting ants must have lived there not long ago. In addition to the leftover mycelial remains, there were also some relatively fresh ant droppings nearby.
The nests of leaf-cutting ants are usually tree nests, even in winter. So the hole dug by the leaf-cutting ants may be the temporary residence of the leaf-cutting ant army. After all, it takes too much effort to build a tree nest for temporary settlement, and you can't sleep in the wild, so a hole in the ground is a good choice.
Judging from the size of this underground nest, there were at least tens of thousands of leaf-cutting ants stationed here at that time, but not a single one was visible at this time.
The Flying Knight's initial reconnaissance estimate of the leaf-cutter ant army was 300,000, which was only an approximation. It was mainly estimated based on the amount of food transported, and did not determine the specific deployment of the leaf-cutter ant army.
Now it seems that the leaf-cutter ant army did not gather together in a group, but at least some of the troops were stationed in different locations.
What does it mean to be dispersed? What does the migration of the leaf-cutter ant army mean? Centipede couldn't figure it out. It would be fine if he followed the God Envoy King. He didn't need to think about it.
The only information that Centipede can grasp now is the information provided by the Flying Knight before dispatching troops. After the war, the Red Fire Ant Army did not promptly report the intelligence they obtained from all directions to the task force. Centipede felt that the information was too little to judge the enemy's intentions. Some big head.
At this time, the sky began to darken, and the woods became even more gloomy and obscure. Centipede's biological clock told him that it was almost night. If it was winter, it would have been dark by now, but now there was still some afterglow that could barely shine through.
Centipede sent a messenger to the rear, saying that he had found an abandoned enemy's nest. No trace of the enemy was found. It was already dark, and he requested to return to the team.
But soon, the messenger came back quickly along the pheromone and reported that the red fire ant army had all the troops stationed on the spot and the search would continue the next day.
On this day, the red fire ant army did not find the main force of the leaf-cutter ant army, but some search teams from various directions encountered small groups of enemy troops, and low-intensity battles took place.
An army of three hundred thousand leaf-cutting ants seemed to have disappeared out of thin air! ?
Now Centipede couldn't care less, it was getting dark, and the troops needed a safe night shelter.
Fortunately, I have a ready-made one in front of me.
Centipede ordered his men to rest in the underground nest left by leaf-cutter ants, carefully inspect every corner, then seal 4 of the 6 entrances and exits, and leave a capable team at each of the remaining 2 entrances to guard the doors.
Then the army rested in the warm underground.
In the golden autumn, the ground was already cool at night. Centipede didn't know where other friendly troops were spending the night, but at least his subordinates were safe.
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The next day, the Centipede task force did not set out immediately at dawn. They sent a messenger to urge the rear to deliver food, and they were ready to have a full meal before setting off.
Although the task force had already eaten once yesterday and was not hungry, it would not be a big problem to continue without eating for a day or two. However, Centipede found that the rations provided by the red fire ant army were always insufficient, so he Insist on letting your subordinates eat well before setting off, so that if there is a sudden break one day, you will not panic for the time being.
But after a while, they didn't wait for the rations, but they did wait for the messengers.
The red fire ant army ordered all troops to immediately move due west of the main force, where they discovered a large force of the leaf-cutter ant army.
Finally found the enemy traces!
Centipede ordered the troops to assemble and set off, heading southwest. They were still marching synchronously up and down the trees, and they stopped and went, not in a hurry.
Along the way, two search teams behind them overtook the Centipede task force and rushed to the front, but the task force remained unhurried.
"Steady", this is what the God Envoy King has repeatedly warned.
Suddenly, the task force encountered an enemy attack.
On the trees on both sides, several forest ants and ants fell or climbed down from the trees, hurriedly reporting that there were enemies in the trees.
The enemy troops came from branches in other places, and were surprised when they met the task force's troops in the trees.
This was an encounter. Although the more than two hundred forest ants and ants on the tree also had iron jaw knives, they did not have iron armor and were outnumbered. They were no match for the thousands of leaf-cutting ants, and they quickly retreated.
This army of leafcutter ants occupied the trees flanking the task force and posed a threat to the task force from a commanding position.
Centipede immediately ordered the main force to climb the tree, preparing to compete for the commanding heights on the tree. Having learned from yesterday's lesson that the forest ant troops were almost separated and surrounded by airborne enemy troops, the centipedes did not dare to continue advancing on the ground while the enemies occupied the trees on both sides.
After climbing the tree, Centipede finally felt the difference between ground-dwelling ants and tree-dwelling ants. He himself felt a little dizzy in the tree.
The leaf-cutter ant army attacked flexibly from all heights. Most of the Angel King warriors were big-headed ants. They could not keep up with the enemy's speed when pursuing them, and it was difficult to form a dense formation in the narrow environment of the tree when they were attacked.
Relying solely on the superiority of their equipment, the task force barely managed to drive away the few enemies, then descended from the tree and continued moving forward.
This small but painful encounter suddenly made Centipede realize. No wonder I heard that the red fire ant army had lost more battles in the forest over the years. It was really because the leaf-cutter ant army had too much home advantage in the forest. Big!
So can the red fire ant army win this battle?
