Representatives of all ethnic groups moved their tentacles off the white cobblestone ground one after another and stood up from the mats they had been lying on for a long time.
Only then did the protagonist remember that he hadn't asked what was going on with the white pebbles. They seemed to be found in the ant conference room of all races. It was very magical.
Maybe the leaf-cutting ant tribe and the bullet ant tribe that have a longer heritage will know something about it, right?
But now everyone is excited to watch the bug-beast fight, and he can't call everyone back.
When the leafcutter ant female guide guided each representative to leave the conference room one by one and walk down the passage. The protagonist asked the guide, but the guide said not to come up, saying that only the old female ant responsible for passing on the memory could know.
It seems that most ants are accustomed to this thing.
The protagonist can only give up temporarily.
On the way, the protagonist asked the guide again, what is "insect and beast wrestling"? What is "Holy Duel"?
After some explanation, the protagonist understood. "Insect-Animal Gladiation" involves locking a group of hungry insects in a cage, and the ants watch them fight to the death. The final winner will become a high-end food for the delegates to enjoy, which is said to increase their courage.
As for the "Holy Duel", when conflicts arise within the high-level hierarchy of queens, female ants, male ants, etc. of different ant tribes, one party can propose a duel. After the other party agrees, both parties will designate an equal number of worker ants to fight until all of them die. The losing party must also apologize and compensate the winning party.
This ant civilization seems to be very much like ancient Rome, and it likes life-and-death gladiatorial battles and duels.
The protagonist becomes interested, and the ant world seems to be getting more and more exciting.
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The representatives followed the guide, got out of the [Holy Tree City], and came to the ground.
On the ground, not far from the noisy "parking lot" of mounts, is the "Arena".
When the protagonist passed by, he looked at his family's mount. It was fine. Although it was still avoiding the wasps next to it, it was not damaged.
Looking at the "Arena" again, it is located on a piece of flat land that has been cleared. The stones, fallen leaves, and weeds on the ground have all been cleared away. A slightly flat square cage made of thin branches stood on the ground. This cage did not exist yesterday, but it was obviously made today.
The cage is about 40 centimeters long and wide, and the height is only about 23 centimeters long and wide. The gaps are about the size of a pea, enough for ants to get through. There are trap doors on all sides that can be opened upward.
The open space around the "fighting arena" should be the auditorium. Through the gaps between the branches, the surrounding ants can watch the gladiatorial fight safely.
In addition to representatives of each clan, a large number of queens and females of leaf-cutter ants are already waiting a little away from the cage. Many leaf-cutter ant warriors control nearby trees and the ground to protect this grand gladiatorial match.
At present, the audience is not allowed to get close to the cage. When the audience arrives, the predators begin to be sent into the cage.
The protagonist saw four holes in the ground around the cage. The lid was opened, and four different ferocious insects were pulled out. It turned out that the ferocious insects were all kept underground here before.
What came out first was a huge centipede, more than 10 centimeters long, with a shiny black carapace, as if it was wearing heavy iron armor. The centipede's tentacles, the fangs behind it, and the fifty feet are all as red as blood, and they look powerful and vicious at first glance.
The centipede's antennae and fangs were bound by ant silk, making it unable to sting. Leaf-cutter ant workers stung it on its buttocks and sides, forcing it to move toward the cage.
The female leafcutter ant guide took the initiative to put her tentacles over and introduced to the protagonist: This centipede was captured from the newly conquered territory of the red fire ant barbarian tribe. For this purpose, more than a dozen brave warriors died and four star beetles were used. Just brought it back.
The centipede was sent in through the trap door on the cage. The trap door was closed and tied up. However, the part where the centipede was tied was not loosened. An additional set of ropes was added to the centipede. It was tied to the wall of the cage and could not move too far. .
Then, the bug on the left was pulled out. It was a scorpion that was darker than a centipede. It was nearly 10 centimeters long. Its carapace shone like black iron in the sun. It had a pair of pincers as huge as broad beans, and a crochet hook on its tail. Sharp, it seems to be able to pierce through everything. It's just that the scorpion's tail stinger and jaws are also trapped by ant silk and cannot move.
The scorpion is said to be from the northern part of the forest.
The scorpion was then put into the cage and tied to the cage without untying the rope.
Next, a mantis and a wasp were sent into the cage one after another.
The appearance of the mantis made the protagonist's eyes tighten. When he first traveled to this world, a mantis almost killed him, leaving a long-lasting shadow on him.
This mantis is actually larger than the green mantis that impressed the protagonist. It is 15 centimeters long. It is covered in yellow-brown color and has spots on its body. If you don’t look carefully, you might think it is a dead branch. It has a lot of characteristics. Strong camouflage effect.
According to the guide, this mantis hid in fallen leaves and hunted a star beetle, a sacred animal of the leaf-cutter ant kingdom, before being caught by the incoming army. It was very powerful.
The wasp is no different from the wasp that is the mount of the thin-footed ant inherited from the Wind God. It has a yellow-black body color, sharp jaws and stinging needles. However, the wings of this wasp were torn off, leaving only a little bit of residue at the base of the wings, probably to prevent it from flying away.
After all four ferocious insects were put into the cage, the audience rushed forward one after another. Those at the front and closest to the cage are representatives of each tribe and the ant queens with the highest status. The lower the status of the audience, the farther back they can only sit.
This venue is not like a modern stadium or the ancient Roman Colosseum, which has stepped auditoriums and the audience's view behind is worrying.
Fortunately, the beasts in the cage were very tall and eye-catching, so the audience in the back row could still see some of them.
The protagonist is very close to these fierce insects. Some representatives almost lie down in the gaps of the cage to watch, which makes the hungry predators inside become restless.
The leafcutter ant workers once again checked the trap doors on all sides to make sure they had been tied up again after the predators were introduced.
At this time, centipedes, scorpions, mantises, and wasps each occupied one side of the cage. Their jaws and weapons were tied up, and they themselves were tied up with ropes so that they could not get close to the enemy in front of them.
The centipede twisted its body uneasily, the scorpion remained motionless, and the mantis was facing the wasp that was relatively close to it, while the wasp was lying on top of the cage and spinning.
After these ferocious insects were captured, they were kept in burrows and fed only the carcasses of some dead leaf-cutting ants every day. The amount was very small, just enough to keep them from starving to death and to have the strength to fight.
At this moment, the hungry beasts looked at everything as if it were food.
At this time, the guides explained that the "insect-animal wrestling" had begun, and more than a dozen small leaf-cutting ant workers were seen getting into the cage at the same time!
