The protagonist stands at the southern end of the peninsula in [Xinyang City], looking at the south bank of Qinghe River in the distance.
If his carapace-covered face could be read at all, it was livid and painful.
At this time, the protagonist is clenching his jaw, his compound eyes reflect the firelight on the south bank, and he doesn't know what he is thinking in his heart!
On the south bank, [Pioneer City], at this time, it was no longer the familiar sight of lush greenery, but a terrifying scene struggling in the light of the fire.
You see, the image of the tall anthill is distorted by the hot air, just like the air placed on the black stone in midsummer, and like it is being baked on the oven!
Not only [Tianhuang City], everywhere you look, the entire south bank of Qinghe River has become a hell at this time, with flames rising into the sky everywhere. Even if it stops at the river bank and cannot threaten the north side of the river, it still spreads rapidly eastward, in [Tianhuang City] A large fire scene formed outside the city].
The color of this flame, coupled with the dim sunlight at dusk, turned the water surface of Qinghe River into a bloody and sad yellow-red color, as if a flame was burning in the water.
Thick black smoke billowed up, turning the sky into a haze, as if signaling an ominous atmosphere.
A huge and destructive wildfire is raging on the south bank of the Qinghe River, swallowing up everything.
Countless flying insects stumbled to escape the fire scene, and some flew across the river towards the north. This was their only hope. Some insects still had fire in their wings, and they fell into the water and died before they could fly very far.
Compared with those insects that can fly and have the ability to escape, the insects on the ground are even more miserable. The singing insects play a symphony of death in the firelight, accompaniment to the curtain call of life everywhere.
Today is September 17th, the day when the God of Vulcan wreaks havoc!
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As early as 2 days ago, the flying knight in charge of the south bank of Qinghe River discovered a fire on the south bank of Qinghe River and to the west of [Pioneer City].
The wildfire at this time was not so deadly. Although it was obvious that it was burning from a very far away place, it seemed to be at the end of its power. The fire had been extinguished in many places, leaving behind charred vegetation and burned remains. There are still living vegetation in the lower half, and the few green smoke indicates that there are still sparks burning inside.
Some ants and insects that had escaped took the opportunity to come out to look for the burned corpses as food, showing a different kind of vitality.
The wildfires only had flames in a few places, and they all looked half-dead. There was no sign that they were about to cause a catastrophic disaster.
This situation was not taken seriously at the time.
But that night, a westerly wind suddenly blew, and many sparks that had been half extinguished quickly started to burn again. Then the fire took advantage of the wind and quickly burned into a forest, and then spread out of control!
The first half of the year had good rain, but starting in late summer, after the flood season, there was much less rain than in previous years, when the weather was dry and a wildfire had a devastating effect.
The next day, when the flying knights discovered that the line of fire of the wildfire could not be seen from afar, and with the blessing of the west wind, it was like an unstoppable army of the Vulcan marching together, they hurriedly flew to report to the protagonist.
The protagonist personally flew in front of the fire line. They did not dare to stay above or behind the fire line. Otherwise, the flying insects that were constantly falling and being fumigated by the heat wave and thick smoke were the best example.
Soon, the protagonist judged that this wildfire was difficult to extinguish on its own, and it would not be long before it burned down [Pioneer City]!
There are hundreds of thousands of ant colonies in [Pioneer City], and it would be too late for them all to evacuate to the safety of the north shore. Thus, a self-rescue operation against time begins.
On one side, in [Pioneering City], a large number of worker ants began to dig holes underground urgently. In the past, most of the ants in [Pioneering City] lived in ant mounds on the ground, but these ant mounds were like iron pots placed on the fire in the fire. , I can’t stay there at all, only underground is safe.
High-status queens, male ants, etc., except for those who insisted on commanding positions, were prioritized and moved underground. Later, a large number of ant eggs, young ants, and ant pupae were also moved down. The underground was so crowded that it could no longer be crowded. Enter more ants, and many of them can only be crowded together with mealworms and fly maggots.
There are teams digging and expanding everywhere, anxious to dig out more safe areas to accommodate the remaining half of the companions who are still unable to enter the underground for refuge.
The underground is racing against time, and the ground is also racing against time.
In the original [Pioneering City] city walls, many crops such as foxtail grass, verbena, goosegrass, and ryegrass were planted in the open space outside the ant mounds. There were also large areas of farmland outside the city walls. Many grass seeds had been harvested, but they were dry. The grass stems and leaves haven't had time to be cleaned.
These are all fuel. In the coming fire, they will become the reinforcements of the flames and the deadly enemies of the ants.
Countless ants use their jaws equipped with stone knives, copper knives, and iron knives to cut these weeds, cut them into small pieces, and then discard them dozens of meters away.
In addition to crops, weeds and shrubs within 20 to 30 meters near [Tianhuang City] must also be cleared. The Ant Alliance hopes that there will be at least a circle of safety zones to protect [Tianhuang City] from this "natural disaster"!
The protagonist still doesn't know that this disaster is not a natural disaster, but a superposition of ant disaster and natural disaster.
But there were many shrubs around [Pioneer City], and the ants couldn't cut off the tough trunks and branches in a hurry. They could only cut off as many leaves as possible and transport them away, leaving the bare trunks. Some shrubs that are far away don’t even have time to clean their leaves.
When the fire approached the next day, [Pioneer City]'s self-rescue had not yet been completed. There were still tens of thousands of ants on the ground. When the flying knight gave a warning, they hurriedly ran to the nest.
At this time, the fire on the ground even caused changes in the sky. Thick smoke billowed and yellow haze covered the sky. The flying knights' reconnaissance was affected. By the time they gave the warning, they could already see the fire behind the thick haze.
In just a few minutes, the fire was already in front of them. Some ants that had not had time to retreat were already curled up by the heat, quickly dried, and then ignited. , turned into fly ash.
This fire was so terrible. The heat drove updrafts, constantly throwing up materials on the ground and then falling nearby. Many sparks rushed to open up new positions before the line of fire.
The shrubs around [Pioneer City] were lit like candles, and large balls of burning material were thrown around the ant mound by the heat wave.
Even the ants under the ground can feel the heat being transferred along the soil, and they hurriedly rush to the cooler places lower down.
But the underground was now crowded, and there was nowhere to escape.
On the North Shore, the protagonist could only watch as [Pioneer City] was submerged in a fire, twisting helplessly.
The power of the God of Fire uses the heaven and earth as a humble dog and all things as fuel!
