The pursuers also saw the flying knight in the air. They decisively gave up the pursuit and turned around and disappeared into the grass. Vaguely, the flying knight could only confirm that the enemy was retreating to the north.
In the following days, more than a dozen sub-nests in the entire Ant Alliance territory on the north bank of the Qinghe River, from [Xinyang City] to the Black Forest area, received orders, and scouts were dispatched everywhere to search for this daring enemy.
The "Tianxian" stayed behind to organize the pursuit, but the enemy was very smart and dispersed into three groups. They kept escaping through the wormwood and bushes, making it difficult for the flying knights in the air to track them.
The grass that originally covered the retreat of the protagonist and his party has now become a refuge for the enemy troops as they flee.
On that day, the pursuing troops surrounded and eliminated only one enemy force, and the male red fire ants and the male ant ants that the protagonist wanted to capture alive were not among them.
As night fell, in order to avoid unnecessary casualties, the pursuing troops chose to camp on the spot or go to a nearby auxiliary nest to spend the night, giving the enemy a chance to escape overnight.
On the same day, after the protagonist returned safely to [Xinyang City], a bloody storm broke out in the city.
The news of the assassination of the Divine Envoy King quickly spread throughout the lair. At the same time, the news spread in the lair, as well as the guards and regular troops of the Divine Envoy King's legion.
The ant mounds of the three tribes of ants, burrowing ants and Japanese black brown ants were completely surrounded. No entry or exit was allowed. The army entered and conducted extensive searches, and even controlled all the male ants and queens.
Because the Ant-United States did not have an intelligence department or military police, the Imperial Guard and the Military Staff Office temporarily took on this task. They have to interrogate and identify all the male ants and queens of these three tribes one by one, trying to find out whether there are any accomplices of the attackers.
Ordinary worker ants of the three tribes of ants in the wild and in their nests are also ordered to stay in designated locations and are temporarily prohibited from contacting male ants and queens, otherwise they will be killed directly. The job of caring for the queen has also been temporarily taken over by the big-headed worker ants.
At the same time, the areas inside and outside [Xinyang City] were also turned upside down. The ants from the Imperial Guard and the Military Staff Office were searching everywhere, not letting go of any clues.
Reliable worker ants of all races were selected to participate in this operation. They had to identify the location where the protagonist was attacked and all the pheromones inside and outside [Xinyang City], long-acting and short-acting, hoping to find some clues.
This operation lasted for four days, and after all kinds of intelligence were gathered, the protagonist finally understood the causes and consequences of his assassination.
The mastermind of this assassination operation is the male fire ant that the protagonist saw in Boxwood. He came from the Pavement Ant Empire in the north and was one of the remnants of the Red Fire Ant country who escaped into the Pavement Ant Empire. An elder who is known for his resourcefulness and is called the "wisdom elder".
Also staying in [Xinyang City] were the spies of the "wisdom elders". These spies confessed that the "wisdom elders" secretly passed through the territory of the Leafcutter Ant Nation and arrived in the Ant Alliance Nation last fall.
The other party secretly came into contact with some ants, burrowing ants and Japanese black brown ants in several sub-nests in the northern part of the Ant Alliance. Some of the male ants from these three tribes surrendered and were hired when the Ant Alliance conquered the Red Fire Ant Country.
Although most of the surrendered worker ants were sent to the canal construction site, some older male ants were also assigned to nests in various places, separated from the large army of their own clan, to prevent them from having any inappropriate thoughts.
But the protagonist did not expect that this would give these ants who had their old master another chance.
The "wisdom elder" said that next year the army of pavement ants and fire ants will send out an army to regain the lost territory. If these "traitors" do not "repent" immediately, they will be massacred as revenge. These former slave male ants suffering from "Stockholm Syndrome" actually obeyed immediately.
Today, the three tribes of Belly Ants that started rebellions in the three sub-nests in the north after the beginning of spring were bewitched by the "wisdom elders". However, they originally did not want to be exposed so early, but planned to hide and wait for the Pavement Ant Empire in the north. The army and the old red fire ant army will respond again when they move south.
However, the exchanges between the nests of the Ant Alliance are much closer than those of other ant nations. The disappearance of the flying knight made the Ant Alliance aware of the abnormality in advance, so that the rebels could only take action in advance.
The "Wisdom Elder" did not stay in the north before the winter of last year. After he learned that some surrendered male ants from the three tribes of Belly Ants were behind the main nest of the Ant Alliance, he was so bold that he actually sneaked in with a small number of guards.
The "Wise Elder" has the citizens of the Ant Alliance who surrender to him as guides. These slave ants operate in the open, and they quietly fall behind. Occasionally, they will not notice anything unusual when they are interrogated by guards.
Just like this, they took a remote path all the way to [Xinyang City], and the "wisdom elder" successfully subdued a male ant in the wild as an internal agent.
This ant male ant is the one that lured the protagonist to the ambush site. When the protagonist first met him, he felt that he was a bit sly, so let’s call him “Eye.”
"Thief Eye" is a former slave of the Red Fire Ant Nation who surrendered to the Ant Alliance. Because of his good performance, he was regarded as a model by the protagonist and awarded the status of a citizen of the Ant Alliance and a representative of the Ant Tribe.
However, he has no real power. On weekdays, he just directs dozens of ants to raise aphids and scale insects outdoors and perform chores. He has long been dissatisfied.
In the wild, when he met the "Wisdom Elder", he immediately returned to the arms of his old master. Using his power, he secretly brought the "Wisdom Elder" and his two guards into [Xinyang City]. Tomb, lurk.
The "Wisdom Elder" uses the hiding place as a secret base, and the "Thief Eye" comes forward to quietly collude with the former slave male ants of the red fire ant country in winter to strengthen their own power.
It has to be said that although the Red Fire Ant Nation treats slaves very badly, these slaves are loyal and die-hard. These male ants contacted by the "thief eye" without exception betrayed the Ant Alliance Nation that treated them well and chose to support the old master. .
It was also during the period of lurking in [Xinyang City] that the "Wise Elder" learned about the political system of the Ant Alliance. Although he did not realize how irreplaceable the protagonist was to the Ant Alliance, he just felt that the God Envoy King was equivalent to Honghuo. The chief elder of the Ant Kingdom Presbyterian Church.
The "wisdom elders" realized that if they could kill the God Envoy King, they would be able to bring great harm to the Ant Alliance, which would be more conducive to the restoration of the Red Fire Ant Nation in the coming year than starting rebellions in several sub-nests.
Therefore, he and "Thief Eyes" planned the assassination, pulling most of the rebels loyal to the red fire ant country to the ambush site in advance, and "Thief Eyes" lured the protagonist into the bait.
A small number of rebels continue to lurk and will be used when the army arrives in the future.
The fake news about the discovery of a large number of migratory locust eggs, which was very attractive to the protagonist and made him credulous, was also decided by the "wisdom elder" based on the intelligence he collected, and it really moved the protagonist.
The cunningness of this "wise elder" can also be seen from this.
