It was late July, and after nearly two months of patrolling, the Pavement Ant Imperial Army finally began to continue their offensive.
The Pavement Ant Empire Army set out from the recently restored Red Fire Ant Nation and divided into two groups, each with four to five million people, to attack the Leafcutter Ant Nation in the west and the Ant Alliance Nation in the south.
These troops are still the first expeditionary force sent by the Pavement Ant Empire. The smooth early military operations have allowed the Pavement Ant Empire to postpone the plan of sending a second batch of troops.
In this way, they will have less logistical pressure. Regardless of the great cause of the Pavilion Ant Empire, it will also consume a lot of national power to feed and drink an army of one million people.
With the ultimate mobilization capacity of the Pavement Ant Empire, it can dispatch an army of five million, but at most it can support an army of two million in an expedition far away from the homeland. For local operations, three million troops can be deployed for a long period of time.
In order to supply the current consumption of the first expeditionary force, not only the expeditionary force has a large number of auxiliary troops, but also the Pavement Ant Empire will send 7 to 800 thousand worker ants to participate in the collection, transportation and distribution of food and supplies.
Even the newly restored red fire ant country was burdened with a heavy burden because it was closest to the war zone, and was repeatedly pressed for food and fodder by the suzerain country.
On July 21st, the Flying Knight detected the enemy approaching the border of the Ant Alliance at dusk, and the direction of the enemy's movement was Banxia City.
The Divine Envoy King's legion has already established an iron-clad defense line in Banxia City, and the enemy is about to hit them just as the protagonist expected.
It's not that the protagonist has a clever plan and knows in advance that the enemy will definitely attack here. He relies on judgment.
If you look down on Banxia City from the sky, you will find that the location of this nest is very important and is the only way to the north.
Although the ground near here is flat, there are a lot of difficult-to-pass terrain, such as pools, swamps, dense bushes, etc. Banxia City is located next to the only wide valley road.
If they are sporadic ants, they can bypass Banxia City and enter the hinterland of the Ant Alliance without sticking to the road. But if there are hundreds of thousands of troops, this wide and flat valley road passing through Banxia City is the best route.
After all, it is difficult for such a large army to pass through poor roads collectively, and subsequent logistics transportation also requires roads in better condition. They have no choice.
As a guide, Red Fire Ant, who is familiar with the local geography, also recommended this road to go south.
The nest of Pinellia City existed when the Red Fire Ant Kingdom controlled this place. At that time, it was already the intersection of many ant tunnels. It was also the most important ant tunnel that led from its original home hive, Hive City, to the northern territory. land.
The Flying Knight discovered the importance of this nest during the investigation of the Red Fire Ant Country last year. When the Angel King's Army was carving up the territory of the Red Fire Ant Country, they quickly advanced here, using it as a natural border fortress.
The sun is fading.
The long marching column of the Pavement Ant Imperial Army's southern expedition force began to receive orders, gradually stopped advancing, and set up camp on the spot.
At the front of the army, three legions of pavement ants were digging into the ground for their nests.
The leader of one of the legions was a young male ant. Apart from the golden cicada armor on his body, the most noticeable thing is that near his left compound eye, there is a small piece of carapace that is not the dark brown common among pavement ants, but is pale in color.
This is the mark he left behind after working in the "cave" for a year, and it is also a medal respected by the pavement ants. Ants who can come out of the "cave" alive and complete their term of service are God's "favourites", and they will at least belong to the earl in the future.
Let’s call this legion leader male ant “Bai Dot”.
"White Point" is now a baron at a young age, commanding a legion of the pavement ants' own clan. In this war, he tried his best to fight for the opportunity to participate in the war in order to make contributions. He longs to become an earl, marquis, duke, or even six or three kings in the future.
And war is the fastest way to promotion, second only to serving in the "cave". It's just that entering the "cave" is the privilege of the new generation of male ants. He has already been there once and has no chance again. He can only take the path of establishing military exploits.
The legion to which "White Point" belongs, together with the other 36 legions, is under the command of a count and serves as the vanguard of this southern expedition. Together with them, there was a "Mosquito" legion and the armies of three vassal states.
"White Point"'s army dug a camping ground with the other two armies, and then each army entered in turn. According to the military regulations of the Pavement Ant Empire, every three legions share a camp during the march. If it is during a war, 12 legions share a camp, and the distance between the camps is much closer than that of the marching camp.
"White Spot" took the lead to get into the ground. Compared with the residual heat of the day on the ground, the ground is much cooler.
The guards had thoughtfully collected dry moss for "White Dot" and laid a thick layer in the nest chamber of the dedicated male ant army leader. "Bai Dian" lay down comfortably, drank the drops of water brought by the guard, and fell asleep unconsciously.
After a while, "White Spot" was woken up by another male ant with his tentacles. He saw that this was the commander of another legion stationed here, and he also lived in this relatively comfortable nest.
The legion commander had obviously just come down from the ground, and his carapace was still carrying the heat from the outdoors. The other party obviously didn't like a young commander like "Bai Dian" very much. The older man waited until all the troops entered the camp before finally coming in. This junior obviously abandoned the legion early and hid on his own.
But when the "White Dot" turned his head and the older regiment commander saw the white mark on his head, he suddenly lost the courage to accuse him. He didn't even have the tentacles to intersect. He lowered his head, the tentacles drooped slightly, and saluted. , and hurriedly exited the nest room.
"Bai Dian" was young after all, so he didn't understand the reason why the other party was being arrogant and respectful, but he was just a little dissatisfied because he was woken up. The male ants that come out of the "cave" like him generally sleep for a long time. Unlike other ants, who mostly take a nap to regain their energy, they are not in a good mood at the moment.
"White Point" called the personal guard and wanted to get some food. The guard was in a dilemma. All the ants had eaten and drank enough yesterday to go on the road. According to the military system, they would have to wait for the baggage team to provide the next meal tomorrow. The legion only carried a small amount of food, which could only be used in emergencies.
"White Spot" didn't care so much. He was born well, and there was a Duke who valued him. He took some spare food and ate some of it. It was all roasted grass seed powder mixed with water drops collected by the guards. It turned into a paste and was finished in a few sips.
The conditions during the march were poor, and "Bai Dian" knew that, but he still missed the "holy juice" he could drink every day in Dead Tree City.
:. :mx
