The two armies of the civilized ant tribe alliance were unstoppable along the way, and they had already attacked outside on March 17th.
Considering that the time during the day for movement is still short at this time, this advancement speed is very rare. If the red fire ant army did not organize strong resistance at all along the way, and there were only sporadic spontaneous resistances in scattered sub-nests, the coalition forces would not be able to advance like this. Brilliant speed.
After reuniting at the foreign exchange, the coalition forces rested for a day, set up the siege camp, and the rear supply troops began to transport supplies, making preparations for a protracted war.
During last year's siege, the fire ant army's deadly battle in Cage City left a deep impression on the commanders of all the coalition forces. This year's siege, everyone in the coalition felt that it would be a long and hard battle, and they had to prepare in advance.
It is a typical red fire ant nest. The ant mound protruding from the ground has many densely packed entrances and exits. Unlike most ant nests, which can rely on a few entrances and exits for ground defense.
Therefore, the fire ant army still did not make defensive arrangements on the ground this time. The ant mound looked empty from the outside, but the scouts showed that the enemy troops were once again waiting underground.
On March 18, the coalition forces began to attack the city. Troops from various ethnic groups, in groups of dozens or hundreds, entered the ant mound from different entrances and exits.
Most of these entrances and exits are very narrow and complicated and tortuous, making it difficult to identify the direction inside. Some of the forked roads even become dead ends when walking, and only a few roads can converge and lead to the depths of the lair.
The complex underground environment is the defensive fortification of the defenders. When fighting in narrow passages, the powerful red imported fire ants brought a lot of trouble and considerable losses to the attackers.
The coalition forces could only conduct a large-scale investigation, searching through countless entrances and exits and passages while fighting, and slowly looking for the correct direction of advancement.
Although the coalition forces had besieged it for a long time last year, they should be familiar with the roads in the upper part of this lair. But the leaf-cutter ant family provided information - red imported fire ants will always significantly renovate their nest road network after the war.
Therefore, previous experience is useless, and the coalition forces still have to start from scratch.
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About 20 completely different blind leaf-cutting ant warriors formed a combat team and were moving forward on an extremely narrow road that could only accommodate 3 ants in parallel.
There are only a small number of these completely different blind leaf-cutting ant warriors. They are all soldier ants, but their body shapes vary greatly:
The two giant soldier ants at the head are 20mm long, and their heads are so big that observers almost wonder whether their bodies can support their giant heads.
The latter three types of large, medium and small soldier ants are about 10mm, 6mm and 4mm in size. The smallest soldier ant is not as big as the head of a giant soldier ant.
This group of ants may not look alike, but they do belong to the same species. There are no male ants in the completely different blind leaf-cutting ant team. The male ants in their family do not directly command the front-line team, but serve as commanders in larger-scale legions. This small group of soldiers is commanded by an old and experienced large soldier ant.
While traveling, suddenly! The small soldier ants that were constantly touching the wall with their tentacles sent out warnings through smells and friction sounds. The other soldiers immediately got ready. Two giant soldier ants blocked the center of the passage one after another, almost filling the passage.
Soon the sound of "Xixissuosuo" became louder, from far to near, and the completely different blind leaf-cutting ant warriors became more and more cautious.
Several fast-running ants appeared in front of them, and the two sides touched their tentacles, but the battle did not start.
Although the completely different blind leaf-cutting ants have the word "blind" in their name, they are not blind. However, in the narrow underground environment, there is almost no light, and the compound eyes have lost their function. Both sides can only rely on their antennae to distinguish between ourselves and the enemy.
What they sniffed out were a few leaf-cutting ant queens, and the dissimilar blind leaf-cutting ant warriors relaxed.
However, several leaf-cutting ants panicked and squeezed through the gap beside the giant soldier ants, and continued to run backwards in a hurry, ignoring the completely different blind leaf-cutting ants, and did not provide any additional information.
If it were a smarter male ant commander, he would probably be wary at this time, but the commander of the Distant Blind Leaf-Cutter Ant Team is a soldier ant and is acting more based on instinct.
The team continued forward, and after walking a short distance, they turned a corner and fighting suddenly broke out.
Around the corner, more than a dozen enemy ants were staying in place without making much noise. This was a deliberate ambush.
The defenders sensed the approach of the completely different blind leaf-cutting ants in advance from the vibrations on the walls and ground, and were not disturbed by the movement of the fleeing leaf-cutting ants, so they were able to prepare for the battle in advance.
When the leading giant all-different blind leaf-cutting ant soldier ant turned the corner, several blasts of acid suddenly hit her huge shield-like head at the same time, immediately creating a stream of white smoke on the carapace.
The giant soldier ant was hit in one eye, which was very painful, but she still decisively and bravely moved forward with her huge head on her head. This was her combat duty.
Among the ambush defenders, there were several ants with bellies and they kept launching long-range attacks with acid. However, the giant soldier ants seemed to be completely unafraid of pain. Even though their single and compound eyes were corroded beyond recognition, they ignored them and quickly approached.
The other all-different blind leaf-cutting ant warriors behind also woke up and followed behind the human shields. With the giant soldier ants in front covering them, none of the warriors behind were harmed by the acid.
The two sides entered into a close battle. On the side of the completely different blind leaf-cutting ants, the first giant soldier ant had been injured by the acid attack, and several fire ants had bitten its antennae and joints. It was already dying.
But the second giant soldier ant continued to act as a human shield, blocking the center of the passage. The small and medium-sized soldier ants behind it launched attacks from the gaps around it.
On the defender's side, the main force is 4 red fire ants, and the rest are burrowing ants and abdominal ants. They are still used to swarming up and want to fight together.
However, the giant soldier ants blocked the passage, and the body of the seriously injured and dying giant soldier ant in front of it blocked the way, splitting the ambushing defenders into two pieces.
The completely different blind leaf-cutting ant warriors cooperated tacitly, and their human shields attracted firepower. Other warriors launched attacks from the edge. The defenders could not break through the defense line of the human shields, but their own formation was repeatedly destroyed and fell into a disadvantage.
As several of the bravest red fire ant warriors were killed one after another, the other slave ants lost their ability to supervise the battle, lost their fighting spirit, and immediately ran away.
This team of completely different blind leaf-cutting ants lost 1 giant soldier ant and 2 medium-sized soldier ants, and killed more than 10 enemy ants.
They then cleaned up the battlefield and found the bodies of more than a dozen leaf-cutting ants not far ahead. It seemed that a small group of leaf-cutting ants had just been ambushed here. The few leaf-cutting ants that escaped just now are the survivors.
The all-different blind leaf-cutting ant warriors continue to move forward, and there are countless battles waiting for them ahead!
