In the next few days, the spring rain sometimes became sparse and sporadic, sometimes stopped briefly, and sometimes came intensively, but there was no end in sight. This year's plum rain season has quietly arrived.
This year's rainy season came a week or two later than in previous years, which also completely disrupted the deployment of all parties in the battle of [Beisongcheng].
The Pavement Ant Imperial Army came rushing in lightly armed with not much food, so it would be a mistake not to make a quick decision.
At this moment, the Pavement Ant Imperial Army was under the continuous spring rain. Even if they launched attacks during every brief lull in the rain, only a small force would be able to dispatch. Sometimes, before the large troops have formed their ranks, they notice raindrops falling again, and they have no choice but to return to their nests to take shelter from the rain.
The confrontation between the two armies was greatly reduced in intensity due to the almost non-stop rain!
During this rainy season, the Pavement Ant Imperial Army could not go out to forage, so they had to feed on the corpses that had been brought back. Many Pavement Ant Imperial Army soldiers could only eat a small meal of corpse meat in a day or two. Hunger is spreading in the camp.
When the Pavement Ant Empire Army found that it could not rendezvous with the vassal Red Fire Ant Army in time, it had already sent a messenger back to report, but the country sent a transportation team to support a batch of grain and grass.
This transportation team went through hardships in the mud before arriving at the camp. Due to rain and accidents on the way, two-thirds of the ant porters and the grain they carried were lost. The grain supplies transported could only barely solve the problem outside [Beisong City]. The urgent needs of the Pavement Ant Imperial Army are not enough to sustain this army for a long time.
The Pavement Ant Imperial Army can only eagerly look forward to the end of the rainy season while suffering from hunger.
The Civilized Ant Alliance Army is not feeling well in the spring rain. The shortage of food and supplies also plagues them. At this time, like the Pavement Ant Empire Army, it is difficult for them to transport supplies from the rear and they have few opportunities to go out. Foraging.
Even the Divine Envoy King's Army, which has always been wealthy, can only use its precious air transportation power to arrive during the short-term low tide of the rainy season, struggling to ensure a relatively low supply.
For the three warring parties, the problem of the rainy season is not only the shortage of food, but also a life that is a nightmare for ants of all races, also flourishing in this special environment!
————
On May 18, the sharp-tailed ant army, which had been stationed underground in Beisongcheng for many days to prepare for the counterattack of the red fire ant army, sent a messenger to the leaf-cutting ant army to tell them that they would leave when the next rain stops or the rain breaks down.
Naturally, the leaf-cutter ant army hopes that the sharp-tailed ant army will continue to guard the [North Songcheng] nest. In the past few days, the sharp-tailed ant clan has done a good job with the assistance of the strengthened Sanshi flat-headed ants and supporting leaf-cutting ants. mission, blocking the counterattack of the red fire ant army.
Once they left, other tribes refused to go up, so the leaf-cutting ants had no choice but to go up on their own.
However, the sharp-tailed ant army said that their troops have been stationed underground for too long. Recently, the male ants have discovered that ant mites have begun to appear in large numbers on ordinary soldiers. They must leave to avoid the mites! ! !
Ant mites seem to have emerged from the depths of [North Pine City], where the red fire ants and their slave ant tribes are entrenched. In addition to the sharp-tailed ants, flat-headed ants and leafcutter ants that guard the upper levels of the underground nests in [North Pine City] , other tribes immediately conducted a thorough inspection and found no signs of a large-scale outbreak of ant mites.
No wonder all races attach so much importance to tiny ant mites. These small black or white bugs, not much bigger than the tip of a pin, have been the enemies of ants since ancient times!
Ant mites are parasites, vampires, killers and plagues!
These mites have the natural ability to confuse ants. It is difficult for ordinary ants to tell that their companions are infected by ant mites. This ability of ant mites seems to be similar to that of parasitic bacteria.
Only ants with higher IQs, such as male ants, can proactively detect the presence of ant mites and are not fooled by them. But by the time they are discovered, the ant mites have often grown to a large size and spread.
The newly emerged ant mites are so small that it is difficult for the male ants to detect them!
If there are only a few ant mites, it is not enough to cause mass death of ants. Almost every ant colony has a small number of ant mites parasitizing in the nest. However, once the mites explode, it is a fatal threat to the ant colony, and measures such as relocating the nest must be taken to avoid the mites.
In the past few days, the underground red fire ant army was still attacking the defense line. The fighting coalition male ants saw a scene that frightened them - many red fire ants, abdominal ants, burrowing ants, etc. covered with fat mites. , are coming in droves.
As a result, the sharp-tailed ants lost their will to fight. Regardless of the opposition of the leaf-cutting ants, they took advantage of a light rain and quickly moved to the ground.
The coalition forces refused to allow these ant troops infected with ant mites to enter the existing military camp. The ants were angry and evacuated to the south some distance away from the camp to dig nests and camp again.
The flat-headed ant family of Sangoi accepted the mite-infected compatriots, and under the command of specialized male ants, the mite-infected ants were treated with mite removal by ant workers.
Due to the disagreement, the coalition forces did not send troops to continue stationed underground and could only maintain a siege network on the ground. However, due to the frequent rainy season, the Red Fire Ant Nation finally took the opportunity to establish contact with the Pavement Ant Empire Army.
They agreed to launch a pincer attack three days later when the rain stopped for the first time.
————
The plans of the Red Fire Ant Army and the Pavement Ant Imperial Army did not come true!
When the appointed time came, not only the Red Fire Ant Army, which had originally exploded with mites, but also the Pavement Ant Empire Army, where mites had not appeared before, began to experience mite outbreaks!
The explosive mites in the Pavement Ant Empire Army may be the source of infection brought by the messengers of the fire ant clan, or they may be caused by themselves.
After all, during the long rainy season, the humidity in the originally dry ant nests and camps has risen to a level that is very comfortable for ant mites and very easy to breed.
Ant mites are widely found in nature, and are especially common on insect corpses. Most armies that lack food now use ant corpses as an important food source, and the outbreak of ant mites may also originate from this.
The coalition forces also failed to take advantage of the opponent's explosion of mites. The three tribes of leafcutter ants, sharp-tailed ants, and Sand's flat-headed ants in the coalition were also exploding mites. The other tribes' armies were in slightly better condition and could only be temporarily cut off. Association with the populace mite population.
The Legion of the God Envoy King even retreated an hour away at the command of the protagonist to avoid the mites.
Ants lack the means to deal with mites. Generally, worker ants pick them off and bite them to death under the command of male ants. However, such mite removal is not thorough and comprehensive. Many small mites or eggs cannot be eliminated and can only be slowed down. The degree of explosion mites cannot be cured.
The outbreak of ant mites seems to be unstoppable!
