After receiving the order, each legion of the Northern Expeditionary Army left some troops to cover the side, and the main force took the initiative to retreat until it was not far from the second line of defense.
There were several interludes in the middle. The Black Fire Ant Army sitting on the second line of defense seemed to think that these vassal troops were about to retreat. The leaders of the Black Fire Ants on the front line sent messengers one after another to prohibit the Northern Expeditionary Army from passing their positions, allowing them to The Northern Expeditionary Army could only deploy defenses in front of the second position.
Flying Eagle could clearly see that here, even the most junior leader of the Black Fire Ant Clan, who just got married this year, dared to boss around his subordinates. Moreover, they made up their mind to let the Northern Expeditionary Army exhaust every last ant on the first line of defense, which was obvious and unabashed.
But Xiaoying didn't care and still insisted on his plan. Countless messengers went from him to each legion to coordinate the advance and retreat of each army.
Under external military pressure, even Commander Shi Xiaoying, a king who was previously not respected among the young male ants, was now the only backbone. All legions showed good qualities and carried out orders seriously. .
The Northern Expeditionary Army retreated to a stop not far from the second line of defense, abandoning many passages and nests along the way. Traffic in these abandoned places was connected in all directions, like a maze.
The invading termites had already defeated the big-headed ant warriors of the Northern Expeditionary Army at the rear, but they would not be able to catch up for a while. Even if they did, they would have to divide their forces continuously. The further the team went, the more dispersed and chaotic it became.
At this time, the soldiers of the Northern Expeditionary Army began to fight back. They were organized into small teams, each led by a male ant team leader, and began to return in an orderly manner along the criss-crossing road network, following the signals left during the previous evacuation.
Once they encounter a formation of invading termite soldiers, this Northern Expeditionary Army team will turn to retreat, deliberately keeping a distant distance from the pursuers, and luring the termite soldiers to continue deeper. Until they reach the predetermined location, friendly forces coming from a different path will flank the pursuing invading termites.
And if they encounter invading termite workers and break away from the cover of the soldier ants, these termite workers are not very powerful, and the soldiers of the Northern Expedition Army will immediately rush to fight.
If no enemy ants are encountered on the maze-like road, the Northern Expedition team will keep moving forward until they reach the flanks or even the rear of the invading termite team that has invaded the nest.
Such interspersed attacks involve no rear operations. Each team may be surrounded by invading termites, and may be completely cut off from their escape route and unable to return.
Without strict military discipline and high morale, such scattered actions can easily turn into chaos, end up being fruitless and even lead to a rout.
However, the soldiers of the Northern Expedition demonstrated their tenacity, tenacity and strict military discipline since the days of the old Big-headed Ant Kingdom. Each team had female ants as the core. Most of the teams resolutely performed their tasks. Only a few teams were cowardly because of their commanders. And return.
Facing the troops who had fled back, Tingying decisively executed the two leading male ants. His orders were carried out by a small number of guard ants directly under him. Although the grassroots commanders were dissatisfied, the cocoons had turned into butterflies and there was no way to save them. Take the life of the deceased.
The iron blood of Flying Eagle allowed each legion to finally unleash its strongest fighting power, and countless interleaved squads arrived at their predetermined positions.
At this time, the invading termites suddenly seemed to feel that there were ambushes in all directions and no place was safe.
Invasive termites do not have male ants as grassroots commanders like ants. They often only have thousands of wingless reproductive ants who have not become queens as commanders. They can only issue macro instructions, and it is difficult to micro-manage specific warriors. Hold.
Most of the time, the fighting method of invasive termites is more primitive, relying on worker ants and soldier ants to carry out orders instinctively.
Due to the lack of grassroots officers, such an army has difficulty in implementing flexible tactics, little autonomy, and difficulty in responding quickly.
Therefore, invading termites are best at fighting in frontal formations, but they are particularly afraid of being attacked on the flanks and back. Because the termite's head is very hard and can form a solid formation like a shield wall, its abdomen is as soft as a mealworm, which is its biggest weakness.
When fighting head-on, termites, whether soldiers or workers, can use their heads to form a dense formation and are good at fighting in a stalemate. But once there is a sneak attack from behind or on the flank, the soft body will quickly be torn into pieces.
Therefore, termites are best at using the familiar terrain features in their own nests to block narrow passages for defense without worrying about being outflanked.
Even in a field battle, the termites must form a circle and fight with their heads outside, and must not expose their weaknesses. Once one corner of the circular formation is broken, collapse will follow.
When fighting against enemy nests, termites have less advantage than in their own nests. They are not familiar with the terrain, and the hive mounds of the black fire ant family are notoriously complicated, making it difficult for invading termites to guard against them.
Finally, after a fierce battle until noon, the Northern Expeditionary Army turned defeat into victory and eliminated as many as one or two thousand termites, while its own losses were only three to four hundred.
The invading termites noticed something was wrong and began to retreat. Under the leadership of the Wingless Breeding Ant Commander, they returned to the starting point in a chaotic manner. Although they had not yet left the nest, because the roads here were not complicated, the invading termites regained their stability. formation.
After noon, the pressure in the air began to change, and a thunderstorm seemed imminent.
The invading termites could only withdraw a large number of ground troops to their temporary camps. There were still more than 1,000 invading termite workers and soldier ants remaining at several entrances and exits of the black fire ant nests, guarding these frontline positions and seemingly not preparing to leave.
Tingying saw an opportunity to make a contribution!
When the raindrops finally fell and became gradually denser from being sparse at the beginning, all the regiments of the Northern Expeditionary Army launched a counterattack almost simultaneously.
Against the shield wall and slime shooting of the termite soldiers, the big-headed ant warriors of the Northern Expeditionary Army rushed forward bravely.
The flying eagle soon realized that he had made a mistake. The nest area occupied by the invading termites on the opposite side was very small, and the number was obviously small. However, with only about 100 soldier ants forming an array, it was difficult for the big-headed ants to break through in the narrow environment.
After sacrificing the lives of 200-300 elite soldiers in vain, each legion sent messengers one after another to express that they were dying in vain. There are more and more ant corpses on the ground, but the position of the invading termites has not been forced to take a step back, and there is no sign of collapse.
Flying Eagle also hesitated. He felt that if he worked harder, he would definitely be able to wipe out the termites and soldier ants with just this few, and they would be exhausted. But if the headquarters suffers too many losses, the battlefield advantage he finally gained will be in vain.
At this time, a piece of good news came, and Flying Eagle finally made up his mind!
