The Black Fire Ant Nation is very powerful. According to the intelligence collected by the Ant Alliance, it is even more powerful than the leaf-cutter ants who are the guardians of the sacred tree. It is the first level of combat power within the civilized ant tribe.
However, if you include the Ant Alliance, the Ant Alliance is no longer what it used to be, and it is already a unique existence among the civilized ants.
When the Ant Alliance only had a small territory on the north bank of the Qinghe River, the Ant Alliance had an ant population of only one million and a standing army of only tens of thousands. At that time, in the war with the Red Fire Ant Nation, the God Envoy King Army could only serve as the backbone of the Leaf Cutter Ant Army. Allied forces and partial divisions fought.
However, after many wars to expand its territory, especially after the large-scale expansion and large-scale development on the south bank of the Qinghe River, the territory occupied by the Ant Alliance has greatly increased, and they are all relatively fertile lands.
Such a speed of expansion is not common among civilized ant tribes. According to the memory of the old queen of the leaf-cutter ant tribe, only the barbaric pavement ant empire many years ago had such a snowball-like expansion.
According to statistics from the Ant Group, there are currently about 3 million ants living in the Ant Alliance, 70% of which are big-headed ants. If the development of each sub-nest goes smoothly, there will be no problem in increasing the total ant population to 5 million by the end of the year, and the food supply will be more than sufficient.
Militarily, the Angel King Legion has begun its latest expansion and plans to form a new field legion, bringing the total number of field legions to 120, including 6 tank corps and 100 flying knight squads.
In this way, the strength of the Divine Envoy King's army, including the standing army and the mobilizable total ant colony, according to the estimation of the Staff Office of the Ministry of Military Affairs, is already stronger than that of established powers such as the Black Fire Ant Nation, the Leaf Cutter Ant Nation, and the Marching Ant Nation. Be strong.
Of course, this estimate may be biased. The Ant Alliance has never been able to figure out the total ant population of black fire ants, leaf-cutting ants, etc. Maybe they themselves are not very clear about it. Ants do not need very precise statistics. , it is enough to have a rough concept of scale.
The current estimate of the General Staff Office is that there are about 1.8-2 million ant colonies in the leaf-cutter ant country, and about 2-2.5 million ant colonies in the black fire ant country.
The production potential of the current territory of the Ant Alliance has not yet been fully released. Once a large amount of wasteland is developed, the Ant Mouth Department estimates that the current size of the territory, the developed food capabilities of the Ant Alliance, and the diverse food production channels will be enough to support tens of millions of people. life in an ant colony.
At that time, the Ant Alliance will be an unrivaled existence among the civilized ant tribe, and it will also be able to fight against the Shangbangdao Ant Empire!
What's more, the Ant Alliance will continue to expand, and the size of the ant colony of more than ten million is not enough to satisfy the protagonist's appetite.
The imaginary enemy of the Ant Alliance is the Destroyer, and only the Destroyer. The protagonist also longs for more ant colonies and more powerful weapons so that he will be less disadvantaged in future decisive battles...
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Returning from the western border of the Black Fire Ant Country, they spent another night in the wild. The next day, July 4, the protagonist and his party returned to [Pioneer City].
After resting for a night in [Pioneer City] and replenishing food and water, the protagonist and his party were ready to set off again.
On July 5, when the protagonist headed towards the lower reaches of Qinghe River, he was accompanied by more than just a small team of flying knights.
Not only did the escorting flying knights increase to two teams, but there were also some flying giant insects mixed into the team - these were four giant dragonflies allocated by the Ministry of Transport.
These giant dragonflies carry cabins woven from plant fibers on their backs. Inside are a small number of ant crew members sent by the Ministry of Military Affairs, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and the Ministry of Scientific Research. Some supplies are also stored in the cabins.
These ant members will accompany the protagonist to inspect the lower reaches of the Qinghe River, explore the local customs, and prepare for the future military expansion of the Ant Alliance.
Of course, if there is a strong ant force in the lower reaches of the Qinghe River and there is little threat to the Ant Alliance due to the location and distance, the ant officers from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade will come in handy.
One side is the jaw knife, the other side is honeydew, this is the specialty of the Ant Alliance today!
The mighty aerial flying brigade took off one after another from the flight passage of the ant mound in [Pioneering City], circled and assembled in the air, and only flew eastward after the assembly was completed.
They flew all the way along the south bank of the Qinghe River and soon arrived at the eastern border of the Ant Alliance's territory on the south bank of the Qinghe River.
The eastern border is not far from [Pioneer City] in a straight line. There is a large swamp here that blocks the Ant Alliance's eastward expansion.
This swamp is dark brown in color and consists of large and small swamp wetlands and a small amount of ground above the water. Various plants grow wantonly in the swamp. Sometimes it is so dense that it is almost impossible to tell whether it is mud or land below.
Only the ants on the ground know that this is not a place to be easily set foot in. Some land that looks solid will turn out to be mud once you step on it. The thick mud will cause the ants to struggle more and sink in, even if they don't sink to the bottom. He soon died because his stomata were blocked.
This swamp became a natural chasm for the Ant Alliance to expand from the south bank to the lower reaches of the Qinghe River. Especially during the flood season in summer, the water level in the Qinghe River surges, breaking through the natural river bank barriers, and a large amount of floodwater pours into the swamp, turning it into a seasonal large lake.
When the flood season has passed, the lake lacks water and gradually dries up. When autumn returns to a swamp, the terrain has also changed. The previously detected roads that can be passed through have been changed beyond recognition and must be re-detected.
Such natural conditions make it impossible for any ant race to live in the swamp for a long time, and it is difficult for any ant race to establish long-term and stable transportation routes in the swamp area.
But Ant United Nations might be able to.
The protagonist has already learned about the terrain conditions of the swamp, and has also imagined how to cross this natural chasm and continue to expand to the lower reaches of the Qinghe River.
One possible way is to bypass the swamp. Although this swamp lies outside the current eastern border of the Ant Alliance, covering an area of about 2 square kilometers, if you start from the woods on the southeastern border, you can still explore a land transportation line along the edge of the swamp, but the road will be longer. Relatively far away.
Another feasible method is to use some trees that survive in the swamp to build a transportation line across the narrowest waist of the swamp with an aerial rope bridge. The Engineering Department has estimated that the amount of work is not large, and no one has yet been built to connect to the Qinghe River. The pontoons on both sides of the strait are labor-intensive and time-consuming.
However, the flood season is coming soon, and the two pontoon bridges on the Qinghe River need to be dismantled and reinstalled. The engineering department only has time to prepare the materials needed for this aerial rope bridge road during the free time. After the pontoon bridge is rebuilt after the flood season Only then can construction begin.
The protagonist plans to launch an offensive to the lower reaches of the Qinghe River in the autumn after the aerial rope bridge road is completed.
Now, they have to go one step ahead and investigate the untouched world on the other side of this quagmire!
