From [Holy Tree City] to the east, passing through thousands of mountains and rivers, even a migratory locust would have to fly for half a month before reaching a high ground.
This highland has a high altitude, strong sunlight, and a cool climate all year round. The highest point is even covered with snow all year round. Gramineae and artemisia plants mainly grow here. Under the vegetation are rugged rocks, large areas of weathered stones, gravel, and barren coarse soil, presenting a landscape that is a mixture of highlands, grasslands, rocky deserts, and barren sand.
Next to a clump of wormwood in the highlands, there is a huge group of towering rocks. It is the commanding height of the area and dominates the surrounding area. From a distance, the stone seems to be nothing unusual except that it is huge and towering. However, if you look closer, you will see that a large number of ants are coming in and out of several holes at the bottom of the stone. There is actually a nest hidden inside.
This stone nest looks complete on the outside, but there are sporadic cavities scattered on the surface. These cavities are very round and do not look like natural cracks or holes. The cavities range from large to small, with the diameter of the large being as large as a peanut, and the small being capable of allowing only one ant to pass through.
Looking more closely, there are actually not just one kind of ants entering and exiting this stone nest, but three types. They are all about the same size, with slightly different body colors and very similar body shapes. They seem to be three ant tribes that are related.
This is the territory of the Stone Desert Campoback Ant Empire. The Stone Desert Campoback Ant Empire is the only civilized ant nation in this vast and desolate highland. It is formed by the union of three ant tribes who are the remnants of the holy wars in ancient times.
Among them, the highest-ranking ant belongs to the Trichoderma fischeri family, which is a kind of beautiful ant that is golden in the sun, with compound eyes as black as beans, slender body and medium height (the workers are about 6-10mm long, and the queen is 12-12mm long). 13mm, male ant body length 7-8mm).
The second branch belongs to the Central Asian ant family. Its upper body is black and red, its lower body is yellow, and there are several oval black spots on the back of its abdomen. Its size is slightly larger than that of C. fischeri (workers 5-12mm, queen 14mm, male ants 9mm).
Finally, there is the equally good-looking Tripod ant family. Its upper body resembles that of the Central Asian Trichonotus ant, which appears a beautiful metallic red in the sunlight. Its abdomen is covered with thick white hair, and several pieces of carapace are exposed on its abdomen and back. From a distance, it looks like a panda's head in black and white. Its body shape is similar to that of the Central Asian Camponotus ant.
In this united ant kingdom, the Trichonotus ant clan is the smartest among the three tribes. It plays the role of think tank and craftsman. Most of the highest authority is composed of Trichonotus falconii ants. The most numerous Central Asian ants are hunters and warriors. Sand ants are rare in number and have the strongest combat effectiveness. Most of them serve as the country's elite guards.
This is their main nest [Stone Mountain City]. The huge rock originally only had a small stone crack leading to the inside. The acidic substances prepared by the Phenotopus fischeri ants who settled here continued to corrode and expand little by little. A complex internal nest structure was excavated.
This nest is extremely strong. Even if other ant tribes invade, they can only attack along the road dug by the ants. Then they will be trapped in the preset battlefield where the defenders have the upper hand. It is impossible to attack the earth nest. Also dig roads for attack.
It is because of this [Stone Mountain City] that during the most brutal period of the Holy War countless years ago, the three remaining civilized ant tribes in this area took refuge here together. With this last territory, they were able to hold back the demon ants and the barbarian ants. Attack in turns.
After the war, the three tribes united and used this as a base to expand, and finally established a powerful empire that encompassed the entire highland. Among the civilized ant tribes in various regions, this distinctive and powerful Stone Desert Campoback Ant Empire is also very famous!
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And from [Holy Tree City] to the south, across the Qinghe River, the territory of the Ant Alliance, hills and mountains, in very far away places, you can hear the waves of the sea.
This is a piece of land not far from the coast inland, gradually rising from flat land to mountains. There are dense tropical rainforests in the lowlands here, and meadows on the highlands. The lowlands and highlands are occupied by two civilized ant tribes that are neighbors and have friendly relations with each other.
In the lowland tropical rainforest, the huge bullet ants have established a powerful tribal alliance that controls the entire rainforest.
Bullet ants are accustomed to living in small colonies. This system is conducive to controlling every corner of the large but complex rainforest, and is also in line with the physiological habits of bullet ants.
Bullet ants are one of the largest ants among the ants. The worker ants can reach 25-30mm in length, which is 5-10 times longer than most ant workers. The queens and females of bullet ants are even larger.
This size makes it easier for Bullet Ant warriors to hunt individually or in small groups. The complex terrain of the tropical rainforest makes large-scale hunting more difficult. On the contrary, hunting in small groups can hunt many prey more efficiently. Hunting and harvest alone are enough to support the food needs of a huge force.
In order to facilitate the search for food, bullet ants live in tribes of hundreds. However, during the distant jihad period, in the face of huge external threats, the Bullet Ant clan had to unite, forming the current unique tribal alliance system of dispersion-union, opposition and unity.
The Bullet Ant Tribal Federation does not have a main nest. There is a place deep in the rain forest that is recognized as a holy place by each tribe. There is a rough stone carving enshrined here. It can be seen that the carving is the shape of a locust with a strange venomous stinger.
From here, the bullet ant family began to learn to tame huge migratory locusts, as well as a kind of spider wasp, as assistance in hunting after transportation.
Compared to the giant, wasp-like bullet ants that live in the lowlands, their upland neighbors look and behave very differently.
Living in the highland meadows is a group of thief ants, who have established a kingdom of thief ants here.
The body length of thief ant worker ants is only 0.5mm, which is 150mm longer than that of their neighbor bullet ants. However, the two groups have a very good relationship and frequent trade, which is also very interesting.
Although thief ants are small in size, they are fierce in temperament and greedy. They are keen to use force to seize all the meat, sweets and fats they see and want.
The combat power of the thief ant alone is obviously not enough to support its desires, but the thief ant is a very famous insect tamer among the civilized ant tribes in various regions. The ancestors of many civilized ant tribes have sent envoys across thousands of miles to rely on the thief ants. With his strength, he obtained the beasts and mounts of his clan.
It can be said that the thief ant clan is the most outstanding insect trainer among the civilized ant clan. Walking in the land of thief ants is like walking in a huge insect museum. All kinds of beasts are spread across their territory and assume different responsibilities.
If it weren't for the fact that none of these beasts have parasitic mycelium, and only thief ants control the beasts, the ants might mistakenly think they have arrived at the territory of a parasitic organism.
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