The leafcutter ant army is scattered in the trees and underground near the target tree nest, setting up multiple camps. The Stone Desert Archback Ant Imperial Army has only one camp, which is near the daytime battle area.
The temporary camp is not deep, only about half a meter deep into the ground. In this season when the temperature is already very low at night, the thermal insulation effect of such a temporary camp is relatively poor.
The strict hierarchy of the Stone Desert Campoback Ant Empire is also reflected in the camps.
In the deepest part of the camp is the independent nest of the "baboon", which shows its transcendent status. There is a nest room outside for "lion" and "狋" to live together. Outside, in order, are Camponotus fischeri, Campoback ants Jinsha, and Camponotus central Asia.
The outermost area where the Central Asian ants live is also the coldest place in the camp. These ants can only gather together to warm each other with the remaining body temperature in their bodies. The entrance and exit of the camp were blocked with hay to prevent the cold wind from entering, but even so, there were always ants that were frozen to death in the past two days. Some had to wait until the next day to be carried outside to bask in the sun to recover, and some woke up. But come.
The three ant kings in the deepest part of the earth do not have to worry about hunger or cold. The room temperature in their nests is no different from that in their hometown. The half-meter-thick soil layer and the heat from the ants outside have basically ensured that the temperature here is stable.
The "lion" and the "baboon" are in the nest, eating the food sent by the leaf-cutter ant kingdom. As a guest army coming to support, their rations are provided by the leaf-cutter ant army and are delivered every three days.
After rendezvous today, the Stone Desert Ant Imperial Army received a new batch of food and grass. As always, it was mainly sun-dried fungi and only a small amount of meat.
Dried fungi are the most common food in the leafcutter ant country, coming from the fungus beds they grow. These dried fungi are rich in nutrients and protein, and can meet almost all the nutrients needed by the ants' bodies, but with slightly lower calories.
In such a season, when you are on an expedition for a long time, what you need most is high-calorie foods, such as foods rich in sugar and fat. The dried fungi provided by Leafcutter Ant Country are obviously not very popular with ants.
The "lion" bent his tentacles, biting the hard dried meat, and complained to the "狋" with his tentacles from time to time.
"Ao" was also chewing dried meat. The dried meat from unknown insects was the only meat in the military rations delivered. Only the Ant King and other mid-level officers could eat it. And it's only enough for one day. In the next two days, even a noble "baboon" can only eat dried fungi.
"Lion" said that he wanted to drink crow wine. The ant alliance will provide free crow wine to the male ants who are allies of the civilized ant tribe. However, the quota is limited. For example, the Stone Desert Ant Empire, as a partial army, can only get air transportation every 6 days. The small amount of crow wine sent by the army only had one drop for each male ant. The three king ants were better, with two drops. They swallowed it in three or two mouthfuls, which was not enough to drink.
"Ang" listened to "Lion"'s complaints and had nothing to do. Now there were very few prey outside. It was difficult for the men to catch some prey on the march.
After coming here to fight for so long, the happiest time for the Stone Desert Archback Ant Imperial Army was when they found a pine tree. Some pine cones fell on the ground, and some rat women were getting in through the cracks to eat pine nuts. Benevolence.
The ants immediately swarmed up and feasted on the oil-rich pine nut meat, without even bothering to catch the rats and other insects that were eating.
Unfortunately, they still had combat missions and only stayed there for half a day before getting back on the road. Each ant's stomach was full of pine nut meat and pine nut oil, but it was completely digested after two days, and such high-calorie food was never found again.
"Ao" thought for a while and said that what we are attacking now is an apricot tree. There must be apricots falling to the ground in summer. There are almonds in the apricot kernels, which are also edible. If there is no battle with the Imperial Army of Stone Desert Ants tomorrow, we can Look for almonds nearby.
"Lion" complained again, feeling that the almonds had an unpleasant taste and tasted like poison. The homeland of the Stone Desert Camponotus ant empire is arid and barren, but there are also almond trees. Apricot meat and almonds are their seasonal foods, and the taste is very familiar. There is also a small amount of cyanide in almonds. The ants obviously don't like the taste and will only eat small amounts when there is no other food.
"Ai" thought of their hometown again, that desolate highland full of rocks. It looked desolate when looking up, but in fact there were a lot of delicious things.
Not to mention the insect prey that can be found everywhere, the unique spring fungus in the highlands that grows from insects that died before last winter is the first delicacy after the beginning of spring. Some fresh spring flowers and the nectar inside are also delicious. In summer and autumn, there is a local specialty fruit, which is very sweet and is an important source of sugar for the three tribes of ants. The dried fruit can be kept until winter.
The Stone Desert Campoback Ant Empire knows how to use fire. Their Sun God Artifact can be used as a tool to light fires. They also like to use fire to roast cooked food. The taste of cooked food is obviously much better than the current dried raw meat and dried fungi.
The most delicious food in my hometown is, of course, the delicacies only available during sacrifices. "Lion" and "Ao" couldn't help but discuss these delicacies, feeling a bit like looking at plum blossoms to quench their thirst.
The Stone Desert Ant Empire also eats cooked food when offering sacrifices. These cooked foods are not roasted over fire. Instead, some of the best-tasting prey are placed on stone slabs and roasted directly with the concentrated light of the Sun God artifact.
The sacrifices cooked in the sun have a unique fragrance of the sun. The sacrifices that are charred on the outside and tender on the inside are sprinkled with some salt grains. The smell is unforgettable for "Lion" and "Ao". The next sacrifice is coming soon. They can also organize the sacrifice by themselves when they are away from home. I hope they can find suitable sacrifices by then!
Even ants have taste preferences. Both "Lion" and "Ao" think that the food in their hometown is the best. When I came outside, except for crow wine, no other food was as good as at home.
They complained to each other, but the dried meat was already quietly eaten, filling their stomachs. "Lion" and "Ao" stopped communicating with their tentacles and began to lie down and rest.
The ant's sleep was not very deep, and "Baboon" was half asleep and half awake. Suddenly, he thought, why didn't "Baboon" show up after setting up camp? Normally, as the ant king and priest, he always has to inspect the camp.
Tonight, the worker ants brought dried meat and water into the "baboon"'s nest, but the "baboon" never appeared. Is it really uncomfortable? .
Although he was a little confused, "Ao" didn't think much about it, and soon he lowered his head and fell into sleep.
Above the half-meter-thick soil layer, the low temperature at night made the earth so quiet and desolate for the first time since the beginning of spring. There was only a tall sun god artifact standing alone at the entrance of the underground camp.
