On September 11th of the New Calendar, the main force of the Western Expeditionary Army continued to march into the hinterland of the occupied areas of the Black Fire Ant Kingdom, and on the same day recovered two important nests that had been occupied by the Destroyers for a long time.
Subsequently, the logistics ants accompanying the army set up transfer stations in these two nests according to the plan, repaired and expanded the nests, and used them as important nodes for rear transportation and temporary distribution centers for materials.
The transfer station nest in the north is close to the Qinghe River. In the current season, it is only a dozen meters away from the river. The river bank is on a higher terrain and there is no risk of flooding. The transportation here is convenient. The transport rafts or fleets transferred from the Black Fire Ant Country Canal to Qinghe River can reach here directly by pulling fiber against the current, and then continue to be transferred to the front line by waterway or land. Therefore, the logistics troops also built piers and shielding towers at the sheltered bays on the river bank.
The transfer station near the south has flat terrain and good land transportation conditions. After exploration, the logistics team used long-lasting pheromones to mark the best route of the ant tunnel, providing guidance for the continuous flow of logistics transportation teams in the future.
Using the two transfer stations as assembly points, the main force of the Western Expeditionary Army, which had broken through the Destroyer's first line of defense, regrouped in the two places and then separated, each with their own tasks. Since the North Route Army has water supply and less logistical transportation difficulties, it has a stronger force, with 600,000 troops and all naval forces; the South Route Army has 400,000 troops. In order to cover the land army, the South Route Army has a higher allocation of air force. Affected by the tilt, it was covered by nearly half of the air force combat troops.
In addition, several Western Expeditionary Army units that are besieging the Destroyers who are stubbornly resisting on the first line of defense will gather and rest after completing their current combat missions, and then form a middle route army to advance along the gap between the northern and southern route armies. . The Central Army has about 300,000 troops, but most of the troops are second-rate troops, and the proportion of the Divine Envoy King's Army is relatively low.
In order to regain lost ground and advance the front as much as possible before the reinforcements of the Destroyers from outside the territory arrive, the three armies will advance at a faster speed with the goal of wiping out the main force of the Destroyers in the target area of the campaign. But in this way, there will definitely be a large number of areas behind the main force that cannot be swept away and controlled in time in the future. However, these areas are mostly controlled by the escaped destroyers, the remnants of the civilized ant tribe that have not returned, and the indigenous ants, and their combat effectiveness is not strong. .
Therefore, Zhu Jue organized some second- and third-rate troops with weak combat effectiveness, foreign reinforcements, and troops from local country-destroying allies to form multiple special forces. They were responsible for controlling these areas after the main force advanced. This could also be done for some areas that were really remote and had no threat. Let it go for now and leave it to be resolved later.
The army of the Stone Desert Archback Ant Empire, which had not been seen for a long time, was organized into a separate special force, operating behind the North Route Army.
These stone desert humpback ant army suffered heavy losses in last year's war. Even the iconic Sun God artifact was lost for a time. Fortunately, it was rescued with Zhu Jue's support. This year, after receiving some reinforcements from the mainland, and getting the Queen Ant to replenish their own troops locally, this time the Stone Desert Archback Ant Army dispatched 3,000 soldiers to join the battle, and they were already in full force.
The Rangers are commanded by "Lion", "Ao" serves as the deputy general, and "Baboon" sits in the stronghold with the Queen Ant at the rear. The three leaders have a clear division of labor.
Although their troops are relatively abundant, they still only have one Sun-god artifact that they are proud of. After receiving technical support from the God Envoy King's legion, the Sun-god artifact has now been upgraded and is more sensitive in controlling angles. The artifact is also carried on the back Being attached to a large beetle, its mobility is greatly improved. The core strategy of the Stone Desert Archback Ant Army revolves around this artifact. Once the artifact is lost or becomes ineffective, this army would rather avoid fighting than forcefully fight.
It is precisely because there are too many restrictions on the use of the Sun God Artifact, and the usual tactics of the Stone Desert Archback Ant Army are incompatible with other allies, so Zhu Jue allowed it to form an army alone, and the combat intensity of the mission was not high, so as to avoid having to do it again. A meaningless mission like "saving the sun god artifact".
"Baboon", "Lion" and "Ao" have no objections to this. They have been away from their homeland for a long time and have generally integrated into the area. They have a new queen in the tribe, making it clear that they are ready to settle there. The same is true for other foreign reinforcements, such as bullet ants and thief ants. After they became self-reliant, they changed from reinforcements to local colonists. Then, due to the inconvenience of contact with the local area, they gradually became independent. This process is very natural and has happened countless times in history. No ant thought it was inappropriate.
With this in mind, the three leaders no longer rushed to the front line as before, but expected to return to their homeland when the war was over. At the same time, they began to cherish their troops and at the same time savor Zhu Jue's previous promise to set aside a large area of land as reward after the victory of the Western Expedition.
"Lion" commanded the army to arrive at today's destination, a nest controlled by hundreds of Destroyer Troopers. The nest originally belonged to a group of indigenous ants, but under the leadership of the new ant queen, the small nest they had just established was destroyed not long ago. Discovered and destroyed by the Destroyer, this nameless ant force only existed for less than five months.
The nest is small in size but has convenient transportation. A group of Destroyer patrols originally settled here. After being defeated by the flanking tank troops of the Northern Route Army the day before yesterday, the remaining soldiers fled here in panic and were not dispatched yesterday.
Guided by the reconnaissance flying knight in the air, the stone desert humpback ant army calmly arrived outside the nest and occupied a sunny highland to form a formation. The "lion" raised his head. It was just after noon, the sun was strong and there were few clouds in the sky, which was perfect for the sun god's artifact to show its power.
The large double-pronged rhinoceros beetle carrying the sun-bearing artifact was surrounded by ant warriors. The ants controlling the artifact opened the dust cover, adjusted the angle, and temporarily focused the sunlight on the soil near the entrance and exit of the target nest. The large light spot was very bright. The soil was soon baked into smoke.
The Stone Desert Archback Ant warriors sent out scouts, got into the entrance, and lured the Destroyer out. The Destroyers, who had no command, swarmed out angrily, and after seeing clearly where the enemy troops were, they charged towards the high ground with great force.
Immediately, the power of the sun descended on these blasphemers, and the high temperature caused some of the destroyers covered by the light spots to be quickly dried out and even exploded with mysterious balls.
However, the coverage area of the Sun God Artifact was somewhat limited, but the other Destroyers did not retreat because of this. Their low instincts prevented them from understanding the inexplicable deaths of their compatriots, so they naturally did not feel scared and continued to charge with ferocity. However, after being weakened by the Sun God artifact on the way to the charge, the remaining Destroyers were no match for the 3,000 stone desert ant warriors who were waiting in full formation.
In the afternoon, the Stone Desert Campoback Ant Rangers completed their mission and occupied the nest, and then rested on the spot. At the same time, the flying knights flew to the rear and waited for the logistics troops to come and take over the place. Then tomorrow, "Lion" and "Ao" will continue to lead the army to the next target.
