The next day, we waited until noon, but the logistics troops had not yet arrived at the nest camp.
"Lion" and "Ao" were impatient. According to the plan, they should leave the camp today after the logistics force took over the camp, reach another target within three days, and then complete the next combat mission. But now that the logistics team is late, they cannot abandon this nest directly. In addition, they still need to replenish military rations, so they can only continue to wait patiently.
The flying knight responsible for guiding had left after the war yesterday. According to the agreement, the flying knight who conveyed military information would not come to them until tomorrow. Even if the Stone Desert Archback Ant Army wanted to learn about the progress of the logistics force through air contact, they could only wait until the flying knight. Let’s wait until the knight comes.
Until noon, the scouts who had spread far away still reported that they had not seen any trace of the logistics troops. "Ao" simply ordered a group of soldiers to go back along the ant path they came from to see if they had seen anything. The situation, do you need to go back to support yourself? If there is really a loss of baggage, then my small force will have to wait for emergency airlift or even retreat.
Then all that was left was to wait and be bored. When the weather was hot in the afternoon, "Lion" suggested that he take some troops out hunting to supplement the few remaining army rations. At this time, the Stone Desert Archback Ant Army only had enough dry food left to carry with them, which would last them until tomorrow night at most. According to the plan, we should have waited for supplies to arrive today and set out again with enough military rations for six days. Now that supplies are not coming, it is reasonable to rely on ourselves to find some fresh food. "Ao" agreed, and he stayed behind in the army.
"Lion" ordered six teams of recruits to set off. According to the tradition of the Stone Desert Archipelago Ant Empire, hunting is often used to train soldiers, especially those recruits who have never been on the battlefield. After all, prey is much easier to deal with than enemy ants. In Hunting can also exercise the commanding ability of the commander and the cooperation of the soldiers, which can significantly improve the combat effectiveness of the recruits.
The six teams of new recruits should have 216 soldiers according to the establishment, but due to the losses in the previous battle, there are only 203 soldiers now, and there are still several wounded soldiers who have not returned to the team. The team is basically composed of young ants who have emerged from pupae. They have only participated in one low-intensity battle before, and they have not participated in much hunting. They really should be pulled out to practice hard.
Of course, "Lion" would not say that he was greedy for this additional reason - since he joined the Allied Forces, especially after the Western Expedition was launched, he has rarely been able to eat fresh food, and basically eats some ant United Nations every day. Military food balls provided. These military ration meatballs are made from grain powder mixed with a little minced meat, plant puree, etc. They taste okay at first, but over time, only the working ants can fill their stomachs without complaining.
As a high-ranking aristocrat, "Lion" added fat, honey or crow honey and other ingredients to the special military food pills, but the taste was still too monotonous and the nutritional comprehensiveness was slightly insufficient. In the Stone Desert Ant Empire, the nobles prefer to eat fresh meat, especially the bloody and hot meat that has just been torn off the prey that has just been killed. They chew it and swallow it directly without grilling it. " "Lion" is no exception. He believes that this is what a general should eat.
Before the war yesterday, "Lion" saw a mixed forest of oak trees and oak trees to the south of the nest. It was very similar to the scenery in the mountainous area of his hometown. There must also be delicious prey in his hometown - tussah silkworms. So the "Lion" led the hunting team straight to the woods, and then dispersed the ants to climb the trees, looking for traces of the tussah silkworms.
In the homeland of the stony desert ant empire, because many places have higher altitudes, the leaves of oak trees and oak trees have begun to slowly turn yellow this season, and the tussah silkworms have also entered the pupal stage. At this time, the tussah silkworm is the most delicious. The pupa shell is still very soft, but the tussah silkworm flesh inside has softened into pulp. If you open a hole in the pupa shell, you can suck the fresh, nutritious and delicious nectar. It is incredible. It is less delicious than crow honey, and far more filling than crow honey, giving warriors the energy to fight! All in all, "Lion" hasn't had this bite for two years...
This place is located on a plain, and the trees are still dark green in this season. There is no sign of aging and yellowing. The local tussah silkworms probably have not yet pupated. They should still be big chubby bugs, but they taste equally good. .
As expected by the "Lion", soldiers soon discovered the traces of tussah silkworms one after another. Five tussah silkworms, large and small, were found in a few nearby trees. Tussah silkworms have very weak combat effectiveness and mainly rely on camouflage to protect themselves. Once discovered, they have little resistance, so "Lion" is very relieved to let a small team each be responsible for hunting a tussah silkworm, and the last team will follow him to protect it.
Soon several teams came back with prey one after another. The yellow and green corpses of tussah silkworms looked very attractive to ants. The "Lion" couldn't wait any longer, so he directly asked the guards to cut the opening on the fattest and most tender corpse, preparing to suck the meat juice inside.
The selected insect corpse was very fat, and when the mouth was cut open, a stream of juice spurted out, drenching the drooling "lion" next to it. He used his tentacles to lightly wipe the gravy on his head and face, then put the tentacles into his mouth to taste it. The gravy tasted really good, so he hurriedly jumped on it and started eating. The other soldiers did not get permission and could only wait and watch the commander feast.
After the "lion" was full, these soldiers were not allowed to eat on the spot. After all, there was still "狋" waiting in the camp. He asked the soldiers to pick up the insect corpses and happily rushed back to the camp, where they would improve the food together in the evening.
There is still some distance from the camp here, and the prey is heavy. The soldiers can only move slowly little by little. The "lion" who is well fed and drunk is not in a hurry. He just sends a messenger back quickly to report, and he slowly returns with the large troops. camp. He couldn't walk fast at this time. His stomach and intestines were filled with high-calorie and high-nutrient meat juice, and even his six limbs became lazy because of this.
Nearly halfway through, a messenger came with a message from "Awkward". Only then did "Lion" know that the logistics force had just arrived at the camp and had taken over the nest and started construction. He couldn't help but mutter in his mind that the other party was late for a whole day. Now to the west of the sun, "Ao" also said that even if the army had received all the rations, they would not be able to leave camp today. After another night, "Lion" would be even less anxious, and his steps would be slower...
That night, after enjoying the prey first, "Ao" and "Lion" gave a tussah silkworm to the commander of the logistics force. The other tussah silkworms were already dead, so they cut them into small pieces and distributed them to all the soldiers, along with military rations. Pills for consumption.
The whole army was safe that night.
