aircannonsinc Chapter 62: "Military Alliance"
Chapter 62: "Military Alliance"
A gentle breeze brushed against my antennae, and sunlight filtered through the treetops after the rain, dappling the open space in the forest. The earthy scent wafted through the air, yet it couldn't mask the mingled pheromones emanating from the trees.
In the northern part of the Tree Ant Kingdom's territory, there is an "L"-shaped mountain range, mainly running east-west, but abruptly bends south at its westernmost point, extending all the way into the towering, magnificent barrier of divine power.
The mountain range and the plain below it form a natural boundary. The mountain ant kingdom is located on one side of the mountain range, while the plain on the south side below the mountain is the territory of the tree ant kingdom.
To be precise, the territory of the tree ant kingdom is like a basin surrounded by mountains on three sides. The west and north sides are mountain ranges, while the south side is an insurmountable barrier of divine power. There is only one gap on the east side, which is adjacent to the kingdom of dark-bellied giant toothed ants.
At this moment, at the foot of this mountain, on a large open plaza carved out by some kind of earth and stone primal energy, countless slender and agile worker ants, all jet black and gleaming with a metallic sheen, stood in formation, guarding the silent Red Cypress Ant King and the Black Cypress Ant King in the center.
On the broad chest and back of the Black Ant King, Ye Zhi's body stood silently upright, while Huo Yun, who had obviously never seen such a scene before, looked ahead with some fear.
Across the wide "square," there were enormous ant-like figures, each three meters long, with thick, long limbs. Unlike the slender, lightning-like ants, they resembled the ant-like forms that Ye Zhi had in her previous life.
The only difference is that their triangular heads, with their curved shape, are exceptionally broad, and their razor-sharp jaws open and close with a gleaming cold light. Their carapaces are jet black with a matte silver-gray sheen, yet their sharpness is understated.
The Mountain Ant Kingdom, the Sorrowful Bow-backed Ant Tribe, King-level Soldier Ants!
The archback ant species already possesses a complex differentiation of worker ants, leaping to the level of primal force life. The original large worker ants further specialize in combat, becoming soldier ants that are truly born entirely for battle.
Like the slender ants, the archer ants also awaken metal-type primal energy talents. However, unlike the slender ants, whose primal energy is sharp and absorbs metal to strengthen their carapace and stinger, the archer ants are more inclined to extract and control metal.
In an industrial age, this would be an innate talent for working in factories, even just for tightening screws. This was Ye Zhi's assessment after learning this information, amidst his shock...
On either side are two different vassal ant tribes of the mountain ant kingdom. On the left is the familiar tribe of large-toothed ants, ruled by the brown ant king, led by a lord-level assistant king, with twenty symbolic worker ants following on both sides.
On the right is a type of ant that is somewhat similar to the archback ant, with a short, stout body and a rounded head. The femurs and tarsi of its six limbs are somewhat flattened, and its body is jet black and glossy. It is undoubtedly another vassal ant species in the mountain ant kingdom - the thin-legged hairy ant.
Due to racial limitations, the worker ants are less than a meter tall and only at the Mountain Lord level of evolution. A hundred or so worker ants form a dense, black mass, arrayed under the command of a Zoro King who is also only at the Mountain Lord level.
Inherited from their memories, the Thin-legged Ants awakened their wood-type talents. Although they are weak in direct combat, they are skilled in hallucinations, which they can unleash in swarms, making them a decisive force on the ant army battlefield.
......
In the silence, the archer ants dispersed to both sides, and an astonishingly huge figure, nearly five meters long, slowly stepped forward, flanked by two robust soldier ants.
"Granaria, what is the situation in the brutal fire ant kingdom?" The moment Wu Yuan saw the other party's figure, he immediately sent out his mental power.
"Wu Yuan, you're still as impatient as ever, just like when you were with Qing Zhi back then."
A strange spiritual force rippled through his mind, clearly originating from the king of the Murraya archeri ant tribe, known as the Aranea.
Overall, the mountain ant kingdom is stronger than the tree ant kingdom, which currently only has one lord-level ant king, the citron ant king.
However, the mountain ant kingdom is composed of species that live at high altitudes and dislike the hot and humid climate at low altitudes. Although they are adjacent to each other, there are no major territorial disputes. Although there are occasional border frictions, there is no irreconcilable hatred.
"The old king of the Brutal Fire Ant Kingdom is dead. Graytail should have already told you this." The mental power of the Buttercup Ant King slowly transmitted, "It has been confirmed that the Red Stem Ant King of the original vassal tribe of the Brutal Fire Ant Kingdom broke through to the king level and killed his elder."
"The Red Stem Ant King's ant clan is unknown. The Brutal Fire Ant Kingdom claims that it is a member of the same Brutal Fire Ant clan that was redeemed from the Cloud Continent, but the difference arose due to the continent's barrier."
The Buttercup Ant King's mental power carried a hint of mockery: "Hmph, you old codger, you fooled other insects, but in the end you even fooled yourself. Now look what happened, your own good descendant killed your life-sustaining seed."
"I've questioned some Flame Spider caravans that have traded with the Fire Ant Kingdom. The conclusion is that that old codger is likely intentionally having his ordinary members interbreed with other Fire Ant races."
"This Red-Stem Ant King is likely a hybrid of the Brutal Fire Ant and the Black Fire Ant. It's unknown how much of its superior bloodline it inherited, but it certainly inherited twice the cruelty."
"Invasive red imported fire ants..."
Ye Zhi's last memories from her past life resurfaced in her mind. She never imagined that the invading fire ants of this world would be born in this way.
"Red imported fire ants? That's a fitting name." The queen of the Araneae tribe, whose compound eyes were called Araneae, looked at Ye Zhi with a hint of jealousy and said, "A descendant of Qingzhi? Wuyuan, your tree ant kingdom is really lucky."
"That old, brutal fire ant king is such a waste. He's an old ant king, and he was killed by his own descendant." The mountain buttercup ant king seemed to be gloating, or perhaps hiding his inner worry.
"Granaria, that Red Stem Ant King, has most likely mastered the power of divine runes." The Black Cypress Ant King's gaze suddenly sharpened, and he finally spoke the conclusion he had drawn after listening to Huo Yun's account of the battle yesterday.
"You discovered it too? You have concrete evidence?" The Buttercup Ant King was visibly surprised, then looked at Huo Yun, who was also standing on the forechest's chest and back. "Brown wasps and mantises, there are many over in the swamp. Was it this little warrior who reported it?"
“That’s right.” The cypress antennae twitched. “It said that the worker red imported fire ants have two rings on their abdomens, which, together with the red spots, form a primal force pattern that looks like a ball of flame.”
"Greytail said that those fire ant worker ants release a blue fireball, which can be controlled by floating to their side. It seems that it is indeed a divine rune ability." The Buttercup Ant King's mental power became serious, and its antennae swayed with the rise and fall of its mental power.
The blue flames that were manipulated by primal energy and floated to the side to attack were completely consistent with the information provided by Huo Yun!
"Wu Yuan, now that you know the news and understand the principle of 'if the lips are gone, the jaws will be destroyed,' I hope that from now on, your Tree Ant Kingdom and my Mountain Ant Kingdom can put aside past grievances and form an alliance to jointly defend against the Fire Ant Kingdom's southward advance."