The Ant Battle
Li Bai took the gear and casually asked, "Any new developments?"
"A swarm of army ants has appeared in the forest. Someone's already gone to deal with them."
Zhao Ziwu looked completely unbothered as he continued handing out the newly arrived equipment to Mister Hu Lan and Master Miaoshu.
The immense columns of army ants numbered in the hundreds of millions. Everywhere they went, they left nothing behind but plants—not even chickens or dogs survived.
Ordinary people would run for their lives as soon as they heard about army ants, afraid that if they were even a moment too slow, the swarm would devour them until not even their bones remained.
But the Wizards from Institute 507's operation team weren't particularly concerned. Nature was full of countless predator-and-prey relationships. Among the snakes, insects, rats, ants, birds, and beasts they'd brought along, there was bound to be something capable of keeping the army ants in check.
At the edge of the plantation, Li Bai and the others had come to watch the spectacle. There, they saw two swarms of ants locked in a deadly battle.
One side was a wild swarm of army ants from the Amazon rainforest. The other was a swarm of bullet ants raised by a Wizard from Institute 507's Brazil operation team. Ants against ants, neither side showed any sign of tiring.
Both species were native to South America and extremely numerous. Even if a few escaped, they wouldn't cause an ecological disaster as an invasive species.
The bullet ants were far fewer than the army ants—only about a tenth as many. They were badly outnumbered.
But in terms of individual fighting ability, the bullet ants were virtually unbeatable in one-on-one combat, thanks to their powerful mandibles and stingers.
Specially bred bullet ants could