Water poured steadily through the breach in the Ant Nest for a full two minutes. Waves inside the tunnel surged back out, carrying large amounts of dirt and red-and-black ants with them.
After the rushing water at the entrance collided with itself several times, the water level inside the tunnel matched the level outside. The surface gradually calmed.
Near the entrance, the water was covered with red-and-black ants. Most hadn't drowned on the spot and were still struggling desperately on the surface.
Some of the luckier ones used their companions' bodies as stepping-stones, struggling their way to the bank and laboriously climbing ashore.
But exhausted as they were, they now faced the Excavator Ants waiting in formation on the bank.
The Ant Nest's terrain was complex. Only a small number could have been swept out by the waves; most had already perished underwater.
This raid on the enemy's lair had wiped out at least tens of thousands of red-and-black ants. More importantly, all the food they had stored in their tunnels had been ruined.
This made their already strained front-line supplies even more precarious.
After dealing with the lucky survivors who had tried to climb ashore, the ants in the water gradually stopped struggling and floated motionless on the surface.
Rowan ordered the Excavator Ants to turn back and support the Small Soldier Ants, using up all their stored Formic Acid Solution.
The Excavator Ants weren't as strong in battle as the Small Soldier Ants, but there were far more of them. They quickly overwhelmed the battlefield where the fighting had been deadlocked.
After cleaning up the battlefield, they processed both enemy and friendly corpses for their protein. The army climbed onto the backs of the Transport Bugs and hurried back toward the river.
They'd just destroyed the enemy's lair.