Battle Against the Big-Headed Ants (4)
Having lost so many soldiers, the Big-Headed Ant have become somewhat withdrawn, and their subsequent harassment attempts have been less effective. In addition, the two sides have been fighting for twenty days, and it only takes about twenty days for a Soldier Ant to grow from Insect Egg to an adult.
In other words, if the insect remains that the Big-Headed Ant collected were converted into troops, Big-Headed Ant army would be greatly replenished in the coming period.
Moreover, these harassment operations only resulted in killing enemies; the Swarm gained no spoils of war.
Therefore, the current situation of the Big-Headed Ant is that they have stored a lot of resources, but they need time to convert them back into military force.
This won't take too long.
"It seems it's time for the final battle," Rowan sighed, his tentacles swaying as he issued the command.
The gathering of three million troops is a rather friendly sight to those with trypophobia.
The army marched on, heading straight for the Big-Headed Ant Nest.
Because of the previous harassment, the Big-Headed Ant no longer come out to collect leaves. There are very few patrolling ants outside the entire Ant Nest; all of them have retreated and are hiding. The insect remains they collected earlier are enough to ensure they can remain in hiding for a long time.
Therefore, the Swarm swaggered directly to within about twenty meters of the Big-Headed Ant Nest without being detected.
Under Rowan's arrangement, a portion of the troops dispersed and climbed the trees to collect large amounts of leaves. These leaves, about twenty centimeters long, were bitten off by the Super Giant at the stem and naturally fell to the ground.
The scout ants observe where the leaves land below, then lead the Worker Ant to carry the leaves back to the front lines.
Meanwhile, on the front lines, Rowan and two Giant Scorpion went into action, using their powerful Pincer Limb as Digging Leg. Their enormous size allowed them to quickly dig a trench 20 centimeters wide, half a meter deep, and about 10 meters long.
Although the trench wasn't wide, it was enough to deal with ants that had virtually no jumping ability.
The Worker Ant spread the leaves they brought back to the bottom of the trench, and then carried some sticks and branches to build bridges on both sides of the trench. The Mucus Bug even made simple anti-seepage treatments on the walls of the trench.
Everything was ready, the army was lined up in battle formation, and the next step was to go and challenge them.
The exits of the Big-Headed Ant Nest are too numerous and too scattered, so the strategy of blocking the entrance is not suitable; they must be lured out.
The Swarm had harassed the ants too much before, and now they were determined to retreat and recuperate. They had to do something quite outrageous to thoroughly enrage the Big-Headed Ant.
Therefore, challenging someone is a skill.
Rowan is quite adept at this.
He didn't even need to jump; he simply took normal steps and easily crossed the 20-centimeter-wide trench. Then, he ran all the way to the Big-Headed Ant Nest, raised his Pincer Limb, and began poking holes.
At first, the Big-Headed Ant were patient with Rowan's actions, sticking to their policy of retreating and resting. But this insect outside was too ungrateful; as more and more places were poked open, the Big-Headed Ant finally couldn't stand it anymore.
That's understandable. Anyone would go crazy if a dozen or more holes were punched in their house.
Since everyone was home, after a little mobilization, a formidable army of Big-Headed Ant surged out from dozens of exits.
Upon realizing his challenge had succeeded, Rowan immediately turned tail and ran. He wasn't afraid of a one-on-one fight, but it was clear that the other party wouldn't fight him one-on-one.
Taking advantage of his mobility, he moved slowly, stopping frequently and leaving trails as he went, afraid that the Big-Headed Ant would lose him.
They led the enemy's main force to the trench, where, just a meter away, the Swarm was already waiting in full battle array.
Rowan easily stepped across the trench and ran all the way to the rear of the Swarm. But the Big-Headed Ant didn't have that ability; they could only climb down the trench and then climb back up from the other side, or use the bridges made of branches to reach the other side.
However, these obstacles only slightly slow them down, and consume very little of their energy.
The Big-Headed Ant Super Giant ant, leading the smaller Soldier Ant behind it, took the lead and was the first to engage the insectoid insects.
Meanwhile, the Swarm naturally sent out Super Giant to meet them.
Rowan and the two Giant Scorpion roamed behind the lines, taking the opportunity to ambush the enemy's Super Giant.
Whenever an enemy Super Giant is pinned down and unable to move, a Pincer Limb will always emerge from behind the Swarm's lines at just the right moment, clamping down on its narrow waist and snapping it in two.
This is the second move of Rowan's newly developed Rowan's Combat Technique - One Cut Two Pieces.
The Big-Headed Ant nest is hiding countless more of these colossal combat units, and the Swarm, aside from the initial two hundred that hatched, has lost several more and has not replenished its ranks since.
Rowan mainly felt that this type of ant was not suitable for the Swarm, as its cost-effectiveness was too low. Moreover, time was too tight, and there was no time for hatching and development. The fact that there were so many Big-Headed Ant was the result of a long period of preparation.
Therefore, these big guys need to be dealt with first, otherwise the Swarm's Super Giant might be at a numerical disadvantage in a while.
The Big-Headed Ant were excited when they realized their opponents seemed to be adopting a positional warfare strategy. They had been harassed relentlessly lately, suffering losses every time, but now that their opponents were finally not running away, they were determined to take advantage of the situation and wipe them out.
Then, even more troops poured out of the Big-Headed Ant nest, a dark mass like a storm cloud pressing down on the Swarm.
In a short time, the number of troops that had rushed out exceeded two million, and more were still pouring in.
The Swarm still holds a numerical advantage, but with both sides possessing millions of troops, this advantage becomes negligible, and all that can be seen is chaotic melee.
The time was almost right; about 500,000 Worker Ant were in position when the Formic Acid Solution was launched.
This long-range attack not only directly eliminated nearly 100,000 Big-Headed Ant, but also left the remaining Big-Headed Ant wounded.
The Swarm exerted its strength instantly, slowly advancing the front line towards the trench.
Another 500,000 Worker Ant were mobilized from the rear to spray Formic Acid Solution into the trench. Some Big-Headed Ant had just crawled into the trench were drenched and gradually dissolved in the trench.
The leaves that the Swarm had laid at the bottom of the trench beforehand acted as a water reservoir, slowing down the rate at which the Formic Acid Solution seeped into the soil. A large amount of Formic Acid Solution accumulated in the trench, forming a "small ditch".
Although the ditch was still flowing slowly, it successfully disrupted the advance of the Big-Headed Ant army.
Unable to cross the "small ditch," they could only cross the river via the tree branch bridge above and participate in the battle.
With some passageways available, the Big-Headed Ant no longer sought other ways to cross the river. However, due to the narrowness of the bridges and the low efficiency of crossing, large numbers of Big-Headed Ant reinforcements accumulated on the opposite bank.
As a result, a gap appeared in the Big-Headed Ant's formation, and the Big-Headed Ant fighting the insects were temporarily isolated and helpless. Their numbers were at least over 500,000. Moreover, they had just been bathed in Formic Acid Solution, which greatly weakened their fighting ability.
Rowan had carefully crafted this opportunity, and he naturally wouldn't let it slip by. The Swarm committed all its forces, striving to devour these remnants as quickly as possible.