Calm

As the number of new Ant Queen gradually increases, the Swarm grows at an increasingly rapid pace.

In just over two hundred days, the Swarm had recovered to its pre-war size. The wartime abandoned bases were also restored and rebuilt.

Several armies set off again in batches. In addition to the original four armies in the east, west, north, and central regions, a new Southern Army was added.

It can be said that the Swarm is now advancing in all directions of its territory, and no obstacle or force can stop Swarm advance.

Perhaps the great battle with the Earth-Yellow Ant had already reached the ceiling of combat power in this area. In the days that followed, the Swarm had a smooth run and did not encounter any more worthy enemies.

Ant Nest the size of Big-Headed Ant is insignificant to modern Swarm. It can't even make a ripple when faced with a large, exploring Swarm.

The Swarm's various armies now employ rather simple exploration tactics.

For small enemies like Black Ant, there's not much to say; just charge straight into their nest. A small, dispersed exploration team can easily take them out.

For Red Ant, which number in the millions, it might be necessary to gather several exploration teams to deal with them together. Then comes the knocking on the door, where everyone sets up a battleground at the entrance of the other's nest, and they directly engage in combat.

However, all the armies are now equipped with dual long-range firepower. These long-range units follow behind the main army and call for fire support whenever a small team encounters an enemy force of hundreds of thousands.

With the enemy lacking firepower, a single volley of fire, followed by a charge from the vanguard, can easily end the battle.

When encountering Big-Headed Ant numbering in the millions, a little respect should still be shown. However, the final outcome will be no different from encountering ants numbering in the hundreds of thousands. At most, it will just involve a few more rounds of firepower and attacks.

Ten kilometers.

One hundred kilometers.

One thousand kilometers.

As time went on, their territory expanded continuously, and the Swarm, lacking natural predators, grew at an increasingly rapid pace, their numbers now countless.

Rowan had long ago lost precise control over the Swarm.

It's not that the Swarm betrayed him; the Swarm remained loyal to him, and his will continued to guide Swarm.

The problem he was facing now was the same old problem he had always faced – communications.

The Swarm lacked effective means of communication. When their territory was small, Communication Bug were responsible for relaying messages. Later, as their territory expanded, the Swarm acquired faster Transport Bug that could carry the Communication Bug to transmit messages.

However, the fastest unit in the Swarm is still the Transport Bug, but its territory has expanded many times over. If Rowan wanted to send a message to the scouting army on the frontier, even with the Transport Bug traveling day and night, it would probably take several months for the Ant Queen of the frontier army to receive the message.

With such poor communication efficiency, if they were to encounter an evenly matched enemy, they would likely suffer a great loss.

Fortunately, the Swarm was simply too powerful at this point.

Even in Efiash's homeland, in that extraordinary land, the wizards might not be a match for a single insect, but even millions or tens of millions of insects would still be no match for them.

However, the Swarm will show them what boundless despair truly means.

Rowan suddenly realized that if that green-haired guy had succeeded back then, even if he had taken an unconventional path and his individual combat strength was negligible, the power of the group would have been enough to destroy cities and countries.

Of course, these were just some random thoughts that Rowan used to kill time when he was bored.

Right now, he's even lost his mind when it comes to courting death.

As far as the eye could see, it was all Swarm territory, posing no threat whatsoever. He'd already experienced falling from a great height when he was still the size of a fingernail, and now he'd even learned to dive...

As various genes are continuously added, fewer and fewer things can pose a threat to him, until they disappear.

Perhaps that's what makes Efiash so terrifying.

As the Swarm expanded its territory, the environments varied from place to place, giving rise to unique ant species and insects. Each appearance of these creatures stirred ripples in Rowan's peaceful life, becoming one of Rowan's few remaining hopes.

However, most of the insects' talents were similar, but there were still a few that could bring Rowan surprises.

For example, there is a type of red and black ant with highly developed mandibular glands that run from its head to its abdomen. When encountering a powerful enemy, it bites the enemy, then contracts its muscles, causing its body to explode. The venom from the glands, containing various poisonous substances, will splatter everywhere, creating a powerful area-of-effect attack.

Another type of ant possesses a similar ability: two crystalline structures between their thorax and abdomen. When they need to self-destruct, these crystals react with secretions from their salivary glands to produce a highly toxic substance. Moreover, they detonate in a directional manner, ensuring a one-for-one exchange at the most critical moment.

This ability was a talent that Rowan had always feared awakening, yet unexpectedly, some insects actually possessed it. Combined with their genes, a new type of soldier emerged in the Swarm, albeit in very small numbers, because there were almost no uses for them.

Another type of ant found in trees digs holes in the trunk to build their nests. The entrances are small, allowing only one ant to pass through at a time. Because their territory is very small, usually limited to the tree where they nest, they obtain very few resources, and their colonies naturally cannot grow very large.

Therefore, when faced with some invaders, they naturally cannot confront them head-on like other groups. However, they have devised some alternative methods.

Some of these ants are mutant individuals with a chitinous shield, either round or square, on their heads. When intruders arrive, these mutant individuals use their heads to block the entrance to their burrow.

Invaders usually don't have a good way to deal with their sturdy shields, and after a stalemate, they will leave.

This ability is also quite interesting, but unfortunately, it's not very useful within the Swarm. There are no longer any enemies that require the Swarm's defense.

So in the end, Rowan only made a few as decorations.

Another type of Soldier Ant has a cannon-like appendage on its head that can spray a resin-like substance with extremely high viscosity. Although it does not contain toxins and its direct lethality is not strong, it is a very powerful control skill.

After obtaining their genes, Rowan added several toxins, creating a Cannon Bug that combines control and lethality. Furthermore, due to their long barrels, the projectiles are highly focused and do not scatter. Enhanced by Rowan, their range reaches 20-30 meters, with a precision strike distance of about 15 meters. Therefore, they are ideal for precision sniping, pinpointing and eliminating high-level enemy forces, making them highly practical.

Currently, a large number of these Cannon Bug are serving in the border troops.

In addition, there are some other interesting abilities, which Rowan also absorbed into his gene pool.