Gathering strength

The soil deep in the woodland was moving slightly.

It's not a crack, it's not a collapse.

It's a slow, heavy rise. The entire surface of the humus soil arches up little by little, and fine, dry soil slides down the slope without making a sound.

Lu Heng held his breath and pressed his body even closer to the tree trunk.

He watched from his vantage point, not daring to blink.

The worker ants that had been frantically rushing around suddenly stopped moving in unison.

The worker ants that were still clinging to the Slippery Fish King all loosened their mandibles, withdrew their claws, and crawled down.

All the small insects that were still rushing forward on the muddy surface stopped in place, turned around, and retreated in an orderly manner towards the edge of the forest.

The reckless, sacrificial charge that had been going on just seconds before is now completely over.

The middle layer of the entire swamp instantly fell silent.

Only the occasional gurgling sound of the mud beneath the Slippery Fish King remained.

There was also the subtle sound of the cold wind sweeping through the withered grass.

Lu Heng knew very well what was going on.

It wasn't that the Insect Swarm stopped on its own.

It was a higher-level instruction that overridden all the underlying instincts.

The mounds of earth over the woodland grew higher and higher, the top layers of tree roots were stretched slightly, and several thin roots were torn off and fell into the pile of fallen leaves.

The tear slowly opened.

An insect, far larger than a typical Digger Ants, slowly emerged from the black soil.

The movements are very slow.

One step, then a pause.

They didn't rush to the battlefield, nor did they immediately engage in combat.

Upon emerging from the soil, it simply stopped at the edge of the forest, its head facing the center of the swamp, remaining motionless.

Ant Queen.

The answer immediately popped into Lu Heng's mind.

He had never seen mutated insects, nor did he know anything about the levels of alien beasts.

But considering the ant colony structure in those previous short videos and comparing it to the current situation, even the most clueless person can understand it.

The tens of thousands of worker ants that died before were all part of the setup.

The true core is only now revealing itself.

The Ant Queen stays on the boundary between the woodland and the swamp, neither entering the swamp nor retreating back into the forest.

A small number of larger soldier ants crawled out from behind it, and after landing, they quickly dispersed and lined up in a row along the treeline, firmly guarding all angles around the Ant Queen.

The worker ants that had been scattered and retreating all rejoined the ranks, lined up along the edge, and stopped moving around.

Center of the swamp.

The Slippery Fish King, which had been lying dormant, finally showed a noticeable reaction.

Previously, no matter how Insect Swarm piled up all over its body and repeatedly gnawed at it, it would only occasionally shake itself to scare away the insects.

At this moment, its massive body tensed slightly, and its body, which was deeply embedded in the mud, rose slightly, causing the surrounding soft mud to spread outwards in a circle.

Its head was slightly raised, facing the queen Ant Queen treeline.

There was no roaring.

There were no demonstrations.

It was simply a deadlocked, unwavering stare.

Lu Heng felt a sinking feeling in his heart.

At this moment, he was completely certain that all the previous chaotic battles were not even a warm-up.

Slippery Fish King knew from beginning to end that the swarm of insects was not a threat.

What it had been waiting for was this Ant Queen underground.

The entire battlefield layout was instantly reset.

The common slippery fish that used to swarm around the area no longer dared to approach the central region, and all huddled motionless in the shallow muddy puddles in the distance.

The strange beasts hidden deep in the forest were now completely silent.

Even the sound of the wind rustling through the leaves has disappeared.

Throughout the entire area, all living things are avoiding battle, observing, or lying dormant.

All attention was focused on the two gigantic entities at the boundary between the forest and the swamp.

They guarded the forest on one side and the swamp on the other.

No one crosses the line, and no one makes the first move.

Lu Heng squatted on a branch, his fingertips digging into the bark, his palms cold.

He finally understood what the annual cycle of this swamp was all about.

The winner will continue to dominate the swamp's ecosystem.

The losing side's population falls into dormancy and waits for an opportunity.

It's all instinct, all regularity, with not a trace of chance.

The few seconds of stalemate felt ridiculously long.

There are still no signs of a fight breaking out between the two sides.

The Ant Queen remained steadily at the edge of the forest, the soldier ants stood motionless in formation, and the worker ants guarded the boundary strictly.

It showed no intention to attack, nor did it show any sign of retreating.

The next second, the Ant Queen lowered her head.

It did not look at the Slippery Fish King.

Its head was pointed at the black mud beneath its feet, which was covered with dead insects and soaked in acid.

With its large mouthparts close to the soil, its limbs moved steadily, gradually gathering and collecting the insect carcasses and acidified silt accumulated on the ground.

Scattered black insect remains, corroded and discolored wet mud, and acidic water mixed with melting snow were slowly gathered into a small, neat mound of mud.

Lu Heng stared at the movement, not understanding it at first.

Two seconds later, a sudden numbness shot through my spine.

The countless worker ants that died in the battle just now weren't simply trying to remove the slime from the Slippery Fish King.

These corpses, this acid seeping into the soil—they're all resources.

The Ant Queen absorbs, integrates, and utilizes the battlefield environment gained from the entire sacrifice.

It strengthened itself before the war.

They transformed all the sacrifices of their people into their own fighting force reserves.

Meanwhile, the Slippery Fish King in the center of the swamp was also busy.

As it stood still in confrontation, the small amount of murky mucus remaining on its body surface was slowly re-coagulating.

The skin, previously mottled and corroded by the acid, visibly became firmer.

It is also gathering momentum.

Neither of the two kings was in a hurry to make a move.

They are all making the most of the last bit of time before the battle to replenish their strength and eliminate their weaknesses.

Lu Heng dared not move at all.

He's only now realizing how scared he was.

If he had been even slightly greedy and rashly climbed down the tree to pick up anything during the chaos of the battlefield, he would now be caught in the middle of the two kings' game, with no chance of escape.

The entire forest and swamp area has now become a dead zone.

The Insect Swarm, fish, and strange beasts at the bottom of the sea have all become mere background.

The only ones who truly decide the outcome of the battle are these two top-level entities that have been locked in a long-standing standoff.

Two gigantic figures faced each other across the boundary.

All the groundwork has been laid.

All sacrifices have been made.

All the pre-battle preparations have come to an end.

Immediately, the true final battle will begin.

The few seconds of stalemate felt ridiculously long.