Chapter 66: The Attack Continues
In truth, waiting for reinforcements to return to the hive would take a significant amount of time. Given the current state of the hive, it simply couldn’t hold out that long.
As expected, it wasn’t long before activity was seen on the collapsed mound of earth. The soil began to bulge and shift as sand was gradually pushed aside. Soon, the cautious head of a Red Ant peeked out.
Unfortunately for it, before it could gather any useful information, a spear-like limb pierced through its body, skewering it as it emerged from the soil. One of the Transport Bugs surrounding the collapsed entrance had acted swiftly. The bug flicked its leg, discarding the Red Ant’s lifeless body.
Beneath the Transport Bug’s feet crawled a swarm of Soldier Ants. The one closest to where the Red Ant had fallen stepped forward and ended its suffering.
More Red and Black Ants began to emerge from the dirt covering the buried entrance. The surrounding Transport Bugs treated it like a game of Whack-a-Mole, skewering each ant as it appeared.
However, this method of attack was physically exhausting. Under Luo Wen’s direction, the Transport Bugs adjusted their tactics. Instead of impaling the ants, they began using the sticky hairs on their claws to grab the emerging Red Ants and toss them aside, where Soldier Ants promptly turned them into rations for the swarm.
This reduced energy expenditure significantly, but the number of Red and Black Ants appearing only increased. Fortunately, there were plenty of Transport Bugs queued up for their turn at “Whack-a-Mole” and “Claw Crane.” Exhausted bugs simply relinquished their positions to fresh replacements.
Time slipped by, and after four or five hours, the Red Ants managed to dig another exit not far away. However, this new exit was still within the swarm’s encirclement.
This time, with plenty of Worker Ants on hand, Luo Wen did not hold back the acid. A torrent of corrosive liquid rained down on the new entrance—a deluge of acid.