Beneath the boulder lay a natural cave.
Two massive mantises were crammed inside.
Five flying ants swept past, the drone of their wings gradually fading away.
Dazhuang hugged his forelegs close and shrank back with a long sigh of relief. "Fuck... that scared the shit out of me."
"Boss, did they spot you?"
Lu Qing climbed out of the cave and shook the dust from his wings.
"Their Ant Queen sensed me."
Dazhuang instantly panicked.
If these ants were already this strong, the Ant Queen was bound to be an even more terrifying existence.
"Only a river separates the dense forest from the Ant Nest, and they even have flying ants. We'd better find a place to hide."Lu Qing shot him a sidelong glance.
"Coward!"
Dazhuang drooped his triangular head. "Those mouthparts are too terrifying. One bite and my head would roll."
The ants' strength and mouthparts were indeed frightening, but...
"Don't wimp out. We have backup."
"Huh?"
Dazhuang was dumbfounded.
What backup?
Lu Qing gave him a hint. "Lord Caiyi is our solid backup..."
"Boss, are you brain-dead? Last time you crippled the curvy Meichi. It's a blessing she hasn't come looking for trouble, and you expect her to be our backup?"
Trying to get a species with substandard intelligence to understand the concept of 'wisdom' was simply too difficult.
Lu Qing couldn't be bothered to explain further. He just said casually, "Our backup doesn't know she's our backup, but our enemies do, and that's enough!"
"Tonight, just rest up properly. Tomorrow, we start doing big things."
Dazhuang let out a grunt of half-understanding, then his eyes lit up.
"Which beautiful mantis is named 'Big Thing'..."
This guy's head was entirely filled with passing on his lineage.
...
They patched up the cave, blocked the entrance with some branches and leaves, and rested quietly for the night.
They slept soundly, but the mantises in the surrounding region suffered miserably.
The ant army had already crossed the river and begun their revenge against the Mantis Race!
...
"What? The Great Strength Ants are specifically slaughtering our race?"
Caiyi was extremely shocked.
Mantises were not social creatures; they all hunted individually.
Moreover, there would always be stronger existences in the jungle. Being hunted was a normal occurrence.
Ants and mantises were two species that never infringed upon each other.
But this time, the ants had launched a targeted sneak attack on the Mantis Race.
Especially now, with the breeding season rapidly approaching, the death of every female mantis was an irreversible loss for the entire race.
Beneath her anger, there was mostly confusion.
"The nest of the Great Strength Ants is across the river. They have never crossed the border all these years. Why would they suddenly launch an attack on my race?"
Just then, a pink mantis rushed in.
"Lord, disaster! A huge swarm of soldier ants has surrounded us!"
Caiyi was instantly enraged.
"To actually dare surround my doorstep! This is pushing me too far!"
As a Lord, she had a temper.
Without another word, Caiyi stormed outside.
Sure enough, a swarm of soldier ants was already climbing the tree to attack.
After all, Caiyi was a Sixth Grade Mantis Lord. Her strength was naturally formidable.
With a swing of her Sickle Leg, she knocked a soldier ant out of the tree.
"Why do you invade my mantis territory?!"
However, these soldier ants were mindless grunts that only repeated a single phrase: "Mantis, kill! Mantis, kill!"
Communication was clearly useless.
Caiyi and the group of female mantises occupied the high ground, making their stand against the ant army.
The defensive power of these ants' armor was truly formidable.
Even when a Sixth Grade Lord like Caiyi struck their armor with her Sickle Leg, it merely left a harmless scratch.
Having never fought ants before, they had no idea what their weaknesses were. Even with the high ground, a few mantises were still bitten.
The ants' strength and mouthparts were terrifying. A single bite would leave them crippled, if not dead.
The situation immediately tilted in the ants' favor.
Seeing her subordinate mantises steadily losing ground, Caiyi grew anxious.
She swung her two large Sickle Legs in broad arcs, hacking directly into the soldier ants.
She unleashed her immense strength. After a few passes, a large swath of ants plummeted to the ground, bringing the battle back to a stalemate.
...
Lord Caiyi fought valiantly, locked in a fierce battle.
But not far away, two shifty-eyed mantises hid in the grass, snickering continuously.
"Boss, this move of yours is brilliant! It's just a shame about so many beautiful, flower-like females..."
The back of Lu Qing's Sickle Leg slapped him across the skull.
"Can't you keep anything else in that brain of yours? If you keep focusing on passing down your lineage, I'll castrate you myself and save those female mantises the trouble."
Dazhuang clutched his aching skull. "But they really are so seductive and charming..."
Lu Qing ignored him and kept a close eye on the battlefield.
The ants and mantises were still fiercely engaged.
It looked like a winner wouldn't be decided anytime soon.
After more than ten female mantises died, Caiyi finally discovered the ants' weakness.
She began aiming her attacks at their antennae.
The tide once again shifted in the mantises' favor.
However, the ant army's subsequent reinforcements arrived. In particular, the flying ants provided aerial support and surprise attacks.
The newly reversed situation fell into a deadlock once more.
To think the Ant Queen had mobilized this many troops...
Lu Qing suddenly had another idea.
He nudged Dazhuang. "Let's go."
"Where to?"
"Dog bites dog, a mouthful of fur. They're fighting fiercely, so right now we're naturally going to reap the benefits!"
"What dog? What fur? What benefits?"
"With so many ants mobilized, the Ant Nest is definitely empty!"
"Hehe, Boss, you're really full of dirty tricks."
"Cut the crap and keep up."
...
"Boss, over here! The farm is this way!"
Dazhuang hurriedly communicated through his consciousness, reminding Lu Qing that he was going the wrong way!
Of course he wasn't going the wrong way.
Those few grubs in the farm were no longer of much help to him. He wanted to take advantage of the empty Ant Nest and see if there was anything good inside.
"I'm going into the Ant Nest. You go to the farm and eat the grubs."
"Huh?" Dazhuang blanked. "No, the Ant Queen is in there. Boss, do you have a death wish?"
With his limited intelligence, he figured that if the soldier ants were already this strong, the Ant Queen ruling them must be unimaginably powerful.
Lu Qing naturally cherished his life.
However, although the ants in this world were strong, their basic habits were practically the same as the ones in his previous world.
The Ant Queen wasn't necessarily that strong.
"You don't understand. Just enjoy your grubs! Remember, no more mental transmissions, or the Ant Queen might detect us."
Lu Qing turned around and slipped into the Ant Nest.
...
The interior of the Ant Nest was like an incredibly complex labyrinth.
There were tunnels everywhere, but it was impossible to tell where they led.
Even though Lu Qing could see in the dark, he completely lost his bearings after wandering for a short while.
Just when he was wondering what to do, he heard a commotion behind him.
He hastily hid himself.
Two worker ants, carrying two grubs, crawled methodically deeper inside.
Lu Qing quickly followed them.
After twisting and turning for a good while, the two worker ants entered a cavern at the end of the tunnel.
It seemed they had arrived at their destination.
He hid again, waiting for the two worker ants to leave before stepping into the cavern.
It was a massive cavern.
Mounds of eggs were laid out on the ground.
Some grubs had been placed in a depression, and a few tender, pale ants were gnawing on them.
This was... a hatchery?