BXBX NOVEL Chapter 42 - 37 Training Soldiers _1
He had to eat a full three pounds of bear meat before his stomach finally felt full.
As his cultivation continued to increase, so too did his body’s consumption become greater.
Fortunately, rhe bear meat reserves at home were still quite ample.
They should sustain him for half a month without any problem.
After finishing his meal, he would just need to find a way to hunt for more.
Now that he had cultivated the Everlasting Spring Technique, even if he wasn’t under the Ancient Banyan Tree, he could steadily increase his cultivation by more than 2 points. Ar this rate, in half a month, he was very likely to break through ro rhe Twofold realm of mortals.
By then, his strength would be greater.
Hunting would also become somewhat easier.
With the basket on his back, he went to check the few small trees he had planted yesterday.
He saw that they had turned brown, appearing as if they had been dead for many days.
This made Qin Niu’s scalp tingle.
He did not know what was up with that Ancient Banyan Tree, as he had never heard anyone mention it before.
Logically, since it had grown so large, it must have existed for quite some time. Several hundred years at the very least.
So why had no one in the village ever spoken of its evil nature?
The only possibility Qin Niu could think of was that no one who had entered had ever come out alive.
His escape from it yesterday might have been the only survival in hundreds of years.
He had intended to study these small trees further when he sensed some movement from the termite colony and immediately rushed towards the mountains.
The mountains still looked the same, but he felt a profound sense of awe.
When he arrived in front of the Ant Nest, his eyes lit up.
He saw Fourth leading seven or eight Soldier Ants in battle against the stink ants.
The largest ant colony nearby was probably that of the stink ants.
Since they were a fully developed colony, they had at least ten to twenty thousand mature Worker Ants. To sustain such a large colony’s need for food, they would definitely forage far and wide.
An encounter with Qin Niu’s termite colony was only a matter of time.
Stink ants were very powerful; they could build grey nest structures similar to beehives on branches, as well as construct Ant Nests in rhe soft ground.
They moved extremely quickly and were very aggressive in nature.
These dark black, foul-smelling ants were known as rhe ‘wolves of the ant world,’ possessing a strong territorial instinct. Whether it was humans or other animals that intruded into their territory, they would immediately be attacked. In comparison to them, the Milky White Ants Qin Niu was raising were obviously much smaller.
This was mainly because the first batch of Worker Ants were lower-level, and only Fourth, a Young Worker Ant, had survived. It was a bit smaller than an ordinary adult termite.
The several batches of Worker Ants and Soldier Ants that hatched later had shed their skins and turned into adults only a few days ago; they were still ‘children/ after all.
T herefore, their size was naturally not very large.
When compared to the black stink ant they had surrounded, they looked like a pack of wild dogs encircling a lion.
Two powerful Soldier Ants guarded the entrance to the nest, preventing the stink ants from killing their way inside.
About seven or eight Worker Ants and Soldier Ants were attacking the black stink ant.
Fourth stood in its path of escape, cutting off its retreat.
Qin Niu greatly admired their clever formation when he saw it.
With Fourth there, the whole ant colony was equivalent to having a commander with average intelligence.
Although the Ant Queen also had average intelligence, her task was breeding. She had the chance to continue producing offspring as intelligent as Fourth. After the Ant Queen hatched the first batch of Worker Ants, she basically did not interfere with the affairs of the colony. Now, she would only summon a Worker Ant to feed her when she was hungry, and she ignored everything else. This was actually quite good.
The entire ant colony had its own responsibilities, with clear divisions of labor. Despite the stink ant’s large size, quick movements, and fierce appearance, rhe attacking termite colony performed even better than it.
All five powerful Soldier Ants participated in the battle.
The rest were three Soldier Ants.
These eight were more like child soldiers, nimbly surrounding and attacking the stink ant. Each strike was precise, ruthless, and swift.
The stink ant contracted its abdomen as it scanned for an opening to break out and call for reinforcements.
But Fourth stubbornly cut off its retreat.
It was clear that Fourth’s strength was significantly superior to the other five strong worker ants. In front of it lay a severed antenna and a forelimb from the black stink ant.
This was the price for attempting to flee from before Fourth.
Qin Niu also noticed there was something definitely wrong with the wounds where the black stink ant’s antenna and forelimb had been severed.
The remaining part of the limb was trembling non-stop.
“Fourth has evolved venom, so being bitten by Fourth means being poisoned,” Qin Niu thought.
Given the reasonably agile movements of the black stink ant, it seemed that Fourth’s venom hadn’t caused too much damage to it.
Perhaps the bite hadn’t reached the trunk, so the venom had nor yet spread into its major blood vessels.
The circulatory system of ants is quite special; their heart is an enlarged tube located on the back, attached above the main artery. Nearly all insects have this kind of open circulatory system.
Moreover, their body fluid is indistinguishable from their blood.
If venom is injected into almost any part of their main trunk, they will quickly succumb to the poison.
Qin Niu stood quietly on rhe side, watching.
This black stink ant certainly could not be allowed to return. Otherwise, the entire termite swarm would face a catastrophic disaster.
Assailed by five strong worker ants, three soldier ants, and also injured, rhe black stink ant was obviously beginning to struggle.
it attempted to flee again in the direction guarded by Fourth.
There was hope of survival only if it could escape back along its original path.
Fourth turned into a blur as it pounced on the black stink ant.
Both parties made brief contact before retreating from each other.
The black stink ant’s other antenna was also bitten off by Fourth and fell to the ground, trembling incessantly.
Fourth, on the other hand, appeared very calm. Although it clearly held overwhelming combat strength, it did not pursue its opponent. Instead, it left the task of dealing with the invading enemy to the other eight worker and soldier ants.
“Is Fourth training the troops?” Qin Niu immediately grasped the deeper intent behind Fourth’s actions.
Fourth and the five strong worker ants had all combat experience from fighting with the giant centipede.
However, at that time, these five strong worker ants were not yet strong worker ants but had just recently emerged as young worker ants. When the giant centipede invaded, they could only follow the earliest hatched Fourth and three other secondary worker ants to charge or defend.
To put it simply, back then they were like green recruits.
This time, facing the invading black stink ant, they became the main generals, charging at the forefront, while the other three young soldier ants were the green recruits.
As for Fourth, with its abundant combat experience and effortless poise, it had clearly already become a veteran of the battlefield.
Seeing that the termite swarm already had control of the battle situation, and victory was only a matter of time, Qin Niu took the opportunity to check the colony’s attributes.
Female Milky White Ant (Ant Queen)
Level: Grade Two isopteran insect, leveling experience 498/1000
Lifespan: 4.5 years
Energy: 7968
Skills: Breeding Rank One 1.25/10, Playing Dead Rank One 2/10
Talent: Medium Intelligence, Breeding Strong Termite Offspring (1%), Breeding Poisonous Termite Offspring (3%)
Ant Colony: One secondary worker ant, lifespan 5 months, special abilities (strength, swiftness, venom, medium intelligence).
Five strong worker ants, lifespan 3.2 years.
rlventy-six regular worker ants, lifespan 3 years.
Two strong soldier ants, lifespan 8 months.
Nine regular soldier ants, lifespan 6 months.
With constant development, the ant colony was growing rapidly.
T he energy stored inside the Ant Queen was about to break through eight thousand. Moreover, it had evolved the special talents of breeding strong white ants and poisonous white ants.
The only frustrating part was that its Breeding Skill could only improve by 0.1 each day.
That also meant its laying capacity was limited to 10 eggs per day.
T his rate was far behind that of a normal Termite Queen.
And Qin Niu didn’t know how to help improve its breeding ability..