After finishing the spring trade with the Flame Spider Roving Merchant, Dragon Cypress brought Ink Orchid with him and, following their planned route, searched through every Land of Origin Force under the rule of the Xianglan Mountain Ant Kingdom.

Unfortunately, good fortune doesn't come every year.

No gains were made.

Ink Orchid returned to Xianglan Mountain, guarding its Snow Orchid Divine-Given Seed.

Dragon Cypress, meanwhile, continued to travel tirelessly between four locations: the Desolation Plains, Huagi Mountain, Hulan Mountain, and the second Source Stone Mine.

He continued to transport Source Stones to Huagi Mountain.

Black Cory kept reclaiming land at Hulan Mountain, and every time Dragon Cypress passed by, he would take a look and offer a few pointers.

...

The years flew by, and it was early winter once again.

In the deep of night, Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid set out from the Desolation Plains, slipped into the Purple Tung Insect Nation, found their way skillfully as always, and arrived in front of Wuye's dwelling cave.

With his Soul-Setting Ability, he sensed there were no other insects nearby.

Ink Orchid stopped hiding his presence and spread out his spiritual power to call out, "Wuye? Wuye~ Wuye~"

Wuye was startled awake from sleep, dazed for two seconds, then ran out of the cave in delight, "Dragon Cypress Ant King! Mountain Lord Ink Orchid!"

Ink Orchid: "Wuye, has there been any major upheaval in the past three years?"

Wuye: "Yes!"

Wuye's delight quickly turned into grave concern as he spoke, "Zhi has managed to breakthrough and evolved to the Mountain Lord Level."

Ink Orchid looked toward Dragon Cypress.

Dragon Cypress replied calmly, "Too late. A newly advanced Mountain Lord won't be enough to affect the evolution progress of the White Poplar Ant King and the Red Phellodendron Ant Queen."

Ink Orchid: "Too late! Perhaps if it were ten years ago."

Dragon Cypress: "Wuye, is that all?"

Wuye: "Assistant King Red Top has also broken through and evolved to Lord-Level."

"!!!"

Ink Orchid's tentacles shot straight up, sensing grave trouble, and looked toward Dragon Cypress.

Dragon Cypress wavered briefly, but soon regained composure.

"No matter! Small problem! Wuye, is there more?"

Wuye: "This midsummer, another Barley Bug Warrior was born, named 'Pueraria,' a very cute little fellow."

Ink Orchid: "..."

Dragon Cypress: "..."

Wuye: "Yet another of our kin to be persecuted."

Ink Orchid: "Uh…"

Dragon Cypress: "It won't happen again!"

Dragon Cypress: "Wuye, the irrigation channels, lakes, roads, and such—no changes these past three years?"

Wuye: "No changes."

Dragon Cypress: "What about the distribution of the sub-nests?"

Wuye: "No changes discovered."

Dragon Cypress: "Very good! Wuye, I need a more detailed map of the terrain."

Dragon Cypress turned, his gaze and spiritual power locking onto a distant pond. A huge Great Water Sphere floated up, drifted over, and landed, transforming into a thick Ice Disc over two meters wide.

At the center of the ice disc, a crystalline Purple Tung tree sprang up from the ground.

"This is where the Purple Tung Divine-Given Seed is located."

As Dragon Cypress spoke, a spired, crystalline Termite nest rose into being.

"Is this the Royal Palace?"

Wuye looked around as well, got his bearings, and replied, "Yes."

On the Ice Disc, mountain ridges rose up.

Dragon Cypress pointed with his tentacles and said, "This is where we are now."

Dragon Cypress tapped around with his tentacle and asked, "Roughly in this direction, is there a reservoir?"

Wuye: "Yes…"

...

After spending most of the night consulting with Wuye, Dragon Cypress figured out the general geography of the Purple Tung Insect Nation, as well as the key sub-nest locations of the Termites.

They returned to the Dominating Throne, quietly withdrew, and made straight for Huagi Mountain.

Ink Orchid: "Dragon Cypress, with an additional Lord-Level Assistant King, are you sure there's no problem?"

Dragon Cypress: "There is! I've deduced this question."

Ink Orchid: "..."

Dragon Cypress explained, "During a Lord-Level Age Period Evolution, the sleep period lasts fifteen to twenty days; this means that for the White Poplar Ant King and the Red Phellodendron Ant Queen, there is still a risk of backlash from the Barley Bug Warrior."

Dragon Cypress: "If the Barley Bug Warrior seizes the chance to launch an uprising, they're certain to target the Life Seed Plant, making the Divine-Given Seed their top priority to destroy."

Dragon Cypress: "Of course, the White Poplar Ant King and Red Phellodendron Ant Queen are surely aware of this, so during their slumber and evolution, they're bound to focus on guarding their Life Seed Plant, and especially the Divine-Given Seed."

Dragon Cypress: "Now that there are two Assistant Kings, there are probably two ways to split the tasks. The first way: two Divine-Given Seeds, two Assistant Kings, each guarding one seed, two gardens, each Assistant King leading a few Mountain Lord-Level Assistant Kings, and gathering heavy forces to defend."

Dragon Cypress: "This scenario is easier to handle. Once the fight breaks out, Ink Orchid, you infiltrate the King Nest quickly, locate the Ant King and Ant Queen, and finish them off at once."

Dragon Cypress: "The second model is this: they send one Lord-Level Assistant King, with the other Mountain Lord-Level Assistant Kings and heavy forces, to guard the two Life Seed Divine-Given Seeds, while the other Assistant King guards outside the King Nest, protecting the Ant King and Ant Queen."

Ink Orchid: "Exactly! That's what I'm worried about in scenario two. Going deep into the termite nest, my infiltration abilities can only fool ordinary Soldier Ants and Worker Ants—Lord-Level Assistant Kings will surely spot me…"

Alone, Ink Orchid might not be able to defeat a Lord-Level Assistant King, not to mention the many Lord-Level Soldier Ants present as well.

Dragon Cypress swayed his tentacles, lifted a claw to interrupt, and said, "If it's the second model, there are three further scenarios."

Dragon Cypress: "First scenario, I lead the Ant Army for a sudden assault, showing signs of aiming at the Life Seed Plant cowering in the garden, and the Lord-Level Assistant King stationed at the Royal Family will immediately leave the nest to provide support."

"If this happens, then your concerns vanish, Ink Orchid."

Dragon Cypress: "Second scenario, a crack strike force made up of Ghost Fan, Mountain Persimmon, and other Insect Clan Warriors rush the Royal Palace, and the Lord-Level Assistant King leads a swarm of ants out to resist."

"That's also easy; Ghost Fan, Mountain Persimmon, and the others won't linger in battle, fighting while withdrawing. Ink Orchid, you can then act at your discretion, slipping in stealthily and heading straight for the Royal Family."

Dragon Cypress: "There's still the hardest third scenario: the Lord-Level Assistant King outside the King Nest is utterly steadfast, guarding the Ant King and Ant Queen to the death, refusing to budge."

"If it comes to this, it'll be a big problem. We'll have to adjust our tactics: Ghost Fan, Mountain Persimmon, and the others must quickly move to join forces with the Ant Army, and we'll need to enlist the Barley Bug Warrior's help to assault the Life Seed Plant of the White Poplar Ant King and Red Phellodendron Ant Queen together."

Ink Orchid: "Oh——"

Ink Orchid: "Dragon Cypress, is it really this complicated? After your analysis, I'm even more confused."

Dragon Cypress: "Ink Orchid, it's really quite simple. Your task is straightforward. No matter which scenario or how the battle unfolds, your mission never changes: do whatever it takes to infiltrate the Royal Family and kill the White Poplar Ant King and the Red Phellodendron Ant Queen."

Ink Orchid: "...Oh!"

Ink Orchid still felt somewhat overwhelmed.

Ink Orchid buried his head in thought, full of worry. "Dragon Cypress, if the worst comes to pass, will anyone be in mortal danger?"

Dragon Cypress hesitated for a long while, then gently nodded his tentacle.

The worst outcome would be heavy casualties among the expeditionary Ant Soldiers, maybe even some Insect Clan Warriors would fall…

That was an outcome Ink Orchid couldn't accept—just imagining it was painful.

Dragon Cypress: "Ink Orchid, we still have a 'Zhifeng Grass Fruit.' Judging by the description and the price, the power granted by this Divine-Grade Fruit will be extremely strong."

Ink Orchid: "By that description, no matter how strong the ability, it still might not be enough to turn the tide."

Dragon Cypress: "Everything is in my calculations. It's not a big problem. Let's find the Quandong Divine Tree first, and deduce the whole plan once more with it."

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