Sent Silver Cypress back to Xianglan Mountain, and brought Spiked Cypress and Giant Cypress over to Huagi Mountain.

Sent Fragrant Cypress to Silver Cypress Mountain to help Mountain Persimmon take care of its Persimmon Garden, and brought Mountain Persimmon to Huagi Mountain.

Finally, brought Ink Orchid and Cypress to Huagi Mountain.

After a flurry of running back and forth, the core forces participating in the assault on the Termite Kingdom all assembled under the Quandong Divine Tree.

...

The great battle was imminent,

The atmosphere was slightly tense and suppressed.

Dragon Cypress used its freezing ability to model the mountains and rivers of the Purple Tung Insect Nation with ice discs, marking key positions like the Purple Tung Divine Seed, the Termite King's Palace, the Life Seed Garden, White Poplar Divine Seed, Red Phellodendron Divine Seed, garrisoned branch nests, and so on.

Dragon Cypress: "We will win this battle—guaranteed!"

Dragon Cypress: "This is the conclusion from thorough, repeated deductions based on comprehensive information, collated by me and the Quandong Divine Tree."

Dragon Cypress raised a claw, pointing to the Quandong Divine Tree's main trunk just over 10 meters in diameter not far away, and said:

"The Quandong Divine Tree was once the leader of the strongest tribe on Cloud Trace Continent, witnessing all the upheaval of an entire Origin Force Era—its knowledge and wisdom are beyond doubt."

The bugs who'd been somewhat uncertain before tapped their antennae in agreement. Blue Catalpa and Snakebark Maple, quick to react, raised their forelegs in a cheer: Victory! Victory! Victory!

No other insect echoed.

Dragon Cypress lifted its foreleg, signaling for silence, then continued: "Let me explain our battle plan in detail to everyone."

"During the Life Period evolution of the Insect Clan, the first few days after falling into deep sleep are when they're dead asleep and hardest to wake—it's the optimal window for our attack. So, we must detect right away when the White Poplar Ant King and Red Phellodendron Ant Queen begin their evolution, and respond immediately."

"Ink Orchid and I will keep watch in the mountain range between the Desolation Plains and the Purple Tung Insect Nation. Ink Orchid has extremely keen Origin Force perception—once she detects any movement and confirms the Ant King and Queen are evolving, I'll send Ink Orchid ahead into the Purple Tung Insect Nation."

Dragon Cypress tapped the ice-disc map with its antennae and said, "Here's an inconspicuous little mountain range on the edge of the Purple Tung Insect Nation, not yet cleared by the Termite Kingdom. Ink Orchid and I have scouted it many times—it's absolutely safe and a perfect concealed landing point."

Dragon Cypress: "Once we confirm battle is on, I'll immediately return to the Desolation Plains and make three trips: first I'll take Ghost Fan, Mountain Persimmon, Spruce, and White Rice; second trip, I'll take Mulberry, Blue Catalpa, Snakebark Maple, and Black Rice; third trip, Spiked Cypress, Giant Cypress, Cypress, and White Willow, leading the Ant Army."

"The straight-line distance between the Desolation Plains and the Purple Tung Insect Nation is only about 300 kilometers—one trip will take... a very short time! For the ant swarm, traversing mountains and passing through the Land of Origin Force, it'll only take a single day."

Dragon Cypress again tapped the western small hill on the ice-disc map and said, "All units gather here for concealment and rest. White Willow scouts from above to confirm the map and situation, and then we launch a night raid."

Dragon Cypress: "I'll lead the Ant Army, passing the Termite Kingdom's branch nests 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 in turn, wiping out their garrisoned forces in blitz assaults."

"Spruce and Ghost Fan will lead the elite combat team of Insect Clan Warriors behind the Ant Army. When we reach this location—the mountain where Barley Bug Warrior Wuye lives—the team will split into two to move separately."

Dragon Cypress pointed with its antennae: "You'll sneak in and go after nests 6, 7, 8, 9, 10... You'll ambush and wait at position 10."

Dragon Cypress: "The Ant Army under my command will attack from the south, feinting toward the garden where the White Poplar Divine Seed is rooted, fighting by the riverbank, drawing as much of the Termite Kingdom's fighting force as possible."

Dragon Cypress: "When the Giant-Headed Ants army clashes with the Termite army, Spruce and Ghost Fan will lead the elite combat team from nest 10, launching a surprise assault on the Royal Palace from the west."

Dragon Cypress: "Catch them off guard, smash directly into the Palace's flank, break open the walls, and help Ink Orchid slip inside."

Dragon Cypress: "The Mountain Lord-Level Giant-Headed Ant Army can't hold for long against the Lord-Level Termite Army, so everyone must move fast—hit like lightning, go straight for the objectives, and absolutely don't get bogged down in a drawn-out fight."

Dragon Cypress: "When Ink Orchid succeeds in killing the Ant King and Queen, watch the situation and follow orders—either retreat to wait for the Assistant King to die from weakness and the Termite Army to be heavily damaged and lose control, or strike while the iron's hot and annihilate them in one blow."

Dragon Cypress: "That's the overall plan. Any questions?"

Straightforward, no questions.

The bugs all shook their antennae.

Spiked Cypress had questions, but looking at the arrayed forces before him, didn't dare ask—at this moment, asking might mean getting half-killed.

White Rice raised a claw and asked: "Dragon Cypress Ant King, isn't the Purple Tung Insect Nation still home to 14 Mountain Lord-Level Barley Bug Warriors? That's a force we can't ignore!"

Dragon Cypress shook its antennae and said, "There's one more now—15 in total. But I suspect that there is more than one warrior in the Barley Bug Tribe in collusion with the Termite Kingdom. They're not to be trusted. If any information leaks and the Termite Kingdom is forewarned, the consequences would be disastrous."

Dragon Cypress: "Also, Barley Bug Warriors belong to the Life System talent category, with awakened healing abilities. Even if they came, they wouldn't be of much help. When we pass through Barley Bug Warrior Wuye's territory, we'll notify them at the last minute—let them come a bit later."

White Rice tapped its antennae: "Understood! Makes sense."

Dragon Cypress: "Any more questions?"

White Rice asked again: "Dragon Cypress Ant King, I heard from Ink Orchid that the Termite Kingdom has a new Assistant King..."

Dragon Cypress: "That's what I'm about to analyze next: any number of unforeseen events might arise once war ignites!"

Dragon Cypress pointed at the ice-disc map with its antennae and said, "Let me now give a detailed analysis of the Termite Kingdom's combat strength distribution. Currently, we know there are two Lord-Level Assistant Kings: White Thousand and Red Top, and eight Mountain Lord-Level Assistant Kings. The preliminary estimate is 6,000 soldier ants, with about 3,000 stationed permanently in the Palace and another 3,000 scattered across the Land of Origin Force's branch nests..."

...

Dragon Cypress analyzed everything in detail, deducing various possibilities and counter-actions.

It was all a bit too complicated.

As the explanations went on, everyone started getting confused—only Spruce and Mulberry were still tapping their antennae.

Spruce had gone over the analysis time and again with Dragon Cypress, Yellow Stem, and the Quandong Divine Tree, so he understood it all thoroughly.

From the look of Mulberry, he was completely lost, tapping his antennae reflexively.

Dragon Cypress's speech came to an abrupt halt.

"It's not a problem. Ink Orchid, Spruce, and I have all eaten Soul-Setting Fruit and can use Soul-Setting Ability to communicate over extremely long distances. During battle, everyone follow behind Ghost Fan and listen to Spruce's commands."

"Also, we have White Willow, the Blackwing Damselfly Warrior, observing from the sky and overseeing the whole field, able to update us on Termite army movements beyond the perception range of Soul-Setting Ability. We hold a decisive information advantage."

—That's right!

—Follow orders, keep moving ahead.

Everyone tapped their antennae in agreement.

Dragon Cypress asked, "Quandong Divine Tree, I've finished the briefing. Is there anything you'd like to add?"

Quandong Divine Tree: "No."

Quandong Divine Tree: "You are a supremely intelligent Ant King, but I must remind you—and remind all here—that the real battlefield changes with lightning speed. Deductions only predict broad trends; in the actual fight, all kinds of unexpected happenings are inevitable. When facing these surprises, do not panic. Stay calm, and respond with clear thinking."

Dragon Cypress: "Understood!"

Spruce: "Got it."

The other insects echoed and gave thanks.

Quandong Divine Tree: "There's no need to be overly tense either. From the perspective of the Termite Kingdom, they've always lived on the Origin Force Isolated Island and don't know anything about us. When the White Poplar Ant King and Red Phellodendron Ant Queen are asleep for their evolution, even if they're on guard, they're only wary of those Barley Bug Warriors, who aren't much of a threat. They have neither the mental nor practical preparations. When attacked suddenly, the first to panic will definitely be the termites."

Exactly! The whole point is to attack while they're caught unprepared.

That White Poplar Ant King and Ant Queen will never know, even in death, who killed them or where these bugs came from.

The insects were delighted.

Finally,

Dragon Cypress spoke sternly and gravely: "I can guarantee victory in this war, but I can't guarantee that every one of you here will live to see it."

Dragon Cypress: "So for the next three months of battle training, everyone must give it their all. The greater the teamwork and coordination among members, the lower the chance of casualties."

The insects followed suit, gravely and seriously tapping their antennae in agreement.

Dragon Cypress: "Ink Orchid, White Willow, let's go hunt and feast tonight, and tomorrow morning group training officially begins. Spiked Cypress, Giant Cypress, Cypress, come with me back to the Desolation Plains. The rest of you stay at Huagi Mountain for a month; Quandong Divine Tree will guide you, teaching everyone how to use their abilities and practicing combat formations as a team."

...

Desolation Plains.

The three major legions, a full 4,050 Specialized Blue Soldiers in total.

Spiked Cypress, Giant Cypress, and Cypress each led a legion and began training.

Specialized Soldier Ants and Large Soldier Ants started emerging from the nest one after another.

In the coming days, Dragon Cypress focused on raising as many close-combat Soldier Ants as possible.

Soldier Ants were also grouped in squads of three—each squad with one Specialized Soldier Ant and two Large Soldier Ants.

If nothing unexpected happens, war will break out next autumn.

By then, the number of Soldier Ants will exceed 1,000, enough to form a fourth legion.

Dragon Cypress will personally train and personally command them.

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