Chapter 338 - Chapter 338: Chapter 331: Caterpillar Rampage_1 (2/2)

However, the newly laid ant eggs had to wait for about twenty-one days before they could hatch.

“`

Qin Niu could only wait patiently.

The Ant Queen was now a grade six queen insect, and the eggs she laid would hatch into progeny of even higher grades.

Moreover, the new ant species would possess advanced self-healing abilities.

This was something worth looking forward to.

If one day he possessed a large number of termites like the Taiyin Yaoyao, fearless of swords and blades, who could swiftly heal even when chopped into eight pieces,

then he should be able to contend with Innate Realm experts using termites alone.

To deal with Spirit Qi Realm experts, besides granting the termites an immortal body, they would also need to possess extremely powerful offensive capabilities.

Merely the aura shield of an Innate Realm was enough to prevent termites from getting close.

Spirit Qi Realm experts could directly create an aura armor, which was even more formidable in defense.

Not to mention ordinary termites, even Fourth didn’t have the ability to bite through an enemy’s aura armor.

Lately, Fourth and the Demon Ants, after feeding on numerous high-grade insect corpses, showed signs of evolving and advancing.

They shouldn’t need much time to level up.

After all, even the Ant Queen had advanced.

Their difficulty in advancing should be far lower than the Ant Queen’s.

However, after consuming the high-grade insect corpses, most were fed to the Ant Queen, and they absorbed only a small portion themselves.

Termites are communal creatures, and they don’t possess selfish desires.

This is something that other animals can hardly compare with.

While observing the termites, a caterpillar fell from the tree.

Covered with black poisonous spines, it was only as thick as a pinky finger and a bit longer than an inch.

It was resilient to the fall; after hitting the ground, it righted itself and quickly crawled forward.

Searching for new tender leaves to eat.

Qin Niu subconsciously looked up at the tree, noticing that the leaves of this camphor tree had been nibbled to the point of being spotted and many leaves were damaged.

Looking at the surrounding trees, they seemed to have also suffered from the caterpillar infestation.

It’s normal for there to be caterpillars in the mountains.

When did so many caterpillars appear?

Previously when the locust plague occurred, Luofeng Mountain wasn’t greatly affected.

Qin Niu believed that the many birds, spiders, and others in the mountains would deal with the locusts.

Added to that, Qin Niu stopped the locusts at the entrance of the village, hence Luofeng Mountain remained unscathed.

The sudden appearance of so many caterpillars in such a short time made him suspect that it might be the work of an enemy.

Upon closer observation, he discovered that there were several species of caterpillars on the trees, not just one.

The most numerous were these black caterpillars.

There were adult and larvae alike.

They ate the tender leaves with abandon.

With time, the caterpillars would spin cocoons and then turn into butterflies.

Some caterpillars undergo the process from egg to butterfly, which includes hatching into a larva, forming a cocoon, becoming a pupa, and emerging from the cocoon as a butterfly, altogether taking about three months, with the longest duration being close to nine months.

Where did all these caterpillar larvae come from?

They couldn’t have appeared out of nowhere.

Could it be that a mass of butterflies laid eggs in the mountains one or two months ago?

Qin Niu spent each day in the mountains practicing or cultivating insects and hadn’t noticed large numbers of butterflies.

“Fourth, lead the swarm to work, clear all the caterpillars in this area.”

These termites really aren’t up to the task.

So many caterpillars have appeared nearby, and yet they allowed the caterpillars to feast on the leaves.

Soon, if the trees die, there will be issues with the termites’ food supply.

The Ant Queen probably didn’t know about the large quantity of caterpillars outside, or else she would have commanded the swarm to protect the trees.

After all, she now possessed advanced intelligence.

Fourth was very brave, leading a large number of termites out. They swiftly climbed the trees and began clearing the caterpillars.

These caterpillars were simply no match for them.

As the battle progressed, Fourth even developed a more efficient method for eradicating caterpillars.

Currently, there were about six thousand Ghost Ants and Puppet Ants with the ability to perform mental attacks.

They didn’t need to approach their targets and could launch attacks directly from the tree trunks.

One by one, the caterpillars, subjected to mental attacks, fell painfully from the trees to the ground, where they were then bitten to death by the Soldier Ants and Worker Ants waiting below.