Chapter 15 - 15 Chapter 14 Section 2 Insect Control Skill_1 (1/2)
15 Chapter 14 Section 2 Insect Control Skill_1
Translator: 549690339
The battle seemed to have ended.
The ant colony had suffered heavy casualties.
Fortunately, the Ant Queen had not died amidst the misfortune.
Sensing the presence of her master, the Ant Queen slowly crawled out from the depths of the nest. Along with her came Fourth and five young ants born just yesterday.
It was apparent that Fourth was injured.
One of his antennae was broken, but the Ant Queen was safe and sound.
Qin Niu had seen the Ant Queen emerge from a sealed side chamber, thanks to Fourth’s early foresight in digging this refuge.
Qin Niu lay on the ground, carefully examining the ground. It was a mess of dense, puncture-like footprints.
That was the work of the centipede.
Centipedes enjoy hunting at night, and the magnified ant colony likely caught its attention.
Or maybe the ten newly born young ants didn’t know how to hide their scent and were discovered by the centipede.
This nest definitely couldn’t be inhabited anymore.
Qin Niu’s Insect Control level was still very low; he couldn’t even communicate with his own ant colony.
He could only try to stare intently at the Ant Queen and then concentrate his mind, striving to use that hint of the mysterious power of the contract to communicate with her.
The Ant Queen, having survived the calamity, must have been terrified.
He could feel her soul trembling.
“You must find a new nest!”
Qin Niu conveyed this command to her.
Once, twice… he repeatedly sent the order to the Ant Queen through the thin power of the contract.
It was a kind of silent spiritual communication.
He had learned it from the Insect Control Books as well. Novices could stare at their pets and then focus their thoughts, frequently sending simple commands.
Theoretically, the simpler the commands sent during the first communication, the better.
After gaining experience in successful communication, one can slowly try slightly more complex commands.
Step by step.
Nighttime is when insects are most active, for instance, this Ant Queen prefers to lay eggs at night.
It’s said that a mature Ant Queen, regardless of day or night, can lay eggs like a super egg-laying machine, producing one every two or three seconds.
Her current Breeding Skill was still elementary, allowing her only to lay eggs at night.
Moreover, she could lay only ten eggs per day.
The Ant Queen seemed to understand that her master was communicating with her. She waved her antennae and tilted her head slightly up, silently looking at Qin Niu.
Her vision was actually very poor; she could only see objects a dozen centimeters away.
She mainly relied on her antennae to receive information.
“Master… received!”
Finally, she responded.
Qin Niu’s mind echoed with the Ant Queen’s vague response.
She was like a baby learning to speak.
[You have successfully grasped Ant Talk and learned the skill to communicate with insect-type pets.]
With the appearance of the prompt,
Qin Niu checked his personal attributes.
Sure enough, a new skill had appeared in his ability column.
Insect Control category: Insect Trace Identification Beginner 0.02/10, Ant Talk Beginner 0.01/10.
Unbeknownst to him, he had already acquired two Insect Control skills.
This greatly advanced his step towards becoming an Insect Master.
Ant Talk was an essential skill for communicating with insect species.
Without a common language, one could not even command their own pets.
Now it was good, with the skill of Ant Talk, he could already communicate normally with the ant colony.
Reading more books did have benefits.
Too bad books were generally expensive, and there were very few professional books on Insect Control.
“Fourth!”
After grasping Ant Talk, Qin Niu tried to communicate with the injured Fourth.
Ant Talk proficiency +0.01.
“I’m here! Master!”
Fourth replied clearly.
It seemed his spiritual power was even stronger than the Ant Queen’s.
Fourth had always been quite exceptional.
“Is your injury serious?”
Fourth waved his remaining antennae, the broken one reduced to a small stump, incapable of movement.
Or perhaps, even if it moved, it wouldn’t be noticeable.
“Fourth doesn’t know!”
He sent back the message.
“Are you seriously hurt?”
Qin Niu phrased the question differently.
This time Fourth understood his master’s meaning.
“Not serious!”
“Just my sense of smell has worsened!”
He responded in two parts.
Probably still unaccustomed to communicating mentally with his master, so he could only answer in two parts.
“What food can help you heal?”
“Don’t know!”
He was still unable to engage in such a complex conversation with Qin Niu.
Every time Qin Niu communicated with him, the proficiency in Ant Talk increased by 0.01.
This was quite good.
Just a thousand more conversations, and he could upgrade to the next level.
By then, he should be able to engage in more complex conversations.
This would also provide him with substantial help in raising other insect-type pets in the future.
“Consult with your mother and pick a new nest location.”
He still didn’t understand.
Qin Niu could only break down the message and send it several times.
Moving, choosing a nesting location, safety was most important.
This time he understood.
“A new home has already been chosen!”
Fourth led the way ahead, guiding the Ant Queen and the other five young worker ants to relocate.
The five young worker ants each carried an immature young ant out of the nest.
Termites have a characteristic behavior during relocation, first moving newly laid eggs and finally the hatched young ants and nymphs.
This was part of their survival wisdom, difficult for humans to comprehend.
Because of her swollen body, the Ant Queen moved quite clumsily. It’s still manageable now, but Ant Queens that have grown for over a decade tend to be round and large, basically immobile.