Since the start of the battle, reinforcements from the Big-headed Ants had been pouring into the battlefield, trying to break the encirclement and rescue their trapped vanguard forces.
As a result, the swarm’s units that had flanked the Big-headed Ants’ vanguard now faced a pincer attack, coming under immense pressure.
However, as the swarm’s encirclement tightened, it freed up a significant number of troops. Following Luo Wen’s commands, these units rapidly repositioned to support their beleaguered allies at the rear of the encirclement.
With the reinforcements bolstering the swarm’s rear, the situation, which had been on the verge of collapse, stabilized once again.
Deprived of the cover and protection provided by their giant combat units, the Worker Ants of the swarm fully utilized their formic acid sprays, devastating the Big-headed Ant vanguard. To expedite the victory, Luo Wen even ordered the Transport Bugs stationed on the flanks to join the fray.
The forces hidden within the Big-headed Ant nest were astonishing. As time passed, the number of reinforcements surged, soon reaching a million. The swarm’s interception units suffered heavy casualties, forcing Luo Wen to deploy a portion of the Worker Ants to unleash a round of long-range saturation attacks, temporarily repelling the Big-headed Ant reinforcements.
This brief reprieve allowed the swarm’s defensive units to catch their breath. They gnawed on the carcasses around them, replenishing their energy.
Within the encirclement, the battle was nearing its end, with only tens of thousands of Big-headed Ants stubbornly resisting.
Unfortunately for them, their resistance was futile.
Meanwhile, the swarm’s defensive units had reengaged with the Big-headed Ant reinforcements in a fierce and bloody battle. The reinforcements had now grown to 1.5 million, with more troops continuously arriving from the rear.
It was unimaginable how a single Big-headed Ant nest could sustain such a massive force.
For perspective, the swarm’s total numbers reached 15–16 million, but they were dispersed across nearly 2,800 bases. Due to the rapid pace of expansion, most of these bases were far from fully populated.
While a single Red Ant nest could support a population of over a million, a large portion of that force was typically deployed in hunting parties.
As Luo Wen observed the enemy’s movements, another 100,000 reinforcements joined the fray, bringing the total to 1.6 million. Adding in the already obliterated 500,000 vanguard forces, the Big-headed Ants’ numbers exceeded 2 million. Judging by the unending “black stream” of reinforcements snaking toward the battlefield, their reserves were far from depleted.
Initially, Luo Wen had planned to eliminate the vanguard before turning his attention to the reinforcements. Now, however, he hesitated.
The swarm’s victory over the 500,000 vanguard force had come at a steep cost. Despite their numerical superiority and ranged firepower, the battle was a direct confrontation with little room for tactical maneuvering. The result? Over 60,000 casualties, most of them Soldier Ants.
Considering that the swarm had only deployed 500,000 Soldier Ants for this campaign, losing over 10% of them in one engagement was a significant blow.
Meanwhile, the interception lines continued to suffer heavy losses. Apart from 300,000 Worker Ants left behind to clean up the battlefield, all other units had been committed to the fight. As the Big-headed Ant reinforcements swelled, the forces on both sides were nearing parity.
While the swarm maintained an advantage thanks to their formic acid and venomous stingers, these resources were finite. Once depleted, the battle would devolve into brutal melee combat.
At that point, although the swarm’s units had slightly superior individual combat power, their lack of reinforcements would become a critical weakness. Victory might come at an unsustainable cost, and defeat would be catastrophic—the millions of corpses on the battlefield would be claimed by the victor, fueling their growth.
Given the current rate of Big-headed Ant reinforcements, the chances of a swift victory were slim. A change in strategy was imperative.
With a plan in mind, Luo Wen issued new orders.
The Transport Bugs began withdrawing from the battlefield. With the help of Worker Ants and Mucus Bugs, the spoils of war were swiftly packed and loaded.
Next, the Worker Ants still holding reserves of formic acid unleashed their remaining stock in a massive, synchronized attack. The collective strike of over a million Worker Ants created a devastating acid rain, forming a corrosive barrier along the battlefront.
The torrent of acid dissolved scores of Big-headed Ants and melted the battlefield into a quagmire. Many ants, panicked by the loss of their antennae, retreated chaotically, further disrupting their formation.
Seizing this opportunity, the swarm quickly eliminated the remaining enemies within reach and began a rapid retreat.
To save time and reduce their burden, the swarm abandoned the corpses littering the battlefield.
After retreating a safe distance, the giant combat units led the way while smaller units orderly climbed onto the Transport Bugs. Once loaded, the swift-legged Transport Bugs easily caught up with the Ultra-Giant Soldier Ants.
A rear guard of over 1,000 Spy Bugs and a few Transport Bugs stayed behind to disrupt the pheromone trails left by the swarm, preventing the Big-headed Ants from following their retreat.
After a lengthy detour, the swarm safely returned to their border territory.
As Luo Wen surveyed the busy swarm, he conducted a rough count. The total losses from this battle reached a staggering 150,000—a devastating blow, the worst since the swarm’s inception.
Of these casualties, over 60,000 had fallen during the encirclement of the Big-headed Ant vanguard, while the rest were lost intercepting the reinforcements. Adding insult to injury, all the corpses along the battle line had been left behind.
The losses included 11 Ultra-Giant Soldier Ants and over 50 Giant Soldier Ants.
Fortunately, the battle had also yielded spoils: 70 Ultra-Giant and over 100 Giant corpses from the Big-headed Ants. However, transporting these trophies proved cumbersome, so Luo Wen had buried them near the battlefield, camouflaging the area to avoid detection.
While the swarm had suffered greatly, the Big-headed Ants had fared worse, losing at least 700,000 troops.
Now, Luo Wen’s priority was to deny the enemy any opportunity to regroup. He planned to keep up the pressure, continuously depleting their resources before they could convert their spoils into reinforcements.
Of course, Luo Wen wasn’t afraid of a production race. Did the Big-headed Ant nest have 3,000 Queen Ants hidden away? Unlikely.
What truly spurred his urgency, however, was the spoils of war—particularly the Ultra-Giant corpses. He had to reclaim them before the Big-headed Ants could digest their bounty.