CHAPTER 29: CHAPTER 029 GIGANTIFICATION SOLDIER ANT

"Melde, one last favor, please help me send my regards to Spider King Spurge."

Dragon Cypress felt a bit embarrassed.

"I understand. Little Dragon Cypress, Ink Orchid, you two go on now."

Melde helped carry the spider silk bag stuffed with Origin Force food to the entrance of the hillside cave.

By right, Dragon Cypress should pay a visit to Spider King Spurge, who had always looked after him, and he really wanted to go.

But it would be all too easy to draw the attention of other Flame Spider Roving Merchants.

An 8th age Little Ant King, a mid-level Flower Mantis Warrior—where’d they get so much Origin Force food?

If they catch the eye, it’s easy for others to guess what they are.

Dragon Cypress didn’t want to leave any security hazards. Together with Ink Orchid, one in front and one behind, they carried the spider silk bag into the Starship Passage.

All the way to the depths.

Dragon Cypress summoned the Dominating Throne hidden in his room, and together they moved the spider silk bag onto the throne, took off carrying the load.

...

"Dragon Cypress, which fruit tastes the best?"

Ink Orchid, craving food, pawed at the spider silk bag and asked tactfully.

"Taste wise, they’re all pretty mediocre."

Dragon Cypress patiently explained, "Only rich insects care about the taste of Origin Force food. Usually, better-tasting Origin Force food is also pricier. So I mostly picked ones that don’t taste so great—economical!"

"Oh—"

On the topic of food, Ink Orchid’s mind spun quickly—instead, she asked, "Dragon Cypress, so which one’s the worst tasting? Let me try it."

Dragon Cypress: "There’s always one worse, never a worst."

"Dragon Cypress..."

Ink Orchid couldn’t restrain herself. With a rip, she opened the spider silk bag, then another tear to open a small spider silk pouch inside. She fished out a Striped Maple Seed, cracked the shell with a snap, her tongue curled, and the kernel went straight into her mouth.

"The taste isn’t bad! Dragon Cypress, try it!"

"Really? Honestly I only know roughly, I’ve never eaten them myself."

Dragon Cypress bent down and grabbed one with his mandibles for a taste.

Ink Orchid asked, "Didn’t you say Melde is really rich?"

Dragon Cypress shot back, "Is she not?"

Ink Orchid: "Then why is she so stingy, counting every little bit?"

Dragon Cypress: "The Flame Spider Roving Merchants build up their fortune by pinching every penny."

Ink Orchid asked, "What about ’White Ivy’? Is she stingy too?"

Dragon Cypress: "Melde and White Ivy lead a caravan together. Their team even has primary-level and high-level Flame Spiders. Since things are relatively peaceful and safe on the Ten-thousand Tribes Continent, only one Mountain Lord Level Flame Spider is needed to lead. Melde and White Ivy take turns following Spider King Spurge to the Wan Country Continent for trade."

Dragon Cypress: "I’ve met White Ivy Mountain Lord, but we’re not close... She’s a lively big spider. When she’s happy, she literally jumps when she walks, sometimes bouncing her cargo right off her back..."

The mantis and the ant chatted idly about the caravan while gleefully sampling different types of Origin Force food.

They took a night to rest mid-trip,

Set off the next morning and returned to the Xianglan Mountain Range by afternoon.

Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid sorted the goods, returned to the ant nest, tidied up briefly, and went out to patrol the territory.

The earliest sown three Life Seeds—Dragon Cypress, Spiked Cypress, and Round Cypress—were nearly 1.5 meters tall now. In the days away, the Round Cypress had even blossomed a dozen tiny pinkish-white flowers here and there.

Dragon Cypress instructed two medium-sized worker ants to climb the trees and snap off the flower clusters.

Flowering and fruiting would consume nutrients and energy; since they’re not lacking Origin Force food these days, the Life Seed plants should focus on growth and development.

Next year, once the three cypress Life Seed trees are over two meters tall, they can officially produce Origin Force food.

The Fragrant Cypress sown early last spring had grown over half a meter, while the Giant Cypress from late spring was about 40 centimeters tall now.

This year’s Dried Fragrant Cypress just passed ten centimeters.

The Large Fruit Hemlock sown on the mountaintop also broke ten centimeters—even slower growing than cypress; may take four or five years before yielding Origin Force food.

For age 9, Dragon Cypress planned to choose Green Torreya as his Life Seed.

The Green Torreya Tree grows even slower than the Large Fruit Hemlock, needing seven or eight years to fruit, with a three-year blossom-fruit cycle.

With the Dominating Throne assisting cultivation, and funding from Ink Orchid, Dragon Cypress had the courage to pick so many arbor types as Life Seeds.

After inspecting the territory, Dragon Cypress found a gentle slope nearby, directed the worker ants to clear it overnight and opened up a nursery, sowing Green Torreya Seeds, Great King Fir, Golden Pine, Black Emperor Peach, Dominant Chestnut, and Spotted Star Pear Seeds.

The plan was to first develop an orchard on Xianglan Mountain—planting all sorts of top-level continent seeds at scale.

When the ant colony grows larger, Molan Mountain’s lands will need to be cultivated as well. It’s a flat plain over there—perfect for planting peach and pear trees.

...

Miniaturization Worker Ants and Soldier Ants were born one after another, three each—barely a centimeter in size, all tiny little things.

They’re used much the same as the small worker and soldier ants.

The Miniaturization Worker Ants take care of ant eggs and freshly-hatched larvae.

The Miniaturization Soldier Ants hunt tiny pests like aphids, scale insects, and red spiders.

No need to raise too many for now; stick to the plan—specialized soldier ants remain the priority.

There’s plenty of specialized worker ants, so digging the pond continues.

An overhaul to the work schedule: work starts halfway through the morning, and the ants clock out early afternoon.

Two days of digging, followed by a day off.

With plenty of rest time, Dragon Cypress didn’t idle—after each day, he ate Origin Force food, spent time absorbing it, often staying up till midnight.

On rest days, he ate a Fruit-Scented Orchid Seed and focused on absorbing it.

An 8th age primary-level Ant King—digesting a Divine-Given Seed was still tough.

Dragon Cypress had picked Origin Force food with many types of organ and muscle-strengthening effects. Rotating and combining them brought obvious results. Every day he could feel himself improving.

Not much happening in the Molan Territory, so each morning Ink Orchid carried over a spider silk bag to South Mountain, sprawled on the Dominating Throne, relaxed, munching Origin Force food and watching Dragon Cypress and the worker ants labor away.

After half a month, the pond’s outline—roughly five meters across and one meter deep—was finished.

Then it was time to dig deeper drainage ditches, to ensure good runoff during the rainy season, then dig more ponds.

Ten days later, the drainage was dug to one and a half meters deep.

Another half month, and the pond was one and a half meters deep.

Specialized soldier ants steadily emerged, and Dragon Cypress formed a squad of twelve, sent them out to hunt—finally the ant nest had achieved basic self-sufficiency in food.

After a warm rain,

Buds appeared at the tips of the Mountain North hibiscus branches.

Dragon Cypress sensed evolution was imminent, notified Ink Orchid, and ordered the worker ants to take a holiday.

He lay calmly in the depths of a nest, and ate the last Fruit-Scented Orchid Seed.

After two more days of recuperation and eating some Origin Force foods procured from Melde, drowsiness washed over him.

...

Woke up from deep sleep.

Shed his skin and molted successfully.

The first thing Dragon Cypress did was check his Life Pouch.

The Deep Blue God-Given Seed’s color had turned a shade deeper, and its previously faint connection became much clearer.

There was the pulse of life within the seed.

The Deep Blue God-Given Seed had successfully gestated into a Life Seed!

Dragon Cypress spat it out, placed it on the soft pad, then took a Green Torreya Seed from the spider silk bag and placed it into the Life Pouch.

Wiggling his antennae, the worker ants carried the cut-up meat strips in a line into the ant nest, delivering them right to him.

Because he’d eaten so much physique-strengthening Origin Force food recently, this time upon waking from evolution, he was actually weaker than usual.

Dragon Cypress munched while sorting out the newly awakened memories—9th age awakening of Giant-Headed Ant core inheritance: Gigantification Soldier Ant!

[Soldier ants even bigger than specialized soldier ants, with half the Ant King’s strength, high combat intelligence, able to command soldier ants in battle—the Ant King’s most reliable aides]

What a powerhouse ant type!

Dragon Cypress searched for info on how to cultivate them, and instantly felt disappointed.

To raise Gigantification Soldier Ants, in addition to pheromone stimulation, larvae must also be fed Origin Force food focused on strength enhancement during infancy.

But there are benefits too,

Ordinary worker and soldier ants age quickly, with lifespans of just a few or ten-plus years, and no growth at all.

Gigantification Soldier Ants are completely different—they have the same lifespan as the Ant King, and grow alongside the Ant King’s own evolution.

But,

This takes a substantial amount of Origin Force food.

——If there are Gigantification Soldier Ants, there must be a corresponding ’Gigantification Worker Ant.’ Having one to help manage the ant nest and oversee the workers would be great.

——What I really need is a Gigantification Worker Ant...

——Gigantification Soldier Ants are awesome, but I totally can’t afford to raise one right now!

Dragon Cypress thought it through and made up his mind.

He checked himself over and over—after the molting evolution, the effects of various Origin Force foods’ physique enhancements surfaced, and his body was much more robust—over 15 centimeters long now.

Getting used to all the post-evolution changes, Dragon Cypress turned and held the Deep Blue God-Given Seed, staring at it, entranced.

My Divine-Given Seed!