CHAPTER 176: CHAPTER 168: PLANT HEART VS ANT SWARM!

When Mimi had an ant in its mouth just now, the vine did not pierce up from the ground. It wasn’t until the ant was thrown from its mouth that the vine suddenly appeared, directly impaling the ant.

This indicates that these vines, controlled by the plant heart, are quite selective. They won’t harm allied units, which is very commendable.

The large ant, the size of a wildcat, continued to struggle even after being impaled.

Is its vitality really that tenacious?

Suddenly, the struggling of the ant became violent. Then, it was as if its bodily fluids were sucked out, the once plump black exoskeleton began to shrivel gradually, ultimately turning into a thin insect skin hanging on the vine.

"This... the vine can even suck dry the creatures it pierces?" Xu Xin swallowed, feeling a bit anxious.

[Killed a mutant ant, points gained: 0.2.]

...Wow, only 0.2 points?! Is that incredibly low or what?

Calculating at five times the points, this ant only yields 1 point in hunting activities, the same as a wild rabbit! Is it really that weak?

This ant is called a mutant ant, but it has no bloodlines on its body and is the size of a kitten. This size isn’t big for Xu Xin, but compared to its previous size, it’s absolutely gigantic, so he speculated that this ant is just a giant mutation like the giant anaconda and giant crocodile.

It seems killing such a type of mutant beast doesn’t yield high points, similar to ordinary beasts.

The vine that absorbed the mutant ant showed no change, it threw the impaled ant skin onto the ground, wiggled a few times, confirmed there were no nearby enemies, and then shrunk back below the ground.

Following that, the surface that was pierced through quickly repaired itself, eventually returning to being flat.

Xu Xin squatted down and touched the ground; indeed, there was no trace that vines had emerged before.

It can even repair itself to be flat again, this plant heart is really considerate, it will repair the ground that it damages!

Looking at the dense red army advancing toward his treehouse on the map, Xu Xin’s trypophobia was about to flare up.

The masses of red dots had been divided into seven groups, which have now stepped within a kilometer radius of the treehouse.

He immediately said in [Explorer]: "It’s an ant army! Each ant is the size of a wildcat. Even though each one is weak, don’t drop your guard. There are tons of them, at least over ten thousand!"

Wang Lei: "Ant swarm? How are we supposed to deal with that! I’d really rather face a big monster..."

Qin Yunlong: "If it’s an ant swarm, won’t explosive arrows be effective? One shot, wipe out a bunch!"

Li Wenxi: "Big bugs! Oh my god, I hate big bugs! And there are thousands of them!"

Wen Guixin: "Ant swarm? Then I’m fine with it, it’s easy to deal with."

Zhao Xiaochuan: "Huh? Ant swarm is easy to deal with? Boss Wen, save me, I hate bugs too!"

Wen Guixin: "...I can’t help you guys."

Ji Chaoyang: "Using fire against an ant swarm is probably the best, but in the jungle, using fire could easily start a forest fire."

Fire strategy?

Xu Xin’s eyes suddenly lit up.

There is still a pile of blood vine he hasn’t dealt with in his treehouse, which contains rich mutant vine sap. If these vines are arranged in a small circle around the treehouse and ignited, wouldn’t it create a ring of fire guarding the treehouse?

Xu Xin immediately shared this idea with them.

Ji Chaoyang: "It’s feasible! But you must clear the vegetation around the treehouse thoroughly. The most stable way is to dig a trench around the treehouse, place the vines in it to burn, to minimize the risk!"

Li Wenxi: "I see the ants! They’re huge! And there’s so many! They’re coming! Ah... they’re being attacked by the mutant vines!"

Indeed, these vines will not only attack them and the treehouse, but also anything moving, including the ant army targeting the treehouse just like them!

No ants emerged from the forest around Xu Xin. The woods were just over a dozen meters away from his treehouse, but the ant swarm was intercepted by the plant heart a hundred meters out.

About a hundred meters away in the forest, vines continuously punched upwards towards the jungle canopy, and ants impaled on the vines struggled continuously, eventually being sucked dry into a thin layer of skin.

Through the gaps in the forest, he could see that the dense forest did somewhat hinder the advance of the ant swarm, just enough for the vines to capitalize on.

A mass of vines thrust through the ground to impale ants, some even shuttling through the grove like greedy snakes to pierce crawling ants, impaling dozens at a time, as if a skewer of roast ants ready for the grill.

This scenario unfolded in all directions around the treehouse, and his plant heart was systematically dealing with these attacking ants.

Points notifications constantly chimed in his ears, each time a mere 0.2 points, better than nothing.

The intense tension in Xu Xin’s mind started to ease.

It seems his plant heart is quite strong, and even tends to get stronger the more it fights. After all, it can absorb ants as its energy, which makes the vines increasingly agile, able to maneuver back and forth through the jungle effortlessly.

However, the greatest strength of the ant swarm is its quantity; the sheer number of black ants was overwhelming, and many slipped through the defenses.

Initially, vines emerged only around a hundred-meter range to attack ants, but gradually, vines started sprouting sixty, seventy meters from the treehouse, impaling and feeding on countless ants.

If this trend continues, perhaps some ants will break through the hundred-meter defense line and approach the treehouse.

But Xu Xin wasn’t too worried because, at the current rate of cleaning by the vines, not many ants would manage to traverse the forest to the inside. By then, such weak ants wouldn’t even require a move from Mimi Silver King; a howl from Afu would suffice.

Oh right, Afu!

"Afu, launch a sound attack at those surrounding ants!" Xu Xin instructed Afu, already perched on Mimi’s back.

Afu immediately flapped its wings into the air, letting out a piercing scream!

Instantly, the ants in the jungle halted their steps.

The previously advancing ant army had reached four or five meters from the treehouse, and Afu’s shout caused every ant in the vicinity to freeze. The nearest batch even had their heads burst open, combined with the vine attack, half of the ants within a hundred meters were cleared.

"Well done, Afu!" Xu Xin applauded approvingly.

The Silver King was not to be outdone, tilting its head back and howling: "Awooo—"

The Silver King’s howl didn’t have an attack effect but served as intimidation. Instantly, all the surrounding ant armies paused in their actions, allowing the vines to go berserk, exterminating the ants within a hundred meters.

Xu Xin’s points increased by more than two hundred points, meaning that over a thousand ants had perished under the combined attack of Afu, the Silver King, and the plant heart!

And the small portion of the ant army that was cleared out halted a hundred meters away, seemingly taking a break.

"Not attacking anymore?" Xu Xin grabbed the treehouse’s root and rose about twenty meters into the air, surveying the surroundings.

The ant swarm that had been scattered was now regrouping, possibly resting and planning the next attack.