At the foot of the mountain, there was a lush grove of strong bamboos.
Dragon Cypress used its mandibles to cut a bamboo stem, then carefully shaped it into a petite "water bucket."
Ink Orchid followed along curiously and asked, "Dragon Cypress, what are you making that for? To water the plants? It's raining, you know."
"It's not for watering."
Dragon Cypress explained, "The temperature in the hatchery is much higher than the natural air outside the ant nest. If you fill a container with water and keep it in the ant nest, then soak the seeds in it for half a day, it helps them wake up from dormancy faster, which means they'll sprout more quickly."
Dragon Cypress: "This is a little trick for sowing—seed soaking."
"Ohhh—"
"Wait a sec!"
Ink Orchid flapped her wings and sped off, but before long she hurried back, carrying a spider silk bag.
"Dragon Cypress, this is my Xuelan Life Seed. I dug it up again. Help me soak it, okay?"
"And these are all kinds of orchid seeds I collected last autumn and winter. I plan to open up two plots and cultivate them in nurseries with your method. Dragon Cypress, help me soak them all, please."
Dragon Cypress: "..."
...
Life Seeds are at the Origin Force level—their vitality is far stronger than ordinary seeds.
After a thorough soak in warm water, Dragon Cypress's Giant Cypress Life Seed sprouted smoothly the day after it was sown in the earth.
It cleared after the rain, and the temperature began to rise.
The transplanted Dragon Cypress, Round Cypress, and Spiked Cypress Life Seed saplings soon burst forth with new shoots, entering a phase of vigorous growth for the fresh year.
Migratory birds returned, singing atop the branches.
Hibernating frogs and snakes awoke, beginning a new year of pursuit and drama.
Hidden insect eggs began to hatch.
The mountain echoed constantly with the cries of birds, insects, and beasts.
Predators hungry for a whole winter grew ever more active.
In the settled mountain, elk, wild boars, black bears, leopards, pythons and other large animals were often on the move.
Dragon Cypress, with the only large Worker Ant, chopped off some barbed branches from a Red Thorn Vine bush hundreds of meters away from the ant nest up the slope. Using the Dominating Throne's enhancement, they hauled the branches to construct defensive works around the newly sown Giant Cypress Life Seed.
After finishing her own territory, Ink Orchid came to help, moving large stones to encircle and reinforce the defenses.
At the same time, Ink Orchid increased her hunting; whatever she couldn't finish eating, she buried in pits near the Life Seed plants to compost.
Every three or five days, a light spring rain would fall.
The season of all things growing.
Dragon Cypress's Cypress Life Seed shot up taller every day, thriving energetically.
The first Specialized Soldier Ant finally broke out of its cocoon.
Over ten centimeters long—almost twice Dragon Cypress's own size—its mandibles took up a third of its length, menacing and fierce.
Around the same time, a Large Soldier Ant also emerged.
Dragon Cypress assigned both to guard the Giant Cypress sapling full-time.
By this time, the ant nest had 5 small Worker Ants, 4 medium Worker Ants, and 2 large Worker Ants; plus 1 medium Soldier Ant, 1 large Soldier Ant, and 1 Specialized Soldier Ant.
The numbers were small, but the castes were basically complete.
Through practice, Dragon Cypress figured out the lay of the land.
For territory management, medium Worker Ants had the widest range of uses: nurturing larvae, feeding Soldier Ants, excavating tunnels, cutting up food, loosening the soil in the garden—almost any task. They could even switch to combat duties in a pinch, assisting the Soldier Ants in rooting out pests within the territory.
For territorial defense, there was no question—the Specialized Soldier Ants were the strongest. They were the trump cards of the Giant-Headed Ant lineage.
For the next batches of eggs produced by the Dominating Throne, "Guardians" and "Producers" would be balanced fifty-fifty; Dragon Cypress would focus solely on breeding Specialized Soldier Ants and medium Worker Ants.
The busy spring carried forward an orderly rhythm of rapid territorial development.
During intermittent digging, the second hatchery was completed and named the "Soldier Ant Hatchery."
The first hatchery was named "Worker Ant Incubation Room."
Using pheromones to stimulate ant eggs and larvae to differentiate into the right caste was an extremely complex process—dividing them into two types of hatchery and separating them kept the "flavors" from mixing.
...
The wheel of time spun forward.
In the hills, a hundred flowers bloomed, dazzling in brilliant colors.
High spring.
"Dragon Cypress, mealtime!"
Surprisingly, today Ink Orchid actually brought something new: a Black-Striped Snake, already beheaded.
The Worker and Soldier Ants didn't have self-awareness, but as semi-Origin Force Life, they'd developed some memory and understanding. They recognized Ink Orchid and, sniffing the scent of meat, rushed over in a scramble.
The Specialized Soldier Ant snatched the Black-Striped Snake, using its mandibles to cut it into sections.
The Worker Ants big and small swarmed around, dividing and eating.
Dragon Cypress strolled lazily out of the nest, waggling his tentacles.
The four medium Worker Ants carried meat strips forward: Great King eats first.
The five small Worker Ants, quick to catch on, stepped forward to groom Dragon Cypress's membranous wings and clean his carapace.
Ink Orchid stood by, watching with interest.
"Dragon Cypress, you really are a true Ant King now! One day you'll definitely become the strongest Ant King on the whole continent!"
"Wooow——"
Dragon Cypress had already figured out Ink Orchid's conversation style—her wild praise always hid some other little scheme.
Not hard to guess,
Dragon Cypress calmly said, "Late in winter, a caravan of Dulai Flame Spiders crosses into the Ten Thousand Nations Continent, taking about 80 days. When the mountain valleys burst into bloom, they'll have finished the first half of the journey and will gather on the eastern end of the continent."
Ink Orchid zeroed in on the most important bit, looking left and right, up and down. "Flowers blooming everywhere? Then they're here already! Dragon Cypress, are we leaving tomorrow then?"
As she spoke, Ink Orchid turned to look at Dragon Cypress's Giant Cypress Life Seed. "It's gotten through the most fragile seedling stage now. With Soldier Ants guarding it, it should be safe, right?"
"Yes..."
Dragon Cypress asked, "Ink Orchid, how's the Xuelan Life Seed you sowed?"
Ink Orchid replied, "Almost done."
Dragon Cypress said, "Ink Orchid, don't be impatient. The Spider King Spurge's caravan always moves slowly, later than the others. We'll wait a few more days before we set out."
"Okay!"
Ink Orchid cheered, then immediately asked, "Dragon Cypress, what do we need to prepare?"
Dragon Cypress: "There's nothing we can trade with the caravan, so there's not much to get ready, is there? The trip might take several days, so just make sure to protect the Life Seed plants before we leave."
Dragon Cypress reminded, "Ink Orchid, when you meet the caravan, don't let on that you have a Divine-Given Fruit-Scented Orchid Seed, and definitely don't reveal that there's a spot here in the mountains overflowing with Natural Primordial Force."
Ink Orchid tilted her head, still puzzled.
Dragon Cypress: "Every caravan has its own route, but those routes aren't fixed. Driven by profit, they love to head towards bountiful Insect Clan Territories, hoping to build stable trading relationships. But most insects are poor; truly rich Insect Clans are always few. Plus, caravans compete amongst themselves."
"The Origin Force Food produced by Divine-Given Seeds is much too precious, and it's rooted in these abundant mountains. Once word gets out, every caravan will fight to trade with you. But you can only pick one, or two, maybe three. That means you'll offend all the others—got it? If any caravan bears a grudge and leaks the news to a nearby Ant Clan Kingdom…"
"I get it!"
Ink Orchid asked worriedly, "Will the Ant Clan Kingdom kill us?"
Dragon Cypress: "And what good would that do? If they kill you, your Divine-Given Seed dies too. There's no benefit to it. A clever Ant King will know exactly when the Fruit-Scented Orchid Seed ripens and invade every year at the right time, robbing you clean."
"That's so evil!"
The thought of having her territory raided year after year turned Ink Orchid's worry into fear and anger.
Dragon Cypress comforted her, "Ink Orchid, you don't need to be too anxious. Next spring, Melde will come. I'll find her privately and set up a steady trade with her in secret."
"Here on the Cloud Trace Continent, the Starship's exit is narrow: powerful Ant Kings can't come through, and big Soldier Ants can't either. As long as we quickly evolve into High-Level Warriors and High-Level Ant Kings, we'll have enough strength to keep our territory safe."
"I understand."
Ink Orchid relaxed slightly and, drawing an analogy, said, "Dragon Cypress, the same goes for your Dominating Throne, right? Never let any other insect know about it—they'd kill you and steal your treasure."
Dragon Cypress said warmly, "Exactly! Ink Orchid, you're really clever!"
But Ink Orchid couldn't cheer up.
She'd come excited and jubilant—now she went home weighed down with worry.