After the army walked out of the poisonous swamp, Suldak let the large army rest in place and prepare to march towards the Dark Worm Valley.
This has already entered the sphere of influence of the ghost-marked red ants.
At this time, every time he took a step forward, Surdak asked the scouts to explore the way ahead.
The scouts who had just been sent out brought some bad news to Surdak not long after they left.
The scout led Surdak over the slope at the edge of the Poison Swamp. What came into view was a large lake with no edge visible at a glance. Surdak got on his horse and rode to the lake. At this time, the lake water
There is only a thin layer of ice, and it will take at least a month until the lake is completely frozen.
There are several giant arched stone bridges above the lake, and these stone bridges are very exaggerated in shape.
It looks like the dead roots of a giant tree are exposed from the ground, but the bridge deck is actually round.
The thickness of these stone bridges is also very uneven. Some stone bridges are tens of meters wide in places and only two or three meters in narrow places. What troubles Suldak the most is that the decks of these stone bridges are arc-shaped.
It is high in the middle and low on both sides. The slope becomes steeper toward the edge.
Only by standing in the middle of the stone bridge can you pass safely...
Once you stand too close to the edge, you will easily lose your balance and fall into the lake.
At this time, the lake has a layer of ice, and the water temperature should be close to zero. Ordinary soldiers will lose their temperature quickly if they fall into the lake. It may not be easy to swim out of the lake. I don’t know if there are any in this big lake.
What kind of underwater monster...
Although this steep bridge deck is a big challenge for humans, war horses and armed thunder rhinoceros, it is not difficult for these ghost-striped red ants. They have six powerful legs and can climb three hundred meters on the stone bridge.
Sixty degree climb.
Moreover, this kind of stone bridge across the lake actually stretches out from the north. It is not yet clear how many meters the span of these stone bridges is.
Ghost-striped red ants can be seen everywhere on the stone bridge. Surdak did not expect that these ghost-striped red ants actually knew how to retreat to the stone bridge.
Surdak just walked around the lake and then rode back.
This is the territory of the ghost-striped red ants, and it is blocked by poisonous smog all year round, so it is usually inaccessible.
Among the grassland and shrubs by the lake, some elementary magic herbs such as silver-leaf grass, kudzu root, and pool grass can be seen everywhere. Suldak immediately realized the value of this grassland and quickly waved to the cavalry following behind him.
Call some help over.
The cavalry quickly turned their horses and left, and soon a large group of people came.
Surdak selected those with collecting experience from among these cavalry, and asked them to take advantage of the gap between the ghost-striped red ants to retreat to the stone bridge, and quickly collect all the magic herbs here, and wait for the adventure group and mercenary group later.
Everyone comes out of the swamp and follows me. I'm afraid this is the place where all parties will fight for it.
銆愭帹 drill鄪笅锛屽挭鍜阒呰 faintclounder
The cavalry came on horseback, much faster than Samira and the archers. When Samira arrived at the lake, she saw the magic herbs everywhere on the grass in front of her, and quickly called her archers to seize the shrubs with the most herbs.
Forest.
The magic herbs in the Green Empire are now more valuable than gold. At this time, no matter what kind of magic herbs are in the market, they are hard currency.
It's just that magic herbs are very hungry for land resources. They probably need to continuously absorb the surrounding elements during their growth. They cannot grow in large patches. There are only one or two trees in an area. The cavalry immediately searched further along the river and approached.
Give these resources to the archers.
This muffled attempt to make a fortune only lasted until dark, when Andrew's cavalry outpost encountered a large group of ghost-patterned soldier ants in the distance, and then quickly retreated.
At this moment, the adventure group and the mercenary group that followed had also come out of the poisonous swamp. They almost walked in the mud and dug up poisonous millipedes all the way. This group of people ventured here just to make a fortune.
Come on, these poisonous millipedes are a big fortune to them.
When they walked out of the poisonous swamp and came to the large lake with thin ice on the surface, they immediately discovered the traces of collection on the grass.
These adventure groups went completely crazy. They were like a group of gadflies smelling blood. They rushed into the grass with a bang. They didn't even care about it getting dark and searched for magic herbs further along the river grass.
He didn't even pay attention to the kind reminder of the cavalry sent by Suldak.
It may also be that they don't have the same panic about these ghost-striped red ants as before, which is why they are so unscrupulous.
Who caused all the magic herbs in the nearby grassland to be harvested by Lord Suldak's warriors? What else could they do except go to the grassland farther away by the lake to look for magic herbs?
The temporary camp has been set up, the marching tents are closely connected together, and groups of soldiers are walking around the camp.
These patrolling soldiers stared at the arched stone bridge not far away, fearing that a group of ghost-patterned soldier ants would suddenly rush out from the stone bridge and attack the camp. They had experienced the beast tide, and naturally knew the power of these swarms of red ants.
In the past, when fighting against ghost-striped red ants, everyone relied on the northern city wall to block them and occupy this strategic location.
Now Andrew and his cavalry can deal with these ghostly red ants in the wilderness.
But ordinary warriors still couldn't resist the attack when faced with ghost-marked red ants.
The armed Thunder Rhino also transported the ordered bed crossbows and catapults this time. Aung San's younger brother Tula is now the captain of the ordnance maintenance team. After these bed crossbows and catapults were transported through the poisonous swamp, Latu had nothing
He didn't do anything and just started assembling the bed crossbow with his men.
Underneath this bed crossbow is the chassis of a four-wheel carriage. This four-wheel base with a magic axle has an extra reinforced structure and looks very bulky.
If there were no horses to pull it, at least six people would be needed to push it, and the road surface should not be too bad.
The bed crossbows that had just been assembled were now pushed onto the slope, pointing at the stone bridge by the lake a few hundred meters away.
…
Surdak's dinner was very rich. In addition to baked wheat cakes and broth, there was also half a roasted millipede. The meat of this barbecue was indeed very tender, but the poor appearance made Surdak lose his appetite.
.
A ray of light from the magic circle lit up inside the marching tent, and Aphrodite walked out of the Void Gate.
"You came just in time, I just have something to show you..." Surdak sat on a chair, wiped his mouth, and left the camp with Aphrodite.
The two of them walked directly onto the slope, where a group of bed crossbow repairmen, led by Latu, were assembling these bed crossbows overnight.
Surdak pointed to the stone bridge hidden in the night in the distance and asked Aphrodite: "Do you know what those are? They can't really be some naturally formed stone arch bridges, right?"
Aphrodite turned to look at Suldak with a speechless expression, but then she still observed it carefully.
The big lake under the starry sky is like a bright mirror or a huge gem. The glimmer of light reflected from the lake surface just makes these stone arch bridges completely exposed.
The shadow of transparent insect wings appeared behind Aphrodite, and her body also floated into the air.
Surdak thought she would fly over to investigate, but he didn't expect that after a while, she landed on the spot, thought for a moment and then said to Surdak:
"I have read similar records in the goblin city library of the Maca plane. The goblins believe that these stone bridges are probably the roots left after the death of the World Tree, which were exposed on the surface, and then turned into stone after countless years of weathering.
...Dak, do you think the mountain in front of you was originally a World Tree?"
"Look at the fractures on the top of this mountain..."
She pointed at the mountain peaks that looked like pillars in the northern night sky. In the night, they were just dark shadows.
"If you imagine it to be the stump left behind after a big tree dies, these stone bridges are most likely its rhizomes exposed on the surface, and its body and rhizomes have gradually petrified over countless years."
"You said that mountain peak is the stump of the World Tree after it dies? The Dark Worm Valley is on the root of the World Tree..."
"If this is the case, these ghostly patterned red ants really occupy a geomantic treasure. Even the dead World Tree is probably full of treasures... But... after so many years, there is probably nothing left.
Got it!"
"If a city can be built inside the stump of this World Tree, at least there will be no need to dig a moat."
"I guess this mountain must be hollow. Such a high mountain wall can be used as a city wall. The disadvantage is that the city is built inside, and the lighting must be very poor. I heard that the elves like to build cities on the top of the World Tree."
Aphrodite squinted her eyes, not afraid of the cold wind blowing from the north, and actually sat on the slope, looking at the distant mountain peaks and starting a series of reveries.
Surdak then expressed his troubles: "Now our army has to pass through the stone bridge, but it is covered with ghost-marked red ants. If you want to cross this stone bridge, you will probably have to fight through it.
Fighting on the stone bridge, the ghost-patterned red ants have a huge advantage."
"Then what are you going to do?" Aphrodite asked.
Surdak pointed to the bed crossbows and catapults being assembled not far away, and said to Aphrodite: "I am going to use the catapults and bed crossbows to blast all the way over..."