The Dominating Throne produces Ant Eggs, and the Worker Ants nurtured from them are smarter than those bred from the eggs of normal female Ant Kings. They possess some memory and learning ability, and are flexible and adaptable.
Over the years, the Worker Ants have dug out the Ant Nest, the Marsh Gas Pool, water pools, tunnels, and the North Mountain Reservoir. Through this, they have accumulated plentiful digging experience, each having become a skilled excavator.
Dragon Cypress also observed that when newly born rookie Worker Ants joined the digging team, they were at first a bit bewildered; soon, experienced Worker Ants would come over to teach them.
The new Worker Ants could quickly become proficient.
This is an ability that Worker Ants bred by female Ant Kings completely lack.
...
Dig the steep slope on the north side of the valley floor first.
Dragon Cypress was still in charge of controlling the Dominating Throne's lifting and command of the ant colony.
The main command work was handled by Round Cypress.
Spiked Cypress led the Soldier Ants, assisting in transporting stones.
Currently, the Dominating Throne produces 6 Ant Eggs every four days.
This meant that every four days, 6 new Worker Ants joined the digging army.
The labor team's size continued to grow steadily.
Looking around, both up and down the mountain, densely packed with ants, team after team, all busily and methodically at work.
The beautiful days of early summer passed by in a flash.
Midsummer,
The blazing sun at noon could roast ants to death.
Dragon Cypress adjusted the work schedule; everyone rested in the nest during the day and worked at night.
For half a month straight, it was the dry season with not a trace of clouds in the sky.
The Torreya, Golden Pine Nut, Great King Fir, Dominant Chestnut, Black Emperor Peach, Spotted Star Pear transplanted to the orchard on Xianglan Mountain; Ink Orchid's various Orchid Grasses; all kinds of Cypress saplings in lower mountain nurseries, and this spring's large-scale transplanted Silver Cypress Saplings, all needed to be irrigated every three to five days.
The cultivation of ordinary plants had just reached scale, and the workload was quite heavy.
The South Mountain Reservoir excavation project was severely delayed.
Fortunately, the high temperature and drought lasted only about twenty days and didn't escalate into a drought disaster.
But the situation wasn't all good,
After the dry season, clouds hung over the sky for a long time, endless drizzle, and now and then a thunderstorm.
The reservoir project couldn't proceed normally.
Dragon Cypress decided to give the Worker Ants a holiday, letting them rest for a few days.
This fall, Ghost Fan's Divine-Given Seed would ripen and require 800 Source Stones.
Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid braved the rain to set out, bringing the Source Stones to Ghost Fan in advance to save another trip later.
Dragon Cypress took an extra night shift, controlling the Dominating Throne to fly until late at night before stopping to rest for half the night, setting out again early the next morning.
Traveling day and night, flying direct, they reached their destination in three days.
It was raining at Ghost Fan Mountain too.
The rain wasn't heavy.
Ghost Fan was lying at the entrance of its dwelling cave.
Woodberry was lying atop Ghost Fan's head.
"They're here!" Ghost Fan got excited and jumped up.
Woodberry, caught unawares, smashed solidly into the cave roof.
"Yaa~ squeak~"
Woodberry screamed miserably.
"Woodberry?"
Ghost Fan panicked and swept with its spiritual power to check.
Fortunately, it wasn't injured.
Woodberry was already a 'big beetle' over 10 centimeters long, not so easily hurt.
"Ant honey is here," Ghost Fan soothed.
"Dragon Cypress? Ink Orchid! Weren't they coming in the fall?"
"It's been raining lately, so there's nothing else to do, right?"
"Oh—"
Woodberry spread its elytra, flapped its wings, and glided out of the cave, standing in the rain and gazing out.
A blue sphere crossed the curtain of rain, approaching slowly.
"Woodberry!"
Dragon Cypress called.
"What age period now?"
Ink Orchid asked.
"Sixth age!"
Woodberry was very casual with Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid, flapped its wings, and circled down onto the Throne, gazing curiously at the rain-blocking 'Hydrology Shield.'
"Dragon Cypress. Ink Orchid."
"Ghost Fan."
They greeted each other.
Ink Orchid leapt up with the Spider Silk Bag full of Source Stones, fluttered its wings, and landed lightly.
Dragon Cypress: "Source Stones delivered in advance, so we won't come in autumn. The territory is busy, lots to do, we'll come again in winter."
"Oh… Thank you for all the hard work! Is the reservoir not finished yet?"
Ghost Fan stared straight at Ink Orchid.
As Ink Orchid landed, its azure carapace changed at a speed visible even to compound eyes, blending perfectly with the cave's entrance.
This was the Flower Mantis Tribe's talent ability; Flower Mantis Warriors were natural stealth assassins.
"Ink Orchid, you've been promoted to High-Level Warrior! Congratulations!"
"Such an amazing ability!"
Ghost Fan genuinely admired, envious.
Ink Orchid: "Ghost Fan, didn't you awaken your Metal System Ability early?"
Ghost Fan: "Not impressive. I can only refine a bit of metal gravel from sand and use it to drill holes in wood. Nothing else useful."
Ghost Fan then asked: "Dragon Cypress, do you have Water System Ability?"
Dragon Cypress: "Useless too. Can't make any use of it."
Woodberry crawled around the Throne, finally sprawling motionless atop a gourd full of ant honey, turning its head this way and that, eyeing Dragon Cypress, then Ink Orchid, then Ghost Fan.
Dragon Cypress turned and said: "Woodberry, this jar of ant honey is for you, help yourself."
"Oh~ woo~"
"Thank you, Dragon Cypress!"
Given permission, Woodberry climbed down from the gourd, grabbed the Spider Silk Rope tied at the bottle neck, and struggled to drag it.
Ink Orchid jumped onto the Throne, lifting Woodberry down with it.
Dragon Cypress: "Ghost Fan, count the Source Stones and check if the quantity is right."
Ghost Fan: "No need. I trust you."
Dragon Cypress: "Thank you for your trust."
Dragon Cypress: "Then we won't linger, we'll take our leave now. There's endless work waiting for us at Xianglan Mountain."
Ghost Fan: "Wait a moment! Ink Orchid…"
Ghost Fan asked a bit embarrassedly: "Ink Orchid, your Divine-Given Gorgon Fruit Seed… did it bloom this year?"
Ink Orchid: "It bloomed. There are 93 offshoots, each bearing a fruit, 5 Gorgon Fruit Seeds per fruit. First batch produced, total yield is 465 Gorgon Fruit Seeds. The blossom-fruit cycle is still uncertain, but most likely they'll ripen next year, possibly the year after."
"Oh—"
Ghost Fan: "Is that considered a high yield?"
Ink Orchid: "Not high or low."
Ghost Fan: "That's good. Remember to save some for me and Woodberry."
Ink Orchid: "Of course! Definitely!"
…
…
…
The clouds wouldn't disperse.
The rain continued off and on.
On their way back, Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid stopped by to visit White Willow, chatting leisurely for half a day.
After driving through the night and another day and a half, they returned to Xianglan Mountain.
A cool wind from the northwest swept by, and after a heavy rainstorm, the sky finally cleared.
Sunny skies.
Back to work.
The end-of-summer sun no longer scorched like a Blazing Insect, and work-rest times returned to normal: working by day, resting at night.
A month later,
The steep north-facing slope along the range was carved into a sheer cliff.
The planned reservoir took shape, three hundred meters long east to west, about 50 meters at its widest north-south.
The lower valley entrance was narrowest, just over a dozen meters wide.
Dragon Cypress led a group of Worker Ants to widen the valley entrance.
Round Cypress led a group of Worker Ants to dig into the southern slope where the Southern Gorgon's Divine-Given Seed was rooted, leveling the slope a bit.
Spiked Cypress directed the Soldier Ants in distant hunts and helped with moving gravel.
Ink Orchid wasn't idle either; the number of Worker Ants was steadily growing, and it also assisted the Soldier Ants in long-distance hunting.
During autumn, wild plants in the mountains produced lots of fruit; Ink Orchid also sought Divine-Given Seeds, gathering wild fruit.
...
Another month later,
Dragon Cypress and the ant colony had expanded the valley entrance to 20 meters wide.
By deep autumn,
After evolving in sleep once more, its body length finally reached 50 centimeters.
The Six Paths Wood Life Seed was fully nurtured and carefully stored; a plot of fertile ground was selected in advance, waiting to be sown next spring.
The Purple Kiwifruit was chosen as the Life Seed for the 9th age period mid-level Ant King.
A day off was taken, and then work started again, digging the foundation for the dam.