As she looked at the 3121 ants standing behind her, Smart Ant Number 2 couldn't help but turn her attention to Antonia, who was standing next to her.
'Mother, are you sure these are enough ants to start a new colony?' asked Smart Ant Number 2, causing Antonia to faintly frown, keenly aware of her daughter's desire for more ants.
'Don't worry, these are more than enough, both me and Mistress herself have scouted the area, and destroyed anything that might be able to threaten a new colony,' said Antonia as she looked at Smart Ant Number 2, who had grown to be always half a tall as her.
Hearing the words of her mother, who had just instantly shut down her request for more ants, Smart Ant Number 2, couldn't help but regretfully nod.
'I understand mother,' said Number 2 before quickly beginning to walk away, quickly followed by 3100 normal ants as well as 21 intelligent ants.
If not for the fact that Antonia was physically unable to cry, tears would have most likely fallen down her face as she watched thousands of her little daughters leave.
But even so, as an Ant Queen, Antonia also had an endless desire for expansion, as such, the creation of new colonies made her feel a bid conflicted.
Even when Canty, who was annoying and disobedient, first went out and created her colony, Antonia felt sad, but after paying a visit to the fledgling colony, which had grown quite nicely over time, Antonia's sadness finally disappeared.
'All the others are gone, now only number 4 is left,' thought Antonia.
Under the orders of her mistress, Antonia planned the creation of 5 new colonies, each of which occupied a useful location.
For example, Colony Number 5, which was under the control of smart ant number 3, was to be created and occupy the most fertile plains in the region, while the colony created by Smart Ant Number 4 would be created over the defensive position that Laslus had once been on.
Merely a few moments later, a large ant, followed by several thousand other ants of her choosing approached the exit to the colony, where Antonia was currently standing.
'The number of ants number 4 took is a bit smaller than the others...' thought Antonia as she looked at the 3023 ants behind Number 4.
As the first five intelligent ants other than Canty, who had come before them, Smart Ants 1-5 always had an extremely close relationship, with number 4, who was the smartest of them all being kind of like an Elder Sister to the others, especially to Number 1, who was a little bit less bright.
'Mother, I've assembled the group, we're ready to go establish the colony,' said Number 4 as she looked at her mother with a serious look on her face, causing the larger ant to faintly smile, even though that was not visible on her face.
Upon taking a closer look at Number Four's group of ants, Antonia faintly nodded her head before letting out a sigh.
'Very well, Number 4, don't disappoint me and the Mistress,' said Antonia before finally allowing the ants to pass through, and exit the gates of the colony.
...
'Sister 5, we've finished creating the temporary housing for the ants to shield them from the snow temporarily,' said Intelligent Ant Number 254 as she walked over snow to Number 5, the Queen of this colony, who was currently supervising the digging of the colony.
Unlike the other 4 Colonies established, which had pretty easy starts, and great locations, the colony that Number 5 had created was sadly placed on a snowy mountain, making it much more difficult for it to get it's footing.
'Very good, bring the sisters over here, the colony diggers have hit a layer of stone, we need as many mandibles as we can get over here,' said Number 5 before suddenly jumping into the hole that the other ants had just created, before actually beginning to dig herself.
As she looked at the Queen, whose mandibles were currently cutting through stone, Intelligent Ant Number 254 nodded her head before leaving.
Around half a minute later, the Intelligent Ant had once again returned, this time with 300 Earth Ants behind her, and quickly jumped into the hole, beginning to dig as well.
...
Although Number 4 did not have it nearly as hard as Number 5 did, as she stared at the completely infertile ground in front of her, which had just some trees and grass on top of it, Number 4 couldn't help but click her mandibles together.
Right now, Number 4 was standing right at the former location of Laslus City, which had been buried underground.
A few moments later, after digging a bit through the dirt and finding it extremely easy to plow through, Number 4 couldn't help but shake her head
"423, get 300 ants and begin the digging of the colony, 1262, the soil here is not very stable, get 500 ants and reinforce the tunnels that 423 is digging," said Number 4, causing 2 Intelligent Ants to quickly gather 800 ants and get to work.
"673, get 200 ants and gather information about the flora and fauna of the location, both on ground, and underground."
"801, get 500 ants and create a perimeter around the colony, don't fight the things that come in, just report to me."
"745, get 300 ants and begin cleaning up the ruins of the underground city, give the materials obtained to 1262, they should be of help in stabilizing the tunnels."
"56, get 500 ants and begin searching for the nearest underground water source, give its location to 423 after you find it."
"As for the 700 ants left, you will follow me," said Number 4 as she stared into the distance.
As an Ant Queen, although not a fully mature one just yet, Number 4's vision was much better than that of other Earth Ants, as such, she was clearly able to notice the animals approaching from a distance, having discovered the disappearance of the human city.
Being an Ant Queen with a colony that was eager to devour food, Number 4 was not willing to give up any food she could find.