Countless black shadows flew across the desolate desert. Lin's troops were flying towards the Forest of Spires. < >
This flying unit was made up of many different types of troops. The largest of them was 50 meters long and shaped like a shark. Its body was filled with a huge amount of gas, and it had three pairs of shark-like 'fins' on both sides of its body to assist in flight. Its tail had a huge jet, but it only spewed out a small amount of gas. That was enough for flight.
Its name was' Bechymos'. Just like the Leviathan, it was a creature with a special name created by Lin. It had many functions, but its most important was its ability to carry heavy loads. Not only did the Bechymos carry a large number of aerial creatures, it also carried many land troops. If something were to happen in the future, Lin might continue to increase its size and make it the main loader. It could lead other troops to avoid disasters and find other safe places or continents.
However, the current Bechymos was the main 'flagship'.
'Flagship' was a good word.
Lin had spent dozens of days and nights creating the Bechymos, but it was indeed worth it.
Of course, it wasn't just the Bechymos. Lin had many aerial creatures flying around it. She had also created some auxiliary flying units, such as the Thruster, a small flying creature that could jet air at high speed. It could stick to the Bechymos at critical moments to help it fly or turn. Lin had discovered that it was rather troublesome for such a large creature to turn.
The Bechymos' main buoyancy came from the gas in its body. Lin had used a slightly heavier gas produced by jellyfish. Jellyfish could produce two types of gas, one was the lightest and the other slightly heavier. Lin had tested the lightest gas and found that it was more troublesome. It would always leak, while the slightly heavier one was much more stable.
Generally speaking, the reason for creating troops was to defend against Aztec attacks. There was also the possibility of huge carnivorous creatures – the Misty Worm. Therefore, a strong defence was necessary.
However, the most important reason for creating troops was that Lin had wanted to create a flying unit to observe.
Although Lin had prepared a large number of troops, she had no intention of attacking. Aztec worms wouldn't appear during the day. Therefore, Lin would fly to the Forest of Spires during the day and leave after obtaining the moss.
The Leviathan didn't come, but continued to stay in the base. There were only a few troops left. However, the green carpet itself did not require any protection, and there were many desert scorpions hovering around Lin's base.
The few desert scorpions that Lin had brought back had already grown up and were breeding. They would usually hunt for food nearby. But they would always surround Lin's base.
Lin had also done some research on biological reproduction. She discovered that when biological creatures that were relatively close to each other were reproducing, the offspring would be abnormal, as if there was something wrong with their internal cells.
Regarding this, Lin felt that it was necessary to study it. It seemed very interesting.
At this time, Lin's air force was already close to the forest of sharp pillars. According to its memory, that should be the case.
However, Lin still hadn't seen any target. She was still surrounded by scorching air and barren desert.
The sky was just like the land from 100 million years ago, barren and illusory. Occasionally, there would be clouds formed from water, but there were also phenomena like lightning. Although Lin had considered living in the sky, this place was indeed not suitable for living creatures to stay for too long.
After flying for so long without seeing a forest of spikes, Lin began to feel a little strange. Suddenly, a large object appeared in front of her.
It seemed to be … … rocks? It appeared to be made up of countless black rocks. They were arranged neatly, and each of them was similar in shape and size, just like … … scales on the sand. This was Lin's first time seeing such a strange object on land. But before Lin could get a clear look at it, it disappeared due to a strong gust of wind.
It disappeared?
Right, perhaps due to the light, the scene from other places was refracted here. The air above the desert was filled with heatwaves. Occasionally, such a scene would appear in front of her eyes.
This was the so-called 'phantom', right? But where did this scene come from? Lin had never seen anything like this before.
After the illusion disappeared, the appearance of the forest of spikes finally appeared in front of Lin.
The forest of spikes seemed to have never changed. The huge green spikes and the entire forest was covered in a thin layer of fog. No living creatures could be seen. It appeared extremely peaceful.
Bechymos flew to the sky above the forest of spikes. The layer of skin beneath its body slowly opened up, releasing a large number of small soldiers. Each of them was less than ten centimeters long, and had blade-like forelimbs used to cut moss. They were called 'Cutters'.
A large number of Cutters flew into the spires and started harvesting the moss. These small Cutters had special forelimbs, so they wouldn't hurt the moss when they cut. They were also very fast. In a short period of time, they were able to harvest all the moss on the spires that were dozens of meters tall.
Although the spikes were huge, there was not much moss that could be harvested from them. Lin had to cut through many spikes to obtain a sufficient amount of moss.
Based on the time it took for the desert to spread and the rate at which the moss reproduced, Lin came to a conclusion. A certain amount of moss was required to turn the Scorched Forest back into the Shining Forest before the desert completely submerged the forest.
In order to obtain this' certain amount 'of moss, Lin might have to cut through a large area of the forest.
Aztec worms would only appear at night, but Lin didn't know if they would be unable to resist and appear if she did so. Lin recalled that the aerial soldiers of Aztec worms were small creatures capable of spraying strong acids. If that was all, they would not pose a threat to Bechymos at all.
The Cutters rapidly cut off a large amount of moss and swallowed it into their stomachs. When they were full, they would fly back to Bechymos. The Cutters had completely cut off a large number of spikes, causing the originally green spikes to turn into gray stone pillars.
Apart from harvesting, Lin also sent some other infiltrators to the surface. Their main task was to search for the Aztec worms and see where they usually stayed. Were they underground? However, Lin couldn't see any traces of caves on the surface.
The harvesting process went rather smoothly, with no Aztec worms emerging. When night approached, Lin had already finished harvesting. After retrieving all the Cutters, Bechymos flew back.
Everything seemed to have gone very smoothly without encountering any trouble. That was good. If a fight were to break out and the Aztec worms were to seek revenge, it would be very troublesome.
Lin didn't wish for another situation to arise due to the extinction of a species.
Lin's development was in fact rather 'peaceful'. She wouldn't hunt too many creatures, and the green carpet wouldn't cover other plants. Lin had long understood the term 'sustainable development', but she still didn't understand the situation caused by the extinction of a species. That was why there were so many troubles.
The Aztec worms occupied a forest of spikes by the sea. Although they appeared to be very far from the Twisted Jungle and there weren't many creatures nearby, just like the Chibucha worms, it was very difficult to know what kind of impact they would have on the environment.
Bechymos led the aerial troops back. Before night fell, they had already distanced themselves from the forest of spikes. However, the infiltrators remained within the forest of spikes, observing the situation in their surroundings.
When darkness completely descended, the infiltrators could sense the sounds of Aztec worms coming from their surroundings. They suddenly appeared in the forest, as though they had emerged from nothingness.
Although Lin had released many infiltrators, none of them were able to observe where the worms came from. By the time Lin noticed them, they had already appeared in large numbers throughout the entire forest.
The infiltrators' vision had been enhanced. They were able to reflect and absorb light multiple times. Even through weak starlight, they were able to see their surroundings clearly. Of course, they couldn't emit light by themselves, otherwise they would be discovered by the Aztec worms.
These were the smallest species of Aztec worms, about 10 cm in length. They moved extremely swiftly.
The Aztec worms were originally running all over the forest. But after a short while, they all gathered at the patch of forest that Lin had harvested.
Numerous infiltrators were observing these Aztec worms from various parts of the forest. They were constantly emitting squawking noises, as they climbed up the cleaved spikes in large numbers. Then, they used their antennae to incessantly search the surface of the spikes.
Lin believed that they were investigating the reason for the disappearance of the moss.
However, even if the Aztec worms detected the scent of the Cutters, they wouldn't be able to track them down. Lin had flown in from the sky, and the unstable airflow in the air made it difficult for her to leave behind traces of her scent.
The Aztec beetles continued their incessant inspection. After inspecting every cleaved pillar, they released a collective 'Ga Ga' sound. At this moment, several infiltrators located at the periphery of the 'Cut Land' discovered that the ground was slowly rising up. Then, several gigantic Aztec beetles began to emerge from the ground.
These Aztec worms were 4 metres in length, and were the largest species that Lin had seen before. If that was the case, including the ones that could fly, there were only 3 species in total?
There were 20 of these gigantic worms. It appeared that their numbers were rather large. Lin had only encountered a small number of them in the forest of spikes.
When the gigantic Aztec worms emerged, the smaller ones climbed up their bodies. Lin discovered that they weren't moving towards the cleaved forest, but towards the periphery of the forest of spikes.
Most of the insects did not follow. They were moving the moss from other places and replanting it on the shaved spikes.
The giant insects gathered together and walked to the edge of the forest. Each of the giant insects carried a group of small insects on their back. They formed a team and moved deeper into the desert.
Could it be that they had smelled the scent in the air and were planning to chase after them?
No, it doesn't seem like they intend to pursue us. Lin noticed that they were heading in a completely different direction. Lin's troops were heading towards the north, while this group of Aztecs was heading towards the northwest.
Where were they going? The center of the desert? Although they should be able to reach the Twisted Thicket if they kept going in the northwest direction, it was completely out of line with Lin's route.
PS: …
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