Ahhhhh, high-altitude survival!

Chapter 133, Stinging Ants

Upon hearing this, Lin Yue stepped back, casually placing the "Frost Archer" and "Carnivorous Plant" aside, and then setting up two "Wall of Nuts" in front of her, ready for battle.

A series of hurried footsteps approached from afar. Liang Dong's forehead was covered in fine beads of sweat, a few strands of hair clung to his cheeks, and he was still chewing something. Seeing the formation Lin Yue had set up, he calmed himself down, caught his breath, and said to her, "It's an ant swarm."

"Ants? Army ants?" Lin Yue was a little puzzled; she had only ever heard of powerful ants.

I saw it in a short video before. It is said to be an extremely powerful creature. Every time it moves, millions of them move together. Wherever they go, it is like a black torrent. They eat whatever they see, and no matter what kind of ferocious beasts encounter them, they can only run away.

Liang Dong quickly shook his head, checking the system's attack notifications as he confirmed, "No, it's called Stinging Ants."

He paused, a hint of lingering fear on his face: "When I was sealing the hole, I suddenly felt a sharp pain and itch on my foot, like countless tiny needles were pricking it. I didn't pay much attention to it at first, but then I felt my life force was abnormal, so I quickly looked down and found that a small group of ants were aggressively launching spikes at me from a meter away from the hole."

He chewed the dried snake meat in his mouth again, swallowed it, and continued, "I didn't take it seriously at first, since my health points hadn't dropped that much, and a couple of bites of dried snake meat would have restored them. But when I looked up, I realized that countless ant balls were rolling towards me frantically, attracted by something. I was stunned for a moment and didn't react, and then this is what happened."

After saying that, Liang Dong turned around and gestured for Lin Yue to look. Starting from his ankles and all the way up to his knees, his entire calf was covered with dense black dots, which were the "masterpieces" left by stinging ants.

Liang Dong reached out and patted them off. The thorns weren't too deep; they fell off easily with a gentle flick of his hand. However, there were just too many of them. Liang Dong's trousers had been riddled with small holes in his calves, and many thorns had even pierced his flesh, leaving behind numerous conspicuous little red spots.

Looking at the layers upon layers of red dots, Lin Yue couldn't help but gasp. No wonder Uncle Dong kept chewing on snake jerky; even if ten red dots only deducted one drop of blood, the cumulative effect was still quite severe.

Liang Dong's mouth never stopped moving, the dried snake meat dwindling as he chewed. After swallowing this piece, he continued to tell Lin Yue, "I just sealed my mouth before leaving, but I used inconspicuous things like leaves and vines, which have only average defensive capabilities. The ant swarm that came this time is too large; I'm not sure if they will break through the defenses and attack."

"It's alright." Lin Yue comforted Liang Dong while glancing at the spot where he had been attacked, and quickly came up with an idea. She put away the "Frost Archer" and "Carnivorous Plant," then took out several "Wall-nuts" and skillfully lined them up in a row, firmly blocking the two of them and the plants.

The cave wasn't very big, so Lin Yue didn't dare use explosive plants. On one hand, she was afraid of accidentally injuring herself and Liang Dong, and on the other hand, she was afraid of making too much noise and attracting the NPC. So for now, she could only rely on these little guys.

Liang Dong's previous sealing of the cave entrance had some effect. Lin Yue and Liang Dong waited quietly inside the cave for quite a while before they heard a slight "scratching" sound outside. The sound wasn't loud, and they guessed that some ants had managed to get in.

The two quickly got to work, taking positions on either side. With Lin Yue nearby, Liang Dong could also control the plants to fight alongside him. Lin Yue assigned him one "Peashooter" and one "Double Shooter" to watch over.

As the stinging ants swarmed in, "poof—" almost simultaneously, several pea-sized projectiles shot out like arrows from the left and right.

Each pea pellet was about the size of a thumb, a colossal creature compared to the stinging ants. Thus, with a single shot, each pea pellet killed several stinging ants.

But there were just too many ants, and the few stinging ants that were shot dead had no effect whatsoever.

These ants seemed to have their own attack method. They stopped neatly some distance away from the "nut wall." Then, a series of "swish, swish, swish" sounds were heard, and countless sharp spines were hurled forward like raindrops.

While the individual spikes were weak, their sheer number made them incredibly powerful. After several attacks, Lin Yue and Liang Dong's "Peashooters," despite their best efforts, had only managed to kill a few dozen ants. The defensive "Nut Walls," under such intense assault, were already cracked. Worse still, through the gaps between the "Nut Walls," numerous spikes flew in and pierced the stems of the "Double Shooters." One of the "Double Shooters" immediately drooped its head, looking as if it were about to die.

Lin Yue was startled and quickly sent the injured "Double Launcher" back into the Plants vs. Zombies game, planting it on the lawn to keep it alive. This was a new method she had recently discovered, but it didn't work every time.

With one less "general," the fighting strength of the two sides immediately decreased significantly. Seeing that this couldn't go on, Liang Dong made a decisive move, releasing the plant he was controlling and turning around to start making torches.

With a small group of friends supporting them, the two found it quite convenient to make things. The hemp rope was generously sponsored by Zhou Zeyang, and the tung oil was kindly provided by Han Weiyi.

Liang Dong moved swiftly and skillfully. After quickly setting up two torches, he took a deep breath, leaped over the "nut wall" defense, and charged directly into the ant colony.

He raised the torch high and waved it vigorously. Soon, the flames, like a long dragon, swept towards the ants. In an instant, the crackling sounds of burning filled the air, and the ants at the forefront were reduced to less than half their original size under the ravages of the flames. At the same time, a crisp, smoky aroma filled the cave.

Lin Yue's pressure has been greatly reduced.

Liang Dong directly engaged the stinging ants in close combat, which was naturally dangerous. Soon, his health points had dropped by more than half, and his stamina was also greatly depleted. His body was covered with marks from the ant stings.

Finally, after narrowly avoiding another wave of spike attacks, Liang Dong could no longer hold on and scrambled back into the cave.