With his plan formulated, he swiftly put it into action. He dispatched his formidable army – 45 false queens, 15 door heads, first, second, and third-generation soldier ants, and backup workers – to raid nearby nests and capture the largest enemies alive.
As the army marched forward, he would be tended to by the younger, inexperienced false queens and door heads that hatched before he took control from the queen. These immature queens would provide minimal support in upcoming battles.
The queen and other captive queens remained by his side, fed by select workers and laying eggs that served as life force supplements. Two significant discoveries had recently been made.
1. Sustaining himself required a substantial amount of life force, essentially trading numerous lives for his own.
2. Eggs were more vital than ants, with varying life force values:
- Worker eggs: 1.5 vitality (workers: 1 vitality)
- Mutated queen eggs (worker caste): 2.2 vitality
- Soldier eggs: 2.5 vitality (normal soldiers: 1.8 vitality)
- Mutated soldier eggs: 2.8 or 1.9 vitality
- Unique mutant eggs (e.g., false queen eggs): exceptionally high life force value (around 50 life force nutrients)
These findings would significantly impact his future plans.
The false queens' eggs provided a substantial life force boost, with some termite eggs containing even higher concentrations. This abundance of life force nutrients ensured he stayed far from death's door.
Beyond physical enhancements, he hadn't neglected his magical abilities. Absorbing life force from non-egg sources also refined mental fog into thought liquid, which he absorbed.
His mental space had expanded dramatically, transforming into a vast, fog-filled expanse with a large blue sea stretching far and wide,A glowing blue marble floating above the sea's surface at the very center.
This mystical realm reflected his growing mental power.
As his thought crystallized into a marble form, it began purifying his mind space, removing impurities – mental fog – while expanding and balancing the realm. He could now enter this vast mental landscape as a glowing ball of light, manifesting in various forms at will.
Surveying the expansive "thought sea" below, he felt proud of his ability to gather and process thoughts. The marble's power to produce liquified thoughts resembled cloud gathering for rain.
Meanwhile, his army rampaged across the land:
- Raiding nests (ants, termites, bees, hornets)
- Capturing large insects and aphids
- Plundering honey and brood
Their actions drew attention, prompting some creatures to attack. A recent encounter with a large gecko required strategic defense:
- 5 door heads as shields
- 24 false queens to take it down
The gecko's body was now being dragged by 4 door heads.
The army's losses from the gecko attack were staggering – over 2500 soldiers, excluding the two door heads and one false queen. After further skirmishes, they retreated with their harvest.
Upon returning to the nest, they imprisoned nearly 100 large insects in specially designed cells behind stone doors.
The puppet master reviewed the army's memories, discovering:
- A diverse array of captured insects (bees, hornets, ants, beetles, etc.)
- Successful battles, including the gecko's demise
Impressed, he learned of the Hercules beetles' proximity and dispatched his forces to capture them.
Fifteen minutes later, the false queens and door heads returned with the struggling beetles.