The Dominating Throne, as expected, imitated the Ant King of the Ant Clan.
The Ant Eggs produced by the Dominating Throne underwent a developmental process identical to that of Ant Eggs produced by female Ant Kings of the Ant Clan.
The larvae that hatched from the Ant Eggs were Semi-Origin Force Life, capable of eating and growing rapidly, changing every single day.
Dragon Cypress engraved characters on the rock wall to record the time.
The first two Ant Eggs took 38 days to hatch. The larvae grew from the initial size of a rice grain to a length of two to three centimeters, becoming plump and white.
The 'Producers' were the first to spin silk and form Insect Cocoons.
Two days later, the 'Guardians' also spun silk to form Insect Cocoons, entering the final Feather Transformation stage of their development.
At the same time, Dragon Cypress continuously generated Ant Eggs through the 'Messenger' function of the Dominating Throne, in five-day cycles.
Currently, there were two Ant Eggs and six larvae of varying sizes in the Hatchery.
Dragon Cypress spent most of his time in the Hatchery, taking turns feeding the larvae. By vibrating his membranous wings, his body also constantly generated heat, raising the nest chamber's temperature.
Giant-Headed Ants preferred humidity and occasionally needed to fetch water to sprinkle inside the Hatchery.
Temperature and humidity were crucial for the rapid development of Ant Eggs and larvae.
「...」
"Dragon Cypress, has another larva formed an Insect Cocoon?" Ink Orchid arrived at the Ant Nest mid-morning. She had helped with hunting on the way and left a frog carcass at the entrance.
During this season, frogs hibernated in caves, so it was a mystery where she had found this one.
Ink Orchid seemed to harbor a deep grudge against frogs.
Dragon Cypress had been eating frog meat for over fifty consecutive days.
"Yes. If nothing unexpected happens, it will be a Soldier Ant specialized in combat," Dragon Cypress replied.
"A Soldier Ant? But it looks so small," Ink Orchid remarked. "My Inherited Memory states that the Giant-Headed Ant Clan can create Soldier Ants even larger than an Ant King."
"Yes..." Dragon Cypress affirmed.
"Then, can you manage that with the Ant Eggs produced by the Dominating Throne?" Ink Orchid asked.
"I'm trying, and it seems to be effective," Dragon Cypress said.
The Giant-Headed Ant was the Ant Clan species with the greatest caste differentiation.
Currently in his fifth Age Period, Dragon Cypress had awakened seven types of Inherited Memory that controlled Worker Ant differentiation through Pheromones.
These were: Petite Worker Ants, Medium Worker Ants, Large Worker Ants; Petite Soldier Ants, Medium Soldier Ants, Large Soldier Ants; and Specialized Soldier Ants.
Primary Warriors in their sixth to ninth Age Periods would continue to awaken corresponding Inherited Memories with each Evolution.
Without Pheromone interference, the cultivated offspring would be Medium Worker Ants or Medium Soldier Ants. The two current Insect Cocoons were of this 'Medium' type.
Dragon Cypress was using Pheromone control to try and cultivate Specialized Soldier Ants and Petite Worker Ants.
It was proving effective, with clear differentiation observable even in the larval stage.
Specialized Soldier Ants were enormous, requiring a large amount of food. They grew quickly, but their development cycle would be longer.
Petite Worker Ants were smaller, ate less, and grew slower, but their development cycle would be shorter.
Dragon Cypress preliminarily estimated that cultivating a Specialized Soldier Ant from an Ant Egg would take over 60 days.
Cultivating a Petite Worker Ant, however, might only take about 30 days.
「...」
"Dragon Cypress, when can we go explore the Starship?" Ink Orchid asked.
Dragon Cypress had already reaped benefits and was similarly looking forward to exploring the Starship.
But this couldn't be rushed.
Dragon Cypress considered this, then said, "The weather has started to warm up recently, and spring is approaching. Ink Orchid, do you have any Life Seeds ready to sow?"
"Yes," Ink Orchid replied. "I have a Xuelan Life Seed that I nurtured when I was an 8th Age Period Primary Warrior. It's a bit late in the season, so I haven't planted it yet."
"I also have a Giant Cypress Life Seed that I plan to sow this spring," Dragon Cypress added. "Let's plant them early and guard them through their most vulnerable Seedling Stage. By then, we should be ready to set off."
"You're right! We still have to take care of the Life Seeds, and spring will be busy..." Ink Orchid fretted. After some thought, she added, "In that case, we probably won't be able to go until summer."
"What about the Caravan?" Ink Orchid then asked.
"Do we have anything to trade with the Caravan?" Dragon Cypress responded.
"No," Ink Orchid admitted. "But we can still go take a look."
Dragon Cypress readily agreed. "We'll go check it out together when the time comes."
"Hooray!" Ink Orchid cheered.
「...」
After several consecutive sunny days, the temperature on the southern side of the mountain range climbed steadily, remaining quite comfortable.
Five days later, the third larva formed an Insect Cocoon.
Two days after that, the first 'Medium Worker Ant' to form an Insect Cocoon emerged.
It was just over 3 centimeters long and wingless, indistinguishable from the Worker Ants bred by a female Ant King.
Dragon Cypress felt relieved at this sight.
The first Worker Ant emerged, ate to replenish its Physical Strength, and after recuperating for a day, it immediately began its work: caring for the Ant Eggs and larvae.
Dragon Cypress now had his first capable assistant.
Soon, the first 'Medium Soldier Ant' emerged from its Insect Cocoon, also just over 3 centimeters long.
Compared to Worker Ants, this Soldier Ant had a much smaller abdomen but a large head with well-developed mandibles. These mandibles were sharp and hook-shaped, forming an 'X' when fully closed.
The smaller abdomen allowed for quicker movement, and its developed mandibles were its combat Weapons.
Dragon Cypress searched among the rocks and caught a live cricket.
First, he used his Tentacles to issue a hunting command to the Soldier Ant, then released the cricket.
The cricket hopped away, trying to escape.
The Soldier Ant charged, pinpointing the cricket's landing spot. With a fierce lunge and lightning-fast mandibles, it bit into the cricket, clamped down firmly, and applied force...
It easily completed the hunt and returned to Dragon Cypress with the cricket's body.
Dragon Cypress was very pleased. His previous worries had been entirely unnecessary.
The Soldier Ants bred using the Dominating Throne were identical to those bred by a female Ant King in appearance, combat capabilities, and responsiveness to commands.
Dragon Cypress stationed his first Soldier Ant at the Ant Nest's entrance.
With a combat guard and laboring Worker Ants, the Ant Nest now somewhat resembled an Ant Kingdom.
In less than two days, the third Petite Worker Ant emerged. It was only about 1.5 centimeters long and was also assigned to the Hatchery to care for Ant Eggs and larvae.
The fourth and fifth Petite Worker Ants emerged one after the other. The three Petite Worker Ants were now fully in charge of the Hatchery—a task better suited to their Petite size.
The second Medium Worker Ant emerged.
Now with two Medium Worker Ants, Dragon Cypress considered his options. To prepare for future needs, he began excavating a second Hatchery himself, while the two Medium Worker Ants transported the rubble.
There was also one Medium Soldier Ant. Since merely standing dumbly at the entrance accomplished nothing, Dragon Cypress called it over to help transport rubble as well...
「...」
A Large Worker Ant emerged, about 5 centimeters long, giving Dragon Cypress another strong assistant.
As he had estimated, the entire development process—from Ant Egg hatching into larva, the larva growing into a chrysalis, and the chrysalis undergoing Feather Transformation—took a total of 58 days.
Meanwhile, the Specialized Soldier Ant larva grew to over 10 centimeters in length before finally spinning silk to form an Insect Cocoon, entering the final Feather Transformation stage.
"Dragon Cypress! Feeding time!" Ink Orchid's excited mental message arrived from outside the Ant Nest. "Wow! Such a huge Insect Cocoon! Is your Specialized Soldier Ant about to undergo Feather Transformation?"
Dragon Cypress stopped working and hurried out of the Ant Nest.
"Yes, it just formed its Insect Cocoon last night. I estimate the Specialized Soldier Ant's Feather Transformation period will be about 10 to 15 days," Dragon Cypress replied.
It was raining outside the cave, and the temperature had dropped a bit.
Today's food was a frog again.
Dragon Cypress twitched his Tentacles, issuing a command for the three Worker Ants that had followed him out to dismember the frog.
"Thank you for your hard work, Ink Orchid," Dragon Cypress said.
With a thought, Dragon Cypress remotely controlled the Dominating Throne. It rapidly shrank in his bedroom and flew out.
It hovered mid-air, expanding until it was about a meter in diameter.
Ink Orchid leaped lightly, landing on the Throne first.
Dragon Cypress flapped his wings and flew up onto it as well.
Immediately, Primordial Energy emanated from the top of the Dominating Throne's backrest, forming a colorless, transparent shield that blocked the rain.
This was a new function they had discovered just a few days prior. Both Dragon Cypress and Ink Orchid were fascinated, staring as the rainwater slid off the shield.
Ink Orchid recovered her senses and asked, "Dragon Cypress, how high can the Dominating Throne fly?"
"It seems it can fly very high... I don't know; I've never tried," Dragon Cypress replied.
"Can it fly above the clouds? What's inside the clouds?" Ink Orchid pressed.
Dragon Cypress instantly understood her meaning.
"Inside the clouds, there's Thunder. If it's triggered, we could be struck by Lightning," Dragon Cypress explained.
"Can the Dominating Throne protect us?"
"It would most likely protect us," Dragon Cypress mused. "But, what if it doesn't, or can't fully protect us? Then wouldn't we both be..."
"Struck dead by Lightning!" Ink Orchid interjected, knowing what he was about to say. "We can't take such a pointless risk with our lives." She then changed the subject, saying seriously, "Based on my experience from previous years, this is the first rain of spring. After this rain, it will truly be spring. Dragon Cypress, it's time to sow the Seeds!"
"I've already sown my Xuelan Seeds! You should hurry up too!"