The utility of bronze, while extensive, is not a current priority.

The protagonist also wants to start from another side and take the combat effectiveness of the Beetle Legion to a higher level.

Although the big-headed ant remnants did not inform the protagonist of the specific tactics of the beetle legion before out of their own interests, and the protagonist of this approach fully understands that if he were himself, he would not tell the other party the cheats at the bottom of the box, even if the other party is currently an ally, after all, "the heart of defense is indispensable", and the same is true of the heart of anti-ants.

From the formation of the Beetle Legion by the Big-Headed Ant Remnant, and the hurried glance at the scene when exchanging information with the Bereaved Queen, the protagonist can roughly deduce his tactics.

In the protagonist's view, the Big-Headed Ant Remnants apparently use the beetle as an assault force, taking advantage of the beetle's rough skin and thick flesh to forcibly break through the enemy's well-organized defense line, disrupt the enemy's formation, and then create favorable fighters for the subsequent infantry forces. Killing is not the task of the beetle.

The Big-headed Ant Remnants do not have many troops on the beetle's back, and their main role is to prevent the enemy from climbing the beetle's back and posing a threat to the rider and commander. The infantry accompanying the beetle is the vanguard that follows the beetle to break through the enemy's line, and it is also the guard who protects the beetle.

This method of warfare is very similar to the car warfare of the Spring and Autumn Period, with assault force as the main weapon. However, the members of the chariot of the Spring and Autumn Period were also able to attack from a distance with their weapons, and use the Changge to attack at medium and close ranges, which was much wider than the beetle's single assault.

Therefore, the protagonist wonders if he can also let the God Angel King warrior on the beetle have medium and long-range attack power, instead of passively counterattacking the enemy who tries to attack the beetle. In this way, the Beetle will become a weapon with both assault and ranged attack power, more like a tank than an ancient vehicle.

The Legion of the Divine Envoy already has a long-range attack, and that is the Sling. Stone or pottery bullets accelerated by centrifugal force can injure and maim enemy ant warriors who are hit, but their lethality is difficult to kill in one hit.

For humans, being wounded and disabled, this warrior basically means that he is incapacitated and will no longer participate in this war. But ants are different, fierce ant warriors, even if they only have one head left, can still survive for a while, and will continue to attack any enemy they can reach, which is still a threat to be underestimated.

As a result, the protagonist has always been dissatisfied with the power of the sling, and can only use it as a secondary weapon for now. In human history, long-range weapons were one of the protagonists of warfare, sixty or seventy percent of the infantry of the Song Dynasty were crossbowmen, and the English longbowmen had made the well-armored French knights suffer enough. The protagonist also hopes that there is a qualified ranged weapon that can be used as a main battle weapon.

The protagonist wants to increase the power of the sling, either by increasing the weight of the stone or pottery projectile, or increasing the length of the sling.

However, stone or pottery bullets that are too large are not easy to carry, and they cannot be quickly loaded and fired with the size of an ant, so this improvement will greatly reduce the density and durability of firepower, and the gains outweigh the losses.

There is also a limit to the length of the rope that can be extended beyond the strength and size of the ant, so the increase in power is also limited.

Another idea for the protagonist is to upgrade normal stone or pottery bullets to new ammunition.

If it is a metal bullet, it is possible to increase the mass of the ammunition without increasing the volume, which also increases the power. The ants' well-developed muscles don't care about the added weight.

The protagonist plans to make a batch of copper bullets experimentally after the beginning of spring next year, after the metal smelting is put on the agenda.

In addition, if you can turn ammunition into a fire bomb, you can also greatly increase the power of the sling.

Fire bombs are not only powerful, but also effective in scaring the enemy and destroying the enemy's formation. Ants are brave, but they still have a natural fear of fire, and only specially trained workers are able to take care of the fire.

Once there is an overwhelming "fire meteor" on the battlefield, bombarding your own position indiscriminately, igniting the surrounding vegetation, few ant legions can stand still in this environment.

But firebombs, as beautiful as they are, are not so easy to produce and use.

Firebombs need fuel, and for the size of an ant, the ammunition that can be used normally is bound to be too large, and if it is made of wood or hay, it is not only very light and cannot shoot far, but it is also not burned, and it may be quickly extinguished after a spark is lit. It is necessary to have a fuel of a certain quality and burn resistance in order to make a good fire bomb.

The protagonist hasn't thought of what materials to use to make it.

In addition, since it is a fire bomb, it is necessary to ignite the method. Ants don't have lighters or matches that are easy to carry and use. The only kindling that the protagonist can carry is smoldering charcoal in nut shells, but this kindling is troublesome to fire and is obviously not suitable for the kind of chaotic scene on the battlefield.

In addition, since it is necessary to throw firebombs, the current slings woven with ant silk, which is a protein that will soon burn out under the action of the high temperature of the firebomb, will not be left with nothing but the stench of fiery hair.

All the protagonist can think of is to use pure copper wire, a metal wire, to weave a sling, and to make a special bullet hole coated with a compartment (such as refractory clay). Copper has a high melting point, so when the size of the fire bomb is not large and it will be fired quickly, it will not melt the bullet and the catapult.

In this way, it is necessary to install thermal insulation equipment for the handle part of the catuulte, so as not to burn your hands after using it for a long time.

None of these three problems can be solved, and the protagonist can only wait for the success of metal smelting next year, while improving the plan in his heart, while looking for suitable materials.

- I'm the dividing line -

After spending more than a week in the beetle stable, the protagonist finally waits for the return of the paving ant team sent out.

These days are beautiful, there are no sudden snowstorms or cold waves, the temperature during the day is above freezing, the sky is clear with few clouds, and the temperature is above -10 degrees Celsius at night. This greatly increased the survival rate of the paver ant team heading north.

However, even if the weather is beautiful, the winter trek is still not easier than the adventure of the nineteenth-century explorers to conquer the poles, and only two teams of the five teams set out, a total of thirteen paver ants, successfully returned, and the mortality rate was as high as more than 70% in less than two weeks.

Most of the returning paver ants also have frostbite, and even if they return to the nest to recuperate, there will inevitably be new casualties, and the mortality rate may increase at that time.