The evolution of insect swarms from XNUMX million years ago

Chapter 127 Amphibious landing operations

In a round of battle between sea and land, the terrestrial arthropod nests were undoubtedly defeated. Several strange arthropods were damaged, more spiders were killed, and even the body of a strange arthropod was obtained by Lin Yi. At that time, it was being pinched between the limbs of the sickle by the soldiers, and was being transported towards the mother's nest.

At the same time, in the holes on the surface of several mother nests fixed on the river bed, a large number of individuals began to be born, waving two pairs of chelicerae, and slowly climbed up from the river bed.

Five pairs of weight-bearing feet and stubby tail spines illustrate their identity - explorers, the first to land on land among Lin Yi's nests.

Now, the fire support from the rear water cannons had cleared space for Lin Yi. The strange arthropods that sprayed hot liquid on the top of the mound were suppressed and did not dare to move forward. It was the right time to land on the beach.

Although Lin Yi has no need to fight with the opponent, before the genetic sequence analysis of the strange arthropod is completed, he still plans to launch a tentative attack to determine the true combat effectiveness of these spiders, so as to decide the next real step. How to design the structure of the land combat grade.

The body structure of the exploration workers was not completely suitable for combat, but at this time, Lin Yi did not have a suitable amphibious combat unit, and on-site production lacked a suitable genetic sequence blueprint, so it would take some time.

There is a big difference between land combat and water combat. Lin Yi plans to wait until the genetic sequence of the strange Arthrothorax is analyzed before continuing to produce specialized land combat grades.

The body of the first exploration worker slowly climbed out of the water. Among the five pairs of legs, the hydraulic muscles in the inner shell and the fibrous muscles attached between the two shells resisted the surge of gravity and supported the half-meter-long The body climbed onto the sand of the river beach.

Without the firepower suppressed by the strange worms, the explorers swaggered forward with five pairs of weight-bearing feet, directly attacking the towering termite-like mounds of the opponent.

But soon, the spiders discovered the explorer.

The horned spiders have degenerated their compound eyes, and instead specialized in a pair of single eyes like the jumping spiders of later generations. However, these spiders still retain a pair of well-developed compound eyes, and judging from their size, their vision should be also Not bad.

These spiders that had temporarily retreated came forward one after another, heading straight towards the exploratory workers, as if they wanted to regain a bit of face on their home turf - Chelicerae, the old and new species of Platypods, and the new Arachnids. The battle between the two has officially begun.

Although the horned spider is considered a rising star in this era, it is still far inferior to the real spiders of later generations. Its main means of attack is a pair of small claws near its mouth.

This pair of small chelicerae is in the shape of a jackknife, somewhat similar to the chelicerae of later generations of spiders, but there is no venom gland connected to it. It mainly relies on the blade-shaped inner edge to bite with the serrated protrusions of the basal section to cause damage.

The same is true for the chelicerae of these mesophora spiders. The only difference is that the chelicerae of the horned spider are entirely covered by a cap-like head carapace and extend downward instead of forward, while the chelicerae of the mesodera spider are It stretches forward like a spider in later generations, and its attacks are more flexible.

They guarded the shore, biting with their chelicerae at an explorer that emerged from the water. The sharp claw blade-like structure slashed down from above and stabbed straight into the head of the explorer.

Blue horseshoe crab blood splashed out, and several explorers were caught off guard. They were stabbed by the claws of the spider, and their exoskeleton, which was not particularly thick, was immediately torn apart.

Although not poisonous, the sharpness of these chelicerae is no less than the blade spines on the sickle limbs of the soldier. With the jagged structure on the base section, it can easily cut the exploration tool, which was not designed to defend against enemy punctures. The exoskeleton is torn. Lin Yi also controlled the explorer to wave his chelicerae. Driven by two sets of muscle systems, the well-developed chelicerae stretched out and pinched the spider above.

The first pair has large cone-shaped spines, and the chelicerae used for fixation immediately pierce the exoskeleton of the spider, which is also not thick. The second pair of chelicerae with jagged edges quickly tear at the opponent's body. Cut it up.

The same blue blood splashed out and mixed with other explorers' blood, dyeing the river water blue.

The horned spider has a thicker exoskeleton, but it is unknown whether it is because it is difficult to remain flexible when it is larger. The exoskeleton of the mesopod spider is not strong, and it can be easily broken open by the chelicerae of the exploration worker.

These two pairs of chelicerae, which were born out of ordinary workers, were originally used as tools for tearing food, but in a sense, tearing dead creatures is not much different from tearing living creatures directly, so they can be used if they make do.

Even the powerful muscle system of the explorers allows them to directly lift the body of the spider and easily dismember it before the opponent has the power to fight back.

If the number of exploration workers was not dominant, and the two pairs of chelicerae as the main means of output were only useful and not completely suitable for combat, the situation at this time would not be like this.

In a brief confrontation, the exploration workers and the Zhongtu Terror Spiders suffered numerous casualties, and no one took advantage. But if I have to say it, it was Lin Yi who suffered more losses.

The explorer's muscles are stronger and can directly tear the body of the spider apart, but after all, it is not a combat grade. The killing efficiency of the chelicerae is low and the defense is also poor. When one-to-many, it will inevitably be at a disadvantage.

The jackknife-like claws of the Mesozoon are also not suitable for dealing with larger opponents, but there are enough of them, and they also have a height advantage. They can slash from top to bottom. Coupled with the numerical advantage, they can also block the battle line in a short time. Stabilized at the beachhead.

Behind them, the strange arthropods also took advantage of the water cannon mothers to spray hot yellow liquid forward from time to time to support the battle ahead.

However, the attack of the water cannon mother can only threaten the strange arthrothoracic insect behind, but cannot attack the mid-throat spider. In other words, even if it hits, it cannot cause effective damage.

The battle is getting more intense, but the battle line is still unable to move forward. Land is the opponent's home field. With only the strength of the exploration workers, it is still difficult to fight against this nest group of terrestrial arthropods.

But now, Lin Yi actually does not have a very good means of attacking the ground. The only means of attack - the attack of the water cannon and the mother turtle cannot directly cause fatal damage.

Although the opponent is no match for him in the water and has "control of the sea", due to the lack of means of attacking the shore, he cannot effectively support the landing operation, which leads to the current situation.

At this time, Lin Yi also analyzed the genetic sequence of the strange Arthrothoracic Insect. The new grade has begun production. Soon, Lin Yi will treat the other person in his own way!

(End of this chapter)