The evolution of insect swarms from XNUMX million years ago

Chapter 193 Infection with horseshoe crab spider

While thinking about it, the opponent's second batch of troops had already appeared in Shadowfly's echolocation system - this time, they came from the ground level, each with a size no less than that of land workers, and there were also some astonishingly huge ones mixed in among them. figure.

It's a pity that there are no mortar spiders present at the moment. Otherwise, if we take this opportunity to attack with two rounds, we will definitely hit the opponent into chaos. Lin Yi was thinking in his mind, and the reinforcements controlling the rear were in formation, ready to meet the enemy.

In mid-air, Shadowfly's body also slowly landed on the ground. The bright yellow and black exoskeleton immediately changed color, blending into the surrounding environment and hiding its figure - Lin Yi was ready to verify one of his guesses.

A pair of compound eyes quickly revealed the shape of the enemy's reinforcements - eight thick and long appendages that resembled later generations of tarantulas, a pair of sharp jackknife-like claws in front of the head, and an angular head and The rounded abdomen illustrates their identity - mesophora spiders, the classic fighting class of terrestrial arthropod nests.

But at this time, although the general appearance of these spiders has not changed much, their size has changed significantly, reaching about 1.5 meters, which is the current level of land workers.

And, the most eye-catching thing is that their outsides are covered with a layer of gray-white mycelium tissue, which also forms a texture similar to vertebrate muscle tissue, making them look like a huge spider with muscles attached to its body surface. The human-shaped creature has no cortical tissue yet, making it extremely strange and terrifying.

They are special hyphal tissues that resemble muscle fibers, and at this time, they seem to be attached to the exoskeleton of the spider in a special way, like the muscles of vertebrates attached to the internal skeleton, further pulling Pull the body to move.

Such a special symbiont, in a sense, achieves a function similar to Lin Yi's double-layered shell and double-layered muscles. For example, the powered exoskeleton that still exists in the experimental stage in later generations further enhances the muscle strength of the mesotherid spider.

The hyphae clearly avoid the jackknife-like structure at the end of the chelicerae, which seems to be deliberately preventing the attack power from being weakened. In addition, the familiar fungal fruiting body structure, like an elongated small mushroom, also grows directly above their heads, which seems to be a common feature of individuals parasitized by fungi.

Among the groups of Mesoscythus spiders, there are several huge figures. The exoskeletons are sharp and angular. Compared with the shape of Mesoscythus spiders, which are similar to those of later generations of tarantulas, they are closer to the original appearance of Horns spiders, but their body shape is straight. Measuring ten meters, it is similar in size to the new generation of main battle armor.

Giant horseshoe crab spiders are also classic individuals of terrestrial arthropod nests. After a long period of evolution, their sizes have also become larger. Needless to say, their exoskeletons are naturally thicker, and both key indicators of offense and defense have been strengthened. .

Their exoskeletons are also covered with a layer of mycelium similar to muscle tissue, and the most conspicuous thing is that behind their heads, there are more than ten slender fungal fruiting bodies densely growing.

Moreover, the end structures of these fruiting bodies are enlarged, and it seems that there are a large number of spores and other structures accommodated in them.

At this time, seeing the Saw Ant and the main battle armor, the fruiting body structures on the back of the giant horseshoe crab began to swing under the action of the internal hyphae-like muscle tissue, and the sporangium-like structures at the end spurted out, covering their heads and faces. Smashed against a main battle armor!

The blazing pillar of fire shot out and swept towards the falling spore-like structure. Being hit by such a thing would definitely not have any good consequences.

At the same time, more fire-breathing saw ants and main battle armors also began to pour out flames, and the fire pillars formed a wall of fire, sweeping up the middle-throated horror spiders and giant horseshoe crabs in front.

The flames swept across, and the surrounding temperature also increased significantly. The wall of fire moved forward as the fire-breathing saw ants and the main battle armors advanced, sweeping across, leaving a purgatory-like scene in front of them.

The bodies of the Mesozoa Spider and the Giant Horseshoe Spider were struggling in the flames. As soon as the mycelium-like structures on their bodies encountered the flames, they immediately burned, and even the individuals below were struggling in pain.

These fungi have parasitized terrestrial arthropod nests, but they do not seem to have inherited their memories. Otherwise, these individuals with negative fire resistance should not be sent to confront Lin Yi, who is an expert at playing with fire. After the hyphae and fruiting bodies attached to the body surface were burned away, these giant horseshoe spiders seemed to have lost control and staggered away in the opposite direction of the sea of ​​​​fire under the influence of biological instinct.

Soon, there was an explosion, and a huge blood hole appeared out of thin air at the end of the fleeing giant horseshoe spider's abdomen. Immediately, the fleeing pace suddenly stopped, and its eight long and thick appendages spread out feebly, making no movement.

In the distance, a wild-toothed saw ant slowly retracted its hind abdomen, which was still smoking slightly, opened its claws, and continued to search for the next target.

Due to the advancement of materials, the abdominal structure of the Saw Ant now uses more violent propellants, and the high-temperature and high-pressure gas generated can push the warhead out of the gun barrel at a faster speed.

Moreover, the warhead of the armor-piercing single-head bullet has also been modified, and now has stronger penetrating power, enough to easily penetrate the exoskeleton of the giant horseshoe crab spider.

Compared with those directly controlled by terrestrial arthropod nests, these giant horseshoe spiders have increased in size, but their exoskeletons do not seem to be much thicker, allowing the improved version of the armor-piercing single-point bullet to penetrate more easily than before. Their exoskeleton.

As for the mesoscythid spiders, although they were larger than before, the threat was not much higher than before. They suffered heavy casualties in the face of the shotguns sprayed by the crazy-tooth saw ants and the flames of the fire-breathing saw ants.

This group of remnant soldiers was quickly cleaned up by Lin Yi. Even during the whole process, no level individuals entered the melee combat, and the battle was resolved with only long-range attacks.

Some saw-toothed ants immediately retreated with these corpses in their mouths, threw them on the carpet behind, and began to absorb and decompose them. The fire-breathing saw ants continued to advance under the leadership of the main battle armor, and flames spurted out.

Lin Yi planned not to hold back, but to burn the fern forest to the ground completely. Behind them, a large number of Kuai-winged divers carrying biological incendiary bombs have begun to take off, preparing to drop bombs and end this battle completely.

But at this moment, the situation changed again, causing Lin Yi to change his mind again.

Some of the Kui-Wing divers who had not yet had time to take off immediately began to change their ammunition with the help of workers, and the previously loaded incendiary bombs were casually thrown aside for the fungus to be recovered.

In the mother nest behind these tall-winged divers, brand-new ammunition has begun to be produced, waiting for the opportunity to be used. At the same time, ahead, in the compound eyes of the shadowflies, new enemy-level individuals appeared - Lin Yi rarely became interested in these guys.

(End of this chapter)