Thanks to the general's support, Paul soon got everything he needed, including the help of additional mages, which expedited the preparations.
The spells were soon drawn on the big sheets of paper, and the bombs were placed in piles on them, ready to be deployed.
At the same time, the earth mages prepared spells that would create a trench from the river to the place where the ants' tunnel was located.
The last spell to be prepared was the one that would reach the tunnel itself.
It took a while to prepare everything, and the place they were using for the preparation was right under the wall, so that there would be no chance of the enemy discovering their plans.
The worst part now was waiting, since Paul wanted the ant tunnel to reach at least the spall markers.
That way, they could prevent the ants on the surface from filling the hole they wanted to use to flood the tunnel.
-Well, Paul, I see that you once again found a creative way to help us with the beast problem.
Xiao Han said, approaching him with his officers in tow.
-Actually, this was Natalie's Idea, I only added a small part to it.
He answered his uncle with a smile.
Hearing his words, Xiao Han was more than proud, as he had seen a person who came up with the plan often be omitted when it came to taking credit for it.
Paul's answer just now assured him once again that he made the right call by adopting him as his nephew.
-Great work, young lady. If this works, then we should not have too much trouble clearing out the remaining ants.
He praised the girl who blushed at all the attention directed at her.
-Thank you.
She said quietly, making all the men smile and nod approvingly at her modesty.
They had more than their fill of young people being arrogant about much less important achievements, so this was a refreshing sight for them.
-When will you start?
Xiao Han asked Paul, changing the topic, to save the girl who was as red as a tomato right now, thanks to all the attention she was receiving.
Paul used his search magic once again to see the ants' progress with the digging.
-Soon.
He answered a moment later.
-With any luck, the ants should be at the target area within a few minutes.
Paul added.
He planned to let the ants pass a few more meters before flooding the tunnel.
Xiao Han and the officers stayed with them, wanting to see the whole thing, and they were not the only ones, as the general who supported Paul's idea also arrived with two other generals and some high-ranking officers.
-If you want to see the effects, then go up to the wall or a tower.
Paul suggested that, as he was preparing to activate the spells, along with all the mages who came to help him.
They all nodded and went to the tower to see the effects of the young people's plan.
A moment later, everything was ready, and on Paul's signal, all the mages activated the spells.
The four piles of bombs vanished, as did the earth spells.
A second later, four explosions roared, turning the three hills and the edge of the forest that the ants were coming from into a raging inferno.
At the same time, the earth spells were activated, and a trench 5 meters wide and 3 meters deep appeared, running all the way from the river to a hole which appeared as well, reaching the ants' tunnel.
Some beasts climbed out of the hole, only to be shot by archers, and a moment later, the water started pouring into the tunnel, flooding it.
However, what surprised everyone the most was a pillar of golden light appearing right after the explosions on one of the hills.
The moment the pillar dissipated, the ants went into disarray and quickly retreated into the forest.
-So there truly was someone controlling these beasts.
Anna said, after witnessing the golden pillar for the second time in her life.
-It seems so, and they escaped the moment they knew we were onto them.
Paul confirmed.
-I don't get it.
Wei Lan said a moment later.
-Why do these guys from the upper realms come here to do this?
Don't they have anything better to do?
She asked, as this was already a second time they had to face danger thanks to the people from above, three if she counted the dragon hunter incident, but that was mainly Paul and Fei Fei facing the problem.
-We might never know.
Paul answered sadly.
He also didn't understand their motives, but recalling Fei Fei's explanation after the last time, they might have done this all for fun or as an experiment of some kind.
However, going through so much trouble and planting the ants near the capital decades ago seemed like way too much work just to have some fun.
-Good job, young man.
A general who helped him prepare everything said, bringing him out of his thoughts.
-Too bad that the culprit got away.
Paul answered, but smiled anyway.
-Since he or she was from the upper realm, there was no way for us to prevent their escape, but at least the ants retreated, and the person controlling them is gone, so I'd call that a victory.
Xiao Han said with a smile and pride in his eyes, as Paul and Natalie had earned a lot of contributions for their idea.
-We still need to wipe them out, uncle, and that won't be easy considering their numbers.
Paul said as the people surrounding them and those still on the wall cheered, seeing their enemies retreat.
-True, but that's for later, and you might have made it way easier by flooding their tunnel.
His uncle smiled.
-If by any chance this tunnel is connected to their nest and it gets flooded, then their queen will die, turning the rest of them into easy prey, since without their queen controlling them, they have no clue what to do.
He added, hoping that this would indeed be the case, since as long as the queen was alive, the threat remained, and the ants would defend her with their lives.
That evening, everyone had a chance to get a good rest since there were no ants in sight.
However, the wall was still manned by guards having an eye on the surrounding area, and everyone was instructed to remain on standby in case the ants returned.
Fortunately, there was no new attack or even sighting of the ants, making the night go by peacefully.
Unfortunately for Paul and his ladies, there were too many people around, so they were unable to cultivate, which frustrated them all.
The only exception was Natalie, who was counting down the days to her fifteenth birthday, which was not that far away by now.
Unfortunately, the next morning, the peace and quiet that Paul and his ladies enjoyed were shattered, not by another ant attack, but by his family.
Paul asked all the people involved in his plan to keep his name a secret, not wanting to attract the attention of the people he hated the most.
Sadly, this kind of thing was impossible to do as the whole army and most of the cultivators had heard of his achievements by that time, and the word spread.
The next morning, as Paul and his ladies were having breakfast, a group of people approached them.
-So you finally decided to show up.
A female in front of the group said with anger, looking at Paul, with barely concealed hatred.