Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely

A total of fifteen people walked out of the bamboo forest.

Upon seeing the appearance of these fifteen people, whether it was Xia Hong, Xia Chuan, Luo Yuan, or anyone else present, regardless of their expressions, their hearts all skipped a beat in unison.

"Why are they all so young!"

"And they're all wearing animal skin clothes."

Judging solely from their appearances, the ages of these fifteen people were comparable to the Xia Hong and Xia Chuan brothers.

Although Xia Hong rarely mentioned his age, thanks to the dissemination by the earliest members of Da Xia, everyone in the camp knew that he had just turned nineteen this year.

Xia Chuan was even younger, having just turned seventeen.

In a world like Bingyuan, where the average lifespan was only forty-odd years, the younger one was, the greater the potential, a well-known truth.

Xia Hong was not only the strongest person in the current camp, but judging from his age alone, his potential for growth was unmatched by anyone in the entire camp.

Even Xia Chuan, who had been taught by the Wood Puppet Wraith, couldn't compare.

But now, the fifteen people who walked out of the bamboo forest were all about the same age as the Xia Hong and Xia Chuan brothers.

Moreover, what the fifteen people were wearing wasn't just animal skin skirts, but complete sets of clothes. Even the young man leading them, who had just questioned everyone, was wearing a golden-brown animal skin coat, made from some unknown cold beast.

"I am Xia Hong, leader of the Da Xia camp in Hongmu Ridge. We did indeed drive the rat swarm into the bamboo forest, but as far as we know, there are no other human camps inside the arrow bamboo forest. May I ask, friends, which camp do you belong to?"

As Xia Hong spoke, he lit a torch, and then, together with Xia Chuan, Zhao Long, and the other two, who were also holding torches, he moved closer to those people.

If someone were to put their hand on his back at this moment, they would find it covered in cold sweat, and his body was also trembling constantly at an extremely subtle frequency.

There was no way around it, it hurt!

Although he had applied Golden Sore Ointment to the sole of his foot, which had been pierced by the Rat King, it wasn't an ordinary wound after all, so it wouldn't heal so quickly.

"Da Xia?"

"A Digging Realm leader, how weak."

"Not a small number of people, though."

… … … …

Hearing the dismissive taunts coming from the opposite group, the faces of Xia Chuan and the other three holding torches immediately darkened. Xia Hong himself didn't feel anything, but quickly began to analyze the information contained in the other party's words.

The other party had mentioned Old Lu earlier, and also knew about the Logue camp. As expected, Lu He must have brought the entire Lu Shang camp to join the camp of these fifteen people.

Fifteen Digging Realm cultivators, and everyone wearing tailored clothes and carrying longbows, walking out of the arrow bamboo forest. The strength of this camp was self-evident, but what Xia Hong was most concerned about was the other party's taunt towards him just now.

A Digging Realm leader, how weak.

Combining what these people had said earlier, their casual tone when mentioning the Hive Camp, it wasn't hard to deduce that the camp these people belonged to should have experts at or above the Frostguard level.

Large-scale, giant-scale, or even more?

"Jingxian Camp, He Meng! Xia Hong… leader, this arrow bamboo forest has belonged to our camp for three months now. What do you mean by leading people to drive the rat swarm into it?"

The speaker was estimated to be about two meters tall, even more burly than Xia Hong, carrying a longbow and wielding a wide-bladed saber.

As he spoke, he also took a few steps forward. His voice was loud, and his tone carried a strong sense of oppression. When he mentioned Xia Hong, he clearly hesitated deliberately before adding the word "leader" afterwards.

The fifteen people were less than ten meters away from Xia Hong, and the leader, He Meng, was even closer, only five or six meters away. The firelight had already illuminated their faces.

Seeing that the fifteen people showed no abnormalities when illuminated by the torches, Xia Hong's hanging heart immediately relaxed a little.

Not afraid of torches, as long as it had nothing to do with the Strange, then everything was easy to talk about.

It wasn't Xia Hong being cautious. According to Luo Ming, the ice shuo tree matured once every four months, and cold beasts would all pour into the arrow bamboo forest during this period. This alone showed that there couldn't possibly be a human camp inside the arrow bamboo forest.

These fifteen people who had inexplicably appeared, although this He Meng said that they had only occupied the arrow bamboo forest three months ago, who knew if it was true or false.

Not afraid of torches, then it probably had nothing to do with the Strange.

Of course, it didn't mean that nothing was wrong.

He Meng's aggressive tone, and the rather fierce expression on his face, now illuminated by the firelight, clearly indicated that he intended to pursue the matter of them driving the rat swarm into the arrow bamboo forest.

"Since it only belonged to you three months ago, isn't it normal that my Da Xia wouldn't know? Besides, it hasn't caused you any casualties. Why be so aggressive?"

Perhaps because He Meng and his group showed too arrogant a posture, Xia Chuan couldn't help but stand up and say something at this time.

However, hearing his words, none of the other party responded. The leader, He Meng, only glanced at him dismissively, and then, without saying a word, continued to stare at Xia Hong.

Xia Chuan's chest puffed up slightly, and a hint of anger flashed across his face. The other party's posture clearly meant that he felt he wasn't worthy of speaking, and only wanted to talk to Xia Hong. How could he not know this?

Xia Hong reached out and stopped Xia Chuan, who wanted to continue speaking, his expression already quite gloomy. He stepped forward and asked in a deep voice: "If it was an unintentional mistake and you insist on pursuing it, then there's no need to be so verbose. Just lay down your terms!"

He Meng raised his eyes slightly, realizing that Xia Hong might be about to yield. The contempt on his face grew stronger. He raised the wide-bladed saber in his hand and pointed it remotely at the rat corpses on the ground behind him, saying arrogantly:

"Since you know you've made a mistake, consider that pile of rat meat as your apology to the Jingxian Camp. Now, get lost!"

So, they had their eyes on this pile of rat meat.

Xia Hong's brow relaxed slightly. The other party's behavior, which was extremely in line with human habits, not only didn't make him angry, but instead completely reassured him.

Of course, he was only relieved because he had once again confirmed the other party's human identity, not because Xia Hong felt that the other party's request was reasonable.

However, before he could speak, Xia Chuan, Zhao Long, and even all the Lumbering Realm cultivators in the Da Xia camp behind him, couldn't bear it any longer.

"You're dreaming!"

"We hunted them with great difficulty, why should we give them to you?"

"The prey that we exchanged for so many deaths and injuries, give it all to you?"

"Dream on!"

"Demanding an exorbitant price, shameless."

"Did you also get infected with the Tengjiao poison, and your brains are muddled?"

… … … … … …

The rat corpses on the ground, conservatively estimated, numbered forty or fifty, plus those on the mountainside slope and the top of the slope, at least eighty or more.

To hand over eighty-odd prey, just because of the other party's fifteen people, with just the effort of speaking, how could they possibly agree.

Xia Hong raised his right hand slightly, signaling everyone to be quiet. He stared at He Meng and his group for a few seconds, and a hint of displeasure appeared on his face.

"You all heard that, right?"

As early as when the crowd had made that burst of angry ridicule, He Meng's face had already been very gloomy. Hearing Xia Hong's question again, not only him, but also the other fourteen people, their faces suddenly became even colder.

Although Xia Hong's words were a question.

How could they not know the meaning he was expressing.

The hundreds of people in Da Xia behind him had already drawn their bows and nocked their arrows when Xia Hong raised his hand, aiming at them, plus the five Digging Realm cultivators in front.

Xia Hong's words were not just threatening them, but clearly telling them that the prey on the ground belonged to Da Xia, and no one could take it away!

"Leader Xia Hong, let me tell you bluntly, Da Xia's strength is completely insignificant in front of my Jingxian Camp. I advise you, the consequences of antagonizing my Jingxian Camp are something your Da Xia cannot bear!"

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As if to add a bit of pressure to his words, He Meng took a few steps forward as he spoke. After a pause, he looked up and continued:

"How about this, leave half, that's the bottom line, and we'll pretend nothing happened. You can leave!"

Swoosh… … … …

A speeding iron arrow suddenly attacked, counting as a response to him.

He Meng retreated a few meters abruptly, looking at the iron arrow, still trembling due to the excessive force, on the ground less than a meter from where he had just been standing. The expression on his face instantly froze.

"Get lost!"

Xia Hong almost roared this word at the fifteen people.

As soon as he spoke, Xia Chuan and the others beside him, as well as the hundred or so people from Da Xia not far behind, immediately followed suit.

"Get lost!"

Clang… …

As the crowd shouted the word "get lost", they simultaneously raised their bows. The sound of hundreds of iron arrows rubbing against the bowstrings mixed together, clear enough for anyone who wasn't deaf to hear.

"Good, Da Xia has guts. Xia Hong, is it? My Jingxian Camp will remember this!"

When He Meng led his people to retreat, he only dared to take four or five rat corpses in the direction they were going. The degree of panic was in stark contrast to his arrogant attitude just now.

"Hahahaha, that's all the courage they have."

"Hundreds of bows, at most they're only Digging Realm cultivators. Can they be stronger than that group of rats?"

"Hahaha, I thought they were so great."

"Didn't they just run away in a panic, hahahaha!"

… … … …

Everyone in Da Xia present immediately couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Xia Hong continued to stand calmly in place. Even after seeing all fifteen people disappear into the arrow bamboo forest, his expression didn't relax in the slightest. It wasn't until more than a minute had passed that he turned around and said calmly to the crowd:

"Start collecting the prey. Also, be serious and careful. Collect all the scattered iron arrows that can be recovered, don't miss any!"

"Yes, Leader!"

Everyone agreed loudly, and cheerfully began to turn around and collect the corpses of the gnawing rats on the ground, as well as the iron arrows stuck in them and scattered on the ground.

Xia Chuan also re-carried Luo Yuan on his back.

Xia Hong came closer to take a look and found that Luo Yuan's shoulder wound had been covered with Golden Sore Powder, and his breathing was gradually recovering, which greatly relieved him.

"Big brother, your foot..."

Seeing the blood hole in Xia Hong's foot, worry appeared on Xia Chuan's face, but before he could finish speaking, Xia Hong directly reached out and interrupted him.

Seeing Xia Hong gently raise his hand, gesturing towards the arrow bamboo forest behind them, Xia Chuan immediately understood and nodded slightly, saying nothing more.

"Collect slowly, don't look timid. After you're done, have others carry Luo Yuan away first, the five of us will stay behind!"

"Yes, big brother."

After a quiet exchange, Xia Chuan immediately found someone to carry Luo Yuan, while he led a portion of the people to the top of the north slope to collect the prey there.

Although Xia Hong stood still, his eyes were fixed on the direction of the arrow bamboo forest until everyone had collected the prey and iron arrows, and he still didn't move.

"There are a total of eighty-three gnawing rats; the iron fetal bows are undamaged. Including what's left in everyone's hands, plus what we recovered, there are still more than 2100 iron arrows; two are dead, plus Luo Yuan, there are eight seriously injured, all caused by the Rat King's last red light; there are not many minor injuries, only a dozen people."

While collecting the prey, Xia Chuan also figured out the number of iron arrows recovered and the casualties, and reported them all together.

Xia Hong didn't say anything upon hearing this, just nodded. Seeing that most of the people had a gnawing rat on their backs and were ready, he immediately spoke.

"Let's go back!"

The large group of more than a hundred people all set off on their return journey.

Xia Hong then led Xia Chuan and the other four, hanging behind the team.

"The four of you, stay further away from the team and keep an eye on the rear at all times!"

"Understood, leader!"

The four of them, of course, understood Xia Hong's intention in making this arrangement, and immediately dispersed to the rear of the team, becoming vigilant.

In the Ice Abyss World, the locations of the camps need to be kept secret from each other, especially when one's own side is still very weak.

Xia Hong didn't dare to gamble on human nature in desperate situations, and he couldn't afford to.