Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely

Redwood Ridge remained as eternally frosty as ever.

Each giant tree seemed cast from ice, the patches of ground between them like spreads of white down. The moonlight filtering through the branches was absorbed by the snow, leaving no trace.

All around was utter silence, the occasional sounds carried by the wind and snow particularly distinct.

“You five, why do your clothes look a bit thicker than the others’?”

Xia Hong, walking at the head of the group, looked back at Xu Ning and Lin Kai, who were noticeably bulkier than the others. Then, his gaze swept across the group, and he noticed that Qiu Peng, Zhu Shun, and Zou Yuankai were the same. Immediately, he asked curiously.

The hunting team all smiled upon hearing this.

The five named individuals, Xu Ning and the others, seemed a bit embarrassed.

“Leader, those five are wearing something extra!”

Seeing Xia Hong turn to look at him, Xu Ning directly took off his coat.

Underneath his black cloak was not a lining, but a thick, double-sided light-gold leather armor.

“This is… Thunder Kui hide?”

Xia Hong stepped forward and felt it, immediately recognizing the material of the armor. He then turned to look at the chest areas of Lin Kai and the other three, instantly understanding why they all looked embarrassed.

“Didn’t I mention to Big Brother last time that Mu Dong made five sets of Thunder Kui leather armor? We all tried them on. This armor can defend against most arrows shot by those in the Earth Burrowing Realm. It’s just sitting around anyway, so we let these five wear them first. Of course, they have to pay rent!”

As soon as Xia Chuan spoke, the others couldn't help but chuckle.

Lin Kai couldn't help but say, “I said, this armor should be for you guys! We five were the last to break through, and our strength isn’t great…”

“Hahaha, it’s precisely because your strength isn’t great that we gave it to you!”

… … … …

The five who broke through latest, Xu Ning and the others, were receiving special care.

Lin Kai and the others' embarrassment wasn't because they felt humiliated. Clearly, they felt their strength was lacking and didn't deserve to use such good items, believing the armor should be used by those with greater strength.

Seeing the five being teased by the others, Xia Hong couldn't help but chuckle softly, a deep sense of approval in his eyes.

Unity wasn't just talk. Admiring the strong was one thing, but taking care of the weak better reflected the cohesion of a camp.

Lin Kai, Xu Ning, and Qiu Peng were originally from Great Xia; Zou Yuankai was originally from Rogge; and Zhu Shun was originally from Huang Zhao.

The hunting team could be considered the most representative microcosm of the camp.

From this behavior of the group, it could be seen that over the past half-year, everyone within Great Xia had completed a thorough integration.

“Right, weren’t there twenty-five Thunder Kui head armors?”

Remembering the spoils from killing He Meng's group earlier, Xia Hong asked again.

Xia Chuan replied, “That skull was taken by Mu Dong for research. Like the way He Meng and his group carried them, it takes five people to assemble one piece. We found it too troublesome, so we didn't bring them.”

That's right!

Although the head armor had strong defense, they were all small pieces, making them inconvenient to carry. Moreover, wanting to quickly assemble a shield like He Meng and the others would definitely take a lot of time to practice coordination.

Hopefully, Mu Dong's research can bring some surprises!

Unknowingly, Xia Hong had led the group to the northernmost edge of Redwood Ridge.

After only slightly patrolling the outer area, Xia Hong's expression immediately turned gloomy.

The others followed him and observed along the way, their expressions becoming the same as his.

“The number of low-level frost beasts is off!”

“There are also many tracks of activity on the snow.”

“Are the people from Mirror Immortal Camp still coming over?”

“Most likely. Besides them, there’s no one else.”

… … … …

Sure enough, Mirror Immortal Camp was still taking his words as wind in their ears.

Being looked down upon like this naturally made Xia Hong somewhat angry.

But compared to anger, he was currently more puzzled!

Judging from their continued encroachment on Redwood Ridge, Mirror Immortal Camp clearly hadn't taken his warning to heart, or, to put it more bluntly, they still didn't take Great Xia Camp seriously.

Then, in that case, why didn't they come to the door directly for revenge?

After so many of He Meng's group died, the other side hadn't come for revenge for six consecutive days, only continuing to come to Redwood Ridge as if no one else was there.

This behavior seemed strange no matter how one looked at it!

For the previous six days, the people of Great Xia had indeed not gone out, but the Great Xia base had always been over in the valley. If they wanted revenge, they could completely do so.

It was impossible that they couldn't find the Great Xia base.

Not to mention two Frost Resistance Realm experts, hundreds of Earth Burrowing Realm cultivators could easily find it by just wandering around the outer edges of Redwood Ridge.

Furthermore, Lu He, the leader of the Lu Shang Camp, had previously come to the valley, and now their entire camp had merged into Mirror Immortal.

Xia Hong could almost certainly say that Mirror Immortal Camp definitely knew the location of the Great Xia base.

In that case, it was even stranger!

Not only Xia Hong, but Xia Chuan, Luo Yuan, and the others were also frowning at this moment, obviously thinking along the same lines, unable to figure out the motives of Mirror Immortal Camp.

“Could it be that they plan to endure the matter of He Meng and his group being killed, using this as a reason to force us to completely give them this northern area?”

As soon as Luo Yuan spoke, the others immediately fell into contemplation.

It was hard to say, there was some truth to it.

But quickly, Xia Chuan denied this guess.

“There’s no reason. If they really planned to do that, they could completely send someone over to negotiate with us. Now, continuing to encroach on Redwood Ridge without saying a word doesn't seem like a posture of wanting to compromise with us…”

After saying this, Xia Chuan turned to look at Xia Hong and continued:

“Moreover, with the overall strength of Mirror Immortal Camp, do they need to make such a compromise?”

These words immediately silenced everyone.

Two Frost Resistance Realm cultivators, hundreds of Earth Burrowing Realm cultivators. Judging from the style previously displayed by the people of Mirror Immortal Camp, it would be most reasonable to directly bring everyone to the door and start a war with Great Xia.

But now, what was the reason for this?

Unlike the others, as soon as Luo Yuan voiced his guess, Xia Hong immediately knew it was impossible. The problem was, he couldn't explain why Mirror Immortal Camp was acting this way.

Why wasn't Mirror Immortal Camp directly coming to the door?

Could it be that they already knew about the Green Bamboo Fence, Marking Stone, and Wooden Dummy Stake?

That was impossible. Xia Hong immediately shook his head. He had only just pointed out the first two structures, and the Wooden Dummy Stake had never appeared in front of others.

There was no way they could know.

Whoosh… … … …

A sound of wind suddenly came from beside his ear. Xia Hong's brow twitched fiercely. He quickly drew his saber and turned around, slashing towards Luo Yuan's back.

Clang… … … …

“Run, scatter and run!”

That was an iron arrow that shot swiftly from the eastern outer area. The moment he knocked down that iron arrow, Xia Hong's expression suddenly changed drastically as he roared at the others.

The sudden change was too abrupt. Luo Yuan didn't even have a chance to look back. He only heard the sound of the iron arrow falling and Xia Hong's roar. He immediately realized that something big had happened and hurriedly fled frantically towards the south side with Xia Chuan and the other seventeen.

Whoosh… … Whoosh… … Whoosh… … Whoosh… … Whoosh… …

Soon, everyone knew why Xia Hong had roared.

Not only from the east side, but also from the west side, which was the depths of Redwood Ridge; from the north; and even from the south side where they were fleeing, which was directly ahead, countless sharp arrows suddenly shot from all directions.

Puchi… … Puchi… … … …

The sound of five or six sharp arrows piercing flesh rang out in succession. Before the seventeen could even scatter, four of them immediately fell behind.

Zhao Bao was shot in the left leg; Li Yun was shot in the chest; Li Pingkai's waist was directly pierced through; Ying Xuan was the most miserable, a sharp arrow pierced through his left face, the arrowhead protruding from his right face, and fresh blood immediately covered his entire face, his form terrifying.

The four who were shot, worried about affecting the escape of the others, only gritted their teeth and let out a muffled groan, stubbornly not making any more sounds.

“Keep running, don’t stop!”

Xia Hong hung behind the group, signaling for the four to continue running while quickly waving the ceremonial saber in his hand.

While knocking down countless iron arrows, he also took the opportunity to observe the surrounding situation.

This one look instantly chilled him to the bone.

From the southeast, northwest, centered on the seventeen of them, in four directions, at a distance of about a hundred meters away, adding up to several hundred people were rapidly approaching while shooting arrows.

“We’ve been ambushed!”

“How did they know we came out tonight?”

“Was this prepared long ago?”

“No, no, it doesn't seem like it. There are the most people on the east side, and slightly fewer on the west side, like they just rushed over from the Arrow Bamboo Forest.”

“They’ve been sending people to monitor the valley!”

… … … … … …

In the blink of an eye, countless thoughts flashed through Xia Hong's mind, but the movements of his hands didn't dare to stop in the slightest.

Puchi… … … …

Just after knocking down three or four iron arrows shooting towards Zhao Bao's heart, Xia Hong heard a rapidly rushing sound beside his ear. His brow jumped fiercely, and he directly pushed Zhao Bao away, raising his saber in a horizontal sweep.

Whoosh… … … …

The speed of that iron arrow far exceeded his expectations. It wasn't swept down to the ground by the ceremonial saber, but quickly passed through the saber's screen, shooting straight towards his left eye.

At the critical moment, Xia Hong couldn't even make the movement of turning his head. In desperation, he could only close his left eye.

Chih… …

The skin membrane was pierced open by the sharp arrow, and a huge force transmitted to his face. Xia Hong's head moved backward frantically, reducing the impact of the iron arrow.

It seemed like a long time had passed, and yet it was just a moment. A stream of heat slid down from the corner of his eye. Xia Hong opened his left eye, pulled out the iron arrow stuck in his eyelid, and although there was luck on his face, his heart was filled with chills.

Only half an inch away, no, it should be said, if it weren't for the fact that the progress of the skin membrane had suddenly increased a lot in the past few days.

With that arrow, his left eye is definitely gone.

Not just his left eye, he might even lose his life!

Thud…

Several sounds of arrows piercing flesh came, and Xia Hong suddenly looked up, a bloody color rising in his eyes.

He had just retreated, and without him to block those arrows, Xia Chuan and the others who were fleeing south immediately ran into trouble.

It was still the four who were injured in the first wave of attacks.

Zhao Bao, who was shot through his left foot, was the slowest and fell behind. His chest and shoulders were each hit by two arrows, and his speed became even slower than before.

As for Li Pingkai, the wound on his waist had already caused blood to flow onto his legs, and three new arrows had been added to his back. His breathing had become extremely erratic, and his running movements had begun to falter.

Li Yun, who was shot in the chest, was the same. If it weren't for Ying Xuan's support, he probably wouldn't even have the strength to run.

But the problem was that Ying Xuan's cheek was also pierced by an arrow, and his own eyes were somewhat blurred, obviously reaching his limit.

In this kind of escape, as long as there is a wound on the body, especially the kind that affects movement, death is basically not far away.

It's not just the four of them. Although Xia Chuan, Luo Yuan, and the other thirteen people in front were running at a good speed, they all had one or two arrows stuck in their bodies to varying degrees, and their movements were constantly changing, obviously injured as well.

The most deadly thing was that the arrows shot from all directions showed no sign of stopping at all. Not only that, but a large wave of at least two or three hundred people on the east side were rapidly approaching, and it looked like they were less than fifty meters away.

"They're planning to wipe us out in one fell swoop!"

Xia Hong looked back at the hundreds of people on the east side. The distance of fifty meters was enough for him to see the appearance of those people clearly.

Seeing Yuwen Hu in the lead, the killing intent in Xia Hong's eyes had already risen to the extreme, but he still forcibly endured it, raised his long saber, turned into a whirlwind, directly passed Xia Chuan and the others, and rushed to the front of them.

"Be careful of the arrows coming from behind, continue to disperse and run south!"

When Xia Chuan and the others saw Xia Hong's actions, they immediately understood his intention, and continued to widen the distance horizontally, but the direction of their escape was still south.

In less than ten breaths, Xia Hong had already swept across dozens of meters, and rushed to a big tree on the south side where the arrows were flying from.

The ceremonial saber turned into a whirlwind, Xia Hong didn't think at all. His peripheral vision swept to the direction of the tree trunk where the arrows were flying from, he jumped up and swung his saber violently.

Puchi…

A person dressed in black, holding a giant bow, didn't even let out a scream before his body was cut in two, and fell directly from the tree.

"Disperse and run first…"

As soon as the first person died, the several members of the Mirror Immortal Camp who were hiding in ambush on the south side immediately realized how strong Xia Hong was. After one person shouted, more than a dozen people immediately jumped down from the big tree and scattered in all directions to escape.

"Want to run? All of you, die!"

How could Xia Hong let them have their way? Although coming to the south side was mainly to allow Xia Chuan and the others to break through, it would be even better if he could kill a few more Digging Realm experts from the Mirror Immortal Camp.

His body was like lightning, and he almost instantly caught up with the nearest person. At the moment when his right hand swung the ceremonial saber, his left hand took off the double-edged giant axe from his back, tilted his head slightly towards another person, and threw it violently.

Ka… Bang…

At the same time as the ceremonial saber killed one person, the giant axe thrown out also directly smashed another person into the snow. Scarlet blood instantly stained the ground red. Two lives were lost in just a moment.

Whoosh…

Turning his head and seeing that two of the seventeen members of the hunting team had already fallen, Xia Hong felt anxious and the killing intent in his eyes became even stronger. He directly threw his own ceremonial saber at the third person.

The slender ceremonial saber, one meter and seven in length, was like a sharp spear, directly piercing through the person's heart. In less than a dozen breaths before and after, three Digging Realm experts from the Mirror Immortal Camp had already died in his hands.

The specific deployment of the Mirror Immortal Camp's ambush was unknown. The south side had the fewest people, only a dozen in total. Xia Hong had already torn open the gap here in the time it took him to arrive.

And coincidentally, Xia Chuan and the others behind him also rushed over in time.

"Continue to escape, don't worry about me!"

Hearing Xia Hong's words, a hint of hesitation appeared on Xia Chuan and Luo Yuan's faces, but when they turned their heads to meet Xia Hong's unquestionable gaze, they gritted their teeth and left.

"Don't let them escape, brothers, hold them back. When the second leader arrives with his men, they will all die!"

What was amazing was that the nine people who had just escaped on the south side, seeing that the hunting team and his party had passed through the encirclement, unexpectedly rushed over again, unafraid of death.

Looking at the nine people who were approaching, the killing intent in Xia Hong's eyes was awe-inspiring.

Just now, it wasn't that he couldn't catch up with these nine people, it was just because he was afraid that the hunting team's casualties would continue to increase that he stopped to block the arrows for Xia Chuan and the others.

These nine people actually came up again, unafraid of death, their purpose was just to hold them back.

"Not afraid of death? If you're not afraid of death, then I'll send you to your death!"

Xia Hong had no intention of escaping in the first place. He threw his ceremonial saber, and directly rushed towards one of the nine people closest to Xia Chuan and the others with his bare hands.

That person was middle-aged, and a hint of fear flashed through his pupils subconsciously when he saw Xia Hong rushing over, but the fear quickly disappeared and turned into ferocity and mania.

He dropped his longbow and slashed at Xia Hong with his saber.

"More than 20,000 pounds!"

Xia Hong had no intention of praising the other party's fearless fighting spirit at this moment. After only sensing the strength of his muscles, he didn't even make a dodging movement, and directly kicked the big saber that the man slashed over with his leg.

Puchi…

The big saber clashed with Xia Hong's leg. The violent force caused the man's tiger's mouth to crack directly, and it wasn't over yet. The big saber returned directly along the route it had slashed.

The difference was that the returning power of the big saber was even greater and the speed was faster.

The back of the man's saber was not sharpened, and was about two or three inches thick.

But even so, the back of the saber still split open his face and directly cut into his head.

"The fourth one!"

After Xia Hong killed this person, he directly changed his target, rushed to the location where the ceremonial saber had just been thrown, and after punching another person to death, he drew out the ceremonial saber and rushed towards the remaining seven people.

The twelve people on the south side, despite being brave, wanted to hold back the hunting team and his party in Xia Hong's hands, which was tantamount to wishful thinking.

The ones lying on the ground should be Li Yun and Li Pingkai.

Xia Hong turned his head and looked at the two corpses on the east side, identified the identities of the two, and the killing intent in his heart became even stronger. Especially when he saw that Xia Chuan and the others had successfully run out of the encirclement from the south, he realized that he had completely lost his burden, and his body movements became faster.

Chih…

Those seven people probably knew that they couldn't compete with Xia Hong, and were still trying to chase after Xia Chuan and the others in front. Xia Hong didn't care about the arrows coming from behind, and only focused on killing these seven people.

In less than five or six breaths, three of the seven people who had fallen behind were killed by him.

Whoosh…

Just as he was rushing towards the fourth person, another rapidly flying sound entered his ears. Xia Hong's brows jumped sharply, and this time he didn't resist, and chose to twist his body to avoid it.

Puchi…

Looking at the iron arrow piercing through the tree, a look of surprise flashed in Xia Hong's eyes first, and then he turned his head to look behind him, at Yuwen Hu, who was less than twenty meters away from him, holding a strong bow, his eyes full of coldness.

At the same time, behind Yuwen Hu, two or three hundred people continued to approach, slowly forming an encirclement, surrounding Xia Hong in the middle.

"It's really a turn of the tables! Leader Xia Hong, this time, you're done for!"

Xia Hong didn't speak, just stared at the giant bow in Yuwen Hu's hand, or rather, at the white bowstring of that giant bow.

Seeing that the bowstring was also made of white silk threads twisted together, but it was several times thicker than the bowstring of He Meng and others that he had seized last time, Xia Hong's expression changed slightly.

Although so many arrows were shot at him just now, the only three arrows that Xia Hong really cared about were the first one shot at Luo Yuan, the second one shot at his left eye, and the third one that forced him to dodge.

These three arrows were obviously shot by Yuwen Hu.

Not to mention the two before and after, the strength of the one in the middle that could break through his skin must be above one mane.

The toughness of that white silk thread, after being thickened, is so high!

"Leader Xia Hong, He Meng killed eight of your people before, and you killed twenty-five of their party; tonight I brought people to encircle and suppress you, both sides have casualties, from the number of people, Great Xia still made a profit, what do you say, right?"

Seeing that Xia Hong didn't speak, Yuwen Hu continued to speak, this time his tone carried a bit of sincerity.

As soon as he heard this tone, Xia Hong could roughly guess what he was going to say, and didn't answer his question, just raised his head and asked in a flat tone:

"What do you want to say?"

Yuwen Hu took a step forward and said in a deep voice: "You and I are both human beings, struggling to survive in the Ice Abyss, why bother fighting to the death? Ghouls and cold beasts are our real enemies, brother Xia Hong, what do you say, right?"

Next, it's time to get to the point!

Xia Hong raised his head and remained silent, continuing to wait for Yuwen Hu to speak.

"As long as brother Xia Hong is willing to bring Great Xia to join us, my Mirror Immortal Camp will definitely welcome you with open arms, and is willing to offer you the position of the third chair, how about it?"

At this time, a young man also walked out from behind Yuwen Hu.

"Brother Xia, my Mirror Immortal Camp has a population of over ten thousand, hundreds of Digging Realm experts, and you have seen it today. Furthermore, the leader He Yuan is ambitious and talented. He is also a person who loves talent. He said that as long as you are willing to bring Great Xia in, everything that happened before can be forgiven, and any other requirements can be made."

Looking at the young man behind Yuwen Hu, a look of gloom appeared on Xia Hong's face, and he said in a deep voice: "It seems that I shouldn't have let you go in the first place!"

That young man was Yuwen Tao, whom Xia Hong had met once before and let go.

Hearing Xia Hong's words, the faces of both Yuwen father and son changed simultaneously.

Clearly, all the words they had said before were wasted.

"If you had said these words when we first met, I might not have agreed, but at least I would have seriously considered it. But now..."

Xia Hong didn't finish his sentence, but his gaze shifted towards the corpses of Li Yun and Li Pingkai behind the crowd, and the coldness on his face was obvious.

"Head Leader Xia Hong, if we really count, the Mirror Immortal Camp has lost more people than your Great Xia in these three conflicts, so why bother..."

"Yuwen Hu, what was the first thing you said about me just now..."

Knowing that further talk was useless, Xia Hong directly interrupted Yuwen Hu, asking a question that left Yuwen Hu stunned before continuing with a rhetorical question: "I've fallen?"

Xia Hong gripped his ceremonial saber, looked up at Yuwen Hu, and surveyed the people of the Mirror Immortal Camp, saying in a deep voice:

"It's still too early to say who has really fallen.

Today's ambush, you can be considered to have achieved some results.

But later, your Mirror Immortal Camp will be in trouble..."

As soon as he finished the last word, Xia Hong's figure suddenly leaped, his ceremonial saber drawing a cold flash in the night sky, and he charged straight towards Yuwen Hu in the center.

Surrounded by two or three hundred people, Xia Hong was not only unafraid, but actually rushed towards their side first!

Even with Yuwen Hu's good temper, he couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed.

"If you are so stubborn, then kill him!"

Everyone around immediately drew their sabers, surrounding Xia Hong in layer upon layer.