Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely

The importance of the hunting team is self-evident.

It can be said that among the six departments of Great Xia, the most important is it.

Even the Logistics Department, which is in charge of all wealth and goods, cannot compare to the hunting team's position.

The reasons are simple.

First, it represents the strongest armed force of the camp itself;

Second, beast meat and beast blood are essential supplies needed by everyone, and they are also the driving force for the camp's maintenance and development. The hunting team, which can produce these two resources, naturally rises in status.

Finally, there is the importance that Xia Hong attaches to it as the leader.

For the people in the camp, being able to go out with Xia Hong to hunt cold beasts is itself a matter of great honor, not to mention that they can also receive a massive amount of contribution points.

Due to the superposition of many reasons, the fifteen members of the hunting team, including Xia Chuan, naturally became nervous when they heard Xia Hong say that the first thing to be changed was the hunting team.

Not only the members of the hunting team, but also the fifty-odd people in Great Xia who had recently broken through to the Earth Digging Realm, were the same.

They all turned their heads to look at Yu Wentao and the other forty-odd people, and they couldn't help but feel some pressure in their hearts.

"I have decided to disband the previous hunting team. From now on, all personnel in the camp who break through to the Earth Digging Realm must register with the Hunting Department. Then, the specific hunting matters will be handled by the members of the Hunting Department forming their own teams and taking responsibility for themselves. I will no longer interfere with anything related to hunting cold beasts, unless there are special circumstances. Do you all understand?"

Hearing this passage from Xia Hong, most people were confused, and only a few people, such as Yu Wentao, Hong Guang, Xia Chuan, and Luo Yuan, lowered their heads and fell into thought. Soon, their eyes lit up.

"Self-initiated hunting, then leader, are all those in the Earth Digging Realm qualified to form a hunting team?"

"Leader, may I ask, are there different levels for hunting squads?"

"Is there a rigid regulation for the distribution of contribution points for hunting cold beasts?"

"Are the changes in the members of the hunting squad, as well as the frequency of going out to hunt cold beasts, decided by ourselves, or does the Hunting Department make the decision?"

… … … …

Everyone asked questions one after another, but Xia Hong did not answer any of them. He just kept nodding. After everyone had finished asking, he looked up, smiled, and said:

"The questions you raised are very good, but they are not my responsibility. I am just proposing the idea of reforming the Hunting Department. The specific regulations and rules will be the responsibility of the newly appointed Director of the Hunting Department... Yu Wentao, to formulate!"

Hearing this, everyone's expressions suddenly froze.

Xia Chuan, Luo Yuan, Yuan Cheng, Yue Feng, and other original members of the Great Xia hunting team, their faces instantly changed. They looked at Xia Hong, their faces full of disbelief, and several of them looked hesitant, opening their mouths as if they were about to speak, but then stopped.

Unlike the people of Great Xia, the expressions on the faces of Yu Wentao and the other forty-one people from the Mirror Immortal Camp were very excited.

They were all very clear in their hearts that no matter which camp it was, hunting was of utmost importance. If Yu Wentao could become the Director of the Hunting Department, it would definitely be beneficial to them in the future.

Unlike the others whose expressions were either surprised or delighted, Yu Wentao, the person involved, had a very calm expression. He just turned his head and glanced around at everyone, and said in a deep voice: "Leader, I am new here, and I am afraid that I am not competent for the position of Director of the Hunting Department. Why not choose someone else…"

"No need to decline. The Hunting Department specializes in hunting cold beasts, and of course, the leader must prioritize martial strength. You have the ability to lead a team to hunt intermediate-level cold beasts. Among the current hundred-odd people, there is no one stronger than you. You must take on this position of Director today!"

Xia Hong's eyes swept around all the people on Great Xia's side with a hint of questioning, and he lingered on Luo Yuan and Yuan Cheng for a while.

If he guessed correctly, the two people who should be most interested in the position of Director of the Hunting Department were these two.

Sure enough, the expressions of the others were only slightly unconvinced, but only the two of them lowered their heads slightly after seeing Xia Hong's gaze.

"However, Yu Wentao, I also have something to say in advance. I am only responsible for giving the general idea of the Hunting Department. The specific operating rules will be discussed and formulated by you and your team. How to manage the hunting squads below is also your business.

Since the Hunting Department is responsible for hunting, then I only have one requirement for you. In the future, there must be no problems with the supply of all resources related to cold beasts in the camp, otherwise I will hold you accountable. Do you understand?"

The supply of all resources related to cold beasts.

From beast meat, to some special materials such as rodent teeth, Tengjiao tendons, and Tengjiao poison sacs, to small items such as animal skins and bones. Of course, the most difficult thing is beast blood.

This is not an easy task. According to the current price of cold beast meat set by the camp, there is basically no difficulty in exchanging for those above the Lumbering Realm, let alone the Earth Digging Realm.

What's even more outrageous is that those who have not broken through to the Lumbering Realm also have a free fixed quota every month; even children under the age of six have five pounds a month.

You should know that the total population of the camp is now more than four thousand.

Calculated in this way, it will not be so easy to complete the request Xia Hong made at this moment.

Yu Wentao is a smart man, and of course he could hear the solemnity in Xia Hong's tone. After thinking for a moment, he raised his head and looked directly at Xia Hong, cupped his fists and bowed, and said in a deep voice:

"Since I have the trust of the leader, Tao will do his best. If I really can't meet the leader's requirements, just remove me from the position of Director."

"Good!"

Xia Hong made a final decision, and then said: "From today onwards, I will no longer interfere with the affairs of the Hunting Department. If there are special circumstances that require me to personally go out hunting, I will only choose one hunting squad to accompany me. At that time, it will depend on your strength."

Hearing this, everyone's eyes lit up.

They had all seen the strength that Xia Hong had displayed in the Mirror Immortal Camp.

"The leader probably doesn't need us to hunt intermediate-level cold beasts now. If he goes out himself, it will most likely be to hunt advanced-level cold beasts…"

"Intermediate-level cold beasts have at least 4,000 contribution points. How many contribution points would advanced-level cold beasts have? If we can go out with the leader…"

"The leader doesn't participate in the distribution of contribution points himself. As long as we can go out with him, we will definitely be able to get a lot of contribution points."

"We must form a hunting squad!"

"And we must perform well enough to be recognized by the leader!"

… … … … … …

The minds of the Great Xia people had already begun to stir, especially Luo Yuan and Yuan Cheng, who had even begun to search for suitable team members in the crowd.

Hong Guang, Hong Tian, and the other Earth Digging Realm cultivators from the Mirror Immortal Camp did not react so strongly. After all, they were new here and did not know how beneficial it was to go out hunting with Xia Hong.

"Now that the affairs of the Hunting Department have been discussed, the next are the Logistics Department and the Craftsman Department. Mu Dong will continue to serve as the Director of the Craftsman Department for the time being. Xia Chuan will choose a suitable candidate to serve as the Director of the Logistics Department.

Cheng Feng and Bai Dongying, you two are very experienced, so you will continue to serve as the Directors of the Gathering Department and the Lumbering Department.

Finally, there is the Reclamation Department…"

Speaking of the Reclamation Department, Xia Hong pondered for a moment and signaled Xia Chuan with his eyes.

Xia Chuan nodded lightly, took out a scroll of animal skin from behind him, slowly unfolded it, and hung it directly above the stove, facing the crowd.

The hundred-odd people gathered around the stove, seeing the contents of the scroll, a hint of brilliance rose in their eyes, and their expressions became much more excited.

On that scroll, there was a map.

A map centered on the valley, radiating from east to west.

Although the map had very clear terrain and distance markers in various places, in order to prevent everyone from seeing it clearly, Xia Hong still stood up and explained it to everyone, pointing at the map.

"Centered on the valley, five kilometers westward to Red Wood Ridge, six kilometers southward to the Xing River as the boundary, northward encompassing the entire Arrow Bamboo Forest, all the way to the basin, a distance of about twenty kilometers, this large area of about 300 square kilometers is currently considered to be the territory of our Great Xia!"

On the map, Xia Hong had outlined a roughly narrow area running north-south, but at the top end, it extended eastward a large area.

When everyone saw the words "Great Xia" marked in the middle of that territory, a strange brilliance flashed across their faces, and their expressions gradually became excited.

Not to mention the people of Great Xia, you should know that just a year ago, they could only shrink back to the earthen slope and live a difficult life from dawn to dusk.

This past year has been like a dream.

Great Xia has unknowingly occupied such a large territory;

The same is true for Luo Yuan, Huang Yong, Hong Gang and others who joined later.

Not to mention their current Earth Digging Realm cultivation, weapons, cold beast meat, clothes, animal skin products, wood products, coal, iron ore... Everything that the Great Xia camp has today, they would not have dared to imagine half a year ago.

Three hundred square kilometers, a territory exclusively belonging to Great Xia, this has far exceeded their understanding. Not to mention the small camps of Huang Zhao, Da Chuan, and Da Shi, even the strongest Rogue Camp in Red Wood Ridge before had less than one-tenth of the territory of Great Xia today;

Yu Wentao and the other forty-two people also looked dazed.

Of course, the Mirror Immortal Camp also had a sphere of influence, but they had never so directly viewed the territory controlled by their camp through a map.

Moreover, 300 square kilometers had the same big impact on them.

Even if the entire Arrow Bamboo Forest was included, the previous sphere of influence of the Mirror Immortal Camp was still less than half of Great Xia's current territory.

Not to mention that everyone's reaction was so big, even Xia Hong couldn't help but feel a little agitated when he looked at the Great Xia territory he had personally drawn on the map.

For other people, the concept of territory at most still only remains on feeling.

But he had actually been to these places.

Every inch of land he drew was personally visited by him at that location.

The Xing River to the south, the basin to the north, the Shuanglong Mountain cliffs to the east, and the four-kilometer depth of Hongmu Ridge to the west—the current territory of Great Xia was all measured by him personally.

When it comes to understanding the territory, no one can compare to him.

“Before discussing the Pioneer Department, let's talk about the territory…”

Firstly, it's to give you all a sense of the current territory of Great Xia.

Secondly, it's to define the mission for the Pioneer Department…”

Xia Hong paused here, pointed to the north and west sides of Great Xia's territory on the map, and said:

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“To the west of the existing territory is the depths of Hongmu Ridge. If we want to expand the territory in that direction, we can only rely on me and the Hunting Department to explore inward.

To the northwest of the northern basin is Pingxi Plain. Although the nearest Honeycomb Camp has similar strength to us, they also have the Longyou Alliance behind them. Therefore, it's not advisable to expand northward before we have any contact with them.

To the east, there's Shuanglong Mountain blocking the way, so I won't mention it. The situation on the mountain is even more complicated, and the terrain isn't suitable for our expansion.

Therefore…”

Xia Hong paused and pointed to the southern part of the map, continuing:

“The south is currently the best direction for us to expand.”

On the map, the two landmarks of Xing River and Xinggu Pass were clearly marked. As everyone's gaze converged on these two locations, Xia Hong began to continue speaking.

“The Xing River is about five li wide. The northern bank, which is our side, is a slope that rises continuously from west to east. The slope is densely forested and connected to the mountain walls. I've been to this area before. If I'm not mistaken, there should be many human camps in this large area.”

Xia Hong held a piece of coal stone and outlined the slope along the northern bank of the Xing River, all the way east and upwards along the mountain wall.

“If I'm not mistaken, going east along this path should connect to the outside world on the east side of Shuanglong Mountain. If He Yuanhun didn't lie to us, then this stretch of distance should be at least two hundred kilometers.”

The northern bank of the Xing River, more than two hundred kilometers, connecting to the outside world…

For a moment, the eyes of everyone around the stove were dazed.

Curiosity about the unknown and exploration of the outside world are inherent in human nature.

Although the Ice Abyss World is dangerous, it still cannot extinguish this nature.

Whether it was the people of Great Xia or Yu Wentao and others, hearing these things from Xia Hong for the first time, their eyes couldn't help but reveal a strong interest.

“The Pioneer Department, which was established some time ago, currently has the northern bank of the Xing River as its key pioneering area. Of course, I'm not asking you to explore all two hundred kilometers at once. You can gradually explore and expand eastward according to your own strength.”

More than two hundred kilometers, such a large area, let alone entrusting it to other people in the camp, even if Xia Hong personally went, the risk would be very high. It's definitely impossible to explore it completely quickly.

“The Pioneer Department was established half a month ago, but it was delayed for a long time due to He Yuanhun's matter. I remember I picked thirty people before…”

Xia Hong paused here, his gaze turning to the group of people from Great Xia.

Among the sixty or seventy people, a large group of people quickly came out one after another.

Xu An, Shi Ping, Liu Yuan, Li Yuankun, Hong Mu…

Xia Hong immediately recognized several familiar faces at the head.

Counting the total number of people who came out, he found that it was exactly thirty. Xia Hong nodded slightly, a hint of understanding flashing in his mind.

Half a month ago, when he said he wanted to establish the Pioneer Department, there weren't many Earth Digging Realm cultivators, so he could only choose from the Lumbering Realm. The selection method was the same as the first batch of Hunting Team members—fighting against wooden dummies.

Those who could be selected were already the best in the Lumbering Realm. It's normal for them to break through before others in the subsequent surge of Earth Digging Realm cultivators.

It was just right, saving a lot of trouble!

“Pioneering and expanding territory is no less dangerous than hunting. Previously, the camp didn't have enough Earth Digging Realm cultivators, so we had to choose from the Lumbering Realm. Now that we have enough manpower, we can just set a rule that anyone who wants to join the Pioneer Department in the future, like the Hunting Department, must have at least Earth Digging Realm cultivation.”

Naturally, everyone had no objection to this. However, noticing that Xia Hong's gaze began to search the crowd after he finished speaking, everyone's expressions suddenly became tense.

Just like the other departments, after the general plan for the Pioneer Department was finished, the next step was to appoint the Director.

Obviously, Xia Hong was looking for a candidate to serve as the Director.

After searching for a while, Xia Hong's gaze finally settled on Yu Wentao's group.

Hong Guang, Hong Tian, Meng Yi, Zhu Ling, and Zhu Yuan all felt Xia Hong's gaze and couldn't help but straighten their chests.

Just as Xia Hong had just said, the danger of pioneering was no less than that of hunting.

The candidate for Director must have strength as a very important consideration.

In terms of strength, these five were obviously the most suitable candidates.

But to be honest, if he chose from these five again, it felt like Xia Chuan and the others on the left might have some objections.

As it currently stood, Great Xia nominally had six departments, but in terms of strength, the Hunting Department and the Pioneer Department were clearly above the other four departments.

Yu Wentao had already taken charge of the Hunting Department. If this Pioneer Department was still to be led by someone from the Mirror Immortal Camp that had just merged, Xia Chuan, Luo Yuan, and others would certainly have objections.

Xia Hong turned his head and saw Xia Chuan, Luo Yuan, and others looking like they wanted to say something but hesitated. After thinking for a moment, he swallowed back the appointment that was about to come out.

“How about this, I don't have any suitable candidates to directly appoint. The most important purpose of the Pioneer Department right now is to increase the camp's population. Let's set a period of one month. For this month, Xia Chuan will temporarily act as the Director. After one month, whoever brings more population to the camp will get the position of Director of the Pioneer Department. What do you think?”

“I agree. The leader's idea is good. The original intention of pioneering and expanding territory is to increase the camp's population. Although strength is important, the ability to win people's hearts is equally important. Let's have a competition for a month to see who is more suitable, and whoever is more suitable will be the Director.”

After Xia Hong's words fell, the first to agree was actually Yu Wentao.

No one expected this. A group of Earth Digging Realm cultivators immediately turned their heads to look.

Hong Guang and the other five had originally revealed a hint of displeasure when they heard the competition proposed by Xia Hong. When Yu Wentao spoke, they showed even more incomprehensible expressions.

The people of Great Xia also didn't expect this. After all, anyone with eyes could see that Xia Hong had been forced by them to not directly make an appointment. No matter how you looked at it, Yu Wentao shouldn't have agreed.

“I also agree. We need to compete to see who is more suitable!”

Only Xia Chuan also agreed with Xia Hong's proposal, then looked at Yu Wentao, a hint of appreciation flashing in his eyes.

“Good sense of the big picture, not bad!”

Xia Hong didn't have much of a reaction, just praised Yu Wentao in his heart, then slowly spoke again:

“Now that we've finished talking about the six departments, today, I also want to announce another personnel appointment for the camp…”

The gazes of the people of Great Xia immediately converged on Xia Chuan.

Xia Chuan's position in the Camp Affairs Department had already been revoked, and he was only temporarily acting as the Director of the Pioneer Department for a month. Right now, he was the only one who didn't have a position.

Noticing their gazes, Yu Wentao and the others realized that Xia Chuan was about to be appointed to a position, and their eyes suddenly became curious.

They already knew about the relationship between Xia Chuan and Xia Hong, so they were naturally curious about what position the leader, Xia Hong, would arrange for his younger brother.

“From now on, the camp will establish the position of Chief Adjutant to manage all internal and external affairs of the six departments on my behalf. When I am not here, the Chief Adjutant is me, and everyone must obey his orders…”

Xia Hong paused, then directly said:

“The position of Chief Adjutant will be held by Xia Chuan!”

As soon as this final appointment was announced, the faces of the group of people on the left immediately revealed a strong look of joy, looking at Xia Chuan with expressions full of respect and congratulations.

Obviously, they were extremely satisfied and approved of this appointment.

Different from them were Yu Wentao and the others on the right.

Especially Hong Guang, Hong Tian, Meng Yi, Zhu Ling, and Zhu Yuan, who had just missed the position of Director of the Pioneer Department, all had a clear look of resentment on their faces.