Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely

The terror brought by the strange creatures visibly spread throughout the camp.

Even knowing that the valley was protected by solidified fire oil, everyone in the camp couldn't help but feel fear.

Even those who hadn't broken through the Lumbering Realm and only needed to stay in the camp felt this way, let alone the members of the logging and gathering teams who had to go outside.

There was no way around it. The pain caused by the wooden puppet strange creature had left a shadow in everyone's heart. Even Xia Hong, the leader, was feeling uneasy, let alone the others.

Except for some ignorant children, everyone's heart seemed to be shrouded in a shadow, and their mood was not as relaxed as before.

In such a situation, the entire camp naturally had fewer laughs and cheers, and the atmosphere became tense and oppressive.

Xia Hong was not surprised by this atmosphere.

He had already anticipated it when he had Xia Chuan announce the matter of the strange creatures.

The tense and oppressive atmosphere could bring many benefits in the short term.

First of all, the logging and gathering teams were much more cautious when going out than before. They would come to collect solidified fire oil and torches without the camp needing to remind them.

When going out, they also strictly followed Xia Hong's rule of ten people in a group, and never left the team's sight. There were also fewer problems than before.

Secondly, the overall vigilance of the camp was rapidly increasing.

Not to mention the guards at the gate, who were strict to an astonishing degree; now they had even created a special team to patrol the valley; anyone who went out and came back had to go through one inspection procedure after another, strict to the extreme.

There was no way around it. The fear of the strange creatures had been etched into their bones.

It was better to be careful. The experiences of the Great Xia, Great Stone, and Luo Yuan camps were still vivid in their minds. Once a strange creature infiltrated, it wouldn't be something that could be solved by just a few deaths.

Finally, there was the matter of cultivation.

This tense and oppressive atmosphere made Xia Hong and the eight Earth Digging Realm cultivators, as well as the hunting team, logging team, gathering team, and reserve team below them, all cultivate more diligently than before, from top to bottom.

This could be seen from the number of people who broke through the Earth Digging Realm in the following days.

After learning about the appearance of the new strange creature on January 17th, Xia Hong summoned all the existing Earth Digging Realm cultivators in the camp and went directly to the smithy.

Perhaps it was because the news had been spread and the people in the hunting team were under too much pressure, but Hong Gang, who was originally expected to break through the Earth Digging Realm in about ten days, actually broke through on the second day.

Before Hong Gang's breakthrough was over, Li Pingkai, Ying Xuan, and Yue Feng also broke through at the same time two days later.

As soon as the news came, a burst of heated discussion erupted among the Earth Digging Realm cultivators in the smithy.

Originally, these four were expected to take about ten days, but I didn't expect that they would all break through in just three days.

There are fifteen people in the hunting team, so now there are only Qiu Peng, Zhu Shun, and Zou Yuankai who haven't broken through!

Twelve Earth Digging Realm cultivators. Once the leader breaks through the Cold Resistance level, we won't have to be afraid of the Mirror Immortal camp.

There have been many people breaking through the Lumbering Realm recently. I estimate that the total number should be close to three hundred, right?

Not yet, 283 people, but judging from the trend, it will be soon!

Hearing Xia Chuan say that there were 283 people in the Lumbering Realm, Yuan Cheng felt excited and turned back to Xia Hong, who was still hammering the bow blank, and suggested, "Leader, we can go to the inner perimeter to see the intermediate cold beasts."

The others turned their heads when they heard this, with expectant expressions on their faces.

They all knew that the key to breaking through the Cold Resistance level was the blood of intermediate cold beasts.

Everyone knew in their hearts that neither the powerful and arrogant Mirror Immortal camp nor the newly appeared strange creature with unknown circumstances could be dealt with by the current strength of Great Xia.

Everyone had been cultivating and improving frantically during this period because of this idea.

But cultivation was cultivation, and they also knew that the total population of Great Xia was what it was. No matter how many Earth Digging Realm and Lumbering Realm cultivators there were, it was not as good as having one more Cold Resistance level expert.

It could be said that right now, not only them, but everyone in the entire camp was looking forward to Xia Hong breaking through to the Cold Resistance level as soon as possible.

Clang… Clang… Clang…

Hearing Yuan Cheng's words, Xia Hong's hand holding the grinding hammer did not stop, but he opened his mouth and said in a deep voice: "There's no hurry to enter Redwood Ridge. Let's wait a few more days and make the bow first. Intermediate cold beasts are no joke."

When everyone heard this, they nodded, remembering the Rat King they had seen before.

Judging from the strength shown by the Rat King after being poisoned that night, the difficulty of hunting intermediate cold beasts would probably be ridiculously high. If they didn't prepare in advance, let alone hunt, they might even lose their lives.

Xia Hong suppressed everyone's idea of going out and continued to stay in the camp, spending every day in the smithy and the mine.

With twelve Earth Digging Realm cultivators, the efficiency of mining and smithing was no longer comparable to what it used to be. The reserve of iron ore in the system could increase by more than 400 units almost every day, and that was even without him participating in the mining.

Four days later, which was the first year of Great Xia, January 24th.

Even more surprising things happened.

"Leader, good news!"

"Come in."

Xia Hong, who was cultivating on the third floor, immediately stopped when he heard Xia Chuan's voice outside the door, and then sat down on the main seat.

The door was pushed open, and Xia Chuan walked in with three people, his face full of smiles.

Seeing the three people, Xia Hong had a guess in his heart before Xia Chuan could speak, and immediately stood up from the chair.

"Breakthrough?"

"Leader, I have not failed my mission!"

The three bowed and saluted, speaking at the same time, their voices full of excitement.

The three people brought by Xia Chuan were Zou Yuankai, Qiu Peng, and Zhu Shun, who were the last three people in the hunting team who had not yet broken through.

Xia Hong had previously guessed that the fifteen people in the hunting team, except for the first wave of six people, had roughly the same starting line, and the time of their breakthroughs would definitely not be too far apart.

Sure enough, the three broke through the Earth Digging Realm, only four days behind the previous batch.

"Good, Xia Chuan, go and notify all the members of the hunting team and let them go to the camp to collect their bows. Tonight, come with me to Redwood Ridge, go inside, and see the intermediate cold beasts together."

"Yes, Leader!"

Xia Chuan nodded excitedly. He had been waiting for a long time.

Zou Yuankai and the other three were even more excited that they could go to the inner side with Xia Hong as soon as they broke through, and also see the intermediate cold beasts.

Luo Yuan, Yuan Cheng, the Zhao Long brothers, Huang Yong… All the members of the hunting team quickly gathered in the warehouse of the camp on the second floor after Xia Chuan's notification.

"Collect bows? Isn't it just applying solidified fire oil and bringing a few torches? We have five-stone bows, what are we collecting?"

Hong Gang, who had a fiery temper, shouted. Yue Feng and the others who had broken through at the same time next to him also showed the same confusion on their faces.

Luo Yuan, Yuan Cheng, and the Zhao Long brothers in front chuckled a few times. They had been staying in the smithy with Xia Hong for several days, and they obviously knew more than Hong Gang.

"My lords, the bows, solidified fire oil, and torches are all ready."

Shi Ping walked out from inside with a few people from the camp. Fifteen dark iron fetal bows, plus a pot of arrows, were quickly distributed to everyone.

The moment he got the iron fetal bow, Hong Gang's expression immediately froze.

"Hahaha, we've all broken through the Earth Digging Realm, how can a five-stone bow be enough? The leader asked us to collect ten-stone bows, and these arrows are also specially made of seven pounds."

A few Earth Digging Realm cultivators who broke through later, including Hong Gang, suddenly realized, touching the iron fetal bow in their hands, their expressions excited.

"Don't be too happy. This ten-stone iron fetal bow is only for you to use temporarily for hunting. If you want it, you still have to exchange it with contribution points like everyone else. 2000 points, not a penny less!"

Xia Chuan's words immediately calmed everyone down, and they all turned to look at Luo Yuan at the same time, with a hint of envy in their eyes.

"Hehe!"

Luo Yuan smiled slyly, and deliberately showed his bow to everyone.

"Don't be proud. As long as I can hit a few low-level cold beasts tonight, my contribution points will also be able to exchange for a ten-stone iron fetal bow."

"I'm almost there too."

The ones who coveted the ten-stone iron fetal bow the most were definitely the Zhao Long brothers. Seeing Luo Yuan showing off, the three couldn't help but speak immediately.

"Okay, bring all the things you prepared. The rental price of the ten-stone iron fetal bow is 50 contribution points per month. You have to take good care of it outside, don't lose it."

Hearing this rental price, everyone didn't take it to heart at all.

The rental price of the five-stone bow was 10 points per month. The rental price of the ten-stone bow seemed to be five times that, but the effect it played was much greater than that.

Judging from the experience of the last battle against the gnawing rat swarm, if the ten-stone bow was used well, even if there were only two people, they could cooperate to hunt low-level cold beasts.

A low-level cold beast was worth at least two or three hundred contribution points.

Calculating it this way, the monthly rent of 50 contribution points was simply too cost-effective.

"Leader!"

Xia Chuan suddenly looked up at the door, his expression solemn.

The others turned their heads when they heard the sound, and seeing Xia Hong walking in from the outside, they immediately stopped talking and bowed respectfully to him.

Xia Hong, with the ceremonial saber hanging on his waist, nodded to everyone first, then walked forward, took the bow and arrows and hung them on his back, applied solidified fire oil, and turned to ask everyone:

"Are everything prepared?"

"Everything is prepared, Leader."

"Tonight, we're entering Redwood Ridge, and we might be going more than a thousand meters deep. Stay focused. I don't want anyone running into trouble. You've only seen the Long-tailed Gnash Rat King among the intermediate Frost Beasts. The others might not be weaker than it. Once we're in, be cautious and follow my orders. Understand?"

"Understood!"

The fifteen Earth-Digging Realm cultivators shouted in unison, their voices naturally loud, shaking the wooden planks around the room incessantly.

Xia Hong naturally trusted these fifteen members of the hunting squad, as they had been hunting together for more than half a year.

Logically, to venture more than a thousand meters into Redwood Ridge in search of intermediate Frost Beasts, the number of people should be reduced. If he didn't trust them, Xia Hong wouldn't have brought so many people at once.

Furthermore, Xia Hong's goal wasn't just to find intermediate Frost Beasts.

If possible, they would, of course, hunt them.

Otherwise, why would he have forged thirteen ten-thousand-jin Iron Womb Bows in one go?

"Alright, let's go!"

With Xia Hong's command, he took the lead downstairs.

The fifteen fully armed cultivators quickly followed behind him.

Amidst the envious and respectful gazes of everyone in the camp, the sixteen of them walked out of the valley together, blending into the night as they quickly approached Redwood Ridge.