Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely

Xia Hong was silent for a moment, then walked up to the three children and asked softly:

"What are your names, and how old are you?"

"Reporting to the leader, my name is Li Yan, and I am five years old this year."

"Li Ting, three years old."

"Reporting to the leader, my name is Li Feng, and I am four years old this year."

Hearing the three children's sobbing, soft and tender answers, Xia Hong couldn't help but step forward and pat their heads.

The brothers Li Yan and Li Ting are Li Yun's sons, and Li Feng is the only son of Li Pingkai.

Judging from the animal skin vests worn by the three children and the complete outfits worn by the two widows, it can be seen that these two families definitely lived at the top of the social ladder.

That's right, Li Yun and Li Pingkai were both members of the hunting team, and their ability to earn contribution points was the strongest in the camp, so their families naturally lived very well.

Precisely because of this, the five orphans and widows in front of him must be feeling even more heartbroken at this moment!

Just as life was getting better and better, they suddenly suffered this misfortune.

Xia Hong gently squatted down in front of the three children and suddenly asked:

"I failed to protect your fathers. Do you three hate me?"

"Leader…"

"Big brother…"

Xia Hong raised his hand and pressed it backward, signaling Xia Chuan and the others who wanted to speak to remain silent. Then, he looked directly at the three children, waiting for their answers.

The two widows had stopped crying at this moment, their expressions becoming tense. They didn't understand why Xia Hong was asking this question, and they were also afraid that the children would say the wrong thing.

Although Xia Hong's tone was extremely gentle, the three children, after all, were still young. Seeing everyone staring at them, they immediately shrank their necks, their expressions becoming somewhat timid, and they subconsciously wanted to look at their mothers.

"Don't be afraid, just answer me!"

This sentence was considered a comfort to the children.

After more than ten breaths, someone finally spoke.

"I don't hate the leader. My father said that without the leader, he wouldn't have been able to break through to the Earth-Digging Realm, and I wouldn't have been able to eat supplementary food of Cold Beast meat or wear new clothes. Without the leader, none of us would be able to live the life we have now."

Surprisingly, it was Li Ting who spoke. When Xia Hong asked the three their names just now, only his tone was cold, and he didn't add "Reporting to the leader" before his name.

Xia Hong thought that he was the least eloquent of the three children.

As soon as Li Ting spoke, his older brother Li Yan also quickly followed suit.

"Xia Chuan-daren just said that the hunting team was ambushed by people from the Mirror Immortal Camp. My father must have been killed by them too. I don't hate the leader. I only hate the people from the Mirror Immortal Camp. In the future, I will definitely kill them to avenge my father."

"My father said that the leader is the best person to us. The food we eat, the clothes we wear, and the houses we live in now all come from the leader. Ting-ge is right. It must be the people from the Mirror Immortal Camp who killed my father. When I grow up, I will also avenge my father!"

Although the voices of the three children were immature, they revealed an unusual firmness.

There was genuine admiration and worship for Xia Hong, as well as a deep and profound hatred for their father's killer.

Upon hearing this, the expressions of the others present became more solemn.

And after listening to the words of the three children, Xia Hong's mood became even heavier.

Unlike adults, children don't have too many calculations and considerations in their hearts. The probability of hearing the truth from their mouths is very high, especially in this kind of sudden situation.

The unconditional trust in himself and the strong respect and gratitude revealed in their words were all things that Xia Hong could feel, and this was precisely what made him feel the most guilty.

Looking back at the crowd, Xia Hong said in a deep voice:

"Today's matter is my fault. Listen to me first…"

Seeing that the hunting team and the others were about to refute, Xia Hong immediately raised his hand to stop them, and then continued: "I underestimated the strength of the Mirror Immortal Camp and overestimated my own abilities. Before the enemy's situation was clear, I rashly led you to confront them many times, which ultimately led to this disaster. As the leader, I am to blame for the deaths of Li Yun and Li Pingkai!"

"Leader, I don't agree. In the end, it's all to protect the territory of Red Maple Ridge. It's not just you who thinks that way, we all have the same idea. So what if the Mirror Immortal Camp is strong? We should still fight for what we should fight for."

"Me too. The leader is not wrong. Judging from the attitude that He Meng and his gang showed from the very beginning, once we give up the north, the entire Red Maple Ridge will soon no longer belong to our Great Xia. Fortunately, the leader led us, otherwise, the territory would probably have been taken over by others long ago."

"If we don't fight, there are only two paths. Either we wait for death, or the entire Great Xia joins the Mirror Immortal Camp and lives under their thumb. I would rather die like Li Yun and Li Pingkai than be looked down upon in other places."

"The debt of Li Yun and Li Pingkai should only be counted on the Mirror Immortal Camp. They were the ones who provoked the trouble first; they were the ones who crossed the border first; they were the ones who killed people first. Relying on their strength, they are so deceiving. At worst, we will fight them to the end."

… … … …

Seeing the crowd below filled with righteous indignation, Xia Hong felt an indescribable feeling in his heart.

The point he felt guilty about was naturally not the initial decision to conflict with the Mirror Immortal Camp. If Great Xia wanted to protect the territory of Red Maple Ridge, conflict with the Mirror Immortal Camp was inevitable.

Giving up that piece of the north, of course, would be very easy.

But once the other party tasted the sweetness, would they only want that one piece?

The Ice Abyss World doesn't talk about cooperation and win-win situations.

Taking a step back is often an endless abyss, not a vast expanse of sky.

What he really felt guilty about was rashly and impetuously leading the crowd to inspect the northern territory before the enemy's situation was clear.

This was also the most direct cause of the deaths of Li Yun and Li Pingkai.

In fact, Xia Hong had considered the possibility of being ambushed or encountering the other party's large forces, but at that time, his skin and membrane progress had greatly improved, and his basic strength had officially passed the Cold Resistance level threshold, and he was extremely confident.

Unless the two Cold Resistance level experts from the Mirror Immortal Camp joined forces, otherwise, even if he encountered three hunting teams like He Meng's at the same time, he was confident that he could lead everyone to retreat safely.

But he never expected that the Mirror Immortal Camp would be connected to the Strange Fiends, and that they would almost move out in full force tonight to encircle and suppress him.

Yuwen Hu led the team with hundreds of Earth-Digging Realm cultivators. This was almost all the power of the Mirror Immortal Camp except for that He Yuanhun.

Moreover, the other party had been sending people to monitor the resident valley.

Judging from the ambush situation at that time, the east side had the most people, which was the large group brought by Yuwen Hu, who had obviously rushed over temporarily from the periphery.

In other words, as soon as the hunting team left the valley on Great Xia's side, the Mirror Immortal Camp would soon know.

It must be like this, otherwise, it wouldn't be so coincidental!

Xia Hong raised his eyes and scanned the periphery of the valley. After a few glimmers of cold light flashed in his eyes, he retracted his gaze, looked at the people in the camp, and said:

"Let's not talk about my mistakes for now!

Li Yun and Li Pingkai both died for the camp, so their widows and children should naturally be supported by the camp. Li Yan, Li Ting, Li Feng, and their two mothers will be provided with all expenses for cultivation until they reach the Earth-Digging Realm free of charge.

In addition, Li Pingkai and Li Yun's residences will continue to be occupied by them, and the remaining contribution points, weapons, and bows and arrows of the two will also be inherited by the children, and the camp will not make any recovery."

Huff… … … …

As Xia Hong's voice fell, everyone in the camp suddenly breathed a little heavier.

Even some people in the hunting team who had children changed their expressions.

Li Yun and Li Pingkai were previously members of the hunting team, and they all lived on the third floor. Now that they are dead, the rooms still belong to their families;

Contribution points, bows and arrows, and weapons, all three items are directly inherited by the children;

Most importantly, the three children, including the two mothers, will have all their cultivation expenses provided by the camp free of charge until they reach the Earth-Digging Realm.

Even in a cruel world like the Ice Abyss, kinship and blood ties are still the strongest bond between people.

After Great Xia began to implement the contribution point rules, everyone, regardless of gender, would start working for contribution points as long as their cultivation reached a certain level.

All the contribution points that everyone worked so hard to earn were ultimately used in two places: cultivation and family.

When going out, not to mention hunting Cold Beasts or fighting with other camps, even just felling trees and collecting resources, who can guarantee that they will never have an accident?

Xia Hong's words can be said to have relieved their worries all at once.

As long as they die for the camp and for Great Xia, not only will their widows and children receive the best care from the camp, but their own contributions to the camp will not disappear, but will be inherited by their children intact.

The word "inheritance" sounds very ordinary, but in reality, for the people in the camp, it is an extremely unfamiliar and unimaginable thing.

It should be noted that in the past, whether it was Great Xia, Great Stone, Huang Zhao, Great Chuan, or even Rogge Camp, there had never been such a precedent.

The reason is simple: in the case of insufficient resources, inheritance is out of the question, which is very normal.

After all, limited resources must be prioritized for the most valuable people to use.

In fact, even in today's Great Xia, resources cannot be said to be abundant at all. The only Cold Beast meat that was seriously overflowing before is estimated to become scarce soon due to the invasion of the Mirror Immortal Camp.

Although Red Maple Ridge is very large, the range they hunt is only that little bit on the periphery. With the casualties and retreat of the hunting team this time, the invasion of the Mirror Immortal Camp will definitely accelerate, and their hunting area will be even smaller at that time.

In such a situation, Xia Hong actually made such a decision.

Xia Chuan immediately couldn't help but want to speak. Even Luo Yuan, Zhao Long, and others who were originally Rogge members like Li Yun and Li Pingkai, hesitated and wanted to persuade him.

But when they looked at the widows of Li Yun and Li Pingkai, and saw the faces of the orphans and widows regaining their color with great difficulty, they thought about it and still held back.

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"The remaining members of the hunting team, come up with me!"

After announcing his decision, Xia Hong didn't say anything more, simply leading everyone to the third floor.

He didn't want to cause panic by revealing the connection between Mirror Immortal Camp and the strange creatures in front of everyone, but he still needed to talk to the hunting team about it.

In addition, after this crushing defeat, the Mirror Immortal Camp will definitely have more actions. The arrangement for Da Xia to go out and collect resources will definitely have to be changed.

… … … …

On the third floor, looking at the fifteen members of the hunting team, Xia Hong sighed inwardly.

As soon as he entered the valley, he noticed that all fifteen of them were injured. The most serious were Zhao Bao and Ying Xuan. The former could no longer walk on his left leg and could only use wooden crutches, while the latter had holes pierced through both sides of his cheeks. Although the arrows had been removed, the holes were still very clear, and he couldn't speak at all.

Xia Hong pondered for a moment and told them everything about the strange creatures in the Mirror Immortal Camp, as well as his own guesses.

"Hahaha, serves them right. So they were infiltrated by strange creatures. Then we'll just wait and see how they die."

"Resurrected from the dead, controlled by strange creatures without even knowing it, that's great. The Mirror Immortal Camp is finished."

"They still have the leisure to fight with us. What a bunch of idiots!"

"Hahahaha, great, great."

… … … …

As Xia Hong expected, everyone's reaction to hearing that the Mirror Immortal Camp had been infiltrated and controlled by strange creatures was excitement and joy.

Only Xia Chuan, Luo Yuan, and Yue Feng quickly lost their joy. After thinking for a moment, their expressions immediately became serious.

Xia Hong met their gazes separately and immediately knew that the three of them had thought of the same thing as him.

Under normal circumstances, Da Xia and the Mirror Immortal Camp couldn't be considered as closely related as lips and teeth, but in the face of strange creatures who were murderous, cunning, and regarded human lives as worthless, this description was not an exaggeration.

Especially since the other party knew the location of Da Xia's base.

They had even begun to test Da Xia.

Testing meant that Da Xia had already become the target of the other party.

Not only Xia Chuan and the other two, but the rest of the hunting team were not stupid either.

Especially since the matter of the Wooden Puppet Strange Creature had only happened less than a year ago, many people slowly realized it, and the joy on their faces gradually faded, turning into solemnity.

"Humans and strange creatures are mixed together, and even they can't tell the difference. We can't even talk about it. We can't contact this Mirror Immortal Camp for the time being!"

Xia Hong turned to look at Yue Feng, a hint of surprise rising in his heart.

He didn't expect that Yue Feng's reaction would be the fastest.

After confirming the connection between the Mirror Immortal Camp and the strange creatures, his first thought was also to reduce or even avoid contact.

The others heard this and, after thinking for a moment, quickly showed their agreement.

If the Mirror Immortal Camp was a purely human camp, they could still think of ways to negotiate, or temporarily cede interests, or continue to confront in a roundabout way, there would always be a solution.

But if it was related to strange creatures, then it could not be judged by common sense.

Being able to infiltrate the Mirror Immortal Camp, the strength of this strange creature must be very powerful, but they knew nothing about what means it used to control humans or what abilities it had.

Under such circumstances, not contacting them was the best choice.

Moreover, Xia Hong had just said that the strange creature must be afraid of the camp's iron smelter, which meant that as long as they hid in the camp's valley, they could ensure their safety.

Under such circumstances, there was even less need to contact the Mirror Immortal Camp.

"If Yuwen Hu can find clues about the strange creatures in the camp through the leader's hints, and then a big battle breaks out, that would be great!"

Xia Chuan's words made the expressions of the others change slightly.

In this way, wouldn't Da Xia be able to pick up a bargain for nothing!

Xia Hong also understood what he meant, but after thinking about it, he immediately shook his head gently.

The probability of this happening was very small.

"We don't need to pay attention to what they do. Since we know that the Mirror Immortal Camp is a dead end, then we don't need to respond too much to them. As long as they don't come looking for trouble, we can concentrate on improving our own strength. I just don't know if the strange creature will come to us in advance… …"

When Xia Hong said the last sentence, a trace of worry appeared on his face, but it quickly disappeared. He stood up and continued to speak to everyone:

"Not only the north, but also the locations slightly further away from the valley, we don't need to go to for the time being. The necessary resources for the base now are nothing more than wood, coal, and cold beast meat.

From today onwards, everyone in the camp, including you, must not leave the one-kilometer range of the valley. This distance happens to encompass the outer five hundred meters of the middle section of Red Wood Ridge. Even if we collect all the resources in this area, it will be enough for us to live for a long time… … … …"

Xia Hong slowly and methodically stated his various arrangements. From time to time, people raised a few objections. After thinking about them, he either changed or insisted. Soon, the discussion ended.

In fact, to sum it up, it was just four words: strategic contraction.

Before determining the subsequent actions of the Mirror Immortal Camp and the specific information of the strange creature, what Da Xia could do was to shrink the scope of activities as much as possible while ensuring that cultivation was not affected, with safety as the main priority.

A single primary strange creature killed the Rogue Camp of one thousand three to four hundred people, leaving less than two hundred people.

Today's Da Xia is of course much stronger than the Rogue Camp.

But could the strange creature that controls the Mirror Immortal Camp be weaker than that Wooden Puppet Strange Creature?

Xia Hong's strategic contraction was unanimously approved by everyone.

Only Xia Chuan raised a question.

"We're not going out, big brother, then what about your cold beast blood?"

The other members of the hunting team also reacted at once, and when they thought that Xia Hong needed a lot of cold beast blood and resources to break through the Cold Resistance level, they all showed worried expressions.

Xia Hong showed a slight smile and shook his head, saying, "Don't worry about me, the strength of the Mirror Immortal Camp has not reached the point where it can threaten me… …"

Except for that He Yuanhun, and the strange creature behind the Mirror Immortal!

Although his expression was relaxed, Xia Hong was still a little worried about these two unknown characters in his heart.

Not just him.

Xia Chuan, Luo Yuan, and Yue Feng clearly thought of it too, and a few traces of worry appeared in their pupils.

I went out to do some errands today and was busy outside until I was dizzy. I just got home now. I'm really sorry everyone. I've been thinking about how to adjust and speed up the pace recently. Please forgive me!