Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely

North of Redwood Ridge, within the sphere of influence of Lu Shang's camp.

Next to a large tree, Xia Hong held his breath and concentrated, lying on the ground with his right ear pressed tightly against the earth. Beside him, Xia Chuan and Luo Yuan were vigilantly watching their surroundings, occasionally turning their heads to glance at him.

"Still underground, about two hundred meters away, and closing in. It's not because of the gnawing rat corpses. It seems their perception is just naturally strong."

Xia Hong stood up from the ground, his expression extremely grim.

The summoning cry of the gnawing rat before its death had indeed worked.

Although he had moved quickly, the gnawing rats had still detected them and were giving chase.

It had taken them more than ten minutes to run from the northern slope of the mountain, and he had stopped once midway, already hearing the sound of the gnawing rat pack burrowing through the earth and approaching.

He had initially thought that the two gnawing rat corpses were the reason the gnawing rat pack was tracking them, so he found a snow pit along the way, marked it, and temporarily buried the two corpses.

Clearly, he had guessed wrong.

Without the two gnawing rat corpses, the gnawing rat pack was still chasing them, and their speed was increasing. Even with the three of them running at full speed, they couldn't create much distance.

"Leader, we can't stay here any longer! The commotion is getting bigger and bigger!"

Luo Yuan took a few steps south, sensed the ground trembling, realized the gnawing rat pack was getting closer and closer, and his expression immediately became tense.

"Run!"

Xia Hong also realized that they couldn't stay in place for too long, and led the two of them to continue fleeing north.

Dealing with those two gnawing rats had already come at a considerable cost. If they were caught by this gnawing rat pack from underground, none of the three of them would likely survive.

But as they fled, before they had even run a few dozen meters, the expression on Xia Hong's face became increasingly gloomy and unsightly. Xia Chuan and Luo Yuan looked ahead and also seemed to realize something, their expressions immediately becoming the same as his.

They were now located in the northernmost part of Lu Shang's camp's sphere of influence, which was the eastern side of Redwood Ridge. If they continued to flee north, they would almost reach the Arrow Bamboo Forest, which was completely unfamiliar territory to them.

In the Ice Abyss World, the dangers brought by an unfamiliar environment were no less than death.

They couldn't run north anymore; staying to fight would certainly be futile; detouring back to the camp was also impossible, as that would endanger more people. What to do, what to do…

Xia Hong's mind raced, constantly thinking of countermeasures. Suddenly, something occurred to him, and he abruptly turned his head to look west, towards the inner area of Redwood Ridge, his eyes suddenly lighting up.

"Change direction, run inside! Let's see if these beasts dare to follow!"

Xia Chuan and Luo Yuan saw Xia Hong suddenly speak and change direction towards the inner side of Redwood Ridge to the west. Although they didn't understand why, they immediately followed closely behind.

The five hundred meters around the outer perimeter of Redwood Ridge was a safe zone for them. If they went deeper into the thousand-meter range, according to the previous exploration experience of the Rogge Camp, it was mainly occupied by other types of low-level frost beasts. Although they were strong, they had not yet escaped the category of low-level. If the three of them went in, as long as they were cautious, it shouldn't be a big problem.

Compared to the Arrow Bamboo Forest to the north, and other more unfamiliar areas, going deeper into the inner area was clearly more prudent.

But soon, the two, who thought they understood Xia Hong's intentions, immediately realized they were wrong, because after entering Redwood Ridge, Xia Hong actually led them towards a place where clouds and mist gathered.

The three knew they were facing a life-or-death crisis, so their speed was extremely fast.

When they saw the place where the clouds and mist gathered, they were no more than a hundred meters away.

"Leader, that's the habitat of a Cloud Mist Teng Snake, can we just barge in?"

Unlike Xia Chuan, Luo Yuan, as a former member of the Rogge Camp, had some understanding of the three types of frost beasts within the thousand-meter range. He already knew when he saw the cloud and mist area.

Seeing Xia Hong still leading the way into the cloud and mist area, he thought Xia Hong didn't know about the Cloud Mist Teng Snake, so he spoke up to remind him.

"I know. Follow me in first. It's almost dawn. If we don't find a way to shake them off, we'll either be eaten or freeze to death. Quick!"

Xia Hong had already explored so many times in the past half month, of course he knew that it was the habitat of a Cloud Mist Teng Snake.

He had deliberately come here.

"Snakes and rats are naturally opposed to each other. Maybe we can even get a free advantage!"

Xia Hong cursed himself for being too stupid. Snakes and rats were naturally opposed to each other, such a simple principle. He actually didn't realize it until this moment. At the same time, he realized that the three of them might even get a free advantage, and the light in his pupils grew brighter.

"Tear off a piece of fur, melt snow to wet it, and cover your faces. Quick!"

Hearing Xia Hong's order, Luo Yuan immediately did as he was told. Although Xia Chuan didn't understand, he quickly took out a piece of leather from his pocket, wrapped a ball of snow on the ground, put it in his pocket to melt it, and immediately covered it on his face.

"The reason why the Teng Snake is named Cloud Mist is because it spews a poisonous mist when it breathes. Those in the Lumbering Realm will die directly upon inhalation. Those in the Earth Digging Realm can cover their mouths and noses with a wet cloth and last for half an hour, but if they continue to inhale after half an hour, they will experience hallucinations and coma, and even death in excessive amounts."

Hearing Luo Yuan's explanation, Xia Chuan finally understood.

Xia Hong had long memorized the frost beast scrolls left by Luo Ming. Seeing that Luo Yuan was saving him the effort of explaining, he stopped talking.

The three covered their mouths and noses and rushed into the cloud and mist area together.

Visibility was low in the cloud and mist area, but after all, it was only a range of fifty or sixty meters, with only six or seven large trees. Almost the moment they entered, the three saw the huge figure coiled around the large tree in the middle.

It was an extremely long Teng Snake, about thirty meters long, with a waist as thick as a bucket, estimated to be about sixty centimeters in diameter. Its body was densely covered with black scales about the size of an infant's fist. Most of its body was wrapped around the large tree, with its tail inserted into the snow, seemingly resting on the ground.

Most striking was its huge head, much wider than its waist, resting on a forked branch of the tree. Two large bulges protruded from the left and right sides of its forehead, with faint traces of sharp horns about to emerge from within.

At this moment, the Teng Snake's eyes were tightly closed, but its nostrils were constantly exhaling white mist as it breathed, creating a sense of oppression.

The previous time, Xia Hong had only caught a glimpse of the Teng Snake from afar. Now, watching it up close, he clearly felt the oppressive feeling of facing the Teng Snake directly.

It was hard to imagine that this Teng Snake, like the Snow Mane, Frost Wolf, and Magic Goat, still belonged to the category of low-level frost beasts. What would a mid-level frost beast be like?

Of course, now was not the time for Xia Hong to sigh.

Xia Hong once again lay prone on the ground, closed his eyes and listened for a while, and a hint of joy suddenly appeared on his face.

"They've stopped. These beasts really don't dare to come over!"

The reason why the gnawing rats were able to silently drill from underground to Luo Yuan's side and ultimately succeed in the sneak attack was because there were only two of them. But the current batch of gnawing rats was clearly very numerous, and in order to chase them, their digging speed was faster, making it impossible to conceal their movements.

So Xia Hong, after lying on the ground three times in a row, could hear everything clearly.

Although he could hear clearly that the gnawing rats' burrowing movements had stopped about tens of meters away, Xia Hong still didn't dare to be careless. He led the two to stay as far away from the Teng Snake's position as possible, found a large tree, and climbed up to hide.

"The wet cloth can only block for half an hour. Now it's probably less than half an hour until dawn. We can only hide for a few minutes at most. Regardless of whether the gnawing rat pack has retreated or not, we have to quickly change places. Otherwise, even if we don't die at the hands of the Teng Snake, we'll freeze to death."

Time passed by, minute by minute. While Xia Hong estimated the time, his ear was always pressed against the tree trunk, hoping to hear the sound of the gnawing rat pack retreating, but unfortunately, he never heard any movement.

But this was also normal. The gnawing rat pack dug and drilled over, so even if they really retreated, they would probably retreat along the original tunnel they dug. Of course he couldn't hear any movement.

"It's getting light, big brother. It'll be too late if we don't leave."

Xia Chuan clearly felt the temperature dropping, looked up at the gradually transparent mist, realized that the night was about to pass, and quickly reminded him.

Xia Hong frowned tightly. Not to mention the fact that it was about to dawn, with such a large Cloud Mist Teng Snake standing next to them, he also wanted to leave. The problem was, it was still unclear whether the gnawing rat pack had retreated. What if they were lying in wait?

This Teng Snake was the only means of survival for the three of them. If they rashly retreated and were surrounded by the gnawing rat pack, they would definitely not be given a second chance.

"Let's retreat first, take a gamble!"

If he could, Xia Hong didn't want to gamble either.

After all, if he lost the gamble, and the gnawing rat pack hadn't left, he would immediately die as soon as he ran out of the cloud and mist area.

But the problem was, he had to gamble.

The low temperature after dawn was deadly to humans, but it was different for frost beasts. They were more active during the day, and their strength would also be stronger. Under this ebb and flow, the three of them would only have a dead end if they continued to stay here.

However, just as Xia Hong was about to lead the way to jump down from the tree.

A clear sound of wood cracking entered the ears of the three.

Crack…

Xia Hong's expression froze, his pupils slightly condensed, and then he went to the old position just now and put his ear to it again.

"Run!"

With this listen, Xia Hong's expression suddenly changed, he shouted in a low voice, and suddenly grabbed Xia Chuan and Luo Yuan, and the three of them jumped down from the tree together.

Chi…

The trunk of the tree where the three had just perched suddenly cracked, and seven or eight silver lights flew out from it, sharp teeth and claws rushing towards them. Who else could it be but those long-tailed gnawing rats.

The three who landed had not had time to let go when they were entangled by two or three gnawing rats on each side. The three quickly stood back-to-back, relying on each other, and raised their knives to resist. Although they withstood many attacks, several wounds were still cut on their bodies.

Even Xia Hong, who was the main target, had a three- or four-inch long scar scratched on his face by the gnawing rat's claws.

“They pretended to be still, but actually sent a small group to sneak underground. These gnawing rats are more intelligent than I thought! This is bad!”

Xia Hong disregarded the wounds on his body, his expression extremely solemn. If the gnawing rats hadn't accidentally revealed themselves with a sound at the last moment, the three of them would have been sliced into pieces if they had jumped down from the tree even half a step later.

Eight gnawing rats were surrounding them in a formation of three-three-two, their pupils filled with fierce light, their slender faces twisted and ferocious. Their two sharp, long incisors were squeaking, as if they were communicating something.

“Big brother, something bad happened!”

One wave subsiding, another rises.

Xia Hong hadn't figured out how to escape the encirclement of the gnawing rats when he heard Xia Chuan's low, horrified voice from the left. He turned his head, puzzled, and saw Xia Chuan looking up at the sky. He subconsciously looked up as well.

This one look instantly made his back feel icy cold.

An enormous head was dozens of meters in the air, looking down at him. It was the Cloud Mist Flood Dragon from before.

The Flood Dragon's tongue was four or five meters long, and the mist exhaled from its nostrils was far heavier than before. Its two scarlet, vertical pupils were devoid of emotion, filled only with cruelty and tyranny.

When did this Flood Dragon wake up?

How could such a large body climb from the tree in the very center to this side without making any noise?

Xia Hong reached out and wiped the blood flowing from the wound on his face, his heart already sinking to the bottom.

He originally thought that he could use the principle of mutual restraint to lure the gnawing rats over to fight the Flood Dragon, and even imagined being a fisherman and reaping the benefits.

Now, not only could he not reap any benefits, but he was also surrounded by the Flood Dragon and the gnawing rats at the same time.

“This is the consequence of being too clever for one's own good.”

At this moment, Xia Hong's intestines were turning green with regret, wishing he could slap himself twice.