Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely

"Population is indeed the cornerstone!"

Behind the main hall, after listening to the conversation between Xia Chuan and Qiu Peng and noticing that they had left, Xia Hong, who was sitting cross-legged on the soft couch, slowly opened his eyes. After a glimmer of light flashed in his left eye, he couldn't help but sigh.

Thousands of Earth Piercing Realm cultivators, who would have dared to imagine that in the earliest days of Great Xia?

But now, it's about to become a reality.

And it's happening next month.

If he remembered correctly, on the twentieth of last month, when that large group from Five Ape Mountain all arrived, the total number of Earth Piercing Realm cultivators was 431.

Only a month has passed, and it has almost doubled.

Xia Hong had observed this newly increased group of Earth Piercing Realm cultivators. Only a small portion of them were from the original thousand-plus people of Great Xia, and the vast majority were people who came from Mirror Immortal and Five Ape Mountain.

It's not that the original thousand-plus people of Great Xia had poor aptitude. Individuals certainly have varying degrees of talent, but when it comes to a race, as long as the living environment is similar and the resource endowments are similar, the corresponding potential is actually about the same.

You should know that among the thousand-plus people of Great Xia, the number of Earth Piercing Realm cultivators exceeded 30%. In terms of proportion, it can be said that the talent of these thousand-plus people far exceeded that of the Mirror Immortal and Five Ape Mountain groups.

But in reality, that's obviously not the case.

Great Xia's meat supply is far more abundant than the other two groups, which is the key reason why the proportion of Earth Piercing Realm cultivators among the thousand-plus people far exceeds them.

When the Mirror Immortal and Five Ape Mountain groups joined and enjoyed the abundant meat supply like the Great Xia people, many people who were stuck and unable to break through, as well as some talented individuals, naturally broke through.

The key to the surge in Earth Piercing Realm cultivators in the past month or so lies in this.

That's why Xia Hong said that population is the cornerstone.

Cultivation is a gradual process; it's impossible to achieve success overnight.

The amount of beast meat that can be used daily by those in the Tree Felling Realm and Earth Piercing Realm is limited. Even if the camp has martial arts halls that can improve their cultivation efficiency, it is impossible to mass-produce Earth Piercing Realm cultivators. It still requires a lot of time and resources to achieve the corresponding improvement and output.

"Population expansion is very important, but the corresponding supply of supporting resources cannot be ignored. We only have more than 23,000 people, and the camp's hunting ability is already a bit unable to keep up. It seems that we still need to settle down for a while and not increase the population in large numbers. Otherwise, I, as the leader, will soon have to lead people out to hunt again."

Xia Hong shook his head slightly, thinking of the monthly beast meat consumption that Qiu Peng had just mentioned.

1.5 million catties. Fortunately, Great Xia's territory is large enough now, and there is also a treasure land like Red Wood Ridge. Otherwise, even if he, the leader, personally went out, he probably wouldn't be able to get so much beast meat.

"The resource problem has not been solved, and the population cannot be expanded for the time being. As for the army, that's even more wishful thinking…"

Xia Hong shook his head and pondered. Qiu Peng's proposal just now to establish a fully detached team dedicated to patrolling the camp was what he had previously mentioned to Xia Chuan.

In fact, this is equivalent to the prototype of an army.

Although Great Xia currently has territorial boundaries, it does not have an armed force specifically used to defend its own territory.

The people of the Hunting Department certainly count, but they are not detached from production and still focus on hunting cold beasts. They can only come out when something happens, as before.

According to the camp's current terrifying consumption of beast meat, if the Hunting Department slackens even a little, the supply of beast meat will most likely be insufficient.

In this situation, Xia Hong naturally wouldn't consider building an army again.

"I heard from Luo Ming earlier that Yang and Li were both scouts of the Beishuo Town Garrison. That is to say, when the population exceeds 100,000 and reaches the standard of a town-level camp, there should be the qualification to build an army."

Beishuo Town Garrison!

Xia Hong raised his eyebrows slightly. Remembering the strength of Yang and Li, he couldn't help but feel a little uninspired by this army.

"Being able to serve as scouts, their strength in the army should generally be considered good. That is to say, this army is likely composed of Earth Piercing Realm cultivators. I just don't know how many people there are specifically."

Lack of inspiration does not mean contempt.

Being able to support a fully detached army, the strength of Beishuo Town is beyond doubt.

The huge population of over 100,000 is also something that the current Great Xia cannot reach.

But it has to be said that compared to when he was on the earthen slope, more than a year has passed, and when Xia Hong thinks of Yang and Li again, as well as Beishuo Town behind them, he no longer feels any fluctuations in his heart.

After all, he is confident that as long as Great Xia is given sufficient time, surpassing this so-called Beishuo Town, and even the entire nine towns of Mount Mo'ao, is not a problem.

"Why are so many people coming back? It's not even the second half of the night yet!"

Xia Hong's eyebrows furrowed, and he suddenly looked up outside the main hall.

A large number of people outside were rushing back to the valley. It was clearly only the first half of the night, and the people who went out shouldn't be coming back at this time.

What's the situation?

… … … …

"Why are so many people coming back?"

"Beast tide, there's a beast tide! The news came from the Boundary Valley."

"Beast tide? There's no movement outside Red Wood Ridge."

"The west side of the periphery is fine. It should be the Arrow Bamboo Forest. I heard that Lord Yue Feng sent someone back to report. Many people have returned."

"The direction of the Arrow Bamboo Forest, the north?"

"That's right."

… … … …

Hearing that there was a beast tide, Great Xia Valley was immediately in turmoil.

"Don't panic, it's the beast tide of the Arrow Bamboo Forest, far away from us."

"That place has a beast tide every four months. Don't worry, those cold beasts are all heading into the Arrow Bamboo Forest and won't come to us."

"Just don't get close to the north."

Soon, people from the former Mirror Immortal Camp came out to appease the others who didn't know what was going on. Learning that the cold beasts would not come to the valley, everyone's emotions immediately stabilized, and the commotion slowly stopped.

"Don't panic, there's nothing unusual around here. Everyone, don't go to the north these days."

Xia Hong's loud voice resounded throughout the valley. After everyone looked at each other, they all looked up at the third floor of the wooden house, and their expressions immediately calmed down.

"Is that the leader's voice?"

"Why does it feel like it's coming from the sky?"

"The leader is like a god."

"The leader is a god. If he says it's okay, it must be okay."

"Do what you need to do, just don't go to the north these days. Just stay active on the west side of the periphery."

… … … …

Xia Hong sat quietly in the main seat on the third floor, and after calming the turmoil in the valley, his brows furrowed slightly.

It can be seen from this turmoil that the current system of Great Xia still has many imperfections.

It is said that when something happens, someone should immediately come forward to appease, and then determine whether the situation is dangerous and whether to prepare. Nothing has happened yet, and the camp has begun to panic. He, the leader, has to personally open his mouth to appease, which feels a bit like a makeshift team.

But there is no way. Currently, even Xia Chuan, the Secretary, has to lead a team to hunt, not to mention the six Department Heads below and the captains of the hunting teams. They basically go out as soon as night falls, and even Mu Dong, the Department Head of the Artisan Department, is no exception.

"We still need to specially arrange someone to take care of the camp, so that at least in case of emergencies, they won't be like a group of headless flies. I have to talk to Xia Chuan next time."

Xia Hong pondered for a moment, and after the camp had completely calmed down, he got up and left the main hall from the main entrance, heading towards the north.

… … … … … …

Different from the short-term turmoil in Great Xia Valley.

The Boundary Valley here is a scene of complete collapse.

The Boundary Valley, which is five or six miles in radius, is constantly shaking.

More than thirty wooden houses were all trembling with the ground. The fluttering snow and ice edges were constantly sliding from the roof to both sides, making a crackling sound.

Inside a central wooden house, hundreds of people were hiding.

The campfire in the house had been extinguished, and everyone's faces were horrified. From time to time, they looked out the windows and wooden doors to the south, their faces covered with horror.

The Arrow Bamboo Forest, one kilometer away to the south, was constantly making rumbling tremors, as if there was an earthquake. The sky was covered with snow, and a dark, misty snow mist filled the air, making visibility extremely low.

But even so, the people in the wooden house could still see the huge beast shadows looming inside through the snow mist, running wildly.

"Fortunately, Lord Yue Feng notified us in time. If it was a little later, we would have been trampled to death if we weren't eaten!"

"Look over there, there are at least seven or eight of them. We can see them clearly even from this far away. Their body length is at least seven or eight meters, all intermediate cold beasts?"

"Gudong, this is just the edge that we saw through the snow mist. I don't know how many are inside the snow mist. The bamboo forest is probably full of cold beasts at this time. How can there be so many?"

"Listening to the movement, at least hundreds of them must have passed by in a while!"

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"The people of the Mirror Immortal Camp said that this beast tide will last for four or five days, so there will be tens of thousands of them in total."

"So many cold beasts, where are they all going?"

"There is probably some treasure in the Arrow Bamboo Forest?"

"Hehe, you are smart. What, do you want to pick up the treasure?"

"I have to have the life for it. With such a big beast tide, I estimate that no one in the entire camp except the leader dares to approach."

"I'm afraid the leader may not be able to. With so many cold beasts, I estimate there may be high-level ones."

… … … … … … … …

On the second floor of the wooden house, hearing everyone's discussion, Yue Feng turned his head, looked at Yuwen Tao, and showed a touch of gratitude on his face. He cupped his fists and said, "Thanks to Lord Secretary tonight. If you hadn't informed us in advance, I estimate that many people would have died tonight."

Yuwen Tao waved his hand slightly and said, "Brother Yue, you don't have to be so polite. I originally roughly calculated that the beast tide would come recently. Staying here during this time is for now."

Yue Feng nodded upon hearing this, but the gratitude on his face remained undiminished.

He also knew that the beast tide in the Arrow Bamboo Forest occurred every four months, coinciding with the ripening of the Ice Shuo trees.

But knowing was one thing; accurately predicting it was another.

May was already eighteen days past, and the beast tide was nowhere to be seen. He had recently become complacent, even thinking there wouldn't be a beast tide at all.

Who knew it would actually come tonight!

Jing Valley had already become a fixed outpost for Great Xia north of the Arrow Bamboo Forest.

Not only was he stationed here with the Shanhe Squad, but many hunting and gathering teams would also come here to rest and resupply. Sometimes, for the convenience of mining, they would stay for several days.

The same went for the gathering teams. The bamboo silk in the Arrow Bamboo Forest was one of the essential resources that the camp regularly collected. Currently, hundreds or even thousands of Lumbering Realm cultivators were active in the Arrow Bamboo Forest every night.

If it weren't for Yu Wentao accurately predicting the arrival of the beast tide and notifying him in advance, and if he hadn't quickly sent people to spread the word, allowing everyone to evacuate in time, many people would have surely died tonight.

As the person in charge of Jing Valley, he would naturally be held responsible.

Frankly speaking, Yue Feng's impression of Yu Wentao wasn't very good. The reason was simple: Li Yun and Li Pingkai both had good relationships with him.

Because of the assassination attempt back then, his overall impression of the people from the Mirror Immortal Camp who had joined them this time wasn't good.

But today's events had completely changed Yue Feng's opinion of Yu Wentao.

Yu Wentao was clearly unaware of Yue Feng's thoughts and was currently deep in thought.

"In the past, I remember the dates were very accurate, once every four months, with an error of no more than five days. This time, it's actually been delayed by more than ten days..."

Yu Wentao muttered, his brow furrowing.

The Mirror Immortal Camp had experienced quite a few beast tides over the years.

The Ice Shuo trees had ripened at the beginning of the month, and today was already the eighteenth.

Why was it so late?

In fact, in the past few days, he, like Yue Feng, had suspected that there wouldn't be a beast tide this time. Fortunately, he was cautious enough to stay a few more days, otherwise, they would have suffered a great loss tonight.

Yu Wentao lowered his head, pondering for a long time without figuring out the reason.

Yue Feng, on the side, understood even less and simply kept observing the movements in the bamboo forest to the south, in case of any abnormalities.

Besides the two of them, Meng Yi and Hong Guang were also on the second floor.

After Xia Hongjing took away the three members of the Beehive, he only ordered Yue Feng to stay here with the Shanhe Squad to guard the area, allowing the other five squads to move freely.

Yu Wentao, feeling uneasy, brought his own Dragon Martial Squad and Meng Yi's Divine Martial Squad to continue staying here.

"Hey, why is there a little Snow Mane coming?"

"It's only a little over a meter long, is it a cub?"

"Did it come with the beast tide?"

"Hehe, I haven't seen a cold beast cub before. This meat should be very tender."

......

The silent crowd suddenly heard several voices coming from the first floor.

Yue Feng, Hong Guang, and Meng Yi were all stunned, but Yu Wentao's body shook violently upon hearing these discussions. He quickly ran to the stairs and looked down.

In order to coordinate and prevent the dispersal of personnel from alarming the beast tide, Yue Feng had gathered all four hundred people who remained in Jing Valley into this central wooden house. Therefore, the first floor was currently crowded with people.

Although there was no fire lit in the house, the four people who walked to the stairs immediately noticed the beast silhouette at the door of the wooden house.

Just as everyone had discussed, the beast silhouette was only sixty centimeters tall at the shoulder and about a meter long. Even compared to low-level cold beasts, its size was considered very small.

The beast silhouette had a circle of barbs on its back. Although the details of its face couldn't be seen clearly, a pair of stark white, curved fangs were very conspicuous. Looking at the jet-black mane covering its body, it could basically be judged to be a miniature Snow Mane.

There really was a Snow Mane cub?

The only difference between this small Snow Mane and the Snow Manes they had seen before might be its eyes.

Snow Manes' eyes were all bloodshot red.

But the eyes of this Snow Mane were actually cyan.

Not only were they cyan, but they also had a crystal-clear, jade-like texture.

"Hum... Hum..."

It made two humming sounds, appearing cute and endearing, causing the crowd on the first floor to burst into laughter.

"Run, run, everyone, run!"

Yu Wentao's horrified roar instantly stopped the laughter of the crowd.

The expressions of Yue Feng, Hong Guang, and Meng Yi, who were standing beside him, all shook.

The more than four hundred people on the first floor were also stunned.

"That's a high-level cold beast, a high-level cold beast, run, run, everyone scatter and run..."