Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely

The camps around Redwood Ridge, though distributed on the east side and generally connected from north to south, were not interconnected.

Whether intentional or unintentional, encounters between people from two camps almost only occurred within their respective territories, that is, within a 500-meter radius of the Redwood Ridge periphery.

The reasons were simple.

First, everyone was more familiar with the periphery, making it relatively safer.

Second, it was to avoid the two camps spying on each other's situations, as people's hearts are separated by their stomachs (meaning, you can't know what someone is really thinking).

Therefore, unless there were special circumstances, when going from one camp to another, people would generally first enter Redwood Ridge, and then follow the eastern periphery of the ridge, heading south or north according to their destination.

The Great Xia Camp was located on the southernmost side of the east, and to reach Rogue Camp, one had to pass through the territories of the Great Stone, Great River, and Huang Zhao camps before entering the territory of Rogue Camp.

It was said to be less than four kilometers, but walking it was another matter.

The old problem remained: traveling at night, no matter what, couldn't be fast, and because they were worried about disturbing the Cold Beasts, they couldn't make too much noise.

Therefore, even though Xia Hong's heart was burning with anxiety, knowing that Rogue Camp had likely suffered misfortune, he had no choice but to travel honestly.

The more anxious he was, the easier it was to make mistakes; he had to calm down.

That Wooden Puppet Demon was far more cunning than the Cold Beasts; one careless move could mean not just him alone, but everyone in the camp would die together.

"Chief, we're here!"

Xia Hong looked up, following the direction Xia Chuan was pointing.

Two towering mountains stood majestically on the east side, estimated to be two to three thousand meters high, with their peaks intersecting and connecting, creating a valley over a hundred meters wide in between.

"The valley Shi Qing mentioned should be there."

"Chief, shall we go straight over?"

Hearing Yuan Cheng's inquiry, Xia Hong was tempted, but after thinking for a moment, he shook his head and turned to look at the inner side of Redwood Ridge.

"We don't know the situation at Rogue Camp, so rushing over would be disadvantageous. Let's find Chief Luo Ming first, as well as Yang Ning and Li Hu that Shi Qing mentioned. It'll be safer with them."

Xia Hong had dealt with the Wooden Puppet Demon a few times, but strictly speaking, he had never directly faced it.

He had no idea what the opponent's true strength was, or what other strange abilities it possessed.

Although he didn't want to see Rogue Camp being massacred, Xia Hong wasn't a saint. Risking his own and his team's safety to save others, that might be kindness to others, but it would be absolute foolishness to his own people.

According to Shi Qing, Yang Ning and Li Hu had driven the Wooden Puppet Demon away three times. Although Xia Hong suspected that the Wooden Puppet Demon had done so intentionally when he first heard it, it at least showed that the Wooden Puppet Demon couldn't do anything about these two.

Adding Luo Ming and the others, it would be safest to go together.

"Rogue Camp usually only operates within a thousand-meter radius. You six split into two groups, one going south and one going north. I'll head to the inner periphery on the west side. We should be able to find them quickly if we search together. Use the bone whistle to notify each other when you find them. Be careful."

"Yes, Chief!"

Xia Chuan led Yuan Cheng and Lin Kai south, Yue Feng led Lu Yang and Qiu Peng north, and Xia Hong went alone to the inner periphery of Redwood Ridge. The seven of them directly split up to find people.

… … … … … …

Inner Periphery of Redwood Ridge West Side

Luo Ming and the others, unaware of what had happened to Great Stone Camp, were now showing signs of impatience.

"It's been over two hours. Can we lure it out?"

"It's been run away from four times already. Even if that demon is stupid, it won't come again, right?"

"Shh… don't talk nonsense. Those two Lords are behind us."

"What Lords? I admit they have strength, but in the end, that Wooden Puppet Demon is stronger. Do you really think it was driven away by them the previous four times? I suspect that Wooden Puppet Demon did it on purpose."

"How could it be on purpose? Why?"

"Think about it. That Wooden Puppet Demon deliberately comes out to kill a few people each time, and then gets driven away by those two, making us think there's hope. Then we constantly throw out bait, and it can continue to kill people, right?"

"Hiss… what you said seems to make sense."

… … … …

Luo Ming, who was in a group with Hong Gang and Huang Yong, felt a faint unease in his heart when he heard the discussions from the people in front.

According to Yang Ning, the last time they lured the Wooden Puppet Demon out, apart from him and Li Hu, everyone else, no matter how many, were just prey in the eyes of the Wooden Puppet Demon. So this time, he had them seven or eight people in a group, scattered around the inner periphery to see if they could lure out the Wooden Puppet Demon.

Luo Ming, who didn't know much about the Wooden Puppet Demon, naturally followed Yang Ning's orders. He brought a total of twenty-eight people this time, three Earth-Digging Realm cultivators and twenty-five Lumbering Realm cultivators; the other four camps, including their chiefs, had a total of twenty-four Lumbering Realm cultivators.

So, including him, there were a total of fifty-two people, divided into seven teams. His team had the most people, with nine, including him, the Earth-Digging Realm cultivator, and the remaining eight were all Lumbering Realm cultivators.

The two chiefs, Hong Gang and Huang Yong, happened to be assigned to his group as well.

As for Yang Ning and Li Hu, they had been hiding in the shadows, constantly wandering in the very center of the seven teams, ready to rush over immediately if there was a situation.

"Chief Luo, something's not right."

The most ⊥ new ⊥ small ⊥ said ⊥ is ⊥ at ⊥ six ⊥ 9 ⊥ book ⊥ bar ⊥ ⊥ first ⊥ release!

Huang Yong spoke up at this moment, probably having heard the discussions of the people in front.

"It's been over two hours, and that Wooden Puppet Demon hasn't shown up yet. The previous four times, it appeared in less than half an hour each time. Why is it taking so long this time?"

Luo Ming's face was gloomy. He had realized this problem earlier than Huang Yong.

But they themselves were bait, or, to put it bluntly, prey.

And that Wooden Puppet Demon was equivalent to a hunter.

When the hunter appears, of course, depends on himself, not the prey.

So, even if they realized there was a problem, they couldn't do anything about it.

But what made Luo Ming uneasy was not just that.

This time it didn't appear, and the problem hidden behind it was very big.

Previously, Yang Ning and Li Hu said that human life was the most tempting prey for demons and monsters. The previous four times, as long as someone acted as bait, that Wooden Puppet Demon would appear, which indeed corroborated their statement.

But this time, they had mobilized so many people, but the Wooden Puppet Demon didn't appear.

Doesn't this mean that, in the previous four times, the Wooden Puppet Demon could actually not have appeared, but it… … … … appeared on purpose?

As long as you follow this logic down, then, just as one of the people in front had just said, that Wooden Puppet Demon was deliberately doing it from beginning to end.

Deliberately appearing to only kill a few, and then being driven away by Yang and Li, giving them hope, so that they would continue to send people out, and then repeat the cycle, so it could continue to kill people?

But if that's really the case, why didn't the Wooden Puppet Demon come this time?

Was he overthinking things?

Or did that Wooden Puppet Demon have other, more important things to do?

Pa… … … …

Not far away, a crisp slap came, startling Luo Ming.

What followed was an overbearing scolding.

"You useless things, I'm risking my life to help you get rid of demons, you don't even know how to be grateful, and you dare to criticize me behind my back. If you dare to talk nonsense again, before that Wooden Puppet Demon comes, I'll kill you idiots first!"

Luo Ming's face immediately darkened upon hearing this.

Huang Yong and Hong Gang next to him were also the same.