Endless Winter: My Camp Infinite Upgrades

Chapter 110: The Great Danger on the North Slope of the Mountain [Three Chapters in One]

"If we still can't find them in Redwood Ridge tonight, we can only look for them on the north side of the mountain wall. This Chenye campsite is so well hidden!"

On the north side of Hongmu Ridge, Luo Yuan entered the sphere of influence of Chen Ye's camp. Although his brows were furrowed, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart that the concealment work of Chen Ye's camp was really well done.

Half a month ago, Xia Hong asked him to come to the camps of Lu Shang and Chen Ye to discuss whether Da Xia could accommodate them, and Luo Yuan readily agreed.

I thought I would be able to find the whereabouts of the two camps soon, but who would have thought that half a month had passed, and I had come here three times, but I hadn't even seen Chen Ying.

When choosing a site for a small camp, the most important thing to consider is concealment. After all, the higher the concealment, the safer it is.

Therefore, when Luo Yuan came here for the first time, he did not think about finding Chen Ye’s camp directly, but chose to stay outside Hongmu Ridge to see if he could meet anyone from Chen Ye’s camp’s logging team.

It is a small camp and does not have the ability to hunt, but wood and crystal fruits are necessities, so they will definitely come to the outskirts of Redwood Ridge.

According to my thinking, there should be no problem, but I don't know if it's because of bad luck or other reasons, I didn't run into Chen Ying and the logging team after three consecutive times.

This is a bit strange.

It is no exaggeration to say that with the logging and picking capabilities of a small camp, it is necessary to go out every night unless there are unexpected circumstances.

The strength of Chen Ye’s camp is not that strong. Even if they are lucky and have a lot of crystal fruits and wood reserves, it is not possible for them to come here three times in half a month and not encounter them once!

If the first three times were due to bad luck, then the fourth time, after searching for two hours and still not seeing a single person, Luo Yuan had a bad guess in his mind.

Especially after checking the two ice trees that he had marked earlier, he found that the crystal fruits on the trees were exactly the same as the last time he visited, and they had obviously not been picked. Luo Yuan could basically conclude that his guess was correct.

"It's been more than half a month, and the logging team hasn't left the camp. That's impossible. Either all the people in Chen Ye's camp have moved away, or something has gone wrong with their camp. The possibility of the former is very small, so it's basically certain that something has gone wrong!"

Looking around the area around Redwood Ridge, the only family capable of moving Chen Ye’s camp was Da Xia, so the possibility of moving away was almost non-existent.

If something goes wrong in the camp, there are many possibilities.

The logging team was completely wiped out; the cold beasts found their base and all members were killed; or a new monster appeared, etc.

Luo Yuan walked to the outside of Hongmu Ridge and stared at the mountain on the east side. Many thoughts popped up in his mind and he looked a little hesitant.

Although he didn't know the exact location of Chen Ye's camp, he was sure that it was on the north side of Daxia. To be precise, it was on the slope extending from the high mountain on the north side of Daxia Valley.

The valley that Daxia took over from Rogge was originally located between two high mountains. The Tashan Mountain where the Dashi Camp was originally located in the south, and the earth slope where Daxia was located, were both branches spreading out from the mountain on the south side.

The slope extending from the high mountain on the north side is also several kilometers long. The camps of Chen Ye and Lu Shang are located on this slope. The camps of the two families are actually very similar to the earth slope where Daxia was previously located.

"There's no point in guessing here. Let's just go over and take a look. If there really is a problem, help if you can. If you can't, go back and inform the leader. The camp is so strong now, there shouldn't be any problems!"

Luo Yuan stopped for a moment, the hesitation on his face gradually disappeared, and he tiptoed directly towards the eastern slope of the mountain.

In the worst case, all the people in Chenye Camp had died; in the best case, it was just their logging team that had problems and the rest of the people were still there; or they were facing some difficulties and the people could not go out...

No matter what the situation is, I should go and take a look, otherwise it would be difficult to report to the leader if I go back.

Not knowing the specific situation of Chen Ye's camp, Luo Yuan did not dare to make any move when he approached. Not only did he move very cautiously, he even stopped after walking a distance to make sure it was safe before moving on.

There were still four or five hours until dawn, so he had plenty of time and was not in a hurry.

The distance from the outside of Redwood Ridge to the mountain wall was only seven or eight hundred meters. Luo Yuan was extremely cautious and it took him more than half an hour to complete the walk. When he got close to the mountain wall, he did not rush to search, but observed it carefully first.

The highest point of the mountain on the north side of Daxia is right above the valley. The slope of the mountain extending to this side is only about 100 meters high at its highest point.

After looking around at the bottom of the mountain wall and finding no obvious signs of a cave, Luo Yuan carefully climbed up a steep wall, wanting to take a look from a higher place.

Since there are no Earth Digging Realm experts in the small camp, they can only choose natural caves to occupy. Normally, it is impossible to set up a garrison in a high place, but there are always exceptions. It is not ruled out that natural caves may appear in some high mountains, such as Tashan where the previous Dashi Camp was located.

After great effort, Luo Yuan finally climbed up the slope, took a deep breath, and looked towards the north side of the slope.

When he saw this, his scalp suddenly went numb and his whole expression froze instantly. He looked as if he had seen a ghost and his expression was terrified to the extreme.

"this…………"

What did Luo Yuan see?
On the northern slope of the mountain, there was a large group of silver creatures lying densely together. A quick glance showed that there were at least hundreds of them.

Although it was dark at the moment, the silver color was bright, and with the help of the moonlight, Luo Yuan could still barely see their appearance.

These silver creatures all had pointed heads and strong bodies. Their bodies were about one meter long, and they had two or three meter long flesh-colored tails hanging from their backs. The tails were covered with dense barbs and were extremely terrifying.
The two sharp teeth emitted a chilling light under the moonlight. The limbs under the belly were short but strong, and at the ends were sharp claws like steel knives.

At this moment, most of them were sleeping. The few that were still awake had two small eyes emitting red light that was dripping and spinning around. Occasionally, they bared their teeth at other of the same kind beside them, looking very ferocious.

Cold beast, a new cold beast that I had never encountered before.

And there are so many of them, at least three or four hundred.

How come such a large group of people suddenly appeared?
Luo Yuan swallowed, retracted his head almost tremblingly, then carefully climbed down the rock wall, and ran away without looking back.

At this moment, he was extremely grateful for his previous caution.

No, we should thank the leader.

If it weren't for Xia Hong's strict requirements on the hunting team, making them develop the habit of staying vigilant at all times when going out, if they had been careless just now and alarmed those creatures, they would definitely have died.

No wonder we didn’t encounter the logging team from Chen Ye’s camp in the first half of the month. Looking at the way those creatures were entrenched, it’s not certain whether those people in Chen Ye’s camp are dead or alive, let alone going out.

It is still unknown whether the group of creatures would linger on the mountain wall during the day like they do at night. If they did, the people in Chen Ye’s camp would not even dare to light a fire. Even if they did not starve to death, they would have frozen to death.

"We must hurry back to report to the leader. Chen Ye's camp is only about 2,000 meters away from Da Xia. If these guys stay here for a long time, they may find the valley one day, and we will be in trouble!"

Realizing the seriousness of the problem, Luo Yuan's expression became much more serious, and he unconsciously quickened his pace back to the valley.

…………

Inside Redwood Ridge

Dozens of light blue plants grow next to a large blue tree with a diameter of only four or five meters. Their leaves emit a faint fluorescence in the dark night, adding a bit of beauty to this quiet and silent snowy jungle.

rustle…………

There were light footsteps in the snow, and a burly figure walked to the side of the big blue tree. He looked at the light blue vegetation all over the ground with joy on his face.

"This is the second blue jade tree. As expected, the further you go in, the more treasures you will find. We have only walked in for over a hundred meters and already found two. There must be more if we go in further."

The burly figure was Xia Hong, who had left the hunting team behind and went deep into Redwood Ridge to explore alone. Looking at the blue condensing grass all over the ground, Xia Hong was delighted. He immediately squatted down and began to pick it.

After picking all the fruits, Xia Hong tied the fruits on his back with a rope, stood up, and looked at the big blue tree. The joy in his eyes was still there.

Golden Wound Powder is now a must-have item for the hunting team.

As the main ingredient in refining the Golden Wound Powder, the importance of Blue Condensing Grass is self-evident. When Xia Hong first learned that Blue Condensing Grass was the companion plant of this blue tree, he attached great importance to this tree. Because its trunk is blue and its leaves are as smooth as jade, he named it Blue Jade Tree.

Unfortunately, Cheng Feng never found a second blue jade tree within 500 meters of the Redwood Ridge. There were forty-seven blue condensed grasses beside the first blue jade tree, all of which had been picked and made into Golden Wound Powder.

During this period, the collection team searched again and again within the outer 500-meter radius, but they still couldn't find the second tree. The blue condensing grass next to the first tree had not grown out yet. Xia Hong was worried that the Golden Crush Powder would run out recently, but he didn't expect to find two trees in one night.

"More than a hundred blue condensation grasses, the harvest tonight is enough, and I also saw the cloud mist rising dragon with my own eyes. In another half a month, I can officially expand the scope of activities and bring them here to hunt new cold beasts!"

Xia Hong put the blue condensing grass on his back and turned to look towards the southwest.

More than a hundred meters away in the southwest, there is an area covered by fog, about fifty or sixty meters wide. The fog is so thick that only the outlines of the trees there can be seen, no matter how big they are. Even the moonlight cannot penetrate, giving people an inexplicable sense of danger.

There is the habitat of a dragon floating in the clouds.

Xia Hong just came from that side.

The meat of the three cold beasts, Snowmane, Frost Wolf, and Demon Sheep, has become less and less effective in improving his strength. It may be that his body has developed antibodies to the meat of these three cold beasts.

This idea was just Xia Hong's guess before, but the moment he saw the dragon rising from the clouds with his own eyes, Xia Hong immediately realized that his guess was most likely correct.

Because the moment he saw Yunwu Tengjiao, he clearly felt that both physically and mentally, he had an extremely strong desire for Yunwu Tengjiao's flesh and blood.

Whether it is for personal cultivation needs, or for the richer vegetation and other resources on the inner side, or even to seek a larger living space and expand the scope of activities in the camp, it is necessary.

Xia Hong's current position is about 200 meters deeper than the previous 500 meters.

In such a small range, we discovered two blue jade trees and the Yunwu Tengjiao. If we restore the thousand-meter activity range of the previous Rogue Camp, we will definitely discover more new species and useful things.

"But then again, how big is Redwood Ridge..."

This thought popped up in Xia Hong's mind, and he unconsciously looked deeper into the west side of Redwood Ridge.

All the camps around Hongmuling are only on the east side of Hongmuling. After merging the camps of Chen Ye and Lu Shang, the area of ​​nearly ten miles from south to north on the east side of Hongmuling will basically belong to Daxia.

In theory, this is already a large area, but if you just look at the size of the trees in this world, you will know that this area is definitely just the tip of the iceberg for the entire Redwood Ridge.

Within the outer 500-meter range, the smallest trees have a diameter of three meters. Xia Hong only went less than 200 meters deep tonight, but he saw the largest tree, which had a diameter of more than 20 meters. What does this mean?
Xia Hong climbed to the top of the tree countless times, trying to get a glimpse of the overall picture of Redwood Ridge.

But every time he climbed to the top and looked to the west, his view was always blocked by larger and thicker trees. Some of these trees, even if they were dozens or even hundreds of miles away, could still shock Xia Hong and even make him feel fearful.

"I'm afraid that the east side we think we are on is just a small part of the east side of Redwood Ridge. Let alone the other end of Redwood Ridge, we have no idea how far it extends to the north and south."

Thinking of this, looking at the depths of Redwood Ridge on the west side, Xia Hong couldn't help but feel a little awe in his heart while feeling curious.

One day, if we really figure out how big Hongmu Ridge is, then Daxia’s strength will probably be not much different from that Beishuo Town. After sighing, Xia Hong couldn’t help but shook his head, secretly laughing at himself for thinking too far ahead.

After marking the location of the second blue jade tree, Xia Hong went to the location of the first blue jade tree, collected the previously bundled blue grass, and quickly returned to the valley.

“The wind and rain from all directions are no match for the rain in our Redwood Ridge.”

"When it rains at Longmen Mountain, the snow tigers come down from the mountain."

In front of the pile of rubble at the entrance of the valley, Xia Hong shouted a secret signal, and there was an immediate response from inside.

Then, a log slowly moved back from the rubble, revealing a passage.

Although Da Xia is now much stronger than before, it still maintains a cautious style at Xia Hong's request, and the code convention has been used.

The description of the iron smelting furnace makes it very clear that it only has a deterrent and killing effect on primary monsters; and the dangers in this world do not only come from monsters. Who knows whether other humans who have not come into contact with it are good or bad.

Before having absolute strength to ensure safety, Xia Hong firmly believed that it was right to be cautious. Although the secret code routine for returning to the camp had never worked so far, it did not mean that it was useless.

The seventy-two lives of Daxia in the early days on Tupo; the destruction of Dachuan Camp; and the more than one thousand lives of Rogue Camp were all bloody lessons. Xia Hong did not want the tragedy to happen again.

The code convention is not troublesome and only affects the conversation. However, at some critical moments, the role it plays is irreplaceable.

To put it another way, even if it is only used to increase the vigilance of everyone in the Daxia camp, it would be a good thing.

"Meet the leader!"

The gatekeepers were two young men from the reserve force. When they opened the door and saw that it was Xia Hong, they immediately bowed respectfully. After welcoming him into the valley, they immediately blocked the passage with logs.

Then two people stepped forward and took the blue condensing grass from his back. One of them moved it directly to the warehouse on the south side of the mine cave, while the other continued to guard the entrance of the cave.

Watching the two gatekeepers' skillful actions from the moment they exchanged the secret code to the moment they entered the valley, Xia Hong nodded slightly, a look of satisfaction on his face.

All the lumberjacks in the camp were divided into five departments, and all had their own main tasks. In addition, Daxia was not yet luxurious enough to let the lumberjacks serve as gatekeepers, so the gatekeeping duties were handed over to the reserve personnel in turn.

Half a month ago, Xia Chuan proposed to include people over the age of 30 into the reserve force. Now the number of reservists has reached nearly 400. It is not a big deal to select two people every day to take turns guarding the goal.

What Xia Hong was satisfied with was that he could train reserve personnel in advance in this way, so that they would develop a cautious character before they go out.

As the collection and logging teams become larger and larger, the number of casualties going out has also reached new highs. Up to now, seven people have died and eleven are missing.

The most important thing is that after Xia Hong carefully learned about the situation, he found that all these casualties were unnecessary.

When collecting and felling trees, they did not pay attention to exploring the surrounding environment, disturbing the cold beasts and being killed;
When escaping, he lost his way in a panic and got lost in the dense forest;
There are also those who strayed too far from the group, forgot the way, and eventually disappeared;
There were even cases where they fell from trees and got injured; or accidentally fell into deep snow pits in the wilderness, and ended up either missing or having to spend a lot of manpower and resources to rescue them…

In short, the casualties were varied and bizarre.

Although there are not many people in this group, only eighteen in total, they are all at the lumbering level after all, and they are raised by Xia Hong using the meat of cold beasts that he hunted at the risk of his life. How could he not feel sorry for them?

Although the logging realm does not have the ability to hunt, as long as there are enough people, they are familiar with the terrain, and many people work together, it is not too difficult to escape from the hands of low-level cold beasts;
Getting lost due to unfamiliarity with the terrain, or falling into a deep snow pit is essentially carelessness and self-righteousness.

Cheng Feng has resigned from the position of captain of the logging team and has become the captain of the gathering team. The captain of the logging team is now Bai Dongying. Both of them were originally from the logging team of the Rogue Camp and may have more wilderness experience than Xia Hong.

If you follow these two people out, as long as you are obedient and cautious, it is impossible to get lost or even fall into a snow pit.

Xia Hong concluded that these casualties, in the final analysis, were due to problems among these people who had just broken through to the logging realm.

While they lacked experience in the wilderness, they were not yet cautious enough;
Relying on his recent breakthrough and some strength, he boldly advanced;

They think that gathering and logging, unlike hunting, is not dangerous;
There may even have been cases of disobeying the captain's orders.

Five days ago, Xia Hong had a big rage over this matter. Not only did he punish several typical members of the logging and gathering teams, he also severely reprimanded the two team leaders, Bai Dongying and Cheng Feng. This was considered a severe rectification of the arrogance that had been spreading in the camp recently.

He was in charge of the hunting team himself, so there were no signs of trouble at the moment. As for the gathering team and the logging team, after he got angry, Xia Chuan immediately took the lead, and together with the two captains Cheng Feng and Bai Dongying, they formulated several rules, including the gatekeeping issue, which they also worked out together at that time.

If you want to survive in a purgatory like the Ice Abyss, you must be cautious and careful, especially when you are still very weak.

Xia Hong's prestige and status are enough to make the more than 800 people in the camp obey his orders unconditionally, but it is definitely impossible to make everyone develop a cautious character all at once.

They can only rely on the established dogmas and rules, coupled with the strict requirements of the leader Xia Hong, to subtly influence and even change everyone.

In the valley, the construction of new houses has reached the final stage.

Four thick walls were erected high; the top had been completely sealed; someone had even laid a tarpaulin made of animal skins on the four pointed roofs.

The gate has not been closed yet, and people are constantly coming in and out. The three-layer structure has already come out, and through the gate you can see people going up and down, transporting the cut plates and iron materials in one trip after another.

Seeing that everyone was busy, Xia Hong did not go forward to disturb them and walked towards the temporary wooden house in front.

"Meet the leader!"

"Meet the leader!"

…………

There were not many people in the temporary wooden house. A few young children were playing and fighting. When they saw Xia Hong come in, they imitated the adults and saluted respectfully.

Xia Hong smiled and rubbed their little heads, letting them play by themselves.

Seeing the three brothers Xia Chuan, Luo Yuan and Zhao Long sitting cross-legged beside the iron smelting furnace with serious expressions, Xia Hong immediately realized that something had happened.

In the past, after coming back from hunting, these five people would go to the new wooden house with other hunting teams to help.

"Leader!"

Seeing that the five people were about to stand up, Xia Hong quickly stretched out his hand to signal them to continue sitting. He walked to the chair, sat down, and then asked:
"What happened? Did something go wrong during the hunt just now?"

Xia Hong thought that there was a problem with the hunting, but Luo Yuan immediately shook his head and repeated what he had just said with a serious expression.

"I went to Chen Ye's camp again tonight. I didn't run into Chen Ying and the logging team the first three times. This time I went directly to the mountain wall to find their base. As a result, on the north slope of the mountain wall, I saw..."

As Luo Yuan continued to speak, Xia Hong's expression gradually became solemn. At the end of the conversation, he couldn't help but stand up from his chair.

Hundreds of strange cold beasts are on the northern slope of the mountain...

At this moment, Chen Ye’s campsite on the northern slope of the mountain was no longer within Xia Hong’s consideration. There was only one thought left in his mind.

Hundreds of strange cold beasts whose backgrounds were unknown were lurking on the north side of the mountain wall, less than two kilometers away from the Daxia camp. The group of cold beasts could break into the Daxia camp by just going south along the hillside for one or two kilometers.

Xia Hong turned to look at Luo Yuan again and asked in a very serious tone:
"How many are there? Are you sure you are not mistaken?"

Luo Yuan closed his eyes and thought for a while, then nodded and replied, "I don't know if there are more in other places, but there are at least 300 of them on the north slope. I can be sure that I am not mistaken."

One meter long, two or three meter long tail with barbs, pointed head and strong body, silver fur, two sharp teeth, short and sturdy limbs, small red eyes...

Apart from the body size, the silver fur and the barbs on the tail, the word "rat" instantly popped up in Xia Hong's mind. Then, based on the body size, his hair stood on end and the solemnity on his face deepened.

Combining the three types of cold beasts, the Snow Mane, the Frost Wolf, and the Demon Sheep, although the cold beast species in the Ice Abyss World are unique, they can obviously be connected to similar creatures in the previous life, and some of their habits are also very similar.

By analogy, this group of mouse-like cold beasts can cope with the problem because they currently live in groups, but what about the others?

Rats' ability to burrow, gnaw, and spread diseases.

Even... reproductive ability?
Xia Hong shuddered suddenly and walked out of the wooden house.

Seeing this, the five people hurriedly stood up and followed him out.

Xia Hong walked out of the wooden house and looked towards the high mountains to the north of the valley. Thinking of the group of cold beasts that were less than two kilometers away from the valley, the solemnity on his face suddenly reached its peak.

"How long until dawn?"

The five people also followed Xia Hong out of the wooden house.

Hearing his question, Xia Chuan immediately answered.

"It should be more than an hour."

"Okay, there's still time. Luo Yuan, take me over there to have a look. Xia Chuan, come with me too. Bring weapons and torches. Let's go and come back quickly!"

"Yes, leader!"

The three men had their swords on them, so they went back to the cabin, got a bow and arrow each, carried a few torches, and immediately left the camp. Led by Luo Yuan, they quickly headed towards the mountain wall where Chen Ye's camp was.

In just over ten minutes, Luo Yuan brought the two of them to the bottom of the mountain wall.

The three of them climbed up the mountain wall on tiptoe without making any sound. After reaching the top of the mountain, Xia Hong and Xia Chuan slowly stretched their heads out and looked towards the north slope.

Upon seeing this, the two people's reactions were exactly the same as Luo Yuan's just now.

"How come there are so many..."

"Shh, be careful, don't make any noise!"

After Xia Hong signaled Xia Chuan to keep quiet, he retracted his head and his face instantly became extremely ugly.

We have only moved to the valley for half a year. We haven't had a long time to live in peace. The new house is about to be built, but such a large group of cold beasts suddenly appeared next to us...

What kind of world is this? There is no way for people to survive!
(End of this chapter)