Endless Winter: My Camp Infinite Upgrades

Chapter 268 The Martial Arts Competition Begins, No Advancement Possible

The first day of the sixth month in the second year of Daxia
The Daxia Martial Arts Competition, which had been brewing for more than twenty days, finally began.

Before nightfall, all the houses in Xia City were already lit up with fires, and countless figures were moving around in them. Clanking and banging noises could be heard from the houses, and one could tell right away that they were leading their troops in armor.

When night fell, everyone immediately walked out of their homes and gathered along the streets towards the entrance to the outer city.

"Come on, come on, it's about to start, grab a good seat."

"Sister, let's go!"

"Mom, bring me my knife, quickly."

"I'm leaving now, Dad."

"Brother, I'm going in first, come on."

………………

In the inner city, the lively boys were the first to run out of their homes. They had a clear goal and headed straight for the outer city as soon as they got out of the door.

Xiao Heng and Xiao Lin, as well as their cousins ​​Xiao Jing and Xiao Cen, also made an appointment to walk out of their homes together. Their homes were also in the inner city and not far from the iron gate of the inner city, so as soon as they came out, they saw a large number of people of their age.

All four of them were wearing iron armor, carrying a five-stone bow, a pot of arrows, and a main weapon. For people of their age, they were fully armed.

Perhaps it was his first time wearing armor, Xiao Lin looked a little proud, but when he saw the crowd on the main street, he was stunned:
"Why are there so many people in armor?"

When the Quartermaster Department called all the logging territory people to form groups in advance yesterday, it was announced in advance that the preliminaries for the logging territory groups would begin after nightfall tonight, and the location would be near the city gate of Xiacheng.

Therefore, except for some women and ordinary people who were watching the fun, those who were walking out of the city gate at this moment could basically be distinguished at a glance whether they were contestants or not.

The problem was that Xiao Lin could see that whenever he saw people of similar age, like himself, participating in the martial arts competition, they were all dressed in armor and almost no one was wearing casual clothes.

Xiao Heng had expected this and said with a smile, "They are all from the inner city. A set of ten-forged armor and a five-stone bow only add up to 280 contribution points. Who can't come up with that? You're thinking too much if you want to advance with this."

Xiao Lin nodded. 280 contribution points. Not to mention the more than households in the inner city, there are also many people in the outer city who can afford it. Armor and a five-stone bow are probably the standard equipment for this group martial arts competition in the logging territory.

"Look at Zhao Yuanwu and his sister. Why are their armors golden?"

Hearing Xiao Lin's voice, Xiao Heng and the other two who were walking forward hurriedly turned around and looked in the direction he pointed.

After seeing this, the expressions of the three people suddenly became much more solemn.

Zhao Yuanwu and Zhao Yuankong were also walking towards the outer city, about twenty meters away from them. The ten-forged armor worn by the brother and sister were actually glowing with a layer of golden light.

"That's a set of ten-forged armor mixed with the skull of a thunder kui. Most of the intermediate hunting team members in the camp are currently wearing this kind of armor. The siblings even had a set tailor-made for them!"

Hearing Xiao Cen's words, Xiao Heng remembered something and nodded, "I heard from my father that the camp is encouraging members of the intermediate hunting team to replace their hundred-forged armor and weapons. The camp supply department has recovered a lot of ten-forged Lei Kui armor. It takes 700 contribution points to replace a set. If you want to customize a set that fits you, you have to make an appointment three days in advance. These brother and sister are really willing to spend money!"

280 points are nothing, but 700 contribution points are a bit high. The key is that changing it does not necessarily guarantee promotion, so there will definitely not be many people willing to spend the money.

Xiao Jing shook his head and said, "Of course, their father is Lord Zhao Hu, who is a master of the cold-resistant level. Moreover, the Steel Mane Squad is so strong, so the family will definitely not be short of contribution points."

The three of them nodded when they heard this. Zhao Yuanwu and his sister not only have a good father, but his two uncles are also masters of cold-resistance. The hunting teams they each lead are also very powerful.

As Xiao Lin walked, he observed the people in the crowd wearing light golden armor. After counting them, his face suddenly turned ugly and he said to Xiao Heng:
"Ah Heng, no, that won't work. I looked around and there are quite a lot of people who have changed into pale gold armor. There are at least over a hundred of them. I'm afraid our chances in the preliminary round are really unstable. If I had known earlier, I would have asked my father for some contribution points to change into a new set."

Xiao Heng smiled and shook his head, "Don't worry, I've told you, in the preliminary selection, strength is definitely not the decisive factor. Wearing better armor won't have much effect, don't worry!"

Xiao Lin had a different opinion when he heard this, and said, "That's not right. Didn't we divide the groups last night? There are 5 people in each group. Many people guessed that there are only qualified places in each group."

Xiao Jing and Xiao Cen both nodded. The more than 172 lumberjacks in the camp had been divided into groups last night, with each group consisting of people. Although the format of the preliminaries had not been announced, they guessed in their hearts that it should be a competition among the same group, and only the winner would qualify.

"It's impossible. There are 17,000 people in Xiacheng alone, and 15,000 people in the five branch venues of Wuyuanjing Valley, Wushuang, Hanqiong, and Fengchao. Adding up, there are more than 32,000 people, and more than 300 groups. Even if we compete for the number of wins and the duration of victory like the Digging Realm, it will probably take more than 15 months. If the same group competes, it may not be finished in a month. It's even more impossible!"

Although Xiao Heng's tone was very firm, Xiao Lin and the other two still looked suspicious.

Seeing that the three people didn't believe him, Xiao Heng didn't continue talking, but changed the subject and asked, "I'm in Group 51. Which group were you assigned to?"

Xiao Lin: "I'm from Group 29."

Xiao Jing: "I'm in group 88!"

Xiao Cen: "I'm from Group 102."

Hearing the group numbers of the three people, Xiao Heng shook his head in disappointment. There was nothing he could do about it. There were too many people grouped in the Lumberjack Realm in Xiacheng. There were 172 groups. It was really difficult for four people to be assigned to the same group.

But Xiao Lin and the other two obviously had different ideas from him.

The three of them still believe that they must be competing in the same group. If they are not assigned to the same group, then the four brothers naturally don’t have to compete, which is a good thing.

The four of them quickly followed the crowd through the iron gate of the inner city and into the outer city.

Because nearly 70,000 people who came from Longyou lived in temporary large wooden houses, the houses in the outer city were not as densely packed as those in the inner city. After passing through a small group of buildings, it became very empty, and everyone soon saw the city gate from a distance.

The moment they saw the city gate, everyone was stunned.

Near the city gate, ten huge square iron cages were erected at some point. The cages were estimated to be two hundred meters wide and twenty meters high.

The layout inside the ten iron cages was similar. There were rockeries made of huge rocks, several half-cut giant trees, very high snow slopes, and deep gullies and snow pits...

"What is this for? Are you letting us in to fight freely?"

"I'm afraid it's true. A hundred people fight, and in the end only a few people win."

"Otherwise why divide us into groups? It will definitely be a melee."

"But they are all equipped with weapons, how can we determine the winner?"

"Yes, what does it mean to be eliminated?"

"I told you last night when we were dividing the groups, you can bring your own weapons and armor, and even prepare your own elixirs. If there are really a hundred people fighting, there will definitely be a lot of casualties!"

………………

The moment they saw the iron cage, the crowd immediately started discussing.

Most people directly expressed their guesses;
Only a few people thought for a moment, then their expressions began to flicker, as if they had realized something but were deliberately not saying it out loud.

Xiao Heng was also observing. After staring at the iron cage for a long time, his expression suddenly froze, and it was obvious that he had thought of something.

He turned around and found that Xiao Lin and the other two had already started to split up and look for their own team, so he immediately rushed forward and grabbed them.

"Alin, wait a minute, I guessed it..."

The three of them were stopped by him and immediately gathered together.

Xiao Heng looked serious and lowered his voice to quickly explain: "Wait until you find your own team and get familiar with the others as soon as possible. I suspect..."

"All contestants have the last hundred breaths to return to their teams. Those who have not found their teams by the time limit will be eliminated. The countdown begins now, 100...99...98...97..."

Xiao Heng wanted to say something more, but the staff of the quartermaster department who were presiding over the martial arts competition above the city gate had already started the countdown.

He had no choice but to stop, separate from Xiao Lin and the other two, and find his own team.

Wooden signs had already been erected around the ten iron cages. The signs were clearly marked with numbers from 1 to 172, which obviously meant the group numbers. Many people were already standing under the wooden signs.

It has to be said that after being in such a harsh environment as the Ice Abyss for a long time, humans are naturally very organized, even without rigorous training. This is why the Supply Department only gave them a hundred breaths of time.

"10...9...8...7..."

More than 172 people surrounded the ten iron cages in the square and quickly divided into small squares along the wooden number plates.

"3...2...1...time's up!"

As the final countdown ended, no one was left wandering around the square, and everyone had already joined their own team.

"Okay, not bad!"

Qiu Peng's voice replaced that of the quartermaster staff member. He walked to the top of the city gate and praised with a smile on his face.

As one of the six chiefs and one of the few cold-resistant masters in the camp, Qiu Peng had some prestige. As soon as he opened his mouth, more than 10,000 people below immediately quieted down. Everyone looked up at the city gate, quietly waiting for his next words.

"I know that in the past few days, many of you have been asking around, trying to find out what the selection method for the preliminaries will be. I specifically told everyone not to leak the news, so so far, whether it's you, the more than 17,000 people, or the more than 15,000 people in the other five branch venues, I can ensure that no one knows the selection method for the preliminaries."

Qiu Peng looked somewhat complacent as he looked at the 172 square formations below him. A gleam of brilliance flashed in his eyes as he continued, "Weapons, armor, elixirs... I already said last night that, apart from your parents, you are allowed to bring anything that can enhance your combat power." "Hahaha..."

…………

As soon as Qiu Peng finished speaking, there was a burst of laughter from below.

Unlike the Digging Realm, the youngest contestant in the Logging Realm group is only nine years old, and the oldest is over twenty years old. The age span is really too large.

This also led to the situation that many younger players did not pay any attention to the competition itself. Some wanted to find out the inside story of the competition through their parents, some asked their parents to spend contribution points to exchange weapons and armors from the Supply Department, some exchanged them for elixirs... In short, there were all kinds of people who wanted to use shortcuts to pass the preliminaries.

"I specifically told everyone not to leak the news."

When Qiu Peng said this, there was a smug look on his face, which clearly showed his confidence. The preliminary selection method had not been leaked, which was considered a small lesson for those who wanted to take advantage of the situation.

Above the city gate, Qiu Peng raised his hand and pressed it in a fake motion. After everyone quieted down, he continued, "Okay, weapons, armor, and elixirs. I see that you are all well prepared. I won't say more. I will directly announce the selection method for today's preliminary round..."

Qiu Peng turned around and nodded to Yuan Cheng and others behind him.

Boom, click...

Suddenly, there was a loud sound of iron chains coming from below Qiu Peng.

Everyone looked down and found that the huge iron gate that was fifteen meters high and eight meters wide hanging in the air had moved.

Roar… Roar… Roar…

Behind the city gate, several roars suddenly came from far away and then came closer.

"What is this sound?"

"It seems to be... a cold beast!"

"What, a cold beast?"

"It's really a cold beast. I've heard the roar of a cold beast. It's a cold beast."

"Indeed, don't you remember the previous cold beast tide? We all heard about it."

"Why are there cold beasts?"

………………

As the roaring sounded closer and closer and never stopped, the more than one hundred square formations in the city square suddenly became agitated.

roar…………

An angry roar came from behind the city gate, followed by Yuan Cheng, dressed in black, holding a chain in one hand and walking in with a smile.

Behind the chain, there was a long-tongued snow-white mane.

The snow mane was more than three meters long, and the blood-red pupils were staring at Yuan Cheng.

It was breathing heavily between its nostrils. Although all the barbs on its back had been cut off, its limbs were still struggling and flapping on the ground, causing the snow on the ground to churn up, making a terrifying sound.

The roar it made when it opened its mouth seemed to be able to shock people, but some brave people could clearly see that the long tongue in its mouth was tied into a knot...

"It's really a living cold beast..."

"Looks like I'm a little hurt."

"Long-tongued snow-maned mane, that's Yuan Sizheng, how come he has a snow-maned mane here?"

"Could it be that we..."

Wow…………

The moment the long-tongued snow-mane appeared, at least half of the people in the square took a step back, especially when Yuan Cheng deliberately pulled the iron chain and walked along the main road. The loggers on both sides of the road showed deep fear on their faces, and some of the timid ones even fell down.

“Hehehe…”

When Yuan Cheng saw the person fall, he immediately grinned.

In fact, these loggers in Xiacheng, including the 60,000 to 70,000 ordinary people who recently came from Longyou, are not unfamiliar with cold beasts.

The hunting team would bring back cold beasts every night, and not just low-level but also mid-level cold beasts. When they saw the cold beasts, they shouldn't be so scared.

But the problem is that the snow mane that Yuan Cheng pulled was alive.

Among the more than 7,000 lumberjacks in Xia City, it is estimated that no more than one-tenth have actually seen a living cold beast. Moreover, most of this one-tenth were due to the cold beast tide caused by Jingxian in March last year.

Yes, if it weren't for the cold beast tide caused by Jingxian, there would be basically no chance of seeing living cold beasts in the logging area of ​​​​the Great Xia Camp.

The reason is simple. People in the logging realm are not qualified to hunt.

In the past, when going to Redwood Ridge to collect wood, you might encounter one or two sleeping beasts. But now, as the Great Xia Hunting Team becomes stronger and stronger and clears the periphery of Redwood Ridge more and more thoroughly, the probability of them seeing cold beasts is getting lower and lower.

Seeing a cold beast and seeing its corpse are two completely different concepts.

Especially among the lumberjacks participating in the martial arts competition tonight, more than half of them are teenagers between the ages of ten and fifteen. Excluding a very small number who have experienced the cold beast tide, the rest know basically nothing about cold beasts except having eaten their meat.

A ferocious cold beast appeared right before their eyes, and it was obviously enough to intimidate these children.

The door of iron cage No. 1 was opened. Yuan Cheng pulled the chain hard and threw the long-tongued Snow Mane directly in. Then he quickly stepped forward and untied the chain on Snow Mane.

The snow-maned beast was obviously very afraid of Yuan Cheng. The moment the chains were untied, it first looked at the door of the iron cage. Then, realizing something, it immediately turned around and ran towards the rockery inside the iron cage, and hid behind the mountain.

"Hey, you're smart enough to close the cage."

Yuan Cheng walked out and then signaled to others to close the iron cage.

"Roar…………"

Another roar was heard, and everyone turned to look at the city gate.

The one who came this time was Yuwen Tao, and he was pulling a golden-eyed demon sheep.

Like the snow-mane one just now, the eyes on the back of this demon sheep have all been blinded, and the sharp corners on its forehead have been smoothed out, which shows that it has also been processed.

Yuwen Tao threw the demon sheep directly into the second iron cage;

"Roar…………"

As Luo Yuan and eight other cold-resistant level warriors followed one after another, the roars of the cold beasts never stopped.

The eight chains were soon filled up with the Bone-Spur Frost Wolf, the Blue Moon Spirit, the Cloud and Mist Teng Jiao, the Golden Armor Thunder Kui, the White Bear, the Flint Tiger, the Frost Lightning Ape, and the Green Thunder Roar.

At the same time, Qiu Peng's voice above the city gate sounded again.

"I can tell you the selection method for the preliminary round now. Each group will draw lots to enter an iron cage. No matter what method they use, as long as they successfully hunt down the frosty beast inside, the group will advance as a whole."

Wow…………

There was an uproar in the square, and everyone's face was filled with surprise.

Not to mention those children in their early teens, even some adult woodcutters were stunned for a moment. They turned to look at Qiu Peng on the city gate, their faces full of doubt and confusion.

"You're asking us to die. What kind of martial arts competition is this?"

"This is impossible! Even if these frosty beasts are injured, we can't be their opponents. Our weapons, bows and arrows, can't break through the frosty beasts' skins!"

"No way, absolutely impossible."

"Adult Snowmanes have extremely strong vitality, with a minimum strength of more than 15,000, or even more. If we encounter them in the wild, it would be difficult to escape, let alone hunt them!"

………………

The waves of discussions coming from the square made the faces of the group of cold-resistant soldiers who had just walked back to the top of the city gate suddenly gloomy.

Especially Qiu Peng, Yuan Cheng, Lin Kai and Lu Yang, their expressions were very ugly.

(End of this chapter)