Endless Winter: My Camp Infinite Upgrades

Chapter 291: On the march, the furious Hou Hu
"Hurry up! We haven't even walked one kilometer in half an hour. That's too slow."

"Those pushing and pulling the carts, put all the baggage on the carts and then speed up."

…………

On the southern border of Changning, the Yunjiao Army was escorting ten empty vehicles and more than two hundred prisoners, forming a long line and marching southward.

Although Liu Yuan and the captains of the ninth battalion kept urging them, the overall marching speed was still surprisingly slow.

Xia Chuan, Yuwen Tao and six other cold-resistant soldiers, escorted Zhou Yuan and three other cold-resistant soldiers, and hung at the end of the team.

Looking at the team's snail-like marching pace, not only Xia Chuan, but also Yuwen Tao and others beside him had frowned.

This marching speed is really too slow.

Half an hour is almost one kilometer, which is surprisingly slow, not to mention compared with walking on the Xia Straight Road, even compared with the normal march in Wushuang territory.

"Although the cart is empty, it is loaded with too much baggage. Each person carries two sets of armor and weapons, weighing at least tens of thousands of pounds. We can't go faster even if we want to."

"During the battle just now, all the wooden boxes on the car were destroyed. Only a part of the weapons and armor can be placed on the car. It doesn't help much to increase the speed. Instead, it wastes time. We can only continue to hold on and move forward."

"We can't help it. We are not familiar with the road conditions in Changning and Songyuan. This route was also planned on a temporary basis, so it can't be accelerated."

"This won't work. We're still six kilometers away from Songyuan. At this speed, it will take at least an hour. It's too slow."

………………

“Cough cough cough…Pfft…Hahaha…”

Hearing the worried words of Yuwen Tao and others, the captured Zhou Yuan couldn't help laughing a few times. He even laughed so hard that his wounds moved. He spat out a mouthful of blood foam before he slowly spoke:
"It seems that you plan to go south through Songyuan and then return to Wushuang.

You can't escape with so much baggage.

Longshan must have received the news by now. The army must have set out from Longshan a long time ago and headed to Songyuan to block you. Hou Hu couldn't see the convoy, so he must have sent people to Changbaigou to investigate. You didn't even hide the bodies on the ground. The Blood Guards will definitely follow your marching route and quickly chase you south from Baiyuan..."

Zhou Yuan was in a weak state due to his serious injuries. It was obvious that Xia Chuan and the others were in a dilemma. He was obviously relieved and continued with resentment:
"Zhaoyang has taken refuge in Longshan. Longyou has no place for Daxia to stand. Originally, Daxia only needed to accept its fate and withdraw from Longyou. But today, you took the initiative to attack Longshan. From now on..."

"Do you think that I didn't send anyone to dispose of the bodies because I was afraid of Hou Hu's pursuit and was anxious to escape?"

Before Zhou Yuan could finish his words, he was interrupted by Xia Chuan's question.

He was stunned, looked up at Xia Chuan, a look of confusion on his face.

Otherwise?
"Ah…………"

Xia Chuan suddenly chuckled, then stared at Zhou Yuan calmly, shook his head slightly and said, "You are a loyal person, but unfortunately you are too naive..."

Zhou Yuan did not wait for the next words, because the cold-resistant class warriors of Da Xia had obviously sensed something and all looked towards the east.

He also looked in the direction Xia Chuan and the others were looking, and discovered that on the east side of the army, there was a black figure galloping towards them across the snowfield.

The man in black moved very quickly across the snowfield, covering a distance of several hundred meters in less than ten breaths.

"This speed!"

The speed displayed by the man in black alone made Zhou Yuan's pupils freeze and his face full of shock, not to mention Li Yuanqing and Cheng He who were weaker than him.

"Meet the leader!"

Before Xia Chuan led Yuwen Tao and others to salute the man in black, Zhou Yuan had already recognized the person. It was Xia Hong, the leader of Da Xia, whom he had met once before in Hulu Valley.

"Longshan has just sent people to Baiyuan. Hou Hu should have known what happened in Changbaigou. The Blood Guards are pursuing southwards..."

Xia Hong had obviously rushed over from Baiyuan, and he was breathing slightly hard while speaking.

"So fast?"

"It's only been over half an hour!"

"How dare Hou Hu be so arrogant as to send the Blood Guards directly?"

…………

Xia Hong smiled and shook his head after hearing what everyone said, "800 sets of hundred-forged armor and weapons, who wouldn't feel bad about it? The two cold-resistant level warriors in Longshan should have arrived home by now, and Li Xuanling probably knows about it by now."

Xia Chuan immediately replied: "It's useless for Li Xuanling to know. The three thousand Longyou troops are all stationed in Longshan. It's too late to set off now. The most she can do is send people stationed in Songyuan to harass us. It's better than nothing!"

When everyone heard this, their expressions immediately became much more relaxed.

The Yunjiao Army's return route at this moment must pass through Songyuan. If Longshan wants to catch up, he can only send people from the Songyuan garrison. The problem is that there is no Longyou Army stationed in the Songyuan garrison. It is impossible to send a group of ordinary Digging Realm to intercept the Yunjiao Army. At most, it can only serve as harassment, which is indeed better than nothing.

"Lin Kai, go to the south and see where the escort team is. Tell them to speed up so that the two armies can meet up quickly. I expect Li Xuanling and Hou Hu will come to find the main army's location in advance, so the baggage must be removed quickly."

"I obey my orders!"

Hearing the sound, Lin Kai quickly bypassed the team's flank and rushed towards the south.

Xia Hong watched Lin Kai leave, then turned to look at Xia Chuan and asked:

"Have you chosen the place?"

Xia Chuan's expression brightened, and he nodded, "I've already chosen it. It's a place called Ningyuan Hill, at the junction of Songyuan and Changning, about six kilometers away from here."

"Okay, urge the army to speed up, I'll watch from behind!"

After Xia Hong finished speaking, he suddenly lowered his head and looked at Zhou Yuan who was not far away.

Zhou Yuan probably figured something out. His expression was uncertain at the moment, and his eyes were fixed on Xia Hong.

"You didn't clean up the bodies in Changbaigou on purpose, in order to lure Hou Hu's army to chase you and then set an ambush along the way?"

Hearing Zhou Yuan's words, Xia Hong smiled faintly, without explaining anything, but just nodded slightly.

Zhou Yuan was stunned for a moment, but he immediately sneered and continued, "Hou Hu is not that stupid. He would not recklessly pursue your army without confirming its location. Zhaoyang has many cold-resistant soldiers. Don't think that only Daxia will scout the enemy in advance."

"You'll find out soon enough!"

Xia Hong had no intention of explaining to him. He just waved his hand, signaling Yuwen Tao and others to continue to speed up, while he himself flew towards the north.

"Okay, let's go!"

Urged by Yuwen Tao and others, Zhou Yuan had no choice but to move forward, but when he looked back at Xia Hong's figure disappearing on the snowfield, his brows became even more gloomy.

From the moment Xia Hong showed up, he understood that Xia Chuan was at most a leader in battle, and he was not the planner of this war.

In the Battle of Changbaigou, Daxia fought beautifully, killing more than 60% of the Longshan soldiers and capturing nearly 30%. Its own casualties are estimated to be around 10%. If he had not fought with his life in the end, Song Ning, Li Yuankai, and those dozens of Longyou soldiers would probably not have been able to escape.

The problem is that even 10% casualties are still casualties.

When he was captured, he observed carefully and estimated that Da Xia now had less than 900 combat-capable soldiers, and they were also carrying so much baggage. How could they ambush Hou Hu's 1,000 Blood Guards?

The key is……

"The combat effectiveness of the Zhaoyang Blood Guards is comparable to that of the Longyou Army of the same size. They are not at the same level as our 1,000 new troops. Moreover, Hou Hu is a very cautious person. It is impossible for him to fall into an ambush so easily. Daxia will definitely suffer a great loss next time!"

Zhou Yuan was filled with resentment at the moment, and was naturally happy to see Da Xia suffer a crushing defeat.

The Longyou Fourth Army, which had just been established for a month, was destroyed by his own hands. He had no face to return to Longshan and had already made up his mind to die.

The only thought in my mind right now is to see Da Xia in trouble.

"Escort team, I see the escort team."

"We're here, finally."

…………

An hour passed quickly, and the Yunjiao Army marched four or five kilometers south in the snowy night. As a few exclamations came from the front, the soldiers looked up and found that there was also a long team in the south, rushing towards them.

That team also had about a thousand people, but unlike the Yunjiao Army where only 70% of them wore light gold armor, the thousands of people there were all wearing light gold armor.

Judging from the visual effects alone, the so-called escort team looks much more spectacular than the Yunjiao Army, as if they are more like a regular army.

"Daxia, there is still an army! How is this possible..."

When Zhou Yuan saw the escort team for the first time, he was stunned, with horror on his face. But as the two teams kept getting closer, until they were only two or three hundred meters apart, he looked carefully at the escort team members, and his expression gradually relaxed.

"They only have the same armor and weapons. Their basic strength is only about 15,000, and the higher ones are only 20,000. They are not an army, but probably just an escort team composed of ordinary Digging Realm people from Da Xia."

One thousand Yunjiao soldiers were already beyond Longshan's understanding of Daxia; if he could come up with an army stronger than the Yunjiao army, he would really be in a state of autism.

Zhou Yuan's mind moved slightly. He picked out a dozen people from the escort team and observed them carefully for a while, and then he made a new discovery.

"No, no, the weapons and armor are different, but the color is the same. The armor and weapons these people wear are all only ten-forged level. No wonder they are called the escort team, they are specifically here to transport supplies."

Zhou Yuan saw the quality of the escort team and immediately sneered a few times.

Even if there were special people to transport the baggage, what would it matter? The strength of the Blood Guards was there. Even without the baggage, Daxia's chances of winning were slim. "Alright, we're only a few hundred meters away. The Cloud Dragon Army put down the baggage and immediately follow Liu Yuan to the back of the snow hill on the east side. Hurry!"

At Xia Chuan's command, all the soldiers from the ten battalions of the Yunjiao Army put down their baggage, followed Liu Yuan, and climbed towards a snow hill about forty to fifty meters high on the east side.

As soon as the Yunjiao army left, the snowy field immediately became empty, leaving only ten empty vehicles, weapons and armor scattered all over the ground, and more than two hundred prisoners from Longshan.

Zhou Yuan was also one of the captives.

He turned his head to the right and found that a part of the escort team had been separated to start clearing the traces of the Yunjiao Army climbing the snow hill. He immediately realized that the snow hill in front of him, which was only more than 40 meters high, was the location where the Yunjiao Army hid and ambushed Hou Hu's Blood Guard Army.

"Is this a well-planned plan? The Blood Guards will follow the snow path they have created and chase them all the way to this location. Then they will suddenly appear from behind the snow hill and attack the Blood Guards from above?"

After seeing Daxia's intention, Zhou Yuan had a strange expression.

In order to save time in pursuit, the Blood Guards will not open up new roads, but will follow the snow trails created by Da Xia, which will basically prevent any accidents.

The question is, before Hou Hu left, didn’t he send someone to investigate the snow hill first?
Most of Longyou is plains, and there are very few places to hide troops and ambush. This snow hill is so conspicuous, how could Hou Hu ignore it?

"That's too naive, huh..."

Just now, Xia Chuan only ordered Liu Yuan to lead the Yunjiao Army to the snow hill, but he himself, including Yuwen Tao and other cold-resistant soldiers, had not moved yet.

So he heard Zhou Yuan's sarcasm very clearly.

Xia Chuan raised a smile and ignored Zhou Yuan.

He waited until the escorts loaded all the armor and weapons onto the truck, and then divided them into ten teams to control all the prisoners. When everything was ready, he waved his hand:

"Continue heading south. Now, you can walk slower!"

After hearing Xia Chuan's next words, Zhou Yuan was stunned at first, then he suddenly looked up and looked at the army heading south, as well as the prisoners behind him. He seemed to realize something and his expression suddenly changed.

He understood what Daxia was going to do!

"It seems you are not stupid."

Xia Chuan made a light teasing remark, and at that moment, the Daxia escort personnel took out pieces of cloth from their bodies and stuffed the mouths of all the prisoners with them.

Before Zhou Yuan's shock had disappeared, Yuwen Tao had already walked up to him, took out a strip of cloth, and stuffed his mouth, Li Yuanqing's mouth, and Cheng He's mouth together.

"Yuwen Tao, Chen Yingba, Wu Tianxing, the three of you stay here."

"I obey my orders!"

After the three of them bowed, they immediately climbed up the snow hill.

The team that set out again was more than twice as slow as the Yunjiao Army.

But Xia Chuan, Chen Yingyuan, Peng Bo and Lin Kai did not look anxious at all. Instead, they turned their heads from time to time to look behind them, their faces full of anticipation.

Unlike the other four, Zhou Yuan, whose mouth was stuffed with a cloth, had worry in his eyes, cold sweat oozing from his forehead, and he looked extremely anxious.

The team that set out again was slower than the Yunjiao Army. This was certainly due to the reasons Xia Chuan had specifically explained, but more importantly, it was due to their limited strength.

The escort team has thousands of people, and their basic strength is between 10,000 and 20,000, which is much lower than that of the Yunjiao Army. Dragging so much baggage, they can't go faster even if they want to.

After walking south for an hour, we had only covered less than four kilometers.

Coincidentally, at this time, Xia Hong rushed back from the north.

"Hou Hu has brought people here in advance, let's get ready!"

After returning to the team, he did not follow the team, but first reminded Xia Chuan and others, then turned to face the north, waiting.

"Lin Kai, you and your men should continue to move at this speed."

Xia Chuan's expression was slightly solemn. After giving an order to Lin Kai, he stopped with Chen Yingyuan and Peng Bo, stood behind Xia Hong, and waited with him.

The four of them waited for less than a hundred breaths.

Nine figures appeared one after another on the snowy plains in the north.

The nine people were all wearing blood-red gilded armor, and their steps were very hurried. They were rushing towards this side along the marching route.

There was no obstruction on the snowfield, so Xia Hong could see the figures of these nine people, which naturally meant that the four of them were also seen by the other party.

The other party slowed down slightly until they were two or three hundred meters away from Xia Hong and his three companions, and slowly walked towards them.

"Captain Xia Hong, you robbed my Zhaoyang supplies for no reason. Isn't that too much?"

As expected, the people who came were from Zhaoyang Camp.

Although Hou Hu had lowered his voice, the anger contained in his last question was still obvious. His face was furious as he stared at Xia Hong's face that was both strange and familiar, without disguising the murderous intent in his eyes.

Xia Hong didn't rush to answer him, but glanced at the eight people on his left and right, then looked at Hou Hu, chuckled and said, "For no reason? Brother Hou, I'm afraid your memory is not very good. It's been less than three months since the incident in Hulu Valley. If you really forgot, you might as well ask Hou Tong behind you to tell you again."

Hou Tong, who was standing behind Hou Hu, froze in silence.

Xia Hong was killed by Li Xuanling and the Longyou Army in Hanqiong Hulu Valley. Although he did not take any action at the time, he could be considered one of the participants.

Hou Hu's expression darkened. Hulu Valley set up a scheme to kill Xia Hong. It was Li Xuanling who sent someone to tell him Xia Hong's true identity and instructed Hou Tong to do it. Naturally, he knew it clearly.

"Xia Hong, think it through. Zhaoyang has formed an alliance with Longshan. Chief Li's original intention was just to get Daxia to withdraw from Longyou. If you really rob this batch of supplies today, you are declaring war on our two families!"

Zhaoyang, formed an alliance with Longshan...

Xia Hong didn't pay any attention to what was said later. He just focused on what Hou Hu said, his eyes full of curiosity and confusion.

At the meeting in April, Hou Hu almost died at the hands of Li Tiancheng. Afterwards, Zhaoyang and Longshan also prepared for war and almost went to war. If Daxia had not intervened, the two families would have been fighting each other.

These two incompatible families actually formed an alliance.

Just to deal with Daxia?
Xia Hong frowned, not because he was afraid of the two families forming an alliance, the key point was that the transition of the two families from being incompatible to forming an alliance was too fast, so fast that it was a little weird.

A glimmer of light flashed across his left eye, and he looked at Hou Hu and the other nine people again.

The areas around the nine people's bodies were normal, without a single speck of flaming red substance.

But Xia Hong did not let down his guard. He remembered very clearly that the dew plague could hide inside the human body.

"It seems that I have to try it myself!"

…………

Hou Hu, who had not received a reply from Xia Hong for a long time, was not idle either.

"Leader, it's similar to what Longshan just said. There are light golden armor, ten carts, and eight hundred sets of hundred-forged armor and weapons. This should be the army of Daxia."

"Zhou Yuan, Li Yuanqing, and Cheng He all had their scapulas pierced. The one in the back who was chained should be the captives from Longshan. It must be them."

…………

"Hou Quan, go back and inform the army to speed up and rush over here. They can't move fast with all the baggage. Judging from their speed, they should be able to catch up in two hours."

"Yes, I'll go right away!"

Hou Hu did not think that he could force Xia Hong to hand over the supplies by threatening him. He first told Hou Quan something, then turned to look at Xia Hong and said sternly:

"Xia Hong, your Great Xia no longer has the qualifications to escape from Longyou unscathed. Your army cannot leave Songyuan Territory, let alone return to Wushuang!"

"Ah……"

After waiting for a long time, all he got was Hou Hu's threat. Seeing that the other party still didn't dare to get close to him, Xia Hong suddenly couldn't help but chuckle.

He drew out the Dragon Sparrow Sword from behind him and slowly walked towards Hou Hu and his eight men.

"Don't worry, the army is in a hurry to get back, I won't let them do anything."

Xia Hong reassured Hou Hu as he walked. If this sentence was just a slight mockery, then his next sentence was complete contempt, which made Hou Hu and the other eight people's faces turn red instantly and they all drew their weapons.

"Xia Chuan, don't interfere, I can do it alone!"

Not to mention Hou Hu and his eight men, they were furious after hearing this.

Even Xia Chuan and the other two were stunned when they heard this.

One against eight, isn't that a bit too exaggerated?
The key is there is Hou Hu!

Out of natural trust in Xia Hong, Xia Chuan was the first to step aside.

Chen Yingyuan and Peng Bo were a little hesitant, but when they saw Xia Chuan retreat first, they quickly followed suit.

The three of them looked at Xia Hong's back, their expressions filled with anticipation.

Finally, I can see the true strength of the leader!
(End of this chapter)