Endless Winter: My Camp Infinite Upgrades

Chapter 556 A resounding victory, Li Yang's heart returns to heaven.
On the third day of the first month of the thirteenth year of the Great Xia Dynasty, shortly after nightfall...

North of Jinyang City, at the entrance to the Bone-Eating Road

The towering flames filled an area of ​​more than ten miles in radius, and the cold air from all directions was frantically attacking this place, which was obviously a phenomenon that had been dispelled by the high temperature and was now being replenished.

However, it fills in very slowly, so slowly that it is not even noticeable to the naked eye.

If the fire in the Ice Abyss is not continuously supplied with fuel, it will soon be completely consumed by the cold air. But what kind of fire can dispel the cold air over a distance of more than ten miles, and then make the cold air return so slowly?
This is simply unheard of!

"The Five Elements Calamity Qi, this is the power of a Calamity Realm expert! The Lord's Sacred Cauldron can prevent Cai Qiu and his people from using trickery, and Cai Qiu's Golden Bone Furnace can also render our trickery methods ineffective, but they have a Calamity Realm expert who can create such a huge fire out of thin air. If it weren't for the Lord having that Fire, Gold and Water Three Elements Blood Golden Cicada Beast King Puppet, the outcome of this battle would probably be hard to say!"

Above the Bone-Eating Path, Qiu Peng looked down at the devastated battlefield below and couldn't help but sigh. Recalling the previous battle, his pupils were filled with shock and horror.

Luo Yuan stood beside him, with Lin Kai and Li Yangtian on either side. The expressions on their faces were similar to his, clearly reflecting on the previous battle.

Before dawn, Cai Qiu's 200,000-strong army had already entered the Bone-Eroding Pass. It was probably because they were worried that the Xia army would bring over the Earth-Digging Realm warriors from Jinyang City to help in the battle. Therefore, Cai Qianshan waited until dawn before officially starting his assault.

The entrance to the Bone-Eating Pass is only fifty meters wide. What could Cai Qiu do even if he sent an army of two hundred thousand? This was the thought in the minds of everyone in the Great Xia before the battle, including Qiu Peng.

But once the war started, they realized how naive they had been!
Cai Qianshan and the eight Tribulation Realm experts attacked simultaneously. Before the battle even began, they directly blasted down the mountains on both sides of the entrance to the Bone-Eroding Path, expanding the original 50-meter-wide entrance by nearly twenty times, making it almost a thousand meters wide.

They saw it clearly; even Lord Xia Hong was somewhat bewildered at the time, obviously not expecting Cai Qiu to break through the barrier in such a simple and brutal way, catching everyone off guard.

Qiu Peng subsequently transferred a total of 16 troops from Xia City, half of which went to Dongchuan City, and the other half arrived in Jinyang in the middle of the night. Together with the 14 troops from Yuwen Tao, Yuan Cheng, Luo Yuan, and Li Yangtian, as well as the 1 troops originally in Jinyang City, the number of Xia troops blocking the entrance to the Bone-Eating Road reached as high as 23.

Regardless of the relative strength of their forces, in terms of sheer numbers, the Great Xia Dynasty surpasses Caiqiu. The fact that the defending forces outnumber the attacking forces is sufficient proof of Lord Xia Hong's emphasis on this battle.

The entrance, which was originally fifty meters wide, has been expanded to a kilometer. The original formation of Cai Qiu's army could only accommodate less than a hundred people horizontally, but now it can be expanded more than ten times, reaching a scale of a thousand people.

The key issue is that Cai Qianshan and others are still using brute force to expand the entrance. If they are allowed to continue, the entrance will expand several times over, and Xia Jun's advantage in defending the pass will be completely lost. How could Xia Hong sit idly by?

Therefore, as soon as Cai Qianshan made a move, Lord Xia Hong immediately followed suit.

Thinking of this, Qiu Peng and the other three all showed a slight look of shame on their faces.

They had no right to interfere in battles at the Tribulation Realm, so the only way to stop Cai Qianshan and his group of nine was through Xia Hong and the fourteen Beast King-level puppets. The rest of them could only fight on the ground.

The ability of the Xianyang-class to fly is a major weapon on the battlefield. Considering that the number of Xianyang-class soldiers in the Great Xia Dynasty was far less than that in Caiqiu, the Xia army immediately used anti-flight measures as soon as the battle began.

However, this time, Cai Qiu was also prepared.

After Cai Qianshan broke through the barrier, Cai Qiu's soldiers rushed out like a tide, while a giant golden furnace, ten meters in diameter and about twenty meters high, slowly followed from behind.

The furnace emitted flames tens of meters high and continuously emitted towering silvery-white smoke. Wherever the smoke reached, all the tricks and methods of the Great Xia people became ineffective.

The lord's sacred cauldron can prevent everyone except the Xia people from using trickery. Cai Qiu suffered a loss in Jinyang City on the first night and was obviously on guard, so he brought out this Golden Bone Furnace.

However, the lord seemed quite familiar with this furnace; Qiu Peng and his companions had only just heard the name "Golden Bone Furnace" from Xia Hong.

The Great Xia Dynasty possessed the Sacred Cauldron, and Cai Qiu unleashed the Golden Bone Furnace. Neither side's army could use any trickery, which should have brought them back to the same level, leaving them only able to fight with their strength.

However, the rise of the Great Xia Dynasty was very short-lived, and the Xia people did not have many tricks up their sleeves. Even if they were to truly compete with Cai Qiu in tricks, they would be no match for him.

However, while the Great Xia Dynasty lacked esoteric arts, it possessed the Five Elements Elixir, which originated from the esoteric arts of the five great masters of the Great Awakening Temple.

Leaving aside the Soul-Separating Pill, there's the Golden Body Pill, which enhances the skin's defense; the Anti-Flying Pill, which prevents the ability to fly; and the Cold-Clearing Pill, which allows one to ignore pain, all three of these pills have nothing to do with sorcery.

Of course, Caiqiu also has elixirs, and their effects are in no way inferior to the three types from Daxia.

In short, the two sides fought each other, king against king, general against general, and soldier against soldier, in three levels, and finally the battle began at the entrance of the Bone-Eroding Path!

Cai Qianshan must have been overconfident in the strength of his army, which led him to act arrogantly. He expanded the entrance to the Bone-Eating Path to about a kilometer before brazenly ordering his army to charge.

Compared to the previous 50 meters in width, a kilometer is naturally a large width. But to be fair, what is a kilometer to an army of 200,000?
Even if each person only needs half a meter of space, and the width is a kilometer, at most Cai Qiu's army can only stretch out 2000 people horizontally. With such a small number of people, it is wishful thinking to try to break through Xia's army in one wave.

However, Cai Qiu's strength is truly astonishing!
With hundreds of Xianyang-level warriors attacking simultaneously, the Xia army's crossbows and arrows were all used up, but they only held out for less than a quarter of an hour. Once these ranged weapons became ineffective, the next step was naturally close-quarters combat.

It must be said that the overall strength of Cai Qiu's army was indeed superior to that of the Xia army, but the number of troops on both sides at the valley entrance was too large, and the Xia army was on the defensive, which was enough to make up for these differences.

If it were simply a large-scale battle between the two sides, Qiu Peng was certain that Cai Qiu would have no chance of breaking through the valley, not even for a short time.

However, Cai Qiu had far too many Xianyang-class warriors, and Cai Qianshan's determination to march south was astonishing, as evidenced by the fact that those Xianyang-class warriors were willing to risk their lives to break through the valley for the army.

Cai Qiu's hundreds of Xianyang-level troops launched a fierce attack simultaneously, breaking through the valley entrance six times in the two hours leading up to dawn. The last and most dangerous attempt saw at least 50,000 of Cai Qiu's army emerge.

If Yuwen Tao hadn't made advance arrangements last night, transferring all the Digging Realm experts from the nearest areas around Jinyang City, gathering 150,000 Digging Realm experts, and taking the Sun Illumination Pill at the last moment to rush to the aid, the outcome of tonight's battle would definitely not be what it is now.

The last time, just half an hour ago, Cai Qiu's 50,000-strong army charged out, but was driven back by the Xia army.

In the final moments, Cai Qianshan even led several cultivators at the Tribulation Realm to temporarily detach themselves from Lord Xia Hong and set a massive fire, attempting to salvage the crumbling Cai Qiu army with the raging flames. However, the fire was ultimately neutralized by the enormous water column spewed by the Blood Golden Cicada, the Three-Line Beast King, in Lord Xia Hong's possession. At this point, the Cai Qiu army could only accept defeat.

"The lord must have suffered a serious injury. The giant water column that the Blood Golden Cicada spat out at the end was almost knocked back by Cai Qianshan's golden body. I saw the lord spit blood with my own eyes. Yuwen Tao and Yuan Cheng are probably protecting him and healing him at the moment."

Upon hearing Qiu Peng's words, Luo Yuan and Lin Kai both became slightly tense.

Li Yangtian, who had recently joined the Great Xia, did not react much. He simply shook his head and said softly, "Only Yuan Sizheng returned to Jinyang with the lord. I saw the lord give Yuwen Sizheng some final instructions, and Yuwen Sizheng headed towards the valley."

Upon hearing this, Qiu Peng and the other two all showed a hint of amusement on their faces.

The battle at dawn was too intense. All three of them were leading their troops in battle on the ground and had no time to pay attention to the battle in the sky. Furthermore, they couldn't interfere in the battle between the lord and Cai Qianshan and the other Tribulation Realm cultivators. After all, they had lost their ability to fly at that time, so what could they do even if they saw it?
Li Yangtian had been observing the great battle in the sky, clearly because he had recently joined the Great Xia and was therefore keeping a close eye on things.

"Brother Li, how strong is our lord?"

After all, they had just switched allegiance to Daxia, so how could they expect such loyalty from others?
Qiu Peng didn't blame Li Yangtian for this, but turned to look at him and asked a question with a slightly teasing tone.

Li Yangtian had already noticed the three men's gazes and knew that his words had exposed his previous ulterior motives. He wasn't worried. After pondering for a moment, a look of shock appeared in his eyes, and then his expression gradually became devout. He cupped his hands to Qiu Peng and said, "Lord, you are truly a celestial being. It is my great honor to be able to join your ranks and become a member of the Great Xia!"

This time, the Great Xia's opponents are, after all, two major warlords. It would be absolutely impossible for Li Yangtian to say that he had no intention of dealing with them beforehand.

He could help Da Xia kill Long Mingyuan and take Longgu Town without bloodshed, so he could naturally help the two major warlords deal with Da Xia. Li Yangtian didn't think he was wrong. He helped Da Xia because he saw no hope in Longgu Town. If he couldn't see any hope in Da Xia, he could naturally defect to the two major warlords with his agility.

But after that big battle, his thinking has completely changed.

As soon as night fell, the battle damage was already tallied.

In this battle, the Xia army suffered a total of 18000 dead and 23000 killed, and also captured more than 5000 Cai Qiu soldiers. In terms of top combat power, the Xia army lost 9 Xianyang level soldiers, while Cai Qiu lost 33. Lord Xia Hong even personally killed a Jie Shen level expert!
The word "victory" alone is insufficient to describe the Xia army's great battle; a resounding victory, or even a complete victory, would be more fitting.

This was no battle fought in a town; the enemy of the Great Xia was Caiqiu, one of the four vassal states of Mo'aochuan.

The 200,000-strong army was certainly not Cai Qiu's full strength, but the 230,000 Xia troops that were dispatched last night were certainly not the full strength of the Great Xia.
The Great Xia possesses the strength to directly confront the regional military governors!
If this idea only fully formed after the great battle, leading to Li Yangtian's decision to completely submit to the Great Xia, then during the previous battle, when he personally witnessed Cai Qianshan strike Xia Hong with a giant palm, and Xia Hong only retreated several hundred meters without any serious injury, he had already nipped all those inappropriate thoughts in the bud.

That's why, when Qiu Peng asked this question with a slightly joking expression, he gave such a solemn answer.

Qiu Peng is the Director of the Logistics Department of the Eight Tribes of the Great Xia Dynasty, and also one of the closest people to Lord Xia Hong. To pledge loyalty to him is actually to pledge loyalty to Lord Xia Hong and to the Great Xia Dynasty.

"Brother Li, your decision to abandon darkness and embrace light has greatly pleased the lord. However, with a major battle imminent, the lord has no time to summon you alone. Rest assured, Brother Li, once we defeat the two vassal states and establish our rule in the southern region, the lord will surely reward you handsomely!"

Qiu Peng could naturally tell that Li Yangtian was expressing his loyalty to Xia Hong, so he immediately smiled and helped him up. To be honest, Li Yangtian's defection to Da Xia was all planned by Si Cheng, and Lord Xia Hong had no idea about it beforehand.

Of course, he couldn't possibly say that out loud.

Looking at the battlefield below, which was almost cleared, Qiu Peng was about to continue speaking, but before he could open his mouth, a strong gust of wind swept quickly from the direction of the Bone-Eating Path.

"Yuwen Yong?"

The visitor was Yuwen Yong, the elder brother of Yuwen Tao and the general of the Second Battalion of the Jinyang Allied Forces.

Connecting this to what Li Yangtian had just said—that Yuwen Tao had gone towards the inner side of the Bone-Eating Path—Qiu Peng immediately guessed that Yuwen Yong must have gone with Yuwen Tao and was now probably back to report the news.

"Chief Qiu, Lord Yuwen sent me back with a message, asking you to immediately dispatch 100,000 troops to enter the Bone-Eating Path. The rebels in Changqing Valley have already begun to move. Cai Qiu's army has not yet reached the exit, but they have abandoned their baggage and increased their marching speed. They must have received news of the rebels in advance and are worried that we will catch up from behind."

As expected, Yuwen Yong looked anxious and quickly spoke as soon as he got close, relaying a series of messages.

Qiu Peng's expression suddenly changed, and he was overjoyed. He immediately turned to Lin Kai behind him and said, "Speed ​​is of the essence in war. Lin Kai, go to Jinyang City first to inform the lord. Luo Yuan, Li Yangtian, and I will mobilize 100,000 troops and enter through the Bone-Eating Path immediately."

"Okay, I'll be right there!"

Lin Kai nodded and immediately turned and flew towards Jinyang City.

Xia Hong was injured in the previous battle and returned to Jinyang City to recuperate after the battle ended. Although Yuwen Tao is the current commander-in-chief, the situation still needs to be explained to Xia Hong.

The rebels in Changqing Valley were orchestrated by Yuwen Tao. At the very beginning of their reunion, Yuwen Tao briefed these high-ranking officials on the entire situation, so Qiu Peng was fully aware of it.

"The Changqing Valley rebels are very weak. According to Yuwen Sizheng, they would be lucky to have 200,000 men, and the vast majority of them are at the Earth Digging Realm. It's just nightfall, and they should be blocking the northern exit of the Bone Erosion Path. We need to speed up, or the rebels might be wiped out if we're too late!"

“Having abandoned the baggage train, Cai Qianshan must have lost his mind. Cai Qiu still has at least 150,000 troops. Although they suffered a defeat and their morale is low, they are still afraid of the rebels in Changqing Valley…”

Upon hearing Luo Yuan's words, Qiu Peng was taken aback at first, then exchanged a glance with Luo Yuan, and both of them saw excitement in each other's pupils.

The Great Xia already knew quite a bit about Changqing Valley. This place was too barren, the population quality was poor, and there were hardly any people at the Cold Resistance level. Furthermore, what threat could such a hastily assembled rebel army pose to Cai Qiu's army?
Cai Qiu's army abandoned their supplies either because they were in a state of extreme panic due to last night's defeat, or because something else major happened that forced them to speed up their return.

"Chen Cang, make your move!"

Qiu Peng pondered for a moment, then said nothing more. He led Luo Yuan and Li Yangtian to muster their troops, preparing to advance into the Bone-Eating Path.

(End of this chapter)