Chapter 16: First Clash |
"Leader, I've broken through."
"Brother, I've also reached the Lumberjack Realm."
Xia Chuan and Yuan Cheng had actually both achieved breakthroughs simultaneously!
Watching them successively lift the five-thousand-jin wooden stakes, Xia Hong felt a heavy weight lift from his chest.
Three Lumberjack Realm cultivators now!
Though still weak compared to other camps, they'd finally taken their first steps.
Moreover, during this period, Yue Feng, Lin Kai and the other three had also made significant progress.
As long as they continued steadily, it was only a matter of time before they returned to their former strength.
Just after nightfall the next day, Xia Chuan and Yuan Cheng excitedly fastened stone axes to their waists and followed behind Xia Hong.
"Understood, Leader!"
Hearing the gravity in Xia Hong's tone, Xia Chuan didn't call him "brother" but for the first time joined Yuan Cheng in addressing him as "Leader."
Xia Hong nodded, giving final instructions to Yue Feng and the other four before leading the way out of the cave, with Yuan Cheng and Xia Chuan close behind.
Now that Xia Chuan was also venturing out, camp security naturally fell to Yue Feng's group of five. The camp's location was sufficiently concealed - barring special circumstances, safety shouldn't be an issue.
Despite the night, the reflected light from the snow clearly revealed the excitement on Xia Chuan and Yuan Cheng's faces.
Truthfully, Xia Hong had felt the same excitement during his first outing.
Having been confined to the cave with its entrance sealed during daytime, they'd only been able to open it for air at night when Xia Ding was still present.
In Xia Ding's absence over this past month, aside from himself, practically no one in camp had seen daylight.
"The humans of this world must be under some curse..."
This thought had occurred to Xia Hong soon after transmigrating and learning about this world.
Perpetually freezing, unable to bear light, forced to hide in shadows, vastly outmatched by Frost Beasts, with those inexplicable Abominations hunting them down.
The plight facing humanity here was simply inconceivable.
This wasn't just hellish difficulty - the actual eighteen layers of hell probably weren't much worse.
Whether any humans lived decently, Xia Hong didn't know, but from what he'd seen so far, this was the horrific reality.
Rogge Camp probably lived relatively better, right?
As these thoughts wandered through Xia Hong's mind, they'd already reached Redwood Ridge's periphery.
"Tonight we have two objectives: First, familiarizing you with this environment - including Frost Beast locations, how to identify them, nearby tree varieties, and our Great Xia Camp's territory boundaries."
"Second, each of you must chop down one tree tonight."
Not wanting to dampen their still-visible excitement, Xia Hong began leading them around the periphery while explaining details.
After twenty-plus nights, Xia Hong had memorized every detail within five hundred meters.
The locations of three Crystal Fruit Trees, seven confirmed Golden Frost Trees occupied by Frost Beasts;
Areas densest with Crimson Frost Trees, spots with the most small Crimson Frost Trees.
As Xia Hong pointed out each location, Xia Chuan and Yuan Cheng listened silently, committing everything to memory.
It wasn't until they reached the third Crystal Fruit Tree that something unexpected occurred.
There were people near the third tree.
Unlike Xia Chuan and Yuan Cheng, Xia Hong remained constantly alert to their surroundings while walking.
So when they were still a hundred meters from the third tree, he'd already noticed movement ahead.
"People up ahead. Lighten your footsteps and stay quiet. Let's observe first."
Xia Hong crouched first, with the other two following suit as they skirted through the snow behind trees, slowly advancing toward the third Crystal Fruit Tree.
Though visibility in snow was decent, nighttime still limited it. Only at thirty meters distance could Xia Hong clearly see.
What he saw made his brow furrow and expression darken.
At this distance facial features were indistinct, but he could make out four figures, one wielding a large blade.
People from Boulder Camp.
This was already Xia Hong's fifth encounter with Boulder Camp trespassers on their territory.
Indeed, since the Snow Mane incident, over these past twenty-plus days, Xia Hong had spotted Boulder Camp intruders three more times within their domain.
During this period, he'd located three Crystal Fruit Trees.
The first was west, closest to Boulder Camp.
The second about a hundred meters north of his usual Redwood Ridge entry point.
The third was this one before them, in the eastern part of their territory.
Great Xia's territory spanned only five hundred meters wide. Xia Hong always entered from the center. The previous four sightings had all been west, but now they'd penetrated to the east.
This indicated Boulder Camp wasn't just brazenly entering - they were pushing deeper each time.
"Four from Boulder Camp - you're crossing boundaries!"
This time, Xia Hong chose not to ignore them. He stood and strode toward the Crystal Fruit Tree while sternly rebuking them.
Only upon hearing Xia Hong did Yuan Cheng and Xia Chuan realize these were Boulder Camp members, immediately rising angrily to follow Xia Hong.
Caught red-handed, the four Boulder Camp members harvesting Crystal Fruits started at the reprimand, hastily descending from the tree to nervously eye Xia Hong's group.
As Xia Hong advanced, his gaze continuously swept the surroundings.
Boulder Camp had two archers - were they present?
"Might we know who you three are?"
One of the four stepped forward to inquire - from his voice, a middle-aged man.
Drawing nearer, Xia Hong could see all four were middle-aged. The speaker was the only one carrying a blade.
That blade's previous owner had been beheaded by the Snow Mane.
"Great Xia Camp, Xia Hong."
"Old Ding's son."
As Xia Hong recognized them, they likewise identified him.
The swordsman immediately recognized Xia Hong upon seeing his face.
"So young?"
"Venturing out at night - must be Lumberjack Realm."
"Old Ding raised a fine son."
The other three also seemed to know Xia Ding, whether genuinely impressed by Xia Hong's youth or feigning praise, they all chimed in.
"Let's not digress. Harvesting fruits here crosses boundaries, doesn't it?"
"Hey, you little—"
The last one down from the tree, seeing Xia Hong wouldn't be sidetracked and kept insisting on the trespass, grew visibly flustered and angry, even taking two steps toward Xia Hong.
But before he could finish, the swordsman extended an arm to stop him.
"Nephew, I'm Wang Ming. Knew your father Xia Ding. If you're willing, you can call me Uncle Ming. Recently our camp's had some... difficulties. Our Crystal Fruit shortage became too severe. Left with no choice, I brought them here tonight to... borrow some provisions from Great Xia Camp."
"Once we overcome this rough patch, we'll repay everything immediately. How about it?"
Hearing Wang Ming's words, Xia Hong's expression darkened instantly.
This man was treating him like a fool!
Xia Hong simply stared coldly at Wang Ming, remaining silent for a long while.
However, Xia Chuan behind him couldn't contain his anger any longer.
"Stealing is stealing! Don't pretty it up as 'borrowing'! Brother, don't waste words on them! When Rogge Camp demarcated territories, they declared trespassing another's domain equivalent to murder! I'll return immediately to inform father and bring reinforcements!"
At Xia Chuan's words, Wang Ming and his group's expressions immediately soured.