Chapter 70: Heartening News |
Five thousand jin of coal and four thousand jin of iron?
Xia Hong's disbelief didn't come from nowhere.
As far as he knew, even when Rogge Camp had all five of its Digging Realm cultivators, their daily coal production only reached about one thousand jin.
A thousand jin daily might sound substantial when accumulated over time.
But one must consider that Rogge Camp previously had a total population of over a thousand people.
These thousand-plus residents lived in five large wooden houses, each requiring one hundred fifty jin of coal daily, supplemented by firewood, just to maintain basic heating.
This meant heating alone consumed seven hundred fifty jin of coal every day, accounting for nearly three-quarters of their daily output.
And heating was the smaller portion - iron smelting consumed far more.
So five thousand jin of coal was absolutely no small amount for Rogge Camp. Xia Hong even suspected their usual reserves couldn't be much higher than this.
This alone showed how incredibly difficult both iron mining and smelting must be.
Five thousand jin of coal. Four thousand jin of iron.
Luo Ming, how could he be so generous?
It was true that Xia Hong had done Luo Ming an enormous favor, which he didn't deny.
But Luo Ming practically giving away his entire camp's assets was genuinely shocking, even making Xia Hong feel somewhat uneasy.
Though puzzled internally, Xia Hong's body reacted quite honestly when faced with these three tempting sacks.
There was no way he could refuse!
He'd risked his life to help Luo Ming, and if Luo Ming wanted to thank him with these resources, he absolutely should accept them.
Especially since coal and iron were precisely what he desperately needed right now!
The other eight buildings in his system remained unbuilt, not to mention the camp itself had pressing needs for both resources.
Xia Hong first signaled Xia Chuan and Yuan Cheng to collect the three sacks, then took a deep breath and bowed to Luo Ming:
"Leader Luo's generosity is unmatched. Should you ever need assistance in the future, please don't hesitate to ask. If it's within my power, I'll never refuse!"
Hearing this, Luo Ming's face broke into a smile.
All five camps accepted the generous gifts Luo Ming had prepared.
With their rewards secured, none of the five groups wished to linger.
Xia Hong's party had only traveled one day from Great Xia Camp, but Hong Gang and the others from the four camps had been away over half a month, clearly anxious to return to their people.
After exiting Rogge Camp's cave entrance and bidding farewell to Luo Ming, everyone began their homeward journeys.
Since all routes first passed through Redwood Ridge before diverging to their respective camps, the groups remained together initially. During this time, Xia Hong carefully observed the four camps' survivors.
Truthfully, these four camps had suffered the most.
According to Luo Ming, the four camps had sent forty-three people total, including their four leaders, for the Abomination extermination.
Now only ten remained - three each from Dachuan and Huangzhao, two each from Chenye and Lushang.
These weren't thirty-three ordinary people lost, but thirty-three Lumberjack Realm combatants - the absolute backbone of their camps. Such heavy losses would undoubtedly make life difficult for these camps in the coming days.
Xia Hong sighed inwardly but said nothing.
Since Chenye and Lushang Camps lay north of Rogge Camp, they parted ways with Xia Hong's group upon entering Redwood Ridge, heading north.
Dachuan and Huangzhao Camps being southward, their paths aligned with Xia Hong's.
At Huangzhao Camp's territory, Huang Yong and his two companions departed first.
Finally entering Dachuan Camp's domain, Hong Gang and his two followers also left.
Xia Hong's group of seven continued south, passing through Boulder Camp's territory until reaching Great Xia's domain. Exiting Redwood Ridge and traveling east five to six hundred meters, they soon spotted the small earthen mound where their camp stood.
Seeing the snow-covered mound lying peacefully unchanged, all seven visibly relaxed.
Though only gone a day, both Xia Hong and the others had worried about camp, where their families and friends resided.
Having witnessed Rogge Camp's tragedy made them cherish their intact home even more.
Xia Chuan rushed ahead to the cave entrance and shouted inside:
"Storms may rage from all directions, but none compare to Redwood Ridge's rain."
"When Dragon Gate Mountain rains, the Snowfield Tiger descends!"
An excited response came from within as the log barrier was quickly dismantled from inside. Xu An, Liu Yuan, and Li Yuankun emerged beaming.
"The leader's back!"
"I told you the leader would be fine."
Several other young camp members followed, their faces lighting up upon seeing all seven return safely with four large sacks.
As Xia Hong led the group inside, he stopped Xu An from resealing the entrance: "No need. Starting today, we can keep the entrance open at night for fresh air!"
Xu An froze. Liu Yuan, Li Yuankun, and the assisting youths looked equally stunned.
Xia Chuan chuckled beside them: "That Wood Puppet Abomination's been defeated by our leader - I killed it myself! No more worries."
The shocking news first stunned Xu An's group, then sparked jubilation, especially after Xia Hong's confirmation. Emotions ran high.
"The Wood Puppet Abomination is dead! Hahaha, finally dead!"
"Defeated by our leader - our camp's vengeance is complete."
"After killing so many recently, it's finally dead! So good, hahaha..."
"No more sealing the cave at night!"
......
The Wood Puppet Abomination hadn't only plagued Rogge Camp.
Great Xia suffered too.
As did Boulder Camp.
Boulder Camp's nearly two hundred survivors were gathered inside, separated from Great Xia's people on the furnace's right side.
Xia Hong walked toward them as the crowd parted.
He found Shi Qing lying center-most, tended by his children Shi Ping and Shi Lu.
"Leader..."
Seeing Shi Qing struggle to rise, Xia Hong quickly stepped forward: "Your injuries aren't healed - don't move."
Pierced through by white threads, his bones riddled with holes, Shi Qing was essentially crippled. Xia Hong's continued respect moved him deeply.
"Shi Qing thanks the leader for avenging our camp's hundred-plus dead."
The cave's excited chatter had reached Shi Qing. Learning of the Abomination's death filled him with gratitude. Unable to move, he turned to his children: "Ping'er, Lu'er, kowtow to the leader for me. Your mother, uncles, and all our dead... finally avenged..."
Remembering his wife, brothers, and fallen comrades, tears fell.
Equally emotional, Shi Ping and Shi Lu knelt before Xia Hong to kowtow.
Xia Hong immediately stopped them. Feeling their insistence, he gently pressed them back beside Shi Qing and spoke solemnly:
"Uncle Shi, if you call me leader, we're family now. Your 187 people are Great Xia Camp members too. No more formalities!"
Shi Qing stared at Xia Hong, deeply moved.
Xia Hong had intentionally spoken loudly. Beyond Shi Qing, his children and all 187 Boulder Camp survivors heard clearly.
They gazed at Xia Hong with tearful excitement, some sobbing openly.
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