Chapter 82: Whether It Can Be Done Is My Business

Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely

“Leader, the numbers have been counted. A total of 39 people died just now, including two Lumberjack Realm experts from Rogge Camp. In the end, 304 people arrived at the valley.”

Inside the valley, the gathered people had already arrived and were crowded inside a wooden house.

Upon hearing Xia Chuan’s report on the casualties, Xia Hong’s mood grew somewhat heavy, but he quickly adjusted his emotions and turned to look at the right side of the wooden house.

This wooden house was the same one rebuilt after the disaster at Rogge Camp. It was only about thirty meters wide, yet inside it was packed with four to five hundred people.

On the left side were over three hundred people from Great Xia Camp, while on the right side were more than a hundred survivors from Rogge Camp after the last disaster.

At the very front of the over one hundred people from Rogge Camp stood fifteen individuals, presumably the seventeen Lumberjack Realm experts Luo Ming had mentioned earlier. Two had just died in the Frost Wolf pack attack, leaving fifteen remaining.

Xia Hong noticed that whether it was these fifteen Lumberjack Realm experts or the more than one hundred people from Rogge Camp, their faces showed very little resistance when looking at him. But when they looked at the more than three hundred people from Great Xia Camp on the opposite side, their expressions of rejection were very obvious.

Xia Hong naturally understood the reason.

Strictly speaking, these more than one hundred survivors from Rogge Camp owed their survival last time largely to him, so they were grateful and held goodwill towards him.

As for their resistance to the rest of Great Xia Camp, it was simpler: they worried that after the two groups merged, their leader would treat them differently.

Most likely, they did not want Rogge Camp people to see that after arriving at the valley, Luo Ming had taken Li Baihe, Xu Kang, and others to hide elsewhere and had not entered the wooden house. So this group of over one hundred on the right side were the ones who would stay here.

“Everyone!”

The people from Great Xia were still immersed in the recent disaster and had yet to recover, while the more than one hundred from Rogge Camp were anxious about their uncertain future, so the wooden house was very quiet.

As soon as Xia Hong spoke, everyone immediately lifted their heads.

“Although I don’t know why Leader Luo Ming insisted on leaving, since he has made his decision, we should respect and understand it. Moreover, it’s not just me—you all should believe in Leader Luo’s character. If he could have taken all of you away safely, he definitely wouldn’t have abandoned you, right?”

Upon hearing this, the faces of the more than one hundred from Rogge Camp darkened considerably. The wounds brought by the Wood Puppet Abomination had not yet healed, and Luo Ming’s decision to leave was like the last straw that broke the camel’s back.

In the past two days, their despair had come in waves.

At first, there was naturally some resentment toward Luo Ming.

But as the weak, they knew they had no right or qualification to blame him.

In the more than ten years Luo Ming had served as leader, what he had done for Rogge Camp surpassed all of them combined; moreover, he had not just left outright but had arranged a way out for them.

So even though it was a foregone conclusion that Luo Ming would leave, these people still felt gratitude toward him as their former leader.

What Xia Hong said not only helped explain Luo Ming’s decision to everyone but also allowed them to finally let go of the last bit of doubt.

Exactly. Given the leader’s character, if he could have taken all of us safely, he wouldn’t have run off on his own. Ultimately, it’s because we aren’t capable enough.

“I know what you’re all worried about. Since Leader Luo entrusted Rogge Camp and all of you to me, from now on, you all belong to Great Xia. I won’t waste words.”

Xia Hong didn’t say much. After just two sentences, he gave a glance to Xia Chuan on the left, who had already been instructed in advance.

Though Xia Chuan hesitated slightly, since Xia Hong had already given the order, he could only step forward and repeat the previously agreed rule of dividing Frost Beast meat into four tiers to the more than one hundred people from Rogge Camp.

“Everyone will receive Frost Beast meat?”

“Those aged thirteen to thirty will get one pound every day?”

“Not only that. If your strength reaches three thousand jin, you will get two pounds daily.”

“That… how is that possible? Can you really kill that much Frost Beast meat?”

“Lumberjack Realm experts get five pounds fixed every day, right? Did I hear correctly?”

“Special contributions will also be rewarded with Frost Beast meat.”

“Those under thirteen will receive five pounds every month.”

“That’s impossible. Can the leader really kill that many Frost Beasts?”

...

The more than one hundred people from Rogge Camp—whether the fifteen Lumberjack Realm experts at the front, the ordinary people behind them, or even children under ten years old—were all stirred into unrest.

Not only them, but the eight Lumberjack Realm experts from Huang Yong and Hong Gang’s camps who had just agreed to merge with Great Xia also looked up at Xia Hong, their eyes full of shock.

The ordinary people from Great Xia were fine since they had known about this before.

But Xia Chuan, Yuan Cheng, and the other Lumberjack Realm experts showed some concern on their faces.

Especially Xia Chuan, who had just explained the four-tier meat division rule to everyone, looked at Xia Hong several times, seeming hesitant to speak.

This four-tier meat division rule posed no problem when applied to the more than three hundred people from Great Xia alone, as Xia Hong had said; killing six Frost Beasts per month was not too difficult for Great Xia now.

But adding the one hundred seventy-one from Rogge Camp, plus the soon-to-merge Great Chuan and Huang Zhao camps, at least four to five hundred people in total, created a big problem.

With so many people, dividing by four tiers meant the monthly consumption of Frost Beast meat would multiply at least three or four times, and similarly, the hunting workload would increase just as much.

Was this too radical for Great Xia at this moment?

Xia Chuan still wanted to speak out and persuade, but upon meeting Xia Hong’s resolute gaze and seeing the suspicion on the faces of the people from Rogge Camp and others, he realized it was not the right time and kept silent.

“Leader Xia, are you sure you can do it? When our leader was here, the camp’s five Digging Realm experts could at most kill five Frost Beasts per month. Your strength is indeed strong, but surely not enough to kill more than five, right? With our current numbers and your rule, we would have to kill at least ten Frost Beasts every month. Though I admire you, I have to say, this is impossible for the camp right now!”

A Lumberjack Realm expert from Rogge Camp stood up and directly questioned.

What he did not know was that Hong Gang and Huang Yong standing behind him immediately shook their heads after hearing “ten per month.”

It was not ten; with their two camps combined, more than four hundred people, it was at least fifteen, and they had to be adult Frost Beasts weighing over a thousand jin each.

The two exchanged glances after calculating this number in their minds and gently shook their heads, feeling it was impossible to achieve.

Although they felt it impossible, deep down, they inexplicably harbored a glimmer of hope, which made their breathing quicken as they stared intently at Xia Hong, waiting for what he would say.

“Whether it can be done is a matter for me and the hunting team. I only ask you all—do you agree with this rule or not?”

Xia Hong did not explain anything further and simply asked this.

“Agree! Everyone gets Frost Beast meat; why would we disagree!”

The wooden house immediately fell silent, and after a long pause, a faint voice sounded.

“Agree, of course I agree.”

“I agree too.”

“Agree!”

...

The voices grew from sparse to continuous, and the responses became louder and louder.

“Good. Since you agree, then I’ll get the unpleasant part out first. When I lead people out to hunt, I won’t risk my life for nothing. Before you break through to the Lumberjack Realm, you can only stay in the camp doing whatever you can. No one will blame you.

But once you break through to the Lumberjack Realm and gain the ability to go out, everyone in the camp must go out, whether it’s picking Crystal Fruit, logging, or mining... From now on, everything about you will be arranged by me, including your lives!

Do you all agree?”

When Xia Hong’s words fell, the entire room instantly fell into dead silence.