Endless Winter: My Camp Infinite Upgrades

Chapter 531 Wuchuan's Dead End, Cai Qiuhu Makes a Second Visit

"In the twelfth year of the Great Xia Dynasty, which was at the beginning of last year, the Lady, in order to find the auxiliary ingredients for refining the Yang-Rising Pill, led the entire camp of Xianyang-level warriors deep into the interior of Mount Mo'ao. Naturally, they encountered many dangers along the way, but the most dangerous one should have been the encounter with that Thunder Mist Nightmare..."

Beneath the pass, in the main tent of the Xia army, as Xu Ning recounted everything that had happened in Donggu City, dawn broke completely.

Dawn signifies the end of the twelfth year of the Great Xia Dynasty.

"The true form of that monster was a blue arc of lightning that could create a large area of ​​miasma out of thin air. It could not only block human vision and hearing, but also shield the aura perception of those at the Manifestation Yang level. The situation was quite dangerous at the time, but we had the advantage of having enough manpower. In addition, the Lady, the Minister, and the Chief of the Imperial Secretariat were able to command us well. Moreover, we all carried yellow candles and demon-suppressing jade. Although it took some effort, we finally killed that nightmare monster."

This Nightmare Beast could unleash power at the highest level of the Manifestation Yang realm, thus naturally classifying it as a high-level monster. After being added to the treasury, it was priced at 1200 million contribution points. Luo Sizheng, being wealthy and powerful, redeemed it in January of this year. However, he has never used the Miasma Technique in public…”

"Qin Feng was indeed hit, no wonder!"

After listening to Xu Ning's story, Xia Hong sat upright in the main seat, a smile on his face, and then turned to his wife beside him, saying softly, "You've had a tough three years!"

Xu Ning only spoke a few words, but the monsters of the Ice Abyss are never simple. Just thinking about it, one can imagine that the situation when he encountered this Thunder Mist Nightmare deep in the Mo'ao Mountain must have been extremely dangerous.

As an old married couple, Li Xuanling shouldn't have reacted much. However, after not seeing each other for three years, she blushed slightly upon hearing Xia Hong's words of comfort.

Everyone inside the tent naturally kept their eyes down, pretending not to see anything.

Thinking of the name Luo Yuan that Xu Ning had just mentioned, Xia Hong asked with a smile, "Hidden Mist Thunder Blade, that's a good name. Who came up with it?"

"Ha ha……"

Upon hearing this question, the generals inside the tent burst into laughter.

After the laughter subsided, Xu Ning explained, "This was Lord Luo's own idea. He practiced the Thunder Blade of the Martial Arts Pavilion, and combined it with the concealment techniques of this Misty Fog Technique. When he hides in the mist, his attacks are always as swift as thunder. The nickname 'Mist-Hidden Thunder Blade' is truly fitting for him..."

They even have nicknames now!
A smile appeared on Xia Hong's face. If he remembered correctly, Lu Yang also had the nickname of the Northern Sword Master. He had just returned, and it was no surprise that the pillars of the Great Xia Dynasty in front of him now all had their own nicknames.

Looking back, Hongmuling was only fifteen or sixteen years ago. In these years, not only Xia Chuan, Yuwen Tao, Yuan Cheng and others have grown, but Luo Yuan and others have also improved rapidly. Now they have grown into important figures who can stand on their own.

"What happened to Wu Chuan's 50,000 troops?"

Xu Ning had only mentioned that Luo Yuan led his army to capture Donggu City, and then, before Qin Feng could react, he closed the city gates, blocking Wu Chuan's 50,000-strong army at the city gates. He didn't say what happened after that, which is why Xia Hong asked this question.

The others all looked at Xu Ning upon hearing the sound.

Xu Ning cupped his hands and replied, "Lord Luo never intended to fight Qin Feng's 50,000-strong army. Therefore, his attack in the fog was merely a delaying tactic and yielded no results. Qin Feng reacted quickly; although he vomited blood in anger after breaking through the fog, he immediately ordered his army to turn around and counterattack. Unfortunately, they were too slow, and in the end, they only caught up with a small portion of the Zhenyu Army. After a brief skirmish, we all entered the city..."

He paused, a smile appearing on his face, and said, "Qin Feng is now in a dilemma. A counterattack on Donggu City is definitely not going to work, but continuing north to reinforce Zhencheng is also a dead end. He is currently stuck in place. Before I arrived, his 50,000 troops had already set up camp outside Donggu City!"

The generals burst into laughter upon hearing this, and even Xia Hong couldn't help but shake his head and chuckle.

No wonder he vomited blood...

Qin Feng was truly tricked badly this time.

Sending 50,000 troops out of the city was a risky move, an extremely risky one at that. After all, staying in the city and facing the Xia army meant being on the defensive and having a huge advantage, but once they left the city, the situation became even.

The key is that Xia Jun's strength is widely recognized in the southern foothills region, and there is a very high probability that they will be unable to defeat him outside the city.

Qin Feng was also driven to desperation. Twenty thousand elite Xia troops had besieged the town. Even if they only besieged it and did not attack, the trouble would be immense. He keenly realized that if he did not engage in a decisive battle with Luo Yuan's central army, once the supply lines to Donggu City were cut off, his fifty thousand troops would only have one option left: surrender.

Therefore, they took a risky tactic and decided to leave the city to lure Luo Yuan into a decisive battle.

Xia Hong could roughly guess that Qin Feng's reliance in luring Luo Yuan into battle was probably Cai Qiu's assistance. If he could guess, Luo Yuan could naturally guess as well, so avoiding a decisive battle with his 50,000-strong army was the best choice.

I won't fight your 50,000, but it's fine to attack Donggu City!

If Qin Feng were to send his army to attack Donggu City now that Luo Yuan has taken it, he would be completely out of his mind. Not only would he be unable to issue such an order, but even if he did, his 50,000 soldiers would probably curse him to death in their hearts.

If he doesn't attack Donggu City, the only place he can go right now is Wuchuan Town.

The same problem remains: Luo Yuan won't watch him leave.

The 20,000 elite Xia troops surrounding Wuchuan Town would not sit idly by and wait for him to arrive.

If his 50,000 troops were to move north, 20,000 elite Xia troops would immediately head south, and Luo Yuan's 40,000 troops would also immediately come out in full force. At that time, Qin Feng's 50,000 troops would be caught in a difficult situation of being attacked from both the north and the south.

This is the worst of all!

“Cai Qiu has brought over a hundred Xianyang-level warriors. Although I don’t know how many are left in Aikou City, there must be quite a few. Since Cao Qianyang has decided to abandon Yangqu Town, Cai Qiu only has Jinshan and Wuchuan Towns to manage right now. Qingfeng’s situation isn’t that bad. If nothing unexpected happens, Cai Qiuhu will soon come to give him some advice.”

Upon hearing Xia Hong's words, the crowd below nodded in agreement.

Xia Chuan picked up where he left off, saying, "What ideas can we come up with? Qin Feng has no choice now. His 50,000 soldiers are all from Wuchuan Town. They have no other option but to rush to the town's aid."

Xia Hong was reminded of this. He had unconsciously treated Qin Feng's 50,000 troops as mere tools. Just as Xia Chuan said, Qin Feng had no other choice at the moment. If he dared to lead those 50,000 soldiers to other places instead of rushing to the aid of Zhencheng, he would only be defeated even faster.

Suddenly remembering something, he turned to Yuwen Tao and asked, "Have you sent anyone to keep an eye on the Bone-Eating Path?"

Yuwen Tao was below him on his right. Upon hearing this, he immediately nodded and cupped his hands: "Don't worry, Lord. Before the battle, I sent a large number of spies to the exit of the Bone-Eating Path. Cai Qiuhu brought Bai Xianyang over, and it was they who informed me of this."

My scouts report that the bone-chilling winds in the Bone-Eating Path have stopped. I've already ordered my men to begin exploring further in. If Cai Qiu has dispatched a large army south, I'll surely receive the news soon enough.

Sure enough, the miasma in the Blood Corridor receded, and the bone-chilling wind on the Bone-Eating Path also disappeared. The monsters in the Blood Miasma Plain attacked simultaneously.

"It's not like..."

However, upon hearing Yuwen Tao's last words, a smile slowly appeared on Xia Hong's face. He shook his head and chuckled, then paused before continuing, "Caiqiu is not powerful in the Mo'aochuan region. It's not easy for the Great Xia to emerge in the southern foothills and be able to fight against Chencang. They won't go so far as to fight us. Besides, sending a large army south is too risky. Caiqiu probably doesn't have the guts!"

The miasma in the Blood Corridor has receded, so why won't it return?
The romantic escapades of the Bone-Eating Path have vanished; who knows when they might return?

The methods used by those monsters in the Blood Miasma Plains to cause trouble were too crude. Since he could see through it, there was no reason why Cai Qiu and Chen Cang, the two regional governors, couldn't see through it.

Before ascertaining the truth of the strange occurrences, recklessly sending a large-scale army south could be a fatal blow should something go wrong.

Although the regional military governors are powerful, their number of soldiers at the level of "Winter Resistance" is not inexhaustible. Furthermore, given the current strength of the Xia army, the two major regional military governors could easily send down a few people without solving any problems.

"Keep digging the tunnel at the current pace, not too fast, to avoid alerting Jinshan. Cao Qianyang hasn't completely evacuated Yangqu Town yet, so we're not in a hurry. Cai Qiuhu is probably giving Qin Feng some advice. Let's just wait here patiently and see what Cai Qiuhu plans to use to protect..."

"Report!"

Xia Hong was interrupted by a voice from outside the tent before he could finish speaking.

"Come in!"

Soldiers usually do not enter the main tent of the military camp without permission, unless it is a particularly urgent situation. Xia Hong knew this, so he did not continue to say anything, but simply gestured for the soldiers outside the tent to come in.

"Greetings, Lord. There are people outside the military camp requesting an audience. The leader of them calls himself Cai Qiuhu and says he has important matters to discuss with you."

"here we go again……"

Xia Hong raised an eyebrow. The attack on Beishuo occurred during the day on the 30th, and Cai Qiuhu was present at the time. It was only just dawn, so it had been at most ten hours since the two last met. He had just pleaded for Cao Qianyang's life, and now he was back again in less than ten hours?

"Bring him in!"

The messenger looked troubled and continued, "Lord, Cai Qiuhu brought a lot of people with him. Today, the commander guarding the outer perimeter of the camp is Commander Hou. He said he can't see through any of their strengths."

The expressions of everyone inside the tent changed slightly upon hearing this.

Yuwen Tao's right wing army totaled 40,000 men, with forty military tents spread out, covering an area of ​​hundreds of thousands of square meters. Special troops were assigned to guard the perimeter every day, personally led by the army's commander.

Hou Quan already possessed the cultivation level of Manifestation Yang, and even he couldn't see through them. The strength of those people was self-evident; they were all naturally at the Manifestation Yang level.

Xia Hong's pupils narrowed slightly, and he asked with a smile, "How many people came?"

"Fifty!"

They brought half of it directly...

Xia Hong's smile slowly faded; he had probably already guessed Cai Qiuhu's purpose in coming.

"You brought half of it with you!"

"Is this a threat to intimidate us?"

"It must be!"

"Even Chu Tianxu was scared away, so what makes him so special?"

………………

If Xia Hong could guess it, the others in the tent could naturally guess it as well.

Hong Guang, Hong Gang, Zou Yuankai, and Jiang Yuanlong all made sarcastic remarks.

Xia Hong's face also darkened. After a moment of thought, he sneered, "It seems that the face we have in Beishuo City has run into trouble..."

Without getting up, he waved to the soldier and said, "Bring them in."

"I obey my orders!"

Upon hearing the order, the soldier bowed and withdrew.

There weren't many people in the main tent at the moment. Apart from Xia Hong, there were only ten people in total. Li Xuanling and the two children sat beside him, while Xia Chuan, Yuwen Tao, Xu Ning, Hong Guang, Hong Gang, Zou Yuankai, and Jiang Yuanlong stood on the left and right.

Xia Hong waved for everyone to sit down, then sat in the main seat, closed his eyes, and waited for Cai Qiuhu and the others to arrive.

Less than thirty breaths later, a series of rustling footsteps could be heard outside.

call…………

Although Aikou City is located on the fault zone of Mo'ao Mountain, both sides of it are barren rocky mountains with few trees. When Yuwen Tao set up camp, he used military tents directly, and the same was true for the main tent.

After the soldiers opened the curtain of the main tent from the outside, Cai Qiuhu was the first to walk in, followed by a large group of people behind him.

There are indeed fifty!

Xia Hong sat upright, slightly raising his eyelids to scan the crowd behind Cai Qiuhu, and even spotted more than a dozen familiar faces among them.

He had been to Caiqiu, and if he remembered correctly, some of those familiar faces were from Qinghua City in Baishui County, while others were from Linchu County.

Of course, he could recognize these people, but they couldn't recognize him.

To this day, Xia Hong has not shown his true face.

Cai Qiuhu's demeanor was noticeably more unrestrained and daring than the night before. From the moment he entered the tent, his gaze kept sweeping over everyone, from Xia Chuan and Yuwen Tao on either side to Li Xuanling and her two children beside Xia Hong, the main seat, without the slightest restraint.

"Young Master Cai, we just met yesterday, why are you visiting again today?"

Xia Hong's gaze narrowed slightly, and he made no attempt to hide the displeasure in his tone.

"How dare you, Xia Hong! With the young Master Fang here, do you even deserve to sit?"

Before Cai Qiuhu could speak, a young man behind him stepped forward and spoke first, and his words were full of angry rebukes. He clearly did not take Xia Chuan and the others in the tent seriously, nor did he take Xia Hong, the lord, seriously.

Snap...

"Who do you think you are..."

As soon as the young man spoke, Xia Chuan, Yuwen Tao, and the other seven people immediately stood up from their seats. Hong Gang, who had a fiery temper, even slammed his hand on the table in front of him and was about to retort.

However, Xia Hong suddenly raised his hand to interrupt him.

Upon seeing this, Hong Gang immediately shut his mouth, but stared intently at the young man, making no attempt to conceal the murderous intent in his pupils.

The atmosphere inside the tent instantly froze.

Xia Hong didn't look at Cai Qiuhu, but stared directly at the young man. After staring at him for three or four breaths, he suddenly laughed.

After chuckling a few times, he turned to his wife beside him and asked, "Xuanling, the Prince Caiqiu who spoke rudely to you during the Chuishan upheaval two years ago, is that the person?"

Li Xuanling nodded directly.

It turned out that the young man was none other than Cai Shiqi, the young prince of Baishui County, who was used as a tool by the Great Xia during the Chuishan rift two years ago.

Xia Hong and Cai Shiqi met twice in total.

The first time I met Cai Shiqi was three years ago, when he traveled from Yinhe Valley to Caiqiu via the Bone-Eroding Path. At that time, Cai Shiqi was only at the Cold Resistance level and had just set foot in the southern foothills under the escort of the military officer Zhu Yan.

The second time was at the library of Linchu County in Caiqiu. Before the start of the Blood Miasma Plain trial between the two vassal states, Cai Shiqi and a group of young men came to Linchu County and happened to meet him at the entrance of the library.

The two had a minor disagreement during that meeting.

If Xia Hong remembered correctly, Cai Shiqi hated the Great Xia to the bone because his wife had cut off his index finger. At the entrance of the library of the Linchu Prefectural Governor's Mansion, he even said that he would capture all the high-ranking officials of the Great Xia and bring them back to Caiqiu. The men would serve as dogs in the Baishui Prefecture for generations, and the women would be sent to the army to serve as camp prostitutes.

Xia Hong had sentenced this person to death at that time, but after the Blood Miasma Plains Trial began and many things happened one after another, he forgot about this person.

Unexpectedly, after so much time, Cai Shiqi actually came to us again.

Moreover, he's courting disaster again...

Xia Hong shook his head, losing interest in looking at Cai Shiqi. He shifted his gaze to Cai Qiuhu, his smile unchanged, and asked slowly, "Little Lord Cai, you've only brought so few men. You can't scare me. Even if your Cai Qiu army marches south, it won't be this fast. How do you plan to protect Jinshan and Wuchuan towns? Speak!"

(End of this chapter)