Endless Winter: My Camp Infinite Upgrades

Chapter 600 Growth and Racing Against Time: The Great Evacuation at Chencang

After Li Xuanling left the Star-Picking Platform.

Xia Yusheng immediately opened his eyes, his pupils darting around as he turned to Xia Yuyao and asked in a low voice, "Sister, how much basic strength do you have now? Can you break through to the mid-stage of the Cold Resistance Realm this month?"

After opening her eyes, Xia Yuyao did not give an answer immediately. Instead, she looked at her younger brother for a moment before shaking her head and saying softly, "The Blood Jade Bead that Father brought back has completely repaired the defects in my skin and flesh. Now, my cultivation progress is inevitably much slower."

My base strength is less than 1 point higher than yours, and I'm less than 3 points away from the mid-game.

She broke through to the Cold Resistance level at the beginning of the year, and her base strength was already 8.8. If she wanted to start the second round of flesh and blood reorganization, her base strength needed to double, which required 17.6. Her current base strength is exactly 15, which is indeed a little short of the mid-stage.

Xia Yusheng, the younger brother, just broke through with a strength of 8.6, and the mid-term requirement is 17.2. Currently, his base strength is only slightly over 14, so the gap between him and her is not large.

"Even you're so far behind, then it will take me even longer. Half a year and I still haven't broken through to the middle stage. The further you go, the slower the cultivation speed will be. When will it be time to break through to the peak of the Cold Resistance Realm? Are we really going to have to wait until we're old enough to have our coming-of-age ceremony before we can leave the Star Picking Platform?"

Xia Yusheng's face was full of dejection. He always knew that his sister's talent was superior to his own. When he heard that Xia Yuyao had not yet broken through to the mid-stage of the Cold Resistance Realm, he felt that it was a long way off for him to leave the Star Picking Platform. He became very listless.

It's not entirely his fault. From the time he can remember until now, Xia Yusheng has left the Xia Palace no more than five times. The most memorable time was probably the Great Xia Northern Expedition at the end of last year. He was originally punished with confinement, but his father returned from Mo'aochuan ahead of time, so his mother took them north to reunite with his father.

The terrifying strength of his father Xia Hong, the superior combat power and military appearance of Xia Jun, including the several large-scale battles with Cai Qiu, his father's invincible Beast King-level puppets on the battlefield, and Cai Qiu's Tribulation Realm experts... all of this gave Xia Yusheng a feast for the eyes, and naturally made him yearn for the outside world even more.

Even before the Northern Expedition was over, he was constantly planning to leave the Summer Palace and the capital to explore other territories of the Great Xia, or even beyond.

Originally, everything was going smoothly. With his father's return from Mo'aochuan, the Great Xia Northern Expedition had achieved a great victory, defeating the vassal states and completely establishing its dominance in the southern region. His mother, Li Xuanling, had also calmed down. All he had to do was to make his request, and everything should have fallen into place naturally.

However, things took a sharp turn for the worse. First, the marriage between Cai Qiu and Li Xuanling caused her mother's mood to deteriorate abruptly. On the way back to Xia City from Changqing Valley at the beginning of the year, she didn't dare to mention it. Then, before they even returned to Xia City, when they passed through the Bone-Eating Path, the three of them were kidnapped by villains.

The kidnapping at the beginning of the year seemed somewhat inexplicable. The three women did not harm them at all, and were even quite polite. In the end, my father appeared in time to rescue them in that foreign dragon palace. Because the entire kidnapping process was uneventful and without any danger, it can only be described as inexplicable.

Even so, Xia Yusheng was still furious when he thought of those three people from the beginning of the year.

The reason is simple: after escaping from Chilong Lake at the beginning of the year, Li Xuanling immediately imposed a ban on the siblings.

Moreover, this ban is even more excessive than before. In the past, they were allowed to move freely within the Summer Palace and occasionally wander around the Three Pavilions and Eight Departments outside the Summer Palace; this time, they are not even allowed to leave the Star-Picking Hall. To leave the Star-Picking Hall, they either need to break through to the peak of the Cold Resistance Realm or be fifteen years old.

In Xia Yusheng's opinion, if it weren't for the good deeds done by those three women at the beginning of the year, his mother, Li Xuanling, would never have imposed such a strict house arrest order on them. How could he not be furious?

"Father doesn't know how long he'll be in seclusion in that dragon palace. Only when he returns will there be any chance of Mother changing her mind..."

The only solution Xia Yusheng could think of was for his father, Xia Hong, to return. Unfortunately, after escaping from that foreign dragon palace at the beginning of the year, his mother sent people directly back to Xiadu. Later, when Li Xuanling returned, she only told them that his father was in seclusion in that dragon palace and would not be able to come out for a long time.

Xia Yuyao, dressed in a light blue palace dress, sat cross-legged on a soft cushion. Her delicate face was already beginning to show the features of a beauty. Hearing her younger brother's longing for their father's return, a few strands of sorrow flashed across her beautiful eyes before she shook her head and said softly, "You still hope to leave? Have you forgotten about the Tiger Forest incident so quickly?"

Upon hearing the words "Ruhu Forest," Xia Yusheng's expression immediately froze, and he lowered his head in silence.

The incident at Tiger Forest last year dealt him a great blow. He knew very well that the abduction last year stemmed from his urgent desire to go out, so he was responsible for Han Yue's death.

Just like the relationship between Xia Yuyao and Aunt Hanshuang, when Xia Yusheng was just learning to speak, Hanyue was assigned by his mother Li Xuanling to take care of him. It is no exaggeration to say that in some ways, Hanyue is more like a mother than Li Xuanling, his biological mother. After so many years of getting along with her, Xia Yusheng and she are more like mother and son than mother and son.

The psychological impact of Han Yue's death on him is unimaginable, not to mention the responsibility he himself cannot shirk.

It was too heavy a burden to make a child under ten years old bear all of this. So, neither his mother Li Xuanling, his second uncle Xia Chuan, nor Han Yue's husband, the Dragon Guard Commander Tie Xinchuan, nor the other members of the Dragon Guard, including his father Xia Hong who later learned the details, ever uttered a single harsh word against Xia Yusheng.

Everyone's intention was not to burden the young Xia Yusheng with too much responsibility, but they forgot that he was not yet ten years old, which is the age when he is most forgetful and most playful.

Xia Yusheng's eagerness to go out at this moment shows that he has not learned from the incident at the Tiger Forest, or rather, the six months of ordinariness have worn away his guilt towards Han Yue.

Xia Yuyao's words at that moment were like sharp arrows piercing his heart, reopening the scars he had been trying to cover up or forget.

Seeing her younger brother with his head down, his face full of guilt and self-blame, Xia Yuyao sighed inwardly and softened her tone, saying gently, "Aunt Hanyue died to save you. You are not just living for yourself now. Caiqiu and Daxia stopped fighting not because they were afraid of Daxia, but because they wanted to deal with Chencang, a more powerful tiger."

Just now, Attendant Sun said that the 100,000 troops in Chencang have retreated. You don't think that the warlords have given up their covetousness for our southern border region, do you? If the incident at Ruhu Forest can happen once, it will happen again. As long as the struggle between the Great Xia and the warlords continues, the plundering of you and me will not stop. If you continue to act recklessly as before, and similar things happen again, it won't just be a matter of killing one or two people!

"Mother has kept us here to cultivate, not only for our safety, but also for the stability of the Great Xia Dynasty. If you really want to go out, then stay here and cultivate obediently. Once you are strong enough that no one can threaten our safety, Mother will no longer stop you."

Xia Yusheng remained silent, his breathing becoming slightly heavier, clearly indicating that Xia Yuyao's words had struck a chord with him.

After a long while, he slowly raised his head, his eyes slightly red, and nodded heavily, saying, "I understand, sister!"

Hearing her younger brother's resolute tone, Xia Yuyao was satisfied, but her tone softened as she said gently, "Don't think too much. In short, you'll stay here with me and cultivate until Father comes back."

"it is good!"

After agreeing, Xia Yusheng closed his eyes and continued cultivating. Xia Yuyao did the same, but after closing her eyes, she sighed slightly inwardly.

"My second uncle is in such a hurry to mobilize a large army to force Chencang to retreat. I'm afraid my father isn't in seclusion in that dragon palace cultivating, but has encountered some accident and won't be able to come back for a while."

Xia Yuyao was much more precocious than her younger brother. If their father was in seclusion in the Dragon Palace at the bottom of Red Dragon Lake, Li Xuanling could deceive her younger brother Xia Yusheng, but not her. Through her second uncle's movements in the north, including the extravagant expansion of the Xia Palace in March and the subsequent unusually strict isolation measures, she could make a rough deduction.

“The spirit tablet in the ancestral temple is normal, so Father is not in any danger. He just won’t be back for a short time. Father is so powerful, he will definitely be fine. He will be back soon.”

Despite her precociousness, Xia Yuyao was only born a few minutes earlier than her younger brother, and was also just a little girl under ten years old. After deducing that her father, Xia Hong, had an accident, she was also filled with fear and worry. However, in order not to worry her mother or let her younger brother see anything, she pretended to know nothing.

"Father, Yao'er will definitely work hard to cultivate and become stronger as soon as possible, so as to share your burdens and those of the Great Xia!"

Out of unconditional trust in her father, Xia Yuyao quickly calmed her chaotic thoughts. After giving herself a pep talk, a strong determination slowly rose on her small face, and she devoted herself wholeheartedly to cultivation.

........................

On the tenth day of the sixth month of the thirteenth year of the Great Xia Dynasty, at nightfall

Leaving aside what happened at the Summer Palace, a massive retreat is underway on the far northern border of the Great Xia Dynasty.

"An army of 100,000, retreating without a fight? What was the prefect thinking?"

"What can you think? The Great Xia has mobilized 350,000 troops to attack you, are they just here to fight to the death? You want to fight? If you want to fight, then go back to Dongchuan City!"

"Hehe, just kidding. Caiqiu suffered three defeats in three battles, and his troop strength is not much different from that of Daxia. Our 100,000 troops, even if they rely on Dongchuan City, will probably not last more than a few days. It's better to retreat, it's better to retreat!"

"Not only the 350,000 troops, but I heard from the brothers in the vanguard that the Xia army also brought a very powerful siege weapon that even those at the Tribulation Realm couldn't withstand. Last night, the Second Prince and Mr. Fang Tianqing, a staff member of the Heyang Bafu, went to negotiate with the Xia army, but the Xia army refused to talk to them and attacked directly. Mr. Fang was almost killed by the Xia army."

"Good to know! Our Xichuan County is far from the southern border, so taking Dongchuan City won't be of much use. Look at what we've gained in the past six months since we occupied the city. The Great Xia sent people to block all the entrances along the Beining Mountain and Mo'ao Mountain. All military supplies have to be transferred from within the vassal state, which has wasted a lot of manpower and resources. We haven't gained any benefits at all. What's the point?"

"Speaking of which, I just remembered that I heard that all the military supplies for the past six months were transferred from our Xichuan. Yanling is so close, yet they haven't shown any appreciation whatsoever. Isn't that going too far?"

"That's exactly right! If they really take over the southern border region, won't it be Yanling County that benefits in the end? The Third Prince doesn't even care about the interests of the regional military governors in his quest for the throne, humph!"

"We took Dongchuan City for nothing, without paying any price. Returning it to Daxia now won't be a loss. Besides, we took everything we could from the city. All things considered, we've made a profit."

"Hehehe, that's right, that's right!"

………………

Unlike the usual scenes of retreating troops, the retreat in Chencang was filled with laughter and joy. Any occasional discontent was quickly drowned out by the mainstream and did not cause any ripples.

No one cherishes what they get without paying any price. This is not only a reflection of the soldiers' mentality at this moment, but also a reflection of human nature.

Taking Dongchuan City without losing a single soldier made Fang Tianqing, the advisor of the Heyang hegemony, famous throughout Chencang, but it also made the Chencang soldiers feel no psychological burden about the retreat at this moment.

Moreover, the past six months have been extremely difficult for them in Dongchuan City. Under the strict blockade by the Xia army, they were not even allowed to hunt in resource-rich areas. They could only hunt in the snowfields on both sides of Dongchuan City, which was far from enough to meet the massive needs of the 100,000-strong army.

All their supplies for the past six months have come from the transfer of materials from within the vassal state, transported from the Nine-Bend Blood Corridor. While the soldiers are not exactly pampered, these 100,000 men are all genuine military households from Chencang, and have never experienced hardship.

They had been holding back their anger for half a year, and hadn't really fought Xia Jun yet. Now that they were suddenly about to fight, and the other side had sent 350,000 troops all at once, it was perfectly normal for no one to want to fight.

After all, it was an army of 100,000. Even though the soldiers of Chencang were well-trained, the retreat was not easy. In addition, although the Great Xia did not send a large army to pursue them, the ground and air scouts never stopped. Out of caution, the generals of Chencang adopted a rolling retreat with alternating shifts.

Lu Qinghu led 20,000 vanguard troops at the forefront, He Tianxin led 60,000 central troops in the middle, and He Tianyuan led 20,000 rear guard troops at the rear. The three armies took turns leading and then rotating to the rear guard, thus retreating in an alternating manner to avoid a sudden attack from the Xia army on the rear.

It must be said that this method of retreat basically eliminated the Xia army's intention to launch a surprise attack on the rear. Even the scouts sent by the Great Xia could not get too close to the retreating army in Chencang.

"We've already passed Danxue Peak. It's the Central Army's turn to lead the way. Let the 60,000 Central Army troops enter the Blood Corridor first. The Vanguard and Rear Guard will remain at Danxue Peak. Once the Central Army has all entered, then we'll follow."

Soon, the vanguard of Chencang's army reached Danxue Peak. The winding Blood Corridor, the passage back to the vassal state, was in sight. General Lu Qinghu gave the final order and outlined the retreat plan.

Prefect Chu Tianhe was treating Fang Tianqing's injuries and did not travel with the army. At this moment, Lu Qinghu was the commander-in-chief of the entire army. Once he gave the order, the other generals naturally obeyed.

The 60,000-strong central army began to enter the Nine-Bend Blood Corridor in an orderly manner, embarking on the path back to their fiefdom.

No one noticed that the blood-red miasma that had previously shrunk to the center of the lake in the middle section of the Nine-Bend Blood Corridor began to tremble slightly.

The blood-red miasma slowly seeped into the water, then spread outwards in ripples, growing faster and faster...

(End of this chapter)