Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely

With more than a hundred people moving at once, the momentum was naturally considerable.

Even with Xia Hong's instructions, no one spoke.

But with over a hundred people walking together, even the sound of their footsteps on the snow became loud, not to mention other noises.

Fortunately, the north slope where the rat swarm was located wasn't far from the valley, less than two kilometers in total, and as the rat swarm migrated south, the distance was even shorter.

With so many people moving collectively, and all of them at the Lumbering Realm, Xia Hong was uncharacteristically generous and didn't detour through Redwood Ridge. After leaving the valley, he headed north directly along the foot of the mountain.

"Everyone stop, we're almost there!"

When they were still two hundred meters away from the north slope, Xia Hong raised his hand to stop the team.

He had already given the 'Freezing Grief' to Yuan Cheng, and he didn't bring his giant axe today either, holding a narrow blade in his hand.

The blade was wrapped in a sheath, making it impossible to tell if it was a sword or a saber. Judging from the sheath, it was only an inch wide, and about one meter seventy in length including the hilt.

Such a strange weapon had attracted the attention of many people when Xia Hong brought it out of the camp, but tonight there was a more important matter, so everyone temporarily suppressed their curiosity and didn't ask.

"Do as we discussed earlier. Xia Chuan, Luo Yuan, and Yuan Cheng, you three take half the people to guard the west side. Zhao Long, Zhao Hu, Zhao Bao, and the rest, follow me to climb the cliff and launch a main attack. Don't worry about the rats that escape north. Use arrows like crazy on those that run towards you!"

"Understood, Chief!"

Xia Chuan and the other five nodded solemnly and immediately dispersed to inform the people below.

Although they had already been divided into two teams before departure, Xia Hong's deployment still needed to be made clear to everyone, otherwise problems could easily arise later.

Xia Hong looked up and took one last look at the terrain of the cliff face, his expression slightly solemn.

Having come here so many times before, he already knew the terrain of the north slope of the cliff like the back of his hand, and the plan to deal with this group of rats had already been formulated.

The valley that Great Xia took over from the Rogge Camp was located on the due east side of Redwood Ridge, sandwiched between two mountains, each two to three thousand meters high.

The two high mountains each extended south and north, and Great Xia's previous earthen slope station was extended from the mountain on the south side.

The mountain on the north side also extended for four or five kilometers, and the stations of Chen Ye's and Lu Shang's camps were in this four- or five-kilometer-long mountain.

The station of Chen Ye's camp was less than two kilometers from the valley, and the rat swarm, now occupying the nest like a cuckoo, was entrenched on the hillside directly above its station cave.

The hillside was about a hundred meters above the ground. Only by climbing the west rock wall could one see the rat swarm on the slope.

The hillside was less than two kilometers south of the valley; to the east was the deeper, more mysterious, and more dangerous depths of the high mountains; to the north, the closest was the station of Lu Shang's camp, and further back was the arrow bamboo forest; to the west, down the rock wall, was Redwood Ridge.

"The depths of the high mountains to the east would be best if the rats are willing to go there; if they aren't willing to go, driving them a little further north is also fine. The only places they can't be allowed to go are the south and Redwood Ridge. Just guard these two passes. Whether they live or die depends on themselves!"

That's right, the purpose of this operation, which had been prepared for nearly a month, was not to eliminate this group of rats at all.

Xia Hong's goal from beginning to end was only to drive them away.

With nearly four hundred rats, it was already wishful thinking to completely eliminate them with Great Xia's current strength.

Finding a way to drive them away was the best policy.

The south was the valley, so of course the rats couldn't be allowed to pass; Redwood Ridge was the area where they had long been active. It wouldn't be a big problem for a small batch of rats to pass, but once the number increased, the valley's station still had the possibility of being discovered, which was too risky, so it wouldn't work either.

Walking to the bottom of the cliff and looking at the ten rattan ropes that had been set up in advance, Xia Hong turned his head and whispered to Zhao Long, who was closest to him:

"Everyone must remain quiet when climbing up, not making the slightest sound. Find a good position after going up and wait for my order!"

Zhao Long nodded and whispered to Zhao Hu next to him: "Everyone must remain quiet when climbing up, not making the slightest sound. Don't speak after going up either, find a good position, and wait for the Chief's order!"

Zhao Hu then continued to pass it on to Zhao Bao, and Zhao Bao passed it on to the others. In this way, it was passed down one by one, until all forty-eight people heard the instructions, and everyone turned their eyes to Xia Hong at the very front.

Xia Hong didn't speak again, but pointed to the rattan ropes with his hand.

Zhao Long and his two brothers took the lead in choosing three rattan ropes to climb up, followed by forty-eight people behind him, divided into ten groups, all climbing up along the ropes.

Xia Hong watched quietly below, and only after everyone had gone up did he follow at the very end and climb up.

On the cliff face was an area twenty meters long and only two or three meters wide, about a hundred meters away from the rat swarm on the north slope. There were only four trees in the middle, which didn't affect the view much.

This area was already small, and although more than fifty people had been divided into two rows and were all squatting, it was still full and crowded.

Xia Hong squeezed to the front, glanced at the rat swarm not far away, and was relieved to see that the vast majority were still asleep.

Then, without speaking, he took out a transparent pill from his pocket and gestured with his eyes to Zhao Long, who was closest to him.

Zhao Long nodded and immediately took out a pill identical to the one in his hand from his pocket, then nudged Zhao Hu on the side with his elbow.

Zhao Hu, receiving the signal, made the same action and then informed the next person.

As with the process of passing on the message just now, everyone else, after receiving the signal, took out a pill from their bodies that was exactly the same as the one in Xia Hong's hand.

"Thanks to this Green Saliva Fruit, the medicinal pot has combined the recipe for the Elementary Detoxification Pill, otherwise I really wouldn't dare bring people over here just with the Teng Jiao saliva!"

Xia Hong thought to himself, a look of relief on his face.

The saliva could only relieve the Teng Jiao's toxins through nasal inhalation and could not completely detoxify.

But at this moment, these Elementary Detoxification Pills in his and the others' hands, after taking them, could not only completely ignore the effects of the Teng Jiao toxins, but also, judging from the name, obviously had an effect on other types of elementary toxins as well.

The Green Saliva Fruit was the fist-sized fruit found on the tree where the Teng Jiao was entrenched during the last hunting. After bringing it back and identifying it with the medicinal pot last time, the recipe for the Elementary Detoxification Pill was immediately combined.

Even more fortunate was that, in the recipe for the Elementary Detoxification Pill, the most consumed material was Teng Jiao saliva. Although the Green Saliva Fruit was very important, only a little was needed for each batch.

The Elementary Detoxification Pill could produce 20 to 25 pills per batch. Xia Hong used up all of the Green Saliva Fruit in one go and refined ten batches in total. The hundred or so people going out tonight were each given two, which was more than enough.

Seeing that everyone had taken out the detoxification pills, Xia Hong took the lead in putting the detoxification pill into his mouth, and the others followed suit.

After the pill entered his stomach, Xia Hong gave the Zhao Long brothers a look.

Zhao Long, Zhao Hu, and Zhao Bao nodded and stood up. Each of them took out a fist-sized mass of blue meat from their pockets. A pure white round bead was wrapped in the middle of the meat mass, and white air currents were constantly surging on the bead.

The three of them each took a special iron arrow, then pierced the blue meat mass through the iron arrow and fixed it in the middle. They drew their bows and nocked their arrows, aimed at the rat swarm, and finally turned their heads to look at Xia Hong, obviously waiting for his order.

Xia Hong was not in a hurry, but turned to look at the others, held out two fingers, and said loudly:

"Two things, remember!

One, as soon as the poisonous fog spreads out, everyone, while ensuring accuracy, must shoot all thirty arrows on your bodies in the fastest possible time.

Two, the rats may tunnel over. If the arrows haven't been shot yet, you can find your own positions flexibly. Individual, cooperation, no matter what method you use, as long as you can kill them. Once the arrows in your hands are used up, run immediately, but don't run towards the valley, only run in the direction of Redwood Ridge!"

"Understood, Chief!"

With the experience of his previous life, Xia Hong had also thought about whether he should concentrate everyone and take turns firing, forming a continuous rain of arrows, which should have a stronger impact and lethality.

But after trying it once in the valley, he immediately gave up.

First of all, they only had a hundred or so people in total, too few people. The range of the rain of arrows formed by taking turns was too small, and it couldn't cause much large-area group damage at all.

Secondly, the alternating shooting method seeks speed, not accuracy. Even if the rats are hit by the Teng Jiao poisonous fog, their speed is not completely gone. If the accuracy is not good, then the arrows shot out are basically wasted.

With multiple factors superimposed, Xia Hong, after consideration, still chose to let everyone play freely. After all, they were all at the Lumbering Realm, possessing a basic strength of more than five thousand catties, plus the blessing of bows and arrows. As long as the hit rate was sufficient, hunting the rats affected by the Teng Jiao poisonous fog didn't seem difficult.

"Do it!"

Just now, when he was speaking, he had already alarmed a few of the waking rats. Xia Hong saw that some rats had already begun to make movements in this direction and immediately gave the order.

Whoosh… Whoosh… Whoosh…

As soon as Xia Hong's voice fell, Zhao Long and the other three, who had been waiting for a long time and pulled the longbows in their hands to a full moon shape, immediately let go.

Chih…

The moment the three special iron arrows rubbed against the bow body, they brought out a burst of fierce sparks, instantly igniting the fixed blue meat mass in the middle.

The three iron arrows were like fire meteors, flying fast and indomitable, pulling out a straight white smoke in the air, cutting through the silent night.

Zhao Long's arrow shot to the left, Zhao Hu in the middle, and Zhao Bao to the right.

The targets of the three people were almost just right to cut the entire rat swarm into three pieces, shooting directly at the three places.

Of course, they were not shooting at the open space.

Puchi…

The three brothers were of comparable strength. Not only did they fire iron arrows simultaneously, but their targets were also close in proximity. The three arrows pierced the heads of three gnawing rats almost at the same time. In the silent night, only a single sound was produced.

The three gnawing rats didn't even let out a cry before the arrows pierced their skulls, pinning them to the ground.

Bang…

At the same time, the blue meat on the iron arrows was completely burned through. The Teng Snake poison sac inside instantly exploded, and three thick white mists spread out, quickly enveloping the entire gnawing rat swarm and continuing to expand outwards.

Squeak, squeak, squeak…

Squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak…

Squeak, squeak…

As early as when the three gnawing rats were shot and killed, the rat swarm was already alarmed. But everything happened too fast. Only after the white mist spread did dense, continuous squeaks emerge.

Unlike the cries of ordinary rats, the roars and screams of hundreds of giant gnawing rats together were terrifying to the extreme.

"Everyone, find your own target, quickly!"

Although the white mist was thick, it thinned out quickly, not affecting visibility.

With Xia Hong's command, forty-eight people, plus the Zhao Long brothers, all drew their bows and aimed arrows, frantically firing continuous shots at the rat swarm in the white mist.

Swish… swish… swish…

Countless iron arrows flew close by. The wave of rats closest to the group hadn't even reacted before their bodies were filled with arrows. A dozen or so even had their pupils pierced, killed instantly with a single shot.

The gnawing rat swarm, caught off guard, all looked towards the group on the south side, baring their terrifying gnawing teeth, their eyes full of ferocious light.

"Squeak…"

A clear squeak suddenly rang out, and the gnawing rat swarm immediately began to move.

They were actually moving quickly towards the south side, despite the rain of arrows.

These evil creatures are actually not afraid!

Xia Hong could see very clearly that the actions of the gnawing rats enveloped in the Teng Snake poison mist had become very slow. In the first wave just now, everyone had basically shot more than three arrows. Although there were few one-shot kills, at least forty or fifty were seriously injured.

Despite suffering such heavy losses, the gnawing rat swarm was still trying to charge towards them!

Was that commanding squeak just now the leader of the rat swarm?

Xia Hong, whose gaze never left the gnawing rat swarm, didn't find anything unusual within the swarm. A fierce glint appeared on his face, and he shouted loudly to everyone.

"Continue to speed up the shooting, everyone press forward, find your own positions!"

Clang…

As Xia Hong's voice fell, he drew the extra-long weapon from his waist and led the charge from the slope.

"Charge!"

"Brothers, follow the leader and press forward! These beasts are poisoned. They still want to cause trouble from so far away? Kill them!"

"The leader is charging! What are we afraid of? Shoot from closer! I already hit two just now. These gnawing rats aren't that strong."

The pressure from hundreds of gnawing rats was still immense.

The shouts from the crowd were actually to cover up the fear in their hearts.

The Zhao Long brothers were truly the fastest to charge out with Xia Hong. Their strength was greater, and their fear was naturally less.

The others, under the leadership of a few people shouting, also followed from the slope one after another.

Of course, the reason everyone charged out wasn't to engage the gnawing rats in close combat.

When the gnawing rats charged towards them, they had already gathered from their original large mass. Xia Hong's purpose in ordering everyone to press forward was:

First, to find positions with a better view for shooting; second, to close the distance and improve accuracy; third, to purely boost their own morale and give the gnawing rats the greatest psychological pressure.

Xia Hong didn't doubt the intelligence of the cold beasts at all.

Especially the gnawing rats he had dealt with several times, their intelligence was definitely not low.

The north slope was only a little over a hundred meters away from them, with only four trees in between. After charging forward more than ten meters, the crowd automatically split into four groups, each occupying a large tree, using the trees as barriers, and began to frantically shoot at the approaching gnawing rat swarm.

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Swish… swish… swish… swish…

The sound of iron arrows whistling through the air echoed in their ears. Realizing that he was only a dozen meters away from the foremost gnawing rats, Xia Hong's gaze sharpened slightly. He put his hand behind his back and made a gesture to the rear, continuing to charge forward.

Seeing the gesture, everyone immediately understood. The iron arrows fired later were all raised a few degrees, no longer aimed at the front of the gnawing rat swarm.

And Xia Hong here had already collided with the gnawing rats at the forefront.

The extra-long weapon in his hand could be identified as a saber from its end.

But as a saber, its blade was too narrow, only an inch or so wide; at the same time, it was too long, even with the handle it was one meter and seventy centimeters. If it weren't for the blade, it would look like a long stick from afar.

Compared to the broadswords they had used before.

Everyone found this saber strange no matter how they looked at it.

However, Xia Hong, charging forward with the saber in both hands, quickly made everyone understand the terrifying power of the long saber in his hand.

At the instant he was about to make contact with the first gnawing rat, Xia Hong suddenly accelerated. He held the saber horizontally in both hands, and with his body charging forward, he suddenly slashed diagonally from right to left, creating a sharp saber light.

The gnawing rats that had been poisoned by the Teng Snake mist were slowed down and reacted sluggishly. Facing this suddenly accelerated saber light, they could only dodge in a panic.

Compared to other cold beasts, it was only one meter long and naturally more agile. With a light leap, it dodged to the side.

Tear…

However, its body had dodged.

But its tail didn't have time to retract.

Not to mention Xia Hong's basic strength, the attack range of this one-and-a-half-meter saber light was far beyond imagination. With one slash, it almost undoubtedly severed the gnawing rat's long tail, even severing many parts of the back half of its body along with it.

Pfft…

The gnawing rat, losing its balance due to the severed tail, only flailed a few times on the ground before Zhao Long, who was far away, pierced its skull with an arrow, pinning it to the ground.

"Leader, what's the name of this saber? It's so powerful!"

Zhao Long, who had finished off the gnawing rat with an arrow, looked at the long saber again, his eyes full of astonishment.

"Yi Saber."

Xia Hong spoke the name of the weapon in his hand, and without turning his head, continued to charge towards the other gnawing rats on the side, slashing and cutting in the air with both hands. The saber light that he brought out directly cut two or three gnawing rats along the way into two pieces, and even more had their tails severed.

The gnawing rats had small bodies and long tails. They were agile in their movements and much faster than other cold beasts. Using that heavy giant axe was obviously a bit unsuitable. Before helping the Zhao Long brothers forge those three ten-thousand-jin iron-wombed bows, Xia Hong had been thinking about what weapon he should use.

The broadsword could be used, but its advantage against the gnawing rat swarm wasn't obvious.

After considering for a long time, Xia Hong finally thought of the Yi Saber, one of the four types of Tang Sabers.

As the name suggests, the Yi Saber, when it first appeared, was used as a ceremonial instrument for the royal family or important occasions for a long time due to its length and exquisiteness, which could highlight solemnity and majesty. It had little practical significance.

However, in the Ming Dynasty, a famous general combined the Yi Saber with a spear and researched a set of methods suitable for capturing flags and generals on the battlefield, which gave the Yi Saber practical significance and re-promoted this weapon.

The Yi Saber is most suitable for charging into formations, fighting more with less, and because of its long blade, its attack range is wide enough, which has a miraculous effect on speed-type enemies.

The Yi Saber is simply the perfect weapon for dealing with gnawing rats, which are cold beasts with long tails, high speed, and large populations.

These are not just Xia Hong's guesses.

At this moment, Xia Hong is proving with action how effective the Yi Saber is against the gnawing rats.

As time slowly passed, the impact of the Teng Snake poison mist on the gnawing rats became greater and greater. Their speed became slower, and their reactions became more sluggish.

Xia Hong's Yi Saber was almost invincible. He slashed and cut all the way, and any gnawing rat he touched, even if its body wasn't cut open, would have its tail severed at least. The worst ones even had their heads chopped off directly.

Even if some were lucky enough to survive under Xia Hong's Yi Saber, they couldn't escape the subsequent deadly rain of arrows.

Xia Hong charged up, and in less than ten minutes before and after, the people guarding the trees had shot an average of four to five rounds, and the gnawing rat corpses on the ground had increased by another

fifty or sixty.

Adding the first wave before, the gnawing rat swarm had died at least sixty or seventy, and more than a hundred were seriously injured. This was almost a quarter of the gnawing rat swarm's population.

"I don't believe I can't kill you evil creatures!"

Although the original intention was to drive them away, if there was a chance to wipe them out, how could Xia Hong easily let it go? After muttering to himself, seeing that the gnawing rat swarm was still not retreating, the fierce light on Xia Hong's face became even stronger. He turned his head and shouted loudly to the people behind him:

"Continue to press forward, kill them all if they don't run!"

Xia Hong charged even more fiercely. The others surrounding the four trees, after hearing his shout, also moved forward again and launched a new round of offensive.

The Yi Saber flashed with cold light, and the iron arrows rained down like a storm.

There were only two kinds of sounds on the entire north slope of the mountain wall, one was the squeaking sound of the gnawing rats, and the other was the sound of iron arrows whizzing through the air.

Moreover, it was obvious that the former's voice was getting smaller.

"Digging into the ground? In your dreams!"

Xia Hong, who had just cut off the long tail of another gnawing rat, suddenly glanced to the side and found three or four gnawing rats, gnawing at the ground crazily with their gnawing teeth. Realizing that they wanted to dig into the ground, he immediately charged towards them.

Swish… swish… swish…

Under the influence of the Teng Snake poison mist, the digging speed of these gnawing rats was much slower than before. Before Xia Hong could get there, three iron arrows broke through the air from behind and went directly into the mouths of those gnawing rats.

The powerful penetrating power of the iron arrows directly pierced through their heads, and more than half of the arrows came out from behind.

"Leader, they're retreating, the gnawing rat swarm is retreating!"

Already engaged in close combat with the gnawing rats in front, Xia Hong didn't notice the situation behind him. Hearing Zhao Long's delighted shout, he quickly stopped his movements and looked towards the distance, a hint of joy immediately appearing on his face.

Sure enough, many gnawing rats had already begun to flee towards the west, and the remaining gnawing rats were also gradually following suit.

They're truly afraid!

"Slow down first, give them time to get down!"

After these rounds of attacks, Xia Hong knew without looking that everyone probably only had about ten arrows left. Since the gnawing rats were starting to retreat, the hit rate of supplementary shots would definitely not be high, so he immediately ordered everyone to slow down.

On the other side, the densely packed gnawing rat swarm that had come down from the western cliff, thinking they could escape, didn't even have time to enter Redwood Ridge before two iron arrows, identical to those on the northern slope, came flying with their poison sacs.

The two gnawing rats at the front were directly nailed and sent flying by the iron arrows, the poison sacs bursting open, replenishing the originally thinning white mist.

"Kill!"

Xia Chuan's clear and decisive voice rang out. Having been ready for a long time, the other forty-eight people, who could no longer restrain themselves, drew their bows and nocked arrows, unleashing another wave of rapid arrow rain upon the gnawing rat swarm that had just fled down in panic.

"Everyone, continue to shoot and kill, don't let them come back. Move towards the south, don't leave them a way out."

The panicked and disorganized gnawing rat swarm had just turned its head, wanting to return to the top of the cliff, when Xia Hong's stern voice came from the top of the slope.

Accompanying his voice were dozens of iron arrows whistling through the air.

The western Redwood Ridge was blocked, and the eastern cliff was also sealed off.

Moreover, Xia Hong was leading everyone to converge towards the south.

The gnawing rat swarm's doomsday seemed to have arrived.

Of course, they still had one way out, which was the north.

"I'd like to see if these beasts run or not!"

Xia Hong looked around at everyone, specifically checking the arrow quivers on their backs. He found that most people had seven or eight arrows left. His mind stirred slightly, and a bold idea emerged in his mind.

But after looking at the gnawing rat swarm and realizing that about two-thirds of them were still left, he immediately dismissed all the thoughts that had just arisen in his mind.

"Xia Chuan, Luo Yuan, continue to speed up and leave them all here!"

Xia Hong shouted loudly towards the people on the west side, and then gave the same order to the people behind him. He himself, as before, rushed towards the gnawing rat swarm below with a fierce aura.

The extra-long ceremonial sword once again unleashed its power. As in the situation on the northern slope, Xia Hong was like entering an uninhabited land, constantly pushing the outermost gnawing rats on the east side inward, killing six or seven of them in a short while.

The gnawing rats on the periphery constantly retreated and squeezed inward, clearly afraid.

But seeing this situation, although Xia Hong's hands were working hard, his heart was becoming more and more uneasy, and even his face was faintly turning a little ugly.

"Aren't these beasts afraid of being killed? They still won't run!"

Whether the gnawing rats were afraid, Xia Hong didn't know.

But he was really starting to panic!

Because he clearly felt that fewer and fewer arrows were being shot from behind him.

Zhao Long's group was about to run out of arrows.

Of course, Xia Chuan and Luo Yuan's group still had a lot of arrows.

But the current good situation was formed by a two-sided attack.

Once the gnawing rat swarm realized that there were no arrows on the east side, the consequences would be hard to say.

Without bows and arrows, a Woodcutter Realm cultivator in close combat with gnawing rats, even if they were affected by the Teng Jiao poison mist and their strength greatly reduced, would still be doomed!

"Still not leaving!"

Xia Hong gritted his teeth and moved forward, killing a few gnawing rats before charging for another distance.

It wasn't until he had almost charged to a position more than ten meters into the gnawing rat swarm that he finally saw from afar.

The gnawing rat swarm on the northernmost side was finally starting to retreat.

"Phew… … … …"