Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely

True to his name, Hou Hu's appearance was not much different from what Xia Hong had imagined.

He was about 1.8 meters tall, with a slender build. He wore black clothes similar in material to those worn by Hou Tong and the others, and his hair was styled into a slicked-back do, revealing a forehead that was noticeably wider than average.

Not only his forehead, but his facial features were also larger than average, inexplicably giving off an air of magnanimity and dominance.

He held a silver staff with a coiling dragon pattern, about ten feet long. Even though he was being chased, his brow seemed flustered, but whenever the old man's broadsword came down from behind, he could always raise his staff to accurately protect himself, even using the force of the old man's broadsword to increase his own running speed.

Obviously, he always knew the distance between himself and the old man behind him.

Whoosh…

Another violent blade of wind came from behind. Sensing that this strike was far more powerful than before, Hou Hu's brow suddenly tightened. While raising his staff, his body also suddenly flipped over, holding the staff horizontally above his head to block.

Bang…

The broadsword slashed down, creating a streak of light, and clashed fiercely with the staff. Although most of the force was blocked by Hou Hu's staff, a small portion of the force leaked out.

But even this small portion of leaked force formed a shockwave when it hit the ground, not only directly blowing away the snow on the ground, forming an open area more than ten meters in diameter, but even causing the ground to sink suddenly, collapsing more than ten centimeters.

Looking at Hou Hu, who bore the brunt of the force, although the staff was not broken, the hands holding the staff trembled non-stop, and the panic in his eyes was obviously much greater than before.

This strike not only made Hou Hu more panicked, but also allowed Xia Hong, hidden in the dark, to see the old man's appearance clearly.

Longshan seemed to favor white. The old man also wore a white robe, dotted with silver thread patterns. His full head of silver hair was tied behind his head. Although it was meticulously groomed, the wrinkled face and the slightly hunched figure still betrayed the undeniable fact that he had been eroded by the years.

Only those eyes, now wide with anger, combined with the posture of furiously slashing with the silver ghost-head broadsword in his hand, could still give people a sense of intimidation that Lian Po was not old.

Of course, what Xia Hong saw clearly at this moment was not just the old man's appearance.

"Hou Hu has seventeen bristles of strength, about the same as me. Li Tiancheng has been chasing him all the way from Longshan to here, so even if he's stronger than him, he probably isn't much stronger!"

While seeing through the strength of the two, Xia Hong's expression also became strange.

Last May, when he fought that advanced snow bristle beast, his strength had already reached twelve bristles. Now, almost a year has passed. Although he still hasn't figured out how to use the jade bone, just by absorbing the cold light, his strength has now increased to seventeen bristles.

Despite this, Xia Hong could still feel that he had not yet reached the next stage of the Cold Resistance level. At least, the flesh and blood gave him the feeling that it was only steadily strengthening, and there was no obvious stage change.

According to what Hou Tong had overheard on the north side of the hive, the current Hou Hu is at the peak of the Cold Resistance level.

Peak of the Cold Resistance level, with only seventeen bristles of strength?

The dividing lines for the three grades of battle physiques when breaking through the Cold Resistance level are 200,000, 160,000, and 120,000, respectively.

But this is the strength at the time of the initial breakthrough. People with the three types of battle physique aptitude, when cultivating at the Cold Resistance level on this basis, will naturally have different levels of subsequent strength increase. This is very normal.

What Xia Hong is most curious about now is what level of battle physique Hou Hu and Li Tiancheng have, so that he can deduce how the subsequent strength increase in Cold Resistance level cultivation is calculated.

Of course, now is not the time for him to be curious.

Hou Hu, who had just been slashed into the ground by Li Tiancheng, had already fled in a panic. The distance between him and the Blood Guard Army was clearly only three hundred meters, but this distance of three hundred meters, under Li Tiancheng's obstruction, was as difficult to cross as a chasm.

The east side had already become a battleground. Both Longshan and Zhaoyang obviously realized how critical the situation was. From the Cold Resistance level to the ordinary soldiers, they had all put in their best efforts. One side wanted to break through the blockade to rescue Hou Hu, while the other side was desperately trying to stop them, even at the cost of their lives.

There were as many as sixteen Cold Resistance level cultivators on the Longshan side, while there were only eight on the Zhaoyang side. Adding the injured Yu Bin and the other three, there were only eleven. In the confrontation of high-end combat power, Zhaoyang was obviously at a disadvantage.

But the problem is that the number of Blood Guard Army soldiers is more than three times that of the Longyou Army.

The Cold Resistance level is strong, but it is obviously not easy to use against such a fully armed army. Just as the Longyou Army can deter the Cold Resistance level cultivators of Zhaoyang, the blood-colored arrows shot by the Blood Guard Army can also injure the Cold Resistance level cultivators of Longshan.

"The front army charges, the rear army shoots arrows. If three hundred people can't break through, are you all trash? If the leader is lost, we will all be trapped here. Charge over for me!"

"Brothers, charge!"

"Save the leader, follow me and kill."

"Why should Longshan suppress us? Charge…"

…

The roar of the big man from Zhaoyang immediately aroused the roars of the Blood Guard Army. The front row of the army once again took out their desperate energy, wielding their swords and rushing madly towards the Longyou Army, while hundreds of people in the back row took out their bows and arrows, frantically shooting at the Cold Resistance level cultivators of Longshan in the front row, restricting their movements.

For the humans in the Ice Abyss Camp, hunting cold beasts is a necessary lesson. To be able to become a member of the army, the archery level is almost never weak. This is true for the Longyou Army, and it is also true for the Blood Guard Army.

Swish… Swish… Swish…

Hundreds of thousands of blood-colored arrows came swiftly from the back row, all targeting the Cold Resistance level cultivators of Longshan. Li Xuanyan and the other sixteen Cold Resistance level cultivators, who were frantically slaughtering the Blood Guard Army in the front row, immediately changed their actions when they felt the blood arrows coming.

At the same time, the big man led ten Cold Resistance level cultivators, leading the Blood Guard Army to gradually encroach forward, constantly shortening the distance with the leader Hou Hu.

"Chen Yingyuan, Peng Bo, what are you still standing there for?"

Seeing that the Blood Guard Army was about to break through the blockade, Li Xuandu couldn't help but roar at Chen and Peng, who had been standing by, signaling them to take action and help.

Hearing the sound, Chen and Peng saw the Blood Guard Army gradually gaining momentum in the field. A hint of hesitation flashed across their faces at the same time, but they quickly reacted and rushed up directly.

They have already stood on the Longshan side. If they defect at this time, offending Longshan is secondary. The key is whether Zhaoyang will accept them with confidence?

As the two rushed onto the battlefield, the Blood Guard Army, which was originally moving forward, immediately stagnated for a few breaths. Although they continued to advance, the speed was much slower.

At this critical moment, the addition of two Cold Resistance level cultivators can indeed play a significant role. After all, Li Tiancheng has already pushed Hou Hu to the brink, and it is indeed not far from killing him.

Although everyone on the battlefield who was fighting to the death had become emotionally high, their eyes would occasionally glance towards the west side. The Longshan side was waiting for Li Tiancheng to kill Hou Hu quickly; while the Zhaoyang side was full of worry, hoping that Hou Hu could escape alive as soon as possible.

"It can still be fought for a while. How many people have died now? Wait a little longer…"

Xia Hong, hidden in the dark, glanced slightly at the battlefield, seeing that the number of soldiers who had fallen on both sides was less than one-tenth of the battlefield, his expression flashed slightly, and he continued to turn his head to look at Li Tiancheng and Hou Hu.

Whoosh…

Li Tiancheng's ghost-head broadsword was once again blocked by Hou Hu's long staff, but he suddenly changed from chopping to slicing, the broadsword extending along the front end of the staff, all the way to Hou Hu's neck, and suddenly slashing away.

The snowflakes in the air shattered inch by inch, the blade swept through with violent force, drawing a semi-circular arc of light, solidifying the surrounding air. The blade was almost贴 on Hou Hu's neck, and even a tiny bloodstain could be seen with the naked eye.

"Evil Tiger, pay with your life!"

Li Tiancheng looked down at Hou Hu, the killing intent in his eyes almost condensed into substance, and the ghost-head broadsword in his hand suddenly pressed down, expanding the bloodstain on Hou Hu's neck by more than a centimeter.

Gurgle…

Any further, and he would surely die!

Feeling the pain in his neck, and the blood flowing to his chest, the panic on Hou Hu's face increased a bit, and then he thought of something, his eyes completely became hysterical, looking up at Li Tiancheng, roaring angrily:

"Old thing, do you think you are Li Tianhua? Want to kill me? Dream on!"

Before he finished speaking, Hou Hu had already retracted the long staff used for blocking, stopped his frantically retreating body, allowing the broadsword to press down on his neck, gritting his teeth and enduring the pain, while raising the long staff behind his back with both hands, swinging it in a circle from left to right, and suddenly sweeping towards Li Tiancheng's left shoulder in front of him.

Whoosh… Roar…

The gale swept out by the long staff roared up, sweeping the snow on the surrounding ground, raising snow mist tens of meters high, and the force was terrifyingly visible.

The coiling dragon pattern attached to the staff seemed to come alive at the moment he swept it out, and the howling gale turned into an angry roar of an unknown cold beast.

Li Tiancheng's eyes were solemn, looking at the long staff sweeping from the left, he gritted his teeth and did not dodge, but continued to press the knife down on Hou Hu's neck to chop.

Hou Hu ignored the crisis in his neck, using his life to swing this staff, betting that Li Tiancheng would not dare to take it head-on; but Li Tiancheng's ruthlessness also came up, he didn't care about this staff, risking injury, he would kill Hou Hu.

The ferocity of the two was aroused, choosing to fight hard.

Bang…

The long staff hit Li Tiancheng's left shoulder. Although there was no sound of bones breaking, Li Tiancheng's body inevitably flew to the right for a distance of five or six meters, hitting the ground with a bang, raising a large cloud of snow mist.

Hou Hu was also shaken back seven or eight meters by the broadsword, the long staff almost slipped from his hand. After standing firm, he quickly took out a handful of medicinal powder from his arms and covered the wound on his neck. Judging from the blood seeping out from between his fingers, the wound that Li Tiancheng's broadsword had made on his neck must have been deep.

More importantly, Hou Hu should have a premonition of Li Tiancheng's injury. He stared at the cloud of snow mist, with not a trace of anticipation in his eyes, and his expression was extremely ugly.

“Cough, cough… I’m old, truly old. To think that a little whelp who used to follow Big Brother and practice martial arts could actually push me this far!”

The aged coughing came from within the snowy mist. Li Tiancheng's lament was ostensibly an admission of aging, but his tone clearly carried a hint of triumph.

At the same time, his referring to Hou Hu as a "little whelp" seemed to indicate that, in their recent exchange, he, the old-timer, had ultimately gained the upper hand.

The snowy mist dissipated, and Li Tiancheng's figure slowly emerged. Although his left shoulder was a bloody mess, with even the white bone visible, his gait was not at all distorted. He gripped the ghost-head broadsword in his right hand, walking step by step towards Hou Hu, his aged face filled with murderous intent.

“Thinking you could turn the world upside down just because Big Brother isn't here? Prepare to die!”

Compared to Li Xuanyan's indecisiveness, Li Tiancheng was much more decisive. Before his words even finished, he charged straight towards Hou Hu, raising his blade to cleave down on his head.

Hou Hu was still covering his neck with his right hand. In his haste, he first raised his left hand to block.

But his strength was inherently inferior to Li Tiancheng's, especially with only one hand.

Crack…

The broadsword struck the long staff. This time, there was no blocking effect as before. Hou Hu's left hand dislocated with a cracking sound. Although he subsequently used his right hand for support, it was already too late.

The long staff was forced down onto his chest by the broadsword, and the blade's tip had already cut open his forehead, leaving a vertical bloodstain on his face.

Even more fatal was that the wound on his neck, without the support of his right hand, and coupled with his exertion of all his strength to resist the broadsword, immediately burst open.

Pfft…

Blood spurted out. Only then did everyone see clearly that the wound on Hou Hu's neck was actually more than ten centimeters long. Judging from the way the blood was spurting, the depth was obviously far beyond what everyone had expected.

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With the neck wound rupturing and his face being crushed by the broadsword, the hysterical energy within Hou Hu was finally dispelled by fear. His face filled with terror, he looked up at Li Tiancheng and pleaded:

“Uncle Tiancheng…”

Clang…

However, after only uttering one word, Hou Hu's sentence was cut short.

Not because Li Tiancheng had succeeded, but because someone had intervened to save him!

A narrow long saber suddenly attacked from the lower flank, abruptly deflecting Li Tiancheng's ghost-head broadsword. Subsequently, it pressed its advantage, continuing to charge towards the retreating Li Tiancheng.

The blade of that long saber was extremely narrow, but its length was astonishing. It moved with lightning speed, drawing more than a dozen arcs in the air in just a few breaths, instantly forcing Li Tiancheng back more than ten meters.

Not only that, but the wielder of the saber specifically targeted Li Tiancheng's injured left shoulder.

Li Tiancheng's expression slightly hardened the moment his broadsword was deflected. As he was forced back by the long saber, he sensed the strength of the saber's master, which was no weaker than Hou Hu's, and his expression became incomparably grave.

“Seeing that you're already quite old, bullying the young is not right!”

A frivolous voice came from behind the long saber. Li Tiancheng, having been completely forced back, steadied himself and saw the owner of the long saber. His pupils instantly contracted slightly.

The owner of the long saber was actually just a young man in his early twenties.

The young man had a dull appearance, looking somewhat ordinary, but the black clothes he wore were obviously made of extraordinary material. The narrow long saber in his hand, although made of ordinary iron ore, had more than a thousand forging patterns on it.

Thousand-forged weapons, Longshan of course had them, but thousand-forged weapons that could withstand collisions with silver ghost-head broadswords did not exist.

This could only mean that the forging technique of the long saber in the young man's hand was much stronger than Longshan's. A thousand-forged weapon could actually directly clash with a silver weapon.

Not only was Li Tiancheng looking at Xia Hong, but at this moment, Hou Hu, including everyone on the eastern side who was engaged in battle, had also noticed him.

“Thank you, brother, for your help. Zhaoyang's Hou Hu is extremely grateful!”

Hou Hu, with his right hand still covering his neck, looked at Xia Hong with a face full of surprise.

He didn't recognize Xia Hong, but the fact that the other party had saved him was a reality. Moreover, judging from Xia Hong's earlier statement about bullying the young, this seemed to be just a passerby, simply drawing his sword to help when he saw injustice.

Unlike Hou Hu's face full of surprise, Li Tiancheng, as well as Li Xuanyan and the other Cold Resistance level experts from Longshan on the eastern side, now had much more unpleasant expressions.

Especially after hearing Hou Hu's subsequent words, realizing that he didn't know this person, they couldn't help but curse in their hearts.

Just one step, just one step, Second Uncle could have killed Hou Hu.

Suddenly, someone popped up to save him.

How could this be, how could this be!

…

Chen Yingyuan had seen him before, so Xia Hong naturally wouldn't show his true face. The identity of the Great Xia leader should not be exposed in Longyou for the time being, as it would be detrimental to subsequent actions.

Thinking that Chen Yingyuan had seen him and even fought with him, Xia Hong turned his head to look towards the battlefield on the eastern side, his gaze accurately locating Chen Yingyuan in the crowd.

Chen Yingyuan seemed to sense something and immediately met his gaze. The moment he saw the long saber in Xia Hong's hand, his pupils shook violently, obviously realizing something.

However, the next second, he saw a very obvious threat in Xia Hong's eyes.

Chen Yingyuan's body trembled slightly, and he immediately turned his head to look elsewhere.

Very good, a smart person!

Regardless of what the others were thinking, Xia Hong, after threatening Chen Yingyuan, turned his head to continue looking at Li Tiancheng, his eyes full of fighting spirit, and his expression also carrying a hint of eagerness.

He really wanted to exchange blows with Li Tiancheng.

While forcing the other party back just now, Xia Hong could also feel that Li Tiancheng's strength should be around 20 bristle, only one or two levels higher than his own.

With such strength, even if it was a strong young man, Xia Hong wouldn't be afraid at all.

Moreover, the Li Tiancheng in front of him was already old and frail.

However, Li Tiancheng obviously had no desire to exchange blows with him.

Looking at Hou Hu, who had already run back to the front of the Blood Guard Army, Li Tiancheng's face revealed a hint of regret for his near success. Finally, he sighed softly and said to Xia Hong:

“Friend, are you from Pingxi?”

For Li Tiancheng to use the term 'friend' was enough to prove that the strength Xia Hong had just displayed had already earned his respect.

Li Xuanyan and the other Cold Resistance level experts from Longshan, looking at Hou Hu who had escaped death, had extremely heavy expressions on their faces. In the end, they all turned to look at Xia Hong, their expressions full of resentment and hostility.

“No need to ask more, I just drew my sword to help when I saw injustice. I've always disliked old men, especially old men like you who rely on their age to kill people indiscriminately. I dislike them even more. When I encounter them, I naturally have to intervene!”

Xia Hong had no intention of saying more to Li Tiancheng. After all, the more he said, the easier it would be to reveal his true colors. After making up a bunch of nonsense, he directly turned his head to look at Hou Hu and smiled:

“Brother, I saved your life. Shouldn't you…”

Hou Hu was very sensible. Before Xia Hong could finish his words, he understood what he meant and directly interrupted him, saying loudly with cupped fists: "Your Excellency's life-saving grace, Hou Hu will never forget it. From top to bottom in Zhaoyang, we will definitely treat Your Excellency as an honored guest in the future. Whatever my Zhaoyang camp has that Your Excellency takes a fancy to, Hou Hu will definitely offer it with both hands!"

“Good, straightforward and quick-spoken. I didn't help for nothing today.”

Xia Hong feigned a simple-minded and forthright demeanor, clapping his hands and laughing loudly, as if he and Hou Hu were truly kindred spirits who hit it off at first sight. He laughed loudly and cupped his fists:

“I am Hong Xia, I have met Head Hou!”

Seeing Xia Hong's simple appearance, Hou Hu's eyes instantly lit up. Especially recalling the powerful strength he had just used to force back Li Tiancheng, his expression became even more fervent, and he couldn't help but invite: "If Brother Hong doesn't mind, please follow me to the Zhaoyang camp, so that Hou Hu can do his best to be a good host, how about it?"

“I couldn't ask for more!”

Hou Hu's face was already beaming with smiles, and he was even happier in his heart.

On the other hand, Li Xuanyan, Li Xuantian, and the other people from Longshan, seeing the two of them becoming acquainted so quickly, and Xia Hong even agreeing to visit Zhaoyang as a guest, had extremely unpleasant expressions on their faces.

Only Li Tiancheng remained standing in place, looking at Xia Hong without saying a word. After more than ten breaths, he turned to look at Li Xuanyan and the others, and said in a deep voice:

“Pack up and go back. Today's matter ends here!”

After saying that, he didn't even look at Hou Hu again and directly turned to walk towards Longshan.

“Hahahaha…”

Hou Hu looked at Li Xuanyan and the others, the mockery on his face undisguised. He laughed loudly a few times and directly turned to wave his hand domineeringly at the strong man beside him:

“Hou Hua, take the men back. We're going back to Zhaoyang to entertain our distinguished guest.”

“Yes, Head!”

The strong man, Hou Hua, agreed with a smiling face.

Not only him, but all the Cold Resistance level experts in the Zhaoyang camp, including the Blood Guard soldiers below, also showed triumphant smiles on their faces.

Corresponding to them was the dejectedness of the Longshan people.

Obviously, the first round of confrontation between the new nobility and the old hegemon ended with a complete victory for the new nobility of Longyou, the Zhaoyang camp.

And this was just the beginning!

Next, the situation that Longshan would face would be even more dire.

“Brother Hong, please!”

Seeing Hou Hu's invitation, Xia Hong showed a simple and honest smile, inserted the ceremonial saber back into its scabbard, nodded, and walked side by side with him towards the eastern side.