Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely

Chapter 1195: Chapter 403: Small Gathering and the Power of Great Xia, All 6 Towns Arrive

Qiu Peng heard this, and a look of curiosity appeared in his eyes. Thinking of the intelligence Lu Yang had sent back before, he couldn’t help but ask curiously, “I remember you once said that Beishuo Town has four elite troops, all of whom are at the Cold Resistance Level. In terms of numbers, they should be more than ours, right? Is Beishuo’s strength not as good as ours?”

“They’re called the Beishuo Army!”

After Lu Yang mentioned the designation of the Beishuo elite troops, a cold light flashed in his eyes, and he continued, “By the end of last year, the spies I had embedded in Beishuo City had completely figured out the situation of the Beishuo Army…”

As Lu Yang narrated, only then did Qiu Peng and the others understand why he concluded that even Beishuo could not rival the Great Xia.

Because the hidden passage connected to the Hanqiong station at East Ridge was extremely important to the Great Xia, in order to ensure the absolute security of this passage, Lu Yang had been extraordinarily careful during his years of infiltration in Beishuo, whether in penetration or espionage, always proceeding in an extremely discreet and slow manner.

As a result, not only was the intelligence gathered limited, but the authenticity of the intelligence often had issues.

For instance, the total number of Cold Resistance Level troops in Beishuo Town or the specific situation of the Beishuo Army, these are confidential town-level intelligence that is even harder to obtain.

Especially in previous years, the strength of their East Ridge people was lacking, and they didn’t even dare to enter Beishuo Town, so much of the intelligence relied solely on hearsay, and they even only dared to inquire from non-town members, making it even more difficult to ensure the authenticity of the intelligence.

“The so-called Beishuo Army in Beishuo Town is actually just one troop. The reason they claim to have four is that they temporarily assembled the Cold Resistance Level soldiers from the fifteen Defensive Armies into three armies. I had always wondered how Beishuo, with a total Cold Resistance Level of up to 6,000 troops, could form four Beishuo Armies. It was only after receiving a message from the spy that I understood this was the case.”

After Lu Yang finished speaking, he continued to smile at Qiu Peng, “I informed Minister at the end of last year, but it seems Minister didn’t tell you.”

Qiu Peng suddenly realized when he heard this, then thought of something, his eyes slightly lighting up as he asked, “Is it the same for the Golden Armor Army of Jinshan Town and the Mystic Armor Army of Wuchuan?”

Lu Yang nodded with a smile, “It’s about the same. Among the Northern Three Towns, Beishuo is indeed the strongest, and even they are like this. The so-called elite troops of Jinshan and Wuchuan towns are barely one troop at most.”

Upon hearing this, the brows of Qiu Peng and the other five immediately relaxed.

“With the chaotic military system of Moao Eight Towns, the combat power of individual armies basically can’t be compared to our Great Xia. If, as Lu Yang said, all three towns only have so much strength, then this deterrence won’t be an issue this time!”

Although they had not yet witnessed the elite units of the Northern Three Towns, from the situation of the Defensive Army of the Eight Towns, they could roughly infer the situation.

Last year, every battle between the Jiangxia and Bashang towns and the Dajue Temple was personally observed by Xia Hong, and if such a conclusion was reached purely by observation, it might seem a bit hasty. However, considering the actual cases of the wars at Yumen, Fushan, and Peak Mountain, there was no suspense.

“What I’m curious about now is exactly how many families will come along with the Three Towns. There should be no suspense for Chui Mountain, but for Yangqu and Dragon Valley towns, it’s hard to say, as for Jiangxia and Muyin families…”

“Murong Chui and Xiahou Zhang arrived just at dawn.”

Before Yuan Cheng could finish speaking, he was interrupted by Qiu Peng.

Upon hearing Qiu Peng’s words, the five people suddenly smiled.

“Then it’s basically settled!”

“I just wonder how the Lord will intimidate these scoundrels.”

“Will it be by strength, or some other means?”

“Relying on strength alone should be enough, right?”

“The Lord can single-handedly fight against the Five Great Masters and kill three of them, what are the likes of Yang Zhun to him but ants?”

……

While Qiu Peng and the other six were chatting and drinking in the main building.

The entire Hongmen City was almost bustling with excitement.

The external edict of the Beishuo Lord Yang Zhun had become common knowledge, from the people of the Eight Towns to the Earth-digging Realm at the village-level camps of each town.

Everyone knew that a confrontation that would decide the Moao South Slope Nine Towns’ situation for the next few years was about to begin at dawn.

At this point in time, naturally, no one could sleep.

Especially in the South City, almost every tavern was full, leaving many who couldn’t find a seat waiting on the street.

Individual feelings are insignificant after all. Although many knew that a lot of Cold Resistance Level soldiers had come to Hongmen City from various places, without seeing it firsthand, no one was truly aware of exactly how many people had arrived.

Until now, there was still half an hour before dawn when all the Cold Resistance Level people from South City came out to the streets, giving everyone a definite sense.

“There must be at least ten thousand people, right?”

“Isn’t this all the Cold Resistance Levels from all the village camps of the Eight Towns?”

“Village camps? Are you kidding? The Cold Resistance Levels of all the village-level camps in the Eight Towns combined are at most eight or nine thousand. Could there be so many?”

“Then why are there so many?”

“Because the town people are here too!”

“The town’s Cold Resistance Levels are here to watch the commotion too? Today the Nine Towns’ Lords are clashing, aren’t they afraid of their own Lord blaming them?”

“In Moao Eight Towns, town populations easily reach seven to eight hundred thousand, and each has at least three to four thousand at the Cold Resistance Level. Do you think everyone is that loyal?”

“Are you saying…?”

“A wise bird chooses a good tree to nest in; what’s there to be surprised about? You probably haven’t realized how many people have been clambering to join the Great Xia Town since Hongmen City opened in July. If the Great Xia hadn’t still refused to open its doors, it would’ve already attracted a large portion of the Eight Towns’ population.”

“Refused or feared? If the Great Xia publicly recruited people, the other towns aside, surely the Northern Three Towns would be the first to object?”

“That’s unclear, whether it’s a matter of refusal or fear, we’ll see the result today, won’t we?”

“Hehe, naive. The Great Xia may not publicly take people, but I bet they’ve secretly recruited a large number, countless spies and nails among the Eight Towns!”

“Is that true?”

“Fool, why do you think the Northern Three Towns are so eager to suppress the Great Xia?”

“Hongmen’s opening is stealing their thunder at the root; ambition, finances, strength, alchemy, casting, production… not a single one of the Northern Three Towns can compare with the Great Xia individually. If they don’t work together to suppress it, Moao South Slope will eventually be under the sole control of the Great Xia.”

“Then what should we…?”

“We? It’s a fight between immortals; it’s enough if it doesn’t affect us. What do you want to do? Just watch and hope the Great Xia can hold back the three towns! If the Great Xia gets suppressed this time, whether Hongmen City can continue will be in question.”

……

The discussion among the South City people was intense, and everyone’s eyes focused in the direction of the Great Xia Government Office main building, showing a kind of inexplicable anticipation in their eyes.

The closer it got to dawn, the quieter the noise in South City became.

Until daybreak, when all the Earth-digging Realms had returned to their rooms, and only the Cold Resistance Levels remained standing outside on the streets of South City, the atmosphere in the entire Hongmen City instantly turned solemn and silent.

“They’re here!”

Several beams of bright light suddenly appeared on the northern horizon, and someone among the crowd exclaimed, immediately causing everyone to look towards the north.