Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely

180: Chapter 131 The Entire Hunting Team Breaks Through 180: Chapter 131 The Entire Hunting Team Breaks Through The panic brought by the Deceitful Monster visibly spread throughout the camp.

Even knowing that the surrounding valleys are guarded by Coagulated Fire Oil, the fear in everyone’s hearts was unstoppable.

Not to mention those who haven’t yet broken through to the Logging Realm and are stationed at the camp; the members of the logging and collection teams who venture out feel it even more.

There is no solution; the pain previously caused by the Wood Puppet Monster left all with lasting shadows on their hearts.

Even Xia Hong, the leader, was filled with anxiety, let alone the rest of them.

Except for some naive children, everyone’s heart seemed to be covered with a layer of shadow, and their mood was not as light as before.

In such circumstances, naturally, there was much less laughter in the entire camp, and the atmosphere became tense and oppressive.

Xia Hong was not surprised by this atmosphere.

When he asked Xia Chuan to announce the matter of the Deceitful Monster, he had already anticipated it beforehand.

A tense and oppressive atmosphere, in the short term, can bring many benefits.

First, the cautiousness of the logging and collection teams when going out was much higher than before; they didn’t need reminders from the Camp Supply Station personnel to come and get Coagulated Fire Oil and torches themselves.

When going out, they also strictly followed Xia Hong’s rule of groups of ten, never out of sight of the team, resulting in fewer problems than before.

Secondly, the overall vigilance of the camp was rapidly improving.

Not to mention the gatekeepers, the degree of scrutiny was astounding; now there was even a dedicated team patrolling the valley; anytime someone went out, the return checks were numerous and extremely strict.

There was no choice; the fear of the Deceitful Monster was ingrained to the bone.

Better safe than sorry, the previous experiences of the three camps of Great Xia, Big Stone, and Luo Yuan were vivid reminders; once a Deceitful Monster infiltrated, it wasn’t something that a few deaths could solve.

Lastly, the matter of cultivating.

This tense and oppressive atmosphere made Xia Hong and the eight from the Earth-digging Realm, the below hunting team, logging team, collection team, and reserves, so that from top to bottom, everyone in the camp was noticeably more diligent and hardworking in their cultivation than before.

Within a few days after that, the number of people breaking through to the Earth-digging Realm was enough to see it.

On learning that a new Deceitful Monster appeared on January 17, Xia Hong ordered Xia Chuan to spread the word and then summoned all the current Earth-digging Realm members of the camp, heading straight to the Blacksmith Room.

Perhaps because the news was spread, the Hunting Team felt immense pressure, and Hong Gang, originally expected to take about ten days to break through to the Earth-digging Realm, surprisingly did it on the second day.

Hong Gang’s breakthrough wasn’t the end; two days later, Li Pingkai, Ying Xuan, and Yue Feng also broke through simultaneously.

As soon as the news broke, all the Earth-digging Realm members in the Blacksmith Room erupted in a heated discussion.

“Originally these four were estimated to take about ten days; who would have thought they would all break through in just three days.”

“The Hunting Team consists of fifteen people, so now only Qiu Peng, Zhu Shun, and Zou Yuankai haven’t broken through!”

“Twelve Earth-digging Realm members, once the leader breaks through the Cold Resistance Level, even that Mirror Immortal Camp won’t be something we need to fear.”

“There have been a lot of people breaking through to the Logging Realm during this time; I guess the total should be nearing three hundred by now?”

“Not yet, 283 people, but at this rate, it’ll be soon!”

Hearing Xia Chuan mention that there were 283 in the Logging Realm, Yuan Cheng felt invigorated, turning back to suggest to Xia Hong, who was still hammering the bow mold: “Leader, we can venture into the inner perimeter to take a look at the Intermediate Cold Beast.”

The others, upon hearing this, all turned their heads with expectant expressions.

They all knew that the key to breaking through to the Cold Resistance Level was the Intermediate Cold Beast Blood.

Everyone was well aware that, with Great Xia’s current strength, they surely couldn’t handle either the powerful and arrogant Mirror Immortal Camp or the newly appeared enigmatic Deceitful Monster by themselves.

The recent frenzy of training was motivated by this idea.

But training is one thing; they also knew that given Great Xia’s total population, even with many in the Earth-digging Realm or Logging Realm, it wasn’t as valuable as adding another Cold Resistance Level expert.

In truth, it wasn’t just these people; the entire camp was eagerly anticipating Xia Hong’s breakthrough to the Cold Resistance Level.

Clang… clang… clang…

Hearing Yuan Cheng’s words, Xia Hong’s hammering did not cease; he merely spoke in a deep voice, “No need to rush into Redwood Ridge; let’s wait a few more days and finish the bow first.

Intermediate Cold Beast is no joke.”

Upon hearing this, everyone recalled the Rat King they had seen before and nodded.

Given the strength shown by the Rat King when poisoned that evening, the difficulty of hunting an Intermediate Cold Beast would likely be incredibly high.

Without proper preparation, not only hunting but even survival might be uncertain.

Xia Hong suppressed everyone’s thoughts of venturing out and remained at the camp; every day, it was either the Blacksmith Room or the mine.

With twelve Earth-digging Realm members, whether mining or forging, the efficiency was incomparable to before; the system’s iron ore reserves seemed to rise by over 400 units daily, even without his participation in mining.

Four days later, that is, the First Year of the Great Xia, January 24.

An even more pleasant surprise occurred.

“Leader, there’s good news!”

“Come in.”

While cultivating on the third floor, Xia Hong heard Xia Chuan’s voice from outside and immediately paused, then sat on the main seat.

The door opened, and Xia Chuan entered with a smile on his face, accompanied by three others.

Upon seeing those three, without Xia Chuan even speaking, Xia Hong had a guess in his mind and stood up directly from his chair.

“Broken through?”

“Leader, we have fulfilled the mission!”

The three bent forward in respect, speaking simultaneously with tones filled with excitement.

The three brought by Xia Chuan were Zou Yuankai, Qiu Peng, and Zhu Shun—the last three in the Hunting Team who hadn’t broken through yet.

Previously, Xia Hong had speculated that among the 15 members of the Hunting Team, apart from the first wave of six, the rest had a similar starting line.

The time of breakthrough wouldn’t differ by much.

As expected, the three broke through to the Earth-digging Realm just four days apart from the previous batch.

“Alright, Xia Chuan, inform all Hunting Team members to go to the Camp Supply Station to fetch bows.

Tonight, join me in Redwood Ridge to get a sense of the Intermediate Cold Beast.”

“Yes, Leader!”

Xia Chuan nodded enthusiastically; he had been waiting for a long time.

Just after breaking through, being able to go into the inner side with Xia Hong, and moreover, getting to see the Intermediate Cold Beast, Zou Yuankai and the other two looked especially excited.

Luo Yuan, Yuan Cheng, the Zhao Long brothers, Huang Yong…

the entire Hunting Team quickly gathered by the notification of Xia Chuan in the Camp Supply Station’s warehouse on the second floor.

“Fetching bows?

Isn’t it just applying Coagulated Fire Oil and bringing a few torches?

We have Five-stone Bows already, so what’s the need to fetch?”

Hot-tempered Hong Gang exclaimed, and Yue Feng and the others who broke through with him at the same time displayed similar confusion.

Since the Ten Thousand Pounds Iron Embryo Bow was made, to distinguish different levels, the Camp Supply Station classified a thousand pounds as one stone, five thousand pounds Iron Core Bow as a Five-stone Bow, and ten thousand pounds as ten stones, used by Hong Gang and others within a few days.

However, Luo Yuan, Yuan Cheng, Zhao Long, and a few others earlier let out a few low laughs, appeared to know more than Hong Gang as they had been staying in the Blacksmith Room with Xia Hong for several days.

“Gentlemen, the bows, Coagulated Fire Oil, and torches are ready.”

Shi Ping and a few others from the Camp Supply Station emerged, soon distributing fifteen pitch-black Iron Core Bows, accompanied by a quiver of arrows, to everyone.

At the instant of receiving the Iron Core Bow, Hong Gang’s expression was immediately stunned.

“Ha ha ha, now that we’ve broken through the Earth-digging Realm, how can Five-stone Bows suffice?

What the leader lets us fetch are Ten-stone Bows, and these arrows are uniquely crafted at seven pounds each.”

The later-breaking Earth-digging Realms, including Hong Gang, finally realized and fondled the Iron Core Bow in their hands, looking extremely excited.

“Don’t be too pleased too soon; these Ten-stone Iron Bows are only for temporary use in hunting.

To get one, you still have to use Contribution Value like others, 2000 points; not a single point less!”

Xia Chuan’s words instantly calmed everyone down as they unanimously turned their eyes with envy towards Luo Yuan.

“Heh heh!”

Luo Yuan grinned mischievously and deliberately showcased his bow to them.

“Don’t get too complacent; as long as tonight we can hunt a few low-level Cold Beasts, my Contribution Value can also exchange for a Ten-stone Iron Bow.”

“I’m almost there too.”

The Zhao Long brothers, who most coveted the Ten-stone Iron Bow, couldn’t help but speak out as they saw Luo Yuan showing off.

“Alright, pack your stuff well.

The monthly rental for a Ten-stone Iron Bow is 50 Contribution Points, so make sure you carry it safely outside and don’t lose it.”

Such a rental price didn’t bother anyone at all.

The Five-stone Bow’s rental price was 10 Contribution Points per month, and though the Ten-stone Bow’s rental seemed five times as much, its functionality was far superior.

Based on last time’s battle against the Rodent swarm, even just two people with Ten-stone Bows could collaborate to hunt low-level Cold Beasts.

A single low-level Cold Beast could yield at least two to three hundred Contribution Value.

With this calculation, a 50 Contribution Point monthly rental was incredibly worthwhile.

“Leader!”

Xia Chuan suddenly lifted his head to look at the entrance, his expression turning solemn.

Hearing this, the others turned as well to see Xia Hong entering from outside, immediately ending their conversations and bowing in respect.

With the Yi Blade hanging at Xia Hong’s waist, he nodded at them before moving forward, also grabbing a bow and arrows slung on his back, and after applying Coagulated Fire Oil, turned to inquire:

“Is everything ready?”

“All prepared, Leader.”

“Tonight we’ll enter Redwood Ridge, possibly going more than a kilometer deep, so stay alert.

I don’t want anyone having issues; the Intermediate Cold Beast isn’t necessarily weaker than that Long-tailed Rats King you’ve seen.

Stay cautious once inside and act on my orders, understood?”

“Understood!”

Fifteen Earth-digging Realm members shouted in unison, their strong voices causing the wooden panels around the room to tremble unceasingly.

The fifteen members of the Hunting Team had been hunting together for over half a year, and Xia Hong certainly trusted them.

In theory, a team venturing more than a kilometer deep into Redwood Ridge to search for an Intermediate Cold Beast should be smaller in size; Xia Hong wouldn’t have brought so many people if he didn’t trust them.

Moreover, Xia Hong’s target wasn’t simply to find an Intermediate Cold Beast.

If possible, hunting was definitely the aim.

Otherwise, what was the purpose of making thirteen Ten Thousand Pounds Iron Embryo Bows in one go?

“Alright, let’s set off!”

At Xia Hong’s command, he was the first to head downstairs.

The fifteen well-equipped members quickly followed him.

Under the envious and admiring gazes of everyone in the camp, the sixteen moved out of the valley, blending into the night, swiftly heading towards the direction of Redwood Ridge.