Chapter 114: Survival Against All Odds [Combined Chapter]

Xia Hong’s serious tone made it easy for everyone gathered around to sense the unspoken meaning behind his words; after a brief silence, one person stepped forward immediately.

“Leader, tell us what to do—I’ll follow your orders.”

The first to step forward was not one of the original Daxia people, but Zou Yuankai, a former member of Luo Ge’s camp and now part of the hunting team.

As Zou Yuankai finished speaking, Yuan Cheng, Hong Gang, Huang Yong, and other members of the hunting team, as well as the logging and foraging teams, all stood up one after another, voicing their support to Xia Hong.

“The rodent swarm is coming—we won’t survive if we do nothing. Leader, just say what you need done; if you need me, Yuan Cheng won’t hesitate.”

“That’s right—we’ve been sitting here doing nothing while the leader and others risk their lives outside. Now that we finally have a chance to contribute, I’ve been waiting for this day—speak plainly, Leader!”

“Whatever you order, I’ll be the first to charge forward!”

………

Sitting in his chair, Xia Hong listened to the continuous declarations, watching the determination and fearlessness on their faces, and felt deeply moved.

These who stepped forward weren’t just hunting team members or logging and foraging teams—nearly every woodcutting cultivator in the camp was present, and even ordinary reservists standing at the back joined in.

Since the relocation and camp merger, nearly seven months had passed; now, for the first time, Xia Hong truly realized that everyone in Daxia Camp had shed their divisions—before this disaster, they had not only bound themselves into a single rope, but each person had resolved to die for Daxia.

The greatest achievement of the past seven months of tireless labor was, of course, cultivating the current ranks of woodcutting and earth-digging cultivators;

but right now, in Xia Hong’s eyes, the courage and responsibility these people showed in the face of disaster was his greatest reward.

“Good—Daxia has no cowards!”

Xia Hong stood up straight from his chair, his expression energized; after scanning the crowd, he said firmly: “With our current strength, confronting the rodent swarm head-on is impossible, and forcibly driving them away won’t work—so we must find a way to guide them away from here…”

Individually, the rodents aren’t strong.

Xia Hong believed that, one-on-one, he could easily hunt them down.

But the rodent swarm on the cliff face is far too massive; combined with their silent burrowing ability and unpredictable speed, Daxia today is no match for them—if they discover the camp’s location, it will be total annihilation.

Guiding them away is the only option—and luckily, Daxia already possesses torches, the perfect lure for cold beasts.

But even guiding the swarm away carries enormous risk.

First: where to guide them?

There’s no other answer—the north side of the cliff is Lu Shang’s camp, the east is unknown high mountains, the south is our own valley base—completely out of the question—so only the west, into Redwood Ridge.

The north slope of the cliff is only seven or eight hundred meters from Redwood Ridge; to be safe, we must guide the swarm as deep as possible—Daxia’s current maximum penetration distance is one thousand meters into Redwood Ridge.

Second: how to guide them?

According to Xia Hong’s plan, we lay torches in a line to lure the swarm to the deepest point, ideally to the edge of the cloud-mist coiled dragon’s territory.

The difficulty lies in lighting all torches simultaneously—we can’t light one, lead a stretch, then light the next; that would be cumbersome, hard to control distance, and extremely prone to accidents.

Moreover, with such a massive swarm that burrows underground, who knows if a few will stray? If they spot someone lighting torches and trace them back to the valley, it’ll be a catastrophe.

Finally, various unforeseen incidents may occur en route.

For example, Xia Hong’s plan requires at least dozens of torches laid from the north slope to the inner edge of Redwood Ridge; we’ve never lit so many at once—what if it triggers a mass mobilization of cold beasts?

Laying so many torches along the route, given the density of cold beasts in Redwood Ridge, certain positions will inevitably lie within their territory—the people assigned to light those torches face obvious peril.

And will the entire rodent swarm move en masse toward the torches?

If the rodents fight other cold beasts upon entering Redwood Ridge, that’s ideal—but what if they don’t?

Also, torches burn for only fifteen minutes—after they go out, will the rodents settle permanently in Redwood Ridge, or return to the north slope? If they return, won’t we have wasted all our effort?

………

Xia Hong laid out his entire plan—including its difficulties, possible successes and failures, and his concerns—in full detail.

He explained clearly, and the others understood quickly.

Fundamentally, this plan is a desperate attempt by the weak.

From tonight’s encounter, it’s clear that slowly luring them with torches and hunting in batches is impossible—first, there are nearly four hundred of them; how long would it take to kill them all? Second, rodents communicate with each other and possess group coordination—if one hunting attempt fails, the entire camp could be exposed.

If we could confront the rodent swarm directly—whether driving them off or slaughtering them en masse—Xia Hong wouldn’t hesitate for a moment.

But Daxia’s current strength makes that impossible.

Yet sitting idle while they occupy that position is also a death sentence—so we must try using torches to lure them elsewhere.

This raises another question: why did the rodent swarm gather here?

If it was accidental, then once lured away, they won’t return; but if they gathered here for a purpose, then after the torches burn out, they’ll naturally come back.

The former is acceptable—if it’s the latter, all our effort and risk in guiding them will be useless.

Why call it a weakling’s attempt?

Because it’s the only option we have—even if it’s very likely to fail.

“Can’t we just move away, stop living in this valley?”

“Move where? East is mountains—we can’t go there. The rodent swarm is north—eight hundred people relocating would make too much noise; going north is impossible. South is only three kilometers to Dashi Camp’s Tashan—moving there is no different from staying. Further south is unknown territory—impossible.”

Someone suggested relocation, but the moment they spoke, it was immediately dismissed.

“What if we…?”

Others gradually proposed additional suggestions, but unsurprisingly, none were feasible—or too difficult, too dangerous.

Many, upon hearing relocation proposals, showed clear resistance on their faces.

Xia Hong sat silently in his chair, waiting for the group to discuss.

Though inwardly certain that only this plan would work, he hoped they might devise a better strategy.

Unfortunately, after over an hour, everyone in the wooden hut fell silent, their gazes slowly turning toward Xia Hong.

Clearly, they all realized the only viable option was still Xia Hong’s plan: lure the rodent swarm into Redwood Ridge.

“Leader, pick the team—sitting here waiting to die won’t work!”

“At worst, we die—but if we can lure the swarm away, I’ll have done something for Daxia, earned some honor—I’m willing to go.”

“I’m willing too, Leader.”

“I’m willing as well.”

………

Watching the eager volunteers, Xia Hong’s expression grew heavy, but he stood up, nodded, then used charcoal to sketch the terrain and began detailed deployment.

“From the north slope of the cliff to Redwood Ridge is seven hundred meters; extending another thousand meters inward, accounting for detours, the total distance should be under three thousand meters—place one torch every hundred meters, so we’ll need over thirty people.”

“Once the first torch is lit, everyone behind must immediately retreat the moment they light theirs—I need people who know the terrain well and can run fast.”

“Also, tomorrow night, before laying the torches, we must scout the cold beasts perched on trees along the route and avoid them as much as possible—the outer five-hundred-meter torches and personnel deployment will be handled by Xia Chuan; within five hundred meters, I’ll lead Luo Yuan and the other three…”

The full deployment couldn’t be finalized on the spot—Xia Hong was merely explaining his conceptual approach and selecting personnel.

Everything must be adjusted after nightfall, based on actual conditions at the north slope.

After understanding Xia Hong’s plan, others offered suggestions; Xia Hong gladly adopted useful ones, and soon thirty-five volunteers and specific execution methods were confirmed.

Of the thirty-five, fifteen were from the hunting team; the rest were all logging team members—these were the ones most familiar with Redwood Ridge’s environment.

Though aware of the extreme danger of their mission, those selected showed no fear on their faces.

“Technically, this plan doesn’t require direct confrontation with the rodent swarm—under normal circumstances, there should be little danger. But as I just mentioned, several possible accidents could occur.”

“So I must make this clear: to ensure the camp isn’t discovered by the rodent swarm, everyone assigned to light the torches—including myself—must not return to camp immediately after escaping. You must wait until nearly dawn to come back. Understood?”

“Understood, Leader!”

The thirty-five nodded solemnly in unison.

Xia Hong said no more, waved for everyone to disperse. Seeing Luo Yuan had awakened and his own waist wound was healing rapidly, he lay back in his chair, closed his eyes, and waited quietly for nightfall.

Earth-digging cultivators naturally have strong physiques; combined with the Golden Wound Powder, his injury was recovering quickly—by nightfall, though not fully healed, he and Luo Yuan should regain full mobility.

………………

North slope of the cliff—bitter wind howling.

It was daytime now; at first glance, the long-tailed rodents on the north slope had dwindled to a dozen or so.

But if you looked further north up the mountain, you’d see hundreds of fleshy, long tails exposed on a mound of earth over a hundred meters away.

Those tails seemed to sway rhythmically with the rodents’ subterranean bodies—a grotesque, nauseating sight.

Twenty or thirty meters below the cliff, inside a three-meter-tall cave, Chen Ying stood on two men’s shoulders, his ear pressed against the cave’s ceiling stone, eyes closed, clearly listening to the sounds above.

After a while, Chen Ying crept down quietly, his waxen, gaunt face now streaked with despair.

The two men below saw his expression and immediately understood—their own faces slowly darkened with despair.

“They’re still here—they have no intention of leaving. What’s on the north slope? Are these beasts planning to stay forever?!”

“Even if they leave during the day, we can’t get out—when night falls, they return to rest on top. We still can’t escape.”

“The crystal fruit ran out three days ago. Leather, dry grass, old tarpaulins—anything edible—we’ve devoured it all. Children have already fainted from hunger.”

“We can’t go on like this, Father.”

“We’re almost out of firewood. The camp will start eating people soon, Father.”

“Enough! Be quiet!”

Chen Ying cut off his sons’ conversation—his tone grew slightly sharper, but he kept his voice low, terrified of being heard by the cold beasts above.

Yet after silencing them, Chen Ying had nothing to say; thinking of their situation, the despair in his pupils deepened.

These rodents had settled on the north slope over half a month ago—no one knew why—and today, counting precisely, they’d been there seventeen full days.

Chen Ye’s camp was always small, weak, with limited crystal fruit and firewood reserves; seventeen days without logging—conditions were unimaginable.

Chen Ying had considered fighting back, but with their strength, even fighting was a luxury—any exposure would simply feed the cold beasts.

During the previous incident with Luo Ge’s wooden puppet, Chen Ye’s camp lost five woodcutting cultivators; now only Chen Ying and his two sons remained. With such weak strength, any single rodent from the overwhelming swarm on the north slope would kill them instantly.

Chen Ying had once hoped these rodents had come for a purpose—and once they achieved it, they might leave.

But now, there was no sign they intended to depart.

“Let’s go back and check.”

Chen Ying led his two sons ten meters south along the cave wall, knocked on a stone slab—and immediately, a response came from behind.

A stone was moved aside, and light immediately spilled out; the three hurried inside and promptly blocked the entrance again with the rock wall.

Behind the rock wall lay another cavern, twenty to thirty meters across, with a small bonfire burning at its center, where two or three hundred people were crammed together, their faces filled with despair and helplessness.

When Chen Ying and the other two entered, the crowd stirred slightly.

But after noticing the expressions on their faces, the crowd sank once more into despair, their spirits utterly crushed. “Wu-wu-wu… my child… my child…”

Suddenly, a woman’s low sobs rose from the crowd.

Chen Ying walked toward the sound and found an adult woman huddled beside the fire, clutching a child of three or four, whispering tears.

Chen Ying reached out, placing his hand on the child’s neck—his pulse had stopped. His face darkened further.

Those closest to the fire were mostly children and women. Chen Ying stood up, scanning the crowd; most children had their eyes closed, breathing faint as a thread, some already unconscious.

On the third day without food, under normal circumstances, people shouldn’t die of starvation.

But the heating system had also failed. Above them loomed countless cold beasts, so they dared not let the fire burn too hot; and over these past days, their wood supply was nearly exhausted, making heating even more desperate.

Hunger alone could be endured, but with cold added, even adults couldn’t hold out—let alone children. If this continued, the children would be the first to starve and freeze to death, then the adults would follow.

Chen Ying clenched his fists for a moment, as if making a decision; the despair on his face slowly hardened into resolve.

He turned to the crowd and spoke in a low, steady voice:

“When night falls, Chen Shang and I will burst out the entrance and run north, drawing the cold beasts’ attention. Chen Ping, take the rest and run south. If you can escape, escape. If you can’t, then we die together!”

Without waiting for their reaction, Chen Ying sat down on the ground, closed his eyes, and waited silently for nightfall.

=9+ Shu _ Ba

Upon hearing this, Chen Ping and Chen Shang showed no emotional reaction—only nodded faintly, their expressions steeped in despair.

The others, upon hearing Chen Ye’s words, reacted the same way—some even more hopeless than they were.

Not just these ordinary people—even Chen Ye himself, the moment he made this decision, knew that the two hundred seventy-eight—no, two hundred seventy-seven—people in his camp, barring unforeseen luck, would not survive a single one.

But the problem was, staying here meant death anyway.

Fighting back meant at least dying with dignity.

When he confirmed the child’s death, he had noticed something: many adults in the camp had flickers of a strange glint in their eyes.

If they stayed any longer, they wouldn’t just die dishonorably—they might even witness horrors he couldn’t bear to see.

So, apart from death, there was no other path!

Weakness was the original sin. Why were they at the very bottom of this icy, snowy world? Since death was inevitable, let them accept it calmly.

Sigh… …

As Chen Ying closed his eyes, a faint sigh passed through his heart, and he thought of Yang Ning and the other man he’d met at Luo Ge’s camp not long ago.

“If only we’d been born in Beishuozhen…”

Night arrived silently.

In fact, during these seventeen days trapped deep in the cave, fearing discovery by the cold beasts, Chen Ying had even routed the bonfire’s smoke through wooden pipes deep into the cavern—let alone opening the cave to check if it was day or night outside.

He dared not even dig a small hole to peek out.

He could only judge by the noise coming from above.

During the day, the cold beasts climbed up the northern slope; at night, they returned to rest on the cliff wall. When he heard increased noise overhead, Chen Ying realized night had fallen.

After waiting a moment, Chen Ying first extinguished the bonfire, then led everyone out of the inner cavern, following the three-meter-high tunnel to the outer cave—the large cavern they had previously occupied.

“Open the cave entrance!”

Chen Ying was mentally prepared and wasted no time; he and his two sons, along with several adults, began clearing the entrance.

To avoid alerting the beasts above, they moved as quietly as possible; and after days without food, they had little strength—their progress was painfully slow.

Yet no one grew impatient. They all knew that once they stepped out, death awaited—and so their minds remained strangely calm.

When only a final layer of branches remained blocking the entrance, Chen Ying waved his hand, signaling everyone to stop. He then met each person’s gaze in turn—clearly a farewell.

Just as he raised his hand to push aside the last layer of branches—

Thump… thump… …

Suddenly, a violent tremor shook the ground above.

Chen Ying looked up, his expression changing in shock—he thought they’d been discovered, and instinctively ordered everyone back to the inner cavern.

“Wait, Father—these cold beasts… they’re moving!”

“They’re not heading for the northern slope—they’re moving toward Hongmu Ridge!”

Chen Shang and Chen Ping had pressed their ears to the ground; after listening a moment, they lifted their heads, faces alight with wild joy.

Chen Ying froze for a moment, then immediately pressed his ear to the ground. After listening, his face broke into joy too. He swiftly cleared a small gap in the entrance and peered outside.

“Fire?”

The sight made him instantly freeze.

Over a hundred meters away, on the western cliff face, though indistinct, Chen Ying could confirm: a small flame was burning. Simultaneously, countless silver cold beasts leapt down from above, racing furiously toward that tiny flame.

No—there’s more!

Behind that flame, another ignited. Then another. Then more—until four or five small flames blazed, nearly reaching the outer edge of Hongmu Ridge. Too far away for Chen Ying to see clearly.

“Everyone, get out and run south!”

As the last silver beasts leapt down and chased the flames far away from the cliff, Chen Ye realized this was the perfect escape opportunity. He ripped away the branches blocking the entrance and shouted behind him.

He did not flee first—he made everyone else go ahead.

“Run! Run!”

“Hurry! If you still have strength, carry the children—go!”

Chen Shang and Chen Ping did the same. Instead of running first, they walked to the rear, each lifting a child, then shouted to urge everyone forward.

Two hundred people couldn’t possibly escape all at once.

But under the coordinated leadership of the Chen father and sons, aided by many adults, their speed was astonishing—within two minutes, everyone had fled the cave, racing desperately south.

The Chen father and sons brought up the rear, constantly watching the cold beasts now entering Hongmu Ridge’s outskirts, while also keeping an eye on the danger behind them.

Unfortunately, the group of two or three hundred was far too large. Though their exit from the cave had been swift under the three men’s coordination, once they began sprinting south, their pace immediately slowed.

“Aaah… …”

Suddenly, a scream pierced the crowd, splitting it in two—those ahead sprinted forward, while those behind began retreating.

Chen Ying and the two others, guarding the rear, instantly rushed to the center.

Seeing the scene before them, their hearts turned cold.

Three holes, half a meter in diameter, had appeared on the ground. Three silver-furred, long-tailed cold beasts had already killed seven or eight people. One even carried a man’s upper torso in its jaws, its gnashing teeth crunching once—then the man was swallowed whole.

“Hold them off! Everyone else, keep running—go!”

Chen Ying didn’t hesitate. He drew his stone axe and charged forward. Chen Ping and Chen Shang followed immediately, all three rushing in.

It was clear—they intended to sacrifice their lives to give the others a chance to escape.

The ordinary people reacted quickly. Most dodged around to keep fleeing; a few adults gritted their teeth and joined Chen Ying and his sons, charging toward the long-tailed silver beasts.

“We’re all going to die anyway—let’s fight these beasts!”

“Everyone else, keep running!”

“Good—fight them!”

………

The scene was indeed heroic—but these people were far too weak.

The two cold beasts barely moved. In just a few leaps, their claws slashed and teeth flashed—adults were either cut cleanly in half or ripped open, their deaths horrific.

Chen Ying and his sons had briefly tangled with them—but only briefly. In less than four breaths, one beast’s long tail whipped them six meters away.

The beast’s tail bristled with barbs. Where it struck, flesh and blood were instantly torn apart. Chen Ying, the eldest, spat blood—he couldn’t rise at once.

“Father, we have to run! The noise from Hongmu Ridge is growing louder—if those beasts return, we’re dead!”

Hearing his son Chen Ping’s words, Chen Ying clenched his teeth. He turned and saw the two beasts still slaughtering the camp’s civilians. Without hesitation, he shoved Chen Ping aside, forced himself upright, and charged toward the left beast.

“You run first!”

Pah…

Seeing Chen Ying still charging at him, the beast’s face twisted with mockery. Its body flickered, and its two-meter-long tail lashed out like a whip—straight toward Chen Ying’s face.

Chen Ying’s speed was nowhere near the beast’s. He couldn’t even raise his axe in time. The barbed tail neared his eyeball—he closed his eyes instinctively, yet a look of release crossed his face.

He was over forty. In the Ice Abyss world, where humans averaged forty years of life, he had already lived long. He’d assumed everyone in the camp would starve and freeze to death inside the cave. Now, so many had escaped—he was satisfied.

He’d held them off long enough. At least some had gotten away. It was enough.

Shhh…

Yet just as Chen Ying prepared to accept death, a sharp whistle pierced the air—a flying arrow. He snapped his eyes open, staring at the cold beast flying backward five meters—his expression stunned.

“Archers, fire! Don’t let these two rodents escape—hurry!”

A calm, steady command came from behind. Chen Ying, his sons, and those still too close to flee all turned instinctively.

The sight made everyone freeze.

Six neatly dressed, distinguished young men were sprinting toward them from behind. Each wore a large saber at their waist and a quiver on their back. As they closed in, they swiftly nocked and loosed arrows at the two rodents.

Especially the one giving orders—the leader—his attire couldn’t be described merely as “neat.”

A pale blue fur cap adorned with two white fangs, five to six inches long; straight, off-white-brown trousers; glossy black leather boots; and a commanding black cloak.

Luxurious!

The word flashed through everyone’s mind—including Chen Ying’s.

“Beishuozhen… has another group arrived?”

Chen Ying’s mind immediately conjured this thought. Such luxurious clothing, combined with the six men’s extravagant weaponry—he could only think of Yang and Li, and thus connect them to Beishuozhen.

“Chief Chen, don’t stand there dazed—get your people moving!”

Do you know me?

Chen Ying froze, and at the same time, he clearly saw the faces of the six approaching figures.

"Xia... Headman Xia... How is it you?"

"Attack! No time to waste—end this quickly!"

Xia Hong had no patience to explain to Chen Ying; he gave the order, set down his bow, drew his sword, and charged forward at the head of the group.

Xia Chuan, Luo Yuan, and the other four followed close behind.

The six of them immediately surrounded the two Rodent Rats in the center, giving them no chance to escape, and surged forward in a brutal assault.

(End of Chapter)