Chapter 115: Is It Real or Not?

With prior combat experience, Xia Hong and the other two leaders handled this ambush with ease.

Xia Chuan moved his fingers first; several threads shot straight at the two rodents, and with the other five’s coordination, they swiftly bound their limbs.

The two rodents clearly sensed danger from the six, their expressions slightly panicked but their reactions swift—they each turned to silver flashes, darting frantically through gaps between the six, trying to break free.

Unfortunately, Xia Hong and the other five blocked with their blades, leaving no opening whatsoever; the rodents’ teeth clashed repeatedly against the blades, sparks flying with every impact—over a dozen charges, all struck only Xia Hong’s five blades, with not a single attempt at escape succeeding.

As these dozen futile charges continued, their range of motion shrank further, and their limbs grew tighter under Xia Chuan’s white threads.

“Tighten your grip—kill!”

Xia Hong, seeing Xia Chuan’s threads taut and the rodents momentarily weakened, roared out, stomped his feet on one rodent’s long tail, kicked hard, leapt upward, and brought his blade down with full force upon its neck.

The instant he shouted, Xia Chuan yanked both hands back with all his strength—the white threads snapped taut, the two rodents collapsed, their limbs giving way, their bodies stumbling sideways and crashing flat onto the ground.

At the same time, Luo Yuan and the three Zhao brothers seized the moment, abandoned their grappling, raised their blades, and struck the other rodent’s spine almost simultaneously with Xia Hong.

Crack… crack…

Two sharp sounds of bone shattering followed—one after the other; except for Xia Chuan nearby, all five of Xia Hong’s blades had plunged into the bodies of the two rodents.

Luo Yuan and the others had struck the spine, but their blades had cut nearly halfway through the rodents’ bodies, revealing the immense power behind their blows;

Xia Hong’s strike was even more extreme—he had aimed for the neck, and though the rodent barely dodged, his blade still struck the back of its skull.

That single blow shattered the rodent’s skull entirely—flesh and brain splattered across the ground; the entire head, save for its two incisors, contained not a single intact bone.

Chen Ying and his two sons, still nearby, along with a few adult members of Chen Ye’s camp, stared in stunned silence at the six men who looked like gods or demons—fear and awe filling their hearts.

These two powerful cold beasts, capable of slaughtering humans at will, had been slain by these six in less than three minutes.

Could these six be gods?

At this moment, not only the ordinary people, but even Chen Ying—who had previously seen Xia Hong’s brothers—could not help but entertain this thought.

When they finally snapped out of their shock, their gazes at Xia Hong and the others were filled only with deep reverence and admiration.

“Clean up quickly—run!”

Xia Hong had no idea what Chen Ying and the others were thinking.

He ordered Luo Yuan and the other five to quickly clear the battlefield, then turned to see Chen Ying and the rest still standing there—his voice turned sharp with anger: “What are you still gaping at? Run south!”

Chen Ying and the others snapped to attention and immediately resumed fleeing southward.

On this side, seeing Xia Chuan and the others finish clearing the battlefield, Xia Hong said nothing and led the charge southward; the five immediately followed, carrying the two wrapped rodent corpses.

Lighting the first torch took over five minutes to circle from the south; watching the rodent swarm pass took over two minutes; killing those two rodents took three minutes—already over twelve minutes had passed.

Xia Hong roughly calculated the time in his mind, realizing the torches would soon go out, and hurried his pace; within a dozen breaths, he caught up with the front of Chen Ye’s camp.

Seeing Xia Hong arrive, Chen Ying and his two sons, despite their injuries, immediately bowed deeply and knelt before him.

“Head Leader Xia, your great kindness—”

“Chen Leader, time is urgent—no need for thanks. Keep moving south.”

Xia Hong pulled Chen Ying up, cutting him off, then looked at the slow-moving group and thought for a moment before turning: “Zhao Long, you three take them back to camp as fast as you can. Chuan and Luo Yuan will stay behind with me to hold the rear.”

“Yes, Head Leader!”

Zhao Long and his two brothers immediately nodded and obeyed; each grabbed two children, then ordered other adults with strength left to carry children too, urging everyone to leave at once.

With Zhao Long’s three brothers organizing and Chen Ying and his sons assisting, the previously chaotic crowd quickly gained order—their southward evacuation speed surged.

Xia Hong and the other two had found a tree, climbed up, and watched until everyone had fully withdrawn—only then did they breathe a little easier.

Luo Yuan couldn’t help but shake his head and sigh:

“Chen Ying and his crew—they’re incredibly lucky!”

“Luck indeed. I checked Chen Ying and his sons’ faces—they hadn’t eaten in at least two or three days, likely trapped too long, their food stores completely gone. When they burst out of the cave, they probably meant to fight to the death—and by sheer accident, they stumbled upon us luring the rodents away. If timing had been off by even a moment, none of them would’ve survived…”

Hearing Xia Chuan’s words, Xia Hong nodded silently, also marveling at the sheer luck of Chen Ye’s camp.

“Thankfully Brother said we should return to observe the rodents’ movements afterward—otherwise, those two rodents might’ve slaughtered them all.”

“So far, tonight’s plan has gone well—none of you six were hurt, few cold beasts appeared along the way, and the odds of others encountering trouble are low. We’ll know for sure by tomorrow morning. Now, we just wait to see if the rodent swarm returns…”

As Xia Hong spoke, he stared at the outer edge of Redwood Ridge to the northwest, silently hoping the rodent swarm would never return.

Xia Chuan and Luo Yuan shared his gaze, their expressions tense.

Thump… thump… thump…

Yet barely three minutes had passed—exactly when Xia Hong estimated the torches would go out—

The ground erupted with a massive tremor.

Xia Hong, the first to sense it, looked up immediately.

He saw an endless sea of silver rodents pouring swiftly back toward the northern slope of the cliff from the northwest.

Xia Hong’s face darkened instantly.

“They’re back. Something on the north ridge’s peak must be drawing this swarm. We can’t stay here—go!”

Xia Hong turned and sprinted south without another word; Xia Chuan and Luo Yuan followed close behind.

The three sprinting south had grim expressions.

The rodent swarm’s return meant their entire risky, manpower-intensive diversion plan had failed utterly.

All that effort, no reduction in risk—purely wasted. Their moods were heavy.

They moved swiftly and soon caught up with Zhao Long’s group.

“Head Leader, what’s the situation with the…?”

Zhao Long instinctively asked about the rodents, but seeing Xia Hong’s expression, he realized the situation was dire and fell silent immediately.

“Head Leader Xia, about a hundred meters further up the northern cliff, something inside the mountains must be drawing the rodents—they gather there during the day. I haven’t seen it myself, but after hiding in the cave for over ten days, I could feel it.”

Chen Ye walked over, speaking respectfully to Xia Hong.

Clearly, during their escape, he’d learned from Zhao Long’s brothers about Xia Hong’s plan tonight; seeing their grim faces upon return, he realized the rodents had come back—and quickly offered what he knew.

Xia Hong nodded—he’d already suspected it, but Chen Ying’s confirmation made it certain.

=9+ Shu _ Ba

Whatever was drawing such a massive rodent swarm on the northern ridge—no one needed to guess it was no ordinary thing.

Yet neither Xia Hong nor anyone else felt the slightest greed upon realizing this—only deep concern.

After all, no treasure, no matter how precious, outweighed life.

With this vast rodent swarm before them, even the greatest bounty meant nothing to them—Daxia’s strength was nowhere near enough to claim it.

Instead, the moment the rodents moved slightly and discovered the valley, it would mean annihilation for them.

So long as the rodents remained on the northern ridge, every hunting, logging, or gathering expedition by Daxia risked discovery—it was a sword hanging over their heads, ready to fall at any moment.

The rodent swarm problem had to be solved proactively—and quickly.

But their strength was insufficient.

What could be done to eliminate them?

As Xia Hong pondered strategies against the swarm, he walked beside the column, heading toward the valley base.

“Head Leader—we’re here!”

The total distance was only two kilometers; frightened by the rodents, the group moved fast—and soon reached the valley’s entrance.

After over half a year, seeing the gates of Luo Ge’s camp again, Chen Ying and his two sons felt a quiet pang—but turning to look at Xia Hong, their hearts swelled with boundless hope and longing.

On the way back, Zhao Long had told them more than just tonight’s rodent-luring plan.

Luo Ge’s camp was history; the valley was now under Daxia’s control; Xia Hong was the sole leader; Da Shi, Huang Zhao, Da Chuan, and over a hundred former Luo Ge camp members had all merged into Daxia.

Daxia’s camp now totaled over eight hundred people, boasting six Foundation Establishment cultivators and over a hundred Woodcutting Realm members—truly a gathering of power.

If these facts alone stunned Chen Ying;

Then learning Daxia’s current rules—especially the cold beast meat distribution system—shattered him completely.

Five institutions: Hunting Team, Logging Team, Foraging Team, Supply Depot, Craftsmen’s Workshop—Foundation Establishment members received ten catties daily; Woodcutting Realm members five catties daily; everyone over six years old was reserve militia, receiving one to two catties daily; even children under six received five catties monthly, paired with crystal fruit as supplementary food…

Had anyone else said this, Chen Ying and his sons would’ve called them insane—had they not witnessed Xia Hong and the others’ divine prowess just now.

How could this be possible?

Did Daxia’s cold beast meat fall from the sky?

After this barrage of information, when Zhao Long added that Daxia had always intended to absorb Chen Ye’s two hundred people, Chen Ying was utterly numb—he could never refuse.

He had only one thought: enter Daxia’s camp and verify for himself whether Zhao Long’s words were true or false.

“I don’t need it to be fully true—even half, no, even one-tenth true—I’d be satisfied!”

In the final moment before entering the valley, this was the thought in Chen Ying and his sons’ hearts.

After all, even if Zhao Long exaggerated, if only one-tenth was true, they’d each get half a catty of cold beast meat daily!

With this mindset, Chen Ying and his two sons followed the two hundred-plus members of Chen Ye’s camp, slowly walking through the passage and into the valley.

“This valley is so warm…”

“This… this building is enormous…”

“Is that tarp on the roof?”

“So many people!”

“Where did all this wood come from? So much… so much…”

“Crystal fruit—the scent near that cave entrance—is that crystal fruit?”

“I smell meat—I smell cold beast meat! I’ve eaten it before…”

………………

Before they’d even fully entered, the front of the line erupted in gasps and exclamations; hearing them, Chen Ying and his sons grew even more curious, unconsciously quickening their pace to reach the front of the crowd.

(End of Chapter)