Chapter 157: Inheritance Rights, Strategic Contraction [Sorry for being late]

Xia Hong was silent for a moment, walked to the three children, and asked softly:

"What are your names, and how old are you this year?"

"Reporting to the leader, my name is Li Yan, five years old this year."

"Li Ting, three years old."

"Reporting to the leader, my name is Li Feng, four years old this year."

Hearing the three children answer in soft, milky voices while sobbing, Xia Hong couldn't help but step forward and touch their heads.

The Li Yan and Li Ting brothers were Li Yun's sons, and Li Feng was Li Pingkai's only son.

From the animal-skin children's jackets the three children were wearing, as well as the full sets of clothes the two widows were wearing, it could be seen that the living standard of these two families was definitely in the top tier.

That's right, Li Yun and Li Pingkai were both members of the hunting team, and their ability to obtain contribution points was inherently the strongest in the camp. As their dependents, their lives were naturally lived quite well.

Precisely because of this, the five orphans and widows in front of him must be feeling even more uncomfortable at this moment!

Watching their lives get better and better, they suddenly suffered this disaster.

Xia Hong squatted gently in front of the three children and suddenly asked:

"I failed to protect your fathers. Do you three hate me?"

"Leader..."

"Big Brother..."

Xia Hong reached back and pressed down, signaling Xia Chuan and the others who wanted to speak not to, then looked directly at the three children, waiting for their answer.

The two widows stopped crying at this moment, their expressions becoming tense. They didn't understand why Xia Hong asked this question and were also afraid that the children would say the wrong thing.

Although Xia Hong's tone was extremely gentle, the three children were, after all, at this age. Seeing everyone staring at them, they immediately shrank their necks, their expressions becoming somewhat timid, subconsciously wanting to look at their mothers.

"Don't be afraid, just answer me!"

This sentence served to soothe the children.

After more than ten breaths, someone finally spoke.

"I don't hate the leader. My father said that without the leader, he couldn't have broken through to the Earth-Digging Realm, and I couldn't have eaten cold beast meat as supplementary food or worn new clothes. Without the leader, none of us could live the life we have now."

It was very unexpected; the one who spoke was Li Ting. When Xia Hong asked for their names just now, only he had a cold tone and didn't add "Reporting to the leader" in front.

Xia Hong had thought he was the least articulate of the three children.

As soon as Li Ting spoke, his older brother Li Yan followed closely.

"Adult Xia Chuan just said that the hunting team was ambushed by people from the Mirror Immortal camp. My father must have been killed by them too. I don't hate the leader; I only hate the people from the Mirror Immortal camp. In the future, I must kill them to avenge my father."

"My father said that the leader is the person who treats us the best. The food my mother and I eat, the clothes we wear, and the house we live in all come from the leader. Ting-ge is right; the ones who harmed my father must be the people from the Mirror Immortal camp. When I grow up, I also want to avenge my father!"

Although the three children's voices were immature, they carried an unusual firmness.

There was sincere admiration and worship for Xia Hong, as well as deep and profound hatred for the killers of their fathers.

The rest of the people present had a few more solemn expressions upon hearing this.

And Xia Hong, who had finished listening to the children's words, felt his mood become even heavier.

Children are unlike adults, who have too many calculations and considerations in their hearts. The probability of hearing the truth from their mouths is very high, let alone in such a sudden situation.

Xia Hong could feel the unconditional trust and deep admiration and gratitude toward him in their words, which was precisely what made him feel most guilty.

Looking back at the crowd, Xia Hong said in a deep voice:

"Today's matter is my fault. Listen to me first..."

Seeing the hunting team and the others wanting to speak up in rebuttal, Xia Hong immediately raised his hand to press them down, then continued: "I underestimated the strength of the Mirror Immortal camp and overestimated my own ability. Before the enemy situation was clear, I rashly led you to clash with the other side multiple times, which eventually led to this disaster. For the deaths of Li Yun and Li Pingkai, I, as the leader, cannot shirk the responsibility!"

"Leader, I disagree. In the end, it was all to protect the territory of Red Wood Ridge. It's not just you; we all had the same idea. So what if the Mirror Immortal camp is strong? We still have to fight for what we should fight for."

"I'm the same. The leader is not wrong. Judging from the attitude first displayed by He Meng's group, once the north side is ceded, the entire Red Wood Ridge will soon have no share for our Great Xia. Fortunately, the leader led us; otherwise, the territory would probably have belonged to someone else long ago."

"Not fighting only leads to two paths: either waiting for death, or all of Great Xia merging into the Mirror Immortal camp to look at other people's faces. I would rather die like Li Yun and Li Pingkai than go to other places to be looked down upon."

"The account of Li Yun and Li Pingkai must be settled, but it can only be settled on the Mirror Immortal camp. They were the ones who provoked the trouble first; they were the ones who crossed the boundary first; they were the ones who killed people first. Relying on their strength to bully people so much—at worst, we'll just fight them to the death."

…………

Seeing the crowd agitated below, Xia Hong had an indescribable feeling in his heart.

The point he felt guilty about was naturally not the matter of choosing to clash with the Mirror Immortal camp at the beginning. Great Xia wanted to protect the territory of Red Wood Ridge; clashing with the Mirror Immortal camp was inevitable.

Ceding that northern piece of land would, of course, be very easy.

But once the other side tasted the sweetness, would they only want that piece?

The Frozen Abyss world doesn't talk about cooperation and win-win.

Taking a step back often leads to an endless abyss, not a vast sky.

What he truly felt guilty about was rashly leading everyone to patrol the northern territory before the enemy situation was clear.

This was also the most direct reason that led to the deaths of Li Yun and Li Pingkai.

In fact, Xia Hong had also considered the possibility of being ambushed or encountering the other side's large force before. But at that time, his skin-membrane progress had surged significantly, and his basic strength had officially crossed the threshold of the Frost-Resistant Realm, so his confidence was extremely strong.

Unless the two Frost-Resistant Realm experts of the Mirror Immortal camp took action together, even if he encountered three hunting teams configured like He Meng's at the same time, he had the confidence to lead everyone to retreat unscathed.

But he never expected that the Mirror Immortal camp would have a connection with strange monsters, and tonight, in order to encircle him, they had almost moved out in full force.

Yu Wenhu led the team, hundreds of Earth-Digging Realm cultivators—this was almost all the power of the Mirror Immortal camp except for that He Yuanhun.

Moreover, the other side had actually been sending people to monitor the valley settlement all along.

Judging from the situation of being ambushed at the time, there were the most people on the east side—that is, the large wave brought by Yu Wenhu—clearly all rushing over temporarily from the outer perimeter.

That is to say, on Great Xia's side, as soon as the hunting team left the valley, the Mirror Immortal camp knew about it very quickly.

It must be like this; otherwise, it wouldn't be such a coincidence!

Xia Hong swept his gaze around the outer perimeter of the valley, a few cold glints flashing in his eyes, then withdrew his gaze, looked at the people in the camp, and said:

"I won't talk about my mistakes for now!

Li Yun and Li Pingkai both died for the camp, so their widows and children should naturally be supported by the camp. Li Yan, Li Ting, Li Feng, and the two mothers—until they cultivate to the Earth-Digging Realm, their consumption and expenses will be provided by the camp free of charge.

In addition, the housing of Li Pingkai and Li Yun will continue to be occupied by their families, and the remaining contribution points, blades, and bows of the two will all be handed over to the children to inherit. The camp will not make any recovery."

*Whoosh*…………

As Xia Hong's voice fell, everyone in the camp instantly felt their breathing become a bit heavier.

Even those in the hunting team who had children had their expressions change.

Li Yun and Li Pingkai were previously members of the hunting team, and they both lived on the third floor. The two died, but the rooms still belonged to their families;

Contribution points, bows, and weapons—all three things were inherited directly by the children;

The most critical point was that the three children, including the two mothers, would have their cultivation expenses provided by the camp free of charge until they reached the Earth-Digging Realm.

Even in a world as cruel as the Frozen Abyss, kinship and blood ties remain the strongest bond between people.

After Great Xia began to implement the contribution degree rules, everyone, men and women alike, as long as their cultivation reached the level, all began to do things for contribution points.

The places where everyone's hard-earned contribution points were finally used, when it came down to it, were only two: one for cultivation, one for relatives.

Going out, not to mention hunting cold beasts or fighting with other camps, just simple logging and gathering—who could guarantee that they wouldn't have an accident?

This sentence of Xia Hong's could be considered as having immediately relieved them of their worries. As long as one died for the camp, for Great Xia, not only would the widows and children receive the best care from the camp, but the contributions they made to the camp themselves would not vanish into thin air, but would be inherited by their children intact.

The two words "inheritance" sound ordinary, but in reality, for these people in the camp, it is an extremely strange thing that they have never imagined.

You must know that previously, whether it was Great Xia, Great Stone, Huang Zhao, Great River, or even the Luo Ge camp, there had never been such a precedent.

The reason was simple: in a situation where resources were not abundant, inheritance was out of the question. This was very normal.

After all, limited resources must be prioritized for the most valuable people to use.

In fact, even in today's Great Xia, resources could not be called abundant at all. The only severely overflowing cold beast meat would probably soon become tight because of the Mirror Immortal camp's invasion.

Although Red Wood Ridge is very large, the area they hunt in is only that little bit on the outer perimeter. With the casualties and defeat of this hunting team, the Mirror Immortal camp's invasion will definitely accelerate, and at that time, the area they hunt in will be even smaller.

In such a situation, Xia Hong actually made such a decision.

Xia Chuan immediately couldn't help but want to speak, and even Luo Yuan, Zhao Long, and others who were originally members of the Luo Ge camp hesitated, wanting to speak to dissuade him.

But they swept their gazes toward the widows of Li Yun and Li Pingkai, seeing the complexion that had finally recovered on the faces of the orphans and widows, thought about it, and still held back.

=9+Book_Bar

"The rest of the hunting team, come up with me!"

After announcing the decision, Xia Hong didn't say much more, only leading everyone to the third floor.

He didn't choose to reveal the matter of the Mirror Immortal camp's connection with strange monsters in front of everyone, fearing it would cause panic, but he still had to tell this group of people in the hunting team.

In addition, after this major defeat, the Mirror Immortal camp would definitely have further actions later, and the arrangement for Great Xia to go out to collect resources would definitely have to make some changes.

…………

On the third floor, seeing the fifteen members of the hunting team, Xia Hong sighed faintly in his heart.

He had discovered it as soon as he entered the valley just now: all fifteen people were injured. The most serious were Zhao Bao and Ying Xuan. The former's left leg could no longer walk and could only be supported by a wooden crutch; the latter's cheeks were pierced on both sides. Although the arrows were pulled out, the holes were still exceptionally clear, and he couldn't speak at all.

Xia Hong pondered for a moment and told everything about the strange monster situation of the Mirror Immortal camp and his own speculation.

"Hahahaha, they deserve it! So they were infiltrated by strange monsters. Then we'll just wait and see how they die."

"Resurrection from the dead, controlled by strange monsters and not knowing it—too good! This Mirror Immortal camp is finished."

"Still have the leisure to fight with us? This group of idiots!"

"Hahahahaha, too good, too good."

…………

Not as Xia Hong expected, hearing that the Mirror Immortal camp was infiltrated and controlled by strange monsters, everyone's reaction was excitement and agitation, with joy following one after another.

Only Xia Chuan, Luo Yuan, and Yue Feng saw their joy disappear quickly. After pondering for a moment, their expressions immediately became solemn.

Xia Hong's gaze met with the three of them respectively, and he immediately knew that the three of them had thought of the same thing as him.

Great Xia and the Mirror Immortal camp, placed in normal circumstances, certainly couldn't be called a lip-and-teeth relationship, but in front of strange monsters that are murderous, cunning, and treat human life like grass, this description wasn't too much.

Especially since the other side also knew the location of the Great Xia settlement.

And had even begun to test Great Xia.

Testing meant that Great Xia had already become the other side's target.

Not just the three of Xia Chuan, the rest of the hunting team weren't stupid either.

Especially regarding the Wood Puppet Strange incident, less than a year had passed, and many people slowly realized it; the joy on their faces gradually faded, turning solemn instead.

"Humans and strange monsters mixed together, even they themselves can't tell them apart, let alone us. This Mirror Immortal camp cannot be contacted again for the time being!"

Xia Hong turned to look at Yue Feng, a trace of surprise rising in his heart.

Unexpectedly, Yue Feng's reaction was actually the fastest.

After confirming the connection between the Mirror Immortal camp and strange monsters, his first thought was also to reduce or even not contact them.

The others heard this, pondered for a moment, and soon revealed expressions of agreement.

If Mirror Immortal were a pure human camp, they could still find ways to maneuver, or temporarily cede interests, or continue to fight circuitously—there would always be a way.

But involving strange monsters, it couldn't be measured by common sense.

Being able to infiltrate the Mirror Immortal camp, the strength of this strange monster, without thinking, one knew it was very powerful. But through what means it controlled humans and what abilities it had, they knew absolutely nothing.

In such a situation, not contacting them was the best choice.

Not to mention that Xia Hong had just said that the strange monster feared the camp's Iron Smelting Furnace—that is to say, as long as they hid in the camp valley, they could ensure safety.

In such a situation, there was even less need to contact the Mirror Immortal camp.

"If Yu Wenhu could find the clues of the strange monster in the camp through the leader's hint, and another big battle broke out, that would be even better!"

Xia Chuan's words caused the expressions of the others to move slightly.

In this way, wouldn't Great Xia be able to pick up a bargain for nothing!

Xia Hong also understood his meaning, but after pondering, he immediately shook his head lightly.

This probability was minimal.

"What they do, we don't need to pay attention to. Since we know the Mirror Immortal camp is a dead end, then we don't need to do too much response to them. As long as they don't come to find trouble, we will peace of mind improve our own strength. It's just that I don't know if that strange monster will find us in advance..."

Xia Hong said that last sentence, a trace of worry appearing on his face, but it was swept away soon. He stood up and continued to speak to the crowd:

"Not just the north side, we don't need to go to positions slightly further from the valley for the time being. The essential resources of the settlement currently are nothing more than wood, coal, and cold beast meat.

From today on, everyone in the camp, including you, is not allowed to leave the one-kilometer range of the valley. This distance is just enough to encompass the outer five hundred meters of the middle section of Red Wood Ridge. Even if we collect all the resources in this area, it will be enough for us for a very long time..."

Xia Hong spoke his many arrangements in a leisurely manner. The crowd occasionally raised some objections. After he thought about it, whether changing or insisting, the discussion soon ended.

In fact, to sum it up, it was the four words "strategic contraction."

Before determining the subsequent actions of the Mirror Immortal camp and the specific information of that strange monster, what Great Xia could do was to shrink the scope of activities as much as possible while ensuring that cultivation was not affected, with safety as the priority in everything.

A low-level strange monster killed the Luo Ge camp of 1,300 or 1,400 people until only less than two hundred remained.

Today's Great Xia was of course much stronger than the Luo Ge camp.

But could the strange monster that could control the Mirror Immortal camp be weaker than that Wood Puppet Strange?

Xia Hong's strategic contraction received unanimous approval from the crowd.

Only Xia Chuan raised a question.

"We don't go out, Big Brother, what about your cold beast blood?"

The others in the hunting team also reacted all of a sudden. Thinking that Xia Hong still needed a lot of cold beast blood and resources to break through to the Frost-Resistant Realm, they all revealed worried expressions.

Xia Hong revealed a slight smile and shook his head: "Don't worry about me, the strength of the Mirror Immortal camp hasn't reached the level of threatening me..."

Except for that He Yuanhun, and that strange monster behind Mirror Immortal!

Although his expression was relaxed, Xia Hong was still a bit worried about these two unknown characters in his heart.

It wasn't just him.

Xia Chuan, Luo Yuan, and Yue Feng clearly also thought of it, and a few traces of worry appeared in their pupils.

I went out to handle some things today and felt dizzy and tired after being busy outside. I only just got home now. I am really sorry to everyone. I have been thinking about how to adjust and speed up the rhythm recently. Please forgive me!

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 158 =====