Chapter 196: Army, Beast Surge, Xiao Xue Zong

"Population is indeed the foundation!"

Behind the hall, after hearing the conversation between Xia Chuan and Qiu Peng and sensing they had left, Xia Hong, who had been seated cross-legged on the soft couch, slowly opened his eyes; a faint glimmer flashed in his left eye as he couldn't help but sigh.

Thousands of Digging Earth cultivators? Who in early Great Xia would have dared imagine such a thing?

But now, it's about to become reality.

And it'll happen next month.

If I remember correctly, on the twentieth of last month, when that large group from Five Monkeys Mountain all merged in, the total number of Digging Earth cultivators was 431.

Only a month has passed, and the number has nearly doubled.

Xia Hong had observed this newly added group of Digging Earth cultivators; only a small fraction came from Great Xia's original thousand-plus, while the overwhelming majority were from Mirror Immortal and Five Monkeys Mountain.

It's not that the original thousand-plus of Great Xia had poor talent; individuals certainly varied in innate ability, but when viewed at the tribal level, as long as living conditions and resource availability were comparable, their potential was essentially the same.

Keep in mind, among Great Xia's original thousand-plus, over thirty percent were Digging Earth cultivators—by proportion, their talent far surpassed that of the Mirror Immortal and Five Monkeys Mountain groups.

But in reality, it clearly wasn't like that.

Great Xia's meat supply vastly exceeded that of the other two groups; this was the key reason why the proportion of Digging Earth cultivators among the original thousand-plus far outstripped theirs.

Once the Mirror Immortal and Five Monkeys Mountain groups merged in and received the same abundant meat supply as Great Xia's people, those who had been stuck and many with superior talent naturally broke through.

The key to the explosive growth in Digging Earth cultivators over the past month lay precisely here.

That's why Xia Hong said population is the foundation.

Cultivation is a slow, grinding process; expecting instant results is impossible.

At the Cutting Wood and Digging Earth stages, the daily meat supply is limited; even with the martial training hall in camp, which improves cultivation efficiency, it's still impossible to mass-produce Digging Earth cultivators—it still requires vast amounts of time and resources to achieve corresponding growth and output.

"Population expansion is vital, but the corresponding resource supply cannot be ignored. With just over twenty-three thousand people, the camp's hunting capacity is already lagging; we must stabilize for a while—no more large-scale population increases, or else I'll soon be leading people out hunting again."

Recalling Qiu Peng's report on the monthly meat consumption, Xia Hong shook his head slightly.

One point five million jin—only because Great Xia now controls sufficient territory and has Hongmu Ridge as such a treasure trove could such a quantity be secured; otherwise, even if I personally led the hunts, I doubt I could gather this much meat.

"The resource problem remains unsolved, population expansion is temporarily impossible, and as for an army—that's pure fantasy…………"

Xia Hong frowned in thought; Qiu Peng's proposal to establish a fully detached unit dedicated to patrolling the camp was something he had previously mentioned to Xia Chuan.

In fact, this was essentially the prototype of an army.

Great Xia currently holds territory, yet possesses no dedicated armed force to defend its borders.

The hunters certainly count, but they're not detached—they still prioritize hunting cold beasts, and can only be mobilized as before when needed.

Given the camp's terrifying meat consumption rate, if the hunting team slackens even slightly, meat supply will almost certainly collapse.

Under these circumstances, Xia Hong naturally had no intention of building an army.

"Earlier, I heard from Luo Ming that Yang and Li were both scouts from Beishuozhen's garrison—meaning, once population reaches one hundred thousand and meets the standard of a town-level camp, we'd qualify to establish an army."

Beishuozhen Garrison!

Xia Hong's brow twitched slightly; recalling the modest strength of Yang and Li, he felt a certain weariness toward this army.

"Scouts are usually decently strong within the military—so this army is likely composed mostly of Digging Earth cultivators; I just don't know how many there are."

Weariness doesn't imply disrespect.

To maintain a fully detached army, Beishuozhen's strength is unquestionable.

A population exceeding one hundred thousand is far beyond Great Xia's current reach.

But Budebushuo, compared to when they were on the slope, over a year has passed, and now when Xia Hong thinks of Yang and Li and their Beishuozhen, his heart no longer stirs.

After all, he has confidence: given Great Xia sufficient time, surpassing this so-called Beishuozhen—even the entire Mao'ao Mountain Nine Towns—is no problem.

"Why are so many returning? It's not even midnight yet!"

Xia Hong's brow tightened as he suddenly looked up toward the hall's exterior.

A large crowd was rushing back into the valley; it was still early night—those who had gone out should not be returning now.

What's going on?

…………

"Why are so many returning?"

"A beast surge! It's news from Jinggu Valley!"

"A beast surge? There's no movement outside Hongmu Ridge."

"The western perimeter is fine—it must be from Arrow Bamboo Forest. Word came from Lord Yue Feng's men; many have returned."

"Arrow Bamboo Forest direction? The north?"

"Correct."

…………

Upon hearing the news of the beast surge, the Great Xia valley erupted in commotion.

"Don't panic—it's the Arrow Bamboo Forest surge, far from us."

"That place has a beast surge every four months; no need to worry. Those cold beasts are heading deep into the bamboo forest—they won't come here."

"Just avoid the north."

Quickly, former Mirror Immortal camp members spoke up to calm the confused; once people learned the cold beasts wouldn't reach the valley, their panic subsided and the crowd's agitation gradually ceased.

"Don't panic. No anomalies around. For the next few days, no one goes north."

Xia Hong's booming voice echoed through the valley; everyone exchanged glances, then looked up toward the third floor of the wooden house, their expressions instantly calming.

"Is that the leader's voice?"

"It sounds like it came from the heavens."

"The leader is like a god."

"The leader is a god—he says it's safe, so it must be safe."

"Carry on as usual. Just don't go north. For the next few days, stay in the western perimeter."

…………

Xia Hong sat quietly in the main seat on the third-floor hall, having calmed the valley's commotion; his brow tightened slightly.

From this commotion alone, it was clear Great Xia's current system still had many flaws.

Ideally, when trouble arises, someone should immediately step forward to calm people, then assess whether the danger is real and whether preparations are needed. But here, nothing had even happened yet, and the camp was already in panic—forcing me, the leader, to personally speak up to soothe them. It felt like a makeshift operation.

But there's no choice: even Xia Chuan, the Chief Secretary, must lead hunting parties, let alone the six department heads and squad leaders—all of them leave at nightfall, even the Head of the Craftsmen's Department, Mu Dong.

"We still need someone specifically assigned to manage the camp—at least so when emergencies arise, we won't be like headless flies. Next time, I'll speak with Xia Chuan."

Xia Hong pondered for a moment; once the camp had fully calmed, he rose and left the hall through the main gate, heading northward.

………………

Unlike the brief commotion in the Great Xia valley, Jinggu Valley was a scene of utter devastation.

The five- to six-li expanse of Jinggu Valley trembled violently.

Over thirty wooden huts shook as the ground quaked; snow and ice shards continuously slid off rooftops, clattering loudly.

Inside the central hut, hundreds had taken shelter.

The fire inside had gone out; all faces were pale with terror, eyes darting repeatedly toward the south through windows and doors, etched with dread.

Beyond the hut, a kilometer to the south, the Arrow Bamboo Forest rumbled continuously, like an earthquake; a blanket of snow had buried the entire grove, thick with swirling white mist, visibility near zero.

Yet even so, those inside the hut could still glimpse, through the snow mist, massive, shadowy beasts sprinting wildly within.

"Thank heaven Lord Yue Feng warned us in time—if we'd waited even a little longer, we'd have been eaten or trampled to death!"

"Look over there—at least seven or eight, visible even from this distance, each at least seven or eight meters long—could they all be mid-grade cold beasts?"

"Gulp, these are just the ones we can see through the mist at the edge—how many more are hidden inside? The bamboo forest must be packed with cold beasts—how could there be so many?"

"From the noise, hundreds must have already passed by!"

No mistake! Every word is true!

"Mirror Immortal camp people said this surge lasts four or five days—so altogether, it could be thousands upon thousands!"

"Where are all these cold beasts heading?"

"Maybe something precious is in the Arrow Bamboo Forest?"

"Heh, clever! So you want to go scavenge for treasure?"

"I'd need the luck for that—this scale of surge? I bet no one in camp except the leader would dare get close."

"Even the leader might not dare—so many cold beasts, I suspect there are high-grade ones among them."

……………………

On the second floor of the hut, hearing the chatter, Yue Feng turned to look at Yuwen Tao, his face filled with gratitude; he bowed and said, "Tonight, thanks to you, Chief Secretary. Had you not warned us in advance, many would have died."

Yuwen Tao waved slightly. "No need for thanks, Brother Yue. I'd already roughly predicted the surge was coming; I stayed here precisely for this moment."

Yue Feng nodded, yet his gratitude remained undiminished.

He knew the Arrow Bamboo Forest's surge occurred every four months, synchronized with the ice-shi tree's ripening cycle.

But knowing that was one thing; accurately predicting it was another.

It was already the eighteenth day of May, and the surge hadn't come; he'd grown careless, even thought it might not come this time.

Who knew it arrived tonight!

Jinggu Valley had become Great Xia's fixed outpost north of the Arrow Bamboo Forest.

Not only did he station his Shanhe squad here, but many hunting squads and foraging teams also came here to rest and camp; sometimes, for mining convenience, they stayed for days.

The foraging teams were the same—bamboo silk from the Arrow Bamboo Forest was one of the camp's fixed essential resources; every night, hundreds or even thousands of Cutting Wood cultivators operated within the forest.

Had Yuwen Tao not accurately predicted the surge and warned him in time, and had he not swiftly dispatched messengers to alert everyone to evacuate, many would have died tonight.

Then, as head of Jinggu Valley, he would have been irrevocably at fault.

Frankly, Yue Feng's impression of Yuwen Tao wasn't particularly good—the reason was simple: Li Yun and Li Pingkai were both close to him.

Because of the earlier pursuit, he had a generally poor impression of the people who had joined the Mirror Immortal Camp this time.

But today's incident completely changed Yue Feng's view of Yuwen Tao.

Yuwen Tao clearly had no idea how many thoughts were going through Yue Feng's mind—he was lost in thought.

"In the past, I always remembered the dates were precise: every four months, with no more than five days' variation. This time, it's delayed over ten days…"

Yuwen Tao murmured, his brow tightening.

Over the years, the Mirror Immortal Camp had faced no shortage of beast surges.

The Bingshuo trees had ripened at the start of the month; today is already the eighteenth.

Why is it so late?

In fact, for the past few days, he too had suspected, like Yue Feng, that there might be no beast surge this time—luckily he'd been cautious enough to stay a few extra days; otherwise, he would have suffered dearly tonight.

Yuwen Tao stared downward in thought, unable to find any reason after a long while.

Beside him, Yue Feng understood even less—he kept watching the movement within the southern bamboo grove, ready for any anomaly.

Besides the two of them, Meng Yi and Hong Guang were also on the second floor.

After Xia Hong had scared off the three from the beehive, he had ordered only Yue Feng and the Shanhe squad to remain here on guard, while the other five squads were free to operate independently.

Unwilling to risk it, Yuwen Tao had stayed behind with his own Longwu squad, along with Meng Yi's Shenwu squad.

"Huh? Why is a little snow-maned one here?"

"It's only a meter long—must be a cub?"

"Did it come with the beast surge?"

"Heh, I've never seen a cold-beast cub before. Its meat must be tender."

………………

The silent private space suddenly heard several voices coming from the first floor.

Yue Feng, Hong Guang, and Meng Yi all froze in surprise; only Yuwen Tao, upon hearing the chatter, jolted violently, sprinting to the staircase and peering down.

To ensure unified command and prevent scattered personnel from disturbing the beast surge, Yue Feng had gathered all four hundred-plus people stationed at Jinggu into this central wooden house, so the first floor was now packed with people.

Though no fire had been lit inside, the four men at the staircase instantly noticed the beast's silhouette by the door.

As the crowd had just speculated, the beast's shoulder height was only sixty centimeters, body length about a meter—tiny even by low-level cold-beast standards.

The beast's back bore a ring of backward-facing spines; though its face was indistinct, its pair of pale, curved fangs stood out sharply, and its jet-black mane confirmed it was a miniature snow-maned beast.

So there really is a snow-maned cub?

If there was one difference between this small snow-maned beast and those they'd seen before, it was its eyes.

Snow-maned beasts always had bloodshot, crimson eyes.

But this one's eyes were blue.

Not just blue—they glowed with a translucent, jade-like luster.

"Hnn… hnn…"

It let out two soft grunts, looking endearingly clumsy, prompting laughter from everyone on the first floor.

"Run! Run! Everyone, run!"

Yuwen Tao's terrified roar instantly silenced the laughter.

Yue Feng and the other three beside him all stiffened;

the four hundred-plus people on the first floor all froze in place.

"That's a high-level cold-beast! High-level cold-beast! Run! Run! Everyone scatter and run…"

(End of Chapter)