Chapter 283

Second Year of Great Xia, Ninth Day of the Sixth Month

More than half an hour after nightfall, northwest of the Beehive, heavy snow filled the sky.

Due to the low vegetation coverage in the Pingxi Plain, the thickness of the snow on the ground is much higher than in other places, often three to five meters, and it is not strange for some low-lying areas to be as deep as ten meters, and occasional gullies can even reach nearly a hundred meters.

Given the hardness of the ground in the Frozen Abyss, falling from a height of ten meters would cause even a Woodcutting Realm expert with cultivation to suffer broken bones; falling from a height of nearly a hundred meters, even a newly broken-through Earth-Digging Realm expert would likely be seriously injured.

As a result, for people living in this Longyou area, traveling has become a very troublesome matter.

Fortunately, most people usually only move within their own sphere of influence and basically do not cross the boundary into other camps' territory. For Cold-Resistant grade members and stronger Earth-Digging Realm experts, these troubles can be overcome.

"That's under normal circumstances. From the end of April to the beginning of May, we relocated a total of more than 70,000 people from Longyou. Cold beasts, roadblocks, gullies, snow... various accidents occurred on the road, and about 400 people were killed or injured during the migration. Thanks to good luck, we didn't encounter any strange monsters, otherwise, this number would probably have to be multiplied several times."

On a raised snow hill, Xia Chuan, Peng Bo, Chen Yingyuan, Chen Yingba, Wu Tianxing, Lu Yang, Meng Yi, and Lin Kai stood around behind Xia Hong.

Xia Chuan, wearing pale gold armor, couldn't help but sigh when he heard Peng Bo's description of the terrain features of Longyou.

Peng Bo nodded upon hearing this and said: "The population migration last month was indeed a special situation; there wouldn't be so many people acting collectively normally."

"But to be honest, being able to successfully relocate more than 70,000 people from Longyou to Xia City so far away in half a month, with a casualty rate of less than one percent, I guess no one in any camp would believe it if they were told..."

Peng Bo's words immediately resonated with Chen Yingyuan.

"From Wu Shuang to Beehive, and then through Mirror Valley to Xia City, it's more than seventy kilometers in a straight line. Counting the detours in between, it's at least a hundred kilometers. Being able to complete the migration of more than 70,000 people in half a month is indeed incredible!"

Hearing the sighs of Chen and Peng, Lu Yang, Meng Yi, and Lin Kai, who participated in the migration, looked slightly proud.

Xia Chuan was no exception, but after pondering for a moment, he smiled and explained: "Thanks to the people in Wu Shuang who were familiar with the road conditions, plus the fact that we deployed a large number of elites along the way to ensure safety, the migration was so smooth. Of course..."

He paused, turned his head to look not far from the snow hill, and continued: "The most important thing is the Xia Straight Road. The most difficult part of the migration journey is actually this Longyou area. As long as everyone reaches Mirror Valley, they can take the straight road back to Xia City, and the speed is several times faster."

Everyone followed his gaze and nodded slightly.

Clang, clang...

Below the snow hill, there was a continuous sound of iron being hammered.

Following the sound, one could see a five-meter-high bonfire not far from the snow hill.

Around the bonfire were hundreds of people, forging iron, driving piles, cutting wood, moving trees, and on the periphery, there were many elite hunting team members wearing armor and holding strong bows, patrolling...

Everyone had a clear division of labor, each performing their duties, and they were working in full swing.

"Bring a log, two meters in diameter."

"Start covering the horizontal boards, ten people come to help."

"Clear the snow road ahead in advance, prepare to drive piles over there."

"Coming, coming."

………………

If one looked carefully, one would find that directly behind the bonfire, there was a black tunnel entrance buried under the snow.

At the entrance, people were constantly going in and out with tools, moving wood and iron, or moving coal and stone... one could tell at a glance that they were construction workers.

It is hard to imagine that in the southeast corner of Longyou under the extreme cold of late night, there was such a large construction site with so many people participating.

"The Xia Straight Road from Mirror Valley to the Beehive has been completed. Currently, two more are being built. The one in front is from the Beehive to Wu Shuang, and there is another from the Beehive to the Hanqiong Gourd Valley. Once both are completed, whether transporting supplies or mobilizing personnel from Longyou to the Red Wood Ridge in the future, not only will the efficiency be far better than before, but the speed will also be more than ten times faster."

Hearing Xia Chuan's words, everyone's expressions were invigorated.

Transporting supplies is secondary; mobilizing personnel is the key.

What is the concept of ten times faster?

The road that originally took ten hours to walk now only takes one hour. It's nothing for an individual, but what about an army?

Crucially, the Xia Straight Road is buried under the snow and completely enclosed without light, which means that it will not be affected during the day and can still be used.

"The Xia Straight Road is a massive project with a lot of manpower and material resources invested, so the construction period is also very long. But precisely because of this, its difficulty to destroy is also high. Unless there is a Cold-Resistant grade expert who destroys it all the way without regard for time and effort, or a large-scale beast tide tramples it, at most a section will be damaged, which can be repaired in time. Its maintenance cost is almost negligible compared to the huge benefits it can bring to the camp."

As expected of the leader, Chen Yingyuan pointed out the key to the Xia Straight Road in one sentence.

Everyone nodded upon hearing this, revealing a look of approval.

"After the Xia Straight Road is built, there is almost no maintenance cost, nothing more than regularly clearing the snow above the straight road. The hunting teams at each outpost patrol every night and report any problems to the craftsman department for repair in time."

"Moreover, as the camp's iron ore becomes more and more abundant, the construction specifications of the straight roads in various places are getting higher and higher. For example, this straight road connecting the Beehive to Wu Shuang has already used a lot of iron materials for stabilization, so the snow doesn't even need to be cleared, and the maintenance cost will only get lower and lower."

After Xia Chuan finished adding this, he turned his head and found that Xia Hong had been staring at the southwest direction, so he immediately stepped forward and asked softly: "Leader, are you worried about that Bai Lu Ghost?"

Xia Hong came back to his senses, first shook his head, then glanced at the Xia Straight Road under construction, frowned slightly, and asked the crowd: "Do you think the fact that there was no beast tide in the Arrow Bamboo Forest in May has anything to do with that Bai Lu Ghost?"

Hearing this question, everyone's expressions froze slightly, and they fell into thought.

After nightfall, they didn't take the Xia Straight Road with the Cloud Dragon Army, but walked through the snow and the Arrow Bamboo Forest to Mirror Valley, then set off from Mirror Valley to the Beehive, and finally arrived at this position.

The reason Xia Hong asked this was because Watching Yue Feng reported something to him when passing through Mirror Valley.

The eight people were all present at the time, so they heard it too.

The beast tide that used to occur every four months in the Arrow Bamboo Forest had disappeared!

After Watching Yue Feng reported it at the time, not only Xia Hong, but they were all stunned.

Not to mention Xia Chuan and the others, Yanglu and Beehive both had to rely on the Red Wood Ridge to make a living before, so Chen Yingyuan and Peng Bo also knew about the beast tide.

In the past, every four months, after the crystal fruits ripened, thousands of cold beasts would gather in the Red Wood Ridge, forming a large-scale beast tide, rushing toward the Arrow Bamboo Forest.

According to the time, it should have come in early May.

But this year, it was indeed gone.

In early May, they were still busy relocating a large number of people from Longyou. Reminded by Watching Yue Feng, the nine people, including Xia Hong, finally realized it.

It was fortunate that there was no beast tide this year, otherwise the migration would definitely not have been so fast.

Xia Hong's distraction just now was clearly because he had been considering the reason for the disappearance of the beast tide.

There must be a reason for everything. The beast tide that had occurred every four months without interruption in previous years suddenly disappeared this year. It is not unreasonable for Xia Hong to link this matter to the Bai Lu Ghost that revived this year.

But the eight people remained silent, and no one dared to speak to confirm Xia Hong's guess.

The reason is simple: the Bai Lu Ghost is not dead. Up to now, it has only been a guess by Yuwendao, and there is no evidence to support it.

If Xia Hong's guess holds, it is equivalent to indirectly admitting that Yuwendao's guess is true: the Bai Lu Ghost is indeed not dead, and it is very likely that it is secretly manipulating a large number of cold beasts, plotting something.

If that were true, then this would be a big deal!

"Alright, I'm confused too. Instead of asking you, I might as well go to Yanglu and see for myself. After resting in Wu Shuang for two days, Peng Bo will lead the way to Yangyuan Peak to see what the situation is."

"Yes, subordinate obeys."

Peng Bo's expression was a bit excited. Yangyuan Peak was his home where he had lived for decades. It had been nearly two months, and he wanted to go back and see it every moment.

"Someone is coming in the straight road!"

"It's the army, it's the army from Xia City."

"Move aside, move aside."

"It must be the army going to Wu Shuang to garrison, move aside quickly."

"Make a way for the army!"

……………………

Suddenly, the crowd building the straight road not far from the snow hill became restless.

The people who were originally huddled around the bonfire for construction immediately gave way to the tunnel entrance.

As the tunnel entrance appeared, soldiers wearing pale gold armor, holding hundred-forged horizontal blades, and carrying strong bows and arrow quivers walked out quickly from inside.

"This is, the army from Xia City?"

"Why is their armor all golden?"

"Look at the big blades in their hands, they are all hundred-forged big blades."

"The bows, even the bows on their backs are hundred-forged grade!"

"The weight of this equipment alone must be twenty thousand jin, right? They don't even pant while walking with it, this..."

"Is Great Xia's strength that terrifying?"

………………

Most of the people building the straight road here were Longyou captives, and only a small number were craftsmen transferred from Great Xia.

The local craftsmen of Great Xia showed pride on their faces the first time they saw the Cloud Dragon Army; but the Longyou captives were different. They had not been to Great Xia yet, and seeing this group of soldiers, they all exclaimed.

The captives building the straight road only had Woodcutting Realm strength. They couldn't see through the cultivation of the Cloud Dragon Army soldiers at all and could only guess based on their load.

"Raise the flag!"

Whoosh...

After about a hundred soldiers came out, a loud shout suddenly came out, and then a seven or eight-meter-high banner was suddenly raised in the front row of the team, facing the cold wind.

The banner was black overall, about two meters wide and four meters long. A large golden "Xia" character occupied almost the entire front, and a golden soaring dragon was embroidered on the back. The cold wind whistled, blowing the banner to flutter, and the dragon seemed to be soaring in the clouds and mist, lifelike.

"Accelerate forward, don't delay others from building the straight road, hurry!"

………………

"That was Liu Yuan's voice leading, right? You let him be the leader of the Cloud Dragon Army's Scout Camp, so what about your Cloud Dragon Squad?"

On the snow hill, seeing that the commander was Liu Yuan, Xia Hong immediately asked Xia Chuan.

This army building almost drained all the Earth-Digging Realm limit members in all mid-level hunting squads, and the Cloud Dragon Squad was no exception. He originally thought that Xia Chuan would keep Liu Yuan in the squad, but he didn't expect that he would also bring him into the Cloud Dragon Army.

"There's no other way, there's no one else to use. Anyway, I brought the Cloud Dragon Squad to Wu Shuang too. Liu Yuan serves as my Scout Camp leader while concurrently serving as the captain of the Cloud Dragon Squad. It doesn't conflict anyway."

Unsurprisingly, the Cloud Dragon Army will definitely be stationed in Wu Shuang for a long time in the future. Bringing the Cloud Dragon Squad here really doesn't affect Liu Yuan holding two positions. This counts as Xia Chuan finding a loophole.

Xia Hong shook his head and smiled, not caring, and continued to ask: "How long did it take for the army to get here from Xia City?"

Hearing Xia Hong ask this, the eyes of the seven people around immediately gathered on Xia Chuan, revealing a look of curiosity.

Xia Chuan looked up at the sky and replied: "One hour."

One hour!

Hearing this answer, the eight people present, including Xia Hong, were all invigorated, and their faces were slightly excited.

"It's seventeen kilometers from Xia City to Mirror Valley, twenty-four kilometers from Mirror Valley to the Beehive, and the distance from the Beehive to here is about eight kilometers. In other words, the fully armed Cloud Dragon Army, walking on the Xia Straight Road, has a marching speed of about fifty kilometers in one hour!"

"Not only that, the Cloud Dragon Army has only been formed for a few days and has not been systematically trained. This speed can continue to increase."

Hearing Xia Hong's statistics, Xia Chuan immediately added with excitement in his voice.

Xia Hong felt a slight tremor in his heart upon hearing this.

He brought the eight people to guard this snow hill in advance not to watch the group of people build the straight road. The most important purpose tonight was to test how fast the Cloud Dragon Army could march on the Xia Straight Road.

Fifty kilometers in one hour, 600 kilometers in a day, 1200 li.

What is this concept!

Xia Hong thought of something and immediately asked Xia Chuan:

"You told me last time that in order to attack Wu Shuang, you first transferred troops from Xia City to the Beehive, and then gathered troops from the Beehive to Wu Shuang. How long did the whole process take?"

"I remember that we mobilized 1,600 people that time, 1,500 combat personnel. We set off as soon as night fell on April 26th, and it was almost dawn when we arrived at the Beehive. By the time we gathered the troops and went to attack Wu Shuang, it was already April 27th, with only one hour left until dawn."

Probably feeling that this was not intuitive enough, Xia Chuan pondered for a moment and changed his wording: "I remember very clearly that there was no straight road from Mirror Valley to the Beehive at that time. 1,500 people walked those twenty-four kilometers for a full five hours. According to this calculation, for an army of a thousand people, the normal marching speed is about five kilometers per hour."

Walking the Xia Straight Road, one hour is fifty kilometers.

Ten times the marching speed!

Gulp...

The seven people present couldn't help but swallow their saliva upon hearing this, then turned to look at the Cloud Dragon Army that had all walked out of the Xia Straight Road, their expressions suddenly shocked.

"Go back and notify the six departments to temporarily transfer all the camp's captives here, and pave the straight road connecting the three Longyou outposts as quickly as possible. This Xia Straight Road might be our greatest weapon against the Longshan and Zhaoyang families!"

Marching speed is ten times that of the enemy, what is this concept?

The four words "soldiers value speed" are not just talk.

Especially in a world like the Frozen Abyss where it is difficult to move an inch.

The strategic significance of the Xia Straight Road is too important!

After Xia Hong finished giving instructions, he still felt it was not enough and added:

"Captives alone are not enough. Use contribution points to mobilize the camp's Woodcutting Realm experts as well, so the speed can be faster. In short, at all costs, we must pave the Xia Straight Road connecting the three Longyou families as soon as possible."

"Yes, Leader!"

Xia Hong calmed his mood a little. Seeing that Liu Yuan had already led the army toward Wu Shuang, he turned to Meng Yi and Lu Yang and said: "You two go back to the Beehive and Hanqiong to garrison. If there is any abnormal situation, send someone to Wu Shuang to report in time."

"Yes, Leader, subordinate takes his leave!"

Today is already the ninth day of the sixth month, and the competition results for the garrison envoys of the three Longyou outposts have also been released, which are Lin Kai, Lu Yang, and Meng Yi respectively. This is also the reason why he brought the three of them to Longyou.

Meng Yi serves as the Hanqiong garrison envoy, and Lu Yang is the Beehive garrison envoy.

Wu Shuang's location is special. The Cloud Dragon Army will be stationed here, and Xia Hong and Xia Chuan will also stay here for a short time. Lin Kai, the Wu Shuang garrison envoy, will definitely be a mere figurehead for a short time.

"Alright, there are still nineteen kilometers to Wu Shuang. It is estimated that it will take another four hours for the army to arrive. You follow the army and arrive together. I will go to Wu Shuang first."

"Respectfully send off the leader!"

The remaining six people bowed and watched Xia Hong leave, then walked to the side of the Cloud Dragon Army and followed the army toward the Wu Shuang boulder outpost in the northwest, continuing to advance.

(End of chapter)