Chapter 49: The Fall of Dashan Camp [Please follow!]

"Ah... my leg, my leg..."

"Wuwuwu... my neck is broken, it hurts so much."

"Mother, don't die, please don't die..."

"Son, where is my son's head? Who has seen my son's head..."

The strange creature fell, yet there was not a hint of joy on Xia Hong's face.

Because all that reached his ears were the painful wails of the survivors remaining in Dashan Camp.

The phrase "wails echoing across the land" was truly manifested before his eyes at this moment.

Sigh...

Xia Hong looked around at the tragic scene, and in the end, could only turn it into a sigh.

"Chunyu... Chunyu..."

Shi Qing walked over tremblingly, stumbling toward a corpse.

Although the silk threads on his body had been untied, the wounds left behind where they had pierced his flesh remained. On his back, shoulder blades, lips, and even his limbs and torso, there were several bloody holes, from which blood was still bubbling out.

That corpse had been severed at the waist by the strange creature, leaving only half a body. Judging by the clothing and the name Shi Qing had called out, it was clearly his wife.

Beside the corpse, a pair of fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy and girl were wailing in agony.

"Mother, Father, save Mother, we cannot live without her..."

The girl had clearly lost her reason. Seeing Shi Qing approach, she looked up, her eyes filled with tears, begging her father.

The sorrowful crying was heart-wrenching, and Xia Chuan, Yuan Cheng, and the others who had approached could not help but feel their eyes redden.

Shi Qing first tremblingly picked up his wife's remains, then turned back to look at the headless corpse of his younger brother, Shi Dong. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but nothing came out. Finally, he closed his eyes, his face full of pain and regret.

Seeing this scene, Xia Hong sighed slightly in his heart.

The nine people behind him, including Xia Chuan and Yuan Cheng, also turned their heads away, unable to bear the sight.

They could all understand Shi Qing.

Because previously, the strange creature had also controlled Xia Ding to slaughter the people of Does Does Da Xia.

That the strange creature could kill so many people was largely because it wore the face most familiar to everyone.

Death is terrifying, but this kind of horrific slaughter carried out by someone familiar and close—especially when both the killer and the killed are one's own people—is even more chilling and soul-crushing.

"Chief Shi... please restrain your grief!"

Xia Hong stepped forward and patted Shi Qing on the shoulder. He had intended to console him, but when the words reached his lips, they turned into a simple comfort.

Seeing Shi Qing's expression was dull, still immersed in grief, he sighed, looked around, and continued: "Chief Shi, time is precious. That strange creature could return at any moment. There are still many people alive in your camp. If you don't pull yourself together quickly, tragedy might strike again!"

Clearly awakened by Xia Hong's words, Shi Qing snapped out of it, cast a grateful look at Xia Hong, and then turned to look at his son and daughter.

"Ping, go and count how many people have died and how many survivors there are. Search every corner of the cave; some people should be hiding in the lower levels, get them out quickly."

"Lu, go and notify everyone to pack their things quickly. Once packed, gather at the cave entrance. We are moving immediately."

"Yes, Father."

Although the two young people were still grieving, hearing their father's orders and knowing the situation was critical, they quickly got up to execute them.

After Shi Qing finished instructing the two, he cast his gaze toward Xia Hong.

"Chief Xia..."

Xia Hong met Shi Qing's gaze and immediately knew what the other was thinking.

Mainly, the look of pleading in his eyes was simply too obvious.

Shi Qing's shoulder blades, limbs, and torso had just been pierced by the strange creature's white silk threads. At this moment, he was covered in blood and could barely move; he was practically a cripple.

Let alone taking the remaining people of the camp to live in an unknown place.

Whether he could lead the others to successfully complete this migration was an unknown variable.

Moreover, having lost the last Woodcutting Realm combat strength, and being the soul of the camp himself, this meant:

Dashan Camp was already dead in all but name.

The pleading in Shi Qing's eyes clearly went beyond just wanting Xia Hong to help them move; his intent was already obvious.

He wanted to entrust the remaining people of Dashan Camp to Xia Hong.

Shi Qing did not say it explicitly, leaving Xia Hong room to refuse.

He also knew that rashly taking in hundreds of people was no simple matter.

Although judging by Xia Hong's recent slaying of the strange creature, the situation in Does Does Da Xia Camp should be much better than before, Shi Qing did not believe Xia Hong would accept so many people so easily.

What's more, Dashan Camp now consisted entirely of ordinary people.

Even he, the only Woodcutting Realm combatant, was already crippled.

The pleading in Shi Qing's eyes gradually faded along with Xia Hong's long silence, and the hope in his heart extinguished bit by bit, replaced by despair.

"Follow us back to Does Does Da Xia Camp first, we'll talk about the rest later!"

Hearing Xia Hong's words, Shi Qing's body shook, and he looked up at him abruptly.

Confirming that Xia Hong had truly agreed, Shi Qing was so moved he couldn't speak, could only look at him with eyes full of gratitude, and nodded heavily.

"Father, a total of 132 people died in the camp, and 187 remain. Sister has already notified them to pack their things, it should be done soon."

Shi Ping walked over at this moment, with Shi Lu following behind him, and some people who had already packed their things also slowly gathered around.

"Chuan, you nine organize them. Have people wait at the cave entrance later to receive them. Pull the children up first, then lead them down the mountain. Let the elderly climb themselves, that way it'll be faster."

"Yes, Chief!"

Xia Chuan led the nine people and began to organize everyone for an orderly evacuation.

Although Xia Hong had organized and led the previous move of Does Does Da Xia Camp, Xia Chuan had been by his side helping then, so he had accumulated some experience. With him leading the eight others to help organize, the efficiency increased significantly.

Before long, the children were arranged at the very front, pulled up one by one with ropes by Yuan Cheng and his men at the cave entrance, followed closely by the adults carrying their household goods and supplies.

Watching everyone in the camp evacuating in an orderly fashion, Shi Qing's emotions also eased quite a bit.

"Chief Shi, come, you are not mobile, I will carry you."

Seeing Xia Hong come over to carry him, Shi Qing's eyes first flashed with astonishment, then he was moved and waved his hands repeatedly, smiling bitterly: "Chief, don't joke. I'm a cripple now, how can I trouble you? Just let Shi Ping carry me."

Hearing how Shi Qing addressed him, Xia Hong raised an eyebrow.

He understood Shi Qing's little thoughts, of course; it was nothing more than worrying that he wouldn't care for the nearly two hundred people of Dashan Camp, so he wanted to solidify his status as Chief.

Although he hadn't intended to ignore these people anyway, seeing Shi Qing's cautious probing, Xia Hong felt inexplicably heavy in his heart.

One could tell from Shi Qing's reaction how difficult the situation of small camps was. Due to resource limitations, merging with each other was impossible, and wanting to merge into a stronger camp required, firstly, sufficient value, and secondly, the other party having surplus resources. Without these two prerequisites, they probably wouldn't be accepted.

In fact, with Does Does Da Xia's current strength, they weren't qualified to take in these nearly two hundred people, but Xia Hong couldn't just leave so many people to become food for strange creatures and cold beasts. Plus, with the look of pleading amidst despair in Shi Qing's eyes just now, he had forcibly accepted them.

"Rest assured, Chief Shi, I will not ignore them. Follow me back to Does Does Da Xia Camp first."

Hearing Xia Hong's words, Shi Qing's expression finally relaxed. He even braced his body and knelt down before Xia Hong.

Of course, Xia Hong didn't let him kneel, reaching out to support him.

Just then, Shi Ping came over. Xia Hong helped put Shi Qing on his back, and while leading the two toward the cave entrance, he asked Shi Qing:

"Chief Shi, when you encountered the strange creature on Does Does Da Xia's territory before, how did you escape? Besides the four people with Wang Ming, did everyone else die?"

"How was Shi Dong swapped? Did you not notice?"

"Also, have you seen that strange creature with your own eyes?"

Xia Hong asked several questions in a row, and of course, the most important one was the last.

He wanted to know more about that strange creature.

Shi Qing, lying on his son's back, heard these questions. A flash of pain first crossed his eyes, but he quickly adjusted his emotions and began to answer Xia Hong.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 50 =====