Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely

Chapter 1016: Chapter 365: Hongguan, the Town Chief’s Ultimatum, Reinforcement and the Discord Among Nine Towns, Face-Off_6

"Brother Duan, it’s been a while!"

Huang Tianxing and the other two cupped their hands in salute and then walked up to chat with him. However, Long Wendong from Dragon Valley and Cao Tianyun from Yangqu were clearly ignored by the person from Chui Mountain. Both looked angry but didn’t react immediately. They just snorted coldly, gathered their men, and bypassed the three to continue heading south.

"Hehe, Chui Mountain Town is notoriously soft, like a pushover in front of the Northern Three Towns. Even the Southern Five Towns look down on them, so their relationship with Chui Mountain isn’t great."

The group, including Huang Tianxing, had gone quite far by now, so Chen Yiqing couldn’t help but come forward to tease a bit before pointing at the person from Chui Mountain and saying, "If I’m not mistaken, that person should be Vice Institute Chief Duan Xing from the Chui Mountain Inspectorate. I heard he’s related by marriage to our Institute Chief Huang, and they have a very close relationship."

Lu Yang nodded slightly; there were many marriage ties between Chui Mountain and Beishuo Town, not just Huang and Duan. The most notable one should be Town Chief Yang Fa and Duan Xi, the younger sister of Chui Mountain’s Lord Duan Hong.

.........

While Lu Yang was chatting idly with Chen Yiqing at the back, the four people in the front, including Huang Tianxing, were also conversing. However, their conversation had a sense of schadenfreude unlike the idle chat.

"Jiangxia suffered a major setback in the first battle, with the two villages of Jinbi Dragon River falling. They lost seven hundred Cold Resistance Level, fifty thousand Earth-digging Realm, all gone, hehe!"

As soon as Duan Xing spoke, the three people with Huang Tianxing all displayed smiles.

Shangguan Yan’s decayed face revealed a sinister smile as he said, "Didn’t Jiangxia like to hold the North Bank of the Heng River and not let us intervene? This time, Dajue Temple will give them a run for their money."

Qin Yuanhai shook his head and chuckled, "This is a classic case of getting caught in one’s own trap. Even if Dajue Temple has some treasure, it’s not something Jiangxia can monopolize. Now that they’ve suffered a major setback, they seek aid. In my opinion, they should hand over some territory; otherwise, they won’t learn their lesson."

"Jiang Xinfan even issued some Town Chief ultimatum, saying if reinforcements from one town don’t arrive by the 20th, Jiangxia will retreat immediately and give Hongguan directly to Dajue Temple. They’re even daring to threaten us, huh!"

Huang Tianxing, who had remained silent, furrowed his brow slightly at Duan Xing’s words and asked, "Just how strong is Dajue Temple? Did Jiangxia specify?"

Duan Xing shook his head and said, "Didn’t scouts report earlier? There are over five thousand Zen Temple Bhikkhus, and the entire Qinghepu Earth-digging Realm has just over twenty thousand people. How could such a small force cause any waves?"

Seeing Huang Tianxing still frowning, he waved his hand and said, "Brother Huang, what are you worried about? The truth is, Jiangxia Town is deliberately holding back, trying to solely benefit from Dajue Temple without paying the price. They use a deceitful monster as a cover, tricking our Seven Towns into sending aid. They’re cowardly yet greedy. They haven’t even mobilized their Defensive Army. The seven hundred Cold Resistance Level and fifty thousand Earth-digging Realm were people drawn from various villages. Isn’t losing a battle like this completely normal? I reckon they’re not even that concerned themselves."

Huang Tianxing nodded initially, then shook his head slightly, saying, "You make some valid points, but they aren’t entirely accurate. Losing seven hundred Cold Resistance Level and fifty thousand Earth-digging Realm in just one day of battle suggests Dajue Temple’s strength might not be simple. Jiang Xinfan, as Town Chief, personally issued an ultimatum to the Seven Towns, showing the seriousness of the matter. We should not be careless; let’s hurry and get moving. There’s less than half an hour until dawn, and we need to reach Hongguan quickly to avoid giving Jiangxia any ammunition against us."

"Brother Huang is right."

"Indeed, let’s set off first! If we’re late and Jiang Xinfan uses this against us, we won’t have a good excuse."

"Let’s gather the people and set off."

Huang Tianxing evidently held some authority. After he spoke, Duan Xing and the other two nodded in agreement and immediately went to the rear to prepare the Four Towns’ troops for departure.

"Move out!"

In the Beishuo Town convoy, Lu Yang glanced back at the 31 people brought from East Ridge, giving them a look of caution. He then turned to follow Gu Tianxiong, continuing south.

Someone is watching me!

After walking for just a moment, Lu Yang suddenly furrowed his brow.

The sensory ability of the Cold Resistance Level is strong. Unless the observer’s strength is vastly superior, it’s easy to detect.

He immediately sensed that the observer was to the right, specifically in the Jinshan Town’s convoy.

He had never interacted with the people from Jinshan Town.

How could someone from Jinshan Town be watching him?

Lu Yang frowned deeply, detecting that gaze still watching him. He dashed forward several dozen meters before suddenly turning to look at the Jinshan convoy.

At that moment, he locked eyes with someone.

Upon seeing the person’s face, Lu Yang’s expression changed drastically.

The person from Jinshan Town obviously hadn’t expected Lu Yang to suddenly turn and look at him. Initially appearing puzzled, his pupils shrank upon seeing Lu Yang’s reaction. He quickly lowered his head, avoiding eye contact with Lu Yang.

"How stupid!"

Seeing that person’s change in demeanor, Lu Yang quickly realized it was he who had been exposed first and wished he could slap himself.

"It’s Han Feng. After over three years in Beishuo without any news of him, that guy ended up in Jinshan Town. I saw him five years ago when he was left behind by the Lord in the Cold Jade Secret Tunnel, and he also saw me. It’s over!"

Lu Yang clearly understood the serious ramifications of being recognized by Han Feng.

The secret tunnel, East Ridge, Great Xia... If Han Feng exposed these events to Jinshan Town, it would be disastrous!

"No, no, I must find a way to remedy this, I have to. The affairs of East Ridge, concerning Great Xia’s eastern expansion, must not be ruined in my hands. Han Feng, Han Feng, Han Feng must be silenced, must be silenced forever..."

At this moment, Lu Yang’s heart trembled violently, his eyes filled with killing intent as he looked at Han Feng in the Jinshan convoy. If circumstances weren’t prohibiting, he would have rushed over and killed him outright.