Endless Winter: My Camp Infinite Upgrades

Chapter 348 Strong Army and Brave Generals, One Against Three, The Reason for the Beast Tide [Long Chapter of 10,000 Words, to be Continued Tomorrow]

"Kill!"

As soon as Xia Chuan finished speaking, the six thousand soldiers who had already abandoned their bows roared and charged towards the oncoming beast tide like a tidal wave.

While roaring on the battlefield is meant to boost morale, the reasons for individual soldiers vary. Some do it to dispel fear and bolster their courage, while others act impulsively out of high killing intent.

The current situation of the six thousand soldiers of the Great Xia should obviously be attributed to the latter.

Looking at the overwhelming tide of beasts ahead, not a single person showed fear. Their faces were flushed, they were extremely excited, and their eyes were filled with a strong bloodlust, as if the beast tide in front of them was some kind of hot commodity.

Click...

In the Ice Abyss World, the strong are respected. No matter how fast the soldiers charge into battle, they cannot match the strongest commander. Therefore, the first to come into contact with the beast tide will inevitably be the commanders of the six armies.

Both mid-level Lei Kui were beheaded by Xia Chuan in a single encounter.

Clang...

He raised his black blade, about to charge forward again, but was stopped by a golden horn that suddenly crashed into the back of Lei Kui's corpse. The enormous force carried by the horn not only ruptured his tiger's mouth, but also rendered his black blade completely immobile. His body, which was about to charge forward, was also frozen in place.

Xia Chuan glanced around and saw the golden-eyed demon sheep, which was only two meters tall and covered with thousands of eyeballs, behind the sharp horns. His pupils narrowed slightly.

"A Thousand-Eyed Demonic Sheep, with a strength of at least twenty manes!"

At the south exit of Mirror Valley, Li Baihe's exclamation made Luo Ming and the others' hearts jump into their throats, their pupils filled with shock.

Luo Yang's team was also a high-level hunting team, so they naturally understood what a Thousand-Eyed Demon Sheep was. Even if Xia Chuan was quite strong, it would be difficult for him to deal with this Demon Sheep alone with just a sword...

"what……"

boom!
The next second, the worry on their faces froze.

With a roar, Xia Chuan gathered his strength, his muscles bulging, and he thrust his black blade forward, forcefully pressing the demonic ram's horns against the ground with a loud bang.

The moment the demonic sheep sensed Xia Chuan's power, it had already activated its battle form, growing to over thirty meters in length. Even so, it couldn't change the fact that its head was about to hit the ground. As its head touched the ground, its unbalanced body collapsed with a crash.

"Roar...roar...roar..."

After the demon sheep fell to the ground, it became somewhat flustered, its limbs struggling wildly on the ground. Countless eyes on its back opened at the same time, their pupils slightly turning, all staring at Xia Chuan in front of its forehead, and suddenly bursting out thousands of golden rays.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh...

Xia Chuan was not wearing armor at the moment, but was dressed in a crimson viscount's casual robe. Coincidentally, a golden demonic sheep with bared fangs and claws was tattooed on his robe.

Clang... Clang...

A thousand golden rays struck at the same time, but Xia Chuan did not take them all by chance. Instead, he drew his sword and dodged backward to avoid them.

But if you look closely, you'll notice that he subtly changed his grip on the knife from two hands to one, and with his free left hand, he suddenly pulled hard as he pulled back.

Without the black blade's suppression, the demonic sheep immediately sensed the danger. Its limbs snapped back to life, its entire body straightening as it prepared to charge at Xia Chuan again. However—

laugh!
Two three-meter-long silver swords suddenly burst forth from the ground, one on the left and one on the right like guillotines, and slashed at the demon sheep's neck.

The sharpness and power of the two silver swords were clearly beyond everyone's imagination; the massive head of the demon sheep was simply chopped off.

The blade was so fast that the blood in the demon sheep's body didn't even have time to react before the broken jade-colored bones and black beast flesh at its neck were clearly visible to the naked eye.

puff…………

Of course, it only lasted for a moment.

Blood gushed from the demon sheep's neck and sprayed two or three hundred meters northward. Luo Ming and his twenty-odd men at the southern exit of Mirror Valley immediately smelled the strong scent of blood.

However, they had no time to pay attention to the fishy smell at the moment.

Everyone's eyes were fixed on the two large silver swords.

To be precise, it was beneath the two large silver swords, on the crimson-silver giant that slowly rose from the ground.

The giant was estimated to be ten meters long. The two silver swords that had just been raised from the ground were its arms, and its lower limbs were two four-sided conical blades. Its neck, chest, back, waist, and even the main body of its limbs, almost every part of its body from top to bottom, was covered with bright silver spikes. Under the snow, they looked extremely cold, like a large area of ​​sharp thorns, which was terrifying.

"That's a sword puppet that Lord Si Cheng made last year. I heard it used 80,000 catties of silver alone. At the current exchange rate of the Ministry of Supply, 80,000 catties of silver would be worth 8 million contribution points!"

“Silver is not something everyone can exchange right now. The annual exchange limit for the Cold-resistant grade is 1,000 catties, which can only be used for weapon forging; the annual limit for officials of the fourth to sixth ranks is 8,000 catties; the third rank is 10,000 catties; the second rank is 20,000 catties; and the first rank is only 30,000 catties per year. In other words, the Director used up almost three years’ worth of silver exchange limit to forge this sword puppet?”

"Eight million? That's how many contribution points does Lord Si Cheng have?"

"Si Cheng has been in charge for many years, and he deserves great credit for the camp's current state. How could the lord possibly mistreat him? I heard that he earns more than five million contribution points in the annual year-end evaluation alone. His wealth is far beyond what we can imagine."

"Gulp... Five million!"

"Silver is only one of the main materials for making the sword puppet. The main body is made of high-grade vermilion wood and is forged thousands of times. The sword puppet is also made of sharp swords forged thousands of times. Even without considering the huge amount of precious materials, the manpower consumed by the craftsmen department is extremely terrifying. I heard in Xia City last year that the final total cost of this sword puppet was conservatively estimated to be more than 30 million. At most, there are only four people in the entire camp who can contribute that much contribution value."

"Besides Si Cheng, who else could produce such a person?"

"Lord Yuwen Tao should also be able to produce it. Before the Ministry of War was established, he was the Director of the Hunting Department, the most important of the seven departments. Three years ago, as soon as the Ministry of War was established, he immediately became the Director of the Ministry of War. He has served as the Director of the two most important departments of the Great Xia. With such high position and power, his wealth is naturally not low."

"Who are the remaining two?"

"Chief Yuan of the Garrison Department and Chief Qiu of the Logistics Department!"

"Thirty million contribution points, that's terrifying! That's enough for us to live a carefree life in Xia City for the rest of our lives, right?"

"Three lifetimes would be enough!"

"Using it to forge this sword puppet is too extravagant, Si Cheng."

"What's with the extravagance? Just look at the combat power of those sword puppets before you speak!"

Without Li Baihe's prompting, everyone's attention was already focused on the sword puppet, so they could clearly see its performance.

Having stared at Xia Chuan for so long, all the soldiers of the Six Armies had already begun to confront the beast tide head-on.

With such a large-scale clash between the army and the beast tide, it was impossible for them to be completely entangled at the first moment; the main focus was on the front-line confrontation.

Although the beast tide was large in scale, due to the lack of unified command and control, its overall combat power was far inferior to that of a single species of cold beast in the same number.

For example, at this moment, the beast horde only knew how to charge forward recklessly. Many cold beasts even stepped on their companions to pounce on the army. The cold beasts had strong vitality and were not likely to die from being trampled, but the problem was that such headless fly-like charging was extremely inefficient.

Unlike the cold beasts, the humans' response was clearly more methodical.

The first wave of the six armies to charge forward consisted of the strongest scout battalion, six hundred elite Cold-resistant soldiers armed with various weapons, who instantly created hundreds of gaps in the front line of the beast tide.

The subsequent 5,000-plus soldiers, organized into battalions, quickly occupied these gaps, slaughtering the beasts while rushing inwards. In less than a hundred breaths, they had divided the beast tide into dozens of small battlefields.

With a black blade in his right hand and silk threads in his left, Xia Chuan weaved through the beast tide, creating openings for the blocked army while controlling the sword puppet to continue charging towards the core of the beast tide.

Click...

The ten-meter-tall sword puppet, though relatively small compared to the advanced cold beasts that had unleashed their battle forms, possessed immense inertia due to its own weight. Combined with the power transmitted through Xia Chuan's silk threads, the force it could unleash directly crushed all the cold beasts.

Moreover, since the sword puppet is covered with spikes, even if a cold beast occasionally charges at it and knocks it down, it cannot cause any real damage. Instead, it leaves countless bloody holes on its own body.

Unafraid of pain, possessing strength that could crush almost all the cold beasts, and further enhanced by the sharpness of the silver greatsword, the sword puppet was invincible on the battlefield. While frantically killing countless low- and mid-level cold beasts, it could also repel or even severely injure some high-level cold beasts. As time passed, wherever the sword puppet went, the cold beasts in that direction would scatter and hide, completely daring not to provoke its sharpness.

"The army continues to advance. The beast tide has begun to crumble. Frighten them and make these bastards never dare to cross the arrow bamboo forest again!"

Xia Chuan had already charged deep into the beast tide, and his angry roar instantly echoed throughout the entire battlefield.

Upon hearing the order, the commander of the five armies gave commands to the main force:

"Dragon Martial Army scout battalion, assemble on the left flank and follow behind me!"

"The Dragon Slayer Army scout battalion advances on the right flank, the Giant Axe Battalion clears the way for the rest of the Halberd Battalion brothers, and continues the charge!"

"The Tiger and Leopard Army's scout battalion should break in from the flank and prevent the beast tide from gathering."

"The Xuanwu Army scout battalion will charge in with the main force, while the remaining nine battalions will cover our rear. Don't let a single beast of the cold turn back!"

"The Shenwu Army's scout battalion charged in, battalions one through five guarded the west side, and battalions six through nine blocked the beast tide on the east side, completely separating them."

Upon receiving the order, all the soldiers immediately launched an even more ferocious charge.

Rumble rumble rumble...

The army actually drove the beast tide back into the arrow bamboo forest on the south side.

No, it wasn't just a matter of killing them off. The corpses of the cold beasts scattered all over the ground numbered at least two thousand, with at least 30% being mid-level beasts, and dozens even being high-level ones.

At the southern exit of Mirror Valley, Luo Ming and his group stared in horror and shock at the sight of the countless corpses of cold beasts scattered on the ground. It wasn't until the army stormed into the arrow bamboo forest and the view became less clear that someone among them spoke up.

"The fighting strength of the six armies has become so formidable!"

"This was a beast tide of nearly ten thousand, and they managed to drive it back?"

"What do you mean nearly ten thousand? It's definitely over ten thousand. Have you forgotten? Before the initial beast tide even broke out, the soldiers had already emptied their quivers in the arrow bamboo forest. The number of the cold beasts that died earlier must have been quite large as well."

"The total number of the six armies equipped with cold-weather gear is close to two thousand, which is almost half of the entire camp's cold-weather gear. It's not surprising that they have such combat strength!"

"Each of these six armies today, if placed five years ago, would have been enough to sweep through all the camps in Longyou, wouldn't it?"

"Nonsense, do you need to tell me?"

"Our Luo Yang squad needs at least two or three days to prepare before each hunt of high-level cold beasts. We need divine arm bows, beast-binding ropes, giant beast traps, antidotes, blood wound pills, and blood-bursting pills... We spend over a thousand contribution points before we even start hunting. Compared to the Sixth Army's hunting efficiency, it's simply..."

"There's no comparison. After all, they are regular armies. Leaving aside the Cloud Flood Dragon Martial Army and the Cloud Flood Dragon Martial Army, even if you just randomly pick a hundred-man battalion from the newly established Fourth Army, I estimate that it could sweep away any full-strength high-level hunting team in the entire camp."

"The sword puppet of the Chief Minister is really too strong. I feel that the power of the sword puppet when it swings is at least forty qian. Could it be that the Chief Minister has broken through to the peak of the Cold Resistance Realm?"

"Impossible! I heard that Si Cheng broke through to the late stage in June this year, and it's only the beginning of September now. How could he have broken through to the peak stage in just three months!"

"Why can that sword puppet unleash such terrifying power?"

"That sword puppet was extremely heavy. It must have been the inertia from the swing that gave Si Cheng a strong boost in strength."

"I see!"

………………

Luo Ming could no longer hear the discussions of the squad members behind him. His mind was filled with the fierce demeanor of the soldiers of the Six Armies and the composure of the Six Armies Commander as he moved freely and commanded the beast tide.

Xia Chuan is not the only powerful one.
He saw it clearly just now: Yuwen Tao's broadsword on the flank directly knocked away several high-level cold beasts, and its power was definitely above twenty.

Yuan Cheng's rapidly wielding double-edged giant axe kept even some high-level cold beasts from getting close; even those with less than twenty manes of power were not far away.
Although the remaining three, Luo Yuan, Hong Guang, and Hong Tian, ​​were slightly weaker, their basic strength was at least above the twelve-mane level.

Not to mention the six elite scout battalions composed entirely of soldiers at the Cold Resistance level; the captains and colonels of the nine battalions in each of the six armies are all at the Cold Resistance level; even ordinary soldiers have a strength of at least 50,000 jin, and without considering their combat aptitude, almost all of them are on the verge of breaking through.

It is not an exaggeration to describe the entire Sixth Army as having strong soldiers and brave generals.

"I've inquired, and Luo Yuan hasn't broken through to the peak of the Cold Control realm yet; he's only at the late Cold Control realm. Therefore, he possesses a superior battle physique!"

Upon realizing this, Luo Ming's eyes were immediately filled with envy.

The "Xia Li·Xiu Zhi Pian" clearly explains the distinction between battle bodies. The higher the level of the battle body, the higher the upper limit of strength growth at the Cold Resistance level. Of course, the corresponding cultivation speed will be slower.

Therefore, the current competition among those at the Great Xia Cold-resistant level is about who breaks through slower, not who breaks through first. After all, with the same resources, a slower breakthrough means a higher growth ceiling.

Luo Ming broke through to the Cold Resistance level in November of the year before last. Unfortunately, his basic strength after the breakthrough was only 1.7, which is considered a medium-level combat physique.

Actually, a medium-level combat physique is already quite good among the cold-resistant level people in Great Xia, but compared with the top people in Great Xia, it is naturally still a bit inferior.

“I’m definitely out of luck, but Cheng’er still has hope! Even the lord has praised his talent. His starting point is higher than mine, and his future battle physique talent will definitely be stronger than mine. Once he breaks through to the Cold Resistance level, he will surely catch the lord’s eye!”

Thinking of his son, Luo Ming turned to look north, his face full of hope.

………………

"Roar!"

Deep in the western part of the arrow bamboo forest, Xia Chuan raised his knife and beheaded a high-level frost wolf. He then turned and surveyed the bamboo forest battlefield, his eyes filled with murderous intent.

The six thousand soldiers have been dispersed throughout the bamboo forest in battalions, and the extermination of the beast tide is almost over.

Beside him were the sword puppets he controlled and the hundred elite Cloud Dragon Army scouts led by Liu Yuan. At this moment, there were quite a few high-level cold beasts on the ground, not to mention low-level ones.

"After more than five years of formation, the Yunjiao Army's combat strength is finally something to be proud of!"

Of course, it wasn't just his own Cloud Dragon Army.

Xia Chuan turned his head to look at the Longwu Army scout camp half a mile to the east, a hint of surprise rising in his eyes.

The Yunjiao Army's scout battalion had sword puppets clearing the way, while the Longwu Army's scout battalion did not. It was only thanks to Yuwen Tao's command that they were able to fight their way to the same depth as the Yunjiao Army's scout battalion. It seems that, as many people in Xia City had guessed, the Longwu Army's combat strength was not necessarily weaker than that of the Yunjiao Army.

"Minister Si, these beasts seem fearless, they keep running deeper into the eastern part of the arrow bamboo forest, and hardly any of them are returning to Redwood Ridge!"

"Are the treasures in the arrow bamboo forest so attractive to them?"

"If it's not afraid of being killed, it must be some kind of priceless treasure."

"The problem is, what treasures could there be? In the past five years, the advanced hunting teams have basically explored the entire Arrow Bamboo Forest, but they haven't found any treasures."

"Yeah, there aren't many unfamiliar areas left in the arrow bamboo forest. I haven't heard of any treasures being discovered there. So, what are these cold beasts heading towards?"

………………

Hearing Liu Yuan and the others' discussion, Xia Chuan turned to look at the hordes of cold beasts, some breaking through, some bypassing the army's obstruction, still heading deeper into the eastern side of the arrow bamboo forest, and his brows furrowed slightly.

The arrow bamboo forest runs in an east-west direction. They are currently located on the western edge, which is the area closest to Hongmu Ridge. This area spans only a dozen kilometers from north to south, separating Xia City from Jinggu, or to put it more broadly, separating Xia City from the entire Longyou region.

The beast tide in Arrow Bamboo Forest has been going on for so many years. Not only Xia Chuan, but almost everyone in Xia City who has ever gone out knows about it.

The beast tides come with the ripening of the crystal fruits, occurring every four months and three times a year. Each tide consists of tens of thousands of beasts, originating from the depths of Redwood Ridge. The cold beasts all run out from inside Redwood Ridge, then cross the path and surge into the Arrow Bamboo Forest, rushing eastward into the depths of the Arrow Bamboo Forest.

Then, after the beast tide ends, about one-third of the cold beasts will return.

The cause of the beast tide is not hard to guess. It is most likely that something in the arrow bamboo forest is attracting them. At the same time, that thing should be something similar to the vegetation that matures every four months, otherwise the beast tide would not be so regular.

Moreover, Xia Hong had previously speculated that there must be some enormous space inside or to the east of the Arrow Bamboo Forest. Otherwise, with the twenty-one beast tides in the previous seven years alone, 130,000 cold beasts would have passed through. Not to mention that the beast tides started before the first year of the Great Xia Dynasty, and the total number was incalculable.

With so many cold beasts, it's impossible that they all died, so there must be some super-large space inside the arrow bamboo forest or on its eastern perimeter.

The treasure that can trigger a massive beast tide, along with a super-large space, doesn't even need the Hunting Department's orders. Every high-level team with a bit of reputation has already explored the Arrow Bamboo Forest in the past five years.

Even Xia Chuan couldn't help but order Liu Yuan to lead the Yun Jiao Squad. Yuwen Tao's Long Wu Squad, Yuan Cheng's Tu Long Squad, and Luo Yuan's Hu Bao Squad had all gone, but like the other squads, they all came up empty-handed!
If Xia Chuan remembers correctly, by the end of August, the exploration work in the arrow bamboo forest was almost finished. He heard that there were only a dozen kilometers left before they could pass through the arrow bamboo forest and reach the eastern outer perimeter.

"It's pretty much certain that there are no treasures inside the Arrow Bamboo Forest. The only hope now is the eastern outer perimeter. Once the Sixth Army has dealt with this wave of beasts, the number of cold beasts in the Arrow Bamboo Forest will decrease sharply over the next four months, and the last dozen kilometers will be fully explored. Then the truth will come out."

Xia Chuan pondered for a moment, then said to Liu Yuan and the others, "Let the few that slip through the net go! Anyway, it's impossible to kill all the cold beasts. Just pick the stronger ones to kill."

Liu Yuan and the others immediately nodded in agreement and then led the scout battalion to target wounded or high-value cold beasts on the battlefield.

Even if the Six Armies were strong, they wouldn't be able to kill all tens of thousands of Frost Beasts. In fact, by now, they had only managed to rout the beast tide, and the number of Frost Beasts killed was at most about 30%.

The elite scout battalion of the Sixth Army charged in too quickly; it took more than ten minutes for the soldiers of the other nine battalions to follow suit. Their arrival meant that the outer beast tide had also been dispersed. "That's about enough. This beast tide was a preliminary test. Since the Sixth Army handled it perfectly, the three beast tides in Arrow Bamboo Forest every year will be nothing to worry about. We can even treat the beast tides as a good opportunity to replenish the Great Xia Treasury!"

Xia Chuan looked at the corpses of the cold beasts scattered on the ground, a wild ambition appearing in his eyes.

Animal hides, meat, bones, and blood are all essential supplies for a camp, and no camp would ever complain about having too much, Xia City being no exception.

In fact, with the continuous increase in the population of Great Xia, the inventory of the latter three cultivation resources has become insufficient. In the past five years, the Department of Supply and Marketing has adjusted the prices almost every year. As of now, the price of beast meat has changed from 1 contribution point for 2 catties to 3 contribution points for 1 catty.

Large-scale beast tides like those in the Arrow Bamboo Forest, as long as they are within the army's range of response, present a perfect opportunity to replenish the treasury.

Although Xia Chuan was lost in thought, his hands never stopped moving. Whether it was the sword puppet controlled by his left hand or the black sword in his right hand, he was always searching for high-level cold beasts on the battlefield, without stopping for a moment.

Soon, the cold beasts within a radius of several hundred meters were either dead or fled, and not a single one could be found alive.

"Move towards the Dragon Martial Army on the east side, continue..."

"Minister, Lord, the lord is in the east!"

Three or four kilometers to the east, a loud shout suddenly came, interrupting Xia Chuan who was about to give an order.

He suddenly turned his head to look to the east and rushed over without hesitation.

"The army continued its eastward charge, first joining up with the Longwu Army, then merging with the other four armies, and marching towards the east side."

"Subordinates obey orders!"

Liu Yuan and the others also heard the voice and knew that Xia Hong was in the east. Although they wanted to go there, they obediently followed Xia Chuan's orders and stayed where they were, charging eastward to join up with the Longwu Army.

Yuwen Tao had just killed a high-level demonic sheep. Hearing the sound, he turned to look eastward, his gaze sharpening slightly. He then gave an order to the scout camp:

"Hou Quan, you will temporarily take command of the army. Join forces with the other five armies and move towards the east side."

The original captain of the Longwu Army's scout battalion was Zhou Yuan, but after the establishment of the 7th Army Longyuan Army last November, Zhou Yuan was promoted to commander of the Longyuan Army, so the captain of the scout battalion became Hou Quan.

Hou Quan was captured alive by Xia Hong back then, so he was always resentful. However, since Xia Chuan promoted Hou Jing to the new deputy director of the hunting department three years ago, Hou Quan and the other members of the Zhaoyang Hou clan have all let down their guard and become devoted to the Great Xia.

This is also the core reason why he was appointed as a captain in the Longwu Army's scout battalion.

"Subordinates obey orders!"

After Hou Quan nodded in agreement, he took over command and led the Longwu Army to continue their westward campaign, clearly intending to join up with the Yunjiao Army first.

Xia Chuan and Yuwen Tao traveled one after the other eastward for three or four kilometers, arriving at the area where the person who had just shouted had been.

Upon arrival, Xia Chuan discovered that the army that was exterminating the cold beasts in this area was Hong Tian's Divine Martial Army. With his sharp eyes, he quickly spotted Hong Tian, ​​the commander of the Divine Martial Army, standing there in a daze, looking up at the sky on the eastern outskirts.

"What is Hong Tian looking at?"

Xia Chuan and Yuwen Tao both showed curiosity on their faces, and then followed Hong Tian's gaze to look towards the eastern sky.

Upon seeing this, the two of them, like Hong Tian, ​​were completely stunned!
It turned out that in the sky to the east, at an altitude of about 500 meters, there was a dense fireball that was entangled with three icy auras.

The fireball was extremely fast, covering a distance of tens of meters in an instant. With each flash, it brought out a violent air blast. In the area where the air blast sounded, the snow and mist not only vaporized directly, but it also seemed that even the clouds were forcibly shaken apart. The entire area above the east side was actually shaken into a vacuum.

"That...that fireball contains...the lord!"

"What are those three icy auras?"

"They look like cold beasts: a frost wolf, a snow-maned wolf, and the last one, the larger one, looks like a white bear!"

"Can a high-level cold beast fly?"

"What high-level cold beast? Those are obviously beast kings, all three of them are beast kings, lords, and they're fighting three against one?"

"Gulp... It's not one against three. It seems the lord is actually putting the three beast kings on the defensive!"

………………

Xia Chuan and Yuwen Tao finally understood why Hong Tian had been stunned.

At this moment, it wasn't just the three of them. As the number of cold beasts on the battlefield decreased, many cold-resistant level beasts gradually freed up their hands. When they looked up, they also saw Xia Hong in the sky, as well as the three ferocious beast kings.

After seeing it clearly, their pupils were instantly filled with horror and shock.

Just as the last person said, Xia Hong is indeed suppressing the three-headed beast king at this moment.

roar…………

On the left, the Frost Wolf King opened its blood-red maw and spat out a thick cloud of white frost. The frost seemed to possess a kind of spirituality, stirring up a cold current in the air and forming a fierce and violent hurricane that suddenly swept towards Xia Hong's position.

The Snowmane King behind it also opened its mouth, but instead of spitting out frost, it spat out hundreds of sharp, long tongues like icicles. These sharp tongues resembled transparent pythons, not only incredibly fast but also extremely agile, leaving behind chilling streaks as they slid through the air, which was quite eerie.

The white bear directly in front of us was covered in long, snow-white fur. Although it was only two meters tall, the way it stood in mid-air gave people a sense of oppression as heavy as a mountain, making it hard to breathe.

"Coldness, technique, strength—it seems different types of Beast Kings each have their own strengths. I don't know about the other Beast Kings, but you three are really unlucky to have met me today!"

Looking into the three-headed beast king's clear black and white pupils, Xia Hong was almost certain that they could read the contempt in his eyes.

roar…………

The largest white bear was the first to succumb.

It roared and rushed ahead of the Frost Wolf King's chilling aura, the first to pounce on Xia Hong's face. Its body suddenly expanded dozens of times, its original two-meter body instantly turning into thirty-five zhang, like a snow-capped peak falling to the ground, a mountain range covering the top, and it crashed down on Xia Hong directly in mid-air.

"You want to compete with me in strength?"

Xia Hong had the Cold Blood Blade hanging at his waist, but when he saw the White Bear King rushing towards him, he did not draw his blade. Instead, he took a deep breath, contracted and gathered power in his right fist, and suddenly launched himself towards the White Bear King's chest.

boom…………

A deafening blast, several times stronger than before, suddenly erupted, shaking the sky over the entire eastern side of the arrow bamboo forest and within a five-mile radius.

Then, an incredibly horrifying scene unfolded.

Behind Xia Hong, a dark red phantom, thousands of feet tall, appeared.

Although the thousand-foot-tall phantom moved in exactly the same way as him, striking the white bear's belly with its right fist, the visual effects were completely different.

The white bear, a beast king-level creature, was only thirty-five zhang long in its battle form. Compared to Xia Hong's thousand-zhang phantom, it was utterly insignificant.

If we compare it to that thousand-foot-tall phantom, it becomes much easier to understand why the white bear's body was pierced through by a single punch.

As the phantom disappeared, the shockwave gradually spread outwards, and the clouds within a radius of several miles were forced to retreat in all directions.

The clouds had not yet been dispersed, and the fate of the Beast King-level White Bear, which was directly in the center of the shockwave and took Xia Hong's punch, was predictable.

Its body was not blasted away, but remained frozen in place, while a jet of scorching blood, as thick as magma, shot out from its back.

The white bear stared at Xia Hong in front of it, its black and white pupils filled with fear and despair. Its once abundant vitality was rapidly draining away. It couldn't even roar, and only subconsciously wanted to turn around and run away.

puff...

How could Xia Hong let it escape? He plunged the Cold Blood Blade at his waist directly into the wound created by the punch.

"When the lord threw that punch, I seemed to see a thousand-foot-tall phantom behind him!"

"I saw it too. It looks dark red and a bit like a skeleton."

"The phantom's movements were the same as the lord's; it also threw out a right punch."

"A Beast King-level white bear couldn't even withstand the power of a single punch from a lord?"

"The snow has stopped within a five-mile radius; this can even change the weather."

"Look at the clouds in the sky! Do you think even if all one thousand members of our Divine Martial Army stood together, they could block this punch?"

"This……"

"He's broken through! The lord must have broken through to the Manifestation Sun level."

…………

"The phantom image just now was formed after I released all the power of my bones and skin. What was that?"

Those below the Cold-resistant level could see the thousand-foot-tall dark red skeletal phantom, so how could Xia Hong himself not see it?

But this was his first all-out attack after his breakthrough, so he himself didn't know what that phantom was.

"I'm the only one at the Manifestation Yang level in the entire Great Xia Dynasty. Without comparison, I have no idea what that is. It seems I need to hurry up and find an opponent of the same level to test my skills!"

Xia Hong pondered for only a moment. The speed at which the Frostblood Blade extracted blood from the Beast King-level Frost Beast was significantly slower. Xia Hong had no time to wait. He kicked the white bear in front of him away and then leaped towards the snow-maned beast.

"Roar……"

With the fate of the White Bear King already before them, how could the remaining two beast kings possibly have the courage to fight against Xia Hong? They had originally escaped from Redwood Ridge, but Xia Hong intercepted them halfway, leaving them no choice but to join forces against him.

Realizing Xia Hong's terrifying power, the two beast kings did not hesitate for a moment. With a soft roar, they turned and fled towards the east side of the arrow bamboo forest.

Frostwolf escaped successfully, but Snowmane did not.

It had flown less than a hundred meters eastward when it was abruptly stopped by the heat emanating from Xia Hong's blade, and then it was met with an even more ferocious blade.

Xia Hong didn't choose Snowmane randomly. It was already unrealistic for him to deal with both of them. Frost Wolves were faster, so choosing Snowmane was obviously the optimal solution.

Snowmane's long tongue kept wrapping around Xia Hong's body, while it never gave up the idea of ​​escaping, constantly shifting its body eastward.

Sizzle... Sizzle...

Unfortunately, its long tongue couldn't even break through Xia Hong's body. Instead, it got too close to the Cold Blood Blade and was quickly cut off in dozens of places.

"Roar…………"

The aching Xue Zong roared incessantly, trying to retract his tongue completely into his mouth, but by then it was too late.

Xia Hong had already used the Frostblood Blade to entangle the remaining tongue of the creature. Then, he suddenly pulled it in front of him, and the snow-mane body that was fleeing eastward was actually pulled back by Xia Hong, flying towards Xia Hong's face like a cannonball.

"Step aside!"

On the ground, the six thousand troops that had regrouped, including six commanders such as Xia Chuan and Yuwen Tao, were stunned for a moment when they heard Xia Hong's voice. Then, realizing that the army was directly below Xue Zong, they immediately reacted.

"Everyone, scatter in all directions! Quickly!"

The soldiers of the Six Armies were already adept at obeying orders. Upon hearing Xia Chuan's command, they quickly dispersed in all directions, soon clearing a wide open area of ​​about five or six hundred meters in diameter.

boom…………

The soldiers had just cleared space and hadn't even had a chance to look up at the sky when a loud bang exploded in the open area.

It was that snow-white mane that Xia Hong kicked down from the sky.

The violent shockwave spread outwards, and the soldiers who had not yet had time to regroup were instantly forced to retreat. The hundreds of soldiers in the front row could not even stand steadily and staggered to the ground, looking utterly disheveled.

It should be noted that the soldiers who can stand in the front row are basically the elite scout battalion of the Sixth Army, which means that they are all at the Cold Protection level!

"Plop..."

"The shockwave from kicking the Beast King down from 500 meters in the air and slamming him to the ground could knock us down?"

"If we were any closer, we'd probably get hurt, right?"

"Injured? They could be killed instantly by the shockwave!"

"So what if we were knocked down? That was a three-headed beast king!"

"The lord fought three against one and killed two of them."

"If that Frostwolf King had run any slower, it would have certainly been doomed."

"This is the strength of a Xianyang-level lord. They're on a completely different level from us, aren't they?"

"It's not that they're not on the same level, it's like they're from completely different worlds."

…………

Xia Hong had a general idea of ​​the reactions of the people on the ground, even without deliberately looking. However, he had no time to care about that at the moment. Instead, he turned to look at the back of the Frost Wolf King, which was running eastward, and showed a thoughtful expression.

"It seems our previous thinking was wrong all along. The reason for the beast tide wasn't something in the arrow bamboo forest that attracted them, but rather..."

Xia Hong turned his head to look at Redwood Ridge to the west, revealing a look of apprehension.

"They're afraid of what's in Redwood Ridge!"

Xia Hong had already arrived when the army began its charge into the arrow bamboo forest, but he wanted to see how much the Six Armies' combat strength had grown in the past few years, so he did not show himself to intervene in the army's battle. Instead, he observed the army while closely monitoring the situation of the beast tide.

Upon seeing the three-headed beast king run out, he immediately stepped forward to stop it.

When fighting the three-headed beast king, Xia Hong clearly sensed their urgent desire to escape.

The fact that Frostwolf King ultimately chose to continue fleeing eastward instead of turning back towards the closer Redwood Ridge is enough to prove his earlier guess.

Deep within Redwood Ridge, something happens every four months that terrifies all the cold beasts, causing them to flee in droves to the arrow bamboo forest to the east.

There are very few things that can frighten a cold beast.

There are very few things that can make even the Beast King flee in terror.

Xia Hong turned his head and stared into the depths of Redwood Ridge, his expression gradually becoming solemn.

"The exploration of Redwood Ridge is only halfway complete, so now is not the time to solve this problem. Now that the Beast King is no longer a threat, the next priority is to solve the silver mine problem. Of course, the eastward expansion can also be put on the agenda!"

Xia Hong's expression hardened slightly. He withdrew his gaze, looked down at the army below, a smile appearing on his face. He then withdrew the flames from his body and slowly landed on the ground.

Xia Chuan, Yuwen Tao, Yuan Cheng, Luo Yuan, Hong Guang, Hong Tian, ​​the six army commanders, and all the soldiers all focused their attention on him, their expressions incredibly excited, their eyes practically overflowing with fervor.

"Congratulations on the great success of Lord Xianyang! May the Lord live ten thousand years, and may the Great Xia Dynasty live ten thousand years!"

Xia Chuan was the first to bow to Xia Hong, congratulating him on breaking through to the Manifestation Realm.

Yuwen Tao, Yuan Cheng, and the other 6,000 soldiers also reacted at this moment, and all of them bowed down to Xia Hong in unison, shouting in unison.

"Congratulations on the great success of Lord Xianyang! May the Lord live ten thousand years, and may the Great Xia Dynasty live ten thousand years!"

After the crowd shouted excitedly, they looked up at Xia Hong, their eyes filled with undiminished fervor and reverence.

This sentiment naturally affected Xia Hong as well.

"Hahaha, thank you for your kind words. I, Xianyang Dacheng, and your Six Armies have also made great progress in the past five years. As long as we work together with one heart and one mind, the four words 'Great Xia for ten thousand years' will surely come true one day!"

As long as we work together with one heart and one mind, the dream of a great Xia dynasty lasting ten thousand years will surely come true one day!
Everyone's expression turned solemn, and they firmly remembered these words.

(End of this chapter)