Endless Winter: My Camp Infinite Upgrades

Chapter 362 Four Silver Mines, Army Reshuffle, Urgent News from Xia City, The Third Seventh-Rank Noble

I arrived in Longshan on September 14th, and it's only been ten days since then.

These ten days have been incredibly rewarding.

"Two micro-sized ones, one small one, and even if today's one is medium-sized, it's enough to support the silver needs of the Great Xia for more than fifteen years. Now we just need to wait for mining. Once the reserves increase, the three pavilions of weapon crafting, medicine crafting, and martial arts, as well as the black soil and iron wall, can continue to be upgraded."

Xia Hongfei flew to the west side of the mountain peak, picked up the beast king-level Lei Kui he had just killed with one hand, and flew towards the army, his face full of uncontrollable smiles.

Silver was his most important objective in coming to Longshan, and at this juncture, it can be considered a complete success. The silver mine he acquired today is the largest of the seven silver mines that the Great Xia has discovered so far, and it is also home to the strongest group of cold beasts.

With this silver mine secured, the remaining two—the one in Longshan and the one in Beimangshan—are essentially no longer problems.

Of course, the harvest in these ten days was not limited to just four silver mines.

Before landing, Xia Honglin scanned the area below from mid-air and roughly estimated that there were more than four thousand corpses of the Frost Beasts. A smile immediately appeared on his face.

"Indeed, the battlefield is the best place to train troops. The number of enemies killed in the first battle at the silver mine was only a little over 30%, but after three major battles, it has increased to over 40%. To achieve this against the Frost Beasts is basically the limit!"

In a major battle between two armies, as long as both sides have more than a thousand soldiers, the number of enemy casualties cannot be too high. After all, the primary objective of both sides is to defeat the enemy's manpower, not to kill everyone.

If Xia Hong remembered correctly, in the era of cold weapons in his previous life, if one side suffered more than 5% casualties on the battlefield, there would be an immediate risk of defeat. No matter how well-trained and how strong the sense of honor of an elite army was, it could only withstand about 15% casualties at most. Only an army that could maintain its fighting power after suffering more than 20% casualties would be in a desperate situation and determined to fight to the death.

Ice Abyss is also part of the era of cold weapons, but unlike the previous world, the humans here are not only physically strong, but also have mental fortitude that is far superior to that of ordinary humans, honed by the harsh environment.

"Nevertheless, the Ice Abyss people are still human. As long as they are human, some inertia can never be avoided; they are simply more resilient. All the battles that took place in Longyou in the second year of the Great Xia Dynasty have been reviewed and are supported by ample data:"
An army composed of ordinary Digging Realm cultivators can only withstand a maximum of 10% combat casualties; if the casualties exceed 10%, they will immediately collapse.

Even elite armies composed of those at the pinnacle of the Earth-Digging Realm, such as the Longyou Army and the Blood Guard Army, can withstand a maximum of 20% combat casualties. Once this critical point is exceeded, they too will be on the verge of collapse.

The defeat here does not refer to the final number of enemy casualties, but rather to the change in the battlefield situation. In other words, whichever side in a war loses more or less combat personnel first will inevitably be defeated unless they receive external assistance.

"Although the organization of the Frost Beasts is not as good as that of human armies, they have the advantage of stronger vitality and larger size. Therefore, when they fight on a large scale, they can withstand at least 20% casualties, which is comparable to the elite human army."

Interestingly, although the Great Xia currently has eleven armies of a thousand men each, so far, the only human army that has fought against other camps is the Cloud Dragon Army, and that was five years ago.

"Not having fought against a human army doesn't mean our combat strength is weak."

In the past five years, using beast tides for military training has become commonplace in the Great Xia Dynasty. The number of this Lei Kui tribe has exceeded 10,000. Although it is the smallest five-digit number, it is still a real large-scale beast tide. Judging from the combat strength of the Longyou Army five years ago, ten Longyou armies with 10,000 elite soldiers would definitely not be able to stop it.

"But in my Great Xia, we wouldn't even need the Cloud Flood Dragon and Dragon Martial Armies to intervene; the Four Dragon-Slaying Armies alone could drive them to the brink of defeat!"

At the same level, the individual strength of a Frost Beast far surpasses that of a human; this is a consensus within the Ice Abyss.

Four thousand troops against ten thousand cold beasts, and a single Lei Kui tribe with considerable fighting power at that. The fact that the Great Xia could achieve such an amazing result is due to a multitude of factors, including powerful bows, weapons, armor, cultivation levels, elixirs, rigorous training, and flexible application of combat tactics. If one were to carefully examine and delve into these factors, there would be countless reasons for their success.

But the fighting power displayed by the army was real!
Once they're actually on the battlefield, no soldier will care about these factors.

Everyone was focused on winning or losing, because losing likely meant death.

War is a matter of vital importance to the state and must be carefully considered!
Especially now, with the imminent contact with the Nine Towns, the Great Xia is very likely to face a new round of war. Xia Hong naturally values ​​the army even more. This is why he went to the Arrow Bamboo Forest to see the army as soon as he left the pass, and after seeing it, he directly led the army to Longshan.

The silver mine was of course the top priority, but he also wanted to take the opportunity to see if the army had relaxed its combat readiness over the past five years, whether its combat strength had been steadily improving, and what level of combat strength it could currently exert overall.

"We've basically seen everything in these ten days. If the armies in the Nine Garrisons are on par with the Longyou Army and the Blood Guard Army, then there's no need for Yun Jiao and the Dragon Martial Army to take action."

A hint of arrogance flashed in Xia Hong's eyes before he slowly landed on the ground.

"Are you alright?"

As soon as he landed, Li Xuanling immediately came to greet him. Seeing that his clothes were torn in several places, she quickly asked him in a low voice if he was injured.

Xia Hong shook his head, handed the Beast King-level Thunder Kui to her, and said with a light laugh, "Didn't you want to make two pieces of Kui Gold Soft Armor for Sheng'er and Yao'er? High-grade Thunder Kui is a bit lacking, so let's use the skull of this Thunder Kui King to make them!"

Li Xuanling was stunned upon hearing this, clearly not expecting that Xia Hong would know about this matter. She immediately scolded him angrily, "Why didn't you go deal with that simpler small silver mine? Why did you come here first? They don't even leave Xia City. They can make the soft armor anytime. Why do you have to act tough here?"

She was quite worried when Xia Hong fought four opponents alone in the sky.

However, despite his words, Li Xuanling still smiled as he picked up the beast king-level Lei Kui, which had recovered to its two-meter length, and stared at the golden skull on its forehead. He had clearly already begun to consider the design of the Kui Gold Soft Armor.

Xia Hong could naturally see that Li Xuanling's seemingly blaming but actually worried attitude. After a warm feeling ran through his heart, he raised his eyebrows slightly.

Aside from what I've already mentioned, the biggest gain from these ten days would probably be my wife, Li Xuanling.

Li Xuanling has exceptional military leadership skills!

During the Longyou War, there were some signs that Li Xuanling was capable of leading troops. Her performance during the attack on the Beehive was quite good. However, more than 2,000 Longyou soldiers were ambushed by Xia Chuan using the straight road and small torches, resulting in the annihilation of the entire army. Therefore, Xia Hong was not really clear about her actual ability to lead troops.

During his ten-day stay in Longshan, Xia Hong focused on dealing with the beast kings, so Li Xuanling planned and commanded all four major battles.

To be fair, she played really well. Xia Hong felt that even if he were in her shoes, he might not be able to command as well as she did.

Moreover, Xia Hong had also taken the time to observe her and found that Li Xuanling was not an ordinary general, but a commander-in-chief. She was very good at the deployment and command of large-scale armies, and her control over the overall situation on the battlefield was far beyond that of ordinary people. In this respect, the only ones who could compare with her at present were probably Yuwen Tao and Xia Chuan.

Both of them had been leading troops for a long time, while this was Li Xuanling's first time.

"That's a good thing, the more talented people like this, the better!"

As Li Xuanling's wife, she naturally commands respect in the Great Xia Dynasty. As the Great Xia army grows larger, her talent will inevitably come in handy sooner or later.

"Eh, Yue Feng is here?"

Xia Hong suddenly looked up and headed towards the east side of the army.

Yue Feng and Li Yuankun were running towards them together, and soon they reached Xia Hong and Li Xuanling. The two bowed deeply in unison.
"Greetings, Lord! Greetings, Madam!"

"Is it the Shanhe Army that's coming?"

Yue Feng has been shuttling between Xia City and Longshan recently, busy building the Shanhe Army. Xia Hong knew this and guessed it as soon as he saw Yue Feng rush back from Xia City.

However, his guess was clearly incomplete.

Yue Feng cupped his hands and replied, "Reporting to the leader, not only the Shanhe Army, but also the Sicheng has ordered the Shanhe, Lieying, Xiongwu, and Beizhao armies to come to Longshan. In addition, he has instructed me to inform Yuwen Sizheng to take the Yunjiao, Longwu, Tulong, and Hubao armies back to Xiacheng to await orders."

The soldiers were cleaning up the battlefield when Yuwen Tao arrived. Hearing Yue Feng's words, he immediately nodded.

The rotation of the four armies was probably intended to allow the four newly formed armies to take advantage of the opportunity in Longshan to train their troops.

Xia Hong immediately guessed Xia Chuan's intention and nodded, saying, "Alright, let's call it a night. It's almost dawn. Yuwen Tao, notify the army to speed up their preparations and return to the Longshan camp before dawn. After two days of rest, you can lead the army back to Xia City."

"I obey my orders!"

"No need to stand here, let's go back to Longshan first! Notify the Craftsmen's Office to come and explore immediately to confirm the size of this silver mine. We can organize manpower to come and start mining tomorrow night, and the supporting straight road can also be built."

"I will take care of it upon returning to Longshan."

Upon hearing this, Yue Feng immediately nodded with a hint of excitement. These matters were naturally left to him, the righteous guardian of Longshan.

Xia Hong and Li Xuanling left first to the east, followed closely by Yue Feng and Li Yuankun. Yuwen Tao led the army to continue clearing the battlefield, as the numerous cold beasts could not simply be left there.

"Madam, let me get Lei Kui for you!"

Li Yuankun was very good at handling things. When he saw Li Xuanling carrying the Beast King-level Thunder Kui, he immediately stepped forward, took it from her, and helped her carry it back to the Longshan outpost.

Li Xuanling nodded, handed Lei Kui to him, walked to the front and stood next to Xia Hong, and asked softly, "Are you planning to clear out all seven silver mines in Longyou at once?"

Xia Hong was taken aback for a moment upon hearing this, then immediately nodded and said, "Of course, all seven silver mines will eventually need to be mined. Clearing them out all at once will save us from having to come here again in the future."

Li Xuanling immediately shook his head and said softly, "I don't think it's necessary. Only people with a basic strength of over 20,000 jin can mine silver. Given the current cultivation level of the camp, four silver mines are more than enough. Adding three more won't increase the output. It's impossible to transfer everyone to mine them."

Silver mines are not like iron or coal mines. They are often disturbed by cold beasts. When mining, a large army must be stationed nearby. The Yunjiao Four Armies have been transferred away, leaving only the Xuanwu and Shenwu Armies here. The newly formed four armies are not strong enough. It would be good enough if they could keep an eye on these four things. If you open a new mine, which army do you plan to send to watch over it?

Moreover, the four groups of cold beasts from those silver mines were only driven away. Today, with the three beast king-level Lei Kui and the beast king-level Blood Jade Fox from the second silver mine, four beast kings have escaped from your grasp. Who knows if they will come back later? You don't plan to stay here in Longshan forever, do you?"

…………

Upon hearing Li Xuanling's words, Xia Hong's expression tightened slightly.

It really is!
He only cared about making things convenient for himself and neglected everything else.

"Moreover, those three silver mines can be kept for training troops. It's not too late to deal with them after I break through to the Manifest Yang level."

Xia Hong turned to look at Li Xuanling, whose face showed a hint of resentment. A smile immediately appeared on his face, and he nodded, saying, "Alright, then I'll listen to you."

For the first ten days, he was focused on dealing with those beast kings and neglected Li Xuanling quite a bit, so it's no wonder she felt resentful.

The four quickly returned to their post in Longshan.

Compared to five years ago, Longshan has not changed much. After all, it was originally home to more than 100,000 people, and the area already had most of the basic amenities. Apart from the addition of a new main building for the local government office next to the original main building of Longshan, in accordance with the regulations of the Great Xia Dynasty, nothing else has changed.

The original main building has now been converted into a private palace for Xia Hong and Li Xuanling.

During this period, Xia Hong stayed in Longshan, where he mostly lived. When he returned to his post, he led Li Xuanling in with ease.

Yue Feng had other things to do, so after seeing Xia Hong and the other person back to their residence, he immediately took Li Yuankun and went into the main building of the nearby government office.

In the last half hour before dawn, Yuwen Tao led his six armies, carrying more than four thousand Lei Kui beasts, back to the Longshan camp, which naturally caused a stir among the four new armies.

Those who were selected to become soldiers in the new army were originally at least members of intermediate hunting teams, and many of them were even members of advanced hunting teams. However, seeing so many prey at once was something they had never done before.

The key point is that among those four thousand-plus Lei Kui, more than 70% are intermediate-level, and there are even more than eighty high-level Lei Kui.

This is very scary!

More than eighty high-level cold beasts were captured in one night.

What kind of strength does this have?
"What's so special about a high-level Lei Kui? I just saw Lord Wu Bei carrying a Lei Kui that was only two meters long into the main building."

"Two meters long, a beast king-level Lei Kui?"

Inside the camp, a soldier was stunned when he heard his comrade's words. Then he realized what he meant and his face showed deep horror.

Lei Kui is one of the largest cold beasts. Low-level Lei Kui can reach six or seven meters in length; mid-level Lei Kui is about ten meters; high-level Lei Kui is more than five meters in normal form, and can grow to more than thirty meters in combat form.

A Lei Kui that is two meters long can only be a Beast King-level beast.

Li Yuankun, the military commander of Longshan, only had a mid-stage Cold Resistance cultivation level, so it was impossible for him to have killed the Beast King-level Lei Kui.

"It must have been the lord who personally killed them and had the military commander carry them back. No wonder when I entered the camp, I heard from the people at the outpost that the warehouses of the Longshan Camp Supply Department were almost overflowing with animal meat, bones, and blood. They had to organize transport teams in advance to bring the goods back to Xia City. More than four thousand cold beasts in one night, no outpost could possibly hold that many!"

"No wonder people in Xia City say that once you join the army, you'll never lack contribution points. The contribution points distributed in just one night are enough for two or three months' worth of harvest in our original hunting team, right?"

"More than that. After joining the army, you get a monthly quota of all kinds of resources, including pills, weapons, armor, and beast blood. You also get contribution points. Soldiers only need to hand over half of the prey they catch to the camp. Under such circumstances, how could they possibly lack contribution points?"

“Recently, the lord has been personally leading the six armies to oversee the situation, so the circumstances are definitely different. I’ve heard before that hunting parties like to go out with the lord, no wonder.”

"I wonder if we'll ever have the chance to go out with the lord."

"Of course there is. Didn't you hear what the commander said? This time, he transferred our Fourth Army to Longshan to train with the lord."

“That’s right. We’ve all joined the army. We can take it slow. As long as our combat strength improves, we’ll eventually be able to do what the Sixth Army does, earning military merits, contribution points, and whatever we want.”

………………

The newly recruited soldiers were looking for excitement, and the more than four thousand head of prey brought back by the Sixth Army before dawn undoubtedly served as the best stimulus for them, making them realize how beneficial it would be to join the army.

It was a pleasant surprise. The new army had not yet gone out to fight, but the excitement brought by this hunt had already shown signs of initial morale building.

As dawn broke, the soldiers began to return to their quarters to rest, and the once bustling Longshan camp immediately fell silent.

Of course, this was true not only for the Longshan Camp, but for almost the entire outpost.

There are actually quite a few people in Longshan who are resistant to the cold, especially now that all ten armies of the Great Xia are here except for Longyuan, so there are not too many people who can come out during the day.

However, due to the long-standing habits developed by the Ice Abyss humans, many people still maintain their original nocturnal lifestyle even after reaching the Cold Resistance level.

Needless to say, the army's schedule is strictly regulated, and no one is allowed to violate it.

The entire garrison, apart from the iron stake walls surrounding it and the occasional patrols by the Cold-Resistant level, is guarded by five Cold-Resistant level officers at the east gate.

"The ten armies of the Great Xia are all at the Longshan camp now. What are we still doing here on guard duty? Who has the guts to break into the camp?"

"Hehe, I really hope one or two daredevils will come and try it."

"Stop arguing. The lord and his wife are here. If something goes wrong and Shouzheng loses face, we won't have a good outcome either. It's only two hours, it'll be over soon."

...The Great Xia currently has over five thousand Cold Resistance level cultivators. While that's a considerable number, it's not to the point where they've been reduced to guarding the gates.

Normally, the Longshan outpost would only send one cold-resistant officer to guard the city gate during the day, but recently the lord and his wife have been in Longshan, so Yue Feng has tightened security measures and sent five people every day.

Given Xia Hong's strength, Yue Feng naturally knew that his safety was not his concern. Sending five Cold-Resistant level guards to watch the city gate during the day was only to ensure that nothing went wrong; otherwise, it would be a slap in the face to Yue Feng, the righteous guardian of Longshan.

All five were Yue Feng's subordinates, so they naturally understood his intentions. After being reminded by the leader, the other four immediately became much more serious, focusing intently on the situation outside the city gate and not missing any movement.

call…………

"somebody is coming!"

"who."

Suddenly, a gust of wind sounded from the east side.

The five of them immediately straightened up. When they saw a figure brazenly rushing towards them from afar, their expressions relaxed somewhat.

As the man approached, the five men's expressions suddenly changed, and they immediately bowed deeply to him, saying, "Greetings, Chief Justice Qiu!"

The visitor turned out to be Qiu Peng, the director of the Operations Department.

Qiu Peng, who was in charge of the logistics department, rarely left Xia City. His hurried arrival at Longshan clearly indicated that something important had happened. The five men immediately recognized this, and the leader quickly took out some kind of fire-condensing oil from his person and handed it over.

Is the lord at the encampment?

Qiu Peng knew the proper etiquette; after receiving the fire-retaining oil, he hurriedly asked a question.

"The lord just returned before dawn and is resting at the Longshan Palace."

Upon hearing the five people's words, Qiu Peng rushed into the city gate without saying a word and sped towards the Longshan Palace.

"Why the rush? Has something serious happened?"

"What major event could possibly happen in Xia City? It must be something that happens elsewhere, right?"

"Since Qiu came to deliver the message personally, it must be significant."

The five men stared at Qiu Peng's retreating figure, then stood there exchanging bewildered glances. Recalling the anxious look on Qiu Peng's face just now, their brows furrowed with surprise and doubt.

Whoosh……

Less than ten minutes after Qiu Peng entered the station, a streak of light suddenly flew eastward from the sky.

The five people at the city gate suddenly looked up and saw the red light rushing eastward; their expressions froze.

“That is…”

"My lord, the lord has left."

"Qiu Sizheng left as soon as he arrived; something big must have happened in Xia City."

As soon as the five finished speaking, three more figures rushed out from the outpost.

Three figures appeared, one in front and two behind. In front was Madam Li Xuanling, and behind were Qiu Peng, who had just entered, and Yue Feng, the righteous guardian of Longshan.

"Yue Feng, go and inform Yuwen Tao to lead the army back to Xia City immediately tonight. The remaining silver mines are not a concern for the time being. Xuanwu, Shenwu, and your newly established Fourth Army should keep an eye on those four silver mines. If there are any situations that cannot be handled, send someone to Xia City to report."

"Got it, ma'am!"

As Li Xuanling spoke, she didn't stop walking, and directly led Qiu Peng eastward, clearly heading back to Xia City.

Yue Feng stopped at the city gate, watched the two leave, and then looked up at the red light that had flown far away to the east, a hint of worry in his eyes.

As soon as Qiu Peng arrived near the main building, Yue Feng immediately noticed him. Seeing Qiu Peng's anxious expression as he looked for the lord, Yue Feng asked him out of curiosity. However, Qiu Peng was clearly in a hurry and only said that Xu Ning had an accident before rushing into the Longshan Palace.

Then, without saying a word, Xia Hong flew out of the palace and headed towards Xia City.

"How could Xu Ning have gotten into trouble? Didn't the lord order him to lead his men to slowly explore Wuyuan and not to make contact with Jiuzhen too early?"

………………

Great Xia Inner City, Residence No. 15

"Dad, please don't scare Xiao An, okay? What's wrong?"

"Dad, don't you recognize Xiaoping?"

Inside the living room, five-year-old Xu Cheng and three-year-old Xu Ping were nervously tugging at their father Xu Ning's trouser leg, their eyes filled with tension and unease.

Xu Ning sat in the main seat with a bewildered expression. Hearing his son's call, he just looked down, his left pupil unfocused and devoid of any light. Looking at his son, he had completely lost his former intimacy, only indifference and confusion remained, as if he couldn't recognize his two sons at all.

"Waaah... Husband, say something! What's wrong with you?"

"I told you not to go to Qinghe Village, but you insisted on going. Now look what's happened, what are we, the mother and the four of us, supposed to do? Waaaaah..."

Hong Qiaoru held her youngest daughter, Xu Ying, and cried helplessly beside her. Seeing that she could not wake her husband, her tears flowed even more fiercely.

Xia Chuan stood to the side, and seeing Hong Qiaoru so heartbroken, his expression naturally turned sour as well. He said in a deep voice, "Sister-in-law Xu, don't worry. As long as he's not dead, everything is fine. We just haven't found out the reason why Xu Ning became like this yet. Once we find out, we will cure him no matter what it takes."

As Xia Chuan was, his words naturally put Hong Qiaoru at ease. Her sobs subsided, and she whimpered a few times before saying, "Minister Si, I am just a woman and don't know much about important matters in the camp. But when we withdrew from Hexia Village eight days ago, I could tell that Xu Ning risked his life to go to Qinghe Village to gather information for the sake of Great Xia. If there is a way, please, Minister Si, save him, even if it's just for the sake of my three young children. I beg you, Minister Si!"

Hong Qiaoru was a woman, so she naturally had her own thoughts. Her words were clearly meant to curry favor with her husband, fearing that after he became like this, Xia Chuan and the other high-ranking officials of Da Xia would no longer care about him.

"Sister-in-law, you..."

Even Xu An could tell what was going on in his mind. He was worried that his sister-in-law's scheme would anger Xia Chuan, so he wanted to reprimand her, but before he could speak, Xia Chuan stopped him.

Xia Chuan walked up to Hong Qiaoru and said solemnly, "Sister-in-law Xu..."

"Don't worry, I will definitely cure him."

Xia Chuan was clearly planning to make a promise, but as soon as he opened his mouth, a familiar voice came from outside the door.

The three adults in the hall perked up, and Hong Qiaoru also quickly stood up from her chair, facing the direction outside the hall, and bowed.

"Meet the lord!"

The person who arrived was Xia Hong. He was still breathing rapidly, clearly having rushed back from Longshan.

"No need to be polite!"

Xia Hong gestured for the three of them to stand up. Without saying anything, he slowly walked up to Xu Ning, looked at his unfocused pupils and the completely unfamiliar look in his eyes when he saw him, his expression froze slightly, and then he put his hand on Xu Ning's shoulder.

After closing his eyes and sensing for a moment, his expression became increasingly grave.

Just as Qiu Peng just said, there were no injuries on his body, not only externally but also internally. His skin, flesh, and cultivation were all intact. However, his pupils were unfocused, his consciousness was confused, he couldn't speak, and he seemed unable to recognize anyone.

"My lord, this is the intelligence that Xu Ning brought back from Qinghe Village!"

Xia Chuan then handed over the blood-stained cloth.

Xia Hong took the blood-stained cloth and saw the five lines of text on it; his expression tightened slightly.

【Dajue Temple, Five Great Masters】

[The Zen monastery has over five thousand gray-robed, long-haired monks, possessing the strength of the Three-Haired Monk.]

[Eight hundred lay monks, all with twenty or more hairs]

[The Nine Towns have already taken action in Qinghe Village; Xiahou Zhang, the military leader of Jiangxia Town, has been defeated by the Vajra Master.]

[The Great Awakening Hall of Crimson Dragon Lake, with its emerald green pupils; eye contact means instant death]

"Judging from the handwriting, Xu Ning must have written this hastily before his consciousness completely faded. Because he didn't have much time, he could only resort to this brief method. But even so, these five messages can tell a lot, Lord..."

"I can tell, wait!"

Xia Hong waved his hand to interrupt Xia Chuan, looked down at the blood-red words on the tattered cloth, fixed his gaze on the fifth one, and a solemn look slowly rose in his pupils.

[The Great Awakening Hall of Crimson Dragon Lake, with its emerald green pupils; eye contact means instant death]

The first four pieces of information can be learned by seeing them, but this last piece of information is different. If we only see that someone has died, we probably cannot draw any conclusions. The only possibility is that Xu Ning made eye contact with the pair of bright green eyes that he mentioned.

"The crux of the problem most likely lies in those bright green pupils that Xu Ning mentioned. I need to go to Qinghe Village to see what's going on."

"My lord, you mustn't!"

"A lord is absolutely out of the question."

Upon hearing Xia Hong's words, Xia Chuan and Xu An stood up almost simultaneously to dissuade him.

Xia Chuan continued in a deep voice: "More than 5,000 three-mane cold-resistant level experts and more than 820-mane cold-resistant level experts. Their strength alone is not to be underestimated."
Xu Ning listed Xiahou Zhang, the military leader of Jiangxia Town, as a separate intelligence report, which basically confirms that he has the cultivation level of Xianyang. Even he was defeated by that Vajra Master, and there are a total of five such masters in Dajue Temple.

All nine towns had clearly made their move in Qinghe Village, so why was only one Xianyang-level expert, Xiahou Zhang, the military leader of Jiangxia Town, the one who appeared?
I estimate that most likely none of the other eight towns' Xianyang-level experts were willing to take the risk themselves. Jiangxia Town is the closest to Dajue Temple, so they were naturally the most eager to find out the strength of Dajue Temple. They only sent one Xianyang-level expert because they had no other choice, and judging from the situation, he probably suffered a great loss.

From the information Xu Ning brought back alone, it can be deduced that the strength of Dajue Temple is absolutely unfathomable, and given their connection with the supernatural, the lord must not risk his life now that the enemy's situation is unclear.

Xu An nodded emphatically, glanced at his elder brother Xu Ning, and continued:
"The intelligence that my elder brother risked his life to gather was so that our Great Xia would suffer less damage when it encounters the Great Awakening Temple. If we let the lord go and risk his life himself, wouldn't all the intelligence he brought back be meaningless? If my elder brother were sober now, he would never agree to let the lord go and risk his life himself."

Upon hearing their words, Xia Hong's expression hardened slightly.

It's clear that Xia Chuan has analyzed each of these five pieces of intelligence.

It's highly likely that he saw just as much as I did.

It would be a bit inappropriate to rush over and investigate like this!
The fourth message, in particular, contained a great deal of information: Jiuzhen had already taken action in Qinghe Village. If he went to Dajue Temple rashly before fully understanding the situation, it wouldn't be a big deal if he exposed himself, but if he also exposed Daxia to Jiuzhen, then all his arrangements over the past four or five years would be in vain.

"Qiu Peng told me that Xu Ning left two spies in Hexia Village. Those two should be able to find out some news about Qinghe Village, right? Have they sent any news back recently?"

Xu An was well aware of the matter and immediately nodded, saying, "There are two, named Bai Shanqiu and Xiang Liang. One is at the Cold Resistance level with two-mane strength, and the other is at the limit of the Earth Digging Realm. They both volunteered to stay in Hexia Village."

Following my elder brother's usual practice during his six months of infiltration of Hexia Village, unless there were special circumstances, they would usually send back a message at the end of each month. Today is only the 25th, so we have to wait five days for them to send a message back.

Xia Hong frowned slightly. One was a cold-resistant cultivator with two hairs, and the other was at the limit of the earth-digging realm. With such strength, what useful information could they possibly gather?

"Brother, Xu Ning's five pieces of intelligence are all very valuable. Now we just need those two spies to confirm them. If it is really as we think, then Dajue Temple will most likely clash with Jiuzhen. At this critical juncture, no matter what the reason, we cannot show our faces there!"

Xia Chuan was clearly still somewhat worried. Xia Hong wanted to go to Dajue Temple in person for Xu Ning's sake, so his words were all meant to dissuade him.

Xia Hong frowned slightly, his gaze fixed on the fourth line of blood-red characters, or more precisely, the ten characters that read "Nine Towns have already taken action in Qinghe Village".

Of course he understood what Xia Chuan meant.

But it's Xu Ning!

Xia Hong turned to look at Xu Ning in the chair, his expression darkening slightly. After thinking for a long time, he finally sighed and said to Xia Chuan in a deep voice, "Give Xu Ning 1000 military merits! From now on, his family's food, clothing, and daily necessities, including cultivation resources, will be provided by the camp until he is cured!"

Xia Chuan's expression hardened upon hearing this, but he immediately nodded.

Upon hearing this, Xu An and Hong Qiaoru were startled. Without thinking, they bowed deeply to Xia Hong, their faces filled with emotion.

"Xu An, on behalf of his elder brother, thanks the lord!"

"The lady, on behalf of her husband, bows in gratitude to the lord!"

Xu Ning is already an eighth-rank Chixiao Viscount, with accumulated military merits exceeding 1000. If he is rewarded with another 1000 military merits, he will be directly promoted to a seventh-rank Qingming Viscount. It should be noted that currently, in the entire Great Xia Dynasty, there are only two seventh-rank viscounts: Xia Chuan and Yuwen Tao.

Xu Ning, on the other hand, was promoted immediately.

The key point is Xia Hong's next sentence: from now on, their family's food, clothing, daily necessities, including cultivation resources, will be supplied by the camp until Xu Ning is cured!
This was practically a personal promise that he would find a way to cure Xu Ning. With Xia Hong's personal promise, Hong Qiaoru and Xu An felt much more at ease.

“Take good care of Xu Ning at home from now on. I will definitely save him, don’t worry! Xia Chuan and Xu An, come with me to the Council Hall.”

After saying this to Hong Qiaoru, Xia Hong called out to Xia Chuan and Xu An, then turned and walked out of the hall.

Upon hearing the sound, the two immediately followed.

Hong Qiaoru was left alone at home. Looking at her dazed and confused husband, she still felt a little sad, but it was much better than before.

"My lord, the lord will definitely heal you, he definitely will!"

(End of this chapter)