Endless Winter: My Camp Infinite Upgrades

Chapter 367 Yan Xin's methods: the five chiefs surrendered themselves, revealing a shocking truth.

Swish swish swish…………

Although Xiahou Qin's more than 500 men were full of fighting spirit, the fate of Jinbi Village seemed to have been sealed the moment they retreated to the main building.

The monks of Dajue Temple and the group of cold-resistant monks from Qinghepu did not catch up with them immediately, but stopped about two hundred meters away.

In battle between two armies, the first contest is always archery; this is the usual practice.

If they can kill from a distance, there's no reason for them to engage in close combat with you.

"Fire arrows!"

At the command of Chief Yanxin, more than 20,000 Earth-Digging Realm cultivators from Dajue Temple drew their bows and fired a barrage of arrows at the main building. Wave after wave of arrows instantly covered all the buildings surrounding the main building.

"Fire arrows!"

Xiahou Qin, not to be outdone, signaled his side to begin firing arrows, but he seemed to have anticipated something, and his tone clearly lacked confidence.

Click... click...

After he gave the order, the windows on the west side of more than a dozen buildings around the main building were immediately opened, and a volley of arrows flew out, fiercely clashing with the arrows fired from Dajue Temple.

Clang... Clang...

Even without seeing the arrows hit their targets, the sheer scale of the arrow rain from both sides was enough to show that Jiangxia had been completely defeated.

The more than 30,000 Digging Realm soldiers in Jiangxia Town were all huddled in their wooden houses. They could only shoot arrows out through the windows, and their formation was impossible to maintain. The number of arrows they could fire in a volley was less than one-tenth of that of the Dajue Temple.

Beep beep beep beep...

So, without a doubt, the rain of arrows fired by more than 20,000 people from Dajue Temple completely covered all the iron arrows they had fired. The arrows that passed through either hit the people inside through the windows or stuck to the walls of the wooden houses.

No, it should be that the vast majority of the iron arrows were embedded in the wooden house.

Many of the iron arrows fired from Dajue Temple's side were actually on fire.

Like most camps, the houses in Jinbi Village were mainly made of wood, so the result of being hit by so many flaming arrows was predictable.

Sizzle sizzle...

Wisps of fire continued to rise around the house. The icy wind from the Ice Abyss was already biting, and with the constant rain of arrows from Dajue Temple, the surrounding air currents surged, and the fire quickly grew larger and larger.

boom…………

As soon as the fire broke out around the wooden house, the people inside were instantly thrown into panic. They had no mind to shoot arrows anymore and rushed to take out animal skin tarpaulins to put out the fire, fearing that the burning arrows would continue to fly into the house. They immediately closed the windows again.

However, these actions were completely futile in the face of the continuous barrage of iron arrows fired from Dajue Temple.

Swish swish swish…………

"No, sir, we are too few in number, and most of our arrows are blocked by the enemy's cold-resistant armor, so they are of little use!"

Upon hearing his subordinate Zhou Yunkai's reminder, Xiahou Qin's already unpleasant expression instantly darkened further.

The bows used in the Cold-Resistant class require a draw weight of at least one mane, which is over 100,000 jin. To forge such a powerful bow, the bow frame is relatively easy to make, it just requires more iron ore. The key issue is that the bowstring material is very difficult to find, so the forging cost is extremely high, and not all Cold-Resistant class bows can be equipped with it.

Of the more than 500 Cold-resistant soldiers around him, only a little over 100 were equipped with powerful bows. The arrows shot by these 100-plus soldiers were naturally very powerful. Almost every arrow that hit its mark could pierce through the opponent's hundred-fold iron armor. Even if it didn't kill them outright, it would at least render them unable to fight.

The problem is, there are too few of them!

Compared to the more than 20,000 troops at Qinghepu, it was simply a drop in the ocean.

As their subordinate Zhou Yunkai said, most of the arrows fired by their hundred-plus men were blocked by the enemy's cold-resistant armor, and the number that hit the enemy was extremely small.

"They're running low on arrows. Hold on, hold on until we're locked in close combat!"

Xiahou Qin cleaved dozens of rockets in two with a single stroke, tightened his skin, and used his body to block the remaining iron arrows. While the hundred-plus people were shooting arrows, he and the remaining four hundred people were not idle either. They always stood on the west side of the wooden house, blocking as many iron arrows as possible for the Digging Realm inside.

Of course, the focus was on deflecting those flaming arrows.

boom…………

"what!"

However, how many arrows could more than four hundred people block?

Xiahou Qin's worst fears finally came true. The fire in a wooden house on the north side of the main building had spread completely. A sudden gust of cold wind blew in, and a burning wall on the second floor was blown away. A torrent of frost, along with the cold light from the sky, rushed in instantly, and the people inside screamed in agony.

"If the fire is out of control, rush into the main building, quick!"

Xiahou Qin made a hasty decision. The main building in the entire Jinbi Village used the most iron, and compared to the other wooden houses, its fire was obviously not as easy to spread.

A large number of people rushed out of the wooden houses where the fire was out of control and frantically rushed into the main building. Fortunately, Xiahou Qin did not let everyone rush out at the same time, otherwise, let alone successfully enter the main building, many people would have died from the stampede alone.

But what's the use?
"My lord, it's no use. Hiding in the main building will only buy us a little time. Those at the Earth-Digging Realm are completely powerless during the day. If we lose, Golden Wall Village won't be able to hold out!"

Zhou Yunkai, no longer concerned about affecting morale, turned to Xiahou Qin in front of him and shouted.

A blush crept onto Xiahou Qin's face as he turned to look at the panicked, desperate Digging Realm warriors, his eyes filled with unbearable pity.

"Cease fire, army!"

Just as Xiahou Qin was about to shout the word "retreat," the chief monk Yanxin, who had been standing at the front of the formation, unexpectedly called for a halt to the army.

Xiahou Qin was stunned for a moment, then suddenly turned his head to look at Yan Xin opposite him.

Not only him, but the other five hundred-plus Cold-resistant level warriors in Jiangxia were also stunned.

Unlike when he was commanding the army to fire arrows, Yan Xin's face was now devoid of any ferocity. His expression had become calm and peaceful. Looking at the dozen or so wooden houses that were gradually burning, and hearing the screams of the Digging Realm cultivators inside, a trace of compassion even appeared in his pupils.

"As I just said, the chief villain of the Nine Towns is Jiangxia. Although Jinbi Village is Jiangxia territory, these Digging Realm people are all innocent. Our temple is different from the Nine Towns. My master has the virtue of cherishing life, how dare he commit murder indiscriminately."

At this moment, everyone fell silent, so Yan Xin's words were clearly heard by almost everyone, whether it was the soldiers of Qinghepu Army or the more than 30,000 Digging Realm soldiers trapped in the wooden house in Jinbi Village who were fighting the fire.

"What the chief says is right. Those who commit evil in the Nine Towns are the high-ranking officials. These Earth Digging Realm cultivators are just like us, humble people trying to survive. Why bother to exterminate them?"

"Dajue Temple is dedicated to guiding us toward goodness. We must not commit indiscriminate killings that would tarnish the reputation of our Guru. Let these scoundrels go free, but only punish the ringleaders!"

"The chief is right, we should only eliminate the ringleaders."

………………

The soldiers of Qinghepu shouted in unison, all agreeing with Yan Xin's words. Without the need for the Zen temple stewards in the front row to speak, everyone's attention shifted to the front of the main building, to Xiahou Qin's more than 500 cold-resistant soldiers.

Swish swish swish…………

At the same time, they all shifted their targets and fired the remaining iron arrows at Xiahou Qin and his five hundred men.

"Dajue Temple, their intentions are despicable!"

Xiahou Qin brandished his broadsword, cutting down all the incoming iron arrows. Then he looked up at Yan Xin in the front row of the Qinghepu army, his expression extremely grave.

The fires in the dozen or so wooden houses behind were being put out one after another.

The problem was that after they extinguished the fire, not a single one of them fired an arrow at the Qinghepu army.

Xiahou Qin knew very well what this meant.

He could understand these people. After all, they were trying to survive. Moreover, the more than 30,000 Digging Realm cultivators stationed here tonight all came from the three village-level camps of Jinbi, Longhe, and Hongguan. They could only be considered as the population under the jurisdiction of Jiangxia Town, not the real people of Jiangxia Town. It was not surprising that they made such a choice under the threat of death.

What truly weighed heavily on his mind was the implications behind Yan Xin's actions. Dajue Temple wasn't here for revenge; they were genuinely after Jiangxia Town's territory.

"Fortunately, I managed to evacuate all the ordinary people and lumberjacks from Jinbi Village to Longhe Village beforehand, otherwise these..."

Clang...

As Xiahou Qin's thoughts raced, a crimson monk's staff suddenly cleaved towards his head. The staff's powerful force drew a red arc, stirring up the surrounding air currents and creating an incredibly terrifying effect.

His reaction had been focused on Yan Xin. When the staff came at him, he noticed it immediately, raised his knife to parry, and suddenly dodged to the side.

boom…………

He had just exchanged blows with Yan Xin, so he knew very well that with the opponent's strength of over fifty, he couldn't possibly withstand this blow, which is why he chose to sidestep and dodge.

However, he still underestimated Yan Xin's strength.

Seeing that the monk's staff had been dodged, Yan Xin sneered, slightly pulled his left leg back, and then suddenly stretched it forward, kicking Xiahou Qin hard in the waist.

call…………

With a base strength of over fifty, it means that any movement of any part of the body is essentially accompanied by the force of thunder. Bang!
Xiahou Qin, who was only thirty-something years old, was still far inferior to him. Although he had anticipated Yan Xin's movements and dodged by bending down and blocking with his sword at his waist, he still failed to block it and was kicked more than ten meters away along with his sword.

puff!
After landing, Xiahou Qin quickly rolled over, using the knife to support his body. He couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of blood. He looked up at Yan Xin, his eyes filled with fear.

call out…………

Just as Yan Xin was about to press forward, three silver arrows suddenly shot towards his face from the left. He swiftly swung his hand and caught the three arrows. Turning his head, he saw three archers holding bows a hundred meters to the west, and his gaze turned slightly cold.

"You are stubborn and seeking death!"

He gave a low shout, and then hurled the arrow back the way it came towards the three men.

Pfft... Pfft...

With a strength of over fifty, Yan Xin could easily crush an ordinary Cold-resistant level opponent. The three arrows she threw pierced the foreheads of the three men with incredible accuracy, and the terrifying force pinned them to the wall.

"Withdraw! Withdraw everyone!"

Xiahou Qin didn't even look at the miserable state of the three men, and immediately shouted for a retreat.

The moment Yan Xin approached him, all three hundred-plus Cold-resistant soldiers from Dajue Temple rushed up. Although his side had more Cold-resistant soldiers, they had already suffered considerable losses while helping the people in the wooden house block several waves of arrows. In addition, they had just taken a second round of fire from the Qinghepu army, leaving them with only a little over four hundred soldiers.

In terms of cold-weather protection alone, his side does indeed have the advantage in numbers.

But what about their actual ability?

Not to mention the three people Yan Xin killed casually, he looked around the battlefield and saw twenty bald, formal monks dressed similarly to Yan Xin, who were practically slaughtering his own Yu Han level.

Those bald, formal monks all possessed strength exceeding twenty li, and a few were even comparable to him.

The difference in strength is simply too great!
We can't fight them, we simply can't fight them.

Moreover, the 20,000 soldiers of Qinghepu immediately split up and circled around from both sides after the Yuhan-class soldiers charged up, clearly intending to surround all 400-plus Yuhan-class soldiers.

If they are surrounded, none of their four hundred-plus men will escape.

"Withdraw! Withdraw to Longhe! Jinbi Village can't be saved!"

Xiahou Qin's shout officially announced the fall of Jinbi Village. The more than four hundred Yuhan-level warriors instantly lost all will to fight, fearing that they would be surrounded by the army. They immediately broke away from the battle and fled eastward with him.

"Run? Do you think you can escape!"

The head monk Yan Xin watched as more than four hundred people fled in disarray, a cold glint appearing in his eyes. He led his twenty junior brothers, forty monks from the Zen Monastery, and all the cold-resistant monks from Qinghepu to frantically try to stop them.

…………

Two hundred meters north of Jinbi Village, in the snow-covered forest, a man in black stood atop a large tree, gazing at the scene inside Jinbi Village. Seeing Xiahou Qin's group fleeing eastward, a glint of light appeared in his eyes. He quickly jumped down from the tree and took the lead, heading eastward.

The man in black moved with incredible speed, traveling at breakneck speed. After an unknown distance, a new village soon came into view. Seeing the firelight above the village, the man in black showed no surprise and easily found the area under a large tree.

"It's Shi Ping, come on up!"

A soft sound suddenly came from above, and the men in black below leaped up the tree in a few bounds.

On a thick branch at the top of the tree stood five figures, one in the center in front, and the other four behind. All five were staring at the village to the south, clearly having been observing for a long time.

"Have the results come out from Jinbi Village yet?"

The man in the middle of the front row didn't turn around, but asked a question in a low voice. The four people behind him turned around and looked at the man in black. They were Xia Chuan, Yuwen Tao, Yuan Cheng, and Luo Yuan.

The man in black was none other than Gohara Morimasa Ishihei, who had recently taken office.

Shi Ping, his face showing surprise, cupped his hands and said, "Reporting to the lord, Jinbi Village has fallen. Dajue Temple used some means to expose the Digging Realm to the cold light. Jiangxia's more than 30,000 Digging Realm defenders were completely useless. The more than 500 Cold Resistance Realm defenders were tough and resisted for a while, but Dajue Temple's side was too strong, and with the cooperation of 20,000 Digging Realm defenders, they could only suffer a crushing defeat in the end. Fearing being surrounded by 20,000 troops, the remaining Cold Resistance Realm defenders in Jiangxia had no will to fight and have fled to Longhe. Judging from Dajue Temple's attitude of killing them all, I estimate that not many will be able to escape in the end."

"It's no use escaping now!"

Luo Yuan suddenly spoke, pointing to Longhe Village to the south, gesturing for Shi Ping to look.

Shi Ping was stunned for a moment. Looking to the south, he realized that the firelight he had seen in the sky when he approached had completely dissipated. His pupils widened in horror, and he asked in surprise, "Longhe Village has also been captured by Dajue Temple?"

He had just arrived here with Xia Hong and the other four. He knew that while Dajue Temple was attacking Jinbi Village, it also sent another group of people to attack Longhe Village at the same time. However, before the battle even started, Xia Hong had him go and keep an eye on Jinbi Village, so he didn't know the specific situation in Longhe Village.

"The four chief monks, Wuchen, Jinyang, Jukong, and Heiyan, each with a strength of over fifty bristles, along with thirty formal monks with a strength of over twenty bristles, plus over five thousand monks with hair still attached from the Zen Monastery, how could Longhe Village possibly hold out with just over two hundred Cold-Resistant level monks and twenty thousand Earth-Digging level monks!"

Upon hearing what Xia Hong said, not only Shi Ping but also the other four showed a deep sense of horror. Clearly, Xia Hong had only told them about the fall of Longhe Village and had not explained the details.

Although they all possessed the Cold Resistance level of cultivation, their perception range was at most less than 300 meters. This place was at least a mile away from Longhe Village, and only Xia Hong could clearly perceive the situation inside.

"Lord, it should be the five chiefs. There's also Chief Yanxin from Jinbi Village. Just now, he..."

Shi Ping suppressed his shock, then remembered something and immediately began to recount everything he had just observed in Jinbi Village, including Yan Xin's words.

After listening to Shi Ping's account of the entire incident, Xia Chuan and Yuwen Tao's gazes sharpened slightly, and their expressions instantly became much more serious.

"They only eliminated the ringleader, and then let so many Earth-Digging Realm cultivators go without killing them. In that case, the Great Awakening Temple doesn't seem like such bad people after all!"

"No, this only proves that there must be something sinister behind Dajue Temple!"

Yuan Cheng was straightforward, and upon hearing that Dajue Temple had released so many people, he couldn't help but exclaim in amazement.

But as soon as he finished speaking, Yuwen Tao immediately refuted his words.

Luo Yuan and Shi Ping were both stunned, looking up at Yuwen Tao with puzzled expressions.

Yuwen Tao explained, “You all probably think that Dajue Temple came for Jiangxia Town’s territory, but looking at what Dajue Temple did in Qinghepu in the previous seven years, they neither mined nor expanded, and they didn’t even care much about the resources of the cold beasts. Why would they suddenly be interested in Jiangxia Town’s territory?”

Upon hearing this, Yuan Cheng, Luo Yuan, and Shi Ping all tensed up slightly.

"population?"

When Yuan Cheng asked out of curiosity, Luo Yuan and Shi Ping immediately remembered something, their pupils narrowing slightly, clearly having realized what was going on.

"Yes and no. The only thing that Dajue Temple cares about is the six-year-old children they recruit every February. If you connect that to the reason why Abbot Yanxin didn't kill those in the Digging Realm."

"In seven years, the number of people with fertility in Qinghepu has been decreasing. Dajue Temple needs more people to mass-produce babies so that it can receive more six-year-old children later."

Shi Ping had clearly realized what was going on. After finishing his sentence, he continued in a deep voice, "Killing indiscriminately will only make these village-level camps hate Dajue Temple even more. Naturally, they will not be willing to bear children for them in the future. Therefore, their goal is to shift the blame to Jiangxia Town and try their best to win over these village-level camps."

“These village-level camps are only under the jurisdiction of Jiangxia Town, and they don’t have a deep sense of belonging to Jiangxia. It’s easy to win them over by taking advantage of the big battle.”

Luo Yuan paused slightly, then continued, as if remembering something, "Shi Ping just said that they also have ways to expose those at the Earth-Digging Realm to the cold light. For these village-level camps, this method is nothing short of a miracle. Those at the Cold-Resistant Realm might not think much of it, but ordinary people seeing this..."

To be fully exposed to the cold light is an extremely high expectation for most people, and it can be considered a pursuit. Everyone knows that breaking through to the Cold Resistance level is enough, but due to limited resources and talent, the Cold Resistance level is always the smallest group of people, no matter which camp.

Putting everything else aside, just with this one skill alone, Dajue Temple can do so much more.

"According to Lu Yang's message, the reinforcements sent by Beishuo Town probably only set off from the town last night and will arrive in Jiangxia around the 25th. Beishuo is the farthest away, so let's not talk about it. What about the other seven towns?"

"Have the reinforcements from the five nearest towns—Longgu, Muyin, Yangqu, and Chuishan—and Bashang south of Jiangxia, still not arrived?"

Xia Chuan was now somewhat blaming the other eight towns for their poor support, clearly showing that he was beginning to be wary of Dajue Temple.

Xia Hong shook his head slightly and looked at Longhe Village in the south, saying, "Not only the other eight towns, but I don't think Jiangxia has any intention of resisting either. The cold-resistant troops they have deployed so far are probably drawn from all the village-level camps in the territory, just like the other eight towns. They probably won't care if they die. The main army hasn't appeared yet, which is clearly a sign that they want to hand over the two villages on the north bank."

He paused for a moment, then continued with a smile, "Jiangxia would rather cede territory than let the other eight towns reap the benefits for free. It seems the infighting among these nine towns is much deeper than we imagined..."

Upon hearing this, Xia Chuan and the others immediately smiled.

The fiercer the infighting within the Nine Towns, the better it will be for Great Xia.

Their only concern right now is the infighting within the Nine Towns, which could lead to the Dajue Temple gradually gaining power. This possibility is not very high, in theory.

It's understandable that losing a couple of the dozens of village-level camps in Jiangxia Town wouldn't be a big deal, but if too many are lost, he'd have to find a way to deal with it, right?
Xia Hong took out a map from his person, looked at Hongguan Village outside the eastern exit on the north bank of the Xinghe River, and his gaze narrowed slightly:
"Jinbilonghe Village has changed hands, and next up is Hongguan Village. This is the eastern exit on the north bank. Once Dajue Temple takes over here, the entrance on the north bank of Xinghe will be completely changed hands. I don't believe Jiangxia is that generous. Let's keep watching!"

Yuwen Tao suddenly realized something and asked in confusion, "Has the lord ever considered how these five thousand monks from the Zen monastery bypassed Jinbi Village and came directly here?"

"Of course they came from either the north or the south, how else could they have come?"

Upon hearing this question, Xia Hong and Xia Chuan were both slightly taken aback. They completely ignored Luo Yuan's answer, and their expressions suddenly changed.

On the north bank of the Xinghe River, the section between Jinbi and Longhe villages is only five kilometers wide. To put that into perspective, you could easily send a few cold-weather-level guards to keep watch. It would be absolutely impossible for more than 5,000 monks from the Zen monastery to bypass it silently.

That means...

"This Dajue Temple has the means to conduct military operations on water!"

Xia Chuan's voice carried a hint of horror, clearly indicating that he was extremely shaken.

(End of this chapter)