Endless Winter: My Camp Infinite Upgrades

Chapter 382 Awakening, Promotion, and Military Expansion; Jiangxia Recapture and Choices

The eighth year of the Great Xia Dynasty, April 28th, late at night
It was less than two hours until dawn.

The streets of Xia City were filled with people returning from hunting and gathering, either rushing to the various district offices to hand over their supplies or having just finished handing over their supplies and preparing to go home.

Residence No. 15 near the main temple of the inner city

In the main hall on the first floor, Xu Ning sat at the head of the table with unfocused pupils and an empty expression, still displaying the same indifferent and confused look as before.

Xia Hong stood in front of Xu Ning, holding a piece of liver in his hand.

The liver was dark and shiny, pulsating slightly at an extremely slow pace, as if it still had a life force, which looked incredibly eerie.

There were six other people in the hall: Hong Qiaoru and her three children, Xu An, and Qiu Peng, the director of the logistics department. The six of them looked at each other with a mixture of tension and anticipation.

Xia Hong slowly placed the liver on the lower right side of Xu Ning's chest, aiming at the area where his liver was originally located, and then slammed it forward.

As the black liver approached Xu Ning's liver, it seemed to sense something and suddenly began to beat faster. Then, when Xia Hong slapped it hard, it burst into a burst of bright light upon contact with Xu Ning's body and directly merged into Xu Ning's body.

"Well…………"

Xu Ning, who had remained silent for more than half a year, maintaining an indifferent and confused state, suddenly let out a painful groan.

A strong blue light suddenly rose from his liver area, quickly spreading throughout his body, and then, after a short while, gathered towards his eyes.

Seemingly sensing that Xu Ning only had one left eye, the blue light paused briefly when it converged on his eyes, but quickly recovered and split into two streams, flowing towards his two eyes respectively.

Seeing this change, Xia Hong's face immediately lit up with anticipation.

The others were still somewhat confused, but soon their faces all showed shock and surprise.

Because Xu Ning's right eye socket, which had been hollowed out for more than eight years and had completely sunken down, had started to bulge out again.

Moreover, the cloudiness in his left pupil was rapidly dissipating, and as his eyes gradually cleared, the indifference and confusion on his face also began to return quickly.

Buzz…………

After a long while, Xu Ning's body suddenly trembled, and a beam of blue light shot out from each of his pupils, his eyes regaining full clarity. Looking up at Xia Hong, Xu An, and the others before him, he was initially stunned, but then, as if remembering something, he quickly stood up and said, "Lord, Dajue Temple..."

After Xu Ning recovered, his memory was still stuck on the night he escaped death in Qinghepu. He recounted the whole story of Dajue Temple in one breath. After he finished speaking, seeing that Xia Hong and the other two were unmoved, and his wife Hong Qiaoru who was crying tears of joy beside him, he immediately realized something.

He suddenly noticed his eldest son, Xu Cheng, behind his wife. Seeing the change in Xu Cheng's appearance, he realized that his son's basic strength had already reached more than 3,000 jin. His expression froze for a moment: "Cheng'er has started cultivating. How long have I been unconscious?"

"Father, you finally recognize me!"

"father……"

Xu Cheng couldn't hold back any longer when Xu Ning was speaking. Hearing his father call his name, he excitedly ran straight to Xu Ning's arms. His younger brother, Xu Ping, followed closely behind, rushing forward to hug Xu Ning on either side of his brother.

Seeing her two sons so agitated, Xu Ning was certain that she had been unconscious for a long time, and quickly looked up at her younger brother, Xu An.

“Brother, it is now the 28th day of the fourth month of the eighth year of the Great Xia Dynasty. From the 24th day of the ninth month last year until now, you have been in a coma for a full seven months and four days. The Great Awakening Temple is gone. The Master Wusheng who took your soul has been killed by the lord. The lord used a piece of his liver to save you…”

Xu An quickly recounted the events of the past six months to Xu Ning, emphasizing Xia Hong's rescue of him.

Upon hearing that Dajue Temple had been destroyed and that the Great Xia had now occupied Hongguan and seized the vital passage to the east, Xu Ning was extremely excited. When he heard that Xia Hong had fought against five opponents and killed three great masters to save him, he was deeply moved. He walked directly to Xia Hong, bowed deeply, and said with a guilty expression, "I was greedy for merit and acted rashly, causing my lord to take such a risk to save me. I deserve to die!"

"There's no need for that. It's true that you were greedy for credit and acted rashly, but it was also thanks to the information from Dajue Temple that you risked your life to bring back that our Great Xia was able to gain the upper hand in this round of war and finally capture Hongguan, successfully opening up the key route to the east. You deserve great credit. Although you were in a coma for more than half a year, you can be considered to have... turned misfortune into blessing!"

After saying the last four words, Xia Hong looked at Xu Ning with a strange expression.

Xu Ning was initially puzzled, but he quickly realized something. After clenching his fist and feeling it for a moment, his expression suddenly changed, and his face was filled with ecstasy.

"My eyes have recovered, and not only my eyes, my strength has also increased dramatically—nine times, twenty-seven times! This…"

Xu Ning was only in a daze when he realized that he could see with his right eye again. A look of joy appeared on his face, but he became even more excited because he felt the protection of his basic strength.

He remembered clearly that when he escaped death last year, his cultivation level was still a little short of the peak of the Cold Resistance level, and his basic strength was eighteen manes. He broke through to the Cold Resistance level with the aptitude of a superior battle body, and his basic strength was 2.7 manes when he broke through.

Based on this calculation, without any external enhancements, his base strength would be less than 22 manes at the peak of his cold resistance.

Xia Hong only opened up the Wuyuan waters last October. Although Da Xia had already produced Dragon Carp Pills and Green Cod Pills, Xu Ning was completely unaware of it.

"I can sense that I'm still at the late stage of the Cold Resistance cultivation level, so I'm already... a top-grade battle physique!"

Xu Ning suppressed the wild joy in his eyes, walked up to Xia Hong, and bowed deeply with utmost solemnity: "I will never forget the Lord's kindness in saving me!"

"No need to be polite, just get up."

After gesturing for Xu Ning to stand up, Xia Hong's eyes also revealed a hint of excitement.

"The internal organs of the five great masters can actually enhance the aptitude of the combat body."

Xu Ning used the liver of Master Wusheng. He also had two other pieces in his possession: the heart of Master Yanlong and the lungs of Master Jingang.

In that case, the Great Xia Dynasty can produce two more top-tier battle bodies!
A top-tier battle physique is extremely rare!

The population of Great Xia is now approaching one million. Currently, there are only four people confirmed to have the qualifications for a top-tier battle physique: him, Li Xuanling, Xia Chuan, and Yuwen Tao.

The key is that Xia Hong has already broken through to the Manifestation Yang level. He is well aware of how much the difference in strength will be between people with different battle body aptitudes after breaking through to the Manifestation Yang level.

Each additional member represents a significant boost to the camp's future.

Although Hong Qiaoru was a woman, she was not ignorant. She was already very happy that her husband's right eye had recovered. When she heard that her husband now had the aptitude for a top-grade battle physique, she was even more excited. When Xu Ning bowed to Xia Hong to express his gratitude, she also bowed to him while holding her youngest daughter.

The two children, Xu Cheng and Xu Ping, didn't understand much; they just saw their father's happy expression and were happy too.

Xu An and Qiu Peng, who were standing to the side, were happy for Xu Ning, but their faces also showed some envy. They were also of superior battle physique and knew very well the significance of top-grade battle physique.

"Master Wusheng's liver should have more benefits than just improving combat aptitude. You can study it carefully on your own in the future. If there are any special changes after your cultivation breaks through, you can tell me."

"I obey my orders!"

After giving his instructions, Xia Hong looked at Xu Ning and smiled, "You've rested for more than half a year, that's about enough. Your position as the head of the Wuyuan Guard has been transferred to Shi Ping, so I need to arrange a new position for you..."

When Xu Ning learned that his position as the governor of Wuyuan had been given to Shi Ping, he was not surprised at all. After all, Wuyuan had been in a coma for more than half a year, so how could it be without someone in charge?

However, upon hearing that Xia Hong was going to assign him a new position, a look of nervousness and anticipation appeared on his face.

“There are currently five vacant deputy director positions: military, garrison, prison, civil affairs, and artisans. You're definitely not interested in artisans or civil affairs; you don't have any troops, so going to the military department isn't suitable; the prison department requires you to stay and guard Xia City, which you probably don't like either, so how about going to the garrison department and partnering with Yuan Cheng?”

"Thank you for your promotion, Lord. I will do my utmost to overcome all obstacles and expand the territory of our Great Xia, even at the cost of my life!"

From Wuyuan Shouzheng to Deputy Director, from fourth rank to third rank, it was undoubtedly a promotion. The key was that Xia Hong was so concerned about his job arrangement, which moved Xu Ning deeply. He was so excited that he almost knelt down.

How many contribution points do you have?

When Xia Hong suddenly asked about his contribution points, Xu Ning was momentarily stunned, but quickly turned to look at Qiu Peng.

Qiu Peng clearly knew why Xia Hong asked this, and said with a smile, "Xu Ning is quite wealthy. He's been lying at home for more than half a year, and he still has more than five million contribution points!"

Xu Ning nodded immediately. Before he fell into a coma last year, he did have more than five million contribution points. Not to mention that his wife used them for more than half a year, they would probably be enough for a lifetime.

"Master Wusheng's liver originally cost 1000 million contribution points, but I'll give you a discount and make it 800 million. Once you've saved enough, go to Qiu Peng in the operations department and settle the bill!"

"Rest assured, my lord, I will repay the eight million as soon as possible."

Xu Ning was stunned for a moment, then turned his head and saw Qiu Peng and Xu An smirking beside him. He answered Xia Hong with a wry smile, but a warm feeling washed over him once again.

If someone can obtain the qualification of a top-tier battle body, let alone ten million contribution points, even one hundred million or one billion points, as long as they can offer it, Xia City will absolutely fight tooth and nail for it.

Xia Hong was clearly giving him a way out on purpose, implying that he hadn't taken the liver for nothing, and that even if others found out in the future, they would have something to say about it.

Besides, for someone like him who holds a high position in the Great Xia Dynasty, ten million is a considerable sum, but it's not an insurmountable amount. He could accumulate it in just a few years at most.

"Alright, now that you've recovered, you can't just sit idle. After taking the north bank of the Xinghe River, there are quite a few new outposts in the camp. Yuan Cheng is stationed at the Hongguan camp with Xia Chuan, so he definitely won't have time to manage things here. As the deputy commander, you need to start playing your part. Take stock of those outposts and see how to arrange manpower there. Also..."

Xia Hong paused here, then turned to Qiu Peng and asked, "What are the current limits of the Cold Resistance and Earth Digging Realms in the camp?"

"6402 people at the Cold Resistance level, and 18628 people at the Earth Digging Realm limit."

Xia Hong frowned slightly. He remembered clearly that when he emerged from seclusion last year, these two numbers were 5054 and 14547 respectively. From the limit of the Earth-Digging Realm onwards, the cultivation speed would become very slow.

The addition of over 1300 new Cold-Resistant level soldiers in half a year is somewhat abnormal. The reason is that since October of last year, all 1000 slots of the Martial Arts Pavilion have been freed up for use by the Cloud Flood Dragon and Dragon Martial Armies. Of these 1300-plus Cold-Resistant level soldiers, nearly a thousand are soldiers from the Cloud Flood Dragon and Dragon Martial Armies.

How many cold-weather gear units are there in the military?

Qiu Peng, who was in charge of the logistics department and controlled everyone's contribution data, was well aware of the whereabouts of these elite personnel in the camp. After thinking for a moment, he replied, "There are more than 4300 people in the army who are at the cold-weather level."

The Great Xia Dynasty has a total of eleven armies with a total strength of 11000 people. More than 4300 of them are at the Cold Protection level, and the remaining 6600 are at the limit of the Earth Digging Realm. In other words, there are currently more than 12000 reserve soldiers available.

"Since Yuwen Tao is in Muyin Town, I will take the initiative to expand the army by four more! Qiu Peng and Xu Ning, each of you will lead an army. Also, notify Lin Kai in Wuyuan and Lu Yang in Dongling to take some time to return to Xiacheng and start forming an army there as well."

Expand the army by four more times!

Upon hearing this order, Qiu Peng and Xu Ning's expressions both changed drastically.

"I obey my orders!"

Xu Ning had long wanted to build an army. His Black Arrow Squad had been promoted to a high-level hunting team long ago, but he had never mentioned it due to the gap in strength between it and other squads. Qiu Peng was the same. He was a member of the Cloud Dragon Squad in his early years. After leaving the squad, he founded the Flying Roc Squad, which has now also been promoted to a high-level hunting team.

Now that they have received Xia Hong's authorization to build an army, the two are naturally overjoyed.

Seeing the two men's excited expressions, Xia Hong smiled slightly, then turned to look at Hong Guan's location, a glint of light flashing in his eyes.

"The Seven Armies of Wuyuan set off after nightfall. They can take a straight road from Wuyuan to Baiyang, which won't take long. From Baiyang, they will go to Qinghepu, passing through the villages of Jinbi and Longhe, and finally to Hongguan. This distance is more than 70 kilometers in total. At a rate of about 9 kilometers per hour, they should have just arrived at Hongguan by now. It should be getting lively there soon. I need to go and see for myself!"

………………

May 2nd, 132nd year of the Moo calendar
The sky was beginning to lighten, and the temperature was dropping sharply. Some clusters of snowflakes had frozen into hailstones, hanging on the ground with a crackling sound.

In the snow-covered forest east of the Fengshan camp, a cold wind howled past. Xiahou Zhang looked down at the black soft sword in his hand, his brows furrowed, clearly deep in thought.

Standing behind him were four people: Jiang Xinfan, the town's chief; Jiang Yuanlong, the newly appointed military chief; and two deputy military chiefs, Xiahou Ying and Jiang Yuandong.

Jiangxia originally had five deputy military commanders, but two of them died in the battle of Dajue Temple, leaving only three. After Jiang Yinglong's death, Xiahou Zhang succeeded as lord and appointed Jiang Yuanlong as military commander.

"The strength of the Great Xia Dynasty is unfathomable!"

After a long silence, Xiahou Zhang suddenly turned to the four people behind him and spoke.

The four of them were stunned when they heard this.

Xiahou Zhang continued, "I just went to check. There are currently 8,000 troops stationed in the Hongguan camp. Among them, there are more than 3,000 at the Cold Resistance level, all wearing golden thousand-forged armor. The remaining nearly 5,000 are all at the limit of the Earth-Digging Realm, wearing golden hundred-forged armor. Judging from the distribution of troops in their camp and their overall morale, they are all elites with extremely strong combat experience. They are definitely not some hastily assembled ragtag army."

Upon hearing Xiahou Zhang's description of the situation at Hongguan Camp, Jiang Xinfan and the other three's pupils constricted slightly, and their expressions instantly became extremely solemn.

“The Yuan Cheng who came to Longzhou camp to deliver the sword claimed to be the head of the guard department, one of the eight tribes of the Great Xia. I suppose he has some status in the Great Xia, but it is probably not very high. He looks to be at most around thirty years old, but he has the strength of a twenty-four-mane. Such a genius can be sent to deliver a message so easily. I guess there are quite a few people like him in the Great Xia.”

After Jiang Xinfan finished speaking, everyone's expressions became even more somber.

However, not everyone thought so much. Xiahou Ying clearly hadn't considered that, and said with a gloomy expression, "But the news that Yuan Cheng brought us is true! Chui Shan did send people south. Da Xia occupied Hong Guan, and they couldn't take it, so they immediately changed course and occupied the Feng Shan camp. If we hadn't reacted quickly and taken back the Xu Yang and Long Zhou camps first, these bastards would probably have continued to invade more of Jiangxia's territory to the east. How hateful!"

Upon hearing Xiahou Ying's words, Xiahou Zhang's expression froze slightly.

Xiahou Zhang knew very well that with his master Jiang Yinglong dead, Jiangxia would no longer be qualified to compete with the other eight towns. So he decisively abandoned the Dajue Temple operation and instead secretly began to pay attention to the battle at Ba Shang City.

With the situation taking such a sudden turn, no one expected that he would be stunned when he saw all five great masters appear in Ba Shang City on the first night of the lunar new year.

Of course, what also stunned him was Xiahou's subsequent actions.

He recognized Xia Hong at a glance as the mysterious person who had saved him from Master Yanlong at the end of last year.

He fought five opponents single-handedly and killed three of them!
This strength shocked Xiahou Zhang, but he was even more wary of it.

There is no such thing as kindness without a reason in this world. When Xia Hong saved him at the end of last year, he suspected that the other party had something on his mind.

With the battle of Ba Shang City over, the Great Xia Dynasty has fully emerged. In addition, a few hours ago, Yuan Cheng of the Great Xia Dynasty sent him the black soft sword that Xia Hong had taken away last year. All the answers are now obvious.

"Such a powerful camp has suddenly appeared on the west bank of Hengjiang River, and it has even begun to expand towards Jiuzhen. Looking back now, the Great Xia has always been aware of the series of battles fought between Dajue Temple and us."

Xia Hong ultimately killed three great masters in Ba Shang, saving Xiang Fuhai. Now, he has also taken control of the entire north bank of Hengjiang River. After the destruction of Dajue Temple, the biggest beneficiaries are the Xia family. The Seven Towns are still completely unaware and are still arguing fiercely over the ownership of Ba Shang City. It's simply laughable..."

When Xiahou Zhang mentioned the Great Xia, his tone was full of apprehension, but when he thought of the Seven Towns' reaction after learning of the Great Xia's existence, he sneered repeatedly.

He had already learned the name of the Great Xia lord from Yuan Cheng, so he could naturally guess that it was the young man in black who saved him last year.

"My lord, there's no need to consider it!"
It's not hard to guess that Da Xia's intention is simply to expand eastward. Xia Hong saved the lord's life and is now taking the initiative to show goodwill to Jiangxia. Let's just consider Da Xia as the second Dajue Temple. We shouldn't repeat last year's mistakes.

Yuan Cheng just made it clear that Great Xia only occupies Hongguan Pass. They not only don't want the other territories, but they can also send troops to help Jiangxia take them back.

And then there's the alliance he mentioned last—the terms are so tempting, what's there to consider?

Jiang Yuanlong couldn't help but speak up at this point.

Upon hearing his words, Xiahou Zhang and the other three fell silent.

Yuan Cheng, who had just come to deliver the sword, relayed to them before leaving the idea of ​​Xia Chuan, the Grand Minister of the Great Xia, wanting to form an alliance with Jiangxia.

The terms of the alliance, as Jiang Yuanlong said, were exceptionally tempting.

As long as Jiangxia forms an alliance with Daxia, Daxia can help Jiangxia reclaim all the lost territories in the past six months, except for the Hongguan Camp. Moreover, Daxia will send troops to help Jiangxia whenever it is in trouble. Furthermore, Daxia will also take Jiangxia to share in the division of the Bashang Town territory.

The only request that the Great Xia made of Jiangxia was that they join forces to resist the coercion of the three northern towns.

For Jiangxia, this was a risk-free business, a sure-fire way to make money.

Xiahou Zhang, Jiang Xinfan, and others, deep down, blamed Jiang Yinglong's death on the Eight Towns, especially the three northern towns that stood by and watched. They could oppose them and take advantage of the power of the Great Xia to recover their lost territories. Why not?
Reclaiming lost territory is not particularly enticing for Jiangxia. Thanks to Xiahou Zhang's swift response, he immediately led his men to reclaim Xuyang and Longzhou as soon as the Battle of Ba Shang ended. Currently, only the Fengshan camp is occupied by Chuishan Town.

The key is that sentence: If Jiangxia is in trouble, Great Xia will immediately send troops to help!

This condition is what makes Jiangxia truly attractive.

The battle with Dajue Temple has severely damaged Jiangxia's foundation. The Zhenyu Army has less than three units left, and the Yuhan-level troops number only slightly over two thousand. With this strength, let alone maintaining their previous position, if Chuishan were to move south and attack Jiangxia at this time, their situation would be extremely precarious without any other external support.

Yangqu and Longgu towns do have a history with Jiangxia, but they had already helped them once during the great battle with Dajue Temple, and both were severely weakened.
Ba Shang is gone, and it's unclear whether Mu Yin Town has changed hands. Everyone in the three towns of Zhongnan is in danger. Who dares to help Jiangxia?

Behind Chuishan stood Beishuo, emboldened by their position.

As for surrendering to the three northern towns, that was absolutely impossible for Xiahou Zhang, even though it was his master Jiang Yinglong's dying wish.

From any perspective, forming an alliance with Great Xia is the only way out.

Xiahou Zhang took a deep breath, turned to look at Jiang Xinfan and the other three, and said in a deep voice, "You should know what I'm hesitating about. With our current strength, forming an alliance with Great Xia is, to put it nicely, an alliance, but to put it bluntly, it's just finding a backer. Once we find a backer, we'll be unable to control many things."

Unless one of you can break through to the Xianyang level in the next few years and make Jiangxia equal to Daxia, based on my observation, Daxia is likely to be a fierce tiger even more vicious than the three northern towns. If you choose to negotiate with a tiger, you should be prepared to be completely devoured.

Are you all ready for this?

After Xiahou Zhang posed this question, Jiang Xinfan and the other three did not answer immediately, but instead lowered their heads and fell into deep thought.

"Given the circumstances, cooperating with Great Xia is better than cooperating with the three northern towns."

"If it really is a fierce tiger, it doesn't matter if Jiangxia is used as a springboard for him. Anyway, we are no longer able to fight against the Seven Towns. Survival is the first priority."

"What is the Seven Towns? Haven't the battles at Binjiang and Bashang made it clear enough? We finally have a trustworthy ally, why not seize the opportunity? The so-called Nine Towns are of one mind, that's just bullshit. If they do the first thing, we can do the fifteenth. Let Great Xia extend its reach and completely muddy the waters on the southern slope of Mount Mo'ao. Maybe Jiangxia can take this opportunity to turn the tide."

"If the Eight Towns had truly been willing to help in the Battle of Dajue Temple, how could Jiangxia have fallen to its current state? I believe that Daxia is more trustworthy than them."

"Okay! I understand what you mean."

Hearing the four people's statements, Xiahou Zhang nodded, clearly having made a decision. However, just as he was about to speak again, he suddenly turned to look at the Fengshan camp next to him, his brows furrowing slightly.

"A lot of people are coming!"

　I just discovered that Xu Ning's eldest son shares the same name as his younger brother and has already changed his name to Xu Cheng. Sorry!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)