Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely-Chapter 173 - 125: Newborn, Yue Yuan

As soon as Xia Hong and his group retreated, the area near the mountain wall fell into silence.

A hundred breaths later, within the Arrow Bamboo Forest, He Meng emerged again with fourteen others, looking from a distance at the barely visible outline of the Great Xia group. He Meng’s expression was somber, a flash of coldness in his eyes.

"Hm! They’ve posted sentries at the back, these people are quite cautious!"

"There are too many of them, and the leaders are quite strong too. Can’t force them to stay."

"The leader named Xia Hong, his long blade is stained with the blood of the Rat King. He’s very strong, not yet at the Cold Resistance Level, but should be close."

"More than a hundred from the Logging Realm, and they’re equipped with over a hundred bows. And that’s just those who went out, not counting those who stayed behind. This Great Xia must be a large camp."

"Most likely there are Cold Resistance Level experts. It should be a large camp, no doubt!"

"Lu He said before that there was only a medium-sized camp called ’Rog’ and five or six small camps around Redwood Ridge. How did this Great Xia Camp suddenly appear?"

Hearing the discussion, He Meng’s expression turned downward. Recalling how Xia Hong had led over a hundred people to drive his group away just now, the coldness in his eyes intensified.

He merely proposed taking all the prey as a test.

If Xia Hong had agreed or shown any sign of compromise, He Meng could have estimated the strength and quality of the Great Xia Camp.

But Xia Hong’s outright refusal and confrontational attitude made him more cautious instead.

So, even though he knew that the people of Great Xia, who had just successfully driven away hundreds of rodents, must not have many iron arrows left.

And even though Xia Hong and his people were not in full condition, he still held himself back with his group.

"What exactly is this Great Xia about? Go back and ask Elder Lu, and we’ll find out. If it’s a large camp, with at least two thousand people, reporting to the Lord would be a great merit. Let’s go!"

Hearing this, everyone nodded, their faces showing some excitement. Clearly, the great merit He Meng spoke of was highly attractive to them.

.........

He Meng and his group re-entered the Arrow Bamboo Forest, while on the other side, Xia Hong anxiously led the Great Xia group back to their valley base.

"Seal the passage, everyone get indoors, and for the next three days, all outside activities are halted. We’ll make arrangements after three days!"

Returning to the second-floor hall of the wooden house, Xia Hong immediately gave the order.

"Yes, leader!"

Xia Chuan and the others naturally understood that he worried the Mirror Immortal Camp might come scouting Great Xia in the coming days. They nodded in immediate response.

"All eighty-three rodents should be sent to the Camp Supply Station, have Tong Xinglong and the others expedite their processing; Luo Yuan and any other injured need immediate medical attention!"

As soon as Xia Hong finished speaking, several women rushed forward, pushing him into the chair behind him and began cleaning and bandaging his foot.

Luo Yuan was one of the first inside, carried upstairs as soon as he came in, so not many saw the wound on his shoulder.

Right now, however, Xia Hong’s foot was fully exposed to everyone.

Hiss......

Everyone gasped when they saw the wound.

The baby-sized hole pierced through the whole sole, and even though the Golden Sore Powder was already working, some flesh around the hole hadn’t healed, allowing light to pass through.

A hole that big in the sole, it must hurt tremendously!

Those who stayed at the camp and didn’t go out tonight shivered at the sight of the horrifying wound, their hearts filled with respect for Xia Hong;

The more than a hundred who went out and knew about Xia Hong’s severe foot injury, who faced off with the Mirror Immortal Camp and still walked back with them nonchalantly, looked at Xia Hong with even more admiration.

"Leader, you should rest and recover!"

Xia Chuan moved closer to examine Xia Hong’s foot wound, worry all over his face.

Once he finished speaking, Zhao Long and the others also chimed in.

"That’s right, leader, you’re severely wounded, you should rest."

"If the Mirror Immortal Camp dares to come, I’ll fight them to the end!"

"Exactly, leader, you rest, we’ll handle the rest."

......

Seeing the worry in everyone’s eyes, Xia Hong felt a touch of warmth. Looking at everyone gathered in the camp, he realized he hadn’t shared the night’s accomplishments yet, and after a moment of thought, he spoke:

"By the way, did you all see the rodents we just brought back?"

Those who went out tonight knew well what Xia Hong would say next, showing pride on their faces;

Those who didn’t go out also mostly guessed, showing anticipation on their faces.

"The rodent horde on the North Slope has been driven off; we are safe now!"

......

Aside from the over a hundred who went out, everyone else showed joy on their faces upon hearing Xia Hong’s words. After a moment of silence, a burst of cheers erupted.

"I knew it, once the leader acts, those rodents would suffer!"

"Hahahaha, those beasts, they caused us so much grief recently, they finally got retribution today."

"The valley is safe now, the valley is secure, long live the leader!"

"Long live the leader!"

.........

The people of Great Xia, hassled by the rodent horde for over a month, finally felt relieved; especially Chen Ying and his son, as well as the over two hundred from Chen Ye Camp, were overjoyed at merging with Great Xia.

Those who lost relatives to the rodents were particularly emotional, tears streaming as they looked at Xia Hong with deep gratitude and respect.

In the Ice Abyss World, the greatest need for humans was a sense of safety.

This safety wasn’t just a psychological need, but a practical one.

The rodent horde, entrenched less than two kilometers away, left everyone in a constant state of anxiety.

Because of this, over the past twenty days, everyone zealously practiced bow-making and arrow shooting.

It can be said that during this month, everyone in the Great Xia Camp felt like there was a sword hanging over their heads.

A sword that could fall at any moment.

But now, with Xia Hong’s announcement, this sword has finally disappeared.

Their excitement was indescribable.

"Wah......"

The cheers were suddenly interrupted by the loud cry of a baby.

Everyone fell silent immediately, even Xia Hong couldn’t help but turn to look towards the room from where the baby’s cry came.

The cry was clear, coming from the room nearest to the hall.

"A baby, who gave birth?"

"Mine, mine, it’s my family!"

A familiar voice suddenly rang out from the crowd, and a figure quickly squeezed out and rushed toward the room.

"Yue Feng?"

Seeing the person, Xia Hong, Xia Chuan, Yuan Cheng, and many from the Great Xia Camp looked surprised.

Before Yue Feng could enter, the door opened from the inside.

Three women came out of the room, the one in the middle being helped along appeared to be around seventeen or eighteen, draped in a beast-skin cloak, holding a baby in her arms, walking somewhat weakly, obviously the new mother.

Despite her pale complexion, she smiled warmly at the infant in her arms, her pupils filled with joy.

"Brother Feng, it’s a son. I’ve given you a son."

"Hahahaha, that’s wonderful, Wan, you’ve worked hard!"

.........

Seeing Yue Feng jubilantly holding his son, Xia Hong’s expression turned somewhat peculiar. Turning to Xia Chuan, Yuan Cheng, and Lin Kai, none of them looked surprised, and he realized he was the only one unaware of Yue Feng’s marital status.

"Big brother, you probably didn’t know. Back at the dirt slope, Yue Feng got together with Lin Wan. I haven’t seen Lin Wan in months, I wondered why she was always hiding in the room, turns out she was secretly having a baby..."

Hearing Xia Chuan’s playful comment, Xia Hong couldn’t help but chuckle too.

It figures that Yue Feng and Lin Wan were among the oldest generation at the Great Xia Camp.

After Xia Ding’s early death, the first Logging Realm group he nurtured were Xia Chuan and Yuan Cheng; the second being Yue Feng, Lin Kai, Qiu Peng, Xu Ning, and Lu Yang.

Yue Feng was the oldest among them, having a child wasn’t surprising.

"I remember, Lin Wan is Lin Kai’s sister, right?"

Xia Chuan nodded, replying, "Yes, Lin Kai went with others to seal the valley entrance. He’ll be thrilled when he gets back."

Becoming an uncle naturally brings joy.

The Ice Abyss isn’t a normal world. Within the camp, while men and women generally uphold a monogamous view through generations, marriage customs are less formal. Many simply pair up when they take a liking, so it’s normal for Xia Hong to be unaware if he didn’t inquire actively.

Xia Hong pondered for a moment, glanced at Yuan Cheng and the others, and then asked Xia Chuan, "Who among them already found a wife?"

"Lin Kai, Qiu Peng, Xu Ning, and Lu Yang all have, and Yuan Cheng is hitting it off with Shi Ping’s younger sister, should be soon, hahaha..."

Affairs between men and women always piqued interest, Xia Chuan gestured playfully at Yuan Cheng with his mouth.

Seeing Yuan Cheng awkwardly scratch his head, displaying a shy expression, Xia Hong couldn’t help but smile and give him a thumbs up.

"You’ve got an eye for talent, keep at it!"

Shi Ping’s sister, Shi Lu, who Xia Hong met during the rescue at Da Shi Camp, indeed was quite pretty.

Seeing Xia Chuan foolishly enjoying himself, Xia Hong purposefully put on a stern face and scolded, "All you do is laugh, you should find a wife too!"

Upon hearing Xia Hong’s admonition, Xia Chuan instinctively shrank his neck, but suddenly remembered something, turning back to look at Xia Hong with a teasing glint in his eye.

Not just him, but Yuan Cheng, Lin Kai, and several others nearby.

Hearing Xia Hong’s words, their expressions turned somewhat quirky.

An unmarried elder brother lecturing his younger brother about marriage.

Cough cough cough......

Realizing his words were somewhat misplaced, Xia Hong cleared his throat awkwardly a few times, attempting to change the subject.

But fortunately, Yue Feng, holding the child, came over to bail him out.

"Leader, today is a great victory for the camp, and my son arrives at such a time. I humbly ask the leader to name the child!"

Xia Hong helped Yue Feng up, who intended to bow, and took the child from his hands, a proud look on his face.

The people of the Ice Abyss World are physically strong. For example, Lin Wan could walk out seemingly unscathed right after childbirth, but just because adults are strong doesn’t mean babies are too.

In fact, because of harsh conditions, the birth rate in weaker camps is extremely low, and infants inherently have more fragile constitution.

This child in his hands, strictly speaking, was the first child born in the camp since he arrived in the Ice Abyss World.

Moreover, born on this night of victory, driving away the rodent horde.

And it happened right when he returned and gathered everyone for a meeting on the second floor.

Indeed, it was very significant!

"With the threat of the rodent horde gone, starting today, Great Xia will be worry-free for a while in this area of Redwood Ridge. This signifies a new beginning, and having a newborn at this time is fitting.

Let’s call him, Yuan."

"Yue Yuan!"