Chapter 16 - 16 First Collision "Leader, I've made a breakthrough." "Brother, I've also reached the Logging Realm." Xia Chuan and Yuan Cheng both broke through at the same time! Seeing them each lift a 5,000-pound wooden stake in turn, Xia Hong let out a heavy sigh of relief. Logging Realm, three of them! Though compared to other camps, the strength is still weak, it's finally a start. Moreover, during this period, the improvement of Yue Feng and Lin Kai's group of five was also notable. As long as they follow the plans and gradually recover to their former state, it's only a matter of time. The next evening just after nightfall, Xia Chuan and Yuan Cheng, looking excited, strapped their stone axes to their waists and followed Xia Hong. "I'll say it again, Redwood Ridge is dangerous. You must listen to me outside and not act without permission. Tonight, the main purpose is to familiarize you with our territory, and each of you must single-handedly chop down a tree." "Understood, Leader!" Detecting the seriousness in Xia Hong's tone, Xia Chuan didn't call him brother but, following Yuan Cheng, addressed him as Leader for the first time. Xia Hong nodded, gave some instructions to the five behind him, and led the way out of the cave while Yuan Cheng and Xia Chuan closely followed. Now that Xia Chuan was also out, the camp was naturally under the care of Yue Feng's group of five. The camp was well hidden, and as long as no special situations occurred, safety should be assured. Though it was night, under the light reflected by the snow, Xia Hong could clearly see Xia Chuan and Yuan Cheng's excited expressions. In fact, they weren't the only ones. Xia Hong was also excited the first time he went out. Because they were always in the cave, sealing the entrance during the day. When Xia Ding was around, they could open the entrance for some fresh air at night. Since Xia Ding was gone, for the past month or so, besides him, everyone in the camp had barely seen daylight. "People in this world must be cursed..." When Xia Hong first crossed over and learned about this world, he had this feeling. Always in the cold, unable to see the light, forced to hide in the shadows, with a vast difference in strength against Cold Beasts, and also the mysterious Deceitful Monster claiming lives. The plight of humanity in this world is simply unimaginable. This was beyond a Hell Level situation. The real eighteen layers of hell might not be worse than this. He didn't know if there were any humans living well, but at least what he saw now was this hellish scene. The Rogel Camp might be doing okay, right? Lost in his thoughts, Xia Hong had already reached the outskirts of Redwood Ridge. "Tonight's task is twofold. One, to familiarize you with the environment here, including where the Cold Beasts are, how to identify them, the local wood types, and the extent of our Great Xia Camp's territory. The other, you two have to cut down a tree each tonight and bring it back." The excitement on their faces hadn't faded, and Xia Hong didn't dampen their enthusiasm. He led them around the perimeter, explaining as they went. After over twenty nights, Xia Hong had become thoroughly familiar with the 500-meter perimeter. The location of three Ice Trees, and seven Golden Frost Trees confirmed to have Cold Beasts lurking. The area with the densest distribution of Red Frost Trees, and the spot with the most small Red Frost Trees. After explaining each spot, Xia Chuan and Yuan Cheng stayed silent, listening and remembering everything carefully. Until they reached the location of the third Ice Tree, and an unexpected situation arose. There was someone near the third Ice Tree. Unlike Xia Chuan and Yuan Cheng, Xia Hong was always on alert for surrounding activity as they walked. So, a hundred meters from the third Ice Tree, he noticed movement over there. "There's someone ahead, tread lightly and don't make a sound, let's take a look first." Xia Hong crouched down first, with Xia Chuan and Yuan Cheng following him, moving silently through the snow to the back of a tree, gradually nearing the third Ice Tree. Though visibility was decent in the snow, it was still night, and they got about thirty meters from the Ice Tree before Xia Hong saw clearly over there. Upon seeing, his brows furrowed and his expression turned a bit grim. From that distance, he couldn't make out their faces, but he saw there were four people, and one of them was carrying a large knife. They were from the Da Shi Camp. It was the fifth time Xia Hong had seen people from Da Shi Camp intruding on his territory. Indeed, after the Snow Mane incident, in just over twenty days, Xia Hong had encountered Da Shi Camp people three more times in his territory. In this timeframe, he found three Ice Trees in total. The first was on the west side, closest to Da Shi Camp. The second was over a hundred meters north of his usual entry point into Redwood Ridge. The third was this one, further east on his territory. The entire Great Xia territory was only 500 meters wide, and Xia Hong usually entered from the middle. The previous four times he found Da Shi Camp people on the west side, but this time they were on the east side. This meant that not only did Da Shi Camp people come in boldly, but their level of incursion was also getting excessive. "The four of you from Da Shi Camp, you've crossed the line!" This time, Xia Hong chose not to ignore it. He stood up and walked towards the Ice Tree, loudly reprimanding them. Upon hearing Xia Hong, Yuan Cheng and Xia Chuan realized those four were from Da Shi Camp, and immediately stood up in anger, following behind Xia Hong. Thieves always feel guilty. The four from Da Shi Camp, originally picking Crystal Fruits from the tree, jumped down nervously when they heard the reprimand, turning back to stare tensely at Xia Hong. Xia Hong, approaching them, also continuously scanned the surroundings. Da Shi Camp has two archers, he didn't know if they were around. "May I ask who you three are?" One of the four stepped forward to inquire about Xia Hong and his group's identity. From the voice, it sounded like a middle-aged person. Xia Hong moved in closer to clearly see the four people, all appearing middle-aged. The person who stepped out held the only knife among them. The previous owner of that knife had already been beheaded by the Snow Mane. "Great Xia Camp, Xia Hong." "You're the son of old Xia Ding." Just as Xia Hong recognized them, they recognized Xia Hong. The man with the knife recognized Xia Hong's features immediately. "So young?" "Coming out at night, at the Logging Realm already." "Old Xia Ding has a good son indeed." The remaining three seemed to know Xia Ding as well. Whether they were intentionally flattering or genuinely surprised by Xia Hong's youth, they all spoke up. "Don't dodge the main issue, you crossed the line picking fruit, didn't you?" "Hey, you..." The last person to jump down from the tree was clearly irritated when Xia Hong wouldn't drop the boundary issue. He even took two steps toward Xia Hong. However, before the person could say more, the man with the knife stopped him with a hand. "Nephew, I'm Wang Ming. I knew your father Xia Ding. If you're willing, you can call me Uncle Ming. Recently, our camp has encountered some problems, the gap in Crystal Fruits is too big. As a last resort, I brought them here tonight to borrow some food from you at Great Xia. We'll repay as soon as possible, what do you say?" Upon hearing Wang Ming's words, Xia Hong's expression turned gloomy. They were toying with him! Xia Hong merely stared at Wang Ming, silent for a long while. But it was Xia Chuan behind him who couldn't contain his anger anymore. "Stealing is stealing, don't say it's borrowing. Brother, don't waste words with them. When the areas were divided by Rogel Camp, it was said that trespassing on others' territory was equivalent to murder. I'll go back and notify Father to come with reinforcements right now." Hearing Xia Chuan's words, the faces of Wang Ming and his group instantly darkened.