Chapter 70: Chapter 70: Inspiring Five thousand pounds of coal, four thousand pounds of iron? Xia Hong’s disbelief was not without reason. As far as he knew, when Rogel Camp previously had five Earth-digging Realm cultivators, their daily coal stone output was only a thousand pounds. A thousand a day might sound like a lot over time. But considering that back then, Rogel Camp had a total population of over a thousand people. These thousand or so people lived in five large wooden houses, each requiring one hundred and fifty pounds of coal, plus wood, to maintain one day’s heating. In other words, just for heating, they consumed seven hundred and fifty pounds of coal daily, almost three-quarters of the daily output. Not to mention, heating was a minor expense compared to iron smelting, which was the major one. So five thousand pounds of coal was absolutely no small number for Rogel Camp, and Xia Hong even suspected that their usual reserve wouldn’t be much higher than that. As for iron, it was even more challenging to speak of — even now, Rogel Camp hadn’t universally equipped their skilled individuals with iron weapons. This fact alone suggested that extracting iron ore and smelting iron tools was incredibly difficult. Five thousand pounds of coal, four thousand pounds of iron. Luo Ming, how could he be so generous? Helping Luo Ming with such a massive issue was a fact Xia Hong did not deny. But for Luo Ming to practically give away everything his camp owned made Xia Hong a bit shocked, even feeling a little bewildered inside. Although puzzled and unable to comprehend, Xia Hong’s body was honest when facing those tempting bags. How could he not accept them! He risked his life to help Luo Ming, which was a fact, and since Luo Ming presented so much in gratitude, of course, he could accept it. Moreover, it was exactly the coal and iron he currently desperately needed! In the system, the other eight buildings still hadn’t found solutions, not to mention the camp itself, which also had a strong demand for coal and iron. Xia Hong first signaled Xia Chuan, Yuan Cheng, and others to take all three bags and then took a deep breath and bowed to Luo Ming: "Leader Luo is so generous. If there’s anything in the future where help is needed, just ask, and Xia Hong will do his utmost without refusal!" Upon hearing this, a smile immediately appeared on Luo Ming’s face. Luo Ming had prepared generous gifts, which all five camps accepted. After securing everything, people from the five camps naturally didn’t want to linger any longer. Xia Hong’s group was fine — they had come from Great Xia Camp, which was just a day away, but Hong Gang and others from the four camps had been out for over half a month and were clearly eager to return home. Upon exiting Rogel Camp’s cave and bidding farewell to Luo Ming, everyone set off on their journey back. Since everyone had to head towards Redwood Ridge first and then back to their respective camps, they didn’t separate. During the walk to Redwood Ridge, Xia Hong deliberately observed people from the four camps. Honestly speaking, the four camps were the most tragic this time. According to Luo Ming, forty-three people, including four leaders, came this time to eliminate the monster. Yet now, only ten remain. Da Chuan and Huang Zhao each with three, Chen Ye and Lu Shang each with two. The dead weren’t just thirty-three ordinary people but thirty-three Logging Realm combatants, the backbone of the camps. Losing so many at once, life for these camps would likely be difficult for some time. Silently sighing in his heart, Xia Hong said nothing further. Chen Ye and Lu Shang’s camps were north of Rogel Camp, so they bade farewell to Xia Hong and others upon entering Redwood Ridge and headed north. Da Chuan and Huang Zhao’s camps were south of Rogel Camp, thus on the same path as Xia Hong and others. Upon reaching Huang Zhao Camp, Huang Yong and the two others left first. Finally entering Da Chuan Camp’s territory, Hong Gang and his two companions also departed. Xia Hong and his group of seven continued south, passing through Da Shi Territory, until they reached Great Xia Territory. Exiting Redwood Ridge, they walked east about five to six hundred meters, quickly finding the small hill where the Great Xia Camp was located. Seeing the snow-covered small hill lying quietly on the ground with no difference from usual, the expressions on the seven people’s faces relaxed considerably. Even though they had only been away for a day, both Xia Hong and the other six had their minds on the camp, after all, their family and friends lived there. Additionally, having witnessed human tragedies at Rogel Camp, seeing their camp safe and sound made them cherish it even more. Xia Chuan rushed to the cave entrance and shouted inside: "The rain from all directions can’t match the rain of our Redwood Ridge." "Dragon Gate Mountain has rain, Snowland Tiger comes down the hill!" A sound of surprise came from inside, and the trees blocking the entrance were quickly pushed aside by Xu An, Liu Yuan, and Li Yuankun, who greeted them with joy. "The leader has returned!" "I told you, the leader would be alright." Besides the three, some young people from the camp also came out to welcome them. Seeing that all seven of them had returned, each carrying four large bags, smiles appeared on everyone’s faces. Upon entering the camp with the six others, Xia Hong noticed Xu An preparing to lead people to seal the entrance again. He immediately stopped him: "No need to seal it. From today onwards, the entrance can remain open at night to let everyone get some fresh air!" Xu An paused, and Liu Yuan, Li Yuankun, along with the young ones prepared to help, were also somewhat confused. Xia Chuan chuckled beside them and said, "The Wood Puppet Monster has been defeated by the leader, and I personally finished it off. There’s nothing to worry about anymore." Upon hearing that the Wood Puppet Monster was dead, Xu An and others were shocked but quickly erupted in joy, especially after confirming with Xia Hong. Their morale soared. "The Wood Puppet Monster is dead, hahaha, it’s finally dead." "The leader defeated it, and our camp’s revenge is complete." "It killed so many of us before, but now it’s finally dead, finally dead, this is wonderful, hahaha..." 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮 "From now on, there’s no need to seal the cave anymore, just like before." ...... The Wood Puppet Monster had afflicted more than just Rogel Camp. Great Xia was the same. Of course, there was also Da Shi Camp. Previously, the remaining nearly two hundred people from Da Shi were also in the cave. But they gathered on the right side of the furnace, quite distant, showing a clear division from people of the Great Xia Camp. Xia Hong felt a stir in his heart and walked towards the people of Da Shi Camp. People instinctively made way for him, and upon walking into the crowd, Xia Hong found Shi Qing lying in the center, tended by his children, Shi Ping and Shi Lu. "Leader..." Seeing Shi Qing trying to get up, Xia Hong quickly stepped forward and said, shaking his head, "Your injuries haven’t healed, don’t move." Previously penetrated by white threads that pierced through his entire body, rendering him mostly a cripple, Shi Qing, seeing Xia Hong still treating him with respect, showed a touch of gratitude on his face. "On behalf of the more than one hundred people who died tragically in the camp, Shi Qing thanks the leader for the great kindness." Shi Qing could naturally hear the lively discussions inside the cave. Knowing the Wood Puppet Monster had died, he felt immense gratitude toward Xia Hong, but being unable to move, he turned to his children, saying, "Ping’er, Lu’er, kowtow to the leader on behalf of father. The great revenge for your mother, uncle, and our Da Shi Camp’s victims has finally been avenged..." Speaking with deep emotion, perhaps recalling his wife, brother, and those who died in the camp, Shi Qing couldn’t help but shed tears. Shi Ping and Shi Lu were also full of emotions, kneeling in front of Xia Hong, preparing to kowtow. Of course, Xia Hong immediately stopped them. Noticing the young pair still stubbornly trying to kneel and kowtow, Xia Hong chuckled, shook his head, and pressed them down next to Shi Qing, then looked at Shi Qing and spoke earnestly: "Uncle Shi, since you call me leader, from now on, we are one family. You one hundred eighty-seven people are equally a part of our Great Xia Camp. It wouldn’t be proper to be so formal!" Hearing Xia Hong’s words, Shi Qing was startled, looking at Xia Hong, face full of emotion and gratitude. When Xia Hong spoke, he deliberately raised his voice, allowing not only Shi Qing but also Shi Ping, Shi Lu, and over a hundred people of Da Shi Camp to hear it clearly. They all looked up at Xia Hong, faces aglow with excitement. Some couldn’t help but let out sobs of joy.