Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely-Chapter 122 - 109: The Consequences of Being Too Clever

On the north side of Redwood Ridge, within the territory of the Lu Shang Camp.

Beside a large tree, Xia Hong lay prone on the ground, holding his breath, his right ear pressed tightly to the ground. Xia Chuan and Luo Yuan stood nearby, vigilant, occasionally glancing at him.

"Still underground, about two hundred meters away, pursuing us. It’s not because of the rodent corpses; it seems their perception is inherently strong."

Xia Hong stood up from the ground, his expression extremely grim.

The summoning cry of the rodent just before it died had been of some effect.

Despite his quick actions, he still couldn’t escape the notice of the rodent pack that started chasing them.

It had taken more than ten minutes to run from the north slope of the mountain to here, with a brief stop along the way, during which he heard the sound of the rodent swarm digging towards them from underground.

Earlier, he thought the smell of the two rodent corpses had attracted the rodent group, so he found a snow pit midway to mark and temporarily buried the two rodent corpses.

Clearly, he was wrong.

Without the two rodent corpses, the rodent group was still chasing them, and their speed was increasing. Even running at full speed, the three couldn’t put much distance between them and the chasers.

"Leader, we can’t stay here any longer; the commotion is getting louder!"

Luo Yuan took a few steps south, sensing the ground’s trembling and realizing that the underground rodent swarm was closing in. His expression turned anxious.

"Run first!"

Xia Hong realized they couldn’t linger there and immediately set off northward with the other two.

They had paid a high price just dealing with those two rodents. If they were caught by the underground rodent swarm, none of the three would likely survive.

But as they ran, they hadn’t gone more than a few dozen meters when Xia Hong’s face grew even darker. Xia Chuan and Luo Yuan glanced ahead and seemed to understand, their expressions mirroring his.

They were now in the territory of Lu Shang Camp, at the northernmost position on the east side of Redwood Ridge. If they continued north, they’d reach Arrow Bamboo Forest, a completely unfamiliar area to them.

The Ice Abyss World, with its unfamiliar environmental dangers, was as lethal as death itself.

They couldn’t run north; staying to fight was suicide; circling back to the camp would endanger more people. What to do... what to do...

Ideas raced through Xia Hong’s mind until he suddenly turned his gaze westward, inside Redwood Ridge, and his eyes lit up.

"Change direction, run inside, let’s see if those beasts dare follow!"

Seeing Xia Hong suddenly speak and change direction toward the inner west side of Redwood Ridge, Xia Chuan and Luo Yuan, although puzzled, followed closely behind.

For them, the outer 500 meters of Redwood Ridge was a safe zone. Venturing deeper up to a thousand meters, based on previous explorations by Rogel Camp, they would only encounter some other low-tier Cold Beasts inside. Despite their strength, they were still within the low-tier range. As long as they were cautious, it shouldn’t be too problematic for the three of them.

Compared to the northern Arrow Bamboo Forest and other more unfamiliar zones, venturing inside a bit deeper seemed more prudent.

But soon, thinking they understood Xia Hong’s intent, the two quickly realized their mistake when Xia Hong, having led them into Redwood Ridge, directed them toward a region filled with swirling mist.

The three of them knew they were in a life-and-death crisis, so they moved swiftly.

Seeing the misty area, they were less than a hundred meters away.

"Leader, that’s the territory of a Cloud Mist Teng Jiao; is it safe to just rush in like that?"

Unlike Xia Chuan, Luo Yuan, having been an early member of the Rogel Camp, was somewhat familiar with the three types of Cold Beasts within the thousand-meter vicinity. Upon seeing the misty area, he immediately understood.

When Xia Hong continued to lead them into the mist zone, Luo Yuan thought Xia Hong might not know about the Cloud Mist Teng Jiao and thus issued a reminder.

"I know, just follow me in. It’s almost daybreak. If we don’t find a way to lose them now, we’ll either be eaten or freeze to death, hurry!"

Having explored so many times over the past half month, Xia Hong certainly knew the creature’s lair belonged to a Cloud Mist Teng Jiao.

He was intentionally heading here.

"Snakes and rodents are natural enemies; we might even score a windfall!"

Cursing his own stupidity, Xia Hong suddenly realized that such a simple truth of snake-rodent enmity hadn’t dawned on him until now. Simultaneously, he realized they might benefit from this, making his eyes sparkle.

"Tear off a piece of fur, dampen it with snow, and cover your face, quickly!"

Upon hearing Xia Hong’s order, Luo Yuan immediately complied. Although Xia Chuan was unsure, he too quickly fetched a piece of leather from his coat pocket, packed some snow in it, melted it against his chest, and then covered his face with it.

"The reason Teng Jiao bears the name ’Cloud Mist’ is that its breath expels a poisonous mist. In the Logging Realm, inhalation is lethal. Even in the Earth-digging Realm, one can last half an hour by covering the mouth and nose with a damp cloth. But after half an hour, continued inhalation causes hallucination and unconsciousness, and excessive exposure can also be fatal."

Upon hearing Luo Yuan’s explanation, Xia Chuan finally understood.

Luo Ming’s Cold Beast Scroll had long been committed to memory by Xia Hong. Seeing Luo Yuan saving his breath explaining, he remained silent.

The three covered their faces and charged into the mist zone.

In the mist zone, visibility was low, but the area was only about fifty to sixty meters in diameter, with just six or seven large trees. Almost immediately after entering, the three of them saw the massive figure coiled around the large tree in the center.

An ultra-long Teng Jiao, over thirty meters in length, as thick as a barrel, appeared approximately sixty centimeters in diameter. Its body was covered in black scales about the size of a baby’s fist, wrapped around most of the large tree, with its tail buried in the snow as if resting on the ground;

Most striking was its gigantic head, much broader than its body, lounging on a bifurcation of the tree. On its forehead, two huge bulges seemed to be the nascent locations of budding horns.

Though the Teng Jiao’s eyes were shut, its nostrils exhaled white mist with each breath, exuding an intense oppressive force.

The previous time, Xia Hong had only glanced at the Teng Jiao from a distance. Now, watching up close, he felt the pressure of directly facing such a creature.

It’s hard to imagine that this Teng Jiao, like the Snow Mane, Frost Wolf, and Demon Sheep, was still categorized as a low-tier Cold Beast. Just how powerful would an intermediate Cold Beast be?

Of course, now wasn’t the time for Xia Hong to marvel.

Xia Hong once more dropped to the ground to listen. After a moment, a trace of joy appeared on his face.

"They stopped, those vile creatures really don’t dare to come over!"

Earlier, the rodents had silently burrowed underground to ambush Luo Yuan successfully because there were only two. But this time, their numbers were significant, and to pursue him, they increased their digging speed, making it impossible to conceal their movement.

Therefore, Xia Hong could easily discern their movements each time he pressed his ear to the ground.

Although he heard clearly that about tens of meters away, the burrowing noise of the rodent group had ceased, Xia Hong didn’t dare to be careless and led the other two to distance themselves as much as possible from the Teng Jiao, choosing to climb up a tree to hide.

"The damp cloth can only filter for half an hour; with less than that until dawn, we can only linger for a few minutes. Regardless of whether the rodent group has retreated or not, we must quickly find another spot. Otherwise, we’d freeze to death even if we aren’t eaten by the Teng Jiao."

As time ticked by, Xia Hong estimated the time but continuously pressed his ear to the tree trunk, hoping to hear the retreat of the rodent group. Sadly, he heard nothing.

But that was to be expected. If the rodents decided to retreat, they would likely follow the same underground path they dug in on, providing little chance of audibly detecting them leaving.

"It’s getting light, elder brother; if we don’t go now, it’ll be too late."

Xia Chuan clearly sensed the dropping temperature and looked up at the increasingly transparent mist, realizing the night was ending, urgently reminded.

Xia Hong frowned deeply. Regardless of the impending dawn, with such a big Cloud Mist Teng Jiao looming nearby, he wanted to withdraw too. But whether the rodents had retreated was unknown. What if they were lying in wait?

The Teng Jiao represented their lone lifeline, and leaving recklessly only to get surrounded by rodents meant they wouldn’t receive a second chance.

"Retreat first, take a gamble!"

Xia Hong would prefer not to gamble if possible.

Because if the gamble failed and the rodents hadn’t gone, he would immediately meet his end leaving the mist zone.

But regrettably, he had no choice.

For humans, the low temperature after dawn was lethal, but it empowered Cold Beasts, making them widely active and stronger during the day. The imbalance meant death was the only outcome if the three stayed longer.

However, just as Xia Hong was about to lead the way down from the tree...

A sharp cracking sound of breaking wood met their ears,

Crack...

Xia Hong’s face froze, his pupils contracted slightly, and he then moved to his previous spot, pressing his ear once more against the surface.

"Run quickly!"

As soon as he heard it, Xia Hong’s expression changed dramatically. With a low shout, he dragged Xia Chuan and Luo Yuan with force, leaping down from the tree together.

Whoosh... freeweɓnovel.cøm

The trunk of the large tree where they’d been perched suddenly splintered, releasing seven or eight silver flashes. The sharp-fanged, fleet-footed figures weren’t anyone but those long-tailed rodents.

Upon landing, before they could even let go, Xia Hong and the other two were instantly beset by two or three rodents each from either side. The three formed a back-to-back defensive stance, lifting their knives to fend off attacks. Despite holding off several strikes, they each sustained numerous wounds.

Even targeted primarily, Xia Hong received a three to four-inch scar across his face from the rodent’s claws.

"Feigning immobility, while quietly sending a few to burrow over, these rodents possess intelligence this high, damned it!"

Xia Hong couldn’t mind his own injuries; his face was severely solemn. If not for the inadvertent noise exposed by the rodents at the last moment, the three of them would have been decapitated had they hesitated to jump down the tree half a second longer.

Eight rodents encircled them in a three-three-two formation, their eyes glinting with ferocity. Their narrow, sinister muzzles bared sharp incisors, chattering as though communicating something.

"Elder brother, something’s wrong!"

One wave hadn’t subsided when another arose.

Xia Hong had yet to figure out how to escape the rodent encirclement when he heard Xia Chuan’s voice, low and fearful, from the left. Uncertain, he turned to see Xia Chuan gazing skyward, prompting him to instinctively look up too.

At a glance, his back turned ice-cold.

A massive head hovered in the air, dozens of meters above, staring down at him. It was the Cloud Mist Teng Jiao from before.

Its forked tongue extended a good four or five meters from its mouth, and the mist exhaled from its nostrils was far denser than earlier. Its fiery red vertical pupils bore no emotion, only sheer ferocity and brutality.

When did this Teng Jiao wake?

With such a large body, how did it crawl from that central tree to here without making a sound?

Xia Hong wiped the blood from his face, already cooled to the core.

Initially hoping natural hostilities would entice the rodents to fight the Teng Jiao, with expectations of being the fisherman reaping a reward.

Now, far from a windfall, they were trapped by both the Teng Jiao and the rodents.

"This is the result of being too clever for your own good."

Xia Hong was filled with regret, almost wishing to slap himself.