Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely

Chapter 1091: Chapter 380: What the Hell Is Chui Mountain? Crushing Force, Bad News Everywhere, Panic in Eight Towns_2

With the number of Cold Resistance Level soldiers in the Nine Towns, let alone a thousand-man army, each town could easily muster at least four to five troops. However, it’s impossible for all towns to rally all of their Cold Resistance Level soldiers for military service.

Town operations must continue, and normal hunting and gathering activities must not stop. Each town’s various agencies and all jurisdictions within the territory need people to govern. All these tasks rely on Cold Resistance Level soldiers to be done.

Joining the army is different from other things; once you become a soldier and join as a member of the army, you can’t leave the camp casually.

Moreover, maintaining an army involves not-low daily consumption of war armor, weapons, healing pills, cultivation materials, and so on...

Considering all these factors, throughout the Nine Towns of Moao Mountain, only the most powerful Northern Three Towns can form an army using Cold Resistance Level soldiers.

As the Deputy Army Chief of Chui Mountain Town, Duan Chang naturally knows quite a lot. He is very aware that the Northern Three Towns have secretly nurtured an elite army composed entirely of Cold Resistance Level soldiers.

Now, this suddenly emerging Great Xia actually has one too.

"Target his Outer Realm forces’ weak point. I refuse to believe, after failing to stabilize his hold at the Hongguan Pass, Xia Hong would dare risk it all and continue attacking Chui Mountain!"

Last night, two Commanders north of the Hongguan Pass were captured by Great Xia’s people, which can at most be considered a minor conflict. If Great Xia truly dares to advance on Peak Mountain, it would be a public declaration of war against Chui Mountain Town and even against the Nine Towns of Moao.

"Hmph! I don’t believe Great Xia has such guts. Let’s go face them!"

Duan Chang snorted coldly and then waved to the four people inside the tent before leading the way out. Outside, over seven hundred fully armed Cold Resistance Level soldiers had already assembled. Duan Chang didn’t bother with any unnecessary words and directly led the army quickly towards the only exit located at the north of the camp.

Peak Mountain Camp only has this one north gate as an entrance. When Duan Chang arrived at the gate with his men, Great Xia’s Golden Armor Army had already reached a position only over three hundred meters away from the camp.

"Halt!"

Clang......

A white-robed young man in the front row of the opposing army, not wearing armor, shouted loudly, and the thousand Golden Armored Soldiers immediately stopped synchronously. A thousand weapons smashed into the ground at once, creating a sharp and menacing clang.

Witnessing this scene, not just the other members of Chui Mountain Town, but even Deputy Army Chief Duan Chang himself found his pupils contracting suddenly and his face full of shock and awe.

Despite realizing last night that this army was very strong, his understanding of this strength was mostly on the cultivation level.

Last night’s confrontation was too brief to reveal much.

But now, with the army right before his eyes, just this halting action alone signifies much more. As someone with long-standing experience in leading troops, Duan Chang knew well what such disciplined obedience meant.

In the front row of the army, five Golden Armored Soldiers were encircling a flagpole about eight meters tall. Atop it hung a black banner, two meters wide and four meters long. The front of the flag bore a large golden "Xia" character, while the back was embroidered with a golden Teng Jiao. The flag fluttered in the cold daytime wind, and the Teng Jiao seemed to soar amid the clouds and mist, exuding extraordinary momentum.

Duan Chang’s gaze moved slowly down from the flag, finally settling on the white-robed youth at the forefront of the army, with caution evident in his eyes.

The white-robed youth was the one who, last night with three other Golden Armor Generals, had captured Duan Xu and Mu Zichuan. Duan Chang knew well his successful escape was due to this white-robed youth being late to act. Had he acted earlier, Duan Chang’s fate would likely have been the same as Duan Xu and Mu Zichuan.

"Deputy Army Chief of Chui Mountain Town, Duan Chang, may I ask your esteemed name?"

In the front of the Cloud Dragon Army, Xia Chuan heard Duan Chang introduce himself with cupped hands, causing a trace of surprise to flash across his face. He was well acquainted with the situation of the Nine Towns, including the Jiangyan Camp. He had practically guessed Duan Chang’s identity during last night’s operation.

Since the other party had spoken, courtesy required a reply, and Xia Chuan smiled as he cupped his hands in response: "Minister Xia of Great Xia, nice to meet Deputy Army Chief Duan!"

Duan Chang wasn’t aware of what sort of official position a Minister in Great Xia held, but anyone capable of commanding an army composed entirely of Cold Resistance Level soldiers must have a significant identity. His brows furrowed slightly as he angrily questioned, "Minister Xia, coming from the Outer Realm, Great Xia has taken Hongguan Pass without notifying the Nine Towns. Last night, you captured my two commanders, and now you’re bringing your army to pressure Chui Mountain territory. Isn’t this tantamount to declaring war on Moao’s Nine Towns?"

Such a grand accusation!

Xia Chuan’s smile remained unchanged, his gaze steadily fixed on Duan Chang, and after a moment, he suddenly asked, "I recall Peak Mountain and Hongguan Pass both belong to Jiangxia territory. Since when did they become Chui Mountain’s?"

Duan Chang was momentarily taken aback by these words, and all his prepared speeches were stuck in his throat, unable to utter a word for a long time.

Yet, his reaction was swift, quickly continuing, "Peak Mountain was indeed a part of Jiangxia territory, but it was seized by Dajue Temple earlier this year. Now that Dajue Temple has been destroyed, Peak Mountain naturally became ownerless territory, and having been occupied by Chui Mountain, it is now logically Chui Mountain’s territory."

"Then why should Great Xia’s occupation of Hongguan Pass require Nine Towns’ consent?"

Intending to tease Duan Chang, Xia Chuan intentionally blocked him with a retort.

"The Nine Towns are interconnected, all of Moao Mountain’s southern slope..."

Duan Chang’s words stuck as his expression froze, unable to continue.

He wished to use the interconnectedness of the Nine Towns to retort Xia Chuan, but the fact that he was currently occupying Jiangxia territory made saying such words hypocritical.