Attempting to Hunt

Big Stone Camp wondered how they could be so sure that Snow Mane had been snatched up by Great Xia.

The reason was simple: all the camps around Redwood Ridge were too weak.

The only one truly capable of stably hunting and obtaining Frost Beast flesh was the Rogue Camp, which boasted five Earth-Piercer Level powerhouses.

For any other camp to get Frost Beast flesh, they either had to spend a large amount of lumber and Crystal Fruit, or other scarce resources, to purchase it from the Rogue Camp, or rely on luck.

Luck, in essence, meant finding Frost Beast corpses in the woods.

Frost Beasts liked to eat live prey. Generally, after defeating other Frost Beasts, they would stop once their prey died. So, there was a high probability of finding something if you stumbled upon one.

But how often did such opportunities arise?

There might be many Frost Beast corpses deep within Redwood Ridge, but the problem was they didn't dare venture in. On the outskirts, finding one or two such opportunities a year was already considered extremely fortunate.

Moreover, after being neighbors for many years, they knew exactly what Great Xia, another small camp, was capable of.

Normally, limited Frost Beast meat would be prioritized for the Lumber Team members, with only the surplus given to the younger generation.

Therefore, without a doubt, that Snow Mane must have been snatched up by Great Xia.

Xia Hong was, of course, unaware of Big Stone Camp's resentment.

After driving them away that night and chopping down a tree each with Xia Chuan and Yuan Cheng, the camp entered a period of relatively peaceful development.

With the three of them going out nightly, the camp's lumber and Crystal Fruit reserves increased at a visible rate.

Crystal Fruit went from 7,000 jin to 12,000 jin.

Calculated for the camp's 154 people, at one jin per person per day, these Crystal Fruits would last over two months even if they didn't go out.

As for lumber, it increased from 87 units to 210 units.

Food and heating were secured.

The camp's vitality naturally began to recover.

Although they still had to seal the cave entrance at night, at least they weren't starving or freezing anymore.

However, while others were happy, Xia Hong knew very well that the camp had only preliminarily returned to the state it was in before the Lumber Team's misfortune.

When Xia Ding was still around, the camp never lacked Crystal Fruit and lumber.

For a small camp like Great Xia, the most scarce resource was Frost Beast meat.

Without Frost Beast meat, they couldn't cultivate and become stronger.

Maintaining the current situation would eventually lead to either being discovered by Frost Beasts or found by Grotesques, repeating what happened before.

Furthermore, Crystal Fruit wasn't inexhaustible. They had already harvested all the Crystal Fruit from the three Ice Vast Trees, and they didn't know when they would mature again.

If the existing Crystal Fruit ran out and those three trees hadn't borne fruit yet, they would have to go hungry. It was even possible they would starve without Crystal Fruit, their only food source.

Redwood Ridge certainly had more than just those three Ice Vast Trees.

Xia Hong believed there were definitely larger and thicker Ice Vast Trees deeper in the dense forest, bearing more fruit. But the problem was, he didn't dare to go in.

So, the crux of the issue was still Frost Beast meat.

The thirty jin of Frost Beast meat belonging to Yue Feng and the other four had been used up.

All five had made significant progress, but they were still far from breaking through to the Lumbering Realm.

Xia Hong's own one hundred jin of Frost Beast meat was also gone.

Although his strength had increased considerably, he was still far from the Earth-Piercer Level.

"If I can't keep getting stronger, let alone upgrade the Small Bonfire, I won't be able to build any of the other numerous structures in the system.

I must find a way to hunt, even if it means taking some risks, it's worth it!"

The Camp System currently only had a Small Bonfire. Upgrading the Small Bonfire from Level 1 to Level 2 required 200 lumber and 50 iron.

Lumber was not a problem now.

But iron, and resources like it, were something they couldn't even dream of touching without strength.

"Chuan, Cheng, tonight when we go out, we'll attempt a hunt!"

As Xia Chuan and Yuan Cheng were preparing to go out on an expedition just before nightfall, they heard Xia Hong's words and their eyes widened with excitement.

In fact, during their previous expeditions, the two had already seen Frost Beasts.

Of course, they were Frost Beasts sleeping in trees.

The two had brought up trying to hunt Frost Beasts several times before, but Xia Hong had refused, citing the Frost Beasts' strength.

Now, Xia Hong was actually proposing to try hunting.

"Don't get too excited yet. I told you, Frost Beasts are very strong. This time is just an attempt. Just like before, you must obey my orders when we're outside. You two are Great Xia's only Lumbering Realm combatants. I don't want either of you getting hurt, understand?"

The two could clearly hear the seriousness in Xia Hong's tone and nodded emphatically.

After instructing them, Xia Hong took out two Small Torches from behind him and handed one to each of them.

Upon receiving the torches, their eyes lit up, and they vaguely understood something.

"Leader, you want to use the small torches to lure the Frost Beasts like before, making them fight each other so we can reap the benefits, right?"

Xia Hong had already explained the function of the small torches to the two of them.

Xia Chuan and Yuan Cheng's quick reaction was within Xia Hong's expectations.

"Yes, that's why I said it's an attempt, all down to luck!"

Xia Hong felt a bit helpless. Using small torches to lure Frost Beasts was a bit like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

The function of the small torches, like the small bonfires, was to deter and damage Grotesques.

To put it simply, small torches should be considered high-level items, as evidenced by the Frost Beasts' obsession with them.

Unfortunately, the Great Xia Camp's strength was too weak right now. They couldn't even come into contact with creatures like Grotesques, let alone dare to. So, they could only use them to lure Frost Beasts.

Moreover, luring just one Frost Beast wouldn't be enough.

They needed to lure two, and they had to fight to the death.

Even after the fight, one of them had to fall, or be severely injured.

Only then would they have a chance to obtain prey.

This hunting method had extremely harsh conditions and was destined to be highly inefficient.

But it was the only method Xia Hong could think of at the moment.

It was a last resort!

As soon as night fell, Xia Hong quickly led the two towards Redwood Ridge.

The area within the Great Xia Camp's territory was only about five to six hundred meters.

After so many days, the three of them had already mapped it out thoroughly.

Overall, there weren't many Frost Beasts in the outer areas. They had confirmed and personally witnessed a total of four Frost Beasts.

There were two Snow Manes, one Frost Wolf, and a creature that looked like a goat, which Xia Hong didn't recognize, nor did he remember Xia Ding ever mentioning it.

"The strength of that goat is unknown, so we'll avoid it for now. Based on the previous situation, the Frost Wolf and Snow Mane have similar strengths, so our target will still be these two."

After finding the trees where the Snow Mane and Frost Wolf each resided, Xia Hong found a spot between the two and first planted the torch. Then, fifty meters away from the torch, he had Yuan Cheng and Xia Chuan dig snow pits.

Just like last time, after lighting the torch, the three of them quickly dispersed, hiding in their respective snow pits, and quietly observed the torch.

Xia Hong was still a bit nervous, as the situation was different this time.

The Snow Mane last time was young and also in a state of severe injury and blindness.

This time was different.

They had observed before that the Snow Mane and Frost Wolf on these two trees were both adults. He didn't know what would happen when they fought at full strength.

In stark contrast to him, Yuan Cheng and Xia Chuan were not nervous at all. Their eyes, exposed above the snow, were filled with excitement.

It was the first time for both of them to see Frost Beasts.

Although their thoughts differed, time continued to pass.

The torch's effectiveness did not disappoint Xia Hong.

Just two minutes after lighting it, a dull, heavy sound of beast hooves came from the west.

Bang... bang... bang...