A Great Harvest

This Snow Mane had actually been extremely cautious.

When fighting the Frost Wolf, no matter how badly it was injured, it had never used its tongue.

Clearly, these Frost Beasts that had roamed the jungle for years were all incredibly experienced in battle. They knew to hold back their trump cards and would never use them until the moment of life or death.

Unfortunately, Xia Hong had been prepared while his opponent was not.

He had lured Snow Mane toward the great tree precisely so that its tongue would pass through the tree, hindering its movements, and then attacked its greatest weakness.

That was right. Xia Hong's target from the very beginning had been its tongue.

He had witnessed the entire hunt at Big Stone Camp last time.

Even the Great Saber could not break through Snow Mane's hide, let alone the Stone Axe in his hands.

The Frost Wolf could use its sharp claws to tear open Snow Mane's abdomen and its teeth to rip through the muscles in Snow Mane's legs. Xia Hong naturally would not be naïve enough to think he could do the same.

Its tongue was practically the only place that could be wounded—and a potentially fatal one at that.

On top of that, his strength had grown to six thousand four hundred jin during this period.

So Xia Hong had taken the gamble.

The facts proved that he had bet correctly.

Though Frost Beasts were powerful, they were not invincible.

Snow Mane had been tightly entangled by Xia Hong in front, while Xia Chuan and Yuan Cheng hacked furiously at its injured left hind leg from behind with their Stone Axes. No matter how fierce its will to survive, Snow Mane ultimately still fell in hatred.

The thousand-jin giant collapsed with a thunderous crash, and the three of them were nearly drained of strength.

Yet all three wore unconcealed delight and exhilaration on their faces.

"This... must weigh over a thousand jin, right?"

"At least fourteen hundred. Probably even more."

"The five of them—Yue Feng and the others—should be able to break through."

"Quick, get it on our backs. We'll talk after we get back to camp."

Xia Hong had not been so overcome with joy that he lost his head. After getting to his feet, he immediately snuffed out the still-burning torch, had the other two shoulder Snow Mane's corpse, and led them swiftly back toward camp.

A prey this large could attract other Frost Beasts or other humans. For the three of them, who were nearly exhausted, either possibility would be fatal.

Fortunately, they encountered no danger along the way and eventually made it back to camp.

After they exchanged the password and the cave entrance opened, Xia Hong only truly calmed down once they had placed Snow Mane on the ground. In the light of the bonfire inside the cave, he examined the prey, and a relaxed smile finally appeared on his face.

"This... we brought back another one."

"Chief, are you really that strong?"

"Even when the former chief was here, we never saw such a huge Frost Beast."

"This must weigh over a thousand jin!"

Whether it was Yue Feng's group of five, the dozen or so people of the same age, or everyone else in the camp, they had all gathered around Xia Hong and the other two.

Looking at Snow Mane's enormous body on the ground, its sharp fangs, and its keen claws, everyone whispered among themselves for a while before all revealing reverent, even fervent, expressions toward the three of them.

Xia Hong was not unfamiliar with that look. As he brought resources back to camp time and again, such gazes had become increasingly frequent.

Xia Hong did not care much for reverence and fervor. Whenever any creature saw another creature stronger than itself, such emotions would naturally arise.

What mattered more to Xia Hong was the deeper thing in their eyes:

Hope.

Only with hope could people have motivation and courage.

Xia Hong had noticed it the moment he crossed over.

The people in the camp generally lacked hope.

Even when Xia Ding was there, with sufficient Crystal Fruits in the camp and no problems with heating, not the slightest trace of hope could be seen on these people's faces.

It was easy to understand. Crystal Fruits filled their bellies, and heating protected them from the cold. Those two things could only sustain their lives, keeping them from starving or freezing to death.

But the reason humans were human was that they did not live merely to stay alive.

These people had hidden beneath the shadows since birth. The outside world, Frost Beasts, monsters, and even sunlight were all deadly threats to them.

What they lacked most was a sense of security and dignity.

And both of those required powerful strength as their foundation.

The flesh of Frost Beasts was their only hope of becoming stronger.

When Xia Ding had been in charge, Great Xia Camp acquired Frost Beast flesh far too infrequently, so far too few people could receive any.

But now, Xia Hong had only been chief for a little over two months, yet he had already brought back two Snow Manes. This had undoubtedly given everyone an enormous boost.

Perhaps it was not their turn yet, but with the Lumber Team reorganized and its numbers growing, the amount of prey brought back would increase as well. One day, it would be their turn.

That was why everyone looked at Xia Hong with reverence and fervor.

Because Xia Hong had given them the most precious thing of all: hope.

"After removing the hide and bones, it weighs a total of one thousand two hundred and seventy jin."

As the weight of the Frost Beast flesh was measured, everyone's excitement surged to a new peak.

Every gaze fixed on Xia Hong, waiting for him to distribute it.

Most people actually knew they would not receive a share.

But they still wanted to see how Xia Hong would divide it.

Xia Hong had already prepared what he would say about handling this Snow Mane.

Seeing everyone looking at him, he spoke directly:

"From now on, all the Frost Beast meat in camp will be divided according to a three-five-two ratio.

"Those who go out hunting will receive thirty percent; the Lumbering Realm reservists—in other words, Yue Feng's group of five—will receive fifty percent; the remaining twenty percent will be available to anyone between fifteen and twenty-two years old whose basic strength has reached one thousand jin.

"In addition, regardless of age or sex, anyone whose strength exceeds two thousand jin can join the Lumber Team reserves.

"Also, from now on, set aside the remainder. For example, this time we have one thousand two hundred and seventy jin, so we'll take out seventy jin and distribute it among everyone in camp, so they can have a taste of meat."

When they heard the three-five-two ratio, the people in camp were already stunned.

Those who went out hunting would receive only thirty percent?

And when they heard the final part—that anyone, regardless of age or sex, whose strength exceeded two thousand jin could join the Lumber Team reserves and share in that fifty percent—they all fell silent.

Then there was the final offer: seventy jin set aside for everyone in camp.

Those who had originally thought they would receive nothing immediately lifted their heads in unison and stared fixedly at Xia Hong.

"Then can we join the Lumber Team in the future too?"

"Women can as well?"

"Did I hear that right?"

"We have a share too?"

Several voices rose from the crowd. Everyone stared at Xia Hong in disbelief. When he nodded, confirming that they had not misheard, smiles bloomed across every face. Some even wept tears of joy.

"Chief, mighty!"

No one knew who had shouted those four words first.

The crowd followed, erupting into a wave of fervent cheers.

"Chief, mighty... Chief, mighty... Chief, mighty..."

Everyone fell into a frenzy. Some even knelt directly before Xia Hong and worshiped him.

Whether they were cheering or kneeling in worship, Xia Hong did not stop them. He understood these people, and he understood their actions.

When Xia Ding had been there, the Frost Beast meat in Great Xia Camp could only be distributed to the Lumber Team and their direct descendants. The others had not even been allowed to dream of it.

This was not because Xia Ding was short-sighted. He knew that the more fighters the Lumbering Realm had, the stronger the camp would be, allowing it to acquire more resources. Thus, letting more people cultivate and break through would maximize the benefits.

Xia Ding understood this principle too, but the problem was that he could not do it.

Because they lacked the ability to hunt, their means of obtaining Frost Beast meat could, at best, be called relying on luck—or, to put it less kindly, scavenging.

With resources scarce, they could only prioritize the members of the Lumber Team.

But things were different now.

Xia Hong's face was full of excitement. The greatest harvest from tonight's hunt was not actually this Snow Mane weighing over a thousand jin.

The greatest harvest was that he had proven hunting with a Small Torch was feasible.

Although there had been a fair amount of luck involved, it had indeed worked.

Before his strength was sufficient to face low-level Frost Beasts head-on, the importance of having a proven hunting method like this went without saying.

This meant that around Redwood Ridge, Rogue Camp was no longer the only camp capable of hunting.

Great Xia could do it too!