A Great Harvest

This Snow Mane was actually being extremely cautious.

When dealing with Frost Wolves, it didn't use its tongue even when severely injured.

Clearly, these Frost Beasts, having roamed the jungles for years, were extremely experienced in combat. They knew to conserve their trump cards and would only use them in life-or-death situations.

It was a shame that Xia Hong had planned meticulously while they were caught off guard.

He guided the Snow Mane towards the large tree specifically to make its tongue get stuck in the tree, hindering its movement, and then attack its greatest weakness.

That's right, Xia Hong's initial target was its tongue.

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

Even a large saber couldn't pierce the Snow Mane's hide, let alone the Stone Axe in his hand.

Frost Wolves could use their sharp claws to tear open the Snow Mane's belly and their teeth to rip its leg muscles. Xia Hong naturally wouldn't be so naive as to think he could do the same.

The tongue was almost the only point that could wound it, and it was a fatal one.

Coupled with the fact that his strength had grown to sixty-four hundred jin during this time.

So, Xia Hong took this gamble.

The facts proved that his gamble paid off.

Although Frost Beasts were strong, they were not invincible.

While being relentlessly harassed by Xia Hong in the front and having its left hind leg brutally hacked by Xia Chuan and Yuan Cheng with their Stone Axes from behind, the Snow Mane, despite its strong will to survive, ultimately fell with regret.

The thousand-plus jin behemoth crashed down with a roar, and the three of them were almost exhausted.

But all three of them wore expressions of exhilaration and joy.

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

"At least fourteen hundred, probably more."

"Yue Feng and the other five should be able to break through now."

"Let's hurry and carry it back to the camp."

Xia Hong wasn't completely swept away by the joy. After getting up, he immediately extinguished the still-burning torch, had the other two carry the Snow Mane's carcass, and quickly led them back towards the camp.

Such a large prey could attract other Frost Beasts or other humans, which would be fatal to the three of them in their current exhausted state.

Fortunately, the journey was uneventful, and the three of them finally made it back to the camp.

After exchanging the password, the cave entrance opened. It was only when the Snow Mane was truly placed on the ground and illuminated by the light of the cave's bonfire that Xia Hong's mood finally calmed down, and a relaxed smile appeared on his face.

"Wow... they brought back another one."

"Leader, you're that strong?"

"We never saw a Frost Beast this big even when the previous leader was here."

"This must be over a thousand jin!"

Both Yue Feng and the other five, as well as the more than ten people of the same age, and indeed everyone else in the camp, had gathered around Xia Hong and the other two.

Looking at the Snow Mane's massive body, sharp fangs, and formidable claws on the ground, the crowd whispered amongst themselves for a while before unanimously casting looks of reverence, and even fanaticism, towards the trio.

Xia Hong was no stranger to these looks. As he brought back resources to the camp time and time again, such glances became increasingly frequent.

He didn't particularly care about the reverence and fanaticism; any creature would develop such emotions when seeing another creature stronger than itself.

What Xia Hong cared more about were the deeper things in their eyes:

Hope.

With hope, people gain motivation and courage.

Xia Hong discovered this as soon as he transmigrated.

The people in the camp generally lacked hope.

Even when Xia Ding was around, and the camp had ample Crystal Fruit and heating, there wasn't a shred of hope on their faces.

It was easy to understand. Crystal Fruit for sustenance and heating for warmth could only sustain life, preventing starvation and freezing.

But humans are more than just beings who live to survive.

These people had lived in the shadows since birth. The outside world, Frost Beasts, Grotesques, even sunlight, were all fatal threats to them.

A sense of security and dignity were what they lacked the most.

And both of these required the support of powerful strength.

The flesh and blood of Frost Beasts were their only hope for becoming stronger.

When Xia Ding was in charge, the Great Xia Camp acquired Frost Beast meat too infrequently, meaning very few people received any.

Now, in just over two months since Xia Hong took over as Leader, he had brought back two Snow Manes, which was undoubtedly a great boost to everyone.

Perhaps it wasn't their turn yet, but as the Lumber Team was reformed and grew in number, they would bring back more prey, and eventually, it would be their turn.

This was why everyone looked at Xia Hong with reverence and fanaticism in their eyes.

Because Xia Hong gave them the most precious thing: hope.

"After skinning and deboning, it's a total of twelve hundred and seventy pounds."

Everyone's excitement reached a new climax as the weight of the Frost Beast's flesh and blood was tallied.

All eyes were on Xia Hong, waiting for his distribution.

The vast majority knew they wouldn't get a share.

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

Xia Hong had already planned how to handle this Snow Mane.

Seeing everyone looking at him, he spoke directly:

"From now on, all Frost Beast meat in the camp will be divided according to a three-five-two ratio. Three-tenths will go to those who hunt; five-tenths to the Lumbering Realm reserves, meaning Yue Feng and his four others; and the remaining two-tenths can be distributed to anyone between fifteen and twenty-two years old with a base strength exceeding one thousand jin.

Additionally, anyone, regardless of gender or age, whose strength surpasses two thousand jin can join the Lumbering Realm reserves.

And in the future, we'll set aside the odd pounds – for example, this time it's twelve hundred and seventy jin, so we'll take seventy jin and distribute it to everyone in the camp as a treat."

Hearing the three-five-two ratio, the camp members' faces showed shock.

Those who hunted only got three-tenths?

And when they heard the last part, that anyone, regardless of gender or age, with strength over two thousand jin could join the Lumbering Realm reserves and receive five-tenths, they all fell silent.

Even the odd seventy jin set aside for everyone in the camp.

Those who had initially thought they wouldn't get a share immediately lifted their heads in unison, staring intently at Xia Hong.

"So, we can join the Lumbering Team in the future?"

"Women too?"

"Did I hear that right?"

"We get a share too?"

Several voices rang out from the crowd. Everyone looked at Xia Hong in disbelief. Seeing him nod, confirming they hadn't misheard, smiles spread across everyone's faces, and some even wept with joy.

"The Leader is mighty!"

Someone shouted these four words first.

Following him, the crowd erupted in enthusiastic cheers.

"The Leader is mighty... The Leader is mighty... The Leader is mighty..."

Everyone was in a frenzy, some even kneeling and prostrating themselves before Xia Hong.

Xia Hong didn't stop either the cheering crowd or those kneeling and worshipping him. He understood these people and their actions.

When Xia Ding was in charge, the Frost Beast meat in the Great Xia Camp was only distributed to the Lumbering Team and their direct descendants. No one else could even dream of it.

This wasn't because Xia Ding was short-sighted. He knew that the more fighters in the Lumbering Realm, the stronger the camp would be, allowing them to acquire more resources. Thus, having more people cultivate and break through would maximize benefits.

Xia Ding understood this principle, but the problem was, he couldn't achieve it.

Without hunting capabilities, the way to obtain Frost Beast meat was, to put it nicely, relying on luck, and to put it bluntly, scavenging.

With scarce resources, they could only prioritize the Lumbering Team.

But things were different now.

Xia Hong's face was filled with excitement. The biggest gain from tonight's hunt wasn't the Snow Mane weighing over a thousand jin.

The biggest gain was that he had verified that hunting with Small Torches was feasible.

Although there was a significant element of luck, it was undeniably workable.

Before his strength was sufficient to face low-level Frost Beasts directly, having a hunting method that had been proven successful was of immeasurable importance.

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

Great Xia could do it too!