Rogue Encampment

The stronghold of Rogue Camp sat nestled in a valley sandwiched between two tall mountains directly east of Redwood Ridge.

Both mountains were vertical and oblong, rising two to three thousand meters from the ground. Just like Tower Mountain where Big Stone Camp was located, years of continuous freezing by the bitter chill had coated the rock walls all around both peaks with a layer of pitch-black frost crystals.

The mountain bodies were taller than Tower Mountain, so naturally the crystals were also thicker than those on Tower Mountain.

Yet curiously, the further down the mountain bodies one went, the thinner those black ice crystals became, and their color grew increasingly pale, until at the very bottom, near the part touching the ground, they had turned into the color of ordinary stones.

Once closer, one could see that a wisp of unbroken white vapor lingered along the rock wall, and as the white vapor rose, those black crystals were constantly melting, turning into streams of water that dripped down the rock face.

The high heat released by burning coal chunks can melt even these accumulated frost crystals of the years. Rogue Camp should truly never freeze anyone to death.

Although he had spent the past half-month at Rogue Camp, every time he returned, the outspoken Hong Gang still could not help praising it.

The other three leaders, along with Shi Qing and the Lumbering Realm personnel from their respective camps behind them, hearing Hong Gang's words and looking at the white smoke on the rock wall, all revealed looks of envy on their faces as well.

"Freeze people to death, what are you joking about? In my Rogue Camp, not to mention that everyone has a beast-skin garment on hand, with these coal chunks supplying heat year-round, not a single person has frozen to death in nearly twenty years."

Luo Ming did not speak, but the subordinates he brought behind him could not help piping up.

From their rather proud tone, it was not hard to discern that as members of Rogue Camp, they felt immense pride in their hearts.

Hearing that no one had frozen to death in twenty years, the looks of envy on everyone's faces instantly grew even more intense.

Especially the leaders of the five small camps, who could most intuitively feel the might of those words.

Actually, strictly speaking, compared to frost beasts and weird entities, the cold was merely the simplest of the survival difficulties humans had to deal with.

Yet even so, the number of people who died each year due to the cold was not small across the various camps.

As small camps, they could only rely on logging to stay warm, but the problem was that logging could not guarantee a harvest every time; if they were unlucky enough to run into a frost beast, not only would there be no harvest, but they might even lose their lives.

The crux was that in recent years, Redwood Ridge had been expanding at an increasingly rapid pace, and the growth of those trees had also grown ever fiercer, sometimes leaving them unable to find even a single tree they could chop down in an entire night.

It was not just the acquisition of timber that posed difficulties; the physical constitutions of the ordinary people in the camps were also a major problem, especially for young children. When a sudden drop in temperature struck, even hiding in caves and having bonfires for warmth, they would still be frozen to death alive.

Thus, twenty years without freezing anyone to death might seem ordinary and commonplace to Rogue Camp, but to their five small camps, it was an extravagant hope of cosmic proportions.

Where there was envy, there was naturally scorn.

"Rustic and lowly rabble, making a fuss over nothing. Is such a trivial matter even worth being proud of!"

Compared to the envy on the faces of Hong Gang and the others, Li Hu's face was filled with utter disdain.

Clearly, the events that had just transpired left Li Hu with deeply rooted opinions about everyone, so he directly used the four words "rustic and lowly rabble" to mock them all for never having seen the world.

Although Yang Ning did not speak, the expression on his face differed little from his.

Leaving aside my North Town, people in slightly stronger medium-sized camps all know how to lay coal stone, soften the ground, and transplant crops, yet you lot only know how to use it for warmth. Clutching a treasure without knowing how to use it while sitting here feeling pleased with yourselves, simply utterly foolish!

Hearing these words, the others reacted not at all.

Only Luo Ming was taken aback, then thought of something, and joy instantly bloomed across his face.

"Many thanks to the lord for the guidance. Luo only learned today that coal stone has such a use."

Li Hu's expression stiffened. His original intention was merely to take the opportunity to mock and ridicule, not to give Luo Ming guidance at all; he had not expected to be hoist by his own petard.

Yet thinking of something, he quickly recovered and sneered, "Don't get too happy too soon. The land required for those crops is not small, and the coal stone needed to soften the ground—judging by just the five of you in the Earth Excavation Realm, you'll probably have to dig for eight or ten years before you can mine enough."

Luo Ming, who had just been brimming with excitement, was instantly doused with a basin of cold water.

Though he said nothing, the looks directed at Li Hu by the leaders of those five camps—Hong Gang and Shi Qing—already carried distinct anger, evidently somewhat unaccustomed to him toying with Luo Ming like this.

"Alright, enough chattering. Hurry up and go inside!"

Noticing the completely unmasked anger of the five leaders, Yang Ning's expression grew somewhat displeased, though he said nothing further, merely glancing at Li Hu to signal everyone to go inside first.

"Everyone, let's go inside first and talk!"

Whether Luo Ming was naturally devoid of temper or possessed profound poise, after being toyed with by Li Hu, he acted as though nothing had happened and invited everyone inside.

While everyone was speaking, they had not forgotten to walk, and at that moment they had already reached the middle of the valley.

Although it was a medium-sized camp, just like Great Xia and Big Stone, the location where Rogue Camp was stationed was also very concealed.

The mouth of the valley was piled high with massive rubble and trees, and normal people seeing it would surely never guess that a camp of over a thousand people was hidden behind it.

Luo Ming led the crowd around the rubble pile from the left side, and several subordinates walked ahead of him with practiced ease, pulling out a giant log over five meters in diameter and fifty-some meters in length from a pile of rotting wood.

Once that log was pulled away, the rubble and other trees piled upon it ought to have all collapsed, but not only did they not collapse, they did not even move a single bit.

A passage over thirty meters long thus appeared out of thin air in the middle of the boulders and trees. None of them were seeing it for the first time, and they followed closely behind Luo Ming with unblinking composure as they walked right in.

Passing through the passage, the full panorama of the valley's interior finally revealed itself.

The depth of the valley was unclear, but just the left and right sides were roughly three to four hundred meters across. Most miraculously, the two tall mountains above intersected and connected, blocking the valley tightly and preventing light from shining down.

Of course, light alone was not enough to resist the harsh, extreme cold.

Unlike Great Xia and Big Stone camps, which relied on lighting bonfires in enclosed spaces to raise the temperature, Rogue Camp had built five giant wooden houses within the valley.

Nor could they quite be considered houses; calling them boxes constructed from giant logs was more fitting.

The five wooden houses were each square-shaped, about fifty meters wide, and estimated to be capable of accommodating several hundred people without issue.

Fires burned within all five wooden houses, with white vapor continually drifting out from the exhaust vents reserved at the top, and the sound of many people conversing echoed from within.

Illuminated by the firelight inside, the wooden houses all cast a faint golden glow, revealing at a glance that they had been constructed using the sturdiest Golden Scale Trees.

"It warms up the moment we enter the valley. Burning coal is indeed wonderful!"

Hong Gang stretched out a hand to sense the temperature inside the valley, unable to help uttering an exclamation of praise.

People from the camp had already come out to greet them. Luo Ming exchanged casual greetings and led the crowd toward the innermost wooden house.

Just as they were about to enter the wooden house, Shi Dong, who had been following closely by Shi Qing's side, suddenly shifted his expression and turned to look toward the left side of the wooden house.

"Eldest brother, what place is that?"

Shi Qing followed his gaze and realized that right beside this innermost wooden house, there was also a small wooden house less than ten meters wide.

At that moment, Luo Ming noticed the two of them, walked over, and explained, "That is my father's residence."

Hearing this, both men were instantly stunned.

Luo Ming's father—the former leader of Rogue Camp, Luo Feng?