My Name Is Xia Hong, Great Xia Leader

Chapter 45: My Name is Xia Hong, Leader of Great Xia [They're Here, They're Here!]

As night fell on the second day, Shi Qing sought out Luo Ming, ready to bid farewell.

The leaders of the five camps had reached an agreement to cooperate with Yang and Li one last time, heading to Redwood Ridge in hopes of luring out and finally killing the Wood Puppet Grotesque.

Luo Ming brought three Earth Excavation Realm cultivators and twenty-five Lumbering Realm ones. The other four camps also brought as many people as they could. Compared to the previous four attempts, everyone clearly had a greater resolve this time.

But none of this had anything to do with Shi Qing anymore.

The Big Stone Camp had suffered heavy losses, and even if he wanted to help, he couldn't spare any men.

After wishing them success in killing the grotesque, Shi Qing, along with his younger brother Shi Dong, took the route around Redwood Ridge to return to the Big Stone Camp.

Also accompanying them was a bag of Crystal Fruits gifted by Luo Ming.

There was little interaction between the camps, so they rarely used established paths. Generally, they traveled along the outskirts of Redwood Ridge.

Redwood Ridge was vast. It wasn't accurate to say all their camps were located around Redwood Ridge; in reality, the nine camps were collectively distributed only on the eastern side of Redwood Ridge.

The Rogue Camp was located directly east, while the positions of the Big Stone and Great Xia camps were, more accurately, to the southeast, with Great Xia being slightly further south.

The territories each camp occupied on the outskirts of Redwood Ridge were roughly divided according to their camp's location. The Rogue Camp was the strongest, naturally occupying the largest area, stretching over two thousand meters from north to south.

The other eight camps each had only about five hundred meters.

South of the Rogue Camp were four camps: Huang Zhao, Da Chuan, Big Stone, and Great Xia, in that order. Therefore, leaving the Rogue Camp and heading south through Redwood Ridge, it would only take about three kilometers to return to the Big Stone Camp's territory.

Shi Qing, worried about the safety of the more than three hundred people in his camp, rushed with Shi Dong. Three kilometers wasn't far, and they soon reached their own territory.

"Hoo... We're finally here. Let's hurry back!"

Although they were still within Redwood Ridge, stepping into their own territory eased Shi Qing's mind considerably. However, the thought of having to inform the camp members that three more brothers had been lost upon their return immediately weighed heavily on him.

It had only been half a month since they lost eight brothers in Great Xia's territory, and now three more had died. Three months ago, the Big Stone Camp had a Lumbering Realm combat strength of sixteen. Back then, he had even proactively suggested hunting Frost Beasts.

In just a few months, the change in circumstances was like the difference between heaven and hell.

As Shi Qing walked, he suddenly looked back at the bag on Shi Dong's back.

"Second brother, wait up."

Shi Dong stopped at the sound, looking at him in confusion.

Shi Qing took the bag from his back, weighed it a few times, and frowned, "It's been half a month. They must have finished the Crystal Fruits they left at the camp last time. This bag only has a little over a thousand catties. It probably won't be enough when we get back. Let's go check the Ice Vast Trees first and see if we can pick some more."

Shi Dong nodded and stood still. He only followed after Shi Qing led the way towards the Ice Vast Trees.

As the leader of the camp, Shi Qing knew the locations of the six Ice Vast Trees in their territory like the back of his hand. He quickly reached the nearest one.

However, when he was still more than thirty meters away from the Ice Vast Tree, his expression suddenly changed. He grabbed Shi Dong and quickly hid behind a nearby tree.

"Someone's intruded!"

Shi Dong, standing beside him, had also noticed. They both looked in that direction.

On the Ice Vast Tree, two young men were happily picking Crystal Fruits, bags in hand. Below them, three others stood guard, making a total of five people.

After carefully examining the appearance of the five people, Shi Qing's face first showed shock, then turned to confusion.

"So young, which camp are they from?"

Being able to go out at night meant they definitely had Lumbering Realm strength.

The problem was, these five young men looked no older than twenty.

He guessed that even the Rogue Camp couldn't find five Lumbering Realm cultivators this young.

Could they be from another large or even giant camp?

No, no.

Shi Qing quickly dismissed this guess.

Because these six people were all wearing simple animal skin skirts.

"Those five are from the Great Xia Camp."

Shi Dong, standing beside him, suddenly spoke.

Shi Qing was stunned, and a trace of fear immediately welled up in his heart. The way he looked at the five young men instantly changed.

"You mean, those five might be..."

Shi Dong didn't speak, merely nodded gently at him.

Shi Qing swallowed, his heart skipped a beat, and his movements became stealthy, afraid of making a sound and alerting the five people over there.

He hadn't forgotten that Xia Ding and his group were supposed to be dead.

If the Lumber Team of any camp was wiped out, the remaining people in that camp would have little chance of survival.

Therefore, before going to the Rogue Camp, Shi Qing was convinced that the people of Great Xia Camp had either starved to death or had already fallen victim to the grotesque.

The scene before him clearly told him the answer.

The grotesque!

Yes, that was right, they must be controlled by the grotesque.

Otherwise, how could there be such young Lumbering Realm cultivators, and five of them at once.

"Keep your voices down, don't startle them, let's go!"

Hearing Shi Qing's signal, Shi Dong nodded, a dark glint flashing in his eyes.

The two retreated stealthily, quickly moving twenty to thirty meters away.

Only then did Shi Qing breathe a sigh of relief. He turned around, preparing to head towards Tasha Mountain.

"Leader Shi, where are you two going?"

However, a voice tinged with amusement suddenly rang out from in front of them. Shi Qing and Shi Dong's faces instantly froze.

Looking up, the two discovered a burly young man standing on a large tree about five meters ahead, holding a stone axe and watching them.

The young man's voice wasn't quiet. The five behind them, who were picking Crystal Fruits, immediately stopped when they heard the sound and all ran over.

That wasn't all. On the left and right sides, there were two more people each, who also surrounded them.

In an instant, they were surrounded by ten people. Despair spread across Shi Qing's face.

Ten Grotesques. There was no way he and Shi Dong could handle them.

"Leader Xia, picking Crystal Fruits is one thing, but are you trying to kill people?"

Just then, Shi Dong suddenly spoke.

Shi Qing's expression faltered. He looked up at the burly young man on the tree, a flicker of familiarity in his eyes. He asked hesitantly, "Are you Old Ding's son?"

Xia Hong stretched, then leaped down from the tree. The snowy ground beneath his feet didn't sink at all. He slowly walked up to Shi Qing.

"That's right. My name is Xia Hong, the current leader of Great Xia!"

Not Grotesques?

Shi Qing suddenly realized this. The relief of surviving a disaster instantly made him overjoyed. But the smile on his face lasted only a moment before being replaced by shock.

"You, you're all Lumbering Realm?"

Xia Hong didn't speak. Instead, Yuan Cheng and Xia Chuan on his left and right, along with the other seven people like Yue Feng and Lin Kai, couldn't help but let out soft chuckles.

They were young, after all. Hearing the shock in Shi Qing's voice, they couldn't help but feel a little smug. Especially Xia Chuan and Yuan Cheng, who had considerable grievances with the Big Stone Camp, as the latter had trespassed into Great Xia's territory twice before.

Xia Hong, however, wasn't getting carried away by such a small matter. His attention was entirely focused on the change in Shi Qing's expression just now.

The despair Shi Qing showed when he first saw him, and then the joy when Shi Dong revealed his identity – this change made him curious.

This curiosity even made him forget that he had originally stopped the two of them to settle a score from a while back and teach the Big Stone Camp a lesson.

"Leader Xia, I haven't returned to the camp in a long time. I need to go back first. When I have time, I'll come to Redwood Ridge, and we can gather then, how about it?"

However, Shi Qing clearly had no intention of satisfying his curiosity.