Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely

Chapter 1603: Chapter 504: What Are We Waiting For? Divine Soul Incense, War Begins

Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh…

Three hundred meters east of the Central Yang Camp, a golden square banner flapped endlessly in the cold wind. The banner was one and a half zhang long and more than half a zhang wide, made entirely of golden Xia Brocade.

Though it was nighttime, the firelight below illuminated the intricate Kui Patterns on the banner clearly. At the center of the banner was a large black “Mu” character, radiating an extraordinary glow, visible clearly even from several hundred meters away.

The banner stood atop a wooden lookout tower over thirty meters high. Below the banner was a small platform where five soldiers clad in Yellow Armor stood, eyes wide open, each staring in one of the four cardinal directions and at the sky.

The lower half of the lookout tower was actually a wooden shed fifteen meters long. The top of the shed had a chimney outlet, from which dense smoke billowed out.

Within the smoke, fires flickered at a high frequency, indicating that there were people active inside the shed.

Around the shed were ten black military tents arranged in a circular formation, each fifty meters long. The tents appeared entirely black, making it impossible to see inside with the naked eye. Only the intense firelight from the western tent entrance and the sounds of soldiers chatting and laughing inside indicated a sizable group.

Squeak…

The door of the central wooden shed was suddenly pushed open from the inside by a soldier. An elderly man with a black beard and clad in Mystic Armor walked out first, followed by over ten people, each wearing armor in black, silver, gold, yellow, and red.

Though the armor colors on everyone differed, the style was identical, including helmets, shoulder guards, front and back plates, knee guards, and arm guards. It was clear that this was the standard Great Xia armor.

“Governor, there are three hours until dawn, isn’t that enough?”

Seeing his father Mu Longhe look up at the sky, Mu Qinghe assumed he was estimating the time and immediately stepped forward to speak.

“The old man can still tell the time without you being nosy?”

Mu Longhe turned and glared at his son, then solemnly addressed everyone, “Attacking and seizing fortresses isn’t easy. The Minister only gave me ten thousand troops, without absolute certainty, we can’t act rashly. Let’s wait a bit longer…”

The generals standing behind showed slight confusion upon hearing this.

General of the Six Camps, Xiahou Cen, couldn’t help but bow and say, “Governor, with ten Divine Machine Crossbows, three elite Numbered Armies, plus the Vajra Pill, our cultivation, medicine, weapons, and armor are all superior to the enemy. And the Central Yang Camp only has Yang Qin and Yang Ping, whether in strength or numbers, they can’t rival our forces. Not to mention we have insiders, so why have we delayed until now?”

Although Xiahou Cen possessed the strength of 56 mane hairs, he was only at Cold Resistance Level Cultivation. Ordinarily, he wouldn’t have the privilege to speak to Mu Longhe this way, but he was the son of Xiahou Zhang and held the positions of Commander of the Red Sun Army and General of the Six Camps in the Jinyang Alliance Army. Hence, among the group, only he dared to question.

Mu Qinghe had already been rebuked by his father, so he didn’t dare speak again.

However, hearing Xiahou Cen’s query, he too looked perplexedly at Mu Longhe, alongside others, wanting to know why his father hesitated to attack.

Mu Longhe, questioned by his subordinate, naturally showed a stern expression. Seeing all the generals looking puzzled, he still slowly began to speak.

“Xia people’s lives are precious!”

He softly uttered these four words, and upon hearing them, Mu Qinghe, Xiahou Cen, and the other generals slightly trembled. Their expressions of confusion vanished instantly, replaced instead by a hint of shame.

Mu Longhe, noticing the shame on their faces and knowing they had understood his point, felt a sense of gratification. Seeming somewhat in the mood for discussion, he continued to explain in a deep voice, “You must know, once war begins, it’s irrevocable. Even with an advantage, what does it matter? The trench at the camp entrance and the two thousand troops on the Southwest Mountain Road prove that Yang Qin and Yang Ping are not fools. Who knows what other clever tricks they might have hidden?

The Minister instructed me to lead ten thousand troops westward, emphasizing that Xia people’s lives are precious. A pyrrhic victory is not a true victory. As the governor, I cannot treat this lightly…”

He paused slightly and then continued, “Moreover, the ten thousand troops in the Central Yang Camp don’t intimidate me. But earlier, Lu Shouzheng mentioned that the Earth-digging Realm from Central Yang and Linya Camps combined has at least over sixty thousand troops. Since Beishuo is determined to defend Central Yang, it’s likely all sixty thousand are organized. If we recklessly charge in, your opponents are not just the ten thousand defenders!”

Hearing this, everyone’s expressions turned slightly more solemn.

“So, is the governor waiting for…”

This time Mu Qinghe couldn’t help himself, and in a public setting, he naturally addressed according to rank. He was genuinely curious about what his father was waiting for.

“It’s here!”

Nevertheless, before he could finish, Mu Longhe interrupted him.

Mu Longhe obviously sensed something, suddenly turning his head to look at the sky on the southeast side with a gleam in his eyes.

The others quickly followed his gaze.

A figure swiftly flew over from the southeast sky, arriving directly above the main tent in the central army camp. The soldiers on duty around the main tent, seeing someone’s approach, immediately adopted a stern demeanor. There were even sounds of many iron wheels rolling over the ground on both sides, clearly indicating someone had deployed a Divine Machine Crossbow.

“One of ours, no need to panic!”

Following Mu Longhe’s command, everyone around them relaxed.

“Lord Xiao!”

“Why is Lord Xiao here?”

“It’s Lord Xiao.”

…

“I apologize for my late arrival, Governor!”