Chapter 455: Chapter 210: Hong Yu, Beehive, Observation_3
“Zifeng returning to the nest.”
From beneath the boulder, unexpectedly, a human voice replied.
Then, beneath that boulder, it was unexpectedly opened from underground.
Soon after, a slanted passage leading downward appeared.
A face looked up at the three of them from below, the person standing underground holding a torch, smiling at Luo Ming and saying, “I’ve been waiting for you a long time, come on in!”
The person who appeared underground was none other than one of the three Earth-digging Realm users who left Redwood Ridge with Luo Ming earlier, Li Baihe.
Due to previous battles against a pack of Frost Wolves while migrating, Xia Hong had a deep impression of the three who left with Luo Ming, namely Shang Ping, the current Li Baihe, and another named Xu Kang.
While in a daze, Xia Hong didn’t forget to follow behind Luo Ming and the others, walking into the passage under the boulder, and going down the slanted stone steps.
Below the stone steps was a long and narrow passage, with a coal stove lit every ten meters or so on each side, making it not only bright, but also warmer than outside.
“I still need to stand guard here, you go ahead, and this brother is from Great Xia, right? My name is Li Baihe, and your name?”
“I’m called Hong Yu.”
Compared to Luo Ming and Shang Ping, Li Baihe’s reaction upon meeting Xia Hong was much more enthusiastic. With a smile on his face, upon hearing Xia Hong’s name, he immediately nodded and urged, “Brother Hong Yu, keep up with them, there are many camp passages, it’s easy to get lost if you don’t follow.”
Xia Hong turned around to see Luo Ming and Shang Ping walking ahead, and with a nod to Li Baihe, he quickly caught up.
The camp of the Hive was actually underground!
Although neither Luo Ming nor Shang Ping spoke, Xia Hong, observing the wind direction in the passage and some junctions, quickly realized that the underground passage was an extensive network, possibly containing many routes.
Moreover, there were places at the ends of some passages where the firelight was intense, indicating human activity.
Each passage had markings, sorted from smaller to bigger numbers. After entering, Luo Ming started from passage 27, following progressively smaller numbers, quickly reaching the passage marked as 1.
Passage number 1 was the longest, and it was slanted downward.
Walking about a hundred meters along passage number 1, they finally came to a large iron door, three meters high.
The iron door was open, and the inner firelight clearly visible. Following Luo Ming and Shang Ping through the door, Xia Hong finally saw the core area of the Hive’s camp.
Unlike the earlier passages, beyond the iron door was an enormous, open underground space.
The entire space stretched over three square kilometers horizontally, with the highest vertical height reaching twenty to thirty meters, and the lowest over ten meters. Judging by the few stalactites hanging from the stone ceiling and signs of excavation, this underground space was clearly a mix of natural and man-made.
Within the three square kilometers were hundreds of buildings, arranged in a circular pattern. At the core stood a giant iron-clad building over twenty meters tall, connected to the stone ceiling above.
Among the ringed wooden houses were three rings of roads leading inward to outward, plus a north-south avenue starting from the tunnel entrance, evidently for internal movement, with many people coming and going at the moment.
“Here, we must be more than a hundred meters underground. The Hive’s camp is in such a secure place, unless discovered by something eerie, hardly any Cold Beasts would actively come here; this is so safe!”
Recalling his journey through the passage earlier, Xia Hong couldn’t help but admire, estimating the underground depth of this space.
No wonder the Hive Camp had existed for so many years; who would have thought such a vast underground space lay beneath the seemingly endless Pingxi Plain!
Apart from the Long-tailed Rodents faced by Great Xia earlier, according to Xia Hong’s current information, there should be very few types of Cold Beasts underground.
Judging from this alone, the safety of the Hive certainly surpasses that of Great Xia.
“Hey, a stranger, Luo Ming, who is this?”
The entrance was naturally guarded.
A group of five guards dressed in fabric and beast skin garments, noticeably more advanced than the beast skin clothing Luo Ming wore, undoubtedly held a higher status than Luo Ming.
As expected, upon the person in charge questioning, Luo Ming immediately bowed respectfully.
“Greetings, Lord Cheng Ping. This person is called Hong Yu, he was brought over from a small camp in the east, possessing Earth-digging Realm cultivation. Having heard of our Hive Camp’s formidable strength, he wishes to join. Seeing his adequate skills, I brought him here.”
Hearing this, Cheng Ping raised an eyebrow, sizing up Hong Yu from top to bottom, then sneered before nodding.
“Since he’s new, quickly take him to report to Commander Chen!”
Luo Ming wore a wry smile. Upon hearing this, he promptly nodded respectfully, almost dragging Xia Hong, running inside quickly.
Xia Hong looked curious, not understanding why Luo Ming was in such a hurry.
But soon, he understood.
“Wait, the kid with those two blades, let me have a look first!”
As Xia Hong turned his head, seeing the greed in Cheng Ping’s eyes, he immediately understood why Luo Ming had hurried him along.
As it turns out, this gatekeeper Cheng Ping was avaricious…
He wanted to see his knives!
Though outwardly composed, Xia Hong’s heart sank slightly.
The two knives strapped on his back, hidden within the scabbard, showed nothing unusual. But once drawn, it would be a different matter.
Especially encountering such a greedy person, he definitely couldn’t let him see it.
“It can’t be that it won’t stay hidden right upon arrival. Let’s see how Luo Ming handles this!”
Without showing emotion, Xia Hong turned his head, casting a look for help at Luo Ming.