To the west of the Beehive, there is a stretch of snowy terrain that is slightly flat.
Six Iron Wheel Cars form a long convoy, struggling slowly towards the west.
At the very front of the convoy are eight people clearing the snow path;
Behind them are two small Iron Wheel Cars, each pulled by two people, with flags hoisted on each car, inscribed with the names "Beehive" and "Yang Lu";
Further back are four large Iron Wheel Cars, loaded with Iron Ore, with over ten people pushing or pulling each one in unison, inching forward slowly.
"Hong Yu, go to the front to pull the car, switch with someone from the back to push!"
Xia Hong was pushing a car from the back when he heard Ma Yong’s shout. Although his expression showed some reluctance, he hurried to the front of the large car, took the chain from someone else, swapped positions with him, and pretended to exert effort pulling the car.
Pushing and pulling the carts require different amounts of effort, so positions need to be frequently switched. To Xia Hong, the weight of these large carts, regardless of pushing or pulling, required him to hold back his strength, which was naturally no burden at all.
The reason for his reluctant expression was mainly because the journey was taking too long!
Today is already April 13th, and counting from the second day of the month, they had been pulling the large carts westward for eleven days.
According to Xia Hong’s own measurements along the way, in these eleven days, they had moved approximately forty-two kilometers towards the west.
Eleven days to move forty-two kilometers sounds outrageous. Had he not walked with the convoy all this way and seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn’t have believed it, even on penalty of death.
Overall, what dragged the pace down the most were the large carts loaded with Iron Ore.
These large carts are over ten meters long, five meters wide, made entirely of iron, and loaded with five million pounds of Iron Ore. Whenever they encountered a somewhat deep ravine or a slightly bigger obstacle, the entire convoy had to stop to think of a way through.
It’s laughable to say that most of the time, Chen Yingyuan had to disembark, either to use brute force to move the car or to help push with the others.
Then there was the road condition; Long Mountain lies directly west of the Beehive. Ideally, they could travel straight west, but there were many special conditions like slopes, consecutive ravines, small hills that they had to go around.
Especially on April 6th, as they just entered Yang Lu Camp’s territory, they passed by a small lake. Even while still a kilometer away, Chen Yingyuan and Ma Yong approached it as if facing a formidable enemy. To avoid getting too close to that lake, they made a needless detour of four or five extra kilometers.
However, it must be said that this was already the fastest and most suitable path chosen by Chen Yingyuan due to his familiarity with the environment.
Of course, Xia Hong has not wasted time over the past eleven days.
Every time the convoy took a rest during the daytime, he would meticulously document the surroundings and road conditions along the way, detailing everything from the lake that made Chen Yingyuan and Ma Yong so apprehensive to other areas the convoy clearly avoided, noting it all down on the Beast Skin Roll.
Though the process was tedious, it wasn’t a complete waste of time!
Xia Hong touched the Beast Skin Roll in his chest pocket, casting his gaze towards the first small cart ahead, looking at the Yang Lu flag atop it, his eyes flickering slightly.
Three days ago, on April 8th.
They finally met up with the convoy from Yang Lu Camp.
In the last three days, Xia Hong naturally figured out the situation with the Yang Lu convoy.
The leader of Yang Lu is called Peng Bo, a corpulent middle-aged man equipped with a Ghost Head Black Blade, possessing a basic strength of Eight鬃, slightly stronger than Chen Yingyuan.
Their convoy had a slightly larger number of people, numbering thirty, with the leader being Peng Bo’s son Peng Yuan. The remaining twenty-nine people’s strength exceeded thirty thousand pounds, similar to the configuration of Chen Yingyuan’s convoy.
When they met up three days ago, Chen Yingyuan dismounted the car, but only exchanged a few pleasantries with Peng Bo, their conversation not involving alliance matters so Xia Hong didn’t overhear any useful information.
"That’s not right. The convoy’s configuration already says a lot!"
Xia Hong thought to himself, stealing a glance at his own convoy’s Chen Yuan, then looking up at the Peng Yuan ahead, finally sweeping his gaze over the four large carts laden with Iron Ore, his expression shifted slightly.
The Alliance Leader Order entails three items: Jade Bone, Iron Ore, and hostage.
Chen Yingyuan brought along five million pounds of Iron Ore, and his youngest son. It’s likely that in the carriage he’s sitting in, there’s also Jade Bone, which essentially indicates his allegiance is leaning towards Long Mountain in this alliance.
At the onset of this journey, Xia Hong couldn’t discern his intent. It was only upon seeing Yang Lu’s convoy configuration three days ago, which mirrored Chen Yingyuan’s, that he was certain.
Both Peng Bo and Chen Yingyuan are most likely inclined towards Long Mountain.
"Such a stringent Alliance Leader Order, simply complying with it is already something, but knowing that five other camps have already pledged allegiance to Zhaoyang, they still chose to stubbornly side with Long Mountain. Just how powerful is Longshan Camp?"
Long Mountain must be significantly powerful, a fact Xia Hong had prepared for, yet Peng Bo and Chen Yingyuan’s actions undoubtedly amplified the trepidation he felt towards Long Mountain.
As of now, Xia Hong has knowledge of ten camps within the Longyou Alliance.
Based on existing information, Long Mountain is the strongest;
Following closely is Zhaoyang Camp, which is challenging Long Mountain’s dominance;
Following are Xiling, White Abyss, Dongkang, Wushuang, Hanqiong, Yang Lu, Yucheng, Beehive, and two camps whose names Xia Hong doesn’t know; these ten camps all have similar strength and likely belong to the third tier.
The strength of Great Xia, given this context, belongs to which tier here?