The distribution of Solidified Fire Oil proceeded in an orderly manner. Out of the 17,000 rescued from Gourd Valley, only a little over 400 did not survive the outbreak of dew, while the rest were successfully rescued.
Meanwhile, dawn broke.
Before dawn, Qiu Peng had already arranged for the people from the three factions into all the available houses within the Wushuang Camp.
Unsurprisingly, during this process, all 15,000 plus individuals from Hanqiong Camp expressed their intention to join the Great Xia Camp;
Among the 1,600 Earth-digging Realm individuals from Long Mountain and Zhaoyang, only a negligible number wanted to change their allegiance, totaling about twenty or so.
Qiu Peng brought these numbers back to report to Xia Hong at the main building, his tone betraying a disappointment he couldn’t quite hide—he clearly wasn’t entirely reconciled.
Wushuang Main Building, top floor hall, Qiu Peng sat down after finishing his report.
On either side of the hall were seated Xia Chuan, Luo Yuan, Hong Guang, Hong Tian, Zhao Long, Zhao Hu, Zhao Bao, Zhu Yuan, Lin Kai, Lu Yang, Hong Gang, Huang Yong, the twelve Cold Resistance Level members of Great Xia. They were all looking up, waiting for Xia Hong to speak.
Chen Yingyuan, Chen Yingba, Wu Tianxing, and Peng Bo sat in the rearmost seats. First, they looked up at Xia Hong above, then scanned the people seated formally on both sides of the hall, nearly all of them showed a trace of surprise.
Until now, constantly shuttling between the Beehive and Wushuang, this was the first time the four had such a direct view of Great Xia’s Cold Resistance Level members gathered together.
"There are thirteen here, and I remember on the Beehive side, there’s one named Meng Yi, plus those currently recuperating, Yuan Cheng and Yuwen Dao. This means Great Xia’s Cold Resistance Level amounts to at least sixteen!"
"It’s impossible for the Camp to be left entirely vacant, so there are definitely more than sixteen. There are over 1,400 Earth-digging Realm individuals on this side, 1,000 in Beehive, totaling over 2,400. Like the Cold Resistance Level, their camp certainly holds a portion that hasn’t moved—a conservative estimate suggests there are at least 3,000 Earth-digging Realm individuals. Great Xia’s strength is undeniably impressive!"
"Of course, the most crucial thing is... his strength!"
Chen Yingyuan sat in the chair, seemingly expressionless, yet after carefully evaluating Great Xia’s strength, his heart was constantly exclaiming, especially when his gaze fell on Xia Hong above, revealing an undisguisable shock in his eyes.
Having just followed Xia Chuan to Gourd Valley to rescue Xia Hong, though he seemed calm throughout, only he knew how shocked he truly was inside.
Li Xuanling, Li Xuandu, Li Xuanyan, the three young masters of Long Mountain; Meng Ying and Zhou Yuan, two of the Eight Great Vajra; and the Divine Archer Yang Fengping with strength only second to Li Tianhua and Li Tiancheng—excluding Li Tiancheng—these six were almost the strongest Cold Resistance Level individuals of Long Mountain at present.
To Chen Yingyuan, these six, along with the thousand Longyou troops, could kill anyone in Longyou except Li Tianhua. Even if Li Tianhua’s brother Li Tiancheng arrived, it would be a path to death.
Yet their attempt to annihilate Xia Hong failed!
Regardless of whether Xia Chuan’s timely arrival with reinforcements was the reason, the result was that Xia Hong did not die. Not only did he survive, aside from a face shot by Yang Fengping’s arrow, and several non-lethal arrows in his body, he didn’t have any fatal injuries.
Whether Xia Hong was more powerful than Li Tianhua, Chen Yingyuan wasn’t sure.
But he was certain that Xia Hong was definitely superior to both Li Tiancheng and Hou Hu!
A leader powerful enough to lord over Longyou; over twenty Cold Resistance Level individuals; and more than 3,000 Earth-digging Realm members...
Ignoring the Longyou troops and Blood Guard Army for the moment, just based on these three aspects, Great Xia wasn’t too far behind Long Mountain and Zhaoyang, let alone these being merely conservative estimates.
"Moreover, I previously observed the light golden armor worn by Great Xia soldiers, including their weapons, though only at the Ten-forged Level, sufficiently rivaling the Hundred Forged Level on the Longyou side. This confirms Great Xia’s forging techniques far surpass Longyou; and the clothes they wear, along with the Dan Medicine they utilize..."
Faced with the staggering number of Cold Resistance Level individuals before him and based on his experiences over the past few days, Chen Yingyuan felt increasingly shocked by Great Xia’s power. Turning to look at Chen Yingba beside him, he couldn’t help but sigh softly.
Beehive had essentially become defunct, forcing him to consider the future path for himself and his brother.
"Great Xia seems to be a pretty decent option too!"
"There are 23 who defected to Great Xia, not bad indeed!"
While Chen Yingyuan was considering joining Great Xia, Xia Hong was naturally unaware of this. Hearing Qiu Peng report that 23 Earth-digging Realm individuals wanted to defect to Great Xia, he was visibly surprised, displaying an intrigued expression.
But soon, noticing Qiu Peng and the reluctance on the faces of Xia Chuan and the others, he realized that they still hadn’t understood his intentions, leading him to shake his head helplessly.
"Let me ask you all a question!"
After pondering for a moment, Xia Hong slowly began speaking. After capturing everyone’s attention, he continued, "Supposing, supposing Great Xia were defeated in the future, and you were captured by the enemy, and they asked you to leave Great Xia and join their camp, would you be willing?"
"I, Luo Yuan, was born a person of Great Xia and will die a ghost of Great Xia, and would never join any other camp."
Upon hearing this question, except for the four Chen Yingyuan, the people of Great Xia almost responded instinctively, with many even displaying anger on their faces, apparently feeling Xia Hong’s question somewhat insulting them.