Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely Chapter 1231: 410: The Zhao Family Takes Action, Joy and Inferiority, A Father's Love, the Pride of the Old Xiang Family

Ji Hong vaguely detected an undercurrent, his face clouding over a touch, before lifting his gaze toward Zhao Long in silence, offering only a subtle nod in reply.

Zhao Long kept on softly coaxing, adding, “Folks such as Luo An, Zou Ping, and Liu Peng, along with the disciples from my Zhao family, all those in the younger generation of Great Xia will shortly pull even. Without doubt, plenty of top-grade Battle Body aptitudes will surface among them. If you aim to avoid being left behind, your most pressing requirement right now is Cultivation Resources…”

“Commander Zhao, what’s your real intention here?”

Ji Hong at last showed some irritation and cut off Zhao Long abruptly.

This cut-in caused the faces of Zhao Hu and Zhao Bao, positioned next to him, to shift to mild hostility.

Even with Ji Hong breaking in, Zhao Long stayed composed. He cut straight to the chase: “Ji Hong, my young brother, five hundred thousand Contribution Value points—that’s what I’ll provide, provided your sister doesn’t meddle in my niece’s union with Xu An. I can transfer them to you immediately at the Camp Supply Department in Hongmen City. What do you say?”

When the figure of five hundred thousand Contribution Value points hit his ears, Ji Hong’s features stiffened, a clear red tint spreading across his cheeks.

Under his armor, his fists tightened fiercely as he raised his head and let out a bitter, mocking laugh: “Commander Zhao, your generosity knows no bounds! Five hundred thousand Contribution Value points—Ji admits, it’s quite alluring!”

Zhao Long, nearing his fiftieth year, easily picked up on Ji Hong’s biting sarcasm; he saw the flush as mere youthful pride and pondered briefly before pressing on:

“Six hundred thousand!”

Noting Ji Hong’s lack of reaction, he kept going.

“Seven hundred thousand!”

“Eight hundred thousand…”

Even after quoting up to a million, Ji Hong showed no sign of yielding, which started to test Zhao Long’s patience. After a brief hush, he made his final bid: “A million’s the limit I can stretch to, young brother Ji Hong—won’t you think it over again?”

Ji Hong burned to erupt, yet feeling the deep, imposing presence from the Zhao brothers, he realized he held no ground for fury, so he tamped down the burning humiliation inside and worked to steady his voice as he replied deliberately: “Commander Zhao, not every matter can be settled with wealth…”

He halted, then delivered a icy scoff and went on: “Not even a million—should you throw out ten million or a billion this instant, I still wouldn’t trade my sister’s future joy for it with you. Best to drop that idea!”

In the end, Ji Hong couldn’t contain his rising fury and let a sharp edge slip into his words.

Zhao Long’s countenance turned stormy at once, though he held his tongue.

He could tolerate it, but Zhao Hu and Zhao Bao beside him could not; witnessing Ji Hong’s insolence toward Zhao Long, they’d itched to chime in earlier, held back only by Zhao Long’s prior restraint. They hadn’t foreseen Ji Hong escalating further, even bold enough to scold their elder brother—how could they stomach that?

“Insolent fool, Ji Hong—you’re merely a reservist; do you actually fancy yourself part of the Dragon Martial Army? Even as a full member there, you’d lack the standing to address a Commander so rudely. Apologize to my brother at once!”

“Lad, talent remains just that—talent; turning it to real power is uncertain, and yearly, countless perish beyond Great Xia’s borders…”

“Enough!”

As Zhao Bao’s remarks veered more off-track, Zhao Long at last lost his composure and snapped at him to be quiet.

Aware he’d overstepped, Zhao Bao promptly sealed his lips and said no more.

Still, Ji Hong’s visage had grown terribly somber.

Zhao Long’s demeanor had likewise soured considerably; for someone of his rank, getting dressed down by a youth like Ji Hong was bound to irk him.

Yet, mindful that he’d approached on his own accord that day—plus the mess with Zhao Yuanxiu, where the fault lay with his Zhao Family—he let it drop, drew in a steadying breath, and even cupped his hands toward Ji Hong:

“Ji Hong, young brother, seeing as you refuse, so be it. My error today—allow me to offer an apology to you, young brother Ji Hong. My third brother’s doting on his daughter made him blurt nonsense; I trust young brother Ji Hong can overlook it!”

Catching sight of Zhao Long bowing his head to Ji Hong, Zhao Hu and Zhao Bao stared in shock, then hastily moved to protest.

“Eldest brother!”

“Eldest brother…”

“Come on, we’re leaving!”

Not giving them a chance to voice it, Zhao Long silenced them and pivoted, striding back to the barracks.

Zhao Hu and Zhao Bao lingered, glaring at Ji Hong with rage; in Zhao Bao’s eyes, a faint murderous glint flickered.

“Why are you two dawdling? Move it!”

Zhao Long’s call echoed from a distance, leaving them no option despite their fury; they could only huff coldly and depart.

“I must grow stronger—absolutely stronger. Only with true power, climbing higher in rank, drawing nearer to Lord status, can my sister and I escape such humiliations!”

Once the three had gone, Ji Hong remained solitary, clenching his fists so tightly that his nails dug into his skin, revealing the depth of his grip.

……

“Longyuan Army, advance!”

Deep into the night, Commander Zhou Yuan commanded, and the eighth and last force bound westward—the Longyuan Army—embarked from the barracks.

Thus, nearly everyone departing Hongmen had set out.

As this was the homeward trek, with the stretch from Hongmen to Zhaoyang being vast, Commander Zhou Yuan refrained from strict demands on the march, simply directing each Colonel to preserve the core formation of their units.