Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely Chapter 1435 - 458: Blood Corridor of Nine Bends, Mysterious Ice Dao Monster, Feudal Town Military Might

The Blood Miasma Plain, a vast circular region spanning approximately 7500 square kilometers with a 50-kilometer radius, presents a formidable geographical challenge. From a bird's-eye view, the miasma obscures a landscape divided into two distinct zones: the northern Snow Plains, dominating nearly four-fifths of the area, and a colossal lake to the south.

This immense lake, known throughout Chen Cang Feudal Town as Yan Ze Lake, boasts an average north-south width of about 25 kilometers and an astonishing east-west length of 60 kilometers, extending beyond the plain's boundaries.

Situated directly north of the Blood Miasma Plain lies the land separating Chen Cang and Cai Qiu. To the northwest, Chen Cang's Yanling County convenes with Cai Qiu's Lin Chu County to the northeast. Their respective boundaries converge, bisecting the Blood Miasma Plain—a deliberate demarcation crafted in ages past.

The pervasive blood-colored miasma has effectively halted any territorial expansion by Yanling County, Lin Chu County, or by extension, Chen Cang and Cai Qiu, into the Blood Miasma Plain itself.

However, the flanking regions to the east and west of the plain did not escape their notice.

Both territories strategically encircled the Blood Miasma Plain from the east and west, asserting dominion over all adjacent lands. Their influence extended southward, nearly reaching the northern shores of Yan Ze Lake.

This is where the situation becomes truly intriguing.

Yan Ze Lake is flanked by the imposing Moao Mountain range to its east and west, creating a natural barrier.

This is no mere obstruction. An inspection of Yan Ze Lake's eastern and western extremities reveals sheer, polished mountain faces soaring thousands of meters high on either side, appearing as though meticulously sculpted by hand. Such formidable natural ramparts render not only passage but even arduous climbing exceedingly difficult.

Consequently, even as both feudal towns extended their reach to the southern extent of Yan Ze Lake by circumventing the Blood Miasma Plain, further southward expansion was rendered impossible without confronting the Moao Mountain range.

The formidable task of traversing the several-thousand-meter-high Moao Mountain surpasses even the challenges presented by the Blood Miasma Plain. Not even powerhouses at the Tribulation Body Realm would dare claim such a feat, let alone consider it for the expansion of feudal towns. Without a substantial army, the efforts of a few powerhouses to cross would yield minimal strategic advantage.

The heavens ceaselessly propel forward, and a gentleman dedicates himself to unceasing self-improvement.

In this context, Chen Cang exhibits a far greater sense of urgency compared to Cai Qiu.

Alternatively, one might argue they have simply exhausted all other viable options.

The territory of the Moao River's Four Vassals is finite. Chen Cang, positioned in the far west, finds Hezang to its north, Cai Qiu to its east, and nearly all controllable territories to the west already integrated; beyond these lies the formidable Moao Mountain.

Therefore, Chen Cang's sole avenue for territorial expansion lies to the south.

Advancing south necessitates an encounter with the Blood Miasma Plain and Yan Ze Lake.

As a result, Chen Cang has meticulously plotted its strategy for this region over an extended period.

Given the colossal scale of the Moao Mountain, direct tunneling is an utterly impractical endeavor. The mountain range, stretching for hundreds of miles and beyond the complete comprehension of its entirety, offers no guarantee of a smooth passage through to the other side. The required manpower and resources would be immense, with success remaining highly uncertain.

Furthermore, the greater the age and altitude of mountains, the more profound the secrets and inherent dangers they conceal. A careless foray into their depths could awaken terrifying forces, transforming a bid for expansion into a fatal pursuit.

Legend has it that the Calamity-level monsters, the Mountain Shocking Nightmare and the beekeeper, were inadvertently unleashed by Hezang and Wei Bo, two significant feudal towns, through their reckless encroachment into uncharted territories.

Thus, recognizing the impossibility of bypassing the Blood Miasma Plain and Yan Ze Lake, Chen Cang resolved to seek a solution within these very domains.

The miasma shrouding Yan Ze Lake possesses a crimson hue several times more intense than that found in the northern Snow Plains, casting a blood-red glow across the entire expanse. Moreover, as the perils associated with waterways, such as the Ice Abyss, are widely acknowledged, the danger level of water transit significantly outweighs that of land. Navigating these two challenging environments smoothly is far from a simple undertaking.

Chen Cang dedicated decades to this formidable task, deploying over a hundred thousand elite soldiers, specially trained for cold resistance, in rotating shifts for the arduous construction. Throughout this colossal effort, Xianyang-level powerhouses provided constant escorts, and even forces at the Tribulation Body Realm took turns overseeing the on-site operations. This unwavering commitment enabled the forceful excavation of a path, stretching 60 kilometers in length, along the lake's western rock face.

Initially, Chen Cang harbored the conviction that this meticulously carved path would facilitate the large-scale deployment of forces southward, thereby enabling territorial expansion.

However, within the first year of the path's completion, Chen Cang dispatched a reconnaissance army of ten thousand soldiers southward. Midway through their journey on Yan Ze Lake, they were engulfed by a formidable tide. This was no ordinary surge; instead, it was accompanied by thousands of Water Cold Beasts, which relentlessly advanced towards the western rock wall...Not a single soul among the ten thousand soldiers made it out alive; even the three Xianyang-level commanders met their demise. Astonishingly, merely one warrior from the Tribulation Body Realm managed to flee back. At this point, Chen Cang understood clearly that before the persistent problems of Blood Miasma Plain and Yan Ze Lake were definitively resolved, any ambitious large-scale southward advance would be an exercise in futility. However, while a massive troop movement was unfeasible, smaller, more agile units could still navigate the treacherous terrain. The arduous path, painstakingly carved out over more than a decade with tremendous human effort and resource allocation, was finally slated for its purpose. This route, stretching a total of sixty kilometers, was meticulously etched along the western rocky facade of Yan Ze Lake. Its serpentine twists and turns, coupled with the pervasive influence of the blood-colored miasma, led Chen Cang to christen it the 'Nine Bend Blood Corridor.' Upon successfully traversing this daunting passage, the first obstacle encountered would be a towering, albeit less than two thousand meters, mountain. Only by conquering this natural barrier would individuals truly escape the suffocating embrace of the blood-colored miasma. Those with keen observation skills would readily discern that this very mountain was the reason the crimson haze did not venture further south.