Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely Chapter 1699 - 538: Panic and Mutiny, Betting Both Sides, Sky-Banning Pill

Moao Calendar, Year 137, January 1st, middle of the night

Jinshan Town, north of the Hanzhao Realm, at the southern slope of Moao Mountain, the hundred-thousand-strong Jinshan Wuchuan Army was forming a long, orderly dragon, rapidly marching westward.

"Brothers of Jinshan, hold on a little longer. Once we reach Yinhe Valley and take Jinyang, and wait for Cai Qiu’s reinforcements to arrive, we’ll retake the town in no time!"

"Though the Xia Army is strong, our town is fortified, and there are still garrison soldiers inside. They absolutely cannot break through, and Cai Qiu has left someone to watch over them. If the Xia Army dares to attack the city, we’ll immediately return and ambush them from behind!"

"Brothers of Wuchuan, there’s no need to worry. Cai Qiu left a Tribulation Body Realm expert to help us guard the city. We just got reports that the Xia Army has retreated, the threat to the town is lifted, follow Master Cai Qiu into the Yinhe Valley, and as soon as the reinforcements arrive, we can immediately retake the town!"

.........

The army had just suffered a defeat, and with their distance from home increasing, it was naturally hard to maintain discipline.

However, with the tireless reassurance from the two Lords, Qin Feng and Shangguan Yang, it was entirely different.

Ice Abyss Camp, the authority of the Lords was unquestionable.

Qin Feng and Shangguan Yang not only comforted the soldiers themselves but also instructed all high-ranking officers to accompany them, barely maintaining military discipline as the hundred-thousand-strong army marched westward per Cai Qiu’s plan.

The coalition army split into two, with the Jinshan army familiar with the roads leading the way, followed by the Wuchuan army.

At the end of the Wuchuan army, Young Lord Qin He was quietly moving forward with his brother Qin Shan and two other Xianyang Level experts, along with over ten officers. Everyone was silent, showing ugly expressions.

"Twenty-five kilometers left to exit Hanzhao, we must march another twenty-one kilometers through Yinhe Valley to reach Jinyang, with the three Xia Army units trailing less than twenty kilometers behind. Why isn’t Cai Qiu employing the assisting measures he’d used to help our march earlier?"

Perhaps unable to bear the silence, Qin Shan suddenly spoke, angrily looking skyward.

"Shut up! Father just said, Cai Qiu’s Divine Wind cannot be used again shortly, and there are a hundred thousand of us; that wind can’t work on so many people at once!"

Qin He immediately interrupted his brother, glanced skyward, and sternly glared at him.

Qin Shan seemed to realize something, his body slightly trembling.

Since the defeat at Aikou City, his father Qin Feng hadn’t shown on the ground, though they could hear his voice comforting the soldiers. But without a face-to-face interaction, he felt somewhat uneasy.

Moreover, while comforting the army, Qin Feng only appeared two to three hundred meters above them, always accompanied by three of Cai Qiu’s Tribulation Body Realm experts.

Qin Shan, at Xianyang Level with the ability to control the sky, once attempted to approach when Qin Feng came down to comfort the soldiers but was firmly and loudly chastised before he got close.

"When morale is low, what do you want by coming here? Stay below with the soldiers and beware of camp mutinies!"

This sentence was spoken when they were around a hundred meters apart. Hearing it, Qin Shan dared not approach his father further.

But Qin Shan wasn’t dull. Though appearing middle-aged, he was actually ninety-two this year, firmly in his old age.

Old men are wise; Qin Shan had pieced it together.

Father Qin Feng likely had been controlled by Cai Qiu’s people!

The Wuchuan soldiers genuinely worried about Wuchuan City, as their families all lived there, and last night they were deceived and tricked to go to Aikou by these high-ranking officials.

The ambush at Aikou failed, though the coalition’s casualties weren’t significant, yet they had witnessed the Xia Army’s frontline power.

Eleven thousand against forty thousand, although Great Xia had a Beast Emperor-level puppet, Cai Qiu brought eight Tribulation Body experts, and Landgrave Cai Qianshan was also present. The top combat strengths of both sides aren’t that different.

Reflecting on this, who in the entire Southern Slope Territory could stand against Great Xia’s army?

The Xia Army’s strength was indeed terrifying, demoralizing the soldiers. The latest order was not to return and aid Wuchuan but rather to move into Yinhe Valley, occupying Jinyang City, continuing to engage the Xia Army, and wait for Cai Qiu’s main army to march south.

Cai Qiu’s army was certainly formidable, but if they couldn’t protect their home, what was the point of fighting the Xia Army?

Soldiers go to war, offering their lives for wealth, to provide better lives for their loved ones. Loyal lords, those concerned for the continuation of the town’s existence, might exist, but they would never be the majority, only a small portion.

Father’s reassurances and the orders for all officers to monitor soldiers were clearly superficial. Though barely maintaining order, soldier’s thoughts of home were surely growing heavier.

Qin Shan saw clearly that as the marching army neared Hanzhao’s exit, soldiers frequently looked westward, clearly wanting to return to Wuchuan.

The Jinshan Territory, divided by the Aikou, is essentially split into east and west: east includes Aikou, Qingcang, Lin’ao, Mu; west centers on Ice Peak, Hanzhao, Qing Valley, West Yuan, Yinhe Valley.

Hanzhao borders Moao Mountain’s southern slope; exiting Hanzhao, north leads to Yinhe Valley’s entrance, southwest direction heads to West Yuan Camp, direct west leads to Wuchuan East Valley Camp.