Chapter 485: Chapter 220: Difficult Journey, Yucheng’s Ordeal, Li Xuanling 3
Cold Beast, could it be some kind of monster?
Xia Hong’s mind was filled with this doubt, and he looked at the figure looming behind the carriage window not far away, his expression extremely solemn.
The next second, the gravity on his face intensified further.
"Leader Chen, Leader Peng, long time no see, hope you’re well!"
A gentle and lively female voice suddenly rang out from inside the nearby carriage.
Upon hearing the voice, everyone except for Chen Yingyuan and Peng Bo had their brows slightly furrowed. The expressions of the other Earth-digging Realm individuals became as solemn as Xia Hong’s, and some timid ones even showed a hint of fear.
On a snowy night, the lonely, broken carriage, the looming figure, the bodies sprawled around, scattered weapons, and suddenly such a gentle and lively female voice—any normal person would think of monsters.
But Xia Hong glanced at the dense forest on both sides, then carefully observed the expressions of Chen Peng’s duo, immediately realizing that this woman probably had nothing to do with monsters.
It was apparent that Chen Peng’s pair remembered something, their brows had already relaxed, and despite their stern expressions, after exchanging glances, they simultaneously clasped their fists and bowed towards the carriage:
"May I ask, is Young Lord Xuanling present?"
Young Lord Xuanling?
Upon hearing this title, Xia Hong’s brow slightly furrowed, but he quickly recalled hearing from Cheng Ping that the principal of Long Mountain was Li Xuanyan, and immediately formed a suspicion in his mind.
"Good memory, the fact that Xuanling is waiting here today is not in vain."
The female voice inside the carriage spoke again.
Soon after, the compartment door slowly opened.
A beautiful woman dressed in a snow-white gauze dress, slightly stooping, slowly emerged from the carriage.
The woman’s waterfall-like long hair was gently tied with a blue ribbon, under the snow-white gauze dress, her slim and delicate figure was extremely alluring;
She looked about in her early twenties, with a pair of lively and gentle big eyes, her gaze stealing the scene, her flawless white face made the ground’s snow pale in comparison;
Her elegant eyebrows, graceful posture, light and nimble aura, everything about her seemed to be the gift of the creator;
The originally dull and cold snowy night seemed to brighten due to her appearance.
"What a beautiful woman!"
Not to mention the crowd from the Earth-digging Realm, even Chen Yingyuan and Peng Bo, and even Xia Hong at the back of the crowd, were momentarily lost in her beauty at the sight of the woman, expressing genuine admiration.
Women, or humans, in the Ice Abyss World were difficult to describe as beautiful before reaching the Cold Resistance Level, as their skin was constantly eroded by wind and frost, and clean water resources were relatively scarce.
The survival habits of the wilderness meant that the status of women was inevitably at a disadvantage; women at the Cold Resistance Level would certainly be rare.
If other natives of the Ice Abyss World were lost in thought, it could be said they were understandably astonished. Now, Xia Hong’s reaction, having been a two-life human, absolutely underscored how captivating Li Xuanling’s appearance was.
Xia Hong pinched his fingers, suppressing the restlessness in his heart, focusing his gaze on the silver longsword hanging at Li Xuanling’s waist.
The silver longsword instantly reminded him of Yang Ning two years ago.
Back then, the longsword in Yang Ning’s hand was of the same color.
If expected, Long Mountain should also have a silver mine!
Of course, the reason for focusing on the longsword wasn’t just about that.
Xia Hong glanced at the sixteen corpses scattered on the ground, noticed the black arrows piercing them, then took another look at the hundreds of people hiding in the dense forests on both sides, finally fixating his gaze on Li Xuanling.
Upon this observation, his expression immediately became even more solemn.
"Twelve鬃!"
It’s hard to imagine that the Li Xuanling standing before him, appearing to be just in her early twenties, was the strongest Cold Resistance Level individual Xia Hong had witnessed till now.
Gentle and lively, it was clearly just Li Xuanling’s vocal characteristic.
This woman was far more complex than she appeared!
"You both once studied with my father, in theory, I should call you senior brothers. However, now that the ten families in Longyou are being influenced by Zhaoyang, friend or foe, Xuanling finds it unclear. Why not tell me, are you planning to side with Zhaoyang or with us at Long Mountain during this alliance meeting?"
Chen Yingyuan and Peng Bo, upon hearing Li Xuanling’s words, looked down at the corpses sprawled on the ground and the flag that read Yucheng, as if they had thought of something, their backs instantly drenched in cold sweat.
The Xia Hong in the back quickly understood, his expression immediately becoming exceedingly solemn.
"On the way here, there were no tracks from carts, nor any signs of cleared snowy paths. If I’m guessing right, Yucheng Camp didn’t bring any iron ores, and if they didn’t bring iron ores, they were killed by this woman?"
Xia Hong pushed the events to a reasoning that was seventy to eighty percent accurate, and upon seeing Li Xuanling again, he wasn’t as relaxed as before.
The apparent reason was the absence of iron ore, but the real reason was their refusal to comply with the Alliance Leader Order issued by the principal of Long Mountain. Going deeper, it’s almost certain that Yucheng planned to side with Zhaoyang.
Yucheng was the closest to Long Mountain, and yet they dared to side with Zhaoyang. This, though it astonished Xia Hong, Li Xuanling’s actions truly startled him.
Disobeying the Alliance Leader Order and being directly killed?
This means that the Alliance Leader Order was genuinely a tool used by Long Mountain to test the loyalty of the ten families in Longyou, doesn’t it imply that among the other camps that came, whoever didn’t bring iron ores or carried hostages, probably are all already...
Peng Bo and Chen Yingyuan, after pondering for a moment, unexpectedly walked directly to Li Xuanling, bowed to her slightly, and began to speak with a voice full of reverence:
"Rest assured, young lord. Chen Yingyuan swears, my Hive Camp is absolutely loyal, Zhaoyang Marquis Hou Hu relies on some strength to wreak havoc in Longyou, my Hive Camp and he are irreconcilable!"
"I, Yang Lu, am devoted to Long Mountain; I will never collude with Zhaoyang Camp. Rest assured, young lord, we brought five hundred thousand jin of iron ore, ten jin of Jade Bone and also my son Peng Yuan along this time. The Lord’s Alliance Leader Order, be it scaling the mountain of knives or plunging into boiling seas, Peng Bo will absolutely comply!"
One after the other, they directly pledged their loyalty!
No wonder, given the fate of Yucheng, if the two camps didn’t bring iron ores, their end would probably resemble Yan Chuan’s.
Xia Hong observed the pair, frightened by Li Xuanling into bowing respectfully, while his own expression was solemn. His mind also began to think swiftly.
Li Tianhua’s daughter has a Twelve鬃 strength.
The principal, Eight Great Vajra, and many unknown situations...
The strength of Long Mountain is probably more terrifying than he imagined!
"If that’s the case, it’s going to be hard for Great Xia to reach over..."
Leaving aside Xia Hong’s contemplation for the moment.
On the other side, Li Xuanling, after hearing the loyalty pledges from Chen Peng’s pair, turned to look at the four large carts behind them, her face breaking into a breathtaking smile.
"Good, then I invite both of you to come with me. Just in time there’s a good show for you to watch too..."
After finishing her sentence, Li Xuanling seemed to recall something, she retrieved a section of a whip from behind her, and fiercely lashed it towards the newly emerged carriage.
Bang...
The carriage shattered in response, and a middle-aged corpse with a fearful expression flew directly out from it.
Upon seeing the corpse, Chen Peng’s pair’s expressions instantly froze, quickly bowing their heads, their posture becoming increasingly respectful.
"Yan Chuan’s corpse, Yucheng Camp should be gone, soon to be annexed by Long Mountain!"
Xia Hong observed Chen Peng’s pair’s expressions and instantly understood the identity of the corpse.
Long Mountain has started to annex other camps!
Reaching this conclusion, a sense of urgency immediately arose in Xia Hong’s heart.