Chapter 285: Two Clans in Turmoil—What Does White Dew Gu Want to Guard?
Liu Yuan had captured a young man in white clothing.
He probably witnessed the Cloud Dragon Army slaughtering the Cold Beast and was still in a daze, his pupils full of shock.
"Commander, he must be someone from Long Mountain!"
Xia Chuan waved his hand. From the young man's clothing, he already knew, the color and style were evidently from Long Mountain.
Meanwhile, the young man in white revived, especially as he looked up to see Xia Chuan's murderous gaze. He immediately shivered and quickly said:
"Spare me, my lord. I am Xue Ping. I was specially instructed to deliver a message to Great Xia. I stumbled into this place by accident, and did not mean to spy."
Xia Chuan's expression froze for a moment, then he turned and looked three or four kilometers away. After a moment's thought, he asked, "Who sent you with the message?"
"Li Hu, Yang Zhong."
As expected!
A hint of realization flashed in Xia Chuan's eyes. This was the closest branch of Long Mountain to Wushuang. Their current position was about eight kilometers in depth. From Long Mountain to Wushuang, not taking the plains meant passing the outer perimeter four kilometers away.
"I was just about to head to Wushuang when I noticed the commotion here. I guessed it was the people of Great Xia hunting, so I came over. I did not intentionally spy on Great Xia's training. I hope you will forgive me, my lord!"
Upon hearing this explanation, Xia Chuan still did not lower his guard. He merely gestured for Liu Yuan to release Xue Ping, and continued to ask:
"What messages were you asked to convey to me?"
Once Xue Ping was released, he hesitated for a moment but quickly responded:
"Two messages in total. First, a newly formed thousand-strong army has recently been added to Long Mountain. Second, Long Mountain plans to send a large batch of supplies to White Abyss. Brother Hu is ninety percent certain that it consists of complete sets of Hundred Forged Level weapons and war armor, estimated to be around eight hundred sets."
On hearing these two messages, Xia Chuan's expression suddenly changed.
Standing behind Xue Ping, Liu Yuan was likewise affected.
Long Mountain already had three thousand Longyou Army, and it was nearly invincible across Longyou. To add another thousand troops was clearly preparation for something.
White Abyss had long since pledged loyalty to Hou Hu. The thousand-strong Blood Guard Army from Zhaoyang was currently stationed at Baiyuan Camp. Sending complete sets of Hundred Forged Level weapons and war armor to White Abyss signifies what...
A trade?
Impossible. Hundred Forged Level war armor and weapons are strategic resources, highly valuable to any camp. A single set or a limited number might be traded, but not in large quantities as a trade.
800 sets could nearly arm a thousand-strong army.
Xia Chuan had been worrying about equipment for the Cloud Dragon Army recently, so he had every reason to believe that 800 sets of Hundred Forged weapons and war armor would not be sold by either Great Xia, Zhaoyang, or Long Mountain to the opposing side.
Considering the past relationship between Long Mountain and Zhaoyang, Li Xuanling selling 800 sets to Zhaoyang was out of the question.
Xia Chuan's eye twitched sharply, and a bold speculation suddenly flashed through his mind.
No, it was no longer a mere speculation; he was almost certain of it.
The relations between the two parties must have undergone a dramatic change!
Xia Chuan hurried to calm himself before continuing to question Xue Ping:
"Why didn't Li Hu and Yang Zhong come themselves? What is your relationship with the two of them?"
Xue Ping did not say much more. He simply pulled a token from his bosom and handed it to Xia Chuan, bowing: "This is Brother Hu's token. Brother Hu and Brother Zhong both joined the new army and cannot leave the camp for long, so they entrusted me to deliver the message to you, my lord."
Xia Chuan looked down at the token in his hand, and his suspicion of Xue Ping vanished.
This was his Hunting Team's token, which he personally handed to Li Hu last month on the 20th when Li Hu came to Wushuang to deliver a message.
Xue Ping then continued, "That batch of supplies was originally planned by Long Mountain to be sent to White Abyss after nightfall on the 10th, but for some unknown reason, the date was postponed to the 20th."
Xia Chuan's face brightened. The date Xue Ping mentioned should be according to the Longyou Calendar, which was ten days ahead of the Daxia Calendar. Delivering on the 20th, in Daxia Calendar terms, meant the 30th of this month, in five days at nightfall.
"Liu Yuan, continue to keep the main force here, training at night as usual. Return to the camp at daybreak. I will come to find you before daybreak on the 30th."
"Understood!"
After giving instructions to Liu Yuan, Xia Chuan then said to Xue Ping, "You follow me. For the foreseeable future, you'll stay at Wushuang. I will let you return to Long Mountain when the time is right."
Xue Ping was momentarily surprised but quickly thought through it, nodding as he followed Xia Chuan toward Wushuang.
The Wushuang Camp was surrounded by more than eight hundred giant stones, each over ten meters high, three to five meters wide, and nearly ten meters thick.
The inside of the camp was a circular space with a diameter of about one kilometer, filled with buildings centered around a main tower.
Great Xia had occupied Wushuang for two months now, and the original giant stone array camp had naturally undergone some changes.
The gaps between the outer giant stones had all been filled with molten iron, and the tops of the stones were lined with iron spikes, obviously to prevent anyone from climbing over;
The only exit, the eastern gate, had also been replaced with a thicker and heavier iron gate, which opened and closed in the same way as the gate of Xia City, suspended by chains in mid-air.
Just these two points were enough to show that, after being modified by Great Xia, the defensive capabilities of the Wushuang Camp had greatly increased over what it was before.
The interior of the camp had also undergone significant changes.