Chapter 554: Chapter 240: An Offer You Can’t Refuse, Narrow Escape (Part 3)
Upon hearing his inquiry, everyone looked a bit puzzled.
Peng Bo gently shook his head, then saw Xia Chuan smiling and nodding at him, indicating for him to proceed. He immediately took the branch from Zhao Hu’s hand, adding to the simple map he had just drawn.
He directly drew a simple outline of a mountain range on the far left, immediately recognizable as Long Mountain, then divided the entire Longyou into three parts: north, central, and south.
"Longyou covers more than 13,000 square kilometers in total, divided into three main areas:
In the north, there are only two places, the largest Zhaoyang, and Dongkang to the northeast;
The central region is larger, with Changning on the far west side. Changning is characterized by a long and narrow territory north to south, with Xiling to its northeast, Baijuan directly east, Song Yuan to the southeast, and where we are now, Wushuang. On the far east is Hanqiong Camp.
The south is relatively simple, from west to east, it consists of Yucheng, Yang Lu, and Beehive."
As Peng Bo drew and spoke, everyone watched the ground as he continued to complete the map of Longyou, and their eyes slowly transformed.
Especially at the end, Peng Bo pointed to the area where Wushuang was located with the branch.
"Now, understood?"
There was no need to answer Peng Bo’s question; the simplified map on the ground could not have been clearer.
Remarkably, the territory of the Wushuang Camp was located right in the center of Longyou.
"From Wushuang, it is the fastest and most convenient to travel to any camp in Longyou. That’s why the leader designated Wushuang as a neutral area, and Long Mountain is sure to be tempted, especially at this critical juncture."
It was only at this moment that everyone fully understood the essence of the three promises Xia Chuan made to Long Mountain.
However, everyone quickly showed a startled expression and all turned their gaze toward Peng Bo.
Leader?
Did they mishear Peng Bo’s address to Xia Chuan just now?
Xia Chuan was initially taken aback, then turned expectantly toward Peng Bo.
Peng Bo seemed to have finally figured something out, bowed with clasped hands to Xia Chuan, then bent down and said solemnly, "Peng Bo, willing to serve the Great Xia from now on!"
"Good, good, good!"
Xia Chuan repeated the word "good" three times. He had already approached Peng Bo for recruitment last night after taking down Wushuang, but Peng Bo had not agreed then.
At this moment, he didn’t understand why Peng Bo had changed his mind but was filled with excitement and joy. An expert of Cold Resistance Level Late Stage with the power of Eight鬃, and the former leader of a major camp—Peng Bo’s joining was of absolute significance to the Great Xia.
Moreover, Peng Bo was different from Chen Yingyuan, Chen Yingba, and Wu Tianxing. Those three had family members under control, so they were coerced into joining the Great Xia;
Whereas Peng Bo, firstly, Great Xia had no enmity with Yang Lu, and secondly, Yuan Cheng and others had done him a favor, so his joining was basically pure.
And Peng Bo’s joining would also impact Yang Lu later, which was what Xia Chuan valued the most.
"Peng Bo, since we are in wartime now, I will not immediately assign you a position. It will be arranged once the matters in Longyou are settled and we return to Xia City, how about it?"
Having chosen to join the Great Xia, Peng Bo naturally had no objections and nodded with a bow.
Luo Yuan, Zhao Hu, and the other eight people were equally excited, clearly understanding the significance of Peng Bo’s joining.
.........
The forty-eighth year of Longyou, April 17, daytime
In the snowfield three to four kilometers east of Yang Lu, near a large tree with a diameter of seven to eight meters, the ground was covered with remains and severed limbs. A rough glance estimated at least a thousand people.
Upon closer inspection, there were differences among these bodies.
Most of the bodies near the inner circle of the tree were dismembered corpses, bearing marks of blades and swords, clearly indicating they were killed by human hands; the outer circle consisted mainly of intact bodies. Judging from their frozen limbs, it could be concluded that they were frozen to death by the cold air entering their bodies during the daylight hours.
The mixture of blood and snow on the ground in the inner circle had long dried into an inky color, permeating the air with a nauseating stench.
"Cough, cough... cough cough..."
A sudden bout of intense coughing erupted from among the pile of corpses in the inner circle.
Scritch...
Two bloodstained hands suddenly emerged from beneath a corpse.
Yuan Cheng abruptly raised himself halfway from the pile of bodies, looking very frightened. He took several deep breaths, then turned to look around. Upon seeing nothing but bodies around him, the panic on his face slightly diminished.
However, his pupils still showed strong fear and shock.
"How are you all doing?"
Suddenly, Yuan Cheng thought of something and quickly turned to shout towards the large tree behind him.
Seeing no response, he instantly appeared frantic and got up, walking towards the tree while continuing to shout.
"Are you all dead?"
"Is anyone still alive?"
......
"Leader, we are still alive!"
Finally, after Yuan Cheng shouted more than a dozen times, a weak voice replied from inside the tree.
Hearing the voice, Yuan Cheng’s face broke into a broad smile, and he walked directly to the tree, circled around it, and finally found a small opening covered with wooden planks on the south side.
"Leader, you are alive, that’s great!"
The opening was opened from the inside, and Yuan Cheng stumbled in.
Inside the large tree, with a diameter of seven to eight meters, had been hollowed out by someone.
The space was crammed with seventy or eighty people. Many were standing against the edge stacked together, while some injured ones lay in the middle. The already small space was so packed that even breathing was difficult.
Even though he couldn’t move after getting inside, seeing so many people still alive inside the tree, Yuan Cheng’s expression relaxed considerably.