Chapter 55: An Awkward Situation

Although Shi Lei’s intellectual ceiling was only three stars, his mental agility was far beyond that of an ordinary two-star individual. Applying learned knowledge flexibly and drawing inferences from one instance to another was a breeze for him.

Following the arrangement methods of their leader, the deployment at the Salt Lake camp was swiftly completed.

He glanced up at the sky. The weather today was not good—overcast.

Still, Shi Lei could roughly estimate the current time.

By the time the patrol squad stationed outside the Black Forest had their first encounter with the opposing side, it was already afternoon.

Considering the efficiency of the enemy’s retreat, and that their tribe must have received the news by now, it was unlikely that any offensive would be launched before evening. Soon after, darkness would fall.

In this era, launching an attack at such an awkward time was clearly unwise.

Therefore, Shi Lei reasoned that no matter how fast the enemy moved, a formal operation would have to wait until the next morning.

During this period, a tribal member dispatched at full speed to the Black Moon camp arrived successfully by dusk and reported the situation to Zhou Xu.

Upon confirming the report, Zhou Xu’s brows furrowed involuntarily.

“This really is a case of when it rains, it pours…”

Just this morning, a flu outbreak had arisen within the tribe.

Though all necessary instructions and arrangements had been issued, and everyone had performed well so far, Zhou Xu was reluctant to add any further instability before the flu was fully under control.

Moreover, this new complication was particularly troublesome for him.

In fact, having the enemies appear here was somewhat convenient.

Currently, the majority of the tribe’s manpower was concentrated at the Black Moon camp. Considering combat effectiveness, the most battle-capable individuals were himself and Zhou Chongshan.

If they had to face the enemy anyway, confronting them directly here would ease his burden.

But now, the problem had arisen at the Salt Lake camp, meaning he had to consider dispatching reinforcements.

The biggest headache was the uncertainty of whether the enemy would launch an immediate attack.

If he hurriedly sent reinforcements and the enemy delayed their advance until the following days, it would severely hamper development at Black Moon camp.

At this moment, Zhou Xu’s manpower was extremely limited.

Apart from Zhou Chongshan, whose individual combat prowess was outstanding and thus kept at the camp to handle emergencies, the only proper ‘soldiers’ were the patrol squads tasked with reconnaissance.

Other fighters were scattered across various departments within the tribe and would only be pulled out as ‘soldiers’ when enemies appeared.

Thus, any need for reinforcements would greatly disrupt the work of every department at Black Moon camp.

Thinking this over gave Zhou Xu a serious headache.

The downside of a large territory was that it was hard to manage everything.

If they had only one camp with sixty or so tribe members, they could mobilize all forces against any enemy.

But with multiple camps and personnel dispersed, such concentration was impossible.

At this moment, Zhou Xu was pondering this dilemma.

After a brief pause, he made a decision.

“Jinghong, put your exploration mission on hold tomorrow. Stay at Black Moon camp to maintain security and be ready to support Salt Lake camp at any time upon my orders.”

“Yes, sir!”

Jinghong accepted the command without objection.

Then Zhou Xu’s gaze swept over the others.

“Chongshan, gather five men tomorrow morning and come with me to Salt Lake camp to assess the situation.”

“Understood!”

“Alright, prepare dinner now. After eating, rest early. We’ll depart as early as possible tomorrow.”

He still did not know the exact distance between the enemy tribe and Salt Lake camp.

A rough guess was about half a day’s journey.

In this era, considering round-trip travel, the maximum distance an ordinary scouting unit could cover was roughly that.

Assuming the enemy would also set out early tomorrow to launch their offensive, who arrived first would simply be a matter of luck.

Don’t underestimate how crucial even half a day could be.

Normally, a conflict between two tribes was merely a skirmish involving a few dozen armed men. If the fight was fierce, it would end quickly.

In other words, it was possible that the battle would conclude before they even arrived.

Of course, having seen Shi Lei’s capabilities, Zhou Xu had some confidence in him.

The biggest issue at Salt Lake camp was the lack of combat units.

Even if Shi Lei could hold the line, it was unlikely they would avoid serious casualties.

That was something Zhou Xu was unwilling to witness.

After dinner, Zhou Xu summoned Jinghong again and gave him detailed instructions before retiring to his tent.

The next morning, after breakfast, he gathered Zhou Chongshan and others, strapped on some skeletal warriors as extra muscle, and set off for Salt Lake camp at top speed.

During the journey, Zhou Xu could distinctly sense their efficiency had improved.

Unlike in the old world, where he never worried about food and drink, and his stored nutrition kept him lively even skipping breakfast, things were different in this primitive world.

Eating only once a day, they could no longer accumulate nutrients. Even Zhou Xu, who had previously been robust, had grown skinny and gaunt.

Previously, such a trek would have left them dizzy and forced a rest.

Yet now, though sweating and breathing heavily, their spirits remained fairly good, with no dizziness.

Breakfast truly made a difference.

Exhaling deeply and wiping the sweat from his brow, Zhou Xu looked up at the sky.

The day was cloudy; the sun hidden behind the clouds. Yet through the light, he could still roughly judge the sun’s position.

“Now… it should be around nine or ten in the morning.”

After confirming, Zhou Xu waved to Zhou Chongshan.

“Let’s push harder. Salt Lake camp isn’t far now. We’ll rest when we arrive!”

What Zhou Xu did not know was that before they could reach Salt Lake camp, the invaders had already arrived there ahead of them.