In the wind and snow, Li Man'er could feel the scorching gazes from behind her. She didn't turn around, pulling the scarf around her neck higher to cover her nose and mouth, then shouted loudly, "Everyone, hold hands. No one is allowed to fall behind. Report your numbers!"
"Understood, one!"
"Two!"
"Three!"
...
"Thirty-nine!"
"Forty." Li Man'er nodded with satisfaction, leaving the last number for herself, hoping to bear all the pressure.
"Hang in there a little longer."
They maintained this formation, scattering de-icing agent on the ground as they walked, ensuring it was spread smoothly.
She didn't know how long they had been walking before Li Man'er felt her legs were as heavy as lead, unable to move another step.
If she felt this way, how could others be?
Fortunately, the wine they drank before setting off was mixed with spiritual mist spring water; otherwise, they might not have lasted this long.
"How far have we gone now?"
The surroundings were a vast expanse of white. No one knew the direction, nor the distance from the barbarian camp.
Li Man'er only said, "Let's rest for a bit. No one let go. Report your numbers."
"Understood, one!"
"Two!"
...
"Thirty-nine."
"Forty." Li Man'er said, "Very good, not a single person is missing. Do you all remember what I told you?"
"We remember, walk hand in hand, one pulling the other."
"General, don't worry. Our wrists are tied with ropes, we won't get lost."
Li Man'er nodded, "Then I can rest assured."
The next moment, the forty people vanished on the spot. Even the items in their hands, including four snowplow-equipped snow removal vehicles, were all collected by Li Man'er into her spatial realm.
As soon as she entered the space, Li Man'er eagerly checked the reactions of these forty people.
Fortunately, everyone had fallen into a deep sleep. She was the master of the space; as long as she didn't want them to, no one could stay conscious within it.
Including herself, there were exactly forty people, no more, no less.
"If I relied on you to clear the snow, it wouldn't be done even by dawn, and we might even freeze to death."
Li Man'er sighed, took off her straw hat and straw cloak, and then summoned a real snowplow from her spatial realm.
The warehouse where she had discovered the de-icing agent had a large amount of snow removal equipment: snowplows, snowplow blades, various accessories, and some stored diesel and gasoline.
Li Man'er hadn't thought much about it at the time and had collected it all into her spatial realm. Who knew it would be so much?
To finish quickly, Li Man'er drove the snowplow out. The howling wind and snow successfully masked the engine's sound. The headlights illuminated the road, and Li Man'er realized they hadn't even covered half the distance.
Let's get to work.
She wasn't very good at driving at first, but after a few attempts, she quickly got the hang of it. How could the successor of the Profound Medicine sect be stumped by a small snowplow?
With modern tools, clearing snow became much easier. Li Man'er drove the vehicle, pushing the surrounding snow to the edges where it wouldn't obstruct anything. While clearing snow, she also sprayed de-icing agent, achieving remarkable efficiency.
However, to save power, Li Man'er eventually chose to turn off the headlights and operate the snowplow by sight in the dark. The terrain in this area was flat and open. Although the wind and snow were so heavy that she couldn't hear anything, the light source could penetrate for a long distance. To be safe and to avoid any legends of otherworldly phenomena appearing, she would just focus on her work.
Li Man'er pushed away the snow all around with the snowplow. She refueled the tank twice before finally finishing the job.
As they got closer to the barbarian camp, Li Man'er had to put away the snowplow to avoid exposing herself. She then entered her spatial realm, put on the equipment again, and brought those people out.
The moment they emerged from the spatial realm, everyone woke up. For Li Man'er, she had been busy for several hours, but for these people, they only experienced the sensation of their memories disappearing between closing and opening their eyes.
"Oh, have you rested enough? I'm feeling quite warm."
"Hey, I didn't feel it until you said it. My legs were numb before, but now they feel much better."
"Alright, stop the nonsense and get up quickly," Li Man'er said. "By my estimation, we've covered quite a distance. The closer we get to the barbarian territory, the quieter we must be, understand?"
"General, did we walk that fast?"
"Yes, it doesn't feel like we've gone very far."
Li Man'er said, "What time is it now? How much work can be done in two hours?"
"Two hours?"
"That long?"
"I thought I would freeze to death here in two hours."
Li Man'er immediately said, "Alright, everyone, stop chattering. You didn't do any work; I did all this work by myself. You're lucky. Hurry up, change the people pushing the carts, and spread out in formation."
"Yes!"
The remaining journey, though not very far, was obviously less efficient with only four snowplow-equipped war chariots compared to a real snowplow.
Fortunately, the de-icing agent also began to take effect, quickly softening the hard frozen snow into slush, making it much easier to clear.
Li Man'er told everyone to work for a while and then rest, ensuring their energy levels. She also had them take sips of wine mixed with spiritual mist spring water occasionally, to keep their bodies in the best possible condition.
Without realizing it, they pushed the snowplow all the way to the entrance of the barbarian camp. It was less than five hundred meters away.
What made them even more delighted was that the road in front of the barbarians had also been cleared. It seemed they had cleared a section of ground for their own convenience, not expecting it to help Li Man'er.
"See? Heaven is helping us." Although the snow was still falling, the wind had significantly weakened. The weather seemed to have gotten colder. She raised her binoculars and looked towards the barbarian camp, finding it silent and devoid of any activity.
Li Man'er handed the binoculars to A'si.
A'si, afraid of dropping the precious item, first blew warm air onto his hands, then rubbed them together before carefully taking the binoculars and looking towards the camp.
"General, could this be a trap?" A'si whispered. "There are no guards, no campfires, and not a single sentry in sight."
Li Man'er simply said, "It's not a trap. They've all hidden away to keep warm. Think about it, how cold is it? With such strong winds and heavy snow, can campfires even be lit?"
"They never dreamed that the god of death has already raised his scythe."
Upon hearing Li Man'er's words, the others' eyes lit up with excitement. "General, shall we go in?"