100 tons.

It would take two tons to meet the boiler’s daily consumption in the most economical mode, maintaining the temperature at 24 degrees.

This was the value calculated based on the outside temperature remaining at -20 degrees during heavy snowfall.

When the temperature dropped to an extreme -40 degrees, they would definitely need more coal to maintain the same temperature of 24 degrees. They would likely need about three to four tons of coal per day to meet the demand.

Even with such high consumption, they would be able to cover it with the coal they took from Black Stone Base Camp!

Su Mo made some internal calculations to clarify the “revenue and expenditure”. His heart was finally able to relax, and he hurriedly greeted Li Hu.

“We still shouldn’t be careless. What’s in Black Stone Case Camp doesn’t belong to us. It’s our asset only when it’s transported back to the village.”

“Let’s maintain this speed for the remaining trips later and make sure there won’t be any problems!”

Chen Shen, who was in charge of transportation, nodded immediately. “Understood, shelter leader!”

“The intelligence team has already reached there, and they’re evenly distributed around Black Stone Base Camp. They’ll report to us once a dwarf from the city’s center comes to investigate.

“Excellent!”

The population of a territory was like a double-edged sword.

Those who were not able to use it well would end up like Origin Territory and turn against each other. Not only do they not form a better fighting force, but they also delayed the whole progress of their main forces, becoming a burden to the whole group.

When used well like the villagers, then everyone performed their own duties like precise cogs, allowing the main gear to spin faster and stabler as it went!

Su Mo knew his responsibilities, and after he made sure there was no problem with the transportation, he did not stay any longer and quickly returned to the hut on the high slope along the same path.

Moments ago, when he sat in this room, the rumbling sound of the generator in his ears sounded a little noisy, but right now, it was like a trumpet of victory. No matter how he listened to it, it made him feel happy.

After putting on the helmet again and switching to a first-person perspective, Su Mo quickly took command again.

At nine minutes past one in the morning, Li Hu, the “captain of the defeated army”, once again fled back to Black Stone Base Camp.

As expected, the dwarf chief was furious with Li Hu’s incompetence.

18 carts of coal. That was a total of nine tons.

It would take at least one whole day to mine that amount of coal with the speed of the dwarf miners in Black Stone Base Camp.

The losses were enough for anyone to be distressed and frustrated!

He did not think more about it.

The dwarf chief directly revoked Li Hu’s command and arranged for a new team captain.

The team went forthwith great strength, and about 20 minutes later, nine fully-loaded carts departed from the gate of the Black Stone base camp.

The new captain deliberately led the villagers disguised as the dwarves in a different direction and urged the team forward with satisfaction.

There was nothing out of the ordinary for 500 meters.

At one kilometer, the progress was still smooth.

Just when the captain thought that he was lucky and Li Hu was really incompetent, Su Mo’s voice unexpectedly came from the void, and the dwarves behind him suddenly turned against him.

The captain was unprepared for the sudden attack and became a ghost under the villagers’ knives in less than three seconds!

“Good job. We’ve got sixty people on the team. Pick out four people to report as those who fought to their deaths with this captain.

“The whole team shouldn’t go back together.”

It would be extremely suspicious if only the captain died and the rest of the dwarves in the transportation team escaped alive.

However, Su Mo ordered them to push the blame on the dwarf captain.

In the absence of evidence, the dead dwarf captain would have no way of proving that it was not his fault for rashly pushing forward.

The transportation of the coal back to the basin was effortless like the previous two times.

The lizard carriage almost immediately disappeared from sight with the third round of coal.

They estimated the time and the “dwarves” fled back at one fifty-two in the afternoon.

“These little ents! How dare they be so arrogant, repeatedly robbing our dwarf transport team and attacking our camp!

“They even ambushed and killed my fellow dwarves. This…

“This is intolerable!

“Are there any brave warriors willing to lead a team to take down the ents? I’ll report your great contributions to the lord!”

The chief held the broadsword high in his hand and stood on the large platform of the second floor.

He was furious, and flames of anger spewed out from his eyes.

There could be a once or twice, but this could not be tolerated over and over again!

The ents robbed two carts of black stones, and that was not enough. They even took the third cart and did not stop there. Instead, they killed the members of the transport team!

This kind of humiliation was almost like a slap in the dwarves’ faces.

“I’ll go, chief! Let me lead a team, and I’ll make sure to take down the arrogant ents effortlessly!

“Chief, let me go! These ents have a death wish!”

The one that replaced Li Hu had been sacrificed, and the two remaining captains raised their hands almost simultaneously with determination!

However, it was not because they were motivated by their dwarf chief and were willing to sacrifice themselves fighting the ents for the sake of the camp.

It was not for the so-called great contributions that they had such courage.

It was because they were well aware that even if they did not raise their hands, they would still be assigned to the task. It would be better to take the initiative now. At least then they could have an excuse to escape.

“Very well. I’m comforted that these two warriors are willing to drive away the ents!

“Batum, you lead one team, and Da Dan, you lead another!

“Even if you can’t kill all the ents, you must scout out their traces and locations as much as possible.”

He waved his hands.

The dwarf chief immediately recruited all the transport teams and also ordered some miners to form an impromptu hunting team.

As for the defenders in the city, he ordered them to protect the safety of the entire camp so that they do not fall for the enemy’s trick in case it was a plan to lure them out and invade the camp.

The two captains kept the slander in their hearts and did not dare to speak up.

They silently followed orders, and counted the people and horses. At ten past two in the afternoon, a bast number of people poured out of the east and west gates.

Among the 60 people in Batum’s team, the basin’s villagers accounted for 26 people.

On the other side, Da Dan’s team had 30 of the basin’s villagers.

They were half the numbers. If they rashly tried to kill the captain on the spot, it would be difficult to ensure that the remaining dwarves did not have any means to transmit messages back to the camp.

“How dare the ents attack our city! Let’s fight back!”

The situation was clear.

Of course, there was no need to drag it out any longer.

Su Mo commanded the ents to make feint attacks for a while like they did before, and the dwarf chief noticed that something was not right.

Unfortunately, by the time he reacted, the two teams that were sent out had already been ambushed.

He had planted spies in the team of miners but they were not able to send a message back immediately.

There was definitely more than one “team” of ents!

After some fighting, it was half past two in the afternoon, and the sun was already halfway down the horizon.

This time, there were fewer dwarves that survived, the miners and captains were all killed, and even the transport team lost 16 people!

The remaining 40 survivors were all happy to be alive after the attack.

The chief let out a deep sigh and all his previous ambitions completely disappeared.

“Sir, our quota is thirty carts per day…

“So, do we still continue with the transportation?”

Li Hu was thrilled seeing the “old” dwarf chief but maintained a dead serious expression on the outside.

According to the announced order, each camp had to provide another 100 carts of black stones before the heavy snow came.

With the current storage in Black Stone Base camp, 100 carts were only 50 tons.

They would be able to achieve the target with 30 carts allocated every day.

It was not a huge amount.

The dwarf chief had to sign a military order under pressure because of the strict rules of the dwarves.

But right now…

“Transport? How? The ents have made it clear that they are waiting for us outside. We’ll be walking into our deaths if we go out!

“Besides, we don’t have many of our transport lizards left, and if two more batches die, even if the ents are gone, we will have no means to transport coal anymore!”

The dwarf chief pointed to the thirty or so lizards left, and his expression was full of agony.

“What if… they already left?”

“What if? Do you dare to go out and see for yourself?”

Hearing Li Hu’s uncertain guesses, the dwarf chief’s eyes flashed with hope, and he leaned on the back of the chair feebly.

A few minutes passed.

“You can lead the rest and give it a try if you want,” he said weakly.

“However, if they want to take the black stones, let them have it. Try… try to…

“Come back alive.”

His rash decision cost the lives of hundreds of dwarves in their camp.

The dwarf captain no longer wanted them to transport the black stones, knowing that they might be marching into their “death”.

He was left with no choice but to let go of his authority and let them do as they pleased.

This was the most important part of the plan!

“Okay, chief! I’m willing to give it a go!”

Li Hu wore the same expression of accepting fate and stepped back. He turned around and walked down the stairs with resolution.

Ten minutes later, a cart full of black stones set out from the city gate.

They traveled the same road they were robbed at before!

This time, they had pushed out more than the previous rounds and had a total of 12 carts!

“Calling Bird’s Nest, the hamster has been caged. Request to enter the next phase of the plan!”

“Roger, Bird’s Nest has received your message. 35 degrees from the south, 2400 meters down, there will be a team waiting to receive the coals!”

After receiving a response, Li Hu effortlessly drove the lizard cart.

The infiltration team and transport team met two and a half kilometers outside the camp.

With all the the previous lizards, the handover was completed easily.

Li Hu and his team received the lizards that were previously “lost” as well as the empty coal carts.

Meanwhile, the basin’s transport team received the 12 new carts of coal and returned with joy!

It was a “take what you want” situation!

…

“Chief! Although we lost the black stones, I was able to quietly follow behind them with the team and found our lizard and carts. This round…

“Was not a loss!” Li Hu said as he stood in front of the stunned dwarf chief.

They got back 18 new carts and 15 lizards in exchange for 12 carts of coal.

It could be considered a small gain in terms of quantity.

Compared to the three “useless” captains before, Li Hu was actually doing something to stop the losses in the camp.

“How… how about we wait until tomorrow?”

The dwarf chief swallowed his saliva and had a burst of confidence after they were able to retrieve their transportation vehicles.

“Chief, the black stones weigh quite a lot and since they abandoned the lizards and carts, it won’t be easy for them to carry it with their own strength!” Li Hu interrupted him confidently before he could finish speaking.

“They’ve already taken more than 20 carts of black stones in total. I don’t think they’ll be able to take more!

“How about I take the carts I got back to try transporting again?”

The dwarf chief nodded worriedly after hearing what Li Hu said, the dwarf chief thought about it and found that it was reasonable.

“Be careful, if they still try to intercept the coals, prioritize our manpower and transportation means as much as possible. Don’t rashly try to fight them!”

Li Hu was able to receive permission to transport.

At three-forty in the afternoon, 20 carts came out, carrying 10 tons of coal!

Compared with the previous scale, this time the long line of transportation was a grand sight.

Li Hu waved toward the worried dwarf chief who stood on the city wall and raised his short sword signaling the team to set off.

It was the same familiar route.

The same familiar handover.

At this point, in order to save trouble, Li Hu simply brought the team to meet with the transport team.

He arrived at the border of the basin to unload all the black stones, then drove back all the coal carts and lizards they lost before back to the base camp.

They arrived hurriedly and rushed back hurriedly too.

Looking at the empty cart and Li Hu’s confident expression, the dwarf leader did not say much this time, but even he started to have faith in his heart.

The inventory of black stones in the camp was the effort of hundreds of dwarf miners who had gathered for nearly a month, day and night.

It would take at least 10 days to transport all of the inventory.

He doubted that the ents would be able to snatch everything, much less transport them without the aid of carts and lizards.

At four-twenty in the afternoon, more cars left through the city gate this time, reaching a total of 32 carts with a weight of up to 16 tons!

The sight was astonishing, almost every transport dwarf was in charge of a vehicle going forward.

At four forty-eight in the afternoon, the team was “robbed” again and returned in failure.

At five twenty-five in the afternoon, the number of carts increased again, reaching a full 35 carts, almost approaching the camp’s capacity limit.

Four losses, a total of 82 carts, and a weight of up to 41 tons.

In addition to the 35 carts this trip, the Black Stone Base Camp’s inventory had been emptied by more than half.

Li Hu used the excuse that they could meet the requirements with one trip to tempt the dwarf chief.

The dwarf chief was also like a gambler who had lost everything and wanted to make a comeback by completely risking everything.

At eight past six in the evening, the team returned.

At half past six, Black Stone Base Camp reached the capacity limit, and the one-time transport vehicles finally achieved one vehicle per person, totaling up to 40 carts in one trip.

So far, 80 tons of the dwarves’ coal storage that they mined for a month have been emptied!

The coal piled at the basin’s border was like a hill, and it made people happy to look at it.

“Calling Phoenix, we’ve collected enough. Terminate the mission if the risk is too high at any time, over!”

“Roger, Phoenix has received the message. The hamster has taken the bait, and we can continue the mission!”

Li Hu became greedy with only 20 tons left in the black stone base camp.

Compared with 80 tons, 20 tons does not sound like much, but it could be used to fully operate the boiler for ten days!

After standing by and judging the risks for a while, Su Mo also decided to take the risk.

The reason was that it was getting late. Even if they were to get into a fight, the ents would not be able to discover the true strength of the basin.

Secondly, the dwarf chief had already grown numb to the losses, and according to the psychology of gamblers, the possibility of quitting now was almost zero.

However, Su Mo decided to change strategy slightly.

He instructed Li Hu to sit down and rest, and selected 24 people out of the remaining 40 militiamen with good physical strength and energy. Then, he explained the task.

The strategy would be simple: taking hostages.

They would exchange Li Hu, the carts, and the lizards for the remaining 20 carts of coal in the mine.

Both parties would be happy if they could come to an agreement to exchange and if they failed to execute the plan, they did not have to worry either.

The remaining militia could always find a chance to easily escape out of the city themselves.

…

“I agree! We have to exchange!

“Go take all the remaining black stones to exchange with them. Our lizards… ah, I mean, our brother must not die!”

Su Mo stood opposite the dwarf chief in virtual reality.

He laughed as he heard the other party worriedly order to exchange for their lizards.

After planning for such a long time and running around the wilderness many times.

This time, they could finally be relaxed until the end of the winter!