If not for the timing being unsuitable, Bruce would truly praise Charlie a couple of times.
Originally worried that his younger brother, being young, wouldn't be able to keep calm, he didn't expect him to be so clever.
Judging from the expressions on the faces of Henry and the other three.
There should only be four of them who came over tonight.
Bruce's eyes narrowed slightly, scanning the four people, finally focusing on the large knife in Henry's hand, contemplating whether to keep the four of them here.
His daring to come out tonight was naturally not without backing.
Unbeknownst to him, Bruce's surveying stance appeared to Henry as if he was considering whether to notify Thomas to come over.
Three so young, going all out, wasn't something Henry feared.
But if they couldn't be captured in a short time, or if one managed to slip away and truly called Thomas and those people over, it would become a situation of mutual destruction.
Wrong, if Thomas really brought over more than ten people from the Axeheart Realm.
Even with this large knife, the four of them would face a dead end tonight.
After thinking it through for a moment, Henry quickly made a decision.
"My two worthy nephews, there's no need for this. We'll leave the Crystal Fruit here and depart. We will never trespass Harper Territory again. Farewell!"
Having made his decision, Henry didn't hesitate any longer.
He waved to his companions to put the picked Crystal Fruit on the ground, said farewell, and swiftly withdrew with the three others towards the west, without looking back.
Bruce watched them walk away until they disappeared, then turned back after a while and gave Charlie a thumbs-up.
"Good job, kid!"
Charlie chuckled, "We definitely couldn't win a fight, so we just had to flaunt the tiger's skin and scare them away."
Hearing this, Bruce raised his eyebrows slightly but said nothing.
Currently having a direct confrontation with the Taylor Camp was clearly unwise.
Ever since Thomas and the Axeheart team had an accident over a month ago, they hadn't shown up around Redwood Ridge for such a long time, the people from Taylor Camp must have already noticed.
Otherwise, they wouldn't dare to plunder so blatantly across the border.
If time goes on, there's no guarantee they won't figure something out.
The previous three times Bruce encountered them, their numbers were all above seven, so he could only choose forbearance.
But tonight, only four of them came, and they didn't have an archer.
Such a great opportunity wasn't something Bruce would miss.
I believe after this incident, the people from Taylor Camp won't be so rampant for a while.
"But we still need to find a way for Clark and the others to advance as soon as possible. Such bluffing can only be used once or twice at most, using it too often will backfire."
Charlie and Tony had already picked up the Crystal Fruit from the ground, sensing it weighed over a thousand jin, smiles appeared on their faces.
On the first outing, having such a harvest was indeed something to be happy about.
"Alright, remember the position of the third Ice Tree well, next we'll go cut trees, tonight you two, each cut down one and bring it back."
The two immediately agreed and quickly followed after Bruce.
---
East of Redwood Ridge, on the northern side of the slope where the Harper Camp is located, there's a small mountain about a hundred meters high.
The mountain is in a vertical spire shape, about fifty to sixty meters wide, the top completely covered with white snow, only the trees extending out were pressed by snowflakes, the rest of the mountain was formed by dark and deep stones.
Not only are the stones black, but coated with a thick layer of crystals on the surface, clearly formed after years of freezing from the chill.
On the east side of the mountain, a long vine is hanging down.
At this moment, four figures were rapidly climbing up along the vine.
Despite being over a hundred meters high, the movements of the four were very quick, reaching the top in just a few minutes.
The mountain top is a fifty meter wide platform, without a single tree.
After reaching the top, the four went straight to the center, brushed away the snow on the ground, revealing a five-meter-wide square wooden board came into view.
The leader, experienced, lifted the board, revealing a three-meter diameter hole underneath, from which a flash of firelight shone through.
The four jumped into the cave one after another, the last one pulled the board back, covering the hole again.
Below the opening was a super large thirty meter wide square-shaped space.
This space, from top to bottom, was about thirty to forty meters with a layer in between separated by wood and stones.
On part of the stone ground, a bonfire more than two meters high was burning.
Around the bonfire, three to four hundred people gathered, chatting and laughing.
A few young children were playing nearby.
The people here were evidently in better spirits than those at Harper.
The moment the four jumped down, someone from the crowd laughed and welcomed them.
But upon getting closer, seeing their empty hands, that person showed a puzzled expression.
"Old Wang, why did you come back empty-handed?"
"Bad luck, don't mention it, where's the boss? Something to discuss with him."
"Practicing archery on the bottom layer."
"Alright, we'll go over first."
After briefly responding, Henry swiftly headed toward the east side of the cave.
The east side stone wall extended slightly inclined toward the bottom, Henry walked down following the slope, soon arriving at the bottom of the cave.
The space on the bottom floor wasn't much different from the top, with a smaller bonfire burning as well.
Near the bonfire were two people facing a wooden board on the wall, holding bows and shooting arrows.
"Boss, there's a situation at Redwood Ridge."
Upon hearing Henry's words, the two simultaneously put down their bows and arrows, turning to look at him.
Both appeared middle-aged, and their physical builds were similar, both were thin with hands full of calluses from gripping the bow.
Not just the build, even their faces were about seventy percent similar.
However, the one on the left had a scar about an inch long across his face, along with a fierce expression and slightly dark complexion, he exuded an intimidating aura.
The one on the right was three shades fairer than the former, with a gentler appearance.
Henry walked directly towards the person on the right.
Clearly, the 'boss' he referred to was the one on the right.
As Henry approached, the person's eyes narrowed slightly, opening his mouth in a composed tone:
"What's the situation?"
"I just went to the outskirts to pick Crystal Fruit and ran into three people from Harper."
"Old Thomas?"
"No, it's his two sons."
Upon hearing Henry's response, William Taylor was first stunned, then showed an incredulous look, and asked again, "Old Thomas's two sons, are you sure?"
Henry thought for a moment, nodded with certainty, "I'm sure, I got a clear look at those two kids, they look very similar to Old Thomas, and the age fits too, they must be his sons."
"How old are his two sons? Just the thirteen of Harper, where did they get extra Cold Beast Meat to let his two sons train?"
Barry, who had remained silent, exclaimed immediately.
But after speaking, he turned to realize his elder brother William's expression had turned grim.
Though Barry had a rash personality, he wasn't stupid, he immediately realized the key point.
"Big brother, you suspect that last time that Snow Mane was eventually snatched by Old Thomas and his group?"
Henry slapped his forehead, suddenly enlightened, "That's right, that's definitely it. The thirteen from Harper, their strength is far inferior to ours.
Over the years, they could only rely on luck to pick up Cold Beast carcasses, not enough for their training, much less spare Cold Beast Meat for two sons, it's definitely that Snow Mane."
With an agreement reached among the three, their faces all turned ugly.
Last time hunting Snow Mane cost them three lives, the one wielding the blade was William's third brother, Julian.
In the end, it was a rushed escape with nothing gained.
Now learning that Harper Camp had gotten lucky instead, one could imagine their mood.
Not only did they get lucky, it's very possible that when they were hunting Snow Mane, the people from Harper Camp were hiding in the dark the whole time.
Only after they retreated did they come out to reap the benefits.
"How dare they use such underhanded tricks from behind, when it's time to go to Redwood Ridge I'll lead the group myself. I want to see what strength Harper has now."
William's tone was cold, his previously gentle visage instantly turning darker.
Beside him, Barry and Henry were even more furious.