George, the current leader of the Rogel Camp and son of the former leader Steve.
Indeed, William looked carefully once more.
Among the three, the one on the far right with a slender figure, squinting eyes, holding a long spear was indeed George whom he had seen a few times.
The one on the left called Matthew was quite burly, with almost similar attire to the young man, holding a coldly gleaming Yanling Saber, watching the shadowy figure in the middle warily.
The thing referred to by the two as Wood Puppet Monster was also seen clearly by William.
The Wood Puppet Monster, on the surface, looked like a decaying, slightly hunched old man in black.
In its left hand was a three-inch-long small knife, and in its right a loop of white thread, its pair of crimson pupils full of ferocity; looking at the three surrounding it, it was also full of bloodthirsty desire.
"Ah…"
Wood Puppet Monster suddenly let out a roar, and the loop of thread in its right hand rapidly shot out dozens of transparent threads, seemingly merging completely into the night, disappearing instantly.
However, the three surrounding it began frantically dodging left and right.
Seeing this, William also understood that it was these transparent threads that had killed his companions earlier, but their own strength was too weak to see them clearly.
The three who could see them were constantly evading in mid-air.
Certainly not just evading, though.
A mere few breaths, and the youth holding a sword seemed to have found a flaw, twisting his body and lunging at the Wood Puppet Monster, his longsword clashing repeatedly with the threads in the air, sparking several flames.
The longsword could sever those transparent threads.
The Wood Puppet Monster, witnessing this scene, its face suddenly darkened, its gaze locked tightly on the silver longsword in the youth's hand, as if realizing something.
George and Matthew's weapons clearly were not as strong as the young man's sword; continuing to dodge, while still advancing towards the Wood Puppet Monster, their speed was too slow.
The young man was already swinging his sword at the Wood Puppet Monster when they were still several meters away.
However, even if the two had not arrived yet.
The young man's strength seemed unreasonably strong.
The longsword swept horizontally, bringing out a fierce sword light, almost clinging to the Wood Puppet Monster; though it retreated extremely quickly, the storm-like sword intent closely followed.
The young man's sword movements were like tidal waves, one surge after another, quickly driving the Wood Puppet Monster back beneath a tree.
At the same time, Matthew and George finally broke through the layers of thread blockade, arriving behind the young man.
The three seized the opportunity, blocking all escape routes of the Wood Puppet Monster from three fronts: above, middle, and below.
The longsword sliced across the top, the spear thrust in the middle, the saber chopped down below.
With the combined attack from three sides, the Wood Puppet Monster had nowhere to flee.
George's spear was the longest, so it was the first to stab the Wood Puppet Monster.
However, the extremely sharp spearhead came to an abrupt halt after piercing the chest of the Wood Puppet Monster, unable to advance even an inch further.
Yet George did not show any signs of surprise on his face.
It was clear that he knew he could not penetrate the opponent's flesh.
At the same time, Matthew's Yanling Saber also struck at the Wood Puppet Monster's legs.
Clang…
Unfortunately, after the strike, it only produced a sound.
It wasn't until the last Longsword was about to slash across its body that the Wood Puppet Monster's face finally showed a hint of apprehension.
First, it turned its head to dodge, then the fingers on its right hand moved slightly.
Boom…
crack…
Suddenly, a sound of the earth shaking and mountains rocking erupted.
The tree closest to the four of them began to shake violently.
Soon after, the tree suddenly uprooted itself, as if coming to life, with branches swaying like human arms.
Following this, the second, third, and up to the eighth tree nearby also came to life, all uprooting and using their branches to gather quickly toward the center.
The countless branches of the eight trees stretched towards the three men like snakes and monsters, quickly and completely surrounding them with no space to escape.
Just moments ago, it was the three of them surrounding the Wood Puppet Monster.
In an instant, the roles of attack and defense had reversed.
George's face showed some panic, while Matthew remained calm, simply casting his gaze at the young man with the sword, waiting for his decision.
"Getting entangled will be troublesome. First, break through these trees!"
Upon hearing the young man's words, George and Matthew immediately responded.
One used his spear to pull and thrust, and the other swung his saber left and right, instantly cutting countless branches and vines.
The young leader was even more extraordinary; as his sword light danced, he not only severed vines and branches but even cut through the trunks of three or four large trees directly.
However, the young man's eyebrows arched as he realized something and quickly turned to look at the spot where the Wood Puppet Monster had just been, his face turning terribly grim.
The Wood Puppet Monster was nowhere to be seen.
"We were fooled; these trees weren't made into puppets yet!"
As if to confirm his words, the fierce trees lost their vitality at once, all branches and vines falling off and crashing to the ground.
Seeing George escape, the young man sneered coldly, "Leader George, don't rejoice too soon. To control eight such large trees simultaneously, this mimicking Monster is likely close to Intermediate. Once it breaks through, there'll be no room for your camps around Redwood Ridge."
Upon hearing this, George's face turned tense and perplexed.
Just as he was about to speak, William led four others running over.
When they reached the three, the five immediately knelt and prostrated on the ground:
"William from Taylor Camp, humbly thanks the two lords and Leader George for the lifesaving grace that will never be forgotten."
George was already not in the mood, but being impressed by William, he still stepped forward to help him up, softly saying, "Leader William, it's polite. I'm not a match for that mimicking Monster; thank the two lords from Manhattan Camp!"
Remembering that William didn't know the two men, he went on to introduce their names.
"This is Lord Lex Luthor, and this is Lord Matthew."
Manhattan Camp?
William heard the unfamiliar camp name and was a bit puzzled but still quickly led the four to turn and bowed three times to Lex and Matthew, respectively.
Though he had guessed earlier that George's status was lower than the two men, hearing George refer to them as lords still left William in shock.
George is the leader of Rogel Camp, the only medium-sized camp around Redwood Ridge, and also the strongest Earthripper Realm expert.
Even he calls them lords.
What level is this Manhattan Camp where Matthew and Lex belong?
Large camp, giant camp?
Due to lack of knowledge, William could only come up with these two guesses in his mind.
In fact, neither the five of them nor George noticed that when the word "camp" was mentioned, Lex and Matthew both slightly frowned, with a disdainful look flashing across their faces.
But seemingly out of disdain, the two said nothing to explain.
"Lords, may I ask, why do we call the Wood Puppet Monster a mimicking Monster, and what does it really want? Why will the camp around Redwood Ridge have no chance of survival if it advances to Intermediate? I beg the lords to enlighten me."
After helping William and the others up, George couldn't hold back and asked the questions in his heart.
His questions made Lex and Matthew both slightly frown.
Matthew shook his head, disdain evident in his voice as he spoke.
"I don't know how you've survived in the Ice Abyss for so long, being so ignorant."
Lex glanced around at everyone including George, taking in their Beast Skin Skirts, and a hint of sympathy crossed his eyes as he sighed:
"Living in such an environment, you can't blame them. Ice Abyss is a term you're hearing for the first time, isn't it?"
George, William, and the others all nodded lightly.
Indeed, they had never heard of the Ice Abyss or knew what it was.
Ice Abyss was indeed something they were hearing for the first time.
Lex and Matthew exchanged glances, their eyes showing a look of realization.
"The Ice Abyss is a name given to this world by the Great Lord Robert Luthor, meaning Ice Abyss. This name has been universally accepted by all humans in the Nine Towns at the southern foot of Israel Mountain, and henceforth, you must all remember it."
When mentioning Robert Luthor, both Lex and Matthew displayed immense respect, even reverence.
To make two such powerful individuals show this demeanor, George, William, and the others felt not just shock, but also growing curiosity.
"May I ask, what are the Nine Towns of Israel Mountain that you two speak of?"
George initially wanted to ask about Robert, but upon reaching the 'Robert' character, he was intimidated by the sudden looks from Lex and Matthew, so he switched to asking about Israel Mountain and the Nine Towns instead.
"Failing to add the prefix of Great Lord and calling his name directly is a capital offense in the Ice Abyss. Considering your lowly ignorance, I will spare you this time, but should you dare repeat this, don't blame me for being ruthless!"
Neglecting the title of Great Lord and directly calling the name is a capital offense.
George shivered slightly, able to hear the murderous intent in Lex's tone, and quickly bowed low.
"It was out of ignorance that George dared to speak rudely, and I ask the lords for their forgiveness."
Lex saw his apology and did not pursue the matter further, continuing:
"The Israel Mountain Range is the largest mountain range in the southern part of the Ice Abyss, stretching endlessly. As far as is known, all our human camps reside at its southern foot. As for the Nine Towns…"
Saying this, Lex paused, looked down at George, and smiled slightly:
"They refer to the nine largest camps in this region at the southern foot of Israel Mountain."
Nine largest camps?
George, William, and the others showed a trace of puzzlement on their faces.
Eventually, George tentatively asked, "Could those nine be giant camps with a population exceeding five thousand?"
"Hahahahaha…"
George's question made Lex and Matthew burst into laughter.
Their laughter was filled with contempt for George's ignorance.
This embarrassed George, but he could only smile awkwardly on the side.
William, on the contrary, gave him a sympathetic look.
Even though they were uncomfortable, they were still curious about the size of the nine largest camps Lex and Matthew mentioned.
After laughing, Matthew explained, solving their doubts.
"The Nine Towns at the southern foot of Israel Mountain each have a population of over a hundred thousand."
A hundred thousand?
Upon hearing this number, George, William, and the other four were completely stupefied, their minds swirling with tumultuous waves.
"And we are from one of the Nine Towns, Manhattan Town!"
Seemingly satisfied with their reactions, Matthew said this with his head held high, his face full of pride, and his tone exuding self-assurance.