If a camp has more than one hundred thousand people, what kind of scene would that be?
In fact, George, William, and the other five couldn't even imagine it.
But they were all leaders, each in charge of a camp with hundreds of people.
They knew very well what a camp with a population of over one hundred thousand meant.
A massive amount of food, extremely high security costs, countless amounts of Cold Beast Flesh…
"No, with more than one hundred thousand people, can anyone find a cave that big?"
William couldn't help but ask about his biggest confusion.
Humans couldn't be exposed to light, and one hundred thousand people had to hide somewhere.
Can such a large cave be found?
A summer insect cannot discuss ice, nor a well frog the ocean.
These two sentences popped into the minds of Lex and Matthew, and they gently shook their heads.
"Not all humans need to live in shadows. If one day any of you might luckily qualify to enter Manhattan Town, you will understand."
Lex paused after speaking, and then added to himself, "Of course, for the few of you, this possibility is practically nonexistent."
Upon hearing this, the faces of George, William, and the other five darkened significantly.
Compared to William, George actually understood Lex's words better.
Rogel Camp was the only medium-sized camp around Redwood Ridge.
The other eight camps had, on several occasions, mentioned wanting to merge into them.
But he simply didn't dare to take them in, or rather, couldn't take them in.
Although he also knew that the larger the camp's population, the better.
But the premise of expansion is strength.
Strength means the ability to acquire more resources, to feed more people, and to hunt more Cold Beast Flesh for cultivation.
Unfortunately, the strength of Rogel Camp was far from sufficient to support its expansion.
Rogel Camp had a total of five in the Earthripper Realm, forty-seven in the Axeheart Realm.
The Cold Beast Flesh obtained each month was barely enough for their own people; if other small camps joined, there simply wouldn't be enough Cold Beast Meat.
Moreover, once merged, it would mean more ordinary people, and the demand for Crystal Fruits would rapidly expand, forcing them to increase the frequency of going out to find more Ice Trees, which is also risky.
The most crucial point is that the strongest in small camps are only at the Axeheart Realm, unable to enhance hunting abilities.
Their joining would not only fail to improve hunting capabilities but also squeeze the original supply of Cold Beast Meat in the camp.
So when other camps proposed wanting to merge, not only George himself, but everyone in Rogel Camp almost universally refused.
Thus, the rule is that you need sufficient strength to expand, then use the population advantage to cultivate more strong individuals.
This cycle allows the camp to grow stronger and larger.
Blind expansion would only make the camp unwieldy, and eventually, even if not slaughtered by Cold Beasts and Mimicking Monsters, it could likely erupt into internal chaos, mutual slaughter.
By analogy, Manhattan Town, as mentioned by Matthew and Lex, indeed has more than a hundred thousand people, but absolutely would not randomly incorporate external personnel.
The "qualification" they mentioned must be extremely stringent.
William shouldn't even think about it.
Even if George has the strength of the Earthripper Realm, Matthew and Lex, being so much stronger at such a young age, make Manhattan Town's might evident through them, and they likely wouldn't regard him highly.
Furthermore, the two are leaders of their own camps.
They couldn't possibly abandon their family and companions to join another camp alone.
"Alright, there's no use telling you so much. Didn't Leader George just ask about the Wood Puppet Monster? Let me explain it to you."
Seeing that Lex was about to discuss the Mimicking Monsters, George and William immediately perked up their ears.
"Long ago, Ice Abyss was not like it is today. Back then, the day was not just twelve hours long, and the temperature was not as low as it is today.
Among Cold Beasts, most were not as cunning and strong as they are now. Don't mention eating people; at that time, almost ninety-nine percent of the Cold Beasts were merely food for humans.
And those Mimicking monsters did not exist back then. During that period, humans could move freely, day or night.
The Ice Abyss was rumored to have four seasons alternating, hot and cold cycles, a pleasant climate; humans wielded all sorts of powerful tools and were the undisputed masters of the Ice Abyss; the land was fertile and could be farmed everywhere, with more food than they could eat; back then…
Clothing, food, shelter, and transportation were all perfect; people lived and worked in peace, civilization thrived and prospered.
During that period, not to mention camps with one hundred thousand people, there were also quite a few with a million or even tens of millions of people gathering."
Upon hearing Lex's description, George, William, and the others were dumbfounded.
A million or ten million; they couldn't even comprehend such a concept.
The words "move freely, day and night."
To them, that was already a dream.
Ninety-nine percent of Cold Beasts were merely human food?
Clothing, food, shelter, and transportation were all perfect; living and working in peace, thriving and prosperous.
What kind of dreamlike scenario would that be?
It's hard for people to imagine things in their minds they've never seen or experienced, but that doesn't stop them from longing for and pursuing something beautiful.
The world described by Lex, in the eyes of George and William, was no different from the Immortal Palace or heaven.
"Corresponding to today's Ice Abyss World, we generally refer to that period as the Ancient Abyss Era, or the Prehistoric Civilization. No one knows what happened during the Ancient Abyss Era, what the Prehistoric Civilization encountered, or how our world became like this today.
One theory is that humanity angered the gods, and the Ancient Abyss was subjected to divine punishment; others say it's because humans did too many things they shouldn't have, leading to the emergence of Cold Beasts and Mimicking Monsters, and eventually, both the climate and time changed, though the exact reason is unknown.
But it's certain that after the Ancient Abyss Era passed and civilization collapsed, Mimicking monsters and Cold Beasts became nightmares for humans."
Though this explanation was lengthy, Lex spoke with great emotion.
Evidently, even he harbored a strong yearning for the Ancient Abyss Era, which he had never experienced.
"No one knows for sure how Mimicking monsters came to be, but it's certain they all originate from the Ancient Abyss Era because only from them can we find evidence of the Ancient Abyss Era's existence.
Mimicking monsters are divided into five categories: Craftsman, Nightmare, Fierce, God, and Monster.
And a Craftsman Monster is one of them.
They were all transformed from many skilled craftsmen of the Ancient Abyss Era, each with peculiar and unfathomable methods of killing.
For instance, the Wood Puppet Monster appearing in Redwood Ridge was likely a puppet master from the Ancient Abyss Era, skilled in creating and controlling all sorts of puppets, favoring carved wooden puppets to mimic humans, gain their trust, and then control the puppet to kill from hiding."
At this point, Lex paused before adding, "All Mimicking monsters evolve by continuously killing. Still using this Wood Puppet Monster as an example, the puppets it currently creates can only wield the power of the Axeheart Realm.
But as it kills more people, both it and its creations will grow stronger. Manhattan Town once hunted a mid-level Craftsman Monster, which we named the Cloth Cutting Monster.
In its hand, it had a pair of scissors that could instantly cut dozens of Earthripper Realm humans into pieces;
It also had a set of needles and thread, which it once used before my very eyes to sew up all the seven orifices of a Cold Resistance Level strong individual. Not long after, the Cold Resistance Level strong individual suffocated and died."
Cold Resistance Level…
Though they had some guesses when they first heard these three words, George and William both showed a look of confusion on their faces.
"Above the Earthripper Realm is the Cold Resistance Level; it's called that because people at this level can withstand the cold of the daytime and move about."
Ice Abyss, Ancient Abyss Era, Prehistoric Civilization, Moao Mountain Range, Nine Human Towns, Five Types of Mimicking Monsters, Cold Resistance Level Warriors…
Due to limited strength, George, William, and others have lived in Redwood Ridge for decades, never venturing out, nor having any opportunity to communicate with the outside world.
Lex's words undoubtedly opened their eyes wide.
But at the same time, it also evoked greater worries.
All five types of Mimicking monsters inherently evolve through killing.
Even the intermediate-level Crafty Deceit can be unstoppable, even by Cold Resistance Level warriors.
If that Wooden Puppet Monster truly evolves to the intermediate level, there will be no human life path around Redwood Ridge, and they, too, would all be doomed.
George's expression was uncertain, and he stood in place for a long time before finally gritting his teeth and kneeling directly in front of Lex and the other person, pleading:
"Sirs, relying solely on these camps around Redwood Ridge, it's absolutely impossible to deal with that monster.
I hope the two of you, for the sake of being fellow humans, will have mercy and help us. As long as you can kill that monster, whatever you want, as long as we can provide it, it's negotiable!"
Seeing this, William realized George was seeking a way out for all the camps around Redwood Ridge and immediately led the four people behind him to kneel down as well.
Hearing everyone's plea, Matthew and Lex exchanged a glance, and both smiled.
But soon, they put away their smiles.