But soon, they put away their smiles.
Then Lex stepped forward and helped George up:
"To be honest with Leader George, Matthew and I are scouts from the Imperial Army of Manhattan Town, and we came here by chance while mapping the surroundings of Manhattan.
As fellow humans, meeting is destiny, and we won't stand by and do nothing. But as you just saw, this Wooden Puppet Monster is not only powerful but also extremely cunning.
If we don't come up with a foolproof plan, eliminating it is nearly impossible. So, if you want our help, you must first agree to one condition of mine!"
"Any condition, as long as we can remove that monster, I agree."
"Good, Leader George is straightforward, so I'll be direct. During this period, your Rogel Camp and all surrounding camps must act under our command. How about that?"
George's heart skipped a beat, but his expression remained unchanged, quickly responding:
"I can guarantee Rogel Camp, but the other camps…"
At this point, he turned to look at William.
Hearing Lex's request, William had already weighed the pros and cons.
Seeing George looking at him, he promptly nodded and said, "Taylor Camp also has no issue, if that monster isn't destroyed, everyone's finished."
George gave William a grateful look, then turned back to Lex and continued, "Besides our two, there are still five camps. I will persuade them one by one, and I believe after explaining the stakes, they won't refuse either."
"Leader George, it should be four!"
William's words left George stunned.
Originally, there were nine camps around Redwood Ridge, but not long ago, two—Iron Peak and Shenju's—were destroyed by that Wooden Puppet Monster, leaving seven.
Excluding their two camps means there should be five remaining.
William pointed to the corpses not far away.
Seeing those bodies on the ground, George immediately understood.
"It's four. Harper must have also fallen victim to that monster!"
All members of the Axeheart team from Harper Camp were made into puppets, and even Thomas couldn't escape, so it's almost certain it was obliterated.
Seeing their goal achieved, Lex nodded and said, "Since that's the case, there's no time to waste. Leader George, notify the other four camps in the next few days to come to Rogel Camp to follow orders, organize all Axeheart into patrol teams, and in ten days, begin searching for that monster in the forest."
George nodded and agreed to the orders, inviting Lex to Rogel Camp for rest first.
William, on the other hand, needed to return to his own camp to arrange matters, confirming with Rogel Camp that they would meet at Redwood Ridge in three days, and then left.
---
George and William's judgment that Harper Camp was destroyed wasn't without reason.
Small camps lack hunting abilities; to survive, they must have two things: Crystal Fruit and wood, both indispensable.
To be precise, wood is actually more important than Crystal Fruit. Without Crystal Fruit, you could endure several days with an empty stomach.
But without wood, not to mention getting through the day, you wouldn't even make it through the night.
So, the importance of Axeheart teams goes without saying: with Thomas and all his Axeheart team members dead, it's almost certain that even if Harper Camp wasn't killed by the Mimicking monsters, they'd have frozen to death by now.
Of course, what they hadn't accounted for was the variable that was Bruce.
Not only was Harper Camp not destroyed, but it was actually thriving more than ever.
Using the term rapidly advancing to describe it wouldn't be an exaggeration.
"Leader, I broke through too!"
On a night returning empty-handed, Bruce was not in a good mood. But upon stepping back into the cave, he heard good news.
Peter also broke through.
Among the five who first received Cold Beast Meat, aside from him, Charlie, and Tony. Peter was the last to break through.
Seeing Peter's excited expression, Bruce patted his shoulder and smiled, saying, "At least you won't have a bitter face any longer. From tomorrow, you can go out with me!"
Clark, Jordan, and others behind Bruce burst into laughter.
Peter, embarrassed by their laughter, blushed.
Among the five of them, Clark was the first to break through, followed by Jordan, Clint, and Nick.
Seeing his peers already heading out with Bruce, bringing back a tree every night and occasionally some game, he was inevitably anxious, resulting in days spent with a bitter face, focusing solely on training.
"Leader, I'm embarrassed, eating the Cold Beast Meat you risk your lives for every day, unable to help out, and unable to break through the Axeheart Realm, wasn't I just a freeloading burden? Luckily, I broke through now and can finally be of help."
Upon hearing this, Bruce furrowed his brow slightly.
"Are you saying, apart from us eight in the Axeheart team, everyone else in the camp who hasn't broken through to the Axeheart Realm is a freeloading burden?"
This question left Peter dumbstruck.
Bruce didn't wait for his answer, instead turning to Charlie, Tony, Clark, and the others behind him, asking, "Do you all think this way?"
Everyone could sense Bruce's displeasure, so they exchanged glances but remained silent, only using silence to answer the question.
It wasn't just them thinking this way.
Everyone in the camp thought this way.
Ordinary people unable to break through to the Axeheart Realm, unable to go out, unable to acquire the slightest resource for the camp, yet constantly consuming the Crystal Fruit and wood they brought back, if not a burden, what are they?
Even now, the Cold Beast Meat they brought back was being distributed.
Since Bruce's successful Small Torch hunts, where he repeated the tactic four times—catching three Snow Manes and one Frost Wolf—totaling nearly five thousand pounds of Cold Beast Blood and flesh.
Yet, Bruce still hasn't changed the camp's meat distribution rules, keeping it at the usual three-five-two ratio, which had already sparked complaints among them.
Their silent discontent was deafening.
Bruce understood their thoughts.
He had planned to solve the issue soon, and now was the perfect opportunity, one he wasn't willing to miss.
"Charlie, a few days ago you mentioned to me that it was time to change the meat distribution rules. Now, tell us, how do you propose we distribute?"
Charlie, Tony, and the others, upon hearing this, realized Bruce might change the meat distribution rules, and their eyes lit up with anticipation.
"Brother…"
Charlie hurriedly opened his mouth and accidentally called him brother again, earning a glare from Bruce, who quickly corrected himself.
"Leader, we unanimously believe that it should be like before, where nine-tenths of the Cold Beast meat is distributed to those of us who hunt outside, and the remaining one-tenth to others. This way we quickly become stronger, and the prey will become more abundant."
From the other side, Tony couldn't help but speak up too.
"Additionally, the portion of Crystal Fruit, two per person each day, is too much. It should also revert to before, one per person each day is enough to sustain them.
The three Ice Trees have not yet borne new fruits. At the current consumption rate, they'll only last a bit over a month. If the new batch hasn't grown by then, it'll be a big problem."
In reality, everyone wanted to revert to the old system.
Bruce had known it in his heart for a long time.
Including himself, the camp currently has eight people in the Axeheart Realm.
It's not far from when Thomas was around.
The Axeheart team has been reassembled, so the old system should be reinstated.
Not just Tony and Clark, even his brother Charlie thought so.
Bruce didn't answer immediately, but first looked around at everyone before slowly speaking:
"Let me ask you a question, what's your goal, the seven of you?"
"To survive."
Charlie was the first to answer.
"To survive, and to make sure my mother has enough to eat."
"To survive, and to make sure my younger brother survives too."
"To protect my sister and survive."
---
Though the seven gave different answers, the content was almost the same, essentially about survival and protecting loved ones.
"Since that's the case, then why do we go to such lengths every day, risking our lives to hunt, when we could just go out and find Ice Trees to pick Crystal Fruits?"
Bruce's question stunned everyone.
"Because you all know, only by becoming stronger can you survive, right?"
Everyone nodded.
"In that case, when I hunted the first Snow Mane, I shouldn't have shared it with you. If I had eaten all the Cold Beast Blood and Flesh myself, I could have quickly become stronger and continued to survive."
Hearing these words, everyone's expressions suddenly froze, then one by one they looked ashamed.
"My goal is to become stronger to survive, and it's the same for you, and even more so for them."
As he said "them," Bruce gestured to the other people gathered around the bonfire in the camp, and then continued:
"During this time, you've all been going out with me, and you should have noticed that the Cold Beasts are much stronger than us. So whether it's relying on me alone or on us eight, we cannot ensure our survival."
Bruce paused, adding:
"Even with thirteen, it wouldn't work, otherwise our father's group wouldn't have gotten into trouble, right?"
"I share the Cold Beast meat with you because I know that to survive, relying on just one person's strength is far from enough, so I hope you break through quickly. This way, with more people in the Axeheart Realm, it will be safer when we go out. Axeheart, hunting, and the harvests will be greater too.
Right now, I'm giving the main portion of the Cold Beast meat to the other young people in the camp, with the same intention as before—hoping the number of people in the Axeheart Realm in the camp increases, and the team becomes larger."
After Bruce finished speaking, seeing everyone deep in thought, he sighed lightly.
In reality, this is all a matter of interest allocation.
Self-interest has always moved people, especially when such interests concern their very lives. Was there any problem with Thomas's previous rules?
Actually, no.
But one must consider the situation: back then, the Harper Camp didn't have the ability to hunt, so Cold Beast Meat was scarce.
With many monks and little meat, Thomas had to prioritize supplying the Axeheart team members.
Now it's different.
With the Small Torch that can lure Cold Beasts, the camp now has the preliminary ability to hunt. Cold Beast Meat isn't exactly ample, but it's much more than before.
If they still stubbornly adhere to the old system, not only would it be unpopular, but it would greatly slow down the camp's development.