Bruce, sitting on the ground, slightly breathed a sigh of relief.
Over these past few days, the Iron Melting Furnace only produced one batch of Solidified Fire Oil.
If he hadn't applied the oil in advance, he might have really fallen into a trap.
Right from the start, when the Cold Beast inexplicably charged towards the cave, Bruce had sensed something amiss.
The Golden-eyed Demon Sheep had always been residing by Redwood Ridge, where Bruce and his team had seen it many times when going out at night, proving that the Demon Sheep rarely ventured elsewhere, so why did it suddenly come towards the camp?
Coupling it with the situation when Henry's body was found, he couldn't help but suspect that the Mimicking Monster was at work.
So, even before the battle with the Golden-eyed Demon Sheep started, he already secretly applied the Solidified Fire Oil on himself, worried that the Demon Sheep was also under the Mimicking Monster's control.
Since the Mimicking Monster could control people, it might as well control the Cold Beast.
As it turns out, although the Cold Beast was not controlled by it, it was driven to the camp by it, so applying the Solidified Fire Oil in advance was correct too.
The Mimicking Monster actually feared structured fire very much.
"Ah…ah… you little bastard, I will definitely kill you."
"You, and you people here, not a single one can escape."
"Ah… I will be back, none of you can escape…"
The screams did not last long, and the Mimicking Monster was completely consumed by the fire, leaving only a few spiteful words echoing in the cave.
Bruce watched as the Mimicking Monster was entirely engulfed by flames, a hint of anger slightly rising in his eyes.
The Mimicking Monster had already approached the camp twice, and yet he hadn't even seen its true form.
This Mimicking Monster, though terrifying and strange in methods, seemed a bit overly cautious in behavior.
"Preferring to disguise as an ordinary person to ambush, rather than directly confront, is it because its strength is too weak, or is it really scared of the structured fire?"
Bruce was filled with confusion in his heart, thinking that with the earlier fight with the Cold Beast, it would have been the most appropriate time for the opponent to take action since the campfire was also put out, and they were being held firmly by the Cold Beast.
Unable to figure it out, he simply didn't think more about it, turning to the crowd and speaking:
"Quickly start a fire, count heads, and check if Conan is still around."
Speaking of it, from Conan's sudden attack to the moment the Mimicking Monster's identity was exposed and turned to ashes by the fire from Solidified Fire Oil, in total, only took mere tens of seconds.
The crowd was still immersed in the thrilling yet relieved scene, only waking up from Bruce's words, quickly searching for Conan among the people.
"Gone, Conan is already gone, couldn't find him in the cave."
In no time, Conan was confirmed, and could not be found anymore.
Upon hearing this, Bruce's eyes instantly flashed with a trace of seriousness.
Fake Conan appeared, true Conan was gone.
No doubt, the Mimicking Monster should have first sneaked into the cave, then silently killed Conan, and then impersonated him.
This indicates that the Mimicking Monster can become anyone once killing them, and can it even remotely control them?
Bruce's worry in his heart extended far beyond this.
"Conan was just an ordinary person, but that punch he threw just now had a strength beyond the Axeheart Realm."
Not only could it turn into the person but also enhance the person's original strength?
More crucially, that Mimicking Monster could control many people at once.
"If this Mimicking Monster isn't eliminated as soon as possible, it's bound to become a major disaster!"
---
Boom...
The furnace reignited once more, and after the cave was sealed, warmth returned.
Everyone gathered around the bonfire again, as Bruce walked over to Peter.
Charlie, Tony, and others surrounded him too, their expressions rather heavy.
"Leader, we caught a big one this time, haha."
Peter, with his single eye open, pointed at the Golden-eyed Demon Sheep lying on the ground, forcing a smile on his face.
Bruce did not respond, instead moving forward to examine his right eye.
Seeing the hollow space, his face turned heavy with concern.
"From now on, don't be reckless. Be cautious when facing unknown Cold Beasts!"
Then he turned and added to Charlie and the others, "The same goes for all of you."
Apparently, Peter didn't want the atmosphere to be so heavy, so he laughed and said, "At least I'm still alive, it's just an eye, nothing too serious, my cultivation is intact, and I'm not injured."
Seeing no one responding, Peter remembered something and continued:
"Oh yes, Clint, your father was our camp's only archer. He always closed one eye when shooting arrows. My right eye is blind, so maybe when the camp becomes affluent, I can be an archer too."
Clint was first stunned, then strangely nodded.
"That's true. My father said that for precision in archery, one usually aims with only one eye. Unfortunately, we don't even have bows and arrows in the camp now…"
Charlie, Tony, and even Bruce felt a slight stir in their hearts.
Losing an eye is not as easy as Peter suggested.
Though it doesn't affect one's cultivation, it significantly impairs their vision and physical coordination, which is exceptionally deadly for those who often fight to the death with Cold Beasts.
That's why Bruce's face was heavy earlier; he realized that even if Peter goes out in the future, he might not be able to help much and had decided to leave Peter in the camp during outings.
But Clint's words served as an indirect reminder.
In combat, archers do typically only need one eye.
Moreover, because he has completely lost the other eye, Peter may focus even better with his left eye.
This, in turn, becomes a unique advantage.
"We don't have it now, but we will in the future!"
Bruce's voice was solemn, as he gave Peter a promise.
The others, upon hearing, also began to encourage Peter one by one:
"Exactly, you've killed the Golden-eyed Demon Sheep leader, getting you a bow and arrow is a piece of cake."
"We're not even afraid of mimicking monsters now, getting a bow and arrow is nothing to fear."
"Peter, just heal well. Once we have a bow, if you don't practice well, we'll definitely laugh at you."
Hearing everyone's encouragement, Peter was touched but said nothing, just nodded silently and heavily.
"I have some matters to attend to. You guys go ahead and deal with the Golden-eyed Demon Sheep's meat."
"Yes, leader."
Seeing everyone enthusiastically dealing with the Golden-eyed Demon Sheep, Bruce walked alone to the force measuring stake beside the camp.
The original force measuring wooden stakes in the camp could handle a maximum of a thousand catties, but as more people broke through to the Axeheart Realm, two additional stakes of five thousand catties each were added for convenience.
Bruce, slightly moved, stacked the two five-thousand-catty stakes together, then holding his breath, squatted down, and clasped both stakes with his hands.
Whoosh...
Exhaling a turbid breath, Bruce gritted his teeth, suddenly tensing his arms and lifting them forcefully upwards.
The two stakes were pulled from the ground.
Bruce's face instantly showed a look of ecstatic joy.
"I've truly broken through!"
Just after killing the Golden-eyed Demon Sheep, he felt that his internal strength had increased, but the subsequent Mimicking monster encounter left him with no time to focus on it.
Now, testing it, he indeed made a breakthrough.
Breaking the ten-thousand-catty basic strength is precisely the hallmark of stepping into the Earthripper Realm.
For some time, only heaven knew how distressed Bruce was about the Earthripper Realm.
As he approached the breakthrough, he found that his efficiency in absorbing Cold Beast Meat had decreased, and his strength improvement slowed.
Despite trying to increase his meat quota to break through, the improvements remained negligible.
"It seems that only experiencing such life-and-death battles can swiftly push past the body's limits, though continued cultivation in the Earthripper Realm will still rely on Cold Beast Meat. I wonder if it'll be slow."
Gradually, Bruce calmed his excitement.
With enhanced physique, the demand for Cold Beast Meat will increase.
But for now, there's no major issue for him.
Even in the Axeheart Realm, he could lead others to hunt Cold Beasts, let alone now.
The crucial point is that breaking through to the Earthripper Realm means he's officially eligible to dig and mine from today.
Coal, iron, silver, gold—if he can find a vein, he can efficiently activate the system's remaining eight buildings.
"Starting tonight, expand the search range to see if we can find a mineral vein!"
Bruce, filled with excitement, set down the stakes.
Coincidentally, on the other side, the Golden-eyed Demon Sheep was dealt with as well.
From a distance, Tony excitedly reported the harvest from the demon sheep to Bruce.
"Leader, the Golden-eyed Demon Sheep produced a total of one thousand seven hundred catties of meat, and there's a whole hide, enough to make five beast skin skirts."
One thousand seven hundred catties, enough to last the camp's current Cold Beast Meat allocation for about twenty days.
"Oh, and there's this too."
Tony remembered something and tossed a thing towards Bruce.
Bruce caught it; it was the short knife he used to kill the Golden-eyed Demon Sheep.
Henry's big knife, when converted, counted as 60 points of system iron resource.
Upgrading the small bonfire used 50 points, leaving 10 points, which Bruce used to make this little short knife.
It's called a short knife, yet it's not even five inches.
More aptly described as a dagger.
Due to its short length, it probably couldn't pierce through the Golden-eyed Demon Sheep's defenses, so Bruce hadn't used it earlier until he needed to strike its back eye.
Realizing the stone ax was inappropriate, he resorted to the dagger, yielding striking results.
Stowing the dagger, Bruce summoned the six Axeheart team members Charlie and Yuan Charlie, as well as the newly added thirty-one reserve members, all together.
"Distribute all the meat right away. Ten days from now, we'll venture out as usual. Charlie, Tony, you six, seize this time to enhance your powers.
Additionally, for those in reserve, accelerate your pace to see if we can have a few more breakthroughs to the Axeheart Realm before heading out."
"Yes, leader!"
All responded in unison, with Charlie and the six being fine, but those thirty-one reserves had just witnessed Bruce and the other eight hunt that Golden-eyed Demon Sheep.
They were already envious beyond words, reaching a pinnacle of craving to break through to the Axeheart Realm.
It's likely that even without Bruce's words, they would have trained fiercely, eager to join the Axeheart team soon and go out with him.