Speaking of who is most famous around Redwood Ridge, it's undoubtedly Steve.
The reason is simple; before him, there wasn't a single Earthripper Realm warrior or any medium-sized camp around Redwood Ridge.
In the early days, there were a total of sixteen small camps around Redwood Ridge.
Twenty years ago, Steve broke through to the Earthripper Realm, becoming the first local warrior qualified for hunting.
He then led Rogel Camp to continuous growth, quickly prompting two struggling camps to voluntarily propose merging.
In normal logic, other camps requesting to merge should be a good thing, as there is strength in numbers, but the actual situation was not so.
In a scenario with abundant resources, everyone knows to expand the population to upgrade the overall strength of the camp, but for the struggling small camps around Redwood Ridge, abundant resources were an unattainable dream.
At that time, Steve had just broken through, and the people of Rogel Camp were waiting eagerly for him to hunt Cold Beasts, hoping more could break through to the Axeheart Realm.
How could they agree to merge other camps?
Even the smallest camp has at least a hundred or two people, and once merged, that's three to four hundred extra mouths to feed.
No one believed that Steve would agree to allow those two camps to merge.
Even if he agreed personally, the people in Rogel Camp would not allow it.
But the result was that Steve defied opposition and accepted those two camps.
Those two camps could hardly hold on and only had six Axeheart Realm combatants combined.
The remaining three hundred people had no cultivation.
Everyone thought Steve had an excess of compassion, disregarding his own camp's situation.
With a sudden population increase, they believed Rogel Camp couldn't last long.
But once again, they were wrong.
Rogel Camp not only survived well, but Axeheart Realm warriors emerged like bamboo shoots after rain, growing from more than ten to thirty in just a few years.
It wasn't just the strength; coal mining, iron ore extraction, even the day-to-day life in Rogel Camp rapidly distanced itself from other camps around, even producing new Earthripper Realm warriors.
Seeing Rogel Camp thriving, with living conditions improving, almost all camp leaders proactively proposed merging.
During Steve's tenure, he accepted a total of five camps, nearly a thousand people, showcasing how fast Rogel Camp's strength improved under his leadership.
It's not an exaggeration to say that everyone at the time unanimously believed Steve would integrate all the humans around Redwood Ridge, transforming Rogel Camp into a large or even a giant camp.
The remaining eleven camps were all waiting for Rogel Camp to have surplus resources to merge more people.
Unfortunately, an accident not only ended Steve's legend but also shattered the hope of unifying the camps around Redwood Ridge.
Fifteen years ago, Steve's hunting team encountered a Mimicking Monster, with all members killed.
He alone narrowly escaped and, for unknown reasons, killed his youngest son and went insane.
The legendary figure fell, and everyone at the time sighs with regret.
The sighs weren't just for Steve's downfall but also because the hope of merging into Rogel Camp disappeared.
It turned out as everyone expected; after George succeeded as leader, although his development was commendable, it was far inferior to Steve.
In the last fifteen years, only two camps, barely holding on with just over a hundred people, successfully merged into Rogel Camp.
For other camps wishing to merge, George rejected them all.
Not only did he reject them, but a few years ago, he specifically gathered the leaders of eight camps to demarcate territories around Redwood Ridge and instructed camps not to cross boundaries, only search for resources within their territories.
George's measures were partly to give weaker camps a chance at survival and partly to root out the idea of merging into Rogel Camp.
If expanding the camp's population was possible, no one would be foolish enough to refuse.
Everyone understood that the reason George acted was because Rogel Camp's development speed could no longer support expanding the population.
Whether personally or in action, George had an excellent reputation.
As the leader of Rogel Camp, his various measures over the years have been supported by almost all surrounding camps.
But comparison is daunting; with Steve's brilliance before him, no matter how well George performed, people still felt he fell short by a margin.
---
In an instant, many thoughts about Steve flashed in William's mind.
No kidding, even now, he regards Steve as an idol.
Early on, he imagined countless times how great it would be to merge into Rogel Camp and fight alongside his idol.
Were it not inappropriate, William would love to ask if Steve was truly insane and if he could visit him.
Seeing George had led them into the wooden house, William refrained from overthinking and hurriedly followed him with Barry, stepping inside.
However, before entering the wooden house, his brother Barry slowly turned his head, casting a lingering glance at that small wooden house.
From the outside, it looked like a square wooden box.
The interior of the wooden house was entirely different.
As soon as everyone entered, they were enveloped by warmth, making one feel like it was spring inside, in stark contrast to the freezing cold outside.
In a space about fifty to sixty meters wide, a gigantic stone furnace with a diameter of five or six meters stood in the center, burning coal stones brightly, with a chimney for smoke.
On both sides, wooden partitions separated each room, some inhabited, with the sound of conversation.
Behind the furnace was the main hall, with dozens of wooden chairs covered with beast skins, indicating how Rogel Camp outmatched all the camps around Redwood Ridge.
It's not that making chairs is difficult, but it signifies Rogel Camp's abundance of wood and beast skins, unreachable by other camps.
The group wasn't there for the first time, following George to the main hall and finding their seats.
Lex and Matthew headed straight to the top seats.
George, the camp leader, surprisingly sat in the third position.
Lex and Matthew, being the strongest and leading the fight against the Mimicking Monsters, naturally had their seating arrangement respected for the past half month, without objection.
Seeing everyone seated without opening their mouths, George glanced at Lex and Matthew, standing up first.
"Leader William has decided to leave, and right now, Taylor Camp can't endure any more trouble. If those two encounter issues, their few hundred people won't survive. I can't hold them back any longer!"
Listening to these words, William expressed his gratitude by clasping his fists.
George nodded in acknowledgment and then looked at Sam and the others, continuing, "The four leaders, I won't persuade you much. That Wooden Puppet Monster, with just us, can't be dealt with.
If the two esteemed leaders leave, our camps will all suffer. Consider your choices clearly, George won't stop you. But let me be clear on one thing.
If you four also choose to exit, I can only bid farewell to the two esteemed leaders. Solving that Mimicking Monster alone with Rogel Camp is definitely unrealistic."
After saying this lengthy piece, George paused briefly before continuing:
"If worse comes to worst, I can only take my people and flee to another place to find a new way of living."
With George's words finished, the expressions of Sam and the other four changed drastically.
The Wood Puppet Monster is a problem that all camps around Redwood Ridge must face; none can avoid it.
If it is not resolved, everyone is just waiting to die, without a doubt.
Sam and the other three understood that even if they left, George would not ignore the issue.
So, when they previously proposed to leave, it was not without the thought of leaving the matter to Rogel Camp to solve the problem alone.
But clearly, George wasn't foolish.
William wanting to leave is understandable.
Too many have died at Taylor Camp; if the two don't leave, the few hundred people there would either starve or freeze to death.
But for the other four camps, the losses were still within an acceptable range.
George certainly wouldn't force them to stay, but he is also not an overbearing person, so he did not resort to coercion to make them stay, hence his words.
You can leave, but as for the Wood Puppet Monster, Rogel Camp will definitely not try to solve it anymore.
Lex and Matthew could leave if they want, and he, George, would not try to stop them.
By then, should the Wood Puppet Monster wreak havoc, everyone will end up suffering together.
Sam and the other three could understand the implication in George's words, hence their collective change in expression.
That last statement from George, about taking the camp elsewhere to find a new way of life, was basically a statement made in anger and could be ignored.
Not to mention how far they could travel in one night.
Once outside Redwood Ridge, they would be completely lost.
In an unfamiliar environment, Cold Beasts, Mimicking Monsters, or extreme cold, any one of these could claim all of their lives.
If they could really escape, they wouldn't have waited until now.
"Leader Luo, we all respect you. Simply put, we are willing to continue helping to deal with the Wood Puppet Monster, but if it's like the previous four times, using people as bait and letting our brothers die for nothing, it's impossible!"
It was the straightforward Sam who spoke up first.
The other three leaders nodded in agreement with Sam's words as they heard them, showing their stance.
In fact, not to mention these three leaders, George also agreed with Sam's words, but he did not immediately respond.
Instead, with a somewhat troubled look, he turned his gaze towards Lex and Matthew sitting above.
Although somewhat frustrated, George had to admit that in terms of dealing with the Mimicking Monster, it was not up to him; it was up to Lex and Matthew to decide.
Regardless of whether the two really found some benefit from the Mimicking Monster, they were genuinely helping them, and currently, only these two had the strength to deal with the Mimicking Monster, this was certain.