"Ah… my leg, my leg…"
"Boo hoo… my neck is broken, it hurts so much."
"Mom, don't die, don't die…"
"My son's head, where's my son's head, has anyone seen it…"
---
The Mimicking Monster fell, yet not a trace of joy was seen on Bruce's face.
Because echoing in his ears were the painful wails of the remaining survivors from Taylor Camp.
The phrase 'grieving cries throughout the land' truly manifested before his eyes at this moment.
Sigh…
Bruce surveyed the tragic scene around him, and in the end, could only let out a sigh.
"Rosy… Rosy…"
William staggered tremblingly toward a corpse.
Although the threads on his body had been removed, the wounds left through his body remained, with several bloody holes on his back, scapula, lips, and even his limbs and torso, oozing blood.
The corpse was cut in half by the Mimicking Monster at the waist; only half of it remained.
Based on the attire and the name William called, it was clearly his wife.
Beside the corpse, a pair of fifteen or sixteen-year-old siblings were crying bitterly in pain.
"Mother, father, please save mother, we can't do without her…"
The girl had clearly lost her mind, seeing William approach, she looked up with tear-filled eyes, pleading with her father.
The mournful cries were heart-wrenching, causing Charlie, Tony, and others who had come over to tear up.
William, trembling, first embraced his wife's remnants, then looked back at his brother Barry's beheaded corpse.
He opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to say something, but ultimately said nothing, closing his eyes with a face full of pain and regret.
Witnessing this scene, Bruce sighed silently in his heart.
Behind him, Charlie, Tony, and the other nine people couldn't help but turn their heads away.
They all understood William.
Because earlier, the Mimicking Monster had also controlled Thomas, slaughtering people from Harper.
The ability of the Mimicking Monster to kill so many was largely because he wore a face familiar to everyone.
Death is terrifying, but the horror slaughter perpetrated by someone familiar is even more chilling and devastating, especially when both the killer and the killed are one's own people.
"Leader William… please accept my condolences!"
Bruce stepped forward and patted William's shoulder, intending to console him, yet the words turned into consolation instead.
Seeing William's expression still dull, immersed in grief, he sighed, looked around, and continued, "Leader William, time is precious, that Mimicking Monster could return at any time. Many people are still alive in your camp; if you don't pull yourself together quickly, tragedy might happen again!"
Evidently stirred awake by Bruce's words, William suddenly awoke, casting a grateful glance at Bruce, then turning to his children.
"Jane, go count how many are dead and how many survived, search every corner of the cave, some might be hiding below, get them out quickly."
"Flash, inform everyone to pack up quickly, gather at the cave entrance once ready, we will relocate immediately."
"Yes, father."
Although still grieving, the two young ones, recognizing the urgency, swiftly rose to execute the orders.
After instructing the two, William turned his gaze to Bruce.
"Leader Bruce…"
One look was enough for Bruce to understand what William was thinking.
Mainly, the plea in his eyes was too obvious to ignore.
William's scapula, limbs, and torso were just pierced by the Mimicking Monster's white thread, now stained with blood, making movement difficult, almost rendering him useless.
Not to mention leading the remaining camp members to find a new place to live.
Whether he could successfully complete this migration with others was a big question.
Moreover, losing their last Axeheart Realm combat strength, especially being the soul of William, meant that:
Taylor Camp was now in name only.
William's imploring eyes clearly expressed more than just asking for help moving; his meaning was evident.
He wished to entrust the remaining people of Taylor Camp to Bruce.
William didn't say it directly, leaving Bruce room to refuse.
He knew well that suddenly taking in hundreds is no simple task.
Despite the recent improvement in Harper Camp's situation after Bruce defeated the Mimicking Monster, William did not expect Bruce to easily take in so many people.
What's more, the current remaining people in Taylor Camp were all ordinary.
Even his sole Axeheart Realm combat strength was already crippled.
As Bruce stayed silent, the hope in William's eyes dimmed gradually, being replaced by despair.
"Let's go back to Harper Camp with us; we can discuss the future then!"
Hearing Bruce's words, William's body trembled, looking up at him suddenly.
After confirming Bruce's consent, William, too stirred to speak, could only gaze at him filled with tremendous gratitude, nodding heavily.
"Father, the camp has lost 132 people, with 187 remaining, and sister has informed them to pack, they should be done soon."
Flash came over at this time, with Jane following behind, plus some who had packed up, slowly gathering around.
"Charlie, organize yourselves, have someone at the cave entrance to assist, first pull the children up, and lead them down the mountain, the elderly can climb themselves to speed things up."
"Yes, Leader!"
Charlie led nine people to orderly direct everyone's evacuation.
During the last Harper Camp relocation, although it was led by Bruce, Charlie had assisted by his side, so he gained some experience, and bringing eight others to help now sped things up considerably.
Before long, the children were placed at the forefront, with Tony leading people to pull them up one by one with ropes, followed closely by adults with belongings and supplies.
Seeing everyone from the camp leaving in order, William's emotions eased significantly.
"Leader William, come on, you're not in good condition, I'll carry you."
Upon seeing Bruce intending to carry him, William's eyes flashed with surprise, then moved, repeatedly waved his hand with a bitter smile, "Leader, please don't joke, I'm a cripple now, I wouldn't bother you, let Flash carry me."
Listening to William's address for him, Bruce raised an eyebrow.
William's tiny thoughts were quite clear to him, merely concerned he wouldn't take care of the nearly two hundred people in Taylor Camp, already trying to establish his leadership title.
Although he hadn't planned on abandoning these people, seeing William cautiously testing the waters, Bruce felt a heavy sense in his heart.
William's reaction showed how difficult small camps' conditions were, with resource limitations making mergers unfeasible, and entering stronger camps required proving value and assuring resource surplus, failing these, they might not be accepted.
In fact, with the current power of Harper, taking these nearly two hundred individuals was unqualified.
But letting them fall prey to Mimicking Monsters and Cold Beasts was also something Bruce couldn't do.
Coupled with William's desperate yet pleading eyes, he had reluctantly accepted.
"Don't worry, Leader William, I won't abandon them, let's first head to Harper Camp."
Hearing Bruce's reassurance, William's face finally relaxed, he even forced his body to kneel toward Bruce.
Of course, Bruce didn't let him complete the kneel, reaching out to hold him up.
Just then, Flash came over, Bruce helped place William on his back, leading the two toward the cave entrance, while inquiring William:
"Leader William, when you encountered the Mimicking Monster in Harper Territory earlier, how did you escape, did only Henry and the others survive, did everyone else die? How did Barry get swapped, didn't you notice? Also, did you see that Mimicking Monster with your own eyes?"
Bruce posed several questions, with the last being particularly crucial.
He wanted to learn more about that Mimicking Monster.
Perched on his son's back, William first showed a flash of pain in his eyes at these questions but soon adjusted his emotions and began to answer Bruce.
---
"Nine Towns at the southern foot of Israel Mountain, Manhattan Town, large camps with over a hundred thousand people, Ice Abyss, Ancient Abyss Era, five kinds of Mimicking monsters, Artisan Mimicking Monster, Wood Puppet Monster, Lex, Matthew, George…"
William's response was very long, and even after the three of them descended Tower Mountain, he hadn't finished speaking.
What he described truly broadened Bruce's horizons.
Even though Bruce had been in this world for over four months.
But in reality, even up until now, aside from his own small patch of land, Bruce knew nothing about the outside world.
He didn't even know the specific time or year.
Of course, humanity has degenerated to this point, so there's probably no formal calendar.
It wasn't until today, hearing these contents from William's mouth.
A large camp with over a hundred thousand people, Manhattan Town, and the other Eight Towns.
And those two gentlemen, Lex and Matthew, from Manhattan Town, referred to the Great Lord Robert Luthor; what kind of powerful realm must he be in…
Hearing this suddenly, a hint of longing flashed in Bruce's eyes.
Of course, he hadn't forgotten the main matter.
Learning that although William encountered a puppet Thomas that night, he was rescued later by Lex, Matthew, and George, and had seen that Wood Puppet Monster, he hurriedly asked:
"What exactly does that Wood Puppet Monster look like?"
A flash of hatred crossed William's eyes, and he whispered: "An old man's appearance, pupils blood-red, devoid of human emotions. It holds a small knife in its left hand and a bunch of transparent threads in its right hand, both of which are its weapons."
Bruce firmly memorized these features in his mind, looked up, and glanced forward.
Traveling at night with a group close to two hundred was too large, and they dared not make too much noise, so their progress was always slow.
Fortunately, Tower Mountain was less than a kilometer from the Harper Camp's hill, so even at this pace, it wouldn't take too long, estimated within a quarter of an hour.
Charlie and Tony vigilantly watched the surroundings, while Bruce trailed at the back of the group with William and his son.
Recalling William's account of the events over at the Harper Territory, Bruce furrowed his brows slightly and continued asking: "You just said, including Henry, a total of eight people died that night. So shouldn't there be five of you left, why did only you and Barry return, and when was Barry replaced by the Wood Puppet Monster?"
William then recounted how George gathered everyone to cooperate with Lex and Matthew to deal with the Wood Puppet Monster, including using people from various camps as bait.
Hearing that the bait strategy to lure the Wood Puppet Monster failed four times, Bruce's expression turned somber.
And when he heard that Barry was replaced during the bait process and even entered Rogel Camp with William, his face changed drastically.
Not only him, but at this point, William clearly realized something too, his face changed abruptly, looking north with fear on his face.
"You mean, that Wood Puppet Monster not only infiltrated Rogel Camp through Barry but also watched you all plan against it the whole time…"
"It's over, something happened at Rogel Camp… something happened…!"
William didn't even hear what Bruce was asking, his eyes fixed on the northern Rogel Camp, muttering incessantly that something had happened.
Bruce's face also showed urgency, and he loudly asked, "How many people are there at Rogel Camp?"
William snapped back and quickly replied: "I'm not sure exactly, more than a thousand."
More than a thousand…
Bruce instantly felt his scalp numb, a trace of struggle flashing across his face.
As William said, deciding on one last attempt to lure out the Wood Puppet Monster, Lex and Matthew had taken nearly ninety percent of the strong individuals from several camps.
This means that those remaining at Rogel Camp are basically ordinary people.
The Wood Puppet Monster grows stronger the more it kills.
Moreover, according to Bruce's observations, the opponent's control over both the quantity and quality of puppets is rapidly improving.