Recalling Bruce's earlier words, he hurriedly continued, "I'm George. What urgent matter do you have to inform me about?"
Even though he sensed the off atmosphere, the urgency of the matter made Bruce not think much but speak directly: "Leader George, during this trip out, did the Wood Puppet Monster fail to show up from start to finish? It is highly likely that the Wood Puppet Monster has already infiltrated your Rogel Camp."
Bruce was not unwilling to explain the cause and effect, but given the urgency, he didn't want to waste words and merely wanted to quickly get these people back to the Rogel Camp.
The sooner they returned, the more people they might be able to save.
Therefore, he chose to speak succinctly.
But evidently, the crowd did not immediately believe him.
Even George, upon hearing that the Wood Puppet Monster might have entered the Rogel Camp, tensed up at first but then furrowed his brows at Bruce with a suspicious look.
Beep…
Upon seeing the expressions of the group, Bruce knew they didn't believe him.
He first blew the bone whistle to summon Charlie and others over, then quickly and succinctly narrated the events concerning William, Shi Dong, and the fall of Taylor Camp.
By the time Charlie, Tony, and the other six arrived, Bruce had basically finished speaking.
Seeing the extremely grim expression on George's face, he urgently said: "If nothing unexpected happens, for those previous four times, the Wood Puppet Monster was deliberately confusing you.
It controlled Berry to infiltrate the Rogel Camp and likely left a trap before heading off with William to Taylor Camp. It killed over a hundred people in Taylor Camp and has already greatly increased its strength.
With even more ordinary people in Rogel Camp, if it continues to kill, I'm afraid no one will be able to handle it. Leader George, hurry and take people back to the camp to check, otherwise, the consequences could be unimaginable!"
Bruce focused on persuading George to return to the camp, not even noticing that when he mentioned the Wood Puppet Monster fooling them in the previous four instances, Matthew's already unpleasant expression worsened even more.
Just a moment ago, he got angry because of Ethan's comments, saying they were outsmarted by that Wood Puppet Monster during the previous four outings.
Now Bruce came out and repeated this, reigniting the unvented anger in his heart.
"We've only been out from the Rogel Camp for a little over two hours; if the Wood Puppet Monster had infiltrated, how could we not have noticed?
And since you claim Berry is a fake, why didn't he stay inside Rogel Camp instead of leaving with William? Flawed logic—a babbling fool!"
Bruce was inexplicably scolded, and his expression stiffened immediately.
But he didn't lash out right away.
Instead, he looked at Matthew with a somber expression, pondering why this person held hostility towards him.
He could restrain himself, but Charlie, Tony, and the others who had just approached couldn't hold back.
It can be said that in the hearts of everyone at the Harper Camp, Bruce was the absolute spiritual pillar.
Those who had been following Bruce outside for a long time even revered him like a god.
How could they tolerate an outsider insulting Bruce like that in their presence?
"Where did this fool come from to shout at our leader like that?"
"Even when the words are spoken so clearly, if you still think there are holes, either your ears are faulty, or your brain is!"
"He might look presentable, but who knew he would spew filth like that!"
---
"Stop!"
Seeing Charlie and the others getting more and more excessive with their words, and Matthew's face turning visibly redder, Bruce quickly stopped them.
Of course, Bruce didn't think they were wrong; he only stopped them to prevent a conflict with the other side.
Matthew over there, his chest heaving, was clearly on the verge of lashing out.
Bruce, worried that his outburst would waste more time, quickly said to George with a serious tone, "Leader George, we are all trying to survive around Redwood Ridge.
I don't want to see too many people die from Rogel Camp, so I took the risk to come and inform you, even willing to lend you a helping hand.
Even if you don't believe me, at least prioritize the lives of over a thousand people in your camp and go back to take a look.
If nothing happens, then everyone would be delighted, and I will personally apologize to you—is that acceptable?"
This statement finally enlightened George.
He then quickly raised his head, realizing the crux of the issue.
Whether Bruce was lying or not didn't matter to him.
What mattered most were the lives of over a thousand people in the camp.
"Everyone, let's head back and check. If it's true after all…"
The more George thought, the more panicked he became.
He couldn't finish a sentence before giving all his camp members a look and leading the charge towards the camp.
Of course, Bruce wasn't going to object, as he was 90% sure that the Wood Puppet Monster was indeed in the Rogel Camp, so he gathered Charlie, Tony, and the others and quickly followed George.
Sam, Ben, Max, and John had initially planned to leave, but after witnessing Bruce's actions, the four exchanged glances and, in the end, still decided to follow George back to the Rogel Camp.
They harbored grievances against Lex and Matthew, but deep down, they respected George.
If something had indeed happened at Rogel Camp, they wouldn't stand idly by.
Whether they could help or not was another matter, but at least they would go take a look.
Very soon, only Lex and Matthew were left at the scene.
"Big brother, why did you hold me back just now when those little bastards were disrespectful to me? These ignorant country bumpkins deserve to have a few of them killed to teach them a lesson."
Matthew spoke in a harsh tone, clearly upset.
He didn't hold back earlier because Lex had restrained him, thus preventing him from making a move.
Lex looked down in thought for a while before raising his head to look at Matthew and said:
"Don't underestimate Bruce; his strength is probably not much weaker than yours."
Upon hearing this, Matthew showed disdain and said, "Big brother, are you saying he hid in the side, and I didn't notice? Sure, he might just have some skills at concealing his presence.
When he came down from the tree, I observed his qi muscle fluctuations—his strength barely surpasses ten thousand pounds. If he wants to compare with me, he has a long way to go!"
Lex nodded, not disputing.
"Let's go and see. If it's true, that Wood Puppet Monster might be in Rogel Camp. If it's not, then forget it, and we'll head back."
"Alright, but before we go back, I must teach those little bastards a lesson!"
---
George's willingness to follow Bruce back could be considered initial trust in him.
What Bruce needed was actually just this bit of trust.
What he wanted was simply for George to go back to the camp and take a look.
If nothing happened at Rogel Camp, that would be best, and he also hoped so.
While hurrying on the road, Bruce asked George some questions, and after a thorough understanding, he realized where the animosity from Matthew came from.
Earlier, Ethan's discussions had already made Matthew angry enough to hit people, and coincidentally, Bruce brought up being tricked by the Wooden Puppet Monster four times.
So it turned out that what he just said hit a sore spot.
Nonetheless, Bruce shook his head slightly, feeling a bit disdainful toward Matthew.
Before coming here, upon hearing of Manhattan Town's scale of a hundred thousand people, Bruce had some expectations of Lex and Matthew who came from there.
After all, the more strong people in a place, the safer the human living environment and the higher the civilization level should be.
In such a cruel world as the Ice Abyss, a place like that should be equivalent to a lighthouse for humanity.
People coming out of the lighthouse should not be bad at all.
But after listening to George's description, it was clearly not the case.
This Matthew was not only narrow-minded, irritable, and angry but also looked down on people, being arrogant as if one with many bad habits.
Of course, Bruce wouldn't think that everyone in Manhattan Town was like this.
For example, George apparently had a good impression of Lex and had words of praise for him.
"It seems that even though the world is different, human nature remains universal; the idea that 'it takes all sorts to make a world' applies anywhere.
In a large settlement with more than 100,000 people like Manhattan Town, it's normal to have a mix of good and bad."
This also somewhat disenchanted Bruce about the so-called Manhattan Town in advance.
"Leader Bruce, are you at the Earthripper Realm?"
This sentence was asked by George with a shocking tone.
After running in the snow for so long, he just realized that, unlike others at the Axeheart Realm, who were trailing behind a hundred meters away, Bruce had always been by his side.
The improvement in Basic Strength represents a comprehensive enhancement of physical fitness, significantly elevating one's control over strength in all aspects, and the running speed in the snow is far beyond what Axeheart Realm can compare to.
He was able to keep up with himself, naturally representing that he also broke through to the Earthripper Realm.
Bruce did not hide it, just nodded slightly.
Looking at Bruce's unbelievably young face, George took a deep breath, the shock in his heart even turning into suspicion.
It's not that he has never seen someone as young as Bruce at the Earthripper Realm.
Not to mention far away, Lex and Matthew are two living examples.
The problem is that around Redwood Ridge, and especially in a small camp like the Harper, it's absolutely impossible.
No matter how extraordinary Bruce's talent is, he would not be able to pass the hurdle of Cold Beast Meat.
Even if Rogel Camp has had a steady income of Cold Beast Meat over the years, it's still not enough to nurture someone as young as Bruce at the Earthripper Realm.
"Could this Bruce actually be that Wooden Puppet Monster in disguise?"
This thought arose in George's mind, and he glanced back at Charlie, Tony, and the other six at the Axeheart Realm, also looking unreasonably young.
He then cast a more wary eye on Bruce.
Seeing the change in George's expression, Bruce immediately realized what he was thinking.
Although he felt somewhat helpless inside, he still appreciated George's cautious character.
Truth be told, if it were a different group of people instead of themselves, George having suspicions about the Wooden Puppet Monster wouldn't be unreasonable.
"Leader George, let's not overthink. Let's first return to the camp. I am ninety percent certain that something unfortunate has already struck your camp!"
To prevent any unforeseen complications, Bruce still said a sentence, also as a kind of heads-up for George.
George naturally understood his implication, and his complexion changed slightly as his pace quickened significantly.