The hardness of the Golden Frost Tree, Bruce had experienced before.
Though harder than the Red Frost Tree, under the immense strength exceeding ten thousand pounds of the Earthripper Realm, it was still inadequate.
Moreover, this wooden house was not made from an entire tree, and unlike the Golden Frost Trees on Redwood Ridge, it wasn't covered with a layer of frozen crystals outside.
George had broken through the Earthripper Realm years ago, his strength was certainly more than ten thousand pounds.
So when he chopped down, the wooden door should have been broken.
But what actually happened left Bruce and Lucas all stunned.
With a crunching sound, George's blade did indeed break the wooden door, creating a half-meter long crack, but it was merely a crack.
"How is this possible?"
Even George himself couldn't quite believe it, instinctively questioning.
But before everyone could react, the entire wooden house began to shake violently.
It was as if George's chop had harmed it.
After the violent shaking, the crack that had originally been cleaved started to slowly heal as the surrounding wood writhed inward.
Bruce took advantage of the gap during the crack's healing to cast an unintentional glance outside, and his pupils shrank immediately.
He shouted to Tony and others outside:
"Look behind, those four wooden houses have come alive too, be careful!"
Not only was the wooden house they were trapped in, but those four collapsed wooden houses they had just entered the camp also began to slowly stand up again, obviously the same as the one they were in, having been animated by the Wood Puppet Monster.
The wooden house crack healed completely, and Bruce could no longer see the outside, growing more anxious.
George also noticed the situation outside; there were more than twenty Axeheart Realm individuals in their camp still outside, making him even more anxious than Bruce.
After failing to hack open the wooden door with one chop, he quickly withdrew the big knife and slashed five or six times in succession.
But no matter how many cracks he cut, the wooden door repaired itself rapidly, just like before.
They couldn't get out at all.
And just at this moment, those fifteen rooms, which were originally closed, suddenly opened, and a large crowd rushed out tumultuously.
No, to be precise, some people rushed, and some climbed…
"Father, my neck is about to sever, save me, save me."
"Leader, save my son, his lower body was sliced off."
"Jaden, Jaden, is it you who came back? My eyes were gouged, my legs were sliced off, go check on my son, he is still alive."
"Wuuu, Father, save me, my head has been split open, I am in so much pain, save me, Father…"
---
If the scene outside when they first entered the camp could be described as a sea of corpses and blood, then at this moment, the scene before their eyes was truly the inferno of the Nine Hells.
Five or six hundred people, all frantically rushing toward them.
These people, while rushing, were also crying out for help.
Roughly less than half at the front had extreme fear on their faces but at least remained physically intact, with some even holding weapons in their hands.
The vast majority trailing behind, however, were crawling on the ground.
These people were invariably missing arms and legs, some without arms, without limbs, without lower bodies, missing half their bodies, and even those with half their heads severed, and some with only their heads and torsos, struggling to wriggle on the ground…
The wooden house space, which was devoid of any anomaly just now, was instantly suffused with a stench as these people either rushed or crawled out of the rooms, creating a river of blood flowing on the ground.
To think that the Wood Puppet Monster could control five or six hundred people, all entrapped within these small rooms, completely silent, and even the scent was sealed off.
The sight before him was shocking, and Bruce, though shocked, was quickly realizing that the Wood Puppet Monster's means were becoming increasingly powerful.
Could it be that it had already advanced to the Intermediate level?
If true, then today they might not stand a chance!
Pulling his thoughts back, Bruce saw that George and the other four, unbelievably, were about to go meet the people rushing out from the rooms, he quickly pulled him back, and shouted to Lucas and the other three:
"Don't go over there, it's uncertain whether they are human!"
"Then what should we do, just sit back and do nothing?"
Although George had been pulled back without advancing further, he roared angrily, his emotions already out of control.
It wasn't just George, Lucas and the other three were the same.
Because the people rushing and crawling out of the rooms were their companions and relatives whom they had lived with day by day, including their wives and children, even their parents.
How could they remain calm?
Bruce naturally understood the four, didn't say much more, swiftly took a piece of Solidified Fire Oil from his pocket, and applied it to his hands and the weapons of the four around him.
"This is Solidified Fire Oil, if it touches a Mimicking Monster it ignites, you can rescue people but remain vigilant. Any who are controlled by the Puppet Monster will catch fire if they touch this oil!"
The anxious four of George had no time to listen to Bruce in detail, only nodding before rushing to meet their relatives calling for help.
In fact, there was no need for them to rush up, when Bruce was applying Solidified Fire Oil to them, those people had already rushed over, only five or six meters away from them.
"Wu'er, how are you doing?"
"I'm fine, Father, quickly save Mother, she's behind."
The first one to rush up was caught by Lucas, it was his son Danny.
Seeing his son with all his limbs intact, his body seemingly fine, Lucas sighed in relief, pulling his son behind him as he hurriedly searched for his wife amidst the crowd.
George also saw his eldest son Anthony, fortunately, he too, like Danny, had all his limbs and his body was intact.
He rushed up, pulling his son's hand, wanting to get him out of the crowd.
But as soon as he touched Anthony's hand, the panic and chaos on Anthony's face instantly turned to fright and ferocity, and then he pulled out a dagger from behind and slashed at George's neck.
Clang…
George hastily blocked with his knife, the immense force from the dagger forced him back two or three meters.
Although he avoided a fatal strike, looking at the unfamiliar son, there was a flash of profound pain and sorrow in George's eyes.
Both behavior and strength unmistakably indicated that the one wearing his son's shell in front of him was not Anthony.
Indeed, having missed the first strike, a look of viciousness appeared on Anthony's face, intending to charge forward again, but as soon as he took a step, he suddenly looked down at his arm, letting out a painful howl.
"Huh…huh…ugh…"
The sound was hoarse, grating, nothing like a human.
Whoosh…
A fierce fire abruptly rose from his arm, the flames overwhelmingly intense, like a pestilence spreading rapidly, instantly consuming his entire body.
In only a few breaths, that "Anthony" was burned to ashes.
Watching his son's body burn to nothingness, George's face held no semblance of joy, instead, the sorrow in his eyes grew even deeper.
"Leader George, this is no time for dazing, quickly discern the real from the Mimicking Monsters, there's no telling what else the Wood Puppet Monster might have in store, if we don't act fast, the death toll will only increase!"
Seeing the Mimicking Monster-controlled Anthony being completely incinerated by the Solidified Fire Oil, Bruce let out a huge sigh of relief, afraid that with the Wood Puppet Monster growing stronger, the Solidified Fire Oil could become ineffective.
Though confirming the Solidified Fire Oil's effectiveness remained unaltered, with the reality of facing hundreds, Bruce was still heavily shaken by the Wood Puppet Monster's cunning and treacherous nature.
Among these hundreds, some were real, some were fake.
Was his Solidified Fire Oil really sufficient?
The Wood Puppet Monster had been thwarted by Solidified Fire Oil in the cave, and just days later…
It had already come up with a countermeasure!
When the solidified fire oil was taken out of the iron refining furnace, it was only the size of a fist.
Although it appeared solid, a gentle force could liquify it.
Bruce wasn't sure how many Mimicking monsters one portion of solidified fire oil could kill, but he knew for certain that it wouldn't be enough to test on all the five to six hundred people in front of him.
While Bruce's mind was racing with thoughts, the stream of people rushing out of the room already reached the five of them.
The problem was, some of these people were real, and some were not, making it impossible to guard against.
The issue was that even the real ones were indistinguishable from the fake; they only knew to run towards the five of them, trying to hide behind them.
In this critical situation, George couldn't even spare a moment to mourn his eldest son's death.
Leading Lucas and the other two, he had to distinguish the real from the fake while guarding against sneak attacks by the impostors.
"Move back, don't come any closer!"
Seeing many people heading his way, Bruce's expression tensed up as well.
He raised his stone axe, commanding those people to retreat.
It wasn't out of a lack of sentiment for the people of Rogel Camp, but the key was, among these people, there were puppets controlled by the Wood Puppet Monster, and if he wasn't careful, he could die.
Of course, he wouldn't gamble with his life.
The real people were naturally scared by him.
But the fake ones couldn't hold back.
Whizz…
A gust of wind came from his right side, Bruce's eyes flickered, and he swiftly sidestepped to the left, swinging his axe horizontally to block the weapon of his attacker.
Clang…
On the left was an iron short sword, evidently a former item from Rogel Camp.
The sword, almost without suspense, cut through his stone axe and then aimed upwards at his chin.
"The strength of these puppets is Earthripper Realm!"
The moment Bruce caught the stone axe, his face changed, not because of the sharpness of the weapon, but because the puppet attacking him was exerting a force almost equal to his own.
No time for shock, Bruce continued to retreat, avoiding the short sword aimed at his chin.
He jumped backwards, pushed off the door panel behind him, and then lunged to grab the person who had ambushed him.
Almost instantly, the solidified fire oil in his hand took effect.
"Ah…"
The one who attacked him was a puppet in the form of a woman, the flames from the solidified fire oil burned her fiercely, making her scream piercingly.
Yet even so, she kept waving the short sword in her hand, trying to stab the gripping Bruce.
Bruce moved nimbly, pulling the woman to the wooden wall, dodging her short sword while staying alert for other possible ambushes.
The solidified fire oil was potent, reducing the woman to ashes in a short while, and once the woman's puppet turned to ash, the remaining flames would extinguish instantly even if they touched Bruce's body.
The solidified fire oil, while igniting upon contact with deceit, was completely harmless to humans.
However, watching the solidified fire oil burn the woman's corpse to nothing, Bruce's face didn't show any relief but turned more solemn than before.
A woman?
Around the camps of Redwood Ridge, even adult men couldn't get any Cold Beast meat, let alone women; all the women in the camps were absolutely ordinary people.
But this woman who just ambushed him possessed the strength of the Earthripper Realm.
What does this mean?
This means that the puppets manufactured by the Wood Puppet Monster already wield the power of the Earthripper Realm!