If asked, on this thrilling night of battle with the Wood Puppet Monster, who was the most relaxed?
It definitely wasn't the strongest, Lex and Matthew.
It was Charlie, who had stayed outside the entrance of the valley.
The commotion inside the valley was so loud, especially towards the end, that the ground was shaking.
Even someone outside the passage, within a few hundred meters, could hear it clearly.
These noises echoed in Charlie's ears, worrying him deeply.
He was like an ant on a hot pan outside, anxious about Bruce and the safety of everyone at the Harper Camp, wanting countless times to rush in and help.
In the beginning, he had even taken a few steps into the passage a few times.
By a stroke of fate, one time he was ready to go in and check on the situation, a large pile of rubble fell from above and blocked the inner entrance of the passage, preventing him from going in.
When the passage opened later, Charlie hesitated to go in again.
Remembering Bruce's instructions before he went in, he ultimately gave up.
Whether it was Bruce, George, or Lex and Matthew, their strength was all greater than his.
Rogel Camp and the other four camps, making a total of five camps, had plenty of Axeheart Realm combat power and didn't need him.
Even if he went in, he probably couldn't help much.
He might as well follow his elder brother's advice and continue guarding the entrance.
If he rushed in and disrupted Bruce's plans, it could cause more harm than good.
With this thought, even when the noise from the valley subsided later, Charlie had no intention of going in and chose to continue guarding outside.
Until just now, when he sensed someone coming out of the passage, Charlie immediately got alert, moved closer to the entrance, and became vigilant.
Coming closer to the entrance, he could also hear Bruce's voice from inside.
He heard his elder brother instruct people not to walk out, and the three voices that followed conveyed the same message, and he instantly realized his responsibility.
As expected, when he saw all the shadows in the cave retreating into the valley, only one person sneaking toward the entrance, Charlie became immediately prepared.
Unfortunately, the person hadn't managed to feel happy at the exit when their foot inexplicably caught fire.
At the moment of ignition, Charlie, hiding to the side, charged out without hesitation and swung the stone axe in his hand forcefully toward the person's head.
Following Bruce's earlier orders, he had already coated the exit with a layer of Solidified Fire Oil, causing anyone who stepped on it to catch fire, revealing the person's identity.
"Little bastard, stop immediately!"
Before the stone axe could land, Charlie heard Matthew's furious voice.
But Bruce had instructed earlier that no matter who came out, they should be attacked directly.
Moreover, he could determine that the one coming out was the Wood Puppet Monster.
Plus, he already disliked Matthew.
With all these factors combined, there was no way Charlie would stop.
The stone axe cleaved into the person's forehead, and a dense black mist immediately spurted out of the wound.
Before Charlie could withdraw, three beams of golden light shot out from the black mist and flew straight into his forehead, disappearing instantly.
The three beams of golden light embedded in his mind caused Charlie intense pain, making him instinctively want to call out to his elder brother, Bruce.
But before he could make a sound, a fierce kick landed on his chest.
Bang…
Charlie's body was sent flying five or six meters back like a cannonball.
Already suffering from excruciating head pain, the kick made Charlie instantly unconscious, lying on the ground, losing all consciousness.
"Stop, you filthy dog!"
Bruce, having just rushed out of the cave entrance, saw Charlie was kicked five or six meters by Matthew, and anger surged like a flame within him.
Bruce cursed angrily, hurling the large knife at Matthew, then rushed to Charlie's side, lifting him up to check, and was relieved to find that Charlie was still breathing, merely unconscious.
Matthew casually deflected the knife thrown by Bruce, his face still full of rage, and even his gaze at Bruce and Charlie held a hint of murderous intent.
Not only him, even Lex beside him was staring intently at Charlie, cold beams flashing continually in his eyes.
Sigh…
Bruce exhaled softly, looked up at the two, and said with a hint of mockery:
"Gentlemen, it seems the treasure was not meant for you."
Despite being furious at Matthew for just now, Bruce couldn't deny that his heart was bursting with joy at that moment.
Who would have thought that Charlie, who had done nothing and stood guard at the entrance the whole time, would end up receiving such a boon?
Judging by Yang's and Li's reactions, those three beams of golden light were incredibly precious, something beyond imagination.
After all, these two hail from Manhattan Town, with a population over 100,000, certainly having seen many luxuries.
Even they were coveting it, desperate enough to risk their lives for it.
Charlie must have stumbled upon an incredible fortune.
"Not meant for us? Do you think you bunch of inept fools can stop me?"
Of course, he still had to deal with the immediate threat!
Perhaps irritated by Bruce's mocking tone, Matthew's face turned icy, looking at Bruce and the four from Tony behind him with contempt and disdain in his eyes, though his tone was eerily grim.
He even stepped forward.
Seemingly intending to act directly.
But Lex, standing beside him, reached out to stop him at this time.
Lex glanced at the unconscious Charlie, his eyes flickering a few times as if making some decision in his heart, took a deep breath, then pointed at Charlie, and spoke to Bruce, his tone irrefutable:
"Hand him over to me, I want to take him back to Manhattan Town!"
"Impossible!"
Bruce refused without thinking, leaving Lex somewhat embarrassed since he had issued a command rather than a request.
Lex stared at Bruce, his voice deep: "If you won't let me take him, then I'll just have to kill him."
"Let me kill him, big brother. These fools aren't fit to have such a precious thing anyway; it will only get snatched by other Mimicking monsters one day."
Matthew took another two steps forward.
He had long been displeased with Bruce, and since Charlie and a few from Tony had previously rebutted him at Redwood Ridge, he harbored a deep grudge, wishing dearly to take action against them.
A gleam of cold light flashed in Lex's eyes as he quietly withdrew his hand, which had been holding back Matthew, seemingly no longer intending to stop him.
Matthew's face twisted into a menacing grin as he was about to step forward.
"Exterminating the monster this time was all thanks to the two adults' assistance. George is immensely grateful. Now that the treasure has found a new owner, why insist on it?"
George, who had been silent since coming out of the entrance, finally spoke.
Hearing his words, Matthew and Lex turned to look at George and found that he, along with Lucas and three others, had already joined Bruce's group, causing their expressions to change slightly.
Meanwhile, Bruce gently touched the wound on his shoulder, his expression somewhat easing.
Only now did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.
"George, you're going to help them?"
Matthew, addressing him directly with frustration, questioned fiercely, causing George's previously calm face to become rigid.
He raised his head to look at Lex and Matthew, his expression growing colder:
"If not for Leader Bruce today, it's uncertain whether we could have defeated the Wood Puppet Monster. I deeply appreciate the help rendered by both of you, and should there be anything you need, please just ask as long as it's within my means.
Before the Wood Puppet Monster self-destructed, you rushed ahead to seize the treasure, and neither Leader Bruce nor I said anything. But since the treasure was not fated for you and is now with someone else, you should accept that.
If you plan on using your power to bully, or even think about killing and seizing the treasure, then forgive me, for I cannot agree with that under any circumstances."
Matthew's anger flared further after listening to George's words.
Seemingly unwilling to continue arguing, he took another step forward, appearing intent on attacking them directly.
But at that moment, Ben, the leader of Ben Camp, and Sam, the leader of Samsung Camp, also stepped up beside Bruce and looked straight at Matthew:
"Leader Bruce just saved our lives, and we won't agree either!"
"Our Samsung Camp owes a huge debt to Leader Bruce, and we won't agree either!"
The other two camp leaders, Max and John, alongside over a hundred ordinary people rescued from the Rogel Camp's wooden house, gathered behind Bruce.
Some stood directly in front of him.
"If you lacked the ability to hold onto the treasure yourself, who else can you blame? If you think you can bully Leader Bruce, we won't agree."
"We won't see Leader Bruce bullied by you."
"We disagree as well."
"Just now, in the wooden house, Leader Bruce saved me, and I won't agree either."
Watching Matthew, who stopped in his tracks, and Lex behind him with a grim expression, Bruce slightly shook his head, and a phrase emerged in his mind.
Those who win support have many allies, while those who lose support have few.