Strictly speaking, Lex and Matthew did nothing wrong.
Perhaps they had private motives for executing the deceit and used George and the other four leaders as bait too harshly, but staying at Redwood Ridge to help them deal with the Wood Puppet Monster is an undeniable fact.
Even in the recent great battle in the valley, the roles played by Lex and Matthew were crucial.
Good deeds should be judged by actions, not intent.
No matter their motives, the fact is they helped.
Their mistake was their arrogant attitude from start to finish.
Four failed attempts to eliminate the deceit had long worn out everyone's trust.
After all, in these four attempts, Lex and Matthew only exerted force, while George and the other four leaders gave their own lives.
Though needing their help, everyone chose to ignore their arrogance and occasional disdain, but this didn't mean they had no thoughts; they only endured because they sought help.
Their aggressive stance toward Bruce caused everyone's accumulated resentment to erupt, which was perfectly natural.
If not for Bruce's timely warning, no one at Rogel Camp would have survived, and the Wood Puppet Monster might have successfully advanced to the Intermediate level.
By then, no one could have escaped.
Moreover, Bruce deserves the most credit for killing the Wood Puppet Monster.
Without his Solidified Fire Oil and his timely command for everyone to stay in the valley, it's uncertain if they could have completely eliminated the monster today.
The people living around Redwood Ridge may be shallow with little knowledge, but they do not lack genuine human emotions.
Bruce has done them a favor and exerted greater efforts than Lex and Matthew in eradicating the deceit.
Furthermore, there is a shared regional bond; they naturally won't stand by if Bruce is bullied.
Moreover, the treasure wasn't taken intentionally by Charlie; it was obtained inadvertently.
Nearly two hundred people stood firmly with Bruce, their determined expressions showing their attitude.
Even George and the ordinary people of Rogel Camp stood resolutely, not moving an inch under the furious glare of Lex and Matthew.
Matthew's chest heaved, his hand gripping the broadsword trembling slightly, showing the extent of his inner rage at this moment.
Yet, he did not take even half a step forward.
Beside him, Lex's face was equally gloomy.
Both of them understood that it was impossible to attack Bruce.
Though their power was strong, they were still within the realm of the Earthripper Realm.
Nearly two hundred people, including the four Earthripper Realm fighters of George and dozens of Axeheart Realm fighters, attacking forcibly would be a death wish.
"Bruce… Leader, right! One last time, hand him over to me. Once he's in Manhattan Town, he can have a better life and maybe one day, even you could gain eligibility to enter Manhattan Town because of him, as long as you…"
"Enough, my lords, no need for more words. Even if Charlie weren't my younger brother, I would not hand over any ordinary person from the Harper Camp to any stranger without reason."
Lex's words were cut off, his face slightly stiff.
Matthew next to him finally couldn't hold back from wanting to speak, but as soon as he took a step forward, Lex stopped him.
"Ignorant and benighted, words are useless, let's go!"
When Lex said this, his tone didn't sound like cursing; instead, it was filled with helplessness and fatigue, appearing genuinely feeling that George and Bruce were very foolish from the bottom of his heart.
Matthew was even more direct.
Before being pulled away by Lex, he turned to the crowd, coldly sneering and cursing, "A bunch of shortsighted fools. So what if you got the treasure, being born in such a place, your end is to become food for Cold Beasts and Mimicking Monsters, never changing."
This statement completely erased the last bit of goodwill remaining in the crowd.
Even George couldn't help but show anger, let alone the ordinary people.
Among the crowd, Bruce didn't react much, just squinting his eyes slightly, watching the two's backs as they left, remembering the names Lex and Matthew in his mind.
As Lex and Matthew departed, the great disaster brought by the Wood Puppet Monster officially ended.
Everyone, including Bruce, collectively breathed a sigh of relief.
More than half of the people realized they could completely relax and their bodies, as if suddenly emptied, directly collapsed to the ground.
But this relief didn't last long.
Less than ten breaths later, cries and sobs began to echo intermittently from the crowd.
"Wuwuwu, my child is dead, Leader, my child is dead."
"My mother is gone too…"
"My mother is dead, and my father was killed too, wuwu…"
"I have to go back and find my mother's body…"
---
Every disaster inevitably accompanies massive pain.
The cries and sobs echoing in Bruce's ears weighed heavily on his heart.
This was already the third time.
From the Harper Camp, to the Taylor Camp, and now at Rogel Camp.
The Wood Puppet Monster they faced was only a Primary Monster, yet the outcome was already so tragic.
What would an Intermediate or even Advanced Mimicking Monster be like?
If encountered in the future, could he deal with it?
A strong sense of urgency immediately arose in Bruce's heart.
As time passed, although the cries and sobs gradually diminished, most people had not emerged from their sadness, only shedding silent tears.
A small portion who woke up were all with blank and numb expressions, like their essence, energy, and spirit were drained.
Even George was no exception.
At this moment, George was lowering his head, staring blankly at a small dagger in his hand, his expression dazed, his pupils full of pain and struggle.
That small dagger was previously used by a puppet who ambushed George in a wooden cabin, which was George's eldest son.
Like the ordinary people of the camp, Leader George also lost his eldest son, wife, and his father, Steve.
Rogel Camp had a total population of over thirteen hundred.
Though not yet fully counted, Bruce estimated that the death toll before and after combined was at least over one thousand.
It's not an exaggeration to say it was mourning in every household.
Bruce sighed slightly, turned his head to glance at the sky, then quickly walked to George's side, patted his shoulder and said, "Leader George, my condolences. It's best to calm everyone and return to the valley to tidy up. It's almost dawn, and it's unsafe to stay outside."
George was awakened by the pat, immediately turned his head to look at the sky, finding that the dawn light indeed appeared.
He shivered, first showing a grateful look at Bruce, then turned solemnly toward the crowd:
"Everyone, don't stay here anymore, go back to the valley and clean up first. Lucas, you take the others to set up a temporary wooden house, then light the stove to avoid everyone from freezing."
"Yes, Leader!"
After saying this, George turned to the other leaders and Bruce:
"Five of you, it's almost dawn, you can't leave today. Make do at my place for the night, and leave tomorrow night when it's dark."
Sam and Ben nodded in response.
There was even less reason for Bruce to refuse.
He was already injured, and Charlie had not yet woken up.
He couldn't leave now, even if he wanted to.
---
Over two hundred people began working together, and the once ravaged valley immediately transformed.
The scattered remains and limbs on the ground were all collected to the deep eastern side of the valley, where they were burned with branches and broken wood.
Although everyone watched the towering flames with pain etched on their faces, this was the only way to prevent disease.
Although that giant wooden puppet was already dead, its body remained intact.
Lucas gathered usable wood with his people and soon built a square wooden house over thirty meters wide.
The stove was quickly set up inside the house, and Lucas led people to move over a hundred pieces of pitch-black coal stone from a small cave on the southern side of the valley, tossing them into the stove.
As the flames ignited, the wooden house immediately warmed up considerably.
Bruce withdrew his gaze from the small cave on the southern side and picked up a fist-sized piece of coal stone from the ground.
After weighing it a bit, a peculiar expression flashed across his face.
"Coal stone, surprisingly heavy!"
Though it was only the size of a fist, under Bruce's perception, it weighed around forty kilograms.
Recalling Wang Ming's large knife, which was only a meter and a half but weighed six hundred kilograms, Bruce quickly accepted it.
Obviously, coal and iron in this world couldn't be judged by concepts from his past life.
"It can be converted into two units of coal resource, twenty kilograms per unit."
Bruce quickly understood the conversion ratio of coal resources through the system.
This conversion rule was probably also based on the rarity of the resources.
Wood had been tested before; roughly a thousand kilograms for one unit; coal was twenty kilograms for one unit; iron was ten kilograms for one unit.
As Bruce pondered, Tony suddenly came over.
"Leader, the heat produced by burning coal is several times higher than wood, and its radiation range is wider. I just asked people from Rogel Camp; they said each of the previous five large wooden houses only needed one hundred and fifty kilograms of coal stone, coupled with some wood, to maintain a day's heating."
Bruce nodded.
Earlier, when Lucas led people to transport coal from the cave, he had inquired, so he was aware of these facts.
At this time, Clark also came over, looking at the coal stone with excitement in his eyes.
"Not just for heating, but if there is iron ore, it's useful for blacksmithing, crafting tools, and forging weapons. I just heard them say that Matthew previously mentioned that coal stone can also be used to soften land, allowing for crop transplantation after softening."
Bruce immediately became interested and was about to inquire further.
"Little brother, I hadn't finished speaking. According to Matthew, softening the land requires a large amount of coal. Before, with five Earthripper Realm experts, we only managed to mine a thousand kilograms of coal per day. Now only three are left, which makes it even harder."
Unbeknownst to Bruce, George, who had finished his tasks, came over as well.
Clark and Tony scratched their heads, clearly embarrassed for being caught passing on the information they just got from George to Bruce.
George waved nonchalantly, indicating it was no big deal, and then looked at Bruce, saying, "Leader Bruce, are you worried about not finding coal and iron mines?"
Bruce didn't conceal his thoughts and nodded, saying, "After breaking through to the Earthripper Realm, I've searched the hills around Redwood Ridge and my own camp without finding a trace. I hope Leader George won't hesitate to share your guidance; I'll be incredibly grateful!"
After speaking, seeing George in a daze and not responding for a long time, Bruce thought for a moment and stood up to bow to George.
This act snapped George out of his thoughts, and he quickly stood up, helping Bruce before he could bow.
With a wry smile, George said, "Leader Bruce, don't misunderstand. Rogel Camp owes you such a great favor. How could I not repay you? It's also no big secret. I was just reminded of something else, hence my absent-mindedness."
After explaining, George didn't further clarify what that something else was.
Instead, he gestured for Bruce and the others to sit down, then turned to call over Sam, Ben, John, and Max, the four camp leaders.
The four, originally seated separately with their families, greeted George first after walking over, then nodded to Bruce, glanced around, and sat across from George and Bruce.
In the makeshift wooden house, without any proper arrangement, everyone sat on the ground.
Interestingly, as Sam and the other three sat opposite, the others also leaned over, leaving George and Bruce by themselves.
Bruce didn't mind, and the others displayed no particular expression.
Only George watched this scene with a thoughtful look.
"Everyone, Leader Bruce asked me about finding coal and iron mines, and I thought you might all be curious, so I gathered you here to tell you. In the future, when you break through to the Earthripper Realm, you'll save time not knowing where to look for coal or iron mines."