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."
The four leaders, Sam and several Axeheart Realm individuals of their generation, just laughed and shook their heads, apparently not considering themselves capable of breaking through to the Earthripper Realm.
Yet those younger Axeheart Realm individuals behind them showed a look of eager anticipation, seemingly more confident than their elders.
And the most peculiar was the group behind Bruce, including Clark.
With Jordan busy taking care of Charlie, Tony, Clark, Clint, and Nick displayed excitement, even leaning forward, clearly intending to listen carefully to what George was about to say.
Taking in the reactions of all three groups, George then slowly began to speak:
"Let's start with coal mines. You guys must be familiar with the Golden Frost Tree, right?"
Upon hearing this, Bruce's expression turned peculiar, a hunch surfacing in his mind.
"Generally speaking, places where Golden Frost Trees grow have coal mines underneath. Moreover, the thicker the Golden Frost Tree, the richer the coal deposit below!"
It turned out to be true.
Bruce silently shook his head.
He had been searching Redwood Ridge for so long without finding anything.
He found it puzzling, considering that both animals and plants in this world were generally stronger and more abundant compared to his previous life, higher mineral resources were expected as well.
Turns out, he just hadn't been searching the right place.
The coal mine was concealed under the Golden Frost Trees.
"Leader George, what about iron mines?"
Bruce continued inquiring about iron mines.
"Iron mines are simple as well. Find a plant called Black Tribulus. This plant typically grows in crevices on rock faces and mountain bodies and is an associated plant of iron ore. Finding it means finding an iron mine."
Saying this, George, perhaps fearing that people might not understand, turned to gesture at Lucas.
Lucas immediately ran outside and shortly returned with a plant.
George took the plant and displayed it to everyone.
It was a unique plant of completely jet-black appearance, featuring a single stem yet adorned with at least twenty or thirty feather-like leaves, evenly distributed on either side.
"To be honest, Black Tribulus is not easy to find. The iron mine currently tapped by Rogel Camp was passed down from several generations ago. To this day, no new iron mines have been discovered…"
After pausing here, George shook his head and continued,
"But no need to find new ones either. Based on the strength of our camps here in Redwood Ridge, basically discovering one vein is enough to last many generations."
Upon hearing this, the others chuckled softly.
True enough, the iron mine at Rogel Camp had been excavated for several generations, yet iron tools were still not widely used throughout the camp, indicating the high difficulty of extracting iron ore.
While others were chuckling softly, Bruce furrowed his brow, a sense of heaviness in his heart.
Finding iron mines was already hard, and based on George's words, once found, the extraction process was even more challenging.
For someone like him who needed immense resources, this was not good news at all.
"Leader, Charlie has woken up!"
In deep thought, Bruce was interrupted by Jordan's voice and hurriedly got up to go over there.
Both Tony and Clark, along with the other two, quickly followed behind him.
"Brother, it feels like there's a lot more in my mind now…"
Before Bruce could speak, Charlie, who had just awakened, spoke first.
"What is it?"
Charlie didn't answer.
He just extended both of his hands with a strange look in his eyes, then opened his palms and closed his eyes, as if he were trying to channel something.
After a moment, two wisps of black energy suddenly rose from his palms.
The black energy swirled for three or four seconds before gradually dissipating.
Once it had faded, a three-inch small knife and a bundle of transparent thread appeared in Charlie's hands respectively.
"Aren't these the things from that Wood Puppet Monster?"
Tony, speaking his mind, was the first to shout excitedly.
Bruce immediately recognized them as items from the Wood Puppet Monster as well, but unlike Tony's excitement, he looked at Charlie with some concern.
Upon seeing the small knife and thread in his hands, Charlie's daze vanished completely, replaced by a deep excitement, as if a thought in his mind had been confirmed.
"Brother, don't worry, I've gained immense benefits, hahaha!"
After a long moment of excitement, Charlie looked up, saw Bruce's expression, and quickly tried to reassure him.
Still incredibly excited, he continued: "In my mind, there's an inheritance of puppetry, and there's also a vast amount of information about various woods and plants. It all must come from that Wood Puppet Monster!"
Inheritance, small knife, thread.
Bruce remembered the three golden lights from earlier and suddenly understood.
The three trump cards of the Wood Puppet Monster were indeed the Puppetry Technique, the thread, and the small knife.
No wonder Lex and Matthew coveted the Wood Puppet Monster so much.
Charlie might truly have received an extraordinary gift this time.
If he can fully grasp those three things from the Wood Puppet Monster, Charlie's potential for future growth would be limitless.
Even Clark and the others couldn't help but look at Charlie with envy.
Bruce wasn't as excited, mainly because of his limited understanding of such mimicking creatures, but judging from Lex and Matthew's reactions, the things Charlie gained shouldn't pose much of a problem.
Even if there are any side effects, they should be within controllable limits.
With that settled in his mind, Bruce stopped worrying and instead instructed everyone to rest.
"Alright, don't celebrate too early. We don't know if there are any side effects. Let's rest first, and we will return to the camp when it gets dark tomorrow."
Daylight had already arrived, and after a night of exhaustion, no one felt like talking.
Once Bruce took the lead in laying down, the others followed suit in sleeping.
Soon, the wooden house was filled with various sounds of snoring.
However, among the snores, there were also a few quiet sobs.
George, sitting by the coal stove, couldn't sleep at all.
Thinking of his wife, eldest son Luo Yun, father George Feng, and the thousand others who died last night, he was filled with immense pain and self-reproach.
"Father, don't be sad. Logan is still here, the camp is still here, and the Wood Puppet Monster has been destroyed. We are no longer in danger!"
A slightly childish voice reached his ears, and George turned to find his eight-year-old son, Logan Rogers, standing beside him.
Seeing the clearly visible tear stains on his young son's face, he knew that Logan had cried earlier as well.
Yet, despite this, he still remembered to comfort his useless father.
Unable to hold back any longer, George pulled his son into his arms.
Amid his heartache, he also felt an immense sense of relief.
Relief, because he still had his one and only son, Logan.
It was a stroke of luck, perhaps due to the assumption that children couldn't disguise themselves well, that the Wood Puppet Monster only killed adults in the wooden house.
Quite a few children survived, and his little Logan was one of them.
"Logan, your father swears he will never let anything happen to you again. I will see you marry, have children, and live a long, full life."
Holding his young son, George spoke slowly, the words seeming spoken to himself and to his deceased wife and eldest son, resolute determination filling his expression.
---
With only four hours of daylight, everyone who had worked all night fell asleep easily.
As night enveloped the surroundings, everyone gradually woke up.
However, upon waking, they found five leather bags neatly placed by the coal stove, with George standing beside them.
"Leaders, please come over!"
Bruce, noticing the shape of the bags, immediately realized what was inside, but he said nothing, simply joining Sam and the other leaders in walking over to George.
As the five of them approached, George didn't say much.
He simply bowed respectfully to the leaders with genuine expression:
"Thanks to the righteous intervention of the five leaders during this disaster at Rogel Camp, I am profoundly grateful. Had the leaders not helped, our camp's casualties would have been even more severe. Though this Cold Beast Meat is limited, it represents the camp's gratitude. Please, do accept it!"
Bruce didn't react much, but the other four leaders looked at the Cold Beast Meat with evident temptation on their faces, though none stepped forward to accept it.
After exchanging glances, the outspoken Sam stepped forward, shaking his head: "Leader George, although we want this Cold Beast Meat, the truth is, we really didn't help much. As the saying goes, we shouldn't accept a reward without earning it, so the four of us will have to decline."
Then, changing his tone, he continued, "If you want to thank someone, thank Leader Bruce. Without his prior warning at Redwood Ridge, the Wood Puppet Monster might have wiped out everyone in your camp without us even knowing. In the valley battle that followed, it was also thanks to Leader Bruce's Solidified Fire Oil that we're standing here at all. So, if you're going to thank someone, thank Leader Bruce!"
The other three leaders nodded in agreement, clearly aligning with Sam's sentiment.
George smiled gently, first showing a grateful look to Bruce, then shook his head as he looked at Sam and the others: "While Leader Bruce deserves thanks, so do the four of you. Not to mention tonight's efforts, I also remember your past cooperation in helping Lex and Matthew. This Cold Beast Meat, if Leader Bruce accepts, you four must as well."
After saying this, he directly picked up the bags and handed them one by one to the five leaders.
Bruce nodded and accepted without pretense, understanding that he had risked his life, making the Cold Beast Meat well-earned.
Inside each bag, there was roughly a thousand kilograms of Cold Beast Meat, totaling five thousand kilograms, which was quite a significant gesture.
Seeing all five leaders accept the Cold Beast Meat, a smile finally appeared on George's face before he nodded to Lucas and continued, "As Leader Hong said, we owe tonight's survival to Bruce. Without him, Rogel Camp would not have this surviving one hundred or so people.
Later, without his Solidified Fire Oil against the Wood Puppet Monster, I, George, likely wouldn't have survived either. And so, I've prepared a special gift for the Harper Camp. I hope brother Bruce will graciously accept it!"
As soon as George finished speaking, Lucas, Jaden, and Caleb each carried a leather bag to Bruce's front.
Thud… thud… thud…
The three bags hit the ground, making three resounding thuds.
"Leader Bruce, since you won't find a coal or iron mine anytime soon, in these three bags there are five thousand kilograms of coal and four thousand kilograms of iron. Please accept them!"
Upon hearing this, Sam and the others glanced at the bags, swallowing hard in disbelief and looking up at George, their faces filled with shock.
Even Bruce couldn't help but look at George, slightly incredulous.