The distance between Harper and Rogel Camp is actually just four kilometers.
Although he'd taken the Axeheart team through it once before, this time it was different.
Instead of just leading Charlie and six others, he was leading all three hundred forty-one people from the camp, which required consideration of many more aspects and was significantly more challenging.
Luckily, George seemed genuinely eager to leave, and just after nightfall on the second day, he hurried over from the direction of Redwood Ridge, accompanied by Lucas, Jade and Celeb, and others.
The Harper people, who had prepared for a night in advance, were more than ready.
In fact, apart from people, there was not much to carry at all.
Clothing, for instance; of more than three hundred people in Harper, fewer than a hundred had a beast skin skirt to wear, with more than half coming from those who merged into the camp from Taylor.
The remaining two hundred plus wore dry leaf clothes, and typically they just slept on a layer of dry grass.
These materials could be gathered locally at any time and so did not need to be carried.
As for food, there were only the crystal fruits currently in storage, totaling over twenty-four thousand kilograms, which could be divided up among the young adults to carry.
Additionally, there was only one freshly hunted Snow Mane for Cold Beast meat, which simplified matters further.
Regarding the wood accumulated during this time, Bruce had converted it all into fixed resources and stored it in the system along with the Iron Refining Furnace and other buildings, eliminating the need for physical transportation and making it even more convenient.
It is worth mentioning that once physical items are converted into resources, they can only be used for system construction.
Bruce had previously left out some without conversion to allow people to use wood to make tools.
With so few items to pack and a day of prior preparation, Bruce quickly completed the itinerary deployment.
As always, one hundred thirty-seven young adults at the forefront, with Celeb clearing the path at the very front;
One hundred forty-nine children under the age of thirteen in the middle, led and protected by Lucas, Jaden, and seven from the Axeheart Realm;
Forty-four older individuals in the third echelon;
Bruce and George, along with Charlie and ten from the Axeheart Realm, were responsible for the rear.
"Move out!"
After Bruce finished the deployment, he gave the command.
The entire Harper team began their grand northern migration.
This was different from last time when they moved from No.1 Cave to No.4 Cave; back then, the faces of the ordinary camp people were filled with confusion and uncertainty.
This time, everyone in the camp appeared excited and thrilled once they stepped out of the cave and onto the road.
Even the children, grimacing from the cold, had their eyes shining with spirit and longing.
It actually seemed normal.
For everyone around Redwood Ridge, the strength of Rogel Camp was ingrained in their minds; even the children knew that life in Rogel Camp was much better than their own.
The thoughts of ordinary people are naturally naive.
They didn't understand the difficulties of merging camps, nor did they know how the camp would struggle after George left with three from the Earthripper Realm.
They simply naively believed they were going to Rogel Camp and would obtain everything Rogel Camp had, which naturally made them excited beyond measure.
Bruce certainly wouldn't quash their aspirations; having a goal was better than having none.
Moreover, he was confident that once they reached the other side of the valley, Harper's development and expansion would undoubtedly accelerate, achieving even better living conditions than those previously enjoyed by Rogel Camp was entirely possible.
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With over three hundred people, it was naturally impossible to go through Redwood Ridge and then head north as before.
So this time, the chosen migration route was to head north directly from the cave's earthen slope, passing by Tower Mountain and the camps of Samsung and Ben, finally reaching the valley.
For safety, Bruce shortened the length of the team as much as possible, but due to the large number of people, the line extended a full fifty or sixty meters.
With already poor visibility in the snowy night, Bruce, lagging at the end of the long line, soon lost sight of what was happening at the front.
He then moved to the side of the line with George to a position that allowed better observation before rejoining the procession.
"Brother Bruce, there's no need to be too tense. Cold Beasts rarely move at night, nor are we in Redwood Ridge. We just passed Tower Mountain; another two kilometers, and we'll almost be there."
Recalling that all the Cold Beasts he'd seen at night in Redwood Ridge were indeed asleep, Bruce nodded, relaxing a bit.
However, as if the heavens weren't pleased with George's remarks and deliberately wanted to refute him, just as Bruce started to relax, a long wolf howl echoed from the western Redwood Ridge.
"Awooooooo..."
The sound of Frost Wolves.
Bruce was slightly alarmed, but recognizing it was just a single Bone Spur Frost Wolf, he quickly felt it was not a significant issue and relaxed again.
But then,
Awooo… Awooo… Awooo…
A series of a dozen or so haunting Frost Wolf howls caused Bruce's expression to change dramatically.
His hairs stood on end as he suddenly looked up and shouted to the front:
"Everyone speed up, move, move, move!"
George, not wasting time questioning if his words had jinxed them, reacted similarly to Bruce and shouted to the front, "Lucas, pick up the pace, Celeb, Jaden, bring more help over here."
The wolf howls caused a stir among the crowd, but Bruce and George's loud reminders calmed them significantly.
Lucas at the front increased the path-clearing speed, and those at the rear endeavored to suppress their panic, continuing onward with the team.
Instead of causing chaos, their movements quickened by several notches.
Meanwhile, Celeb and Jaden, along with the seven from the Axeheart Realm, broke away from the group and moved to the western side.
The ten people, including Charlie and Tony, stood up at the very rear of the team.
Everyone guarded the west side of the team, vigilantly watching Redwood Ridge, precisely where the wolf howls had originated.
But they watched for over a hundred breaths, and after the wolf howls completely subsided,
No one ever saw a shadow of a Frost Wolf.
Hiss…
Suddenly, the snow on the ground shifted incessantly.
A hundred-plus meters away, a dozen streaks of snow waves emerged out of thin air, rapidly approaching from afar toward the team.
"What are those? Weren't they Frost Wolves?"
Everyone's eyes were fixed on the snowflakes swirling high in the air, filled with confusion— the howls were undoubtedly those of Frost Wolves.
But what was happening with these snowflakes?
A sudden insight flashed through Bruce's mind, and his face changed dramatically.
As he brandished the Frostfire Saber and moved away from the snow, he shouted out to everyone in a startled voice:
"Below, below, they're all in the snow!"
Everyone immediately reacted, hurriedly drawing their weapons and swiftly retreating from the snowy area.
"Peter, Clint, you two climb the trees, the rest come block with me."
As soon as Bruce finished speaking, George also realized what was happening.
He quickly turned to the rear, "Jaden, Lucas, Celeb, the three of you climb the trees, hurry."
Everyone's reaction was already very swift.
But the Frost Wolves were faster.
Just as George spoke, three mighty Frost Wolves suddenly burst from the snow before them, targeting George, Bruce, and Jaden.
Following closely were a dozen or so smaller Frost Wolves.
Seven or eight charged at Charlie, Tony, and others from the Axeheart Realm, while another four or five bypassed the crowd, sprinting towards the ordinary camp members fleeing northward.
"This is bad!"
As Bruce raised his saber to fend off the one charging at him, he turned and saw the four or five Frost Wolves galloping towards the camp members, and his heart sank.
How did we end up encountering a pack of Bone Spur Frost Wolves?
And there are fifteen of them at once?
This isn't even the outskirts of Redwood Ridge.
Even though his mind was filled with confusion, Bruce had no time to think deeply at the moment.
Roar… Roar...….
The Frost Wolf charging at him had a body length of at least 2.5 meters, with sharp fangs just half a meter away from his forehead.
The long spikes around its neck even scratched two long wounds on his arm.
Bruce raised his saber to the Frost Wolf's jaw.
Sensing that the Frost Wolf was not as strong as he was, he leaped back, pulling the Frost Wolf with him, twisted the Frostfire Saber, and stabbed fiercely into its back.
Swish...
Although the Frost Wolf was not as strong, its speed was astonishingly fast.
It seemed to sense the cold gleam behind it and twisted in a leap to evade.
Missing his strike, Bruce felt a bit disappointed and quickly turned to observe the situation with others.
At the sight, his heart sank halfway.
Tony had already been knocked to the ground by a Frost Wolf.
Charlie and Clark rushed to save him, but before they could even act, another Frost Wolf had set its sights on them;
Jordan, Robin, Elias, and Orion were also entangled with two Frost Wolves.
All four wielded stone axes, which couldn't harm the Frost Wolves and were instead overwhelmed by their speed.
In no time, they were covered with multiple wounds;
The situation was worse for the seven Axeheart Realm members brought by George.
One of them had already been bitten to death, becoming a feast for a Frost Wolf, while the remaining six faced off against three Frost Wolves, unable to hold their ground, surviving only with the desperate support of the two with knives.
Jaden and George, like him, were entangled with the two strongest Frost Wolves among the pack, and from the looks of it, they couldn't resolve it quickly either.
Whoosh… Whoosh... Whoosh whoosh…
The only fortunate ones were the ordinary people who were running away from the camp.
From the five trees behind them, sharp arrows were continuously being shot towards that side.
The four Frost Wolves targeting the ordinary people were not only stopped but two of them even got hit by four or five arrows each.
However, the hit areas were all on their backs, clearly not fatal injuries.
Whoosh...
A gust of fierce wind blew in his face.
Bruce quickly turned around, slashing sideways with his saber, hitting the spikes on the Frost Wolf's neck.
However, the spikes were not cut off, only getting deflected to the side from the impact.
Sweeping his gaze across the physique of the wolf pack, Bruce noticed the arrows from the trees were becoming less frequent and realized that Celeb and the others were running out of arrows and grew increasingly anxious.
The three strongest ones were holding up himself, George, and Jaden; eight slightly smaller ones were dealing with the Axeheart Realm members; while the other four pursued the larger group.
This pack of Frost Wolves was clearly organized.
The howling before they charged was presumably to arrange their formation.
They came with the intention to annihilate us!
Recalling information about wolf packs from his past life, Bruce's heart sank.
He glanced towards the direction of Redwood Ridge.
Could it be that there's a lead wolf in this pack?
It doesn't matter, whether there is or not, we can't drag this out any longer.
Bruce glanced over at the ordinary people, gritted his teeth, and shouted to those on the trees, "Don't worry about them, take down the three big ones first, or everyone will die!"
The arrows, already sparse, instantly stopped after Bruce's shout.