Edward hadn't finished his sentence before Charlie and Aaron interrupted.
Upon hearing their words, Edward thought for a moment and nodded in agreement:
"Indeed, and because the key connecting parts of the main structure are reinforced with iron, there's virtually no chance of destruction. Even if other parts get damaged, we can always fix them with wood."
As Edward finished speaking, everyone below showed smiles of joy and excitement, with many even standing up in excitement.
"What are we waiting for, leader, let's start building!"
"That's right, not to mention this wooden house now, this new residence is even better than the five large wooden houses of the previous Rogel Camp, let's begin construction!"
"Leader, start the construction."
"Yes, let's begin immediately, I can't wait any longer."
Faced with the current scene of excitement, Bruce wasn't surprised at all.
Comfort is certainly a common pursuit for humanity, but compared to safety, it's not important at all.
The new wooden house had been in preparation for half a year primarily because of safety considerations.
If it were only about building the kind of large wooden houses previously at Rogel Camp, it wouldn't have taken half a year; perhaps it could have been done in half a month with the camp's current capabilities.
The reason for using so much iron was because Bruce wanted to build a solid residence capable of withstanding low-level Cold Beast attacks.
The greatest threat around Redwood Ridge is actually the Cold Beasts.
More precisely, it's the low-level Cold Beasts continually expanding outward from within Redwood Ridge.
As for the Mimicking Monsters, since the death of the Wood Puppet Monster, there hasn't been any sight of them for a long time in the surrounding areas; the climate remains as harsh as ever, but with the Iron Refining Furnace, it's not an issue; Bruce can control the camp's activity range based on the terrain, and as long as it's within this familiar small circle, there's no problem for now.
Currently known human threats are limited to the camps of Matthew and Lex, which don't pose any danger.
Except for these few kinds, only the Cold Beasts are currently the only and greatest threat.
Especially in the past six months, as the hunting abilities of Harper have been continuously improving, under such frequent hunting, Bruce found that the Cold Beasts on the periphery showed no signs of significantly decreasing, making him even more aware of this point.
The current hunting range of Harper, though controlled by him, is only within five hundred meters of the periphery, but the north-south span has expanded to five or six kilometers.
In the past six months, although he hasn't calculated precisely, at least nearly three hundred low-level Cold Beasts have been hunted and killed.
Based on the size and density of the Cold Beasts, it is impossible for so many Cold Beasts to be entrenched in such a tiny area within five hundred meters of the periphery and five or six kilometers north and south.
There is only one explanation for this situation: the Cold Beasts from the inner area are continuously expanding outwards, and their expansion speed is faster than that of Harper's hunting speed.
This terrifying expansion speed of the Cold Beasts makes Bruce feel anxious.
Especially the experience of being attacked by the Frost Wolves in groups on the night they migrated from the dirt slope to the valley often keeps him from sleeping day or night.
The Cold Beasts are powerful and cunning creatures.
Once they group together, their danger level becomes extremely terrifying.
Although Harper's strength is now incomparable to before, if they were to encounter the Frost Wolf pack from that night again, the outcome would definitely not be so disastrous.
But what if the Frost Wolf pack they encounter next time is even larger?
Or what if it's not a Frost Wolf pack but a Snow Mane group or an even stronger Cold Beast group?
The Deceitful Monsters are also terrifying, but more out of the unknown.
Fortunately, with the Iron Refining Furnace, torches, and Solidified Fire Oil, Bruce has some reliance on them; Cold Beasts are different, as they are not only unafraid of these items but even quite fond of them.
Judging by the Cold Beasts' eagerness for the torches, once they discover the Iron Refining Furnace, their frenzy would certainly be unimaginable.
The most critical issue is that Cold Beast activity usually occurs during the day, so if the Iron Refining Furnace is discovered by Cold Beasts, it's most likely to happen during the day, when the Cold Beasts are stronger and, due to the extremely low temperatures, the camp cannot keep the fire out for long periods.
So, if one day the expanding Cold Beast population within Redwood Ridge finds the Iron Refining Furnace in the valley…
…for the Harper Camp, which hasn't constructed solid defensive works, it would definitely be a huge disaster, and the outcome would be even worse than when Rogel Camp encountered the Wood Puppet Monster.
In the past six months, Bruce has refrained from increasing any weapons for the camp, instead using nearly all the iron ore, coal stone, and a large quantity of timber to prepare for building new residences, for this very reason.
The instinct of staying alert in peace is inherent in humans.
The pursuit of a safe and stable environment is not unique to Bruce; other people in the camp may not see as far as Bruce, but they share the same fears and worries about Cold Beasts and Deceitful Monsters.
So, upon hearing that the upcoming new residence construction can withstand the impact of low-level Cold Beasts, even large numbers of them, they became so excited and even eager to commence construction immediately.
"Alright, starting tonight, break ground and start construction. Apart from hunting, all other camp activities are suspended, and everyone is to participate in getting the new residence built as quickly as possible!"
With Bruce's order amid the enthusiastic camp atmosphere filled with excitement, everyone in the Harper Camp, except for Bruce and the fifteen people in the Hunting Team, all more than eight hundred other people, have been fully engaged in the grand project of building new residences.
The construction project of the new wooden houses is heavy and vast, added to the fact that the wood and iron materials from the Ice Abyss World are far heavier than usual.
Normally, without mechanical aid, it would be impossible to complete such work with just manpower like in the past.
But not here.
Led by Edward, with the collaborative efforts of one hundred thirty Axeheart Realm helpers, massive Golden Frost Woods cut earlier are being erected and neatly embedded into previously set ground stakes.
Those in the reserve forces who are not far from the Axeheart Realm, although not strong enough themselves, display remarkable strength when cooperating, working together to install and fix some small wooden or iron parts designed by Edward into the main body of the wooden house.
Among the remaining five hundred people, more than one hundred are robust men over thirty years old.
Though not receiving much Cold Beast meat due to age limitations, they still have foundational strength of at least one or two thousand pounds, making them unable to bear the brunt of construction but sufficiently capable to assist as needed.
Even more than three hundred children under the age of thirteen are helping to hand over tools, deliver water and food, and some of the older ones, whose strength has started to grow, are also aiding those robust men with their tasks.
With such a high drive for construction, no one in the entire camp, except those without the ability to work, slacks off.
Even members of the Hunting Team, when not out in the field, are drawn in by this enthusiasm and uncontrollably help out.
In this atmosphere, the progress of building the new residences quickly advanced.
On the very night Bruce announced the beginning, the west wooden wall was already erected, on the second night the south wooden wall stood up, on the third night the north side, the fourth night…
The valley seemed to transform significantly each night.
Since Edward was overseeing such a large project for the first time, worrying about the lack of experience might lead to safety issues, Bruce personally supervised the first three nights.
Upon discovering that the current physical conditions of the camp people made safety issues unlikely, he no longer monitored it, instead devoting his energy to hunting and mining.
---
The outskirts of Redwood Ridge, at a boundary of five hundred meters.
Bruce, with a few people, hid in a tree, all staring below.
Under the tree were five people, four of whom held large knives, while one held a black dagger, all carrying longbows, surrounding a Snow Mane over four meters long.
The Snow Mane had a ferocious face, red pupils, and was panting heavily.
Its right leg was clamped by a half-meter diameter animal trap, dark green blood had flowed down from the trap onto the ground, clearly indicating a severe injury.
Roar…
With an angry roar, the Snow Mane violently charged at the nearest person.
That person was the only one among the five who did not carry a large knife, only a black small dagger. Apparently the Snow Mane judged him to be the weakest, hence it chose him.
However, the Snow Mane obviously chose the wrong person.
Seeing the Snow Mane charging at him, the person remained unfazed, not even choosing to dodge sideways, just stood still, raised the dagger and positioned it to block the charge.
A dagger, to block the charge of a Snow Mane?
If outsiders saw this, they would probably think this person insane.
But Aaron and the other four present, as well as Bruce and the others on the tree, all remained unfazed, watching, waiting for Charlie's next move.
Bang…
As the Snow Mane charged to within over a meter from Charlie, a bang sound suddenly erupted from his head, and it could advance no further.
At this critical moment, Charlie's pupils contracted sharply, and he instantly reversed his grip on the knife, thrusting at Snow Mane's pupils.
Squelch…
Though the dagger was only three inches long, it hit the eyeball, the weakest spot, causing intense pain that did not make the Snow Mane scream or roar.
Its remaining pupil gleamed with fierceness; it turned its head rapidly, and two sharp fangs thrust toward Charlie's head while its tongue swiftly flew out, wrapping around Charlie's neck and limbs in a flash.
"Watch out!"
"Oh no, be careful."
"Charlie, dodge quickly!"
"Don't let it wrap around you!"
---
That Snow Mane, unbelievably, could endure the pain of a pierced eyeball to launch such a frenzied and desperate counterattack.
In an instant, everybody present, including Aaron and the others, as well as those waiting in the tree, all exclaimed in surprise, loudly warning Charlie.
Only Bruce remained silent, just watching with furrowed brows.
The nearest ones, Aaron and others, reacted by promptly pulling on the rope tied to the animal trap on Snow Mane's right leg while shouting warnings.
The four of them pulled the rope fiercely together, pulling the Snow Mane backward in an instant, rendering its fang attack on Charlie ineffective.
However, its long tongue was overly close to Charlie; even though its body was pulled back, the tongue still quickly wrapped around him.
At the moment of Snow Mane's counterattack, Charlie's eyes showed a hint of panic, clearly unexpected, but thanks to Aaron and others pulling the rope, he quickly responded by drawing his knife back to avoid the long tongue.
Unfortunately, though he retreated quickly, he only avoided the neck, one right leg was already wrapped by the long tongue.
Seeing this, Snow Mane's red pupils flashed with malice, clearly intending to harden the tongue to sever Charlie's legs.
Charlie flicked his left hand lightly, sending several strands of the White Thread frantically towards Snow Mane's long tongue, but the tongue had already adhered tightly to the right leg, unable to be blocked.
At this very moment, a hint of tension finally showed in Charlie's eyes.