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.
Bang! Snap…
At this critical moment, a broad figure suddenly leaped down from the tree, landing on the Snow Mane's neck, forcibly pinning its head into the snow.
Along with that figure fell a swift and violent flash of a knife.
The large knife sliced through as if nothing was there, producing only a faint snap, severing several spines on the Snow Mane's back and slicing vertically into its back.
This slash nearly split the Snow Mane's body in half.
To know, this cut was into the hardest part of the Snow Mane's back.
The Snow Mane's pupils lost their fierce gleam, and the long tongue, which it intended to harden, instantly went limp and fell to the ground, unable to retract.
Bang…
The Snow Mane collapsed with a crash, and everyone around, seeing the huge slash on its back, couldn't help but swallow before looking up at Bruce with eyes full of admiration and respect.
But Bruce simply expressionlessly withdrew the long knife from the Snow Mane and then turned to slap Charlie across the face.
Slap…
The crisp sound of the slap made Aaron and the four others tense up.
Charlie, who was slapped, immediately lowered his head, his face full of guilt.
"Do you know why I hit you?"
Charlie raised his head, showing no dissatisfaction, and answered solemnly, "I shouldn't be careless; even if the Snow Mane was mortally wounded, it wouldn't give up and would instead become more ferocious, unleashing more strength.
The battle was not over, and I got careless. The leader slapped me to remind me to be more cautious in the future."
Bruce nodded, then looked at Aaron and the four others, sternly reprimanding:
"And you four, the Snow Mane was not dead, yet you started dazing, thinking Charlie's strength could handle it, so it didn't matter. I've told you countless times, while hunting, any slightest carelessness can cost you or others' lives. Have you forgotten or do you not believe it?"
Aaron and the four others immediately lowered their heads, faces full of guilt.
Slap slap slap…
After more than ten breaths, Aaron first raised his head and slapped his own face three times heavily.
"Leader, I was wrong, I will remember this in the future!"
"Leader, we were also wrong, we will remember this in the future!"
The three Reeves brothers did the same, each with a face full of remorse.
Seeing the solemnity on the five people's faces, Bruce took a deep breath, looked towards the inner side of Redwood Ridge, and suppressed the annoyance in his heart, saying in a deep voice:
"With your five's current strength, using animal traps, hunting lower-level Cold Beasts should be more than manageable, but looking at it now, for the past half-year while hunting with me, you've learned nothing.
To kill a single adult Snow Mane, you had to pay with a leg. If I were to hand over the hunting team to you now, in a few days, the entire camp would probably have just me, as the only Earthripper Realm with all limbs intact!"
Hearing Bruce's words, Charlie, Aaron, and the others immediately turned red-faced.
This hunt today was proposed by them to Bruce, intending to show him their hunting ability, to reassure him to entrust the hunting team to them.
Now, looking like this and being ridiculed by Bruce as well.
The shame in the hearts of the five must be beyond words.
"Extend it by one more month, and if you are still like this after a month, then continue extending. I want to see how long it takes for you few big babies to hunt without me."
Even a clay figure has a temper, let alone the five most outstanding people in the Harper Camp.
Bruce's continued mockery made Charlie and Aaron breathe more rapidly.
Seeing the reactions of the five, stimulated, Bruce's face remained expressionless, but in his heart, he was rather satisfied.
The strength of the five was no longer the problem.
The only issue was their mindset.
Perhaps in the past, hunting with him did not require much thought, nor was it as tense, so they often became careless and sloppy.
Facing cunning Cold Beasts with such a mindset was the most dangerous.
Charlie, Aaron, and the others' desire to take over hunting was actually out of good intention, wanting to spare him, the leader, from hard work;
Of course, Bruce would love to hand over the hunting responsibilities to them.
Firstly, he indeed did not want to work so hard;
Secondly, he needed more time to study his cultivation.
His basic strength had already increased to twenty thousand kilo.
Not knowing if it was an illusion, Bruce felt that recently consuming Cold Beast Meat did not increase his strength as before.
"Let's go back and try first, is it possible that I've hit a bottleneck?"
After instructing everyone to collect the prey, a trace of contemplation flashed in Bruce's eyes.
The limit of the Earthripper Realm is clearly thirty thousand kilos.
This bottleneck at twenty thousand kilos, what is it all about?
Could it be that Cold Beast Meat is no longer effective?
In the valley, the construction of the new residence is in full swing.
The fifteen-meter-high wooden walls on all sides have been erected, and the internal load-bearing columns are being constructed in conjunction with the roof;
One after another, the already cut giant pieces of Golden Frost Wood are being continuously transported to various parts of the wooden house for installation;
Countless iron materials are also being collectively transported to various locations to assist with the construction…
Clink… thunk…
"Pass me a piece of wood over here!"
"Tony, we need a hammer here, bring it over quickly."
"Coming, coming, they still need four planks over there, each seven meters long, to get some people to move them quickly."
---
In the valley, the bustling crowd is everywhere, full of busy figures hurrying around, and the clanking and banging sounds from the iron and wooden materials and tools are constant.
Nowadays in Harper, unlike half a year ago, Bruce and others returning with prey is no longer something novel.
People merely greet them, but the majority remain fully engrossed in their construction work.
After instructing someone to process the Cold Beast, Bruce walked into the wooden house alone, found the Force Measuring Stake, and after fiddling with it for a while, his already furrowed brows grew even more serious.
"Just over twenty thousand kilograms, it seems I wasn't mistaken. The Cold Beast Meat I'm eating currently has a negligible effect on my enhancement. What could be the reason…"
In the first month after moving into the valley, Bruce's Basic Strength increased from thirteen thousand to fifteen thousand;
In the subsequent five months, by the day the new house broke ground, he had measured just over twenty thousand;
By today, the eleventh day since the new house started construction, his Basic Strength has only increased by at most one or two hundred.
As Basic Strength increases, the rate of improvement slows down.
An initial jump of two thousand in the first month, followed by a gradual decrease each month is understandable.
But to drop to only a hundred or so kilograms in ten days is clearly not normal.
Looking at the string of Cold Beast Meat hanging by the stove, Bruce seemed lost in thought.
"The more I eat Cold Beast Meat, the less heat my body generates, and the increase in Basic Strength diminishes. Logically, this means that lower-level Cold Beast Meat no longer works on me, so must I eat Intermediate Cold Beasts' meat to continue improving?"
This thought popped into Bruce's mind, and he shook his head vigorously.
Not to mention the lower-level Cold Beasts, the ones he's encountered so far are only three kinds.
There are still three more he hasn't seen in the Cold Beast Scroll left by George.
He knows nothing about what Intermediate Cold Beasts are like or how strong they are.
In this situation, let alone hunting them, he might not even be able to save his own life if he accidentally bumps into one.
"It doesn't necessarily have to be Intermediate Cold Beasts. The Cold Beast Meat I've eaten so far comprises only Snow Mane, Frost Wolf, and Demon Sheep. Maybe my body has developed immunity to these three types of Cold Beast Meat, and trying others might still be effective."
Bruce considered a second possibility.
After eating Cold Beast Meat, the body heats up.
This symptom is very much like signs of poisoning.
Moreover, the Cold Beast Meat is azure, and the blood is dark green.
Considering these two features, it's not hard to deduce that Cold Beast Meat should have some degree of toxicity, and humans increase their Basic Strength by absorbing its essence, which certainly has a limit.
At least for lower-level, or the three types of Cold Beast Meat Bruce has encountered, it's like this.
"Wild guesses are useless. To be safe, I'll continue slowly increasing with these three kinds of Cold Beast Meat.
As long as it still works, I'll eventually hit the thirty thousand kilograms limit, though it might take a bit longer; being bolder, I'll expand the hunting range and test other three kinds to see if my guess is correct!"
Bruce took out the Cold Beast Atlas left by George.
After contemplating the last three types of Cold Beasts, he made a decision.
"According to this, the other three kinds of Cold Beasts, despite having different abilities, still fall under the lower-level Cold Beasts category. As long as I'm careful, there shouldn't be any issues, plus the spinal cord of the Cloud Mist Teng Jiao is a necessary material for making bows, originally an essential item. If George could successfully hunt them with a team, so can I!"
The importance of bows and arrows isn't fully evident in the hands of people in the Axeheart Realm.
After all, with the strength of those in the Axeheart Realm, even if they hit a Cold Beast, at most, they'd injure it; killing it is completely impossible.
But in the hands of people in the Earthripper Realm, it's different.
An arrow shot with ten thousand kilograms of force inflicts greater damage on Cold Beasts, and coupled with the Earthripper Realm's inherent ability to confront lower-level Cold Beasts head-on, their hunting success rate should certainly be higher with bows and arrows.
Especially considering that the bows and arrows currently used by the camp are only ordinary iron and not Ten-forged Level iron.
When Bruce noticed this earlier, he began to plan.
With a plentiful supply of iron ore, in the future, each member of the Harper Hunting Team will definitely be equipped with a broadsword and a set of bows and arrows.
Although the timber in this world is strong, it can't compare to the even stronger Basic Strength of humans.
To make bows and arrows usable by both Axeheart Realm and Earthripper Realm individuals, the bow body and arrowheads must be made of pure iron, and since the bowstring needs to withstand tension, the material requirements are the most stringent.
It must be made from the spinal cord of a Cloud Mist Teng Jiao.
The Cold Beast Atlas left by George states clearly that the spinal cord of a single Cloud Mist Teng Jiao can be drawn out to a length of thirty meters, enough to make at least ten longbows.
"Expand the hunting range, prioritize finding Cloud Mist Teng Jiao, and the other two Cold Beasts can wait. Given my current strength, taking five Earthripper Realm individuals with me shouldn't lead to any unforeseen events."