Jason has stepped down from his position as the leader of the Logging Team and is now the leader of the Collection Team.
The Logging Team leader now is Daniel.
These two were both originally from the Logging Team at Rogel Camp, and their wilderness experience might be greater than Bruce's.
By following these two out, as long as you obey, and are a bit more cautious, it is impossible to get lost or go missing, let alone fall into a snow pit.
Bruce has concluded that these casualties, ultimately, are because part of the new breakthrough members of the Axeheart Realm had internal issues.
They lack wilderness experience and are not cautious enough;
They become overconfident with their newfound strength and rush in recklessly;
They think that gathering wood is different from hunting and is not dangerous;
And among them, there should have been instances of disobeying the leader's orders.
Five days ago, Bruce was furious about this matter, not only punishing several typical cases from the Logging Team and the Collection Team but also reprimanding leaders Daniel and Jason severely, thoroughly reorganizing the camp's growing arrogance.
The Hunting Team is personally managed by him, so there are no signs yet.
After he got mad at the Collection Team and Logging Team, Charlie immediately took the lead, with Jason and Daniel, to establish several rules, including gatekeeping, which was also worked out at that time.
In this purgatory-like Ice Abyss, if you want to survive, you must be cautious, especially when you are still very weak.
Bruce's authority and position are enough for the more than 800 people in the camp to unconditionally obey his orders, but making everyone immediately develop a cautious and careful character is certainly not feasible.
They can only rely on established doctrines and rules, and Bruce's strict requirements as a leader, to subtly influence and even change everyone.
The construction of new homes in the valley is now at the final stages.
Thick walls stand tall on all sides; the top is completely sealed off; at the pointed tops of the four corners, someone is even laying down canopies made of beast skin.
The main gate has not yet been sealed, and people constantly come and go.
The three-tiered structure is already in place, and through the gate, one can see people going up and down, transporting pre-cut wooden boards and iron materials in trips.
Seeing everyone busy and enthusiastic, Bruce did not step forward to disturb but headed towards the temporary wooden house ahead.
"Greetings, Leader!"
"Greetings, Leader!"
---
There weren't many people inside the temporary wooden house.
A few young children were playing and frolicking.
Seeing Bruce come in, they imitated the adults and greeted respectfully.
Bruce smiled and rubbed their little heads, letting them play by themselves.
Seeing Charlie, Aaron, and Michael, the three brothers sitting cross-legged with serious expressions by the Iron Refining Furnace, Bruce immediately realized something had happened.
These five, after returning from a hunt, should have joined others from the Hunting Team to help by the new wooden house.
"Leader!"
Seeing the five about to rise, Bruce quickly gestured with his hand for them to remain seated, then walked to a chair, sat down, and asked:
"What happened? Was there a problem with the recent hunt?"
Bruce thought there was an issue with the hunt, but Aaron shook his head immediately, his face serious, recounting what he had already said earlier.
"I went over to the Brocolli Camp again tonight. The previous three times, I didn't meet John and the Logging Team. This time, I went directly to their station by the cliff, and at the North Slope by the cliff, I saw…"
As Aaron narrated, Bruce's expression gradually turned grave, and by the end, he couldn't help but stand up from his chair.
Strange Cold Beasts, hundreds of them, are on the North Slope of the cliff…
At this moment, the Brocolli Camp located at the North Slope of the cliff is entirely out of Bruce's consideration.
Only one thought remained in his mind.
Hundreds of unknown Cold Beasts are entrenched in the north side of the cliff, less than two kilometers from the Harper Camp.
If the group of Cold Beasts follows the hill south for one or two kilometers, they could invade the Harper Camp.
Looking at Aaron again, Bruce asked with extreme seriousness:
"How many, are you sure you didn't see it wrong?"
Closing his eyes in recollection for a while, Aaron nodded heavily, responding: "I don't know if there are more elsewhere, but just on that stretch of the North Slope, there are at least over three hundred, I'm sure I didn't see wrong."
One meter long, with a two to three-meter spiky tail, sharp and strong build, silver fur, two sharp incisors, short sturdy limbs, small red eyes…
Apart from the size, the silver fur, and spiked tail, the word "mouse" instantly popped into Bruce's mind.
Enlarging based on the size made his hair stand on end, and the seriousness on his face intensified several degrees.
Considering the Cold Beasts like Snow Mane, Frost Wolf, and Demon Sheep, the Cold Beasts of the Ice Abyss World are unique, but they clearly connect with similar creatures from his past life, and some habits seem quite similar.
By that reasoning, these mouse-like Cold Beasts, currently living in groups, fit; what about the others?
The digging ability of mice, their gnawing capability, disease-spreading ability.
Even…
their reproduction rates?
Bruce shivered vigorously, stepping out of the wooden house directly.
The five people saw this and quickly followed him out.
Stepping out of the wooden house, Bruce gazed towards the northern mountains of the valley, considering that the group of Cold Beasts was less than two kilometers away, the seriousness on his face reached its peak.
"How long until dawn?"
The five followed Bruce out of the wooden house.
Hearing his question, Charlie answered immediately.
"There should be a little over an hour left."
"Good, there's still time. Aaron, you take me to see Charlie, come with me too, bring weapons and torches, let's go quickly and come back quickly!"
"Yes, Leader!"
The three of them, with sabers already on their persons, returned to the wooden house to each take a bow and arrows, and strapped several torches to their backs, they left the camp at once.
Under Aaron's lead, they swiftly headed towards the mountain wall location of the Brocolli Camp.
In just over ten minutes, Aaron led them below the cliff.
The three quietly climbed up the cliff, making no sound.
Reaching the top of the slope, Bruce and Charlie slowly extended their heads to look towards the North Slope.
The reaction from the two was identical to Aaron's just moments before.
"This, how can there be this many…"
"Shh, be careful, don't make a sound!"
After indicating for Charlie to keep quiet, Bruce retracted his head, his face turning exceedingly grim.
They've been in this valley for only half a year, haven't had much peaceful time, the new homes are about to be completed, yet such a large group of Cold Beasts appeared nearby…
What kind of world is this, not giving people any way to live!
The power of the swarming Cold Beasts was already something Bruce had experienced when Harper relocated to the valley before.
At that time, there were only fifteen Frost Wolves.
On his side, there were five in the Earthripper Realm and about twenty in the Axeheart Realm.
Even with such forces, four or fifty people were killed during the migration, and two from the Axeheart Realm died.
In the end, if it weren't for Bruce's bluffing strategy against the wolf pack, the results could have been more tragic, with more deaths.
That was just a pack of fifteen Frost Wolves, and now, there are hundreds of unfamiliar Cold Beasts on the northern slope of the mountain wall.
If they move just two kilometers south and find the valley, it would be catastrophic for the Harper.
"Stay calm, these Long-tailed Rodents aren't very large, and by the looks and aura, they're not as threatening as Snow Mane and Frost Wolves. Their individual strength might not be very strong, but their sheer number is overwhelming.
We don't know if they have a leader, and if they do, how strong would that leader be? We can't provoke them easily. We have to think of a plan…"
From the Frost Wolf pack they encountered during the previous migration, it was evident that they had a clear division of labor, coordinated seamlessly, and advanced and retreated with order.
This shows that there is likely a hierarchy among these Cold Beasts, suggesting the presence of a leader.
Though the leader of the Frost Wolf pack wasn't seen at that time, Bruce remained confident in his assumption, considering this Long-tailed Rodent group amounts to nearly four hundred, there must be a lead rodent.
What is the strength of that lead rodent?
Could it be an Intermediate Cold Beast, and if so, what should be done?
Bruce's expression grew increasingly serious, his mind racing to figure out a strategy.
Beside him, Charlie and Aaron knew he was deep in thought and dared not disturb him.
They were equally aware of the significant threat this group of Cold Beasts posed to the camp and were pondering solutions just as seriously.
"Is it possible, to attempt to lure them away somewhere else?"
Upon hearing Charlie's suggestion, Aaron didn't show any surprise.
He had just returned to the camp with the news, and before Bruce came back, Charlie had already proposed this idea.
Yet, beside him, Bruce, after hearing the suggestion, wasn't surprised but instinctively shook his head.
But after a brief moment of thought, he showed a helpless expression.
"This is the only option, but in actual execution, the difficulty is too high!"
The idea of luring away this group of Cold Beasts had already occurred to Bruce on his way over, but the feasibility posed significant challenges.