Luo Ming's sharp spear was the longest, so he was the first to pierce the Wood Puppet Grotesque.
Yet that incomparably sharp spearhead, upon striking the chest of the Wood Puppet Grotesque, stopped dead in its tracks, unable to advance a single inch further.
Yet Luo Ming's face did not show a single trace of surprise.
Clearly, he knew he could not break through the other's physical body.
At the same time, Li Hu's goose-feather saber also slashed at the legs of the Wood Puppet Grotesque.
Clang...
What a pity, after striking, it only produced a single sound.
Until the final long sword was about to sweep across its body, the Wood Puppet Grotesque's face truly revealed a trace of apprehension; first turning its head to dodge, then twitching the fingers of its right hand slightly.
Boom... crack...
Abruptly, a sound of earth-shaking commotion rang out.
The tree closest to the four men began to vibrate violently.
Then that tree suddenly uprooted itself, as if it had gained a life of its own, and its branches began to sway like human arms.
Following closely behind, the second and third trees nearby, all the way up to the eighth tree, came alive. They all uprooted themselves, then leveraged the ground with their branches, rapidly swarming inward toward the center.
The thousands upon thousands of branching boughs across the eight trees extended toward the three men like snakes or monsters, moving with incredible speed and enclosing the three in a tight circle with virtually no gaps left, denying them a shred of escape space.
Just a moment ago, the three of them were surrounding the Wood Puppet Grotesque.
Who would have thought that the offensive and defensive roles would reverse in an instant.
Luo Ming's face wore a look of panic, while Li Hu was rather calm, merely casting his gaze toward the young man holding the sword and waiting for him to call the shots.
Being entangled will be very troublesome. Break through these trees first!
Hearing the young man's words, Luo Ming and Li Hu responded immediately. One swung and dragged his long spear horizontally and vertically, while the other slashed left and right with his long saber. In an instant, countless branches and vines were snapped and severed.
The leading young man was even more extraordinary. Amidst flying sword-lights, not only did he sever vines and branches, but he even directly chopped through the main trunks of three or four of those large trees.
Yet the young man twitched his brow, sensing something, and quickly turned his head to look toward the Wood Puppet Grotesque's previous position, his expression instantly turning hideously unsightly.
There was not the slightest trace of the Wood Puppet Grotesque to be found.
"We've been played. These trees haven't even been crafted into puppets yet!"
As if to corroborate his words, those clawing, dancing giant trees lost their spiritual energy instantly. All the vines, forks, and branches fell off one after another, and then they collapsed to the ground with a deafening crash.
Seeing Luo Ming extricate himself and let out a heavy sigh of relief, the young man sneered and said, "Chief Luo, don't celebrate too early. To control eight trees of this size simultaneously, this Artisan Grotesque is probably not far from the Intermediate rank. Once it breaks through, none of you camps around Redwood Ridge will have any way to survive."
Hearing this, Luo Ming's expression instantly turned tense and bewildered.
Just as he wanted to speak up, Shi Qing rushed over there with four others.
Arriving before the three men, the five of them dropped directly to their knees and prostrated themselves on the ground:
"This humble subordinate Shi Qing of Big Stone Camp pays respects to the two lords and Chief Luo. Your grace in saving our lives is unforgettable."
Luo Ming was in no mood at the moment, but he had a favorable impression of Shi Qing, so he still stepped forward to help him up, saying softly, "Chief Shi is too polite. I am no match for that grotesque either; if you want to thank someone, thank the two lords of Beishuai Camp!"
Remembering that Shi Qing did not yet know the two of them, he proceeded to introduce them by name.
"This is Lord Yang Ning, and this is Lord Li Hu."
Beishuai Camp?
Hearing this unfamiliar camp name, Shi Qing was somewhat bewildered, yet he still quickly turned the four others around and kowtowed three times each to Yang Ning and Li Hu respectively.
Although he had already guessed just now that Luo Ming's status was beneath the two of them.
Yet hearing Luo Ming address the two as lords at this moment, Shi Qing still could not help but feel shaken in his heart.
Luo Ming was, after all, the chief of Rogue Camp—the only medium-sized camp around Redwood Ridge—and furthermore the strongest expert in the Earth Excavation Realm.
For even he to address them as lords, what rank ought the Beishuai Camp of these two men, Yang and Li, be?
A large camp? A giant camp?
After all, his knowledge was too limited, and only these two guesses could pop up in Shi Qing's mind.
In truth, neither the five of them nor Luo Ming from just now had noticed that upon the mention of the word 'camp', the brows of both Yang Ning and Li Hu had twitched slightly, with an obvious flash of disdain on their faces.
Yet, as if showing contempt, the two did not offer any explanation.
"Two lords, Luo wishes to ask why this Wood Puppet Grotesque is called an Artisan Grotesque, and what it is actually after.
Why is it that once it breaks through to the Intermediate rank, we camps around Redwood Ridge will have no way to survive? I beg the two lords to clear up my confusion."
After helping Shi Qing and the others up, Luo Ming finally could not hold back and asked the puzzle in his heart.
His question caused both Yang and Li to knit their brows slightly.
Li Hu shook his head, a look of disdain on his face as he spoke.
"I have no idea how you people managed to survive in the Ice Abyss for so long to be so utterly ignorant."
Yang Ning, on the other hand, swept his gaze in a circle over everyone including Luo Ming, looked at the animal-skin skirts worn on their bodies, and a trace of sympathy flashed through his eyes as he sighed:
"Living in an environment like this, we cannot entirely blame you. The term 'Ice Abyss' is also something you are hearing for the very first time, am I right?"
Luo Ming, Shi Qing, and the others all nodded gently.
Indeed, they had never heard of the Ice Abyss, nor did they know what the Ice Abyss was.
The Ice Abyss was indeed something they were hearing of for the very first time.
Yang Ning and Li Hu exchanged a glance, both of their eyes revealing an 'as expected' expression.
"The Ice Abyss is the name given to this world by the great lord Lord Yang Zun, meaning the icy abyss. This name has already gained the joint recognition of all humans across the Nine Towns on the southern foothills of Mount Ao, and from now on, all of you must firmly remember these two words."
At the mention of the name Lord Yang Zun, both Yang Ning and Li Hu wore expressions of supreme reverence and even piety on their faces.
To be able to make two people of such formidable strength display this kind of demeanor, aside from shock, Shi Qing and Luo Ming felt an even greater surge of curiosity in their hearts.
"Might I ask what the two lords mean by Yang... no, Mount Ao and the Nine Towns?"
Luo Ming had originally wanted to ask about Lord Yang Zun, but the moment he uttered a single 'Yang', he was so frightened by the suddenly glaring gazes of Yang Ning and Li Hu that he abruptly reined it back in, turning instead to ask about Mount Ao and the Nine Towns.
"To address someone by their given name without the prefix of the great lord is a capital crime in the Ice Abyss. Considering your base ignorance, I will spare you this once; but if you dare to offend again in the future, don't blame me for showing no mercy!"
To omit the prefix of the great lord and address him by his given name was a capital crime.
Luo Ming trembled slightly. He could hear the murderous intent in Yang Ning's tone, and he hurriedly bowed down and prostrated himself toward the two:
"It was Luo's presumptuous ignorance; I hope the lords will forgive this offense."
Seeing him apologize, Yang Ning pursued the matter no further and continued speaking:
"The Mo'ao Mountain Range is the largest mountain range in the southern part of the Ice Abyss. Just how long it is, no one knows. What is currently known is that all of us human camps live on its southern foothills.
As for the Nine Towns..."
Mentioning the Nine Towns, Yang Ning paused, looked down at Luo Ming, and a smile hooked the corner of his mouth:
"It refers to the collective name of the nine largest camps here on the southern foothills of Mount Ao."
The nine... largest camps?
Luo Ming, Shi Qing, and the rest all wore a trace of bewilderment on their faces.
In the end, it was Luo Ming who tentatively opened his mouth to inquire: "Could it be that those nine are all giant camps with populations exceeding five thousand?"
"Hahahahaha..."
Luo Ming's words caused Yang Ning and Li Hu to burst into loud laughter.
Their laughter was filled with disdain for Luo Ming's ignorance.
This made Luo Ming somewhat embarrassed, but he could only offer a sheepish laugh on the side.
Shi Qing, however, gave him a sympathetic look.
Although the two of them felt uncomfortable in their hearts, they were still very curious just how large the nine largest camps spoken of by Yang Ning and Li Hu actually were.
Having finished laughing, Li Hu resolved the two men's confusion.
"On the southern foothills of Mount Ao, every single one of the nine town-level camps has a population exceeding one hundred thousand."
One hu... ndred thousand?
Luo Ming, Shi Qing, and the other four men heard this number, and their expressions instantly froze completely, colossal waves churning within their hearts.
"And we come from one of the Nine Towns, Beishuai Town!"
Seeming quite satisfied with everyone's reaction, Li Hu threw his head back as he spoke those words, his face filled with arrogance and his tone brimming with pride.
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