Rapid Advancement

Ice Abyss, Ancient Abyss Era, Prehistoric Civilization, Mo'ao Mountain Range, Nine Human Towns, Five Types of Grotesques, Frost Resistance Level Experts...

Limited by their strength, Luo Ming, Shi Qing, and others had only lived in Redwood Ridge for decades, never venturing out, nor having any opportunity to communicate with the outside world.

Yang Ning's words undoubtedly opened their eyes.

But at the same time, it also stirred up greater worries.

The five types of Grotesques instinctively evolve by killing.

Intermediate Artisan Grotesques could not even be stopped by Frost Resistance Level Experts.

If that escaped Wood Puppet Grotesque were allowed to evolve to an intermediate level, there would be no human survivors around Redwood Ridge, and all of them would surely die.

Luo Ming's expression was uncertain. He stood still for a long time before gritting his teeth and kneeling directly before Yang Ning and the other person, pleading:

"Two lords, relying solely on the camps around Redwood Ridge, it's impossible to deal with that Grotesque. We implore you, as fellow humans, to show mercy and help us. As long as that Grotesque can be slain, whatever you desire, as long as we have it, we will agree!"

Seeing this, Shi Qing realized Luo Ming was seeking a way to survive for all the camps around Redwood Ridge. He immediately brought the four people behind him and knelt down as well.

Hearing everyone's plea, Yang and Li exchanged glances, both showing smiles.

But soon, they withdrew their smiles.

Then Yang Ning stepped forward and first helped Luo Ming up:

"To be honest, Leader Luo, Li Hu and I are scouts from the Imperial Army of North Shuò Town. We came out on a mission to map the area around North Shuò, and it was by chance we came to Redwood Ridge."

As fellow humans, meeting is fate. We won't stand by and do nothing.

But this Wood Puppet Grotesque, as you've seen, is not only strong but also extremely cunning. Without a foolproof plan, it's almost impossible to eliminate it. So, if you want our help, you can, but you must first agree to one condition!"

"As long as that Grotesque can be eliminated, I will agree to any condition."

"Good, straightforward, Leader Luo. Then I'll be blunt. For this period, your Rogue Camp, and all surrounding camps, must obey our commands. What do you say?"

Luo Ming's heart skipped a beat, but his expression remained unchanged as he quickly replied:

"Rogue Camp, I can guarantee. But other camps..."

He turned to look at Shi Qing.

Shi Qing, having heard Yang Ning's demand, had already weighed the pros and cons. Seeing Luo Ming look at him, he quickly nodded, "Big Stone Camp has no problem either. If that Grotesque isn't eliminated, none of us will survive."

Luo Ming gave Shi Qing a grateful look before turning back to Yang Ning and continuing, "Besides our two families, there are five other camps. I'll go to them one by one. I believe after they understand the severity, they won't refuse."

"Leader Luo, it should be four!"

Luo Ming was stunned by Shi Qing's words.

There were originally nine camps around Redwood Ridge. Recently, Iron Peak and Shen Ju's families were wiped out by that Wood Puppet Grotesque, leaving seven. Subtracting their two families should leave five.

Shi Qing extended his hand and pointed towards the corpses on the ground not far away.

Luo Ming saw the corpses on the ground and immediately understood.

"It's four. Great Xia must have also fallen victim to that Grotesque!"

All the Lumber Team members of Great Xia Camp had been turned into puppets, and even Xia Ding couldn't escape its clutches. This almost confirmed their demise.

Seeing their objective achieved, Yang and Li nodded and said, "In that case, there's no time to delay. Leader Luo, quickly notify the other four camps in the next few days and have them come to Rogue Camp to receive orders. First, organize all those in the Lumbering Realm into patrol teams. Ten days later, begin searching the forest for the Grotesque's whereabouts."

Luo Ming nodded in compliance and invited Yang and Li back to Rogue Camp to rest.

Shi Qing, however, had to return to his own camp to make arrangements. After confirming with Luo Ming that they would meet at Redwood Ridge in three days, he led his people back.

Luo Ming and Shi Qing's judgment that Great Xia Camp had been wiped out was not without basis.

Small camps lacked the ability to hunt. To survive, they needed two things: Crystal Fruit and lumber, both indispensable.

To be precise, lumber was actually more important than Crystal Fruit.

If Crystal Fruit was gone, you could endure hunger for a few days.

But if lumber was gone, let alone during the day, you couldn't even survive the night.

Therefore, the importance of the Lumber Team was self-evident. Xia Ding and all the members of his Lumber Team were dead. Even if the people of Great Xia Camp hadn't died at the hands of the Grotesque, they had likely frozen to death long ago.

Of course, the only variable they overlooked was Xia Hong.

Great Xia Camp had not only not been wiped out but was thriving.

In fact, compared to before, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to describe their progress as meteoric.

"Leader, I've broken through too!"

Returning empty-handed that night, Xia Hong was initially in a bad mood.

But as soon as he returned to the interior of the cave, he heard good news.

Xu Ning had also broken through.

Besides him, Xia Chuan, and Yuan Cheng, Xu Ning was the last of the first batch of five people who received Frost Beast Meat to break through.

Seeing Xu Ning's excited expression, Xia Hong patted his shoulder and smiled, "Finally, you don't have to wear a long face anymore. Alright, starting tomorrow, you can go out with me!"

Yue Feng, Lin Kai, and the others standing behind Xia Hong burst into laughter.

Xu Ning felt a bit embarrassed by the laughter, his face immediately flushing red.

It couldn't be helped. Among the five of them, Yue Feng was the first to break through, followed by Lin Kai, Qiu Peng, and Lu Yang.

Seeing that people from the same batch had already gone out with Xia Hong, able to chop down a tree every night and occasionally bring back prey, while he himself was unable to break through, he naturally felt anxious. Thus, for several consecutive days, he had indeed worn a distressed expression, focusing solely on cultivation.

"Leader, I'm just embarrassed. Eating the Frost Beast Meat you risked your lives to bring back every day, and not only being unable to help but also failing to break through the Lumbering Realm, am I not just a freeloader?

Fortunately, I've broken through now and can finally help."

Hearing this, Xia Hong's brows immediately furrowed slightly.

"Are you saying that everyone in the camp, apart from the eight of us in the Lumber Team, who hasn't broken through the Lumbering Realm, is a freeloader?"

Xu Ning was stunned by the question.

Xia Hong didn't wait for his answer. Instead, he turned to Xia Chuan, Yuan Cheng, Yue Feng, and the others behind him and continued, "Do you all think the same way?"

Everyone could detect the displeasure in Xia Hong's tone, so after exchanging glances, no one spoke, answering only with silence.

It wasn't just them who thought this way.

It was that everyone in the camp thought this way.

Ordinary people who couldn't break through to the Lumbering Realm couldn't go out, couldn't acquire even a single resource for the camp, and were constantly consuming the Crystal Fruit and lumber they brought back. Weren't they burdens?

Even now, a portion of the Frost Beast Meat they brought back was being shared.

Ever since Xia Hong successfully hunted with the Small Torch last time, he had repeated the feat successfully four more times, three Snow Manes and one Frost Wolf, totaling nearly five thousand catties of Frost Beast meat and blood.

Yet, Xia Hong hadn't changed the camp's meat distribution rules, still dividing it according to the previous three-five-two ratio. This had already caused some discontent among them.

The silence of the crowd was deafening.

Xia Hong understood what they were thinking.

He had already planned to resolve the issue in the next couple of days, and this was a good opportunity he wouldn't let pass.

"Chuan, you told me a few days ago that it was time to change the meat distribution rules. Tell me now, how do you want to divide it?"

Hearing this, Xia Chuan, Yuan Cheng, and the others realized that Xia Hong might be modifying the meat distribution rules, and their eyes immediately lit up.