Third Time's the Charm

Luo Ming, who had been a leader for fifteen years, had managed to keep the Rogue Camp unique in the Redwood Ridge area, proving himself to be quite shrewd.

Half a month ago, when Yang and Li proposed that he and everyone from five other camps cooperate and follow their orders, Luo Ming had some suspicions.

Yang and Li described the grotesque with such terror that Luo Ming mostly believed them. After all, he had seen firsthand that the grotesque truly enjoyed killing, and the more people it killed, the stronger it became.

However, to believe that the two men stayed to help them out of kindness, or because they were fellow humans, was something Luo Ming would never do.

He wasn't that naive.

From their multiple confrontations, it was clear that Yang and Li also faced risks when fighting the wood puppet grotesque. Something must have motivated them to take such risks to kill it.

After much thought, Luo Ming concluded it all came down to profit.

He guessed that hunting the wood puppet grotesque must offer some immense benefit, otherwise, they wouldn't be working so hard.

Half a month ago, Luo Ming sought out the leaders of four other camps. After explaining the situation and the potential consequences, all four leaders agreed to cooperate with him.

Their willingness to cooperate wasn't just because of Luo Ming's reputation.

Three of the nine camps around Redwood Ridge, including the Shen Ju and Iron Peak camps, as well as the Great Xia Camp Luo Ming had mentioned, had already been ravaged by the grotesque.

Although the camps didn't interact much normally, they all understood the principle of "when the lips are gone, the teeth are cold." With Yang and Li present now, it was the perfect opportunity to eliminate the grotesque, as they couldn't deal with it on their own.

Luo Ming had also fought the grotesque himself. He believed his own strength wouldn't be of much help. Yet, Yang and Li had asked him to gather people from other camps. He had a good idea of what kind of help they actually needed.

The wood puppet grotesque enjoyed killing and grew stronger through it. Since they themselves lacked strength, Yang and Li likely needed them to act as bait to lure the grotesque out.

And indeed, things turned out exactly as he had imagined.

After gathering all the Lumbering Realm powerhouses from the other five camps at the Rogue Camp, Yang and Li didn't hold back and stated their plan directly.

Luo Ming was initially hesitant, but considering the grotesque's strength, he was the first to agree. Perhaps because he had encountered the grotesque before, Shi Qing was the second to agree.

The other four camps were hesitant, but after persuasion from Yang and Li, they also agreed.

The six camps agreed that each would send three Lumbering Realm fighters to Redwood Ridge that night to act as bait and draw out the grotesque.

Luo Ming had no doubts about Yang and Li's strength; otherwise, he wouldn't have worked so hard to persuade the other five camps to cooperate.

However, the grotesque's strength far exceeded Luo Ming's imagination.

In the past ten-plus days, they had successfully lured the wood puppet grotesque out three times.

But each time, it managed to escape.

If that were the only problem, it would be manageable. The issue was that people acting as bait were killed every single time.

The wood puppet grotesque was elusive, sometimes killing people inexplicably. What was most terrifying was that after a short while, it could control the corpses of those it killed, impersonate them as living people, approach you, and launch a surprise attack. It was impossible to guard against.

Many of the deceased had expressions of disbelief on their faces.

Seven people died the first time, nine the second, and seven the third.

This was the fourth time, with six deaths, making it the least costly so far.

Twenty-nine Lumbering Realm powerhouses represented the entire strength of nearly two small camps.

The Rogue Camp itself only had forty-seven Lumbering Realm powerhouses in total.

Luo Ming had calculated the casualties among the twenty-nine Lumbering Realm fighters.

His own camp had the most casualties, with seven. Huang Zhao's camp lost four, Chen Ye's lost five, Lu Shang's lost four, and Da Chuan's lost six.

The Big Stone Camp suffered the most.

On the day they were on Great Xia's territory, the Big Stone Camp had already been reduced to only five survivors.

During these past few days, acting as bait, they lost another three.

Now, only the Shi Qing and Shi Dong brothers remained in the Big Stone Camp.

It could be said that even if they killed this wood puppet grotesque, the Big Stone Camp would certainly not recover. With just the Shi Qing brothers, survival itself would be a problem for the entire camp.

Most importantly, despite so many deaths, they still hadn't managed to kill the wood puppet grotesque.

Let alone the five leaders, even Luo Ming himself began to doubt Yang and Li's strength and their method of luring the grotesque.

"I know everyone has grievances. My Rogue Camp has also suffered many losses, but please bear with us a little longer. You've all seen the grotesque's strength. If these two adults leave, none of our camps will survive!"

Luo Ming was desperate and finally resorted to comforting everyone.

Shi Qing was about to speak when Hong Gang, the leader of the Da Chuan camp, spoke first.

"Leader Luo, let's be straightforward. I respect the strength of those two adults, but you've seen the reality. The grotesque is even stronger, and we couldn't kill it in three attempts. I think this time will be the same. Instead of sending our brothers to their deaths like this, it's better to live peacefully for a few more days. If this continues, we'll all die before we kill the grotesque!"

Hong Gang's voice was as rough as his name suggested. Currently, with six of his men dead, he spoke frankly, expressing his thoughts with a hint of anger.

"Leader Luo, we're not blaming you, nor those two adults. We wouldn't dare. But the facts are clear. If this doesn't work this time, we must leave. We've been out here for half a month, and the food supplies at our camps are running low. If we don't return soon, I fear people in the camps will starve."

Huang Yong, the leader of the Huang Zhao camp, also spoke. Although the other two camps remained silent, their expressions clearly indicated they felt the same as the first two.

Shi Qing then stepped forward, taking a deep breath. "Leader Luo, I won't say much more. No matter what you say, you still have your resources. My Big Stone Camp truly cannot hold on any longer. If another one of my brothers falls, all three hundred people in the entire camp might not survive. Regardless of whether this succeeds or not, I must leave."

Luo Ming was anxious and wanted to continue persuading them.

But just then, Yang Ning and Li Hu arrived.

"That scoundrel got away again, but this time we cut off one of its hands. Next time, we'll definitely be able to kill it."

"Don't get careless. Haven't you noticed? Its strength is growing!"

Hearing the conversation between the two, the six leaders, including Luo Ming, and everyone else, showed disappointment on their faces once again.

The first time the Grotesque escaped, although a few brothers died, everyone wasn't disappointed like they were now. Instead, they felt invigorated by the Grotesque's panicked flight, believing that killing it was just a step away.

The second time it escaped, everyone's hearts were a little uneasy. After all, more and more people were dying, and those acting as bait were their brothers who they normally relied on for life and death. It was impossible not to feel heartache.

It wasn't until the third escape that everyone truly began to doubt. They doubted that although Yang and Li were very strong, they were clearly still far from killing the Wood Puppet Grotesque, otherwise, it wouldn't have escaped three times.

Things shouldn't go beyond three. This was already the fourth time, so everyone no longer hid their disappointment, but no matter how disappointed they were, they still didn't dare to show their displeasure to Yang and Li.

Luo Ming was thinking about how to speak to Yang Ning, hoping he could give everyone some assurance and calm their emotions.

Shi Qing and the leaders of the other four camps were thinking about how to speak to the two, intending to lead their people away.

Meanwhile, Yang Ning and Li Hu, who had just walked over, also noticed the unusual atmosphere among the crowd. Seeing the lingering disappointment on their faces, the two immediately understood what they were thinking.

A look of anger immediately appeared on Li Hu's face, and he stepped forward directly.