Luo Ming had been a leader for fifteen years. To keep Rogue Camp as the unrivaled presence around Redwood Ridge all this time, he naturally had to be a very shrewd man.
Half a month ago, when Yang Ning and Li Hu had asked him to have everyone from the other five camps cooperate and obey their orders, Luo Ming had probably already guessed something.
Yang Ning and Li Hu had described the grotesque creature as terrifying, and Luo Ming had little reason to doubt them. He had seen it with his own eyes—the creature truly took pleasure in killing, and the more people it killed, the stronger it became.
But if they said they were staying to help them because of his request, or because they were kindhearted and had decided to help them on account of being fellow members of the human race—
Luo Ming would never believe that.
He was not that naïve.
From their repeated battles, it was clear that Yang Ning and Li Hu also faced a certain amount of danger when fighting the Wood Puppet Grotesque. For the two of them to risk themselves just to kill it—
After thinking it over from every angle, there could be only one reason: profit.
Luo Ming guessed that hunting the Wood Puppet Grotesque must bring some enormous benefit. Otherwise, the two of them would not have worked so hard.
Half a month ago, Luo Ming had gathered the leaders of the four camps and explained the pros and cons to them. The four leaders had all agreed to cooperate with him.
The four leaders were willing to cooperate, but it was not merely because of Luo Ming's reputation.
The Shenju Camp and Tiefeng Camp, along with the Great Xia Camp he had heard about from Luo Ming, made up nine camps around Redwood Ridge. Three of them had already been ravaged by grotesque creatures.
Although the various camps usually had little contact with one another, everyone understood the principle that when the lips are gone, the teeth grow cold. Now that Yang Ning and Li Hu were here and could kill the grotesque creature, it was naturally best to seize the opportunity. After all, they could not deal with that creature on their own.
Luo Ming had also fought the grotesque creature. He considered his own strength insufficient to help much, so when Yang Ning and Li Hu had asked him to notify the other camps and bring their people over, he had roughly understood what kind of help they wanted.
The Wood Puppet Grotesque took pleasure in killing and grew stronger by killing people. Since they themselves were not very powerful, all Yang Ning and Li Hu needed them to do was serve as bait and lure it out.
And things had indeed turned out exactly as he expected.
After gathering all the Lumbering Realm fighters from the other five camps at Rogue Camp, Yang Ning and Li Hu did not hide the matter. They stated it directly.
Luo Ming had struggled at first, but when he thought of the grotesque creature's strength, he ultimately became the first to agree. Perhaps because he had fought the creature before, Shi Qing became the second.
The other four camps hesitated greatly, but they eventually agreed after the two men persuaded them.
The six camps reached an agreement. Each would send three Lumbering Realm fighters to Redwood Ridge at night to serve as bait and lure the grotesque creature out.
Luo Ming had no doubts about Yang Ning and Li Hu's strength. Otherwise, he would not have worked so hard to persuade the other five camps to cooperate.
But the grotesque creature's strength had far exceeded Luo Ming's imagination.
Over the past dozen days, they had successfully lured the Wood Puppet Grotesque out three times.
Yet all three times, it had escaped.
That alone might have been bearable, but each time, some of the people serving as bait were killed.
The Wood Puppet Grotesque appeared and vanished like a ghost. Sometimes it would kill someone for no apparent reason. Even more terrifyingly, before long, it could control the corpse of the person it had killed, disguise it as a living person, approach them, and then launch a sneak attack. It was practically impossible to guard against.
Many of the dead had ended with expressions of disbelief on their faces.
Seven had died the first time, nine the second, and seven the third.
This was the fourth time. Six had died, making it the least deadly attempt so far.
Twenty-nine Lumbering Realm fighters—this was practically the entire foundation of two small camps.
Rogue Camp had only forty-seven Lumbering Realm fighters in total.
Of the twenty-nine Lumbering Realm fighters who had died, Luo Ming had done the math.
His own camp had lost the most, seven; Huang Zhao Camp had lost four; Chen Ye Camp, five; Lu Shang Camp, four; and Dachuan Camp, six.
The worst off was Big Stone Camp.
That day, on Great Xia territory, Big Stone Camp had already been reduced to only five survivors.
Over the past few days, it had lost three more while serving as bait.
Now, only the brothers Shi Qing and Shi Dong remained in Big Stone Camp.
It could be said that even if they killed the Wood Puppet Grotesque, Big Stone Camp would certainly never recover. With only the brothers Shi Qing and Shi Dong left, the entire camp was even struggling simply to survive.
Most crucially, so many people had died, yet they still had not managed to kill the Wood Puppet Grotesque.
It was not only the five leaders—even Luo Ming himself had begun to doubt Yang Ning and Li Hu's strength, and his faith in their method of luring out the Wood Puppet Grotesque had begun to waver.
"I know all of you have complaints in your hearts. Rogue Camp has lost plenty of people too, but I ask you to endure a little longer. You have all seen that creature's strength. Once these two lords leave, none of our camps will have any chance of survival!"
Luo Ming truly had no other choice. In the end, he still chose to console everyone.
Shi Qing was just about to speak when Hong Gang, the leader of Dachuan Camp, spoke first.
"Leader Luo, let's speak plainly. I naturally admire the strength of the two lords, but you've seen the situation yourself. That grotesque creature is even stronger. We failed to kill it three times, and in my view, this time will be no different. Rather than sending our brothers to their deaths like this, we might as well spend a few peaceful days and discuss it later. If this continues, the grotesque creature won't be dead, but our own people will be wiped out first!"
Hong Gang's voice was as rough as his name suggested. Now, with six people from his own camp dead, his words carried a thread of anger, and he bluntly voiced what he was thinking.
"Leader Luo, we're not blaming you, nor are we blaming the two lords. We wouldn't dare. But the facts are right before us. If this attempt fails, we have to leave. We've been out here for half a month, and the food reserves back at camp are nearly exhausted. If we don't return soon, I'm afraid the people in the camp will go hungry."
Huang Yong, the leader of Huang Zhao Camp, also spoke up. The other two camp leaders said nothing, but the expressions on their faces clearly conveyed the same meaning as the first two.
Shi Qing stepped forward as well. He took a deep breath and said, "Leader Luo, I won't say much. No matter what you say, you still have your foundations intact. Big Stone Camp truly can't hold on any longer. If even one more of the two of us brothers is lost, the more than three hundred people in the entire camp probably won't survive. Whether this attempt succeeds or not, I have to leave."
Luo Ming was frantic and still wanted to continue persuading them.
But at that moment, Yang Ning and Li Hu came over.
"That beast escaped again, but we cut off one of its hands this time. We'll definitely be able to kill it next time."
"Don't get careless. Didn't you notice? Its strength is growing stronger and stronger!"
Hearing their exchange, the six leaders, including Luo Ming, and everyone else once again wore disappointed expressions.
When the grotesque creature had escaped the first time, several brothers had died, but instead of being as disappointed as they were now, everyone had been invigorated by its desperate flight. They had felt that killing it was only one step away.
After it escaped the second time, everyone had merely felt somewhat uneasy. After all, more and more people had died, and those serving as bait were brothers who normally relied on one another through life and death. It was impossible not to feel heartbroken.
It was only after the third escape that everyone had truly begun to doubt. Yang Ning and Li Hu were indeed very strong, but they were clearly still far from being able to kill the Wood Puppet Grotesque. Otherwise, it would not have escaped them three times.
Things could not go wrong three times in a row. Now that this was the fourth attempt, no one bothered to hide the disappointment on their faces anymore. Yet no matter how disappointed they were, they still did not dare to show Yang Ning and Li Hu any disrespect.
Luo Ming was thinking about how to speak to Yang Ning, hoping he could give everyone some assurance and soothe their emotions.
Shi Qing and the leaders of the other four camps were thinking about how to tell the two men that they wanted to take their people and leave.
On the other side, Yang Ning and Li Hu, who had just walked over, also noticed the unusual atmosphere among the crowd. Seeing the disappointment that had yet to fade from everyone's faces, they immediately understood what the others were thinking.
A flash of anger appeared on Li Hu's face, and he stepped forward at once.
Before you continue