Looking at the iron ore on the furnace, which was about to melt, Bruce considered for a moment, then took the polishing stone in his hand and began shaping it according to his ideas.
Before long, Aaron led someone over to him.
"Leader, this is Edward Woodson!"
Bruce looked up to see a middle-aged man in his forties with an honest face step out from behind Aaron and bow respectfully.
"Edward greets the leader."
Not knowing why the two sought him, Bruce's eyes showed slight confusion.
"Leader, Edward is currently the only remaining woodworker in our camp. He mentioned there's an issue with this wood house and wishes to discuss it with you."
A woodworker?
Hearing Aaron's words, Bruce's eyes immediately lit up, his gaze toward Edward growing much more enthusiastic.
"Leader, this wooden house was hastily built as a temporary measure after a disaster, prioritizing speed over stability and concealment. The wood used was randomly selected.
Over time, even if not discovered by Cold Beasts from the mountain, it could be crushed by accumulated snow, making it unsuitable for long-term residence. A new house needs to be built soon."
Bruce nodded.
He had already noticed the issue with the wood house earlier, but with limited timber, he planned to wait until there was more before addressing it.
"Apart from building wood houses, what else can you do?"
Upon hearing this, Edward appeared a bit embarrassed, explaining: "Leader, you must be joking. I don't even have the strength of the Axeheart Realm, unable to carry the trees, how could I build a wood house? I've only learned some wooden house structures from following a woodworker master for a while."
Seeing the confusion on Bruce's face, Aaron quickly explained: "Previously, Rogel Camp had three woodworkers in the Axeheart Realm.
Two died during the Wooden Puppet Monster incident, one of whom was Edward's master."
Bruce didn't need to ask to know that the other one must have left with George.
After contemplating, he addressed Edward: "Starting today, you will join the Axeheart Team, and your treatment will be the same as other members. Until you break through to the Axeheart Realm, stay in the camp. Regarding the wood house, I'll first tell you my ideas…"
Hearing his inclusion in the Axeheart Team, Edward was already elated.
The prospect of not having to go out until breaking through to the Axeheart Realm made him even more excited.
He quickly perked up his ears, attentively listening to Bruce's subsequent words.
For the camp's new residence, Bruce had long thought about it, only plagued by the lack of a professional to oversee it, while he was drowning in affairs himself.
Now that he finally had a half-expert, he would make sure to utilize him effectively.
In light of Harper's perilous migration, for the two subsequent nights, when the Ben and Sam families moved their camps, Bruce brought all twenty-six Axeheart Realm members along to ensure safety.
Fortunately, nothing happened over two consecutive nights.
A total of 427 people from the two camps safely arrived at the valley on the third day's dawn.
As soon as Bruce returned to the valley, he handed over the merging affairs to Charlie and hurried towards the Iron Melting Furnace.
On the stove, a half-meter-long circular saw-toothed animal trap was glowing red, with seven silver-white forging patterns appearing on the sides of the trap.
Bruce picked up a polishing stone from the side and continued the unfinished hammering from the previous night.
Clang… Clang… Clang…
After half an hour, Charlie, looking grave, approached Tony, Aaron, Ben, and Sam.
"Leader, the numbers have been fully compiled. After merging the two camps, the current camp population is 902, excluding you, there are a total of 36 Axeheart Realm members; there are 302 people aged thirteen to thirty; under thirteen, there are a total of 392 people.
According to the meat distribution rule we previously defined, excluding the leader, the camp's monthly Cold Beast Meat consumption is approximately…"
At this point, Charlie paused, his face growing more grave, and continued:
"Just over twenty thousand kilograms!"
Upon saying this number, Aaron, Ben, and Sam all focused their gaze on Bruce's face.
Over twenty thousand kilograms, even by conservative estimates, requires fifteen Cold Beasts.
Every month, fifteen Cold Beasts roughly means hunting one every two nights.
However you think about it, it seems impossible.
The four-tier meat distribution rule Bruce boasted of earlier is destined to fail.
In the recent population count, the three of them also helped, so they were long aware of this number.
Although they didn't believe Bruce could really achieve it, they still wanted to see how Bruce would react upon hearing the number himself.
Everyone, including Charlie, assumed that upon hearing this number, Bruce would exhibit astonishment, disbelief, or even embarrassment.
Clang… Clang… Clang…
However, Bruce showed no expression at all; he continued to focus on hammering the circular saw-toothed iron ring in his hand, only pausing to turn and nod at Charlie, saying, "Alright, I know, you all should go rest first. Rest well during the day, and when night falls, we'll go hunting."
Charlie hesitated several times but seeing Bruce's focus on forging, he kept silent; Aaron and the others exchanged glances, clearly surprised by Bruce's calm reaction.
Could he really achieve it?
Impossible!
Aaron shook his head inwardly.
The others might not know, but he did.
The Rogel Camp previously had five Earthripper Realm members and over thirty Axeheart Realm members, far stronger than the current Harper, yet they at most hunted seven or eight Cold Beasts a month, even with sufficient weapons.
Currently, Harper has only about a dozen weapons in total, and only Bruce is in the Earthripper Realm.
Not to mention fifteen, even seven or eight is a big problem.
True, Bruce is strong, but can he be stronger than five Earthripper Realm members?
What on earth gives this new leader such confidence?
Aaron didn't leave but turned to watch the circular saw-toothed iron ring in Bruce's hand for a while, then couldn't help but speak, "Leader, this is for making an animal trap, isn't it? It's useless…"
Seeing Bruce look up, Aaron continued, "Previously, the Rogel Camp tried setting animal traps too, but Cold Beasts don't move at night. Setting them is a waste.
During the day, Cold Beasts might occasionally step on them, but the traps at most injure them and can't hold them, and these beasts are one cleverer than the last. Without live bait, they won't get caught."
At night, one might act as a bait, but Cold Beasts don't move at night; during the day, without bait, the beasts won't get caught.
Even if a Cold Beast accidentally steps on one, it will escape with nobody nearby, and might even take the trap with it, resulting in a total loss.
Bruce understood Aaron's words, but showed no reaction.
Instead, Charlie seemed to realize something and looked at the trap with bright eyes.
"Don't worry, I have a way. You all should rest well first. When night falls, I'll call you. Also, for the Axeheart teams tonight, let Ben and Sam lead."
Seeing that persuasion was futile, Aaron could only leave helplessly, and Ben and Sam also went to rest.
Only Charlie stayed, waiting for Bruce to finish forging the trap before approaching.
Bruce took a deep breath, looking at the trap's sides with ten silver-white forging patterns, finally revealing a hint of joy.
"Big brother, there's only two more hours until nightfall. You should rest for a while. I'll prepare the torches and call you when it's time."
Hearing Charlie's words, Bruce knew he understood his plan, nodded, placed the trap well, and lay down next to the furnace to rest.
After two consecutive nights of toil and continuous trap forging, he was indeed exhausted.
He needed to rest, with the night's hunting ahead.
In understanding George's departure, Bruce knew the difficulties of being a leader, especially in weaker camps where the leader has to give more.
Logging, hunting, forging, and digging.
For the current Harper, Axeheart is the only task Bruce can delegate; the other three must be done by him, with forging and digging only feasible for him.
Without commitment and contribution, one cannot be a leader.
The current Harper is just like the former Rogel Camp.
Giving up is human nature, especially since George held on for so many years.
"Hang in there, once the Cold Beast Meat supply is steady, everything will improve!"
Bruce rubbed his swollen arm, cheering himself up in his heart.
This rare respite didn't last long.
Night soon fell again.
When Bruce awoke, Charlie and the other eleven were already fully armed, waiting for him.
Bruce glanced around the camp and didn't see Ben and others, showing confusion.
Charlie noticed and quickly stepped forward to explain.
"Leader, Sam and Ben have already taken the others to log. Edward said that building new houses requires Golden Frost Trees, so they took all ten saws."
Bruce nodded, remembering the Axeheart tasks that now were off his mind, feeling slightly relieved.
He looked at the dark sky outside the wooden cabin and waved to everyone.
"Let's go!"
Bruce led the way, and the group of thirteen opened the valley entrance under the cover of night and, under the watchful eyes of all the camp members, headed towards Redwood Ridge.
"Do you think what the leader said before, that everyone could get Cold Beast Meat, is true or false?"
"How could it be true, probably just exaggerated to comfort us. If they could really hunt so many Cold Beasts, Harper wouldn't have agreed to merge us."
"True, after all, the leader just reached the Earthripper Realm. Even the Rogel Camp hadn't achieved everyone getting Cold Beast Meat before, so how could Harper?"
"I don't expect to get it every day; I just hope for a kilogram or two each month."
Unlike the newly merged individuals who discussed among themselves, most of the original Harper Axeheart Team reserves did not participate in the discussion, instead focusing on their own physical training or helping Edward and others move wood, seizing the chance to train.
Even when hearing the discussions, these people didn't explain, merely smiling and staying silent.