Chapter 56: Chapter 56 Intermediate? The hardness of the Golden Frost Tree, Xia Hong had experienced it before. Though harder than the Red Frost Tree, under the immense strength exceeding ten thousand pounds of the Earth-digging Realm, it was still inadequate. Moreover, this wooden house was not made from an entire tree, and unlike the Golden Frost Trees on Redwood Ridge, it wasn’t covered with a layer of frozen crystals outside. Luo Ming had broken through the Earth-digging Realm years ago, his strength was certainly more than ten thousand pounds. So when he chopped down, the wooden door should have been broken. But what actually happened left Xia Hong and Shang Ping all stunned. With a crunching sound, Luo Ming’s blade did indeed break the wooden door, creating a half-meter long crack, but it was merely a crack. "How is this possible?" Even Luo Ming himself couldn’t quite believe it, instinctively questioning. But before everyone could react, the entire wooden house began to shake violently. It was as if Luo Ming’s chop had harmed it. After the violent shaking, the crack that had originally been cleaved started to slowly heal as the surrounding wood writhed inward. Xia Hong took advantage of the gap during the crack’s healing to cast an unintentional glance outside, and his pupils shrank immediately. He shouted to Yuan Cheng and others outside: "Look behind, those four wooden houses have come alive too, be careful!" Not only was the wooden house they were trapped in, but those four collapsed wooden houses they had just entered the camp also began to slowly stand up again, obviously the same as the one they were in, having been animated by the Wood Puppet Monster. The wooden house crack healed completely, and Xia Hong could no longer see the outside, growing more anxious. Luo Ming also noticed the situation outside; there were more than twenty Logging Realm individuals in their camp still outside, making him even more anxious than Xia Hong. After failing to hack open the wooden door with one chop, he quickly withdrew the big knife and slashed five or six times in succession. But no matter how many cracks he cut, the wooden door repaired itself rapidly, just like before. They couldn’t get out at all. And just at this moment, those fifteen rooms, which were originally closed, suddenly opened, and a large crowd rushed out tumultuously. No, to be precise, some people rushed, and some climbed... "Father, my neck is about to sever, save me, save me." "Leader, save my son, his lower body was sliced off." "Baihe, Baihe, is it you who came back? My eyes were gouged, my legs were sliced off, go check on my son, he is still alive." "Wuuu, Father, save me, my head has been split open, I am in so much pain, save me, Father..." ... If the scene outside when they first entered the camp could be described as a sea of corpses and blood, then at this moment, the scene before their eyes was truly the inferno of the Nine Hells. Five or six hundred people, all frantically rushing toward them. These people, while rushing, were also crying out for help. Roughly less than half at the front had extreme fear on their faces but at least remained physically intact, with some even holding weapons in their hands. The vast majority trailing behind, however, were crawling on the ground. These people were invariably missing arms and legs, some without arms, without limbs, without lower bodies, missing half their bodies, and even those with half their heads severed, and some with only their heads and torsos, struggling to wriggle on the ground... The wooden house space, which was devoid of any anomaly just now, was instantly suffused with a stench as these people either rushed or crawled out of the rooms, creating a river of blood flowing on the ground. To think that the Wood Puppet Monster could control five or six hundred people, all entrapped within these small rooms, completely silent, and even the scent was sealed off. The sight before him was shocking, and Xia Hong, though shocked, was quickly realizing that the Wood Puppet Monster’s means were becoming increasingly powerful. Could it be that it had already advanced to the Intermediate level? If true, then today they might not stand a chance! Pulling his thoughts back, Xia Hong saw that Luo Ming and the other four, unbelievably, were about to go meet the people rushing out from the rooms, he quickly pulled him back, and shouted to Shang Ping and the other three: "Don’t go over there, it’s uncertain whether they are human!" "Then what should we do, just sit back and do nothing?" Although Luo Ming had been pulled back without advancing further, he roared angrily, his emotions already out of control. It wasn’t just Luo Ming, Shang Ping and the other three were the same. Because the people rushing and crawling out of the rooms were their companions and relatives whom they had lived with day by day, including their wives and children, even their parents. How could they remain calm? Xia Hong naturally understood the four, didn’t say much more, swiftly took a piece of Solidified Fire Oil from his pocket, and applied it to his hands and the weapons of the four around him. "This is Solidified Fire Oil, if it touches a Deceitful Monster it ignites, you can rescue people but remain vigilant. Any who are controlled by the Puppet Monster will catch fire if they touch this oil!" The anxious four of Luo Ming had no time to listen to Xia Hong in detail, only nodding before rushing to meet their relatives calling for help. In fact, there was no need for them to rush up, when Xia Hong was applying Solidified Fire Oil to them, those people had already rushed over, only five or six meters away from them. "Wu’er, how are you doing?" "I’m fine, Father, quickly save Mother, she’s behind." The first one to rush up was caught by Shang Ping, it was his son Shang Wu. Seeing his son with all his limbs intact, his body seemingly fine, Shang Ping sighed in relief, pulling his son behind him as he hurriedly searched for his wife amidst the crowd. Luo Ming also saw his eldest son Luo Yun, fortunately, he too, like Shang Wu, had all his limbs and his body was intact. He rushed up, pulling his son’s hand, wanting to get him out of the crowd. But as soon as he touched Luo Yun’s hand, the panic and chaos on Luo Yun’s face instantly turned to fright and ferocity, and then he pulled out a dagger from behind and slashed at Luo Ming’s neck. Clang... Luo Ming hastily blocked with his knife, the immense force from the dagger forced him back two or three meters. Although he avoided a fatal strike, looking at the unfamiliar son, there was a flash of profound pain and sorrow in Luo Ming’s eyes. Both behavior and strength unmistakably indicated that the one wearing his son’s shell in front of him was not Luo Yun. Indeed, having missed the first strike, a look of viciousness appeared on Luo Yun’s face, intending to charge forward again, but as soon as he took a step, he suddenly looked down at his arm, letting out a painful howl. "Huh...huh...ugh..." The sound was hoarse, grating, nothing like a human. Whoosh... A fierce fire abruptly rose from his arm, the flames overwhelmingly intense, like a pestilence spreading rapidly, instantly consuming his entire body. In only a few breaths, that "Luo Yun" was burned to ashes. Watching his son’s body burn to nothingness, Luo Ming’s face held no semblance of joy, instead, the sorrow in his eyes grew even deeper. "Leader Luo, this is no time for dazing, quickly discern the real from the Deceitful Monsters, there’s no telling what else the Wood Puppet Monster might have in store, if we don’t act fast, the death toll will only increase!" Seeing the Deceitful Monster-controlled Luo Yun being completely incinerated by the Solidified Fire Oil, Xia Hong let out a huge sigh of relief, afraid that with the Wood Puppet Monster growing stronger, the Solidified Fire Oil could become ineffective. Though confirming the Solidified Fire Oil’s effectiveness remained unaltered, with the reality of facing hundreds, Xia Hong was still heavily shaken by the Wood Puppet Monster’s cunning and treacherous nature. Among these hundreds, some were real, some were fake. Was his Solidified Fire Oil really sufficient? The Wood Puppet Monster had been thwarted by Solidified Fire Oil in the cave, and just days later... It had already come up with a countermeasure!