Chapter 59: Chapter 59: Reveal True Form "Thank you, Leader Xia!" Luo Ming took the solidified fire oil, and his face burst into joy. He hurriedly asked Shang Ping and the others to stand at the front, prepared the solidified fire oil, and immediately understood Xia Hong’s intention as he fixed his gaze on the giant puppet’s arm. Xia Hong handed him the solidified fire oil and turned to look at the west side of the valley. Seeing that everyone from the four camps, including Da Chuan, were in a precarious situation, he quickly called the six from Yuan Cheng and rushed over. The six from Yuan Cheng and Yue Feng could save their lives in that rock crevice. It seemed like they arrived just in time, but luck played a larger part. After all, they had only recently broken into the Logging Realm, and not to mention the people from Rogel Camp, the strength of those from Da Chuan, Huang Zhao, and the other four camps was much greater than theirs. The giant puppet’s strength aside, its size was truly enormous, its attack range was extremely wide, combined with its terrifying power, leaving almost no untouched ground in the valley at that moment. The giant puppet had three remaining limbs; its left arm blocked the ones from Rogel Camp against the right side of the valley; two enormous feet stomped frantically on the Lumbering Realm members of the four camps including Da Chuan. When they were trapped in the wooden house earlier, there were casualties among the five camps outside. Rogel Camp was better off; they still had three or four iron implements to hold out for a while; The other four camps weren’t as fortunate; they were slightly weaker, and they didn’t even have an iron implement at hand. In just a short time, seven had died, leaving only sixteen people. The remaining sixteen were still struggling to survive under the giant puppet’s feet. Boom... "Old Huang, is the door not open yet?" Hong Gang barely managed to dodge the giant puppet’s right foot with his son, retreating to the side, and urgently shouted to Huang Yong behind him. They were on the west side of the valley, which was near the door. Huang Yong, along with five others, was moving the large stones blocking the door. Hearing Hong Gang’s anxious voice, he didn’t dare to stop and continued moving while yelling back, "The stones are too big and too many; I can’t clear them all at once. Hang on for a bit longer!" Upon hearing this, Hong Gang glanced back during a brief pause and saw that only half of the stone pile was cleared, and a thread of despair rose in his heart. When the four wooden houses merged into this giant puppet, realizing that they were not a match for the wooden puppet together, they immediately scattered, with the Rogel Camp choosing the left side, the six from Great Xia choosing the right, and those from the four camps, including him and Huang Yong, choosing the exit, which was the west side. This choice made sense; with the giant puppet being so terrifyingly powerful, staying in the valley was certainly a dead end, so running towards the exit was the safe choice. But the problem was, as soon as they ran, the giant puppet guessed their intention and punched the mountain above the valley entrance with one strike, causing countless rocks to fall and completely block the entrance. With the hope of direct escape shattered, even in despair, they quickly devised a strategy, continuing with two groups. He and Lu He led people to restrain the giant puppet’s legs, while Huang Yong and Chen Ying led five to clear the rocks from the entrance. The idea was sound, but in practice, the difficulty was apparent. The giant puppet’s strength was overwhelming. Initially, there were sixteen, including him, tasked with restraining it, but in a short moment, six had died, leaving only ten. In all this time, only half the entrance had been cleared, while six of them had already died; by the time the entrance was cleared, everyone might be dead. It’s no good, they had to think of a plan. Or call Old Huang and the seven back, and fight the giant puppet together! "Father!" Son Hong Mu’s loud reminder brought Hong Gang out of his trance. He looked up sharply to see the enormous right foot of the giant puppet descending on him, the violent force compressing the air above, the momentum remarkably terrifying. Hopelessness flashed through Hong Gang’s eyes; if that foot came down, he would surely end up as the six before, crushed to a pulp. "Get out of the way, Father!" In a split second, his son Hong Mu rushed over from the side, crashing into him and knocking him four or five meters away. "Fool, who told you to save me... Mu’er!" Hong Gang shouted angrily in mid-air, berating his son’s rescue. But watching the colossal foot descend on his son, his face finally showed panic, as his anger turned to heartbreak, he let out a sorrowful cry calling his son’s name. Boom... The giant puppet’s foot stamped down without suspense, almost touching the ground. This foot, not only shook the ground incessantly around, but shattered Hong Gang’s heart completely. "Ah... Mu’er..." Throughout his life, his proudest achievement was his son, Hong Mu. At twenty-four, a Logging Realm, among all the camps surrounding Redwood Ridge, he was undoubtedly a standout, largely due to Hong Gang giving up his own cultivation—whenever he had some Cold Beast Meat, he prioritized his son. Such a carefully nurtured son now perished right before his eyes. His feelings were imaginable. "Father, I’m okay!" A voice from beneath the giant puppet’s foot made Hong Gang pause, filled with disbelief. But as he looked up, the sadness on his face immediately turned into great joy. The giant puppet had suddenly separated a portion on the ground, then withdrew its foot. The part that separated burst into flames on the ground out of nowhere. Boom... The wooden part was pushed open from below, and two figures appeared in front of Hong Gang. Seeing Hong Mu only spitting blood, still alive, Hong Gang’s face overflowed with joy. He then turned to the one wielding a blade next to his son and solemnly bowed: "Leader Xia, your great kindness cannot be thanked enough. In the future, should there be any commands, I, Hong, will go through any death to fulfill them!" Realizing Xia Hong might not know him, Hong Gang hurried to add: "I am Hong Gang, leader of Da Chuan Camp." The one who saved Hong Mu was naturally Xia Hong, who had just rushed over. Xia Hong waved his hand bitterly at Hong Gang, "Whether there will be a future is uncertain; I didn’t rescue him intentionally, Leader Hong need not be so." Hong Gang knew it wasn’t the time for talking, so he didn’t speak, simply pulled his son over with gratitude still strong in his eyes as he looked at Xia Hong. Meanwhile, Xia Hong’s attention was entirely on the giant wooden puppet. His rushing over wasn’t actually to save Hong Mu. Risking one’s life for a stranger, he wasn’t that noble. His target was the giant wooden puppet. While charging, he noticed that the giant wooden puppet, with its right arm severed by him, was left with only its legs and left arm, causing it to move erratically. He realized that damaging the key parts of the giant wooden puppet’s limbs might indirectly affect the control of the Wood Puppet Monster, so he ducked under its feet with the remaining solidified fire oil on his blade to disrupt its balance. Sparing Hong Mu was merely incidental. Just as he anticipated, things went as planned. After the giant wooden puppet shed part of its foot, its legs became even more unbalanced, its stomping movements began to deform, and its strength was far less than before. On the other side, Luo Ming, who had received the solidified fire oil, seized the opportunity just like Xia Hong. He climbed the giant wooden puppet’s left arm, found its slimmest part, and chopped it down smoothly. The severed left arm still showed many transparent white threads. Those white threads, when touched by the solidified fire oil on Luo Ming’s blade, instantly ignited into sparkles, scattering everywhere. The giant puppet’s balance was already compromised by Xia Hong destroying its right foot. With its left arm now severed, its body became teetering. Luo Ming wouldn’t miss such an opportunity; he raced along the yet unbroken part of the left arm towards the puppet’s head. As he neared the head, he threw the last bit of solidified fire oil in his hand towards the puppet’s face, followed closely by a slash of his blade. The broken oil splattered across the giant puppet’s face, and flames roared up. As Luo Ming’s blade plunged into the head, the flames seeped into the wooden puppet’s skull. "Ah..." An elderly, slightly enraged cry echoed above the valley. Xia Hong looked up, his eyes turning immensely grave. The voice, though aged, carried a curious rasping from wood chips that sounded hoarse yet abrasive, unmistakably to him. The Wood Puppet Monster had finally shown its true form!