Offense? There Was No Such Thing

The burly men of the Slave Hunter Group burst into laughter. They were all veterans and knew why Sherlock was in such a rush.

The corner of Venice's mouth lifted, but he did not stop Sherlock.

He was not worried about Sherlock's safety. His nephew was a low-rank Tier 1 Knight, and he did not believe there was anything in the Necromancer Camp that could threaten Sherlock.

Audrey had been worrying over the lack of a chance to prove herself. She rode forward to meet him.

"Knight!"

Seeing that Audrey was not at a disadvantage in the slightest, Venice's pupils narrowed to slits.

That Necromancer actually had a Knight guard. No wonder he had managed to survive in the Odyssey Region.

"What are you still dawdling for? Hurry up and smash those Skeletons to pieces, then go support Sherlock!"

Seeing his men still bragging and joking around as they discussed who would fight those Skeletons one-on-one, Venice shouted angrily and told them to move.

If that Knight went all out and seriously injured or even took down his precious nephew Sherlock, the loss would be enormous.

"How is that possible?"

The burly men of the Slave Hunter Group attacked, thinking they could casually shatter the Skeletons into piles of broken bones with a single swing of their swords.

What they received instead was a blade through the heart and slashed throats.

The Skeletons they had looked down on easily dealt them fatal blows.

They collapsed amid confusion and the terror of death.

"Damn it!"

The vice leader of the Slave Hunter Group looked horrified. In the blink of an eye, only a few veteran Apprentice Knights remained by his side. All the other warriors had been killed by the Skeletons.

Those Skeletons were terrifyingly strong. He was surrounded by three Tier 1 Bone Spirit Warriors and had nowhere to run.

"Sherlock, run!"

The situation changed abruptly. The Knight-level vice leader was battered around like a spinning top by three Bone Spirit Warriors, while the last few veteran Apprentice Knights fell one after another.

How could Venice not realize that they had run into someone formidable? He mounted his horse and called for Sherlock to flee.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Medivh leaped up and knocked Venice off his horse with a single sword strike.

Venice wore soft armor, so he was not killed by that blow.

"Lord Mage, I had no intention of offending you. I am willing to offer generous compensation. Please forgive my recklessness!"

Venice knelt on the ground in terror and begged for mercy.

Most mages were greedy, and a Necromancer who needed pure casting materials would only be even more short of money.

Venice wanted to buy his life with money.

"Offense? There was no such thing."

Medivh revealed a cold smile. Just as Venice's pupils relaxed, believing they had reached a deal, a sword pierced through his heart.

"The dead do not speak of offense."

That was Medivh's declaration of death. He would not let a single enemy escape.

Elsewhere, Sherlock fled in panic, only to be cut down from his horse by Audrey.

The Skeletons began cleaning up the battlefield. The vice leader of the Slave Hunter Group was already dead.

"Hey, Medivh, I killed a Knight!"

Audrey dragged Sherlock's corpse back and skipped over to claim credit before Medivh.

"Nicely done!"

Medivh wore a warm smile and lightly patted Audrey on the shoulder in encouragement.

"Hehe, it would be even better if you picked a different spot next time!"

Audrey bent over and deliberately swayed her hips a few times.

Medivh resisted the urge to kick her from behind and commanded the Grey Bone Skeletons to search the Slave Hunter Group's wagons.

Once the tarps covering the wagons were removed, cages were revealed inside.

Three cage wagons held twenty-five female slaves.

Those female slaves all possessed traits unlike ordinary humans. They were clearly nonhuman female slaves captured by the Slave Hunter Group from Alien Tribes.

Nonhuman female slaves were luxury goods in the Gewalt Federation. Medivh had once been taken to an auction by his father and remembered it vividly.

There were many Alien Tribes in the Odyssey Region, and Slave Hunter Groups often came here to make their fortunes.

"Medivh, how should we deal with them?"

Audrey followed behind Medivh, curiously examining the nonhuman female slaves in the cages.

"Bring them back to camp. Kill anyone who runs."

Medivh spoke indifferently and turned away. Needless slaughter was meaningless. These natives of Odyssey might be able to provide useful intelligence.

Some of the nonhuman female slaves understood the human language and whispered among themselves in a language Audrey could not understand.

Audrey ignored them. She had the Grey Bone Skeletons pull the wagons back to Armory Camp, then opened the cages and released the female slaves as Medivh had ordered.

The female slaves were settled in an unused warehouse on the western side of Armory Camp.

The attack by the Slave Hunter Group had no effect on Armory Camp.

Medivh immersed himself in refining skeletal components and paid no attention to anything else.

"Don't run. You'll die!"

In the dead of night, faint sounds came from the warehouse.

Some of the nonhuman female slaves wanted to escape, but a Cat-folk warrior stopped them.

She knew very well how powerful those Skeletons were, and that human leader had little interest in them.

Their escape could not possibly succeed. It would only anger the human leader and bring death upon everyone else.

For the safety of her people, she could not allow female slaves from other tribes to flee.

Persuaded by the Cat-folk warrior, the nonhuman female slaves gave up on escaping and remained at Armory Camp.

Over the next few days, the camp leader seemed to have forgotten them and left them entirely unattended.

Only Audrey occasionally came to visit them, while the Skeleton Chef delivered food on time.

They were like air within the camp. So long as they did not run around, no one paid them any attention.

In the blink of an eye, more than ten days passed, and no uninvited guests came to Armory Camp.

During that time, the nonhuman female slaves witnessed the changes in Armory Camp.

The armories on the eastern and western sides of Armory Camp had been completed.

The Skeletons were building the southern side from both ends toward the center. The southern armory would join together at the southern central gate.

Before long, Armory Camp would be sealed off, and entry and exit would only be possible through the gate beneath the connecting corridor.

It looked like their final chance, but in truth, there was no chance at all.

The Cat-folk warrior had been keeping track of the Skeletons' numbers. During this period, nine White Skeletons and fifteen Green Skeletons had appeared in the camp.

Moreover, she had noticed that one Green Skeleton, clad in armor and carrying a sword and shield, had become even stronger.

The camp appeared to have gaps, but it was actually airtight. The moment they tried to run, they would alert the patrolling Skeletons.

The Cat-folk warrior's observations were correct. During this period, a Green Bone Warrior had awakened and advanced into a Tier 1 Bone Spirit Warrior.

Judging from the current situation, they seemed to have no purpose at all.

That was a dangerous position. Having no value and not being needed meant they could be discarded at any time.

Given the camp leader's attitude, they would probably be erased like the slave hunters and buried in the soil, only to become materials for the camp leader to refine Skeletons after their corpses decayed.

"Suixin, you are a Mind Speaker. You understand the human language and can speak with humans. Pass along a message for me. Tell him that I am willing to serve him, and ask him to arrange work for me."

Passively waiting would most likely lead to elimination. The Cat-folk warrior chose to take the initiative and show her value.

"Suixiang, don't go. The humans will toy with you!"

Because Slave Hunter Groups often came to the Odyssey Region to capture nonhuman girls and sell them as female slaves in the Gewalt Federation, they had a very poor impression of humans.

The Cat-folk warrior's companions urged her not to walk into the tiger's den.

"Actually, if he wanted to, we would have no ability to resist at all."

Suixiang bluntly stated the truth. They had no room to choose.