Complete Madness

The potential dangers near Armory Camp had long since been cleared away by Medivh.

But as panic spread, gangs of thugs from other areas gradually drifted this way.

Necromancers and skeletons were synonymous with the weak and worthless in this era.

When the thugs saw that Armory Camp was guarded by skeletons, they charged over howling, eager to plunder the camp and claim it for themselves.

In their eyes, a few hundred or even a thousand Skeleton Soldiers were nothing. They could wipe them out with ease.

"These are undead skeletons? This has to be fake!"

The reckless gangs of thugs who attacked were taught a lesson, one after another, by the powerful Green Bone Skeletons.

Compared to the Green Bone Skeletons, they were the ones who were all show and no substance.

They struck the Green Bone Skeletons with their blades, but the skeletons barely felt a thing.

The Green Bone Skeletons struck back, and the thugs fell dead.

Their faces were full of disbelief as they died, unable to understand how the undead skeletons here could be so strong.

Had they wandered the Odyssey Region for too long? Had the world already updated to a new version?

Had necromancers returned to the peak, with the undead tide once again becoming a nightmare for all races?

They had far too many questions, but no one was there to answer them.

Their resentful souls wanted to become ghosts, but before they could take shape, the God of Light's Hospice Blessing melted them into nothingness.

Under the God of Light's blessing, corpses were forbidden from becoming monsters.

No matter how great their resentment, fresh corpses could not naturally transform into ghosts, zombies, rotting corpses, or other undead.

After special treatment, their bodies were transported to the burial grounds Medivh had set aside and laid to rest.

Their remains would accumulate history beneath the earth, waiting for Medivh to put them to use.

The famine in the Odyssey Region had not yet begun. For now, this was only a wild rehearsal.

The gangs that attacked Armory Camp were small- or medium-sized roaming groups. They did not even have a single Transcendent.

Such opponents were not worth Medivh's attention. The skeletons at Armory Camp could wipe them out without a second thought.

The thugs' attacks had not affected Armory Camp's development. The Logistics Skeletons were working overtime to build the towering walls of the Wall District, hoping to finish Medivh's assignment ahead of schedule.

Medivh was just as busy, with every moment of his day packed full.

He spent his days crafting skeletons, meditating to restore his mana, practicing common spells, and cultivating Battle Qi and combat techniques.

Life needed to be enjoyable, with a balance between work and rest. Every night before going to sleep, he found a little amusement.

Audrey, whose mind was full of fantasies, and Little Cat, who could be wild, gentle, or passionate, both gave him the utmost pleasure.

While the Odyssey Region was in chaos, with the various factions fighting each other to the death over a mouthful of food, Medivh lounged in the High Tower, drinking fruit wine and eating roasted meat. He couldn't have been more comfortable.

He had been working hard in the Odyssey Region for more than half a year. Surely he was allowed to enjoy himself a little!

Even as he savored his comfortable life, Medivh did not forget to have the Combat Skeletons search the ruins of human and alien settlements.

The remains stored at Armory Camp were running low, so he needed to find new ancient ruins to excavate.

The thugs lived by robbery and had no fixed homes, and they rarely bothered to stockpile food.

When they ran short, they went hunting.

That way of life had never caused a problem before, but after the Bloodthirsty Mosquito Swarm passed through, prey grew scarce. They could only forage in the fields or rob other factions.

Foraging was no way to live. The gangs were used to feasting on meat, so how could they stomach bitter, disgusting roots and bugs?

After a period of chaos, the gangs with no food reserves began to band together.

They knew exactly what the other gangs were like. There was no food to be had by robbing their own kind.

So they joined forces to plunder the wealthy camps and alien tribes.

Stable camps and alien tribes all practiced some farming and animal husbandry, so they had more food in reserve.

No one knew when the herds would return to the Odyssey Region.

No one knew how long the famine caused by the Bloodthirsty Mosquito Swarm would last.

But all creatures who had lived through a great famine understood that, in its later stages, even edible roots and bugs became hard to find. Then they would have to eat the corpses of other races—or even their own kind.

To survive, the wealthy camps and alien tribes fought bloody battles against the thugs and aliens who came to plunder them.

Some camps and alien tribes were looted; in other cases, camp guards or tribal warriors wiped out the raiders.

Amid the famine, creatures kept wearing each other down, and the population of the Odyssey Region fell even further.

"That's about enough!"

More than half a month after the Bloodthirsty Mosquito Swarm had retreated, the Vincent Family escorted grain under the protection of troops from Winter Fortress, bringing it to the entrance of Winter Canyon to sell.

The Vincent Family did not dare enter the Odyssey Region. People driven mad by hunger had no reason left in them.

Within Winter Canyon, the troops' presence kept the thugs somewhat in check.

Once they left Winter Canyon, even the troops escorting them would be robbed.

The soldiers stationed at Winter Fortress were there to earn money. They had no wish to get themselves buried in the Odyssey Region.

Once the Vincent Family spread the word, large numbers of thugs gathered at the entrance to Winter Canyon.

At first, the thugs could not accept the sky-high grain prices. The Vincent Family's merchants were in no hurry; they knew hunger would eventually make the thugs submit.

Sure enough, within a few days, some thugs could no longer bear the hunger and held their noses as they traded with them. More and more followed.

As the merchants drank fine wine and counted their profits, the thugs' eyes grew more and more crazed.

At last, one day, madness overcame fear, and the thugs attacked the Vincent Family's camp.

At first, the garrison troops could still keep the situation under control. But when one thug slit open a sack and golden wheat poured out in a stream, the madness caught fire.

More and more thugs joined the attack. Driven mad by hunger and no longer feeling pain, they charged into the camp to fight the garrison troops.

"Fall back!"

The general in command could sense his soldiers' fear. They could not keep fighting this pack of madmen.

While the troops could still control the situation, the general ordered his soldiers to escort the money and retreat, leaving the remaining grain in the camp for the thugs to fight over.

The food, stained with blood, was soon seized down to the last morsel. Greed filled the thugs' eyes.

They pursued the retreating soldiers, hoping to rob them of their rations and take back the money that had been extorted from them.

The troops fought as they retreated. Only after reinforcements from Winter Fortress arrived and killed many of the thugs did the rest scatter and flee.

"What a pack of madmen!"

By then, neither the general in command nor the Vincent Family's merchants were feeling pleased with themselves.

They had made a great deal of money at first, but they had underestimated the thugs' madness and overestimated their own deterrence.

They had failed to return to Winter Fortress in time, before the thugs went completely mad, and had suffered heavy losses.

With so many soldiers dead at Winter Fortress, they would have a hard time explaining themselves to the Noble Council.

Even if they poured every coin they had made from selling grain into the hole, it might not be enough to keep their superiors quiet.

At the thought that all their efforts might come to nothing—and might even leave them at a loss—their faces darkened.

They were accustomed to the games of the nobility, and had suffered a heavy loss in the lawless Odyssey Region.