Times Have Changed

The personnel left behind at the Blood Crow Mercenary Group camp were all expendable fringe figures who could be abandoned at any time.

They had no idea where the Blood Crow had gone, nor were they even aware of Wester's commission mission.

Other forces and intermediary organizations in the Pioneer Territory couldn't dig any useful information out of their mouths.

Let alone them, in fact, before arriving at Kurd, the vast majority of the Blood Crow mercenaries who went out with them didn't know the target of the operation—only that it was a major one.

Kurd's skeletons moved by night and rested by day, making it rare for the thug gangs roaming during daylight to encounter them.

Kurd's location was already remote to begin with, and with Skeleton Assassins carrying out daily cleanups, few people could discover Kurd.

After the Blood Crow Mercenary Group incident, Medivh expanded the patrol range of the Skeleton Assassins.

Time was on Medivh's side; the later Kurd was discovered and exposed publicly, the better.

"So, is Medivh dead or alive?"

Wester didn't care about the Blood Crow's life or death; he only wanted to know whether Medivh was alive or dead.

Unfortunately, no one could answer that question for him. Medivh had vanished mysteriously as soon as he entered the Odyssey Region, with no further concrete news.

The Blood Crow's disappearance wouldn't be linked to Medivh by anyone.

After all, in their eyes, Medivh was just a Necromancer apprentice, incapable of killing a second-order knight.

They were more inclined to believe that the Blood Crow had discovered a secret realm and been killed by some entity within it during exploration.

"They said they've rehired people to investigate Medivh's whereabouts in the Odyssey."

The steward relayed the intermediary organization's remedial plan.

The intermediaries had spent their own money to hire some informants to search for Medivh in the Odyssey Region.

As for the efficiency of the investigation, don't expect much—after all, how good can something free be?

The intermediary organization wouldn't spend a fortune to hire large mercenary groups from the Pioneer Territory.

They were just expressing an attitude, giving Wester a superficially acceptable explanation.

The intermediary organization could operate between the Odyssey Region and the Gewalt Federation not without backing.

The mercenary group they commissioned had vanished mysteriously—could they be blamed for not being diligent enough? They had already handled the aftermath, unafraid of Wester making trouble.

"A bunch of incompetents!"

Wester slammed the table in frustration.

The intermediary organization had shown all the proper attitudes, making it hard for him to find fault with them.

This was a messy account, impossible to settle.

With no news of Medivh at all, hiring a large mercenary group for a long-term search was a cost Wester couldn't bear.

As for sending people to the Odyssey, that wasn't a feasible plan.

First, the task required trustworthy individuals—key people around Wester whose prolonged absence would inevitably arouse suspicion from family rivals.

Second, the Odyssey was vast; sending a few people to search for Medivh there was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

So that was that, unless new information about Medivh surfaced.

In the blink of an eye, it had already been a month and a half since the Blood Crow Mercenary Group was buried in Kurd.

While Wester raged helplessly, Medivh was inspecting his own territory.

Over the past month, the walls of the three agricultural districts in the Kurd Nine-Grid had risen to eight meters high, with three potato fields protected within the high walls, the potato seedlings lush and green.

To the east of the Kurd Nine-Grid, a second nine-grid district had built five zones: two farmland districts, one Central District, one Reservoir District, and one Workshop District.

The new zones were all enclosed within five-meter-high walls.

The wheat seedlings in those two farmland districts were a vibrant green, growing promisingly.

The workshop districts of both nine-grids were filled with brick factories.

The workshop districts produced large quantities of bricks daily, used for wall construction and urban development.

Over this month and more, Medivh balanced work and rest, refining a large number of skeletons.

Kurd had gained 625 Grey Bone Skeletons, 424 White Bone Skeletons, and 216 Green Bone Skeletons.

Among the Green Bone Skeletons, fifty-six were Heavy Skeleton Warriors.

Due to previous overuse, the Big-Horned Ox Magic Beasts had been resting and recuperating this past month, so Medivh didn't drain their blood to the point of exhaustion.

During this month and more, one Green Bone Warrior and one Green Bone Heavy Warrior had self-awakened into Bone Spirits, and Suixiang had advanced to a first-order low-level Spirit Rune Warrior.

One nine-grid district equaled ten square kilometers.

Kurd would only become more conspicuous, and Medivh needed to have the confidence to retreat and bury all enemies by the time Kurd was known to everyone.

He couldn't afford to slack off. After inspecting the territory, he immediately returned to the High Tower to refine skeletons.

Medivh had erected the High Tower within the Central Castle out of a longing for a Mage Tower.

Unfortunately, he was only a half-baked mage, with no idea how to actually build a Mage Tower.

At Loran Mage Academy, he had only learned the Mental Meditation Technique and Bone Resurrection.

Much of his foundational knowledge came from the Flame Skeleton Mage he had resurrected.

The knowledge carried by the Time Skeleton from its lifetime was limited, and the Flame Skeleton Mage could only teach Medivh so much about magic.

If Medivh wanted to acquire more magical knowledge, he needed to resurrect more skeleton mages—just like the Spirit Cat Skeleton and the Minotaur Skeleton—so that multiple individuals could cross-reference and perfect the inheritance.

Every resurrection of a skeleton was a form of cultivation, and Medivh's mental strength continued to grow stronger.

He had already touched the threshold of advancement.

How other mage apprentices advanced to full mages, Medivh did not know.

All he knew was that he only needed to keep resurrecting skeletons to usher in the opportunity for advancement.

"Medivh, the rainy season is coming!"

That afternoon, a fierce wind swept through, lifting Audrey's skirt like fluttering butterflies.

She gazed into the distance and saw the sky rapidly darkening.

The Odyssey Region was about to enter the rainy season, which would bring over half a month of overcast and wet weather.

"It doesn't matter."

Medivh stood up and walked to the balcony for a look, showing no concern about the rainy season.

This was no longer a year ago, when Medivh and the others had nearly been wiped out by the Murlocs.

Now Medivh lived within high walls, surrounded by a host of elite soldiers and fierce generals—no matter how many Murlocs came, he was unafraid.

"Hehe, it's really safe!"

Audrey sidled up and nudged Medivh. Last time, she had nearly died in battle, but with Medivh by her side, she felt incredibly secure.

"Even safer now!"

After a moment, feeling the pressure at her back, Audrey's brows curved into a smile.

At that moment, she felt utterly fulfilled and secure, as if she wouldn't fear even the end of the world.

Splash, splash...

The rain clouds drifted quickly under the fierce wind, and within a few days, Kurd had gone from clear skies to overcast gloom.

Amid lightning and thunder, rain poured down like a deluge, pounding against the windows with a clatter.

In the curtain of rain, the Thug Gang huddled in their camp, and the Odyssey Region became a paradise for Murlocs.

The Murlocs, usually hiding in rivers and lakes, now roamed and plundered everywhere in the rain.

The downpour did not affect Kurd's construction. Rain shelters were set up in Kurd City District and on the city walls, and the skeletons continued stacking the walls even in the stormy weather.

Kurd had no fear of Murloc attacks. Occasionally, Murlocs wandered near Kurd, only to be shot dead by skeletons on the walls.

The unique, fishy smell of Murloc blood spread through the mist, attracting even more Murlocs.