Surviving The Fourth Calamity

William indeed announced that the large-scale mission ended three days later, and the start time of the next mission was unknown.

The Undead Tribe was used to this mysterious and surprise-loving planner, so they calmly began teleporting to their favorite places to start their leisurely days of roaming after finishing their daily tasks.

Agleya City, which only had planting and construction tasks, welcomed the least number of the Undead Tribe.

Kalinsan was pretty much taken over by Wenjian's people... The enthusiastic students were very cute, but most people still didn't want to be as passionate as them, fighting Divine Beasts with a rhythm of highs and lows, which older folks couldn't quite enjoy.

In Hidden Town, quite a few people returned too; firstly, many were still hoping for their White Dragon companions! Secondly, large fleets passed by this small town every day, offering plenty of daily tasks... The seas of Ferun Great Land were quite dangerous except for Sword Bay, and one never knew when a blue storm made by the Magicplague would appear.

Therefore, most of the central and eastern countries opted for this new route carved out by the Undead Tribe.

Although Silvermoon City also benefitted, the one who gained the most was Terry's mother, the Silvermoon Dragon Queen... Velara Malendith moved her Floating Mountain to the riverbank to collect tolls, thus Agleya did not make much fuss about it.

Some people planned to head to the Underworld, as there was always a fight in the Underdark; as long as one didn't mind the monsters being ugly and smelly, the experience was still abundant.

And then there was Luskan... Though the Undead Tribe wasn't fond of Luskan's atmosphere, it offered escort missions for those caravans heading to the Ten Towns of Icewind Valley.

No merchant daring to trek to Icewind Valley was stupid, especially large caravans. Hiring a team of the Undead Tribe, along with a few barbarian guides, cost a lot but ensured their safe entrance into the Ten Towns, whether for trading or departing without any trouble.

The War God Tampas didn't like dealing with the Undead Tribe but highly approved of having the residents of the Ten Towns who worship him and the barbarian tribes coexist peacefully with the Undead Tribe.

Of course, this could be related to Hill allowing Luskan to establish his and the Red Knight's Temple, but more so because Tampas was quite envious of the Undead Tribe's combat prowess.

One must know, in Icewind Valley, there was no reasoning, only fists.

And the Undead Tribe loved fists the most.

The troublemakers of the Icewind Ten Towns eventually surrendered under the fists... As for the half-orcs in the wild, they now fled at the sight of the Undead Tribe. If they moved too slowly, these peculiar Elves didn't mind wasting mana or their sharp, expensive bows and arrows.

Although constrained by William, the Undead Tribe did not massively enter Icewind Valley, but the Legendary Warriors and War God Priests there dared not do anything to the scattered Undead Tribe!

Yet the hiring fees of the Undead Tribe were very expensive for Toril's caravans, so smaller caravans still hired ordinary adventurers when entering Icewind Valley.

At least now, there was not much of the half-orcs in the wild.

And though the barbarians were ferocious, they knew that having no caravans was not a good thing for them, so unless necessary, they wouldn't attack caravans.

As for Yinbutu, the left family was the Apocalyptic Boss's.

'Lu Huayu' gained everyone's unanimous support because of their friendly relationship with the Yinbutu Crown Prince... Even though Lu Tai wasn't very happy about it.

Probably because the task of guarding Yinbutu, though yielding experience, was too dull.

And there was the responsibility of monitoring the movements in the Giant Valley; any mistakes and he would become a laughingstock.

Yet the Apocalyptic Boss was happy... He could sit atop a tower with his new girlfriend, overlooking the scenery of the Giant Valley, playing 'Spot the Difference' games, and pointing out the foolish operations of those Necromancers.

The stronghold of the Undead Tribe was always built beautifully; this time, the blue Crystal Castle constructed atop the mountain was exquisite.

Apparently, William also considered that the stationed Undead Tribe might get bored.

Hence, the Apocalyptic Boss was almost ecstatic, holding parties in every corner of the castle every day... Occasionally, the Yinbutu Crown Prince would attend these luxurious banquets with some young noblemen and women, much to the satisfaction of the show-off Apocalyptic Boss.

So the only one troubled was 'Lu Huayu', who had to fulfill William's various tasks while ensuring the boss was in a good mood every day.

Luckily, after discovering his chief steward's desire to throw in the towel, their boss quickly raised his salary, and Yinbutu's days got back on track.

On Ferun Great Land, after the main force of the Undead Tribe withdrew from Yinbutu, a period of eerie peace began. The impoverished poor thus got a chance to catch their breath... The battle-hardened Toril Nobles all knew that at any moment, the Goddess of Magic could appear on the Ferun Great Land.

Though some people wanted to play the game of scarcity, most didn't wish to be drawn into this chaotic situation where one in ten survived.

If they wished to lie low, they couldn't oppress these poor excessively, and many nobles even directly freed their serf slaves... The wise ones could see from the Red Robe Mages of Sel's arrogance in recent years who would be the greatest enemy on Mistral's path to resurrection.

No wise person wishes for an undead scourge to appear in their territory.

As for having subordinates burn the bodies of dead slaves to ashes... heh, nobles of the past have thought the same.

But fate, this thing, it strikes unexpectedly, leaving people bewildered.

The more ruthless the noble slave master, the more likely they are to catch the eye of a necromancer, probably because the resentment of the slaves is so deep, making their bodies ideal materials for an undead scourge.

The necromancer doesn't need the gratitude of slaves, the more hatred toward the world, the better satisfied they are... so a plague is all that's needed.

Moreover, the resentment of the soul won't vanish with the burning of the body... no matter how arrogant nobles are, they couldn't possibly turn the cemeteries of the common people to ashes!

Even if there were such a ruthless person in history, they wouldn't burn their family cemetery... No divine magic array overlaid on the family grave will help; no deity of kind alignment would shelter such sinful humans!

The chosen ones by deities, even though they have their flaws, wouldn't do something as base and insidious as Kelben, for instance.

Nobles indeed are the least likely to learn a lesson, but only if it doesn't concern their lives.

Everyone has a gambler's mentality, but an undead scourge that doesn't rest until death ensues is scarier than offending deities. Nobles take pride in their bloodline and certainly don't wish to cut off their lineage due to their own foolishness.

If an undead scourge arises from a family's excessive cruelty, even if a deity intervenes, it won't be pacified until the bloodline of those the undead hate is extinguished.

Otherwise, these undead can only be sealed in some cemetery, waiting for the next necromancer to summon them... then continue hunting down the descendants of that noble.

Of course, there are fools everywhere, and no one will remind them; meanwhile, the neighboring territory will fret a little... Although they'll expand their domain once the neighboring family suffers misfortune, they need to consider whether they can guard against those big troubles the neighbor has caused before that.

Once a necromancer creates an undead scourge, they'll surely work hard to increase the number of undead under the scourge cloud... If they can't defeat a territory, they'll turn away; if they can, they'd leave not even a blade of grass behind.

The nations near Sword Bay, facing the tense atmosphere of the Ferun continent, remain quite at ease; after all, it's either large cities... Even if priests can only use low-level divine arts, the large number of temples and sanctuaries are enough to ensure city safety.

Moreover, though life is tough for the poor in big cities, at least they can survive, and even slaves have a slightly better life... the abundance of temples brings this benefit.

So an undead scourge rarely happens in big cities.

If there's going to be an issue in Sword Bay, the biggest past nuisance was Prince Andreju of Mulan, but now he's become thin strips of flesh in Anmur Cemetery.

Other cities don't really have major troubles.

And those smaller territories, suspecting issues in their neighboring area, mostly set aside a hefty fee to hire Teraxil elves for exorcism.

After all, it's so close, right?

This group of elves with a kind alignment, willing to go to both Kalinsan and Yinbutu, would surely come for money even to places a few days' ride away, right?

Hill looked at the probing letter from the territory near Sword Bay sent by Lynn and sighed helplessly.

If the time truly comes, this place would be the real front line, wouldn't it?

In the Neverwinter Forest near the Haber family's land, lurked subordinates sent by the Elf King of Mulan to monitor, while in the Underworld, Shaer Electors watched intently.

Celene's small chapel and Lansendel's Tower of the Dawn appeared to be built on the far east side of the Green Forest but actually could also overlook Haber's small territory.

Clearly knowing a world-destroying demon lord is sealed here, yet no one moves against the Haber family... which means it can't be touched.

This Long Saddle Town, full of secrets, should be the awakening place AO arranged for the pitiable Midnight-Edna-Mistral.

Hill massaged his temples, realizing his territory indeed has a unique location.

He sighed gently, understanding that the Undead Swamp, a historical place without a true master, was his only choice... If he didn't come, it would ultimately share Neverwinter City's explosive end.

Neverwinter City might leave a slight historical mark due to its total destruction, but the fate of the Undead Swamp would go unnoticed.