Whispers of Twenty Thousand Departed Souls

Since Karen subdued Cliff, he had not ventured out to slaughter goblins again. Over the next three days, Karen simply collected the corpses from the three tribes he had previously annihilated, along with the "Whisper of the Dead." From these tribes, Karen brought back approximately a thousand first-tier corpses and nearly twelve thousand units of "Whisper of the Dead" energy.

He did not use these resources immediately. Karen was waiting—waiting for the supplies from Moon Worship City to arrive, and for the Ghosts to take the bait.

Yes, precisely, waiting for the Ghosts to fall into his trap!

In fact, his previous meeting with Dima was nothing but a carefully laid snare, one intended not only for the Ghosts but also for the faction allied with them. By now, Karen was almost certain that there was a force in Moon Worship City collaborating with the Ghosts, and their objective, as he had deduced, was the border trade market.

After gaining control over Cliff, Karen learned that although the Ghosts traded with the Silver Hand, various restrictions kept the scale relatively small, and much of the profit ended up in the pockets of noblemen. The Ghosts themselves earned little. This was one of the known reasons behind the Ghosts' sudden aggression; the rest remained unclear but were of little importance.

With this knowledge, Karen could confidently deduce the intentions of the Ghosts and their partners in Moon Worship City. If their goal truly was border trade, then Karen was undoubtedly a thorn in their side. They could not allow him to remain. If Karen were in their position, he would not tolerate such an unstable element nearby either.

For this reason, Karen had set his trap. If his and Cliff's speculations were correct, the Ghosts would soon make a move against him—most likely within days of Cliff's return.

As expected, everything proceeded according to Karen's calculations. On the third night after Karen had secured Cliff, the Ghosts came once more to Karen's territory. Dima led the group again, but this time he was not alone; he brought over a hundred men and delivered a shipment of supplies.

Thanks to the territory's automatic inventory system, Karen immediately knew what had arrived. Truth be told, despite his expectations, Karen was still taken aback by the Ghosts' generosity.

...

"Whisper of the Dead": 2,600 units of "junk" quality, 30 units of "ordinary" quality.
Corpses: 53 second-tier goblin corpses, 11 third-tier goblin corpses.

...

Seeing the numbers displayed on the territory's statistics panel, Karen's face blossomed into a radiant smile, as if flowers had bloomed across it; he nearly rushed over to embrace Dima in gratitude. Yet he complained aloud, "The corpses will keep me busy for several months—oh, wait, just over ten days perhaps—but the 'Whisper of the Dead' is a bit lacking!"

At his words, Dima's gaze flickered, especially when Karen mentioned "several months," causing Dima's lips to twitch slightly. Of course, Dima outwardly assured him this was merely the first batch; he would deliver the second as soon as possible.

After a brief, insincere exchange, Karen feigned eagerness to study necromancy, and Dima obligingly took his leave.

However, after Dima and his men exited Karen's territory, they did not depart immediately. Five miles beyond the border, they dispersed, circling the area several times and thoroughly familiarizing themselves with the terrain. Eventually, they chose the most suitable spot to lie in wait.

Their mission was to monitor Karen, ensuring his strength did not change before their operation began.

Meanwhile, Karen, upon receiving the supplies, buried both the corpses and the "Whisper of the Dead" underground. Of course, the latter only appeared to be buried; in truth, Karen converted it directly into territory energy.

Karen's territory energy, already at 14,220, now surged to a staggering 53,220 with the addition of 29,000 units.

Yet this was not his peak. The following day, the Moon Worship City convoy finally arrived, led by Old Jack, who brought the promised supplies. Naturally, it was not the full amount—Karen's earlier demands had been outrageous: over a million units of "Whisper of the Dead" and tens of thousands of second-tier corpses, which the city simply could not provide. Still, Old Jack brought a considerable haul.

...

"Whisper of the Dead": 18,600 units of "junk" quality, 600 units of "ordinary" quality.
Corpses: 69 second-tier prisoner corpses, 6 third-tier prisoner corpses.

...

It was clear Moon Worship City had made considerable efforts to collect the "Whisper of the Dead." Over eighteen thousand units must have required a city-wide mobilization, combing through every graveyard nearby; Karen was pleased with the number. As for the corpses, their effort was less impressive—if they truly wished to deliver, even prisoner corpses should have numbered more than seventy-five.

Nevertheless, this batch of supplies was adequate. With these resources, should the Ghosts stubbornly attack, Karen was confident he could defeat them, laying the foundation for his dominance over the entire Goblin Forest.

Of course, despite his satisfaction, Karen adopted a rather disgruntled demeanor. Recently, being extorted by both the Ghosts and Moon Worship City in succession had left him addicted to the practice; he could not resist the urge to squeeze more from the city.

In response, Old Jack simply brought forward the true delivery manager, a trusted aide of Ryan, for Karen to extort. Not only that, Old Jack assisted Karen, enabling him to extract even more resources.

Yet, extortion aside, Karen would eventually have to let them take Cliff away. Speaking of Cliff's departure, the coward had begun pestering Karen since the previous night, clinging desperately to his leg.

Though timid, Cliff was shrewder than most. He knew full well that Ryan was aware of who had orchestrated that affair. Terrified of Ryan's retaliation upon his return, he clung to Karen, knowing that, regardless of Ryan's immediate restraint, Karen's side felt far safer than Moon Worship City.

But even so, Cliff would have to return; after all, Karen still had tasks for him to accomplish.