Chapter 63 Killer Winter Is Coming

With only two days until Killer Winter, I needed to make my final preparations.

I had sent my Minions out on their expeditions, however, I was taking some pretty significant casualties. I spent all day reorganising the camp until the sun began to set. I called my Minions back a little earlier than usual due to the fact that the forest was much more dangerous and also because days were much shorter.

? My Minion Manager made its way over to me.

[I've got the end-of-day report]

-

<End of Day Report>

Total resources gathered:

- [x975] wood

- [x20] leaves

- [x38] meat

- [x75] rocks

- [x1] Ultra-Hardened Stone

- [x11] iron

- [x4] gold

Other:

- [x14] Scout Minions Crafted

- [x2] Minion huts built

~

Just from checking my Minions menu, I saw that I had lost 6 Minions for various causes just today. As soon as I received my report, I decided to open my crafting menu and build as many [Advanced Farm Beds] as I could. I needed to be able to gain resources without having to leave my camp, this was the best way to minimise losses and stay safe during the Killer Winter.

I was starting to get a decent number of Farming Scout Minions now that I had a few days to begin training them. I immediately put them to use on the farm beds in order to increase their experience. At this point, I would only be able to make small adjustments.

Now that the sun had set once again, I ate some food and prepared to defend myself during the night. Zombies were coming at increasingly fast rates and I had the smallest army I'd had since several weeks ago. I didn't have to option to simply sleep through the night anymore. I hoped that once I took care of the main zombie wave, I'd be able to get at least a little bit of sleep.

I had been stockpiling Tokens for a significant amount of time and my balance stood at around 200. It was quite a large amount which would be able to help me significantly throughout the harsh winter, especially now that many people were using the Grand Exchange.

With 4 more [Advanced Farm Beds] my total came to 12. This meant that I should be able to collect at least 240 wheat a day with the lowest-level farming Minions. I estimated that the actual amount I should be able to farm was closer to 300. This still wasn't near enough, however.

Just to craft a single Scout Minion, I would need 5 apples and 2 meat. This meant that I wasn't even producing enough wheat to craft a single Scout Minion a day using the Simple Conversion. If I converted those earnings directly into Tokens, it would be around 0.3 Tokens per day. These numbers were quite problematic but I still couldn't increase the rate very easily.

I could spend all of tomorrow cutting down trees in order to make more [Advanced Farm Beds] but even with that, I might only be able to double my current production at most.

This Killer Winter was going to be a devastating one.

My main hope is my current Token balance. With such a large amount of Tokens, I would be able to buy things from the Grand Exchange as I needed them.

The night had come and zombies were showing their disgusting heads through the dense forest. I organised my Minions into a wall and made sure that all of my flanks were covered. I had just barely enough Minions to completely cover the border of the camp, however, I wanted to minimise my losses as much as possible. Thus, I put my Minions into small groups in order to increase their safety.

As a result, zombies regularly make their way through the gaps, forcing me to have to engage them myself. It wasn't a great arrangement but it was the best at the moment. I drew [Mayuri-Luc-Ei] and prepared to fight off some rotten creatures.

My Minions were able to hold the line for the most part. Even as the zombies tried to break through, my Minion formation managed to hold itself. The hoard of zombies clashed with my Minions as they appeared from the forest, endless like an ocean. I spread my 3 Elites around the area in order to command the other Minions in tight situations.

Several zombies had already broken through the gaps in the line and were approaching me. I slashed at them with [Mayuri-Luc-Ei], cutting them down, one by one, however, the number of zombies making their way towards me was only increasing.

I concentrated my thoughts and tensed my body as I held [Mayuri-Luc-Ei] in front of me; I held onto the grip as hard as I could.

Cut them down, Mayuri.

A thick aura gathered around the blade.

I swung the sword, sending a blast of air towards the hoard. I needed to cut down the density of the groups so I was forced to use Mayuri's power. It was going to be a struggle once my arms were sore but I hoped that my Minions would be able to hold them off for the most part.

I had quite a few Archery Scout Minions now so my front line was getting at least a little bit of support. A few minutes later, the number of zombies coming out of the forest was steadily decreasing. It seemed tonight wasn't at vicious as the last few. With a little bit of breathing space, I set my Minions up to alert me in the case of any major issues.

I retreated back into my hut and tried to at least get a little bit of sleep before the next day. I couldn't afford to waste more of my precious daytime sleeping. I needed to gather as many resources as I possibly could before all of my movement was halted due to the Killer Winter.

As I listened to the sound of combat outside, I closed my eyes. I stayed in darkness for a few minutes before finally, I was able to fall asleep.