Our Family Has Fallen

Day broke, and Hamlet Town awoke to its usual bustle, with industrious people starting their busy day early.

This day-to-day drudgery didn’t bore them; instead, the fulfilling and stable life soothed their hearts.

The mundane flames of life and trivial family matters were visible everywhere in the small town.

It’s just that some places had flames that seemed a bit too large...

Seeing columns of smoke shooting into the sky, everyone in the town couldn’t help but turn their attention in that direction.

”Isn’t that the direction of the farms?”

”Could it be a fire?”

”What happened?”

As people were buzzing with speculation, the alarm bell rang out. The soldiers on leave rushed to their barracks, canceling their rest, and the sheriffs began patrolling outside. Everyone realized something was amiss.

”Is it bandits or Heretics?”

”I think it’s those deserters; I heard there’s an ongoing war outside.”

”It’s not coming here, is it?”

”Who cares about the enemy, I’m going to help defend. Anyone who wants to come in has to answer to the tool in my hand first.” The man put down his work and strode towards the town.

”I’ve been through militia training; I’m going too.”

”Count me in!”

Once someone took the lead, many others quickly responded.

Which noble in the Empire could easily muster an army?

Other Lords would struggle to conscript enough hands in the face of an enemy, yet the people of Hamlet took up the responsibility without even waiting for their Lord to ask.

The reason was simple.

In the past, they fed the entire Empire with their blood and flesh for very little in return.

All they wanted was to live, what was wrong with that?

But what did they get?

It was only after fleeing from a series of natural and man-made disasters did they truly understand the meaning of ”Better to be a dog in a peaceful time than a human in a chaotic world.”

Fortunately, their Lord saved them, welcomed them, and brought them new hope.

From having enough to eat to being well-fed, and now they could even enjoy meat and fish from time to time.

Hard work was rewarded, there were no difficult supervisors, no nobles or bureaucrats to oppress them.

Saving a little money, they could even afford to send their children to school to learn to read. Today a child would be rewarded with an egg, and tomorrow another with milk.

Everyone could feel that life was getting better day by day.

Yet now, someone wanted to destroy this life, to steal their hope.

They would have to see if the people of Hamlet would stand for it!

Even the most mild-mannered individuals were now picking up the nearest tool or weapon and following the others.

Human nature is strange sometimes.

You say they’re weak and easily bullied, like those villages slaughtered by the Warwolves, where, knowing death was certain, no one dared to resist.

But now, these very same ordinary people, once they have a belief and a leader, can unleash a terrifying power.

All who have underestimated them will pay the price.

Meanwhile, the refugees in the camp also saw the smoke column, but most of them were indifferent and dismissive, too lazy to care or understand what it meant.

But among them, within a tattered tent, a few Heretics began to congregate.

”Do we act now?”

”No, wait until they deploy their troops; some will join us then.”

A few people gathered whispering to each other, and sure enough, once the well-equipped Cavalry had left, murmurs began spreading throughout the camp.

Claims that the war had reached their borders…

Whispers that they had been abandoned, left to die...

Accusations that the Lord had betrayed them...

And more...

Why do rumors have a market? Because they fit the emotional needs of a certain group of people.

Refugees who had fled the flames of war, longing to escape further conflict, reacted strongly to such words.

Eventually, the agitators revealed their true intentions.

”Only by fleeing into the town can one survive.”

”Run for it!”

”Why should they get to eat meat while we have only watery porridge?”

”Let’s storm in, eat their food, drink their fill!”

”Brothers, follow me!”

With these incitements, a strange sensation spread among the crowd, a sinister force that stirred their minds, bringing out the emotions of the refugees. Soon the entire camp was engulfed in chaos, and the panic intensified.

Then a few rabble-rousers emerged as leaders, and these refugees began to march toward Hamlet Town, while the instigators slowly vanished among the crowd.

Hundreds of agitated refugees surged towards the town. If these people broke in, chaos would ensue, not to mention the hidden Heretics among them.

But one must know the location of Hamlet’s military camp—it stood guard right at the entrance to the town.

As the refugees approached, they encountered an army that had already completed preparations, blocking their path at the gated entrance to the town.

This was a group of fifty infantrymen, arranged in a double-line formation.

Their equipment had been updated. There were no more Spearmen; all were now armed with long-barreled muskets.

To ensure their close-combat ability, the military leadership had also made improvements. One could see a short-barreled musket at their sides, along with a bayonet.

When necessary, they were just as capable in melee by attaching their bayonets.

This batch of soldiers had completed their refitting. They had adapted to new tactics and formations through training and were supposed to rotate to the wilderness in a few days. However, they now found themselves in a real combat situation.

Out of that group, a leader with a tin megaphone stepped forward and began to address the approaching refugees.