Our Family Has Fallen

Grendel frequently dealt with Bastia on business matters, and it was precisely because she knew the extent of their power that she found the situation troublesome. The Evil God’s cult was rampant in Hamlet, and the Evil God itself loomed menacingly. If they were to provoke Bastia now, it would be a heavy blow to Hamlet, which was still in a fragile state.

Amanda also felt uneasy. Her recent exaggeration of the Eagle Flock’s importance and her promotion of threat theories were merely to obliquely highlight her own greater significance. It was feasible to bully an isolated Eagle Flock, and she had no intention of letting anyone return alive. But if they indeed provoked an Earl with real power, for her...

But at this moment, Lance, the one who had been singled out, actually burst into laughter. ”What did you say? One man, two horses? Is there really such a good deal?”

Lance had thought the matter was over, but this statement immediately ignited his excitement, and he eagerly questioned the prisoner. However, she had escaped the previous night and couldn’t specify an exact location. Instead, due to the relentless questioning, she collapsed from a breakdown and fainted.

Lance’s attitude left both Grendel and Amanda feeling somewhat helpless. That’s an Earl with real power, not some rundown place like Hamlet! And he’s laughing when they’re talking about replacing him? Honestly, he needs to get a grip!

”My Lord, that’s no ordinary enemy. Do not underestimate Bastia’s power,” Grendel said. She knew Lance had been coveting warhorses for a long time—a strategic resource hard to buy even with money—but...

”But this is Hamlet! It’s not Bastia’s turn to run wild here!” Lance declared decisively, with no intention of slowly explaining things to the two of them, and he immediately strode out. He was just busy dealing with the Old Ancestor and couldn’t be bothered with these nuisances. Besides, he wasn’t afraid of those so-called Imperial Nobles. If they dared to invade, he would ensure they returned in utter defeat!

”I understand. I will take care of things here. Please rest assured,” Grendel said no more and followed his steps, taking on the responsibility of managing the aftermath.

Amanda hesitated as well. She did not want to be dragged into a conflict between two Earls, yet Tamara was gaining more and more importance within the organization, while she herself was left here, neglected. Even the necromancy network had failed, which effectively turned her role as leader into a joke. If she continued to muddle along like this, she feared she might indeed be casually crushed. Now, she faced a choice.

”Give me some time; I can find their location,” Amanda stated decisively. She had made her choice and quickly followed them out, walking briskly. Looking at her slightly fierce expression, she resembled a desperate gambler who had placed all her bets on Lance.

Lance glanced at Amanda in surprise. He hadn’t expected her to get involved in this matter. Logically, she should be downplaying her involvement and playing dumb right now—that’s the Romani way to survive. So Lance hadn’t paid much attention to her attitude. But now she was acting like this?

Amanda’s proactive stance raised Lance’s vigilance, but he didn’t reject her offer. After all, her ability to capture Tamara spoke volumes. Whatever her intentions, those cavalrymen were more important right now. Lance could not allow them to escape Hamlet; they had to be caught!

”Why hasn’t Reynard’s Cavalry Squad arrived yet?” As he spoke, Lance looked towards Hamlet but quickly realized something, his brow furrowing as he muttered softly, ”It seems I’ve still underestimated the Sect of Ascension...”

The Cavalry Squad needed to remove their training gear and then collect their combat equipment before departing. And they didn’t have the advantage of one man with two horses. So, during their march, to remain ready to charge into battle at any moment, they had to conserve their horses’ energy and avoid rushing.

Lance had no such concerns. He simply got out of bed and left the house. With [Bless] in hand, he didn’t need to worry about the horses’ stamina—a charge was all it took. In fact, Grendel’s Messenger had woken him before the soldiers informed him, which explained his insistence on going out there personally. Grendel was indispensable!

But now, so much time had passed and Reynard still hadn’t arrived. There were only two possibilities: either something had happened in town that forced them to return to defend it, or the Cavalry Squad was held up by something on the road. Of course, there was also the possibility that Reynard had betrayed them and fled, but Lance didn’t even entertain that thought. Even conjecturing such a thing would be an insult to Reynard.

”Prepare a horse. I’ll go take a look,” Lance said, then turned to Amanda. ”If there’s anything you need, talk to Miss Dai’er. I hope to get the exact location of those men as quickly as possible.”

”Understood,” Amanda replied, somewhat excited. After so long, I’m finally being acknowledged. All my preparations haven’t been in vain.

Lance had no time to waste on chatter. He immediately spurred his horse into a mad gallop and, not far from the farm, found Reynard’s Cavalry Squad. However, their condition was far from good; almost everyone was spattered with a considerable amount of blood, clearly having fought their way there.

Lance stopped the troop. Reynard was at the lead, his armor still smeared with wet blood. ”What happened on the road?” Lance asked.

”My Lord, we encountered more than one ambush from the heretics...” Reynard briefly explained the situation. Fortunately, they were on horseback and well-equipped. So, although they were slightly delayed, they had only suffered a few minor injuries and no deaths. They were indeed quite familiar with these heretics, and their combat style was specifically tailored to counter them.

But Lance’s attention wasn’t on that. Now that Reynard had finished speaking, he finally understood why the Old Ancestor suddenly had the strength to empower the Warwolf. Damn it, so that’s why they were waiting for him here! This couldn’t just be a ploy to lure him away and keep him occupied, or even an attempt to eliminate him at the Warwolf’s hand. The Warwolf, the Old Ancestor, and now Bastia... Hamlet is a complete mess!

”My Lord, what’s the situation at the farm?” Reynard’s impatient inquiry brought Lance back to reality.

”I’ve taken care of it. A group of Barbarian Tribes broke in. They were quite strong; I barely won.”

This was the first time Reynard had heard the Lord describe an enemy like that. It spoke volumes about the peril of the fight. And he hadn’t been there... He had truly failed in his duty. But now wasn’t the time to dwell on that. Reynard was more concerned about the overall battle situation and offered his advice to the Lord. ”They are obviously prepared and have launched a planned attack. Since they’ve made their move, it won’t be that simple. Now that the farm is safe, we should fall back to defend the town. Furthermore, with so many refugees in the wilderness development area, problems are bound to arise. No one knows how many heretics have infiltrated. Neither the two camps nor the outpost can afford any issues.”

His words clearly carried an edge of impatience. There was no help for it; he was acutely aware of the outpost’s significance and that it had to remain secure, and they were the only mobile force in Hamlet.

Regrettably, Lance did not seem inclined to take his advice. Instead, he looked toward Hamlet. ”I know. But since no smoke signals are rising from the other areas, it shows they can still handle it. I choose to trust them.”

From Reynard’s description, it was clear that the Sect of Ascension was also running low on resources; otherwise, they wouldn’t be using ordinary followers to make up numbers. Lance had poured so much money into raising an army and gathering a host of heroes. If they couldn’t even stop these ’foul fish and rotten shrimp,’ then they were truly useless.

”You have a more important task. A group of about fifty well-equipped cavalrymen has broken into Hamlet; those are your real opponents. Now, go immediately to the farm, rest up, and await orders.”

”Yes, My Lord!”

The cavalrymen did not hesitate to carry out the command. Upon hearing about the presence of another cavalry force, Reynard understood. At this stage, only their squad could face regular cavalry in direct combat. And an enemy that could field fifty well-equipped cavalrymen clearly had significant backing.

Reynard led the Cavalry Squad to the farm to rest and reorganize, while Lance turned back, heading along the road to offer up all the corpses as sacrifices. Leftovers or not, he had to scrape every last bit from the Old Ancestor’s bowl!

By the time he returned to the farm, the cavalrymen had completed their rest, and the injured had received treatment. At the same time, Amanda delivered her findings: fate pointed in a certain direction.

Lance looked that way, his expression a bit strange. ”Are you saying they’re actually heading this way...?”