Our Family Has Fallen

Grendel fell silent at the right moment, following Lance’s gaze and also noticed Amanda approaching from the other side.

When she saw that a black bird had unexpectedly appeared in Amanda’s hand, she couldn’t help but mutter a seemingly nonsensical phrase to Lance.

”People from Eagle Flock are all trained to domesticate birds. I thought she had killed it before, but now it seems she left a secret technique on the bird and deliberately let it go. That’s why she could pinpoint the knights’ location.”

Why did Grendel suddenly say this?

Lance could probably guess.

Grendel was gentle in nature, but that didn’t mean she was foolish. This was her way of reminding him that Amanda might have already interrogated that member of Eagle Flock, or perhaps had even determined the knights’ locations in advance. The pose Amanda struck afterward was just an act, a display of loyalty.

But Lance just smiled and replied, ”Don’t try to speculate on people’s hearts. We just need to watch what she does.”

Lance, in fact, understood better than anyone that Amanda’s act of bringing the prisoner to him was a performance.

He didn’t care about Amanda’s intentions. He only needed to know that her actions were beneficial to him.

Amanda was also highly perceptive. She noticed their glances and whispers, but when she got closer, she couldn’t hear anything and could only attempt to probe.

”Is there something wrong with me?”

”I’m discussing this item with Miss Dai’er, and I bet you, Amanda, might know its origins.”

Lance raised the Bird Whistle he had just found in the pouch, an item that also possessed Supernatural Power.

Amanda looked at the item and, with just one glance, figured out what it was, a confident smile appearing on her face.

”This is Eagle Flock’s Bird Whistle; it can summon birds. I’ve heard that people from Eagle Flock also know how to use this item to communicate with and tame birds.”

”It seems I’ve won,” Lance said with a smile, looking at Grendel.

Grendel was not foolish. She naturally understood Lance’s words to mean that Amanda was still useful to him, so she didn’t dwell on the matter any further.

Amanda could sense that they seemed to hold some opinions about her…

In fact, Grendel was right, but not entirely.

Amanda’s decision to side with Lance was made not after the interrogation, but during the battle between Lance and Warwolf.

Her fight with Laura hadn’t lasted long. After all, wasn’t she a genius herself? A child couldn’t withstand more than a few of her moves before being subdued. So, she had essentially watched the entire battle between Lance and Warwolf.

Faced with a monster of such strength, she knew she probably wouldn’t have time to resist before being instantly killed by a single swipe of its claws. In her estimation, not even the entire organization could find someone to contend with it.

Even the Elders, unless given a great deal of preparation time and several of them were present simultaneously using those powerful pieces of Extraordinary Equipment, would be no match for such a monster.

And it was such a powerful monster that was slain alone by that man.

In Amanda’s eyes, Grendel was also seriously slacking, basically a negligible presence.

When Lance killed Warwolf, Amanda was completely conquered at that moment.

In this desperate world, no one could resist the allure of power.

Amanda knew that Eagle Flock represented Bastia, but what of it?

That man was too strong!

No wonder Tamara, who was haughty and had a terrible personality, was easily manipulated by him—now she could understand.

If Tamara had taken over the organization, then she would take this man for herself.

Question her, understand her, become her.

Amanda urgently needed to demonstrate her abilities to catch his attention.

As for Grendel’s mistaken guess, the matter of the Hawk was actually a coincidence.

Amanda had originally suspected other members of Eagle Flock were the targets. So, after tampering with the Hawk, she released it. She never expected it would lead to an Order of Knights, and that the two individuals leading it would be so prominent.

It could be said that Amanda’s reaction after hearing Laura’s words was genuinely conflicted.

But she knew that retreating would mean losing all chances, even though she was aware that Bastia’s strength far surpassed that of Hamlet. Still, she was willing to put her faith in that man.

Instead of shrinking back to protect herself, she stood up to prove her own abilities.

Clearly, her actions had earned her a measure of Lance’s regard. In the past, he wouldn’t have even bothered to give her a perfunctory response, let alone involve her in such matters.

Amanda had not participated in the recent battle, but as an onlooker, she had seen how terrifying the soldiers under that man’s leadership could be, having actually defeated Bastia’s Order of Knights.

This further reaffirmed Amanda’s choice, so after the battle ended, she followed Grendel over.

The Eagle Flock member named Laura hadn’t followed the main force, so she was somewhat unaware of the experiences of the Order of Knights.

What she needed to do was pry open the lips of those knights to obtain more information about this Order, and clearly, she had succeeded.

Amanda was very self-aware. Not wanting to press the issue, she proactively changed the subject and presented her findings.

”I have roughly found out what happened to them after they entered Hamlet…”

Listening to Amanda’s account, Lance found himself caught between laughter and tears, as these men had actually mistaken Heretics for their own people.

But he soon could not laugh anymore. He finally understood why the Elder possessed the power to descend with such divine fury: so much bloodshed had erupted on the land of Hamlet.

The death of dozens, even hundreds, like this—how much evil would it spawn!

Lance knew that the town and other places must have been attacked as well, but he chose to believe in his people and decided to deal with the Order of Knights first.

They had just dealt with the Order of Knights and hadn’t even had a chance to sit down and rest when these new issues arose. Lance couldn’t stay seated any longer. He raised his hand to interrupt Amanda’s account.

”We can talk about other matters once I return.” He then turned to Grendel. ”I’ll leave this to you.”

Lance had Reynard assemble the Cavalry to begin clearing out the Heretics around Hamlet, while he himself dashed out alone.

He had to recover those bodies quickly, not just to replenish what he had expended in this battle but also to prevent the Elder from gorging on them.

Amanda hadn’t even reacted before Lance had already run off, leaving her with a moment of indecision, wondering if her performance had impressed him...

Grendel, however, was used to Lance’s decisive and swift manner. She had a premonition that after this battle, Hamlet would enter a new chapter.

But for now, the immediate task was to handle the matters at hand. So, without saying much more, she turned to continue managing the aftermath.

The other knights also had bundles, from which a large number of items were recovered. The supplies on the horses also needed to be inventoried and stored.

Within Hamlet’s Army, the concept of private spoils did not exist. All captured goods were communal. If you performed meritorious service, you would naturally be rewarded, whether with military honors or material gifts. However, one shouldn’t focus on anything else.

To maintain the combat strength of a troop, not only must rewards and punishments be clear, but military discipline must also be strictly upheld.

Once military discipline became corrupted, they would be no different from the armies of other Feudal Nobility.

Lance directly activated Bloodhound Tracking. He didn’t even need to painstakingly search for tracks; the route taken by the Order of Knights appeared before him. It just went to show how useful Warwolf’s Ability was.

Even before he stepped onto the battlefield, a rich scent of blood assailed his nostrils. As he drew closer, Lance made no effort to hide his revulsion at the scene before him.

Severed limbs, flayed skin, exposed innards, and, of course, grotesquely twisted faces. Dry, darkened bloodstains spread across everything, making the scene even more desperate.

Blood soaked the earth, forming pools in the low-lying areas where it couldn’t seep into the saturated ground quickly enough. One had to wonder what sort of monstrous creatures might be nourished and born from it after this day.

As he’d said, he didn’t like bloodshed or killing. In reality, many of these people likely weren’t even followers of the Ascension Sect, just ignorant masses who had been stirred up.

But Lance had no time for slow reflection; he hastily sacrificed the bodies and then hurriedly moved to the next site.

Lance dared not linger, for every minute he delayed, the Elder’s strength grew by another minute…