Our Family Has Fallen

”It’s hard to say this time,” Walter replied, shaking his head. He glanced at Vick, his expression a subtle warning for the young man not to be too impulsive. ”If we know this road is treacherous, do you think Gene is a fool?”

Seeing his reaction, Vick couldn’t help but press further. ”What else has happened?”

”I’ve heard that Gene returned from the front lines with a hundred-strong army. These men were likely fresh from the battlefield; one-third of whom were Musketeers, with Crossbowmen also among them. They possess ample firepower. We can bully ordinary mercenaries and Caravan Guards, sure, but facing those soldiers might not end well for us. Even if we succeeded, the cost would be too great and not in our best interest.”

Hearing this, Vick cooled down. Although some of them were retired soldiers from the Regular Army, most were just common folk with basic training as Guards. To achieve combat readiness quickly, their training focused on defensive counterattacks, relying on the carriages for immediate cover. They had decent experience fending off raids by scattered bandits, but they lacked offensive strength. It would be foolish for them to attack a hundred-strong unit of Regular Army soldiers fresh from the front lines. As for the core members from Hamlet’s Army, they possessed offensive capabilities, but their numbers were too small. The potential losses, regardless of success or failure, would be unbearable. Simply put, their old tactic of masquerading as bandits to rob travelers was no longer feasible.

”So, what should we do?” Vick asked anxiously. ”If they enter other territories and spread the word, our efforts to block information from those towns and farms will be undone. The atmosphere of isolation we’ve cultivated will shatter, and we’ll lose access to those cheap supplies.”

Walter had made a quick fortune and turned his losses around by skillfully exploiting the era’s poor information flow, creating an environment built on information asymmetry. He created an illusion of widespread chaos for remote towns and farms, allowing him to buy their grain at low prices. To the outside world, he fostered the perception that the war had spawned numerous bandits, discouraging those towns from establishing their own trade routes. As a result, the Walter Conglomerate monopolized these resources, profiting substantially from the ensuing high grain prices.

To some extent, Walter and his group were also a crucial part of this ”frenzy.” Publicly, they weren’t overtly ruthless; at least the prices they offered for grain in those remote areas, while suppressed, were still within a somewhat reasonable range.

However, if Gene succeeded, it would undoubtedly shatter the environment they had painstakingly built. Other merchant caravans would then flock in, carving up the profits that once belonged exclusively to the Walter Conglomerate. A more significant problem was that credibility is vital for merchants. If word of this got out, it could severely damage the Walter Conglomerate’s reputation.

Their only consolation was that they had severed ties with Hamlet early on, so this situation wouldn’t tarnish Hamlet’s name. Still, it was a scenario Vick didn’t want to see.

Walter, on the other hand, was much calmer and casually posed a question. ”How much grain do you think is still left in those places?”

Vick didn’t know the specifics, but Walter had been in this business for many years; how could he possibly be unaware of the production levels in those areas? Previously, when Walter was trapped, his Conglomerate had nearly collapsed, as they were the ones responsible for sourcing grain from the farms in those towns. Later, rampant refugees drove many other caravans out of business, leading to a surplus of grain accumulating even in the more remote locations. It was only when Hamlet deployed troops to eliminate the bandits that Walter’s ”legs” were reattached, so to speak—his trade routes reopened, and transactions resumed.

Under normal circumstances, Walter, as a businessman, would have to consider market capacity, making unrestricted purchasing impossible. However, due to the Lord’s policy of ”amassing grain,” the purchasing cap had been lifted. Gold Coins flooded in, eliminating any need to worry about market saturation. Hamlet would consume as much grain as was available, like a perpetually ravenous beast whose greedy stomach could never be filled.

The vast majority of the traded grain was transported back to Hamlet; only a small portion was loaded on the return journeys to avoid traveling with empty carriages. The caravan fleets continually expanded, eventually being split into several smaller groups for easier management. The contingent Vick led was merely the largest, responsible for liaising with Ovando. Operating within their own territory, they could make a round trip in just three days. Consequently, their operations rapidly depleted the grain reserves in those regions.

Vick wasn’t foolish; he naturally understood the underlying situation. ”So we’re just going to watch them?”

”It’s not like there’s no solution,” Walter said with a smile, giving Vick a meaningful look. ”If we also deploy an army and take them out...”

”No, no!” Vick interrupted Walter before he could finish, shaking his head vehemently, his rejection unconcealed.

Walter isn’t aware of the current state of Hamlet’s Army under the Lord’s leadership, Vick realized, so he had to explain. ”We can only do this dirty work because we’re not part of the army. The military operates under strict regulations. Unless these people are overtly hostile and pose a clear threat, the army cannot unjustly attack civilians. The Lord wouldn’t agree to it either.”

Although Vick had left the military, Hamlet’s Army still held a sacred place in his heart; he believed it incapable of undertaking tasks like attacking civilians.