Our Family Has Fallen

Chapter 23: Chapter 23: Farm Situation_1

”Wake them up. I want the number of guards at the farm, their equipment status, and their deployment.”

There were some things he didn’t need to do himself, and Dismas was quite willing to take on the task.

Lance picked up the two crossbows and began inspecting them. By examining the guards’ weapons, he gained a rough understanding of their equipment. The breastplate worn by the squad leader was merely a layer of iron plate, not heavy Knight’s Armor like Reynard’s. Naturally, its protective effect was average. It could withstand a slash or two, but a longsword thrust might penetrate it, let alone stop bullets.

But those two crossbows were clearly out of the ordinary. Although the markings had been worn away, Lance’s expertise allowed him to identify them as standard-issue military armaments.

It was no wonder Lance was surprised, for such weaponry was typically only issued to the Regular Army. How could a farm owner in a remote fishing village acquire such items?

However, judging by their condition, they had been used quite often. With the worn markings, it was highly likely that this was phased-out equipment sold off by logistics personnel in charge of armaments.

”My Lord, they’ve confessed.”

Dismas’s words brought Lance back to his senses. Looking again at the squad leader who had been strung up, his face was now ashen; clearly, they had dealt with him harshly.

”Lower him.”

At Lance’s command, Dismas lowered the man and pushed him directly in front of Lance.

”Speak. What you say next will determine whether you live or die.”

Men like them weren’t Knights; they wouldn’t speak of loyalty.

For a few hundred coins a month, why risk their lives?

As the elite squad leader began to speak, Lance quickly gained a general understanding of the farm’s situation and organized the information.

Although the farm owner had not been directly affected by the bandits, he was terrified of another attack. Consequently, he had been holed up on his farm, surrounded by a large contingent of guards for his protection.

The farm owner had over fifty guards in total. However, only thirty were truly combat-capable: twenty warriors and ten crossbowmen. The remaining twenty-odd were ordinary guards, lacking armor and ranged weapons; some even had no weapons, carrying only whips. These were essentially serfs promoted to oversee other serfs.

Among the twenty warriors, five were elite squad leaders, each wearing a breastplate like the captive’s. This meant that after Lance had detained this group, eight crossbowmen and seventeen warriors, including four elite squad leaders, remained at the farm manor.

The only good news was that the farm owner was a traditionalist. According to this squad leader, the farm owner did not trust those muskets, which took two to three minutes to load.

This meant that the Gunners Lance was most wary of were not present at the manor.

He also learned the locations of the defensive guard posts and their shift schedules.

An elite squad leader, accompanied by three guards and two crossbowmen, formed a squad on duty, rotating in three shifts, day and night without cease.

There were also three checkpoints on the essential routes outside, where everyone entering or exiting had to be inspected.

The interlocking guard posts created a dense protective net—it would be quite difficult to breach.

”Who arranged all this?” Lance found these arrangements too methodical; it was hard to believe they were the work of a mere farm owner.

”It was that kid, David.”

Although the squad leader had started talking, it wasn’t as if he intended to reveal everything. However, when he mentioned David’s name, his voice was tinged with jealousy. It was clear he bore a grudge against this David.

This, in turn, piqued Lance’s interest, prompting him to inquire further.

”Tell me about this man in detail.”

According to the squad leader, David’s parents died when he was young, and he grew up as a street loafer. During the bandit invasion, he was conscripted as a militiaman and underwent some training.

He was said to have killed a bandit when the war came, but he also fled when the militia disintegrated. Somehow, he survived, with a few deserters tagging along.

Afterward, when the mayor was recruiting militia and mercenaries, David refused to join. Instead, he took his three closest deserter companions and joined the farm owner’s forces.

Upon arrival, David defeated the strongest among their guards. Furthermore, the farm owner married his daughter to him and put him in charge of the farm’s defense, effectively making him the head of the guards.

But David’s arrival also threatened those like the squad leader who were originally farm guards.

Of the five elite squad leaders, only two were from the original group; the other three were David’s men.

After taking charge, David shook things up, forcing the guards to train and assigning them various tasks.

”Damn it!” the squad leader spat. ”I used to just lie in my rocking chair watching the serfs, and if anyone disobeyed, I’d give them a few lashes. Now, I’m like those serfs every day, either training or patrolling. If I’m caught slacking, I get whipped too!”

No wonder they indulged in feasting and revelry as soon as they left the farm; it was simply too oppressive in there.

The squad leader ranted about David, pouring out his grievances, but Lance, who had never met the man, felt a sense of threat from him.

Orphaned, drifting aimlessly for decades, then suddenly, after some rudimentary training, he was able to kill a bandit. He escaped death and even gathered a few diehard followers.

If all this could be attributed merely to luck and talent, David’s choice to side with the farm owner instead of the mayor already showed he was no simple man.

The mayor had experienced mercenaries, so David would have struggled to advance if he had joined them.

On the other hand, the farm owner controlled the town’s food supply but had only incompetent guards. Joining him allowed David to gain more.

The results spoke for themselves: these militia, with some training and equipment, easily overpowered the original guards.

And David went from a street tough to the farm owner’s son-in-law, wielding military power—an outright leap in social standing.

Moreover, David wasn’t satisfied with just that. He trained the guards, ostensibly to fend off bandits, but under his command, the farm’s forces were raised to a new level, even rivaling the mayor’s. Furthermore, he made a fortune by inflating grain prices.

This man was intelligent and capable, with long-term vision, not limited to the immediate future. He was undoubtedly a genius.

If it were only that, it might not be so bad, but Lance was more afraid that this David might be...

Lance fell silent. A flicker of gravity crossed his half-closed eyes, but he quickly composed himself, a faint smile appearing on his face. He then turned to the squad leader and said, ”The mayor and the farm owner exploited the bandit threat, endangering Hamlet’s safety. You saw what happened to the mayor. Do you know what your crime is now?”

”I don’t know,” the squad leader shook his head, his face showing confusion.

”As a guard for the farm owner, you’re an accomplice. That’s a capital offense, do you understand?”

”Huh?!” The squad leader was stunned, then quickly tried to defend himself, ”I’m innocent! I didn’t do anything!”

He might admit to bullying and lechery, but endangering Hamlet’s safety? He didn’t even understand what that meant. How had it suddenly become a capital crime?

”I am the Lord. Do you have an objection?”

The squad leader was filled with regret. How could he be so unlucky? He was supposed to return tomorrow morning.