Our Family Has Fallen

Chapter 337: Chapter 243: The Bloodstained Diary_2

”Strengthening technology will yield even more powerful soldiers. Medical reform will allow more soldiers to survive the battlefield and become experienced veterans. More food means a greater population capacity, which in turn means more soldiers.”

”I understand.”

Grendel understood that the stronger her territory became, the stronger her power of revenge would be. Helping him was helping herself.

「 」

Day One—The intense hunger was so severe it could drive one mad, a feeling I hadn’t experienced for a long time. It immediately brought me back to that past suffering. Betrayal caused us to lose the Lord’s Sanctuary, and it was all self-inflicted.

Day Three—Our shriveled bellies finally received a pitiful amount of food. But before it could even settle, we were driven by the Supervisor with a whip to labor deeper in the wilderness. Any hint of slowness meant the whip would come down on us. The hot pain forced me to reminisce about the good life under the Lord’s Sanctuary. But at this moment, I could only try to keep up and not fall behind.

Day Four—The road toward the deep wilderness was so remote and winding that it could barely be called a path, making our advance arduous. As we delved deeper, I swore I had never seen such a horrific place before. Clusters of mushrooms grew almost everywhere. Everything in sight seemed lifeless, leaving only a dense, despair-inducing spread of mushrooms. But the pace of the ranks was sustained under the whip.

Day Five—Finally, we arrived at Vanguard Camp. Among some collapsed buildings, numb serfs were busy with their tasks. I had no choice and was soon assigned to a work crew along with others to build up the Vanguard Camp under the direction of the whip.

Day Six—There was no rest and no steady food supply. A whole day of intense labor wore me down both physically and mentally, but at least the night brought a chance to rest. However, during roll call, the Supervisor noticed that someone was missing.

Soon, we heard from those who had come earlier that quite a few people had disappeared from the camp. Everyone knew running away was impossible; without the camp’s protection, leaving meant certain death. A strange terror began to spread among us, and the coming of night made everyone’s nerves tense. Tossing and turning, I tried to rid myself of this feeling, silently praying to our Lord for safety. It was superstitious but oddly comforting, and I was almost drifting into sleep...

Day Seven—It seemed my prayers had an effect, as the camp was very calm and safe at night. But now, I and two others were assigned the missing person’s task, responsible for transporting supplies between different camps. The others looked at me as if I were already dead, but I had no option...

Day Eight—I survived another day. This place is terrible, but under the Lord’s blessing, there were no more disappearances, even though each night I yearned to return to the safety of the town.

Day Ten—Death is upon me, and I write this in blood because I betrayed our Lord. As punishment, now I lie here helplessly...

Our squad was attacked by an indescribable, massive monster. A bizarre wail plunged us into despair. Due to my steadfast faith in the Lord, I resisted the soul-shredding cry and turned to flee, dodging the claws but still getting scratched.

Poor Toran couldn’t evade the monster’s claws and was torn apart, his guts spilling out. Xize, attempting to escape, was quickly caught by the beast. All I could hear were the sounds of tearing and screams behind me.

The wounds on my body grew severe as blood slowly oozed from my disfigured form. My limbs began to numb, and I fell to the ground.

I knew I couldn’t escape. From the moment I chose to betray, my fate was sealed...

No! It’s found me...

The diary’s author’s fate is clear from the remaining bloodstains below this point.

Lance set down the few pages of the diary with an odd expression. After a silent moment, he lifted his head to look at the people in front of him.

”How many people have gone missing during this period?”

”Seven. By the time we realize someone is missing and send soldiers to search, we usually only find mutilated corpses, with bite marks and parts eaten by the monster. These bloodstained diaries were found beside the bodies. It seems the monster deliberately targets and eliminates isolated serfs. Meanwhile, soldiers stationed at the camp haven’t detected any monster attacks. Now, many serfs would rather go hungry than venture out. Our supply line is cut off, and we can’t afford to go too deep. We can only pull back the soldiers from the front,” Reynard reported. Balistan and Barton beside him also appeared downcast, vexed at being toyed with by a monster.

They had actually noticed the presence of the monster from the beginning and intended to capture it before reporting to the Lord. After all, they couldn’t possibly bother the Lord with everything, could they? What use would they be then?

However, it seemed as though the monster knew about them, always avoiding the army until it killed three serfs and caused a panic. Only then did they have no choice but to report to the Lord for a decision.

Lance pondered over the Map for a moment. He didn’t need to think twice to know that it must be the work of the ancestor, intentionally causing interference, trying to delay and restrict his development of the wilderness.

Development had only just begun, and if this continued, there would be trouble.

”I was too hasty,” he said. ”Gather the troops. Abandon the aggressive development strategy and opt for a progressive approach to segment and burn the Land of Corruption. Clean up and rebuild those ancient roads and outposts, and continuously nibble away at the enemy’s activity range.”

Lance knew that the bacterial corruption spread very quickly. However, now that he had obtained the Disease-Resistant Shiitake, he had the capital to drag things out. This was because the Shiitake also consumed flesh and blood. For the Ancestor, the more the corruption spread, the less he would be able to eat.

”My Lord, why don’t we concentrate our forces on the western front and use the coastal waterways on the east to transport supplies? This would reduce logistic pressure and complete the segmentation of the Land of Corruption.

”Once the time comes, just one fire would yield a vast expanse of farmland. The harvest could also be transported by water, which is much more convenient than land, freeing up a large number of laborers.”

The others were not fools. On the contrary, they could see the value of an undisturbed transport route.

But Lance, hearing this, slowly shook his head. How could he not know that sea transport was more convenient? The problem was that the water held more than just fish.

”The evil cult is not stupid. If it were that simple, I would have led a team to sail straight over the wilderness from the old port already. The waters in the old district are swarming with monsters. If they discover us going there, we won’t live to tell the tale.”

Humans have their stronghold on land. Once at sea, even the strongest are rendered useless.

It was the first time the others had heard about this threat lurking near Hamlet.

”Let’s handle this steadily. Concerning that monster, it’s not something ordinary soldiers can deal with. Its appearance indicates that those guys are definitely brewing some plot. I will form a squad to delve into it and investigate.”

His own strength was still too weak. If he rashly adopted aggressive tactics, he might end up squandering all he had.

The ancestor had deep pockets and could afford countless losses, but he couldn’t afford to lose even once.

Damn it! All that should have been mine... Ancestor, you really deserve to die!!!

”My Lord, I want to join this mission.”

Reynard and others wished to volunteer for battle, but Lance already had plans for this.

”This mission is mainly about tracking and exploring. There won’t be many enemies. Balistan, get ready to enter the wilderness with me. You two need to rotate between town and the Vanguard Camp defenses.”

They had no objections to the Lord’s arrangements.

Lance then called William and Boudica, explained the situation to them, and told them to get ready for the mission.

After the recent crackdown, the town had become much calmer, and the security team’s role was now limited to maintaining public order. William, on the other hand, had plenty of time.

As for Boudica, this guy was always so happy as long as there was a fight.

”The mission is to clean the wilderness, find that monster, and then kill it!”