Our Family Has Fallen

Chapter 426: Chapter 281: Beast Lair_1

”Originally, the Ascension Sect held a ritual in Hamlet. To this end, they were willing to sacrifice a million lives in Hamlet to summon their so-called god.

However, their conspiracy was detected by our ancestors. They led countless warriors to fight against the Heretics, disrupting the progress of the ritual. Regrettably, the city was still destroyed, but fortunately, the ritual was halted.

And now, they haven’t given up. They still want to summon their god. If no one stops them, once the ritual is complete, it won’t just be Hamlet that is destroyed, but the world.”

Upon hearing this news, Geralt was momentarily overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information. The destruction of Hamlet had been a major event on the continent, widely known and surrounded by various conspiracy theories, but he never imagined this was the truth.

Junia hadn’t known about the events of those years, but from Lance’s few words, she quickly gleaned an understanding of what had transpired and the danger posed by the Ascension Sect.

”We must seek help from the Empire and the Church.”

”No, we cannot resolve Hamlet’s problem through war,” Lance stated. ”The ritual from that year is still ongoing; every life lost here will further advance it. That’s why I must exile the corpses—to delay the ritual.

If the Empire’s armies or the Church’s forces were to come and start a war, their goal would be achieved. I need you to keep this secret for Hamlet. This is a grudge between Hamlet and the Ascension Sect, and we will resolve it ourselves.”

Lance spoke with such righteous conviction that both Junia and Geralt were taken aback.

Truthfully, Lance didn’t mind revealing this information to them; both were individuals worth recruiting. His observations during their journey had shown him that neither had lost their conscience or humanity. Moreover, their abilities would be a significant asset to the talent-starved Hamlet.

”However, as you have seen, the Ascension Church is powerful, and Hamlet’s current strength is insufficient. I need your help.”

Lance raised the torch, carefully observing their reactions. Geralt was an old hand; his lack of immediate commitment was expected. Junia’s silence, however, gave him an uneasy feeling.

Shouldn’t a member of the Church be filled with righteous indignation upon hearing this, vowing to eradicate the Heretics?

That’s right! Lance suddenly realized. Junia, this woman who was imprisoned and tortured in the Church’s dungeon yet managed to fight her way out—she couldn’t be considered an ordinary Nun.

The atmosphere instantly grew awkward. Even Lance found himself at a loss for words.

”Boss, should we go in?” Boudica, however, wasn’t concerned with the unspoken tension between them; her attention had been fixed on the entrance all along.

Her question broke the increasingly strange atmosphere, in a way rescuing Lance from his predicament.

”No, we don’t understand the situation here yet,” Lance explained briefly. ”Let’s head back first. It’s not like the place can run off.”

Then, as if he hadn’t just made that serious pronouncement, he called to Geralt and Junia, suggesting they not return the way they came but instead cut through the wilderness.

On the way back, Lance mentally reviewed the recent events, extracting key information. Slowly, he began to piece together the underlying pattern of the situation.

First, there was the Witch, who had intended to create an army of the infected by corrupting all the creatures in the wilderness.

After the Witch’s death, efforts to develop the wilderness and purge the corruption were interrupted by the case of the disappearing Serfs.

Then, he himself had found the murderer of the Serfs: a Ghoul. During that investigation, he discovered a strange ritual and maggots being cultivated in a Flesh and Blood nest, though regrettably, these were accidentally destroyed.

The Ghoul incident prompted him to search the wilderness further, leading to the discovery of the Heretics’ training camp. After sending troops to capture it, he learned of other nearby camps.

His encounter with the out-of-control Wizard led to meeting Geralt’s group. Seizing the opportunity, he dispatched Geralt to investigate, which subsequently led to the discovery of a new camp and a small town.

Amanda’s prophecy wasn’t something to fear. However, after enduring attacks from the Witch, an impostor Noble Lord, and a Wizard wielding the Power of Flesh and Blood, he had instinctively linked the discovered camps and the underground tomb ritual to the Old Ancestor’s conspiracy.

This was his true concern, as he couldn’t fathom the depths of the Old Ancestor’s scheme.

Only after breaching the town and then seeing through the trap to capture the camp did he realize something.

Could it be that these camps and the tomb rituals weren’t targeting me at all?

He recalled a crucial clue only after interrogating the Slaves: time.

He had connected the camps and the tomb incidents with other events based on the ”time” of his own experiences.

But this might not be the actual timeline. The camps, after all, had been established long before his arrival in Hamlet. The Old Ancestor couldn’t have predicted the future, right? This suggested the camp’s establishment had nothing to do with him.

The matter of the tomb was also peculiar. The ritual there didn’t seem to be a short-term setup but rather a long-term cultivation. Otherwise, how could even the Ascension Sect have apparently forgotten its existence? It was only because the Ghoul was forced out to forage that it stumbled upon it by sheer chance.

These were all just speculations, but when Lance saw the sewer exit, he felt he probably understood everything.