Our Family Has Fallen

Tadiff had no opinion on his employer’s words, and naturally, neither Dismas nor Boudica said anything.

Lance left his Map for them, marking out the route, since not everyone could imprint the path in their minds like he could.

Before leaving, Lance also applied Corpse Decomposition Spores to all their weapons, so even if they encountered Heretics again, they would have the strength to fight.

It was always prudent to have a backup plan in case anything unexpected occurred.

Soon, Lance left the group alone and sprinted deeper into the passage, leaving Tadiff to lead the way out with the Map.

Lance’s strong physique provided him with enduring stamina. The explored passages could not hinder him, and he quickly arrived at the marked spot.

It was above a certain section of the passage, with nothing around but brick walls.

Lance took out the Map confiscated from the Heretical Witch and carefully compared it while walking along the wall, tapping it.

Sure enough, he heard an unusual hollow echo at one part of the wall.

Upon discovering this, Lance immediately took out a torch and inspected the brick wall closely before pushing forcefully against it without much hesitation.

The heavy and solid brick wall surprisingly moved inward as a whole, quickly revealing a half-person-high entrance.

After a brief hesitation, Lance stepped in, the flame of his torch illuminating the interior.

He discovered a dark room with walls made of brick and stone, cluttered with assorted weapons and armor; a pile of hastily written, difficult-to-read scrolls; stacks of books; and even water and dried meat.

Among those items, an exquisitely crafted large chest stood out prominently.

Seeing the contents, Lance was not overly surprised; instead, he looked as if he had expected this.

In game instances, scouting can sometimes spawn secret doors, akin to a hidden treasure room, where one can obtain substantial rewards. But in reality, this can hardly be called a reward; it looks more like a secret stronghold used by the Heretics.

Lance, by the light of the torch, quickly skimmed through the messy items. He even sensed something odd about the scrolls and books.

The chest was locked, and there was no time for him to study it slowly.

The only certainty was that Pigmen definitely lacked the capability to construct secret chambers here. Considering the Map was obtained from Heretics, the purpose of the room was self-explanatory.

With time pressing, Lance quickly discarded most of the items into the Exhibition Room. As for the supplies like dried meat, he dared not take them—not only was it uncertain if they were edible, but the origin of the meat was also unclear.

Since defeating the Collector and obtaining the Exhibition Room, it had rarely been filled to the brim. But now, after the expedition to the Beast Lair, the haul had been so plentiful that it was nearly full.

The value of these items, however, was not great. The corpses promised to Paracelsus took up much space, and the steel equipment from the Pigmen was merely collected and hidden away, to be retrieved on their next visit.

As time passed, Lance vaguely felt that the space in the Exhibition Room was becoming insufficient.

However, he couldn’t worry about that now. He quickly tidied up and left the chamber.

The path had already been cleared once, so there were no encounters with monsters or Ascension Cultists.

Very smoothly, when a light source finally appeared ahead, Lance realized something, and his steps quickened without hesitation as he burst into the white light.

In an instant, everything before his eyes blurred in the harsh sunlight. His vision was overwhelmed by the searing white glare, causing his eyes to sting and reflexively close, but that did not stop tears from continuously streaming.

No wonder those Pigmen never come out; under the sunlight, their ugliness and sins have nowhere to hide.

But Lance didn’t care about that. For him, staying in the Beast Lair for a long time was torment. Now that he was out, feeling the intense, natural air of the wilderness was like escaping from a prison after being locked up for over a decade.

Squinting and taking a few steps forward, his eyes slowly adapted. The surrounding scenery began to come into focus, finally free from the dim and dirty tunnels and the monotonous brick walls.

It wasn’t that Lance was under no pressure; on the contrary, he was responsible for the team and bore the greatest burden.

But now, the massive pressure that had made him nearly go crazy seemed to melt away like snow in the sunshine.

Lance’s condition quickly recovered, and he looked back at the cave entrance that had begun to feel unfamiliar.

Reflecting on their journey inward, where they had explored and created the Map while completing all battles with a 100% success rate, they had performed exceptionally well.

Feeling the Spiritual Essence brimming within, he understood that indeed, only through killing and death could one reap such substantial rewards.

If I were to be trapped by the tedious politics of the town, unable to utilize the miraculous powers granted by my system, that would be the greatest loss.

Lance grew increasingly eager to train a capable proxy to take over those tasks and set himself free.

To resolve the rotting situation left by his ancestor, Lance had only one method:

To counter killing with killing, death with death.

「In Ovando City, at the headquarters of the Gene Commercial Group.」

Inside the meeting room, Gene, waving his arms with fervor, announced to everyone:

”We are the first merchants in the Ovando region to make contact with the front lines, and this is a tremendous victory!”

His words instantly plunged the room into a frenzy, with everyone excitedly discussing the gains from this venture, and Gene himself sported a smile of confidence, even arrogance.

It was confirmed that city-based, merchant-led, emerging forces had banded together to form an army centered around the new nobles, to protect their interests from being destroyed by the Rebels.

The rich merchants were not short on money. They spared no expense to protect their base, pouring vast investments into the war, and with countless Gold Coins, they stopped the Rebels in their tracks.

War was a battle of logistics, where securing grain supplies was essential once combat commenced, hence the policy of buying grain at high prices.

This time, under Gene’s leadership, they had bet correctly, acting before other grain merchants in Ovando were still observing, thus establishing a channel.

The profits from this venture were five times greater compared to the current grain prices in Ovando. If compared to before the situation had worsened, it was at least tenfold.

This was merely a tentative trade and hadn’t tapped too many resources.

But now that the channel was open, the scale of future trades would undoubtedly expand, and the money earned then would be far beyond this amount.

Not to mention, they had made connections with those new nobles and big merchants—connections that money couldn’t buy and were previously unattainable for small-time grain merchants like them.

”Now is just the beginning of our cooperation. What are your thoughts on the upcoming trades?”

Gene returned to his seat and posed this question to the group.

He wouldn’t express his views casually; he needed to see which way these people leaned. He had to let them speak first, prompting them to vie with each other, solidifying his position—a strategy he had learned from Old Gene.

”We should expand our trade fully, seize this opportunity, and make a substantial profit, or we may not get another chance.”

Some were eager to seize this opportunity to profit hugely from the war, but others cautioned about the consequences of such actions.

”But if we reroute too much grain, it might disrupt the local market. Let’s not forget the effort it took to edge out the Walter Conglomerate and swallow their share. Are we really willing to give it back so easily? I think we can expand, but we should keep a portion to stabilize the local market.”

This was a very realistic concern. With only so much grain available, if they sold too much, there would be a shortage locally, and if the deficit became too great, it might lead to unrest.

However, this individual’s warning was ridiculed by the more hardline members.

”Oh, my goodness! Do you really think the others would forego hefty profits for a market that has been wrung dry and lost its value? They are probably preparing as well, only delayed due to a lack of strength.”

”That’s right! The earlier we act, the more capital we have to buy grain, the more money we have to expand our power, and ultimately monopolize the grain in this region.”

”But if we deplete the reserves, then there will be a real shortage in local supply, and many might die of hunger or become refugees.”

”What do we care about the life and death of those lowlifes? It’s their own fault for not working hard.”