Our Family Has Fallen

If we can just buy some time, Hamlet isn’t without warriors capable of confronting the Warwolves! Grendel, it could be said, had taken a great risk to protect the farm. Now, they could only trust her.

Outside Hamlet Town, on an open field, two teams of Cavalry in regular clothes were driving their horses to charge at each other, sabers wrapped in cloth in their hands. Despite the wrapping, the hits would still SMACK and leave trails of blood on their bodies, which wouldn’t fade for several days without proper care.

Although muskets and cannons had appeared, Cavalry still remained the dominant military force in the world, at least until firearms evolved with innovations like rifling and breech-loading that improved accuracy, rate of fire, and range.

It wasn’t firearms that truly ended the era of Cavalry on the battlefield but vehicles like automobiles and tanks.

Once they lost their mobility advantage, Cavalry became essentially useless, but that level of technological advancement wouldn’t be possible for another hundred or two hundred years.

Of course, that was the original timeline; the arrival of Lance might bring unexpected surprises to this world.

That’s why Lance placed great importance on the improvement of firearms and the training of Musketeers and artillerymen, while at the same time not neglecting the training of Cavalry; in fact, he valued it quite highly.

The Cavalry received the best treatment; everything was prioritized for them, but they also faced more rigorous training.

What limited them was not the limits of humans, but those of the horses.

Reynard watched the training before him with a serious expression. He needed to turn them into strong soldiers in a shorter amount of time to be worthy of the resources the Lord had given him.

But this ”fighting” suddenly halted, and all the soldiers, even Reynard who was leading the Cavalry training, turned their heads towards the rising column of smoke.

As the smoke column rose, it became visible not only around the farm but eventually even to the people in Hamlet Town.

”Sound the alarm!” Reynard shouted, ”Don your armor and prepare for battle!”

The Cavalry that were still training immediately dispersed and began to move in an orderly fashion.

They weren’t as wealthy as Bastia, able to afford two horses per man, so they had to hurry to grab their equipment and quickly put on breastplates and helmets.

Meanwhile, Reynard took the opportunity to find a soldier and give him orders.

”Go immediately and inform the Lord that the western farm has been attacked. Tell Sheriff William to declare martial law and deploy troops to guard key entry points in the town. Pay special attention to those refugees; anyone who makes trouble can be counterattacked directly without needing to report. Warn the garrison in the northern wilderness development area not to act rashly. It’s not clear what kind of enemies have invaded, but the Heretics will surely not miss this opportunity to stir up trouble.”

Reynard waved the soldier away and turned to the Cavalry who had already finished dressing and reassembled.

If the Lord were out of town, then he would have to consider the safety of Hamlet Town and couldn’t easily leave.

But since the Lord was currently in town, the Cavalry Squad that had trained so long today was destined to be bloodied.

”You’ve trained for so long, and today is the day to test you,” Reynard mounted his horse, drew the Champion’s Proof, and pointed it towards the beacon of smoke. ”Move out!”

With that, he spurred his horse into a run.

”Hamlet Must Win!”

The Cavalry roared and spurred their horses to follow, their fervent demeanor showing no fear of the impending battle.

Or perhaps it was a craving for battle, a craving to prove themselves.

After all, such favorable treatment was not easily earned, and these weapons and equipment were not to be taken lightly. They needed battle achievements to prove to everyone the Lord’s discernment.

To prove that they were worth the Lord’s favor.

For this, they dared to charge at any enemy of Hamlet!

「In front of the Lord’s Mansion.」

”Is the Lord not available to meet?”

”The Lord hasn’t woken up yet; he said not to disturb him unless it’s something important.”

Susan stood at the door, smiling as she faced the visiting Amanda.

”Alright, thank you for your trouble,” Amanda didn’t linger and turned to leave.

She had heard yesterday that the Lord had returned, so she made a special visit today, but this situation put her in an awkward position.

She could feel the Lord’s distance from her, perhaps due to dissatisfaction with her organization’s attitude or for some other reason. Even when she tried to reach out to him herself, there was no response.

According to information from some channels, Tamara had demonstrated extraordinary talent after returning, and her prestige within the organization kept rising.

Amanda knew that Tamara had regained the organization’s attention because she had that man standing behind her.

As for herself, she had failed in her inexplicable mission and thus lost her teacher’s support. Staying here hadn’t led to any progress, let alone getting close to Hamlet’s inner circle.

Amanda felt somewhat helpless about this; she had worked diligently, yet for some reason, ever since encountering Tamara, she had been experiencing nothing but misfortune.

She hadn’t taken many steps when, at that moment, a plume of smoke rising into the sky caught her eye, making Amanda halt in her tracks. What had happened?

She wasn’t sure, but Susan, standing at the doorway, understood exactly what it meant.

An angry expression appeared on her face, and she couldn’t help but curse aloud.

”Can’t those damned people just let the Lord have a good rest!”

No sooner had she finished speaking than a soldier hurried over and spoke to her. Susan promptly turned to notify the others.

Amanda hadn’t gone far and naturally caught the keywords: a farm to the northwest was under attack, and the garrison had even lit the beacon for help because they couldn’t handle it.

Susan quickly turned and went back inside, while Amanda was plunged into thought.

”Lord!”

Susan called out in front of the door, but there was no response.

”Didn’t I say not to wake me unless it was something important...”

Finally, a calm, almost cold voice came from inside the room.

”Lord, this morning, a report from the northwestern farm mentioned a wounded white wolf. Miss Dai’er went to investigate, but before she could return, they lit the beacon for help. Reynard has already led the Cavalry to their aid.”

The room fell silent for two seconds before a slightly more normal tone could be heard.

”Understood.”

Lance would usually be up early. He had more than just the town’s administration to attend to. This world was rotten to the core. He couldn’t simply apply the old ways, or he might as well just lie down and wait for the world to end—it was nearly the same anyway.

So, new structures had to be built, with reforms in education, healthcare, law, and various other fragments of inventions and creations that came to mind.

Others couldn’t help him with these because he alone had a reference; thus, most of the burden lay on his shoulders.

What made it more troublesome was the presence of Supernatural Power in this world, meaning a direct copy was out of the question. Various ideas had to be researched before they could be practically applied.

But he was just an ordinary person, a nobody with a monthly salary of three thousand, who spent work hours slacking off and downtime playing games.

He had fought tirelessly in the Beast Lair for seven days and nights. Even with the Bless refreshing his state, he was under immense pressure, his physical exhaustion beyond anyone’s imagination.

What he wanted was simple: to sleep in until he naturally woke up.

But now someone had disturbed him, and the long-accumulating pressure exploded like a keg of gunpowder that had been lit.

Lance’s convictions were being tested...

RAGE!!!

The door to the room was thrown open, and Lance strode out. His somber face revealed an emotion like a volcano ready to erupt; no one dared to provoke him.

”Lord, I’ll prepare your breakfast now.”

”No need. It won’t be too late to eat after I’ve killed them,” Lance remarked casually, yet his tone was thick with murderous intent.

Susan was startled by his words. In truth, she hadn’t wanted to wake the Lord for this sort of thing; after all, even if there were enemies, Reynard had already led people there. She had woken the Lord only because Miss Dai’er had also gone, and the town needed someone in charge.

But the Lord’s words seemed to suggest he wanted to go in person.

”Lord…”

”No need to say more. If they can’t even handle this, then they’re useless,” Lance seemed to anticipate her words, raising a hand to cut her off. ”Prepare a horse.”

Susan said no more and respectfully retreated to make ready.

Soon after, Lance spurred his horse and charged out of the Lord’s Mansion. As he left, he seemed to notice Amanda and glanced her way, but paid her no mind as he galloped off.