Our Family Has Fallen

TING!

A crisp sound rang out. The previously unstoppable arrow missed its target, colliding with something in midair and deflecting. Only when the object embedded itself in a nearby tree trunk did they see it was an exquisite Flying Dagger.

”Who’s there? Come out now!” the woman threatened, already nocking a second arrow and aiming to the side.

”Have I been discovered~?”

A rather casual voice sounded, and then a seductive figure emerged—none other than Amanda, the Seeker of Omens, who had followed Lance. Her steed, despite its Transcendent Bloodline, lagged slightly behind. By the time she arrived, Lance and Warwolf were already fighting. Her abilities were primarily suited for close combat, and she knew that rashly joining the fray would only be a hindrance. As she hesitated, she habitually drew a card for divination and discovered her luck was not on her side for this encounter.

How else could she have found Tamara, whose trail was concealed by a Sacred Object? It was precisely because of this exceptional sensory skill. When she finally arrived, she found this furtive individual.

Both sets of eyes met. The Eagle Flock member could sense that the scantily clad woman before her was not to be trifled with, though her origins were difficult to discern.

”What is a member of the Eagle Flock doing here?” Amanda asked, her gaze lingering on the woman’s attire and briefly on the hawk emblem upon it, her voice tinged with suspicion.

However, the delighted surprise on Amanda’s face showed it wasn’t that simple. She had expected to find only an overlooked Barbarian, but this was an unexpected windfall.

The woman was startled that Amanda knew her affiliation so clearly. ”Just who are you, exactly?”

”I’m in need of a gift,” Amanda said, her smile broadening as she looked at the face hidden inside the hood. ”And I’ll be borrowing you.”

Upon hearing this, the Eagle Flock member could no longer hold back. She drew her bow and fired another arrow.

CRACK!

With a loud crack, Amanda’s whip lashed out, knocking the arrow aside and igniting the fight between them!

「Hamlet, refugee camp outskirts.」

Thanks to Lance’s deliberate propaganda and assistance from certain individuals, refugees with various motives flocked here. Hamlet’s efficiency was high, but regulations were strict. All refugees had to undergo registration and other formalities. This naturally caused delays, leading to increasing congestion among the refugee population. These people received little care, surviving on a daily bowl of thin porridge, with no one else looking after them.

It was not yet dawn, but several figures crept into a tattered tent, gathering in a dark corner to whisper among themselves.

”We’ve received a message from above. Tomorrow is our chance to strike a heavy blow against these people.”

”Can we really pull it off? We have so few people.”

”We can incite these refugees to storm the town. They’re like a thin sheet of ice; a single stone can make them shatter.”

”If we succeed, we will have the opportunity for Ascension. Don’t you all yearn for it?”

”...”

These individuals quickly dispersed, returning to their own places. During the day, the area had some supervision. At night, however, no one paid it any mind, so it was unlikely anyone would notice. Yet, somehow, the news spread.

Indeed, Lance had relaxed the criteria and eagerly accepted refugees. This move quickly brought in a large labor force but also inevitably allowed individuals with ulterior motives to infiltrate. These infiltrators were clearly followers of the Sect of Ascension.

No one understood the situation in the Hamlet Region better than the Ascension Sect—not even Lance, the nominal Lord. In fact, the moment Warwolf and Alvin entered the area, they were detected. The Sect’s followers were drawn to slaughter and even welcomed these outsiders creating chaos.

However, events gradually spiraled out of control. Eventually, both sides mistakenly killed a significant number of cultists. Alvin even wiped out all the cultists in one town, attracting the attention of the Sect’s leadership. Initially, the leadership believed these individuals were Lance’s reinforcements. But once they grasped the true situation, they keenly sensed an excellent opportunity to strike at Hamlet and reverse their recent series of defeats. They immediately activated their existing arrangements.

Generally, anyone who had undergone the Flesh Rite multiple times would lose their sanity and become incredibly muscular, making disguise impossible. Thus, the heretics mixed in with the refugees were like those Alvin had previously eliminated—ordinary followers who had only participated in one or two rituals.

They were only about five hundred yards from the town. Crucially, Hamlet had no walls. If they managed to break through...

「Hamlet, the northern wilderness.」

Figures flitted through the shadowy forest, with occasional sounds disturbing the silence.

”Saintess, dawn is breaking. When do we attack?” a robust man inquired of the woman beside him, his deferential bow clearly indicating his reverence.

The woman he called Saintess was dressed differently from the other heretics. She wore no black iron mask. Even in the dim light, her exquisite features and porcelain-white skin were undeniable. Her attire covered only the bare essentials, showcasing her voluptuous figure. Were it not for her revealing clothing, she wouldn’t resemble a heretic at all, looking more like a lady from the Nobility.

The Magic Wand in her hand was also quite peculiar. It was about arm’s length. Intertwined tissues resembling nerves or tentacles clung to it, converging at a closed eye at its tip. A closer look would reveal that the hand gripping the Magic Wand was missing a finger, instantly marring her otherwise striking image.

The heretic Saintess heard him but didn’t reply. Instead, she gazed towards the distant outpost, her eyes filled with intense hatred. She and Lance had clashed a few times, after all.

The small town Lance had conquered was once under her control. Compared to other dilapidated camps, the Sect’s leadership had shown their high regard for her by entrusting her with that strategic town. But Lance had conquered the town and slaughtered everyone. She had only avoided the massacre by chance, as she was away at the time.

Later, she attempted to lead a team to ambush and assassinate him. To her surprise, even summoning the deity’s favored servants failed to kill him. Instead, caught off guard, a white wolf bit off her finger, forcing her to retreat. These two setbacks had cost her dearly, and her hatred had only grown.

The Sect’s leadership knew ordinary followers couldn’t breach the outpost. So, she stepped forward and seized this chance to prove herself to her Lord.

”Wait a little longer,” the Saintess declared, her fervor growing. ”We are not the only ones attacking. When the time comes, the entire Hamlet will be set ablaze with war! This time, we will make them pay!” She raised her hands high, crying out, ”For Ascension!”

”For Ascension!” the brawny man echoed, then retreated without another word.

The hierarchy within the Sect was absolute. Everything was for Ascension. Their current target was precisely that outpost, a nail driven into the wilderness.

The outpost was a restored fortress from a bygone era. Its strategic importance was simple: it was like a nail driven into the wilderness. As long as it stood, soldiers could respond quickly to any threat in the region. Fortunately, the ”Old Ancestor” cared little for military matters and had abandoned it, allowing Lance to take it over effortlessly. Had even a hundred men been stationed to defend it, Lance would have found it much harder to advance deep into the wilderness. If Lance had been forced to attack and remove this ”nail,” he would have paid dearly. Now, however, it was the ”Old Ancestor’s” domain facing the consequences.

This wasn’t their first attack. However, previous attempts had yielded nothing but the lives of some cultists. With newly arrived refugees now stationed here, they had more manpower. Meanwhile, under Lance’s vigorous push to develop the wilderness, the Ascension Sect’s operational space was continually shrinking. If they could seize this opportunity amidst the chaos to take the outpost, they could completely halt the wilderness development and plunge the land back into slaughter and turmoil.

More and more cultists converged from the depths of the wilderness...