Our Family Has Fallen

But perhaps they did not realize that Hamlet was not as simple as it seemed on the surface. It was not a declining territory but rather a terrifying, bottomless abyss.

”Some of you may not be familiar with Bastia, so let me tell you about this place.”

Lance held information collected by the Romani. He knew a fair amount about these matters and briefly explained the situation in Bastia.

Grendel listened from the side, her expression somewhat strange, but she remained silent.

”According to the documents I inherited, the original extent of Hamlet’s lands was...” Lance gestured across the map. Instantly, that pitifully small area expanded rapidly, appearing to occupy a vast territory in the Empire’s northeastern province.

His fingertip paused for a moment, then drew a few more lines.

”This is Hamlet’s current territory. Seventy percent now belongs to others. Within the remaining thirty percent, the hidden areas are all controlled by the Ascension Sect, and Ovando City has the Empire’s backing. The vast sea region has been ceded to pirates, the coastline’s safety cannot even be guaranteed, and there are large areas of ruins isolated by the wilderness. Only this small area remains under our true control.”

Lance drew a circle with his hand. As he did, in everyone’s eyes, Hamlet instantly shrank to less than thirty percent of its original size. Seventy percent was divided among various powers, leaving less than ten percent under their direct control.

At this, Lance couldn’t help but raise a hand to his forehead and sigh helplessly.

”Our family has declined...”

The others were still reeling from the successive shocks. Truthfully, probably only Barton and Balistan had an accurate concept of an Earl’s domain.

But the problem was, a typical earldom couldn’t possibly be this large!

Only Dukes with royal blood—and Grand Dukes at that—were qualified to occupy an entire province, yet Hamlet was undeniably an earldom.

Many others were still imagining how powerful Hamlet must have been at its peak to hold such a position.

But Lance had already awakened from the glories of the past. He clearly recognized that he had inherited merely a quagmire teeming with monsters, where he had to struggle daily against vile creatures in a stinking mire.

”I know you’ve all been questioning why I don’t expand my sphere of influence, why I don’t send troops to recover those lost lands.”

Lance tapped the map in his hands, his demeanor no longer relaxed but quite serious.

”The Ascension Sect’s control over Hamlet is too deep—so deep that even Bastia, which has long coveted Hamlet and constantly infiltrated it, struggles to cope. Can you imagine fully armed Bastia Knights being stabbed to death by peasants with pitchforks? Have you ever considered why these villages can still exist in Hamlet, ravaged as it is by Heretics? When they lurk within these villages, no one knows how many are actually Heretics. One moment a person might be laughing and talking with you, but the next, they could pull out a knife and stab you. How am I supposed to recruit soldiers from such people? How am I to manage these Heretics?

Why did I have to go so far, to Ovando, to Totnes? It was precisely to break free from the Ascension Sect’s control. It is thanks to these newcomers that Hamlet’s path to revival has begun. If we were to start reclaiming territory without thoroughly dismantling the Ascension Sect, we would fall into their trap. The same things that happened to the Order of Knights would happen to us repeatedly. They would use every means to sap our strength, forcing us to waste energy on internal conflicts. Ultimately, only the Ascension Sect and the Evil God behind them would benefit.”

Lance’s speech finally resolved their doubts.

As an Earl, as the Heir to Hamlet, he had, ever since taking over the territory, preferred to spend vast sums aiding refugees and developing the wilderness and farms rather than reclaiming lost lands. This behavior had seemed contrary to his own best interests.

”Likewise, now is definitely not the time to recklessly wage war against those nobles. Whether in the past or present, Hamlet has only one path to revival. That is to advance northward, to eradicate the Ascension Sect completely, to destroy the rituals they’ve established here, and to end the nightmare that has plagued this place for many years.”

Lance had named Hamlet’s current principal enemy, but Barton raised an objection.

”But should we just watch Bastia and the surrounding nobles nibble away at Hamlet? We could reclaim more land, accept more refugees, and accelerate our development.”

Barton truly saw Hamlet as his home now and was unwilling to watch it suffer invasion.

Moreover, developing the artillery required the crucible of war; scattered Heretics were not as suitable targets for cannon fire as organized noble armies.

Lance heard this but just chuckled and shook his head.

”You will have your chance to prove the artillery’s worth, but not now. When I do need you, I expect you to step forward and use the roar of the cannons to prove my choice was not wrong.”

As for those nobles wanting to get their hands on Hamlet? He didn’t care about them at all. It was only because he needed to maintain his public persona that he couldn’t act rashly; otherwise, he would have started killing long ago. He’d almost prefer those bastards to rush in and slaughter all those troublesome peasants; it would save him the effort of slowly distinguishing the Heretics. Then he could still occupy the moral high ground, and it would be his decision where Hamlet’s army ultimately halted.

Truthfully, it wasn’t that he looked down on them. Even if those noble armies were all at the level of an Order of Knights, they were still just trash to him. He alone could wipe them all out. Tactics like wars of attrition or mob assaults were useless against him. As long as he could kill, as long as there were corpses, he was an unwounded, untiring war machine.

In an era of cold weapons, this was the kind of overwhelming advantage Transcendents held over ordinary people to a certain extent. However, Lance wasn’t sure what methods the Church’s Transcendents might possess. He still held a sliver of reverence for these unknowns. Not reverence for the Church, but for the unknown itself.

This meeting determined Hamlet’s future resource allocation, development direction, and primary enemy. Arrangements for the captives had also been made.

The meeting concluded, and the others dispersed. They needed to implement what had been discussed. Grendel, however, did not leave.

Lance didn’t take this as any sort of hint. Although they had breached that layer of formality between them, discussing official matters during work hours was paramount.

”Is it about the research on the Ascension Potion or progress in treating leprosy?” Lance asked.

Clearly, Grendel was on the same page. She wasn’t surprised by Lance’s business-like demeanor, especially since the meeting had already highlighted the enormous pressure he was under.

”Neither,” Grendel replied. ”It’s about Bastia. I may have some information I need to clarify.”

She stated her reason for staying directly. Lance, just then recalling something, nodded for her to continue.

”I remember you mentioning something before,” he said.

”Bastia has been our tribe’s main trading partner with the Empire,” Grendel explained. ”We cultivate our own raw materials and also acquire some from various tribes in the Mountains, as well as from Bastia itself. Few of the potions we produce are consumed within the Mountains; the majority are sold worldwide, with Bastia acting as the intermediary.”

”So, are you saying Bastia owes its current success to its cooperation with you?” Lance’s expression was somewhat amused.

”Our tribe is indifferent to the Empire’s internal affairs,” Grendel replied. ”Before this, I didn’t even know what was happening here. They control the pass, so if we want to export potions from the Mountains, we have no choice but to trade with them.”

Lance, naturally understanding Grendel’s defensiveness, waved his hand dismissively and said with a laugh, ”I don’t mean to blame you. I’m just saying, Bastia is rich. The ransom could be doubled.”

Grendel was at a loss for words.