Our Family Has Fallen

”At that time, no one actually believed it, but there was no other way, so they could only agree. He pulled a skull from his waist pouch, and on its crown was a strange candle.”

”At that moment, I only heard him muttering something. Then he raised the Skull Candleholder towards those injured brothers, and the candle lit up by itself, unleashing magical power...”

Following Little John’s description, Lance could roughly understand what had happened. The man had used Supernatural Power to heal the soldiers wounded by gunshots and then followed the ship back.

Along the way, he also made several predictions about the pirates’ locations. Because of what had happened earlier, the captain chose to believe him.

Whether they truly avoided the pirates was unknown, but the journey back was indeed smooth and without any trouble.

Lance wasn’t surprised when he heard this, as he could sense the man’s immense power.

Lance hadn’t had much contact with other powerful individuals, but he could judge by perceiving the intensity of their Spiritual Essence. He didn’t know about the man’s physique, but his Spiritual Essence was likely no less than Warwolf’s.

Which is to say, another Champion!

With such a Champion-level Transcendent escorting them, how could there possibly be problems? Or rather, it would be odd if there were.

But why did he have to come to Hamlet? And why did he want to see me?

Now, only by meeting him would I know.

”I understand. You go back and rest first. Enjoy your holiday,” Lance said with a smile, dismissing Little John before getting up to head to the parlor.

When the two met, Lance’s gaze swept over the middle-aged man. This wasn’t someone who relied more on physical strength, like Warwolf, but rather a Spellcaster.

Judging by the Spirit Light emanating from him, it was obvious that not only was he incredibly strong, but every piece of his equipment was also far from ordinary.

The man’s profound gaze fell on Lance. Truthfully, Alhazred didn’t sense the fluctuations from emanating Supernatural Power. Instead, Lance appeared like an ordinary person, albeit one whose formidable temperament clearly indicated his strength was far from simple.

Especially when he noticed something beside Lance, surprise couldn’t help but flicker across his calm face.

Lance, of course, noticed his reaction. He can see Wang Cai... What that implies is self-evident.

”I am Lance, the Lord of Hamlet,” Lance said, approaching directly. ”I truly appreciate your help.”

”I am Alhazred, a Mystical Scholar who explores the unknown.”

”Then, Mr. Scholar, why have you come to Hamlet?”

”To retrieve a stolen statue filled with evil power. Fate has guided me here.”

Alhazred didn’t beat around the bush. Or rather, at his level, meaningless chatter had become unnecessary; they wouldn’t waste time on such matters.

”It is one of the items unearthed from an ancient ruin. The powers within these artifacts point to some indescribable existences in the Abyss. They possess terrifying strength, and at the same time, this power corrupts everything.

”Back then, the appearance of these artifacts caused a horrendous disaster in the local area, which our Council of Fate took considerable effort to control.

”Later, based on our research, we found it involved the worship of an Evil God from an ancient kingdom. This might very well be an important reason why that ancient kingdom perished and became a mere page in history.”

As Alhazred spoke, he looked at Lance, emphasizing, ”When the disaster occurred, our Council reclaimed and sealed the majority of them, but many were still lost and scattered. These could become significant nodes for the Abyss to corrupt reality.”

Lance was different from Little John. Listening to the man’s enigmatic words, Lance quickly extracted some key points.

Fate, the Council of Fate, Levantine, Mystical Scholar... These keywords combined in Lance’s mind, and he immediately understood something.

A member of the Council of Fate... a Supernatural Organization located in the Levante Region that both Tamara and Catherine had mentioned.

Clearly, from his words, he had come for the Bald Sorcerer’s relic—that peculiar statue.

It appears that, according to Catherine’s experiences, that Bald Sorcerer might have offended him or the Council of Fate because of the statue, which forced him to flee to Totnes and live incognito.

And when the Bald Sorcerer was forced to use the statue’s power while facing Geralt and his companions, it naturally led the prophecy-adept Council of Fate to find a clue.

But what does this have to do with Hamlet?

”Considering the size of Hamlet, it would be quite difficult to find a statue, but I will keep an eye out for you,” Lance said, brushing him off, unfazed by the Scholar’s description.

Trying to bluff someone as audacious as Lance with such meager rhetoric from the Mystical Scholar was indeed wishful thinking.

He wasn’t even afraid of the Old Ancestor, so why would he fear some Abyssal Evil God?

”The seals on it have been broken. With the concealment of the seals gone, even from a thousand miles away, I can feel that object’s power,” Alhazred said expressionlessly, but his profound eyes looked at Lance, the implication unmistakable.

Lance showed no embarrassment at being exposed. The item was indeed in his possession, but once it was in his pocket, there was no chance of it coming out.

Unless there’s extra pay!

Lance wasn’t the least bit anxious. Instead, he casually sat down and picked up the teapot on the table to pour some water.