Our Family Has Fallen

The tribal leader made no attempt to hide his rage. No one knew on whom his wrath would be vented tonight, but Laura knew she had miraculously escaped unscathed once again.

But she had no money to begin with, and now she was suddenly saddled with a huge, unpayable debt.

No one could say for sure how much a woman was worth. This meant he could keep taking the last of her meager mission rewards for as long as he wanted.

A strong sense of despair grew within Laura. She felt she could see a bleak future unfolding before her.

But could she refuse?

She feared that merely voicing her dissent would make the underbosses eager to kill her on the spot.

Laura had no doubt about this, especially since the man who had offered up the woman saw his carefully prepared gift to please the tribal leader gone to waste.

If the tribal leader hadn’t promised compensation, she might already have been killed.

The unity of the tribe was forgotten, but their penchant for bravery and ruthlessness lingered.

Laura silently shouldered the body and slunk away amidst the mockery of the others.

It wasn’t until she left the stronghold and was hit by the night wind that she snapped to her senses and involuntarily looked into the distance.

In the distance, on a large tree, a Hawk had been attracted by some noise and cast its gaze towards the brightly lit headquarters of the Eagle Flock. SCREECH! But in the next second, a cry tore through the silence of the night, and then it turned its head, flying away, disappearing into the darkness.

In Totnes, the person responsible, who had been waiting from day until night, finally received some good news.

”The results are out. The accuracy of the information can be trusted at about eighty percent because Bastia did indeed capture a group of Knights. This news has already spread. Furthermore, Barbarian Tribes were indeed spotted within the Empire’s territory at the time. This cannot be a coincidence.”

I think many will be interested in this piece of news. Hearing this, she knew her wait hadn’t been in vain. A smile she couldn’t suppress appeared on her face, as if she could see Gold Coins beckoning to her.

Soon, information concerning Bastia made its way onto the tables of various powers in Totnes.

And this news caused quite a stir.

The Empire was currently in the throes of a civil war, and victory had not yet been decided between the two factions. If a third party were to intervene, the situation would likely become even more chaotic, spreading the flames of war to the few relatively stable northern provinces of the Empire.

Others were watching, too. If Bastia’s movements weren’t influenced by the Empire, then more ambitious figures would emerge.

The Empire might be completely engulfed in war until a new Emperor ascended the throne.

No one could ignore a powerful Earl, especially one who was among the six Legendary figures of the Empire, The Empire’s Fierce Tiger!

Upon receiving the news, they wouldn’t completely trust it and would use their own channels to verify it. At which point, the relevant information would likely spread even further.

Along with this information also came news about Hamlet’s successful defense and capture of the Bastia-Barbarian Tribes Allied Army.

It must be said, the Romani truly knew how to do business. The information about Hamlet was sold separately, effectively selling the same intelligence for double the money.

The woman had no fondness for Hamlet, just as Lance had suspected. Without hesitation, she sold the information about Hamlet obtained from Amanda.

Fortunately, Amanda was on Lance’s side. The story she told of the battle did not portray Hamlet as valiant but rather highlighted the stupidity of Alvin, the Commander, which led to the capture of the Order of Knights. This kept Hamlet’s military strength as hidden as possible.

When the name ”Hamlet,” long absent from the conversation, reappeared before these influential figures, the old rumors were brought back up as well—tales of lands of wealth, dreamy realms, strange customs, and an unusual vitality.

Those big players weren’t easy to fool. They immediately sensed the power shown by Hamlet.

Of course, this stirred unrest among some people. No one was more fearful of Hamlet’s reemergence in the world than they.

The Upper City District in Totnes would be restless tonight. Different factions had different concerns, but any player who wanted to make a move on the Empire’s chessboard couldn’t ignore the potential demonstrated by Hamlet.

The Church didn’t care much about the change of secular rulers because, no matter who became the Lord or the Emperor, they had to handle the grassroots work.

Their base was too solid for them to worry about Bastia uniting with the Barbarian Tribes to seize the imperial throne or be concerned that the rise of a domain like Hamlet’s would impact their rule.

Because, at its peak, Hamlet still had a profound connection with the Church, possessing the largest Church of Light in the North.

And now, even in Bastia, the power of the Church was present. No one can extricate themselves from the influence of the Church.

On the contrary, while the influential figures were completely unconcerned about the news of Hamlet curing leprosy, this very information caused an exaggeratedly large commotion within the Cathedral of Light in Totnes.

No wonder the Church insiders were so agitated by this news. The Empire had fallen into chaos, spurring the emergence of all sorts of nefarious entities, and the Church was constantly busy suppressing these evil cults.

Now, rumors spread that Hamlet had conquered the disease known as divine punishment, curing leprosy!

This instantly put the Church on high alert because it threatened to undermine their authority.

Today you dare to cure divine punishment; I can’t even imagine what you’ll do tomorrow.

The tribunal has been mobilized! You had better truly be able to cure it…

Of course, this news also sparked a significant reaction from the Totnes branch of the Association of Healers.

Leprosy has been an incurable disease for a millennium. Countless Healers in the Association have thrown themselves into its study for many years without any notable success. Now, suddenly, there’s word of a place where it can be done.

If the Association can’t cure it, yet you can, then you’re more formidable than the entire Association!

Even if skeptical, the news had piqued the curiosity of the Association’s members so much that they organized a medical team to inspect—or rather, verify—this information with Hamlet.

In Totnes, various powers converged. As the news dispersed from there, the name Hamlet also began to appear more frequently.

Probably Lance had not anticipated that these pieces of information would provoke such a strong reaction. Such is the power of public opinion.

In Bastia, at the Eagle Flock’s base.

In that single room, Laura looked down at the woman lying on the ground, somewhat speechless.

It wasn’t that she had brought a corpse back, but rather that the person wasn’t dead. When she had picked her up to throw her away, she realized there was still breathing and a heartbeat.

She could have carried the woman back to clear the bewildering debt or just left her, ignoring whether she lived or died.

It’s hard to say if it was guilt for having knocked her over that caused her injuries, or if it was empathy stemming from her own recent experiences.

In the end, she somehow brought the person back and then used her leftover medicine to stop the bleeding and dress the wounds.

But now, looking at the woman who had not yet awakened, she found herself in a predicament.

What should she do with her now?

It was impossible to wait for her to recover; she could hardly sustain herself.

Moreover, only Eagle Flock members were around, and Imperial People here were asking for death.

Laura knew that even if she were to return the woman, it probably wouldn’t make any difference, as the tribal leader’s animosity towards her wasn’t due to this matter.

To awaken her and send her back was essentially to send her to her death; it might even be better to let her die right away and be done with it.

”Uh...”

At that moment, a low moan sounded. The sharp-eyed Laura, who had been lost in thought, immediately focused on the woman. Seeing that she seemed to be stirring from unconsciousness, Laura’s gaze softened somewhat.

The woman gradually came to her senses. The intense pain in her head was overridden by a profound sense of unease, until she realized the terrifying figures were absent, leaving only that familiar yet foreign silhouette.

”Did you save me? Thank you! I’m very grateful!”

Laura didn’t respond to her question, her expression still cold as she brusquely ordered, ”If you’re awake, then hurry up and leave.”

The woman heard this and only then fully came to her senses. But as she tried to get up, it felt as if something pulled at her, and all the previously suppressed sensations rushed over her at once.

A strong wave of dizziness from her head caused her to collapse back down.

Seeing this left Laura uncertain of what to say. Just then, the door to the room was knocked upon, startling them both.