Our Family Has Fallen

Lance looked at Dismas, gritting his teeth as he spoke each word.

His face was twisted with furious rage, and the telescope in his tightly clenched fist creaked as if it were about to break.

It’s worth noting that Dismas is accustomed to life and death situations, even being publicly embarrassed didn’t provoke such a reaction just now, what could have stirred him so?

Lance pondered briefly and understood, then couldn’t help but ask, ”Are you sure?”

”I could never forget this pattern...never!” Dismas’s angry tone showed no sign of diminishing, instead becoming even stronger.

”Once we have the clues, we have the target, no matter who is in the vehicle, they won’t escape.” Lance emphasized this with a firm hand on his shoulder, ”Rest assured, I will give you a satisfying result.”

Lance’s promise calmed Dismas down, but their conversation was like gibberish to the other two people, somewhat incomprehensible.

In fact, it was perfectly normal for them not to understand, as aside from Dismas, only Lance knew about this matter.

It was the experience of Dismas falling into banditry before arriving in Hamlet, all because of the nobility who had caused his family’s downfall.

However, he lost the clue and wandered for years until finally discovering it now, naturally stirring his emotions.

”Look over there! Something is attacking them.” Laura suddenly spoke up, her sharp eyes under the hood like a hawk’s gaze, able to see the distant scene clearly without using a telescope.

The others could only see some commotion in the convoy upon reacting, and using the telescope revealed the dead.

A soldier on the outer perimeter was attacked and fell, several cavalrymen who tried to help were killed.

Lance then saw an arrow shoot from an unknown location, knocking a person off their horse.

The team might have been in slight disarray, but quickly they raised hastily modified wooden shields, cautiously watching the surroundings as scattered crossbowmen and archers counterattacked.

However, while the rear troops were distracted, more attackers emerged from the roadside forest to ambush the convoy up front.

The tactic of feinting an attack in one direction to draw attention elsewhere caused even greater panic, with some fleeing under pressure, only to be forcibly suppressed by soldiers, and the convoy resumed calm after leaving some corpses behind.

These attackers only assumed an attack posture, retreating as soon as the soldiers defended, apparently aiming to trap the army in an untenable situation.

”This tactic is often used by the Mountain Barbarian Tribe against Bastia’s forces, using continuous harassment to cause attrition, not by killing but wounding, sometimes in coordination with traps, to deplete the enemy.

Hence, Bastia’s forces usually have cooperation from the Eagle Flock when venturing into the mountains, though I’ve heard the Earl used burning mountains and established camps to gradually push the Mountain Barbarian Tribe back.”

Laura took the opportunity to explain Bastia and the mountain tactics, though a Barbarian herself, her words subtly placed her with Bastia.

Her background likely influenced this perspective, and in this era, ethnic identities are not as pronounced.

But this was not the issue, the true concern was singular.

Why would seemingly barbarian forces attack this convoy?

Moreover, Bastia’s expansion directly cut off Hamlet from the Mountain Barbarian Tribe, unless they crossed the treacherous ridges like Grendel, otherwise they could only come from Bastia’s side.

Their numbers seemed disproportionate, indicating deeper issues within.

The sudden appearance of these individuals was peculiar enough, and now the army suppressing the convoy further suggested they weren’t allied.

”This method is cruel too, a slow and sure bleeding without capacity to fight back, it explains the high alert, our approach just drew attack, likely facing opposition all along the way.”

While speaking, the convoy reestablished order and resumed movement, seemingly hastening, suggesting they’d reach Hamlet in at most two to three hours.

”Let’s check out those bodies, watch for enemies.”

Lance didn’t act recklessly, instead taking his team through the wilderness, reaching the bodies cast aside on the roadside.

The most conspicuous were naturally the two soldiers killed by arrows, their gear stripped away, leaving only simple garments.

Examining the wounds, Lance confirmed Laura’s words, the attackers aimed to wound, the fatal blow being the neck slash.

The arrow embedded in their bodies was broken off deliberately, but when Laura extracted it, the identification was clear.

”These are indeed arrows used by the Barbarians, as they like crafting them with unique patterns, believing it grants power, but...”

Laura hesitated with a furrowed brow, doubtful to confirm.

”But what?” Margaret urged impatiently.

”But this arrowhead looks Bastia-made.” Laura demonstrated by extracting her own arrow for comparison, ”It’s popular in Bastia for reasonable price and quality.”