Our Family Has Fallen

Chapter 1421: Chapter 764: The Baron’s All-Out Battle

At dawn, news came that jolted the Baron from dreams to harsh reality, as if head-first.

Weren’t they still outside the perimeter yesterday? How the hell did they attack today?

The Baron hastily inquired, and upon learning the army was only attacking those few Knights’ Domains, he breathed a sigh of relief but couldn’t hide his fury, his face tense as he rebuked.

”Damn it! What do you mean they’ve attacked? Getting in such a mess over a trifle, wouldn’t you be scared to death if they really attacked?”

Inwardly speechless, the man thought, ”Hell, you can sleep in until noon, while I haven’t slept the whole night busy transmitting information. As soon as I got the news, I realized the situation was wrong and came to warn you; yet, instead of you being scared, I’m getting scolded?”

Of course, he couldn’t say this directly, so he carefully reminded the Baron.

”Lord, we only arranged for people to notify all the Knights yesterday, and by dawn, the army had started attacking...”

Without needing to say more, the Baron quickly understood his implication; the enemy realized they hadn’t organized yet, hence the hasty attack.

”What about the negotiators?”

”Logically, they should have returned by now, but there’s still no word.”

”Damn it! They must’ve been controlled, letting those people know about our situation.”

The Baron was speechless too, initially hoping they would delay and, if possible, sow discord.

Unexpectedly, both were useless and exposed their situation.

But there was no time to be tangled up in those matters now; the Baron immediately began issuing orders.

”Tell those Knights along the line to lead their troops back here, abandon those places, take what can be carried, destroy what can’t, and extend the enemy’s supply line.

Tell them it’s no time to get caught up in small matters; only if we win will those things matter.”

The Baron finally assumed a state matching his status, leveraging his resources to fully push the war.

Forget conscription; he directly rounded up strong laborers, forcibly recruiting all able-bodied men from the towns, but knowing the crisis, he wasn’t stingy in offering those people many promises, even becoming Knights.

Moreover, the Baron slaughtered a few pigs to let those people have a meat meal, and although each only got a bit, the fat and protein satisfied them, even filling them with fantasies for the future.

He truly transformed those over eight hundred able-bodied men into pikemen. Although they only had one pike each, it was a decent feat, something even Count Bastia hadn’t accomplished before, although the scale differed greatly.

More importantly, the morale was usable; though their formation was scattered and each stood without posture, their thin bodies hardly showed strength.

But they were no longer numb, instead exuding an irrepressible greed and longing, of course, with ambition as well.

The soldiers were tempted by the Baron’s rewards; in this era, there isn’t an ordinary person who doesn’t want to become a noble.

Death became trivial before such temptation; if they could become a noble lord themselves, they certainly would...

Though the Baron felt the pinch, he couldn’t care about much at this moment, even boldly recruiting those mercenaries, even using some dangerous figures not accepted by the Mercenary Guild in secret.

He demanded money, goods, and people from town’s wealthy, succeeding because they feared Lance’s monopoly, having no choice but to rely on the Baron.

Otherwise, they’d have turned to someone else, for living under any lord’s domain didn’t matter much to them.

And of course, there was asking the Church for help, receiving support for similar reasons, but this was not dependency, rather support.

Such an aberrant system like Hamlet’s should not exist; it was a common understanding among all.

In a sense, Lance had somewhat assisted him; this world is nothing short of abstract.

The Baron prepared for war, being equally aware of the importance of reputation, he proclaimed Hamlet’s invasion evil and smeared various things.

For instance, Hamlet’s Lord being a Dictator, intending to seize everyone as serfs, robbing them of all...

In any case, like a wicked Wizard speaking of eating children, it caused unrest throughout the town and even the entire domain.

Yet, during this time, the Baron called his son.

”With the current turbulence, Totnes is the only stable place in the empire. Take these things there and return when it’s over. If something happens, do not come back.”

The Baron was momentarily sentimental, patting his son’s shoulder, ”What I’ve left is enough for your stable life, cultivate the descendants well. If even the declining Hamlet could rise, our family may have a chance too.”

The son wanted to say something but only felt the hand on his shoulder suddenly grow heavy, ”The future of our family is in your hands now.”

For this, the son could only nod, though an inexplicable anger sparkled in his eyes, gritting his teeth as he growled lowly.

”Hamlet... I’ll remember you!”

Those educated as nobles know noble power comes from domains; losing the domain means losing power. Without it, no one cares about one’s status; once the money runs out, there’s nothing left. Going to Totnes is not to enjoy life but to suffer.

To him, it was as if he were playing with women and singing, and suddenly! The Lord arrived!