Our family is in decline

Even Bruce's body is so strong because the Earl ignored the cost and cultivated it through brutal training from childhood and various precious extraordinary potions, and he was also blessed with several extraordinary equipment.

Not to mention that Bastia also secretly raises some extraordinary people in the territory and has connections with many extraordinary organizations. The only pity is that their family does not have extraordinary talents.

But the Count knew that a transcendent would never have the power to swallow an entire city of hundreds of thousands of people in a short period of time.

It was also the cause of the catastrophe that turned the old city of Hamlet into ruins, and the abyss-like terrifying legend directly frightened everyone.

Various places are constantly encroaching on Hamlet's old land, but they dare not move there. Apart from mutual restraint, they are still more or less afraid of the great catastrophe.

"So Alvin's actions?" Bruce asked with some confusion at this time, "The only remaining areas, except for the city ruins, are almost all wilderness, and some are just villages and towns, except for Owendo City. Not even a bigger city.

What's more important is that our actions will obviously attract the attention of others, and at the same time we will bear the pressure of enemies from both directions of the ice field and the desert. In addition, the weirdness of the city ruins needs to be revealed, so it seems that the gain is not worth the loss.

Father, think deeply! "

The Earl didn't pay much attention to Bruce's admonishment, but slowly threw out a sentence.

“Do you know the heart of Hamlet’s prosperity?”

"Because Hamlet is the only land intersection between two continents, with the remnants of misty mountains to the northwest and the permanently frozen ice fields to the north. It is also a famous port city in the world. Materials from all walks of life meet here, and in a stable environment Business and trade were very prosperous at that time." This Bruce really knew something, after all, he was trained as an heir.

“Bastia gained a foothold because of its victory in the decisive battle, but its development was due to the deal with the Deer Head Tribe.

Why can Bastia control the mountains? It is because the geographical location is a pass formed by part of the remaining mountains. Most of the surrounding areas are mountainous, making it difficult to cultivate farmland. The land is barren and cannot feed so many people.

After losing the tolls from the Deer Head Tribe, Bastia also lacked a large amount of funds. Without this money, it would be difficult for us to maintain the status quo, let alone continue to develop. "

The earl stood up and looked at the map of the four northern provinces of the empire hanging on the wall behind him, raised his hand and pointed in the direction of Hamlet.

“Do you know why the ruins of Hamlet are located where they are?”

"That's where many rivers extending from the misty mountains converge. It's an alluvial plain that has existed for thousands of years."

"That's right!" The Earl did not sit back, but moved closer to the map, his eyes filled with undisguised desire.

"By taking Hamlet, we will get the most fertile plain. To the east is the bay formed by the river's estuary. To the north, we can open up the [Yellow Sand Ancient Road] connecting the mainland. By then, not to mention the empire, even the world will have to reverberate through our country. Stiya’s name!”

Bruce is not Alvin, who will get carried away by a few words from Lawrence and imagine that he can easily control Hamlet.

"Where are the other nobles? I'm afraid they will follow us as soon as we take action. If it turns into a melee, we will be dragged into the war. If we can't suppress the barbarians and their coalition forces to come down the mountain, we will face two battlefields. .”

"Then deal with them together. Hamlet can only be named Bastia!" The count almost gritted his teeth, revealing an unprecedented ferocity. "I want to recreate Hamlet!"

It seems that both Baron Laurence and Bruce have guessed wrong. The Earl's ambition is far more than that. He wants to restore the prosperity of Hamlet.

"Of course, Bastia's future development is only due to internal factors. The real external factors have to go back to the previous problems." The Earl calmed down and turned to look at Bruce, "Why should we attack the Wolf Fang Tribe?"

Bruce didn't answer directly when he heard this, but fell into silence.

This question has been answered just now, why bring it up again?

Fortunately, the count didn't want to test him, so he immediately threw out the answer.

“Because the Langya Tribe’s inflated ambitions have broken the stability of the mountains, in this relationship we are the ones being challenged, and the Langya Tribe is the challenger, and there is no room for relaxation between us.

Therefore, we must strike before they extend their fangs to Bastia and tell them who is the boss here. At the same time, we can deter the barbarian tribes who are ready to move in the mountains. "

"So Hamlet is also a challenger?" Bruce remembered the rumors that had spread before and couldn't help but ask.

"Are they those rumors?"

"I don't think it's a rumor. You have to understand that there are never unreasonable rumors. We don't know the reason behind it, but this tacit understanding has been broken now, and we were not the first to break it. We just responded passively.

And now that summer has passed, those barbarians will be even crazier in order to survive the winter after autumn. We only need to spend a little supplies and gold coins to hire more barbarians to fight for us, and at the same time consume their strength.

Moreover, the empire is currently busy dealing with civil strife and has no time to pay attention to our side. The fact that other nobles in the surrounding area dare to take action gives us a reason. No matter from which aspect, this is an almost perfect opportunity for us. "

The Earl was afraid that Bruce wouldn't pay enough attention to it, so he emphasized it.

"We were challengers at that time. We divided Hamlet to create Bastia today. Similarly, if Hamlet rises again, then we will either die or live. There is only one battle!"

When the count said this, his tone was so strong that there was no room for turning.

The Count's obsession is understandable.

In the beginning, because he was not the heir, he did not receive complete aristocratic training. What truly established his growth was his time serving Hamlet, so this period of time was of great significance to him.

It can be said that he has seen the greatness of Hamlet in his heyday, made contributions to Hamlet, and shed blood for Hamlet.

His feelings for Hamlet are very special.

It's like a maintenance man facing a world-class sports car. He can't wait to bathe and burn incense before he dares to get started. It's a kind of awe that is like faith. Even just touching it can make him excited for a long time and he can't calm down for a long time. He needs to be careful to maintain it for fear of fear. Where to rub.

However, the owner of the vehicle drove violently, scratched and bumped the vehicle, and was involved in several serious car accidents. He relied on the protection of the sports car to survive, but left traces of damage on the body of the vehicle.

In the end, he directly dismantled the car into parts and sold them at low prices, which naturally made him feel like his faith had collapsed.

If it were me, I would never let Hamlet become like this...

I want to create a world where Hamlet is back on top!

Bruce doesn't understand this emotion, and naturally doesn't understand why his father has this obsession.

But he could tell that this was indeed an opportunity for Bastia to go further, and it was a very rare opportunity.

"Let Alvin come back. He is not suitable. I will include Hamlet under Bastia's protection."

Bruce's words were not directed at Alvin, but rather to protect his younger brother, because the most difficult thing was not other things but opening up the situation.

Although they were only half-brothers, Bruce still watched Alvin grow up and felt a sense of responsibility.

"The men of the Bastia family don't need protection. If he can't even do this well, then don't come back!"

At this moment, there was a sudden knock on the door in the study, interrupting their conversation.

When the housekeeper came in, although he still had the same meticulous attitude, worry could still be seen in his eyebrows.

"Say it." The count knew that the housekeeper would not bother him at this time, so that could only mean that something had happened.

"Your Majesty, there is news from Alvin." The butler paused for a moment and added with a more obvious expression, "Only one of the entire knights, including a group of eagles, escaped."

After all, the earl had seen the world. He didn't show any anger when he heard this. He just frowned slightly and waved his hand casually, "Go and call someone over."

But Bruce was still too young after all, and his stiff expression showed that he was forcibly suppressing his emotions and not letting them show.

This is something that a superior person must do, to keep his emotions and anger a secret, and he still needs to learn.

Laura, who was quickly wrapped in a green robe and looked a little weird, was brought into the study.

This is the first time she has entered here, but she was not summoned because of her meritorious service, but because...

"Tell me everything." The Earl looked indifferent, and his tone revealed a strong pressure.

This increased the pressure in Laura, who was already in a mental crisis, and almost suffocated her.

But what needs to be said still needs to be said. From the moment the knights left Bastia, they pursued them all the way until the ten-man team of the Eagles was ambushed by the Wolf Warriors. Only she escaped because of delivering the message.

"The new leader of the Langya Tribe, called War Wolf, is known as the divinely chosen champion of the tribal gods. Now it seems that his strength is indeed extraordinary. No wonder he can stir up wind and rain in the mountains. I actually underestimated him."

"Why did you choose to fight those barbarians in the dense forest? This is almost their home field. I don't know if Alvin has not experienced it personally. What about Lawrence? Has even he forgotten it?"

Bruce was also a little nervous. Alvin had not actually participated in the war against the barbarians and did not know the specific situation.

But what made him even more speechless was that Lawrence, one of the four barons of Bastia, a veteran who had made countless military exploits against the barbarians, actually underestimated the enemy so much that he fell at the hands of the barbarians.

You must know that there are only 800 knights in the entire Bastia. The loss of these fifty knights is already a painful price.

Whether it was the Earl or Bruce, when they heard this, they basically thought that the knights led by Alvin had fallen at the hands of the Wolf Warriors.

Laura seemed to feel their reactions and couldn't help but explain.

"Well... there was no contact between the Knights and the Wolf Fang tribe along the way."

As soon as he said these words, the earl's pupils shrank instantly, and his eyes narrowed slightly, but he recovered in an instant.

But Bruce seems to have realized something. In that place...except for Wolf Warrior, the champion transcendent, what other existence can destroy a knight order?

I couldn't help but ask with a straight face, "Then what happened?"

The count was very calm, and he was also curious about what happened to Hamlet.

What could Laura do about this, she could only continue talking.

But she was away from the Knights' operations for most of the time, so she didn't know much. After seeing the attack by the cultists, she didn't even see with her own eyes how the Knights were captured, because at that time She herself was captured.

On the contrary, she saw the barbarian invasion and Hamlet's response, and even saw the battle between Wolf Warrior and Lance.

It's just that she can't say this, because once she does, she won't be able to cope with the situation.

Lance didn't force her, but she couldn't help but cover up the truth for Lance.

"At that time, I was ordered to track down the warriors of the Langya tribe. I was injured in a battle with the Langya sentries, and I had to hide and recuperate."

As she spoke, Laura lifted up the green robe, revealing the bandage wrapped around her waist, with traces of blood seeping on it.

No wonder she acted strangely when she came in. It turned out that she was injured.

But there was no such wound in Hamlet...

Yes, this is what Laura thought of when she was awakened by that crazy shot on the road, how to fill in the missing period of experience.

It's very simple, as long as you are injured, you can have an excuse. Anyway, everyone in the Langya tribe is dead, and no one can verify this.

That's why she dared to come here and even lie in front of the legendary earl.

Laura put down her cloak and re-covered the wound for fear of being exposed. Her haggard, bloodless face also took the opportunity to lower her head to hide it.

"The next morning, when I recovered a little, I realized that I could no longer catch up with those who were injured. I originally wanted to return to the team to find out what to do next, but I found that I had lost track of them.

Fortunately, the falcon I had released before I was injured was summoned back. Through its guidance, I found their traces. Finally, I reached a town and found that they were all captured. According to the tents in the camp, there were at least thirty-four of them. "

"Prisoners? Thirty-four people? How is this possible?" Bruce's mind was already confused.

It's not surprising to defeat the Knights. Killing them all is acceptable, but taking prisoners.

Moreover, a total of fifty knights could be captured by thirty-four people. He really didn't understand how it could happen like this?

"Because it was during the day and there were soldiers guarding it, I couldn't get close, but I observed the outside for a while and I was sure that it was someone from the Knights.

Because I found that the horses in the uniform style of Bastia were constantly being pulled into the town, and the armor and equipment of the knights were taken off and piled aside randomly.

It wasn't until late at night that I took the risk and sneaked in. I was not sure of the cause of the injury, but I also heard some information from the chatter of the guards. The place was called Hamlet. "

"What did you say!" Now the count couldn't hold himself any longer.

Laura slowly looked up and said, "They call themselves Hamlet."

Additional updates (6/5)