our family is gone

Chapter 103 Gathering Information
Not to mention that the territory has been divided, and it has been a long time since Hamlet's rule has been lost everywhere. Who the hell knows him when he goes up?
Those places must have local rulers and interest chains. Wouldn't it be more troublesome if those guys joined forces with the mayor to get rid of him?

However, Walter's words reminded him not to reveal Hamlet's name when he went out, otherwise he would attract enemies.

Walter slowly calmed down when he heard that the lord had no such plan, and he himself realized that it was not the time yet, and it was too early to say these things.

Taking out a pen and paper, Walter drew the surrounding route map, while Lance asked about the local situation and the operation of the caravan from time to time.

Walter's caravan has two main routes. One is to transport grain to Owendo, the nearest city in the southwest, and then obtain various living materials from the city to transport back.

On the way, I mainly pass through several village farms, buy some agricultural products along the way, and then sell the items in the city when I come back.

This is a stable and long-term route, but the income is very general, mainly to maintain the operation of the caravan.

The real money maker has to go south to Totnes. This route takes more than a month, passes through several villages and cities, and takes two months to go back and forth, so it usually only takes two or three times a year.

Lance does know this place, the second largest city in the empire, the center of empire trade, and the seat of the governor's mansion of the eastern province.

Totnes has two great advantages. The first is that it is located at the mouth of the Donovis River, which runs through seven countries, and has a well-developed river transportation industry.

The second is a natural deep-water port, which is a famous seaport city.

Combining these two innate conditions, Totnes has always been a place where shipping gathers, known as a merchant's paradise, and a place where gold coins flow.

This kind of place is hard to find, it is equivalent to sitting and waiting to collect money, and even Lance covets its unique geographical location.

"Take the route of Totnes, how long is the fastest way to go to other places without detours?"

"If you go by land, it will take half a month, and it only takes four days to reach Totnes by sea from the sea."

"It's too slow~" Lance looked at the situation marked on the map and fell into thinking. If he wants a boat, he is still talking nonsense here?

"No way, there was a direct road to Hamlet, but it has been abandoned for many years, or it has been covered by wilderness, or there are only a few sections of the road left." Walter also realized that he was talking nonsense, and quickly explained.

"Okay, tell me about the situation of the empire, or your impression."

"Why do you ask this, my lord?"

"Hamlet's position is very important. It is reasonable for the empire to intervene in the chaos on the border. Why is there no response?"

"I'm just a businessman, so how can I know about the empire." Walter shook his head in denial.

Lance did not insist on this, and asked him to explain the situation in the surrounding villages, towns and cities.

If you want to formulate a detailed development plan, you must know more information. Now the only person in the town who has seen the world and is familiar with the surrounding situation is Walter, so you can only ask him alone.

Walter also felt a lot of pressure, and the information he had accumulated over the years as a businessman was about to be emptied.

As for talking nonsense, I think my life is too long~
Lance is strong and his mind can be active for a long time, but Walt can't stand it~
Fortunately, Susan soon brought a message that temporarily interrupted the conversation.

"My lord, Barton has fainted."

Lance finally moved his eyes away from the map, and looked outside only to find that half a day had passed.

"I see, take Walter down for a rest, and call Disma and the three of them over by the way."

Although Walter was a little curious, he couldn't control so much and left here with Susan, and his throat was about to smoke after talking for a long time.

Lance went outside and looked at the captain who was lying at the door, and he recognized his determination.

Only this kind of person is qualified to use it for himself~
Soon Leonard and the others came back here, and as soon as they entered the door, they saw the captain lying on the ground and passed out.

"My lord, what's the situation?" Disma was also curious about the current situation.

"Sit down, let him talk about anything."

Lance raised his hand and activated [Blessing] to directly pull the captain out of the coma.

The captain who woke up was still a little dazed looking at the surrounding situation, but Lance's voice had already reached his ears.

"Tell me, what's the matter?"

"I want to stay and make up for my mistakes, and please give me this chance, Lord Lord!"

The captain blurted out the words without much hesitation, but Lance didn't agree directly when he heard the words, he just said lightly.

"Do you know what you did? You led the bandits to attack the town and killed more than 500 people for your own selfish desires. After that, you blocked the roads and caused an unknown number of people to starve to death. But now you are telling me to Make up? Do you think you can atone for your sins?"

Lance's words directly brought the atmosphere on the field to freezing point, and Disma and the others didn't have a good face.

As for the captain, he was even more ashamed...

However, Lance's words did not stop, and he continued to talk.

"Do you know why you're still alive?"

Lance's sudden question really stopped him.

Yeah, why didn't he kill himself?
The attention of the surrounding people was also drawn by this sentence, and they also wondered why the lord killed the third child so simply, but kept the captain.

"Because I found out that you're just a manipulative wretch~" Lance explained with a strange look on his face.

"Originally, our purpose was to exterminate you bandits, and at the same time investigate why so many bandits suddenly gathered near Hamlet. As the leader of these bandits, you have already been marked for death by me, but later the investigation found that behind all this It's a cult at work and you're just a poor bastard who's been controlled by them and lost everything."

As he said that, Lance took out the incense burner in front of the captain as if he was juggling, and threw it over.

"Do you remember this?"

The captain subconsciously took it and looked at the thing in his hand. Of course he knew what it was, that woman's thing.

"Didn't you ask me about a cult last time? I'm telling you now that this is the method of the cult. They will prepare a drug and burn incense to seduce your desires, and they can also brainwash you through magic. Under this method Few people can withstand it, and you are no exception."

Speaking of this, the expressions of Disma and the others have changed a little, because they were also recruited at the time, and if the lord hadn't reacted quickly enough, they might have overturned.

"So you understand?" Lance put down the work at hand and walked up to the captain, "They are the ones who forced you to kill, they are the ones who drove your soldiers to a dead end, and they are the culprits who have turned you into what you are now. You have been nothing but a knife in the hand of the cult from the beginning to the end."

(End of this chapter)