our family is gone

Chapter 598 The Value of Intelligence

The outside world is still beyond the reach of Hamlet, and it will take a long time to get to the empire and get to Hamlet.

But the news about the ruins has the most profound impact on the surrounding areas of Hamlet, and even the empire.

The common people in the imperial capital of St. Helier knew the news about Hamlet, but they did not know about the incident that happened among the nobles.

The emperor wanted to stabilize the support of those people at all costs, and the Michel family, which had risen to great heights because of the emperor's support, also became a price when the emperor needed it.

Regardless of whether it was true or false, the Michel family had to bear the losses of the war, the disappearance of the princess and many other crimes, and was eventually cleared in the name of treason.

The emperor still wanted to investigate, but after two people who went to the front line of the army to check the accounts died inexplicably, the matter fell into disuse.

As Lance said, this is a result that both parties are satisfied with.

What's interesting is that people from the church also participated in the action, because they really found traces of evil.

The rebels, who were originally happy to see internal strife in the regular army, immediately said they had nothing to do with it.

"Perhaps the failure of the war and the disappearance of his daughter were a huge blow to him. Ever since he came back, the Baron was furious because of this incident, and it took many days to calm down.

If the church determines that they are colluding with evil, then the rebels will easily collapse with just one sentence, because the real master of the empire has never been the emperor, but the church.

We are all old foxes, who are you playing with?

If Hamlet hadn't made this trip, he might have handed it over for his daughter if he sensed this situation, but now Bastia's affairs are no longer within the Earl's control.

If you were really so kind, would you arrange for someone to keep an eye on me?

And to recruit new soldiers to your own territory?

This was clearly an attempt to drain the war potential of his baronage.

It's just that no one dared to break the balance of Hamlet's remaining area for many years.

That being said, Lawrence is not a fool, everyone is just competing for his acting skills.

For this reason, most of the people in the castle, including the guards, were dismissed, leaving only a few servants, and it seemed that they had no intention of recruiting more people.

"My son was defeated and imprisoned and humiliated, but I couldn't even protect his daughter. I am really incompetent as a lord~"

They need to create a bigger topic to cover up the changes that have occurred at the top. It is not a novelty. Even if there is no Hamlet, there will be other things.

No one wants to be someone else's stepping stone. Instead, a strange balance is formed, with everyone waiting for the first one to be unable to bear it.

This is why the emperor insisted on dragging the church into it.

"I'm sorry for you. It's all my fault for not protecting her well..." The Earl suddenly put on a show and hurriedly stood up and walked to Lawrence, "But don't worry, I have arranged for people to search for her, and we will definitely find her."

Yes, Lawrence is just pretending to be like this now. After all, he knows very well where his daughter is, so how can he be sad about her disappearance?

He just took the opportunity to start investigating Margaret's matter, and he really discovered something.

The housekeeper bowed and left, and not long after, he brought Lawrence over, and he left naturally and closed the door.

You can't speak if you bully someone to death, right?

The two played each other for a while, and soon returned to the real topic.

The earl looked calm when he said these words, and he continued to ask after a few seconds of silence.

"No! What happened again?" Lawrence's attitude changed obviously when he heard the name. He was no longer as decadent as before. Instead, he was a little irritable.

In Bastia's castle, the count, who was handling matters in the study, was reminded by the butler's voice.

The area around Hamlet was filled with strange emotions because of this news. After all, no one could resist the "gold mine" in front of them.

For people far away from home, Hamlet is more of a topic of conversation.

"Has there been anything unusual in the past few days since he returned?"

It can only be said that the dead are more useful than the living.

And I also heard that his personality has become irritable and irritable, and he will go crazy whenever someone mentions related things..."

"Let him in."

Both parties refused to admit their fault, and in the end they had no choice but to push it all into the trash can of Michelle.

"Have you heard anything about Hamlet lately?"

Our people said that the baron now locks himself in the castle all day long, or goes to his daughter's room to sit there. He doesn't even pay much attention to matters in the territory, but leaves it to the people below to deal with it.

"Yes."

He simply cleared away most of the people, but deliberately left the informant behind just to put on a show for the earl.

"What about the conscription? Did he interfere?"

Lawrence listened but just waved his hands with a dull expression, "This matter is not to blame, sir. Her disappearance is because the guards did not protect her well. I have fired those guys."

"My lord, Baron Lawrence has arrived."

"Here we come!" The Earl walked away from the business as if he had just heard it. Looking up, he could see that although Lawrence's clothes were a little tidier now, his mental state was even worse than when he first came back.

"How are the people down in his territory?"

"No, he doesn't care about anything now, but the knights below him have the intention to unite to resist the conscription."

"Our people said that Baron Lawrence didn't summon those knights after he came back. Even the knights who came to him were kicked out because they mentioned this matter."

The baron waited until he understood it before he spoke.

The subsequent instigation of news about Hamlet was more of a means by the emperor, the church and various nobles to divert the attention of the people.

After hearing this, the count put down his work, but instead of summoning him directly, he asked again.

Because everyone is not a fool, they know that the first one to stand out will definitely be beaten by the surrounding lords, and this will even become an excuse for other lords to send troops to Hamlet.

The earl raised his hand to express comfort, and then told him about the ruins.

"We all escaped from Hamlet at that time, and I'm afraid no one knows that city better than we do."

This news indeed made Lawrence fall into silence. He really didn't know anything about this matter. He had been acting recently, and he had to do it in order to deceive the earl.

It can only be said that no matter how good the pretense is, it is not as good as the moment of silence now. Even the earl has relaxed his guard.

"We were stationed in other places back then, otherwise we wouldn't have survived. There has been no movement in that place for so many years. Why did it suddenly appear now?"

Lawrence was thinking about what the count meant, and after a moment of silence, he said this, and he did not forget to add something at the end.

"There's something wrong here. It's probably fake news. It's best to have someone check it out first."

"I think so too. Francis has already brought the money there, and we can confirm the news when he comes back."

"Whether it's true or not, the barbarians are ready to move now. We can't divide our troops. At least the mountains must be snowed before we can move. Hamlet is difficult to fight..." Lawrence sighed with emotion, but the earl said it casually.

"Those barbarians suddenly stopped making noise recently for some unknown reason."

"After you've robbed enough, you can go back and spend the winter. What future can those barbarians have?" Lawrence's words were full of indifference, with an air of openness.

"Oh~ we are all old, let them leave these matters to them." The count did not want to continue talking about this topic, so he made a few casual remarks, and then sent Lawrence away.

The Earl stood there and watched Lawrence's slightly stooped back disappear at the end of the corridor, and his originally smiling face gradually turned cold.

Lawrence seemed not to feel the eyes behind him, but his expression also became bitter.

He had seen clearly the Count more than ten years ago. He had been forced to bow his head because of his territory and his daughter.

But now it seems...

After thinking about my previous delusions, I realized that I couldn't see it as clearly as my daughter.

If he really marries his daughter, I am afraid that if he dies, his daughter will be persecuted by these guys. It is better to stay in Hamlet.

If Lawrence was only forced to do things for Lance before, then the last bit of emotion was lost under the Count's repeated temptations these days.

When they were at this point, how could they still have the friendship that lasted more than ten years?

Stepping out of the cold castle, you were met by the rising sun on top.

After riding back to his territory, Lawrence suddenly seemed to have discovered something after entering the town, but he did not show it.

It wasn't until he entered the castle room that his expression changed. He opened the room's mechanism and a deep passage appeared in front of him.

After changing clothes and putting on a mask, he went in holding the candlestick.

Most noble castles are designed with secret rooms and secret passages. One is used to hide things, while the other naturally leads to the outside world to escape.

He and his daughter were the only ones who knew the location in the entire territory.

At that time, he had decided on the code and location of the joint before he left. But when he came in just now, he saw the code, so now he had to rush there.

The previous acting was effective, and now no one would care about him even if he stayed in the room for a long time.

After pushing the door open, you can feel the moisture getting heavier, the surrounding area is wet, there is even moss growing in the masonry, and there is an unpleasant smell.

But Lawrence continued to go deeper as if he didn't realize it, until he opened an iron fence somewhere, and then he truly walked out of the most secret part of the road.

No settlement can be separated from water sources and drainage. Through the town's sewers, he soon appeared in a passage separated by a gate.

The movement here also alarmed the people on the opposite side. Neither side could see clearly in the dim environment, but they had a unique way.

"Why are you blushing?"

“Refreshed!”

"Why did you turn white again?"

"Wax for cold protection!"

Lawrence didn't know what these words meant. Anyway, he learned the code from Lance.

There was no nonsense between the two parties and they quickly exchanged the current situation.

"The sudden convergence of the mountain barbarians must have happened because there is still some time before the heavy snow closes the mountains. It is impossible for them to give up this opportunity to plunder. After all, this is related to whether they can survive the winter safely."

Lawrence did not use his usual tone, but changed to a pretending to be deep voice. As for what he talked about, it was the information he had just received from the meeting with the count.

"I'll check it out." A short voice came from the other end.

The two parties had a quick exchange and then left.

The person on the other end also quickly left, until Vic's figure came out from the nearby river not long after.

Although Lawrence had made so many disguises just now, Vic knew very well who was on the other side. Currently, the organization had a single line of contact, and only he was qualified to contact the two chess pieces arranged by the lord.

Now Vic has come to Bastia with a mission from the lord to develop intelligence. He has just arrived and has not yet established himself. This is the first time they have met, and there will be more exchanges later...

This scene in Bastia is just a microcosm. All the surrounding lords are getting ready to make arrangements to test Hamlet.

But as Lance said, different countries, different forces, different classes, and even to exaggerate, it can be said that the whole world is shaken by Hamlet's reappearance.

But whether the Hamlet area will be turbulent or prosperous because of this incident depends on that man...

…………

When Lance left the outpost and headed for the bay, an operation to clear the den was soon launched.

Lance has accumulated enough experience by leading the team to explore the cave three times before.

The first thing is to obtain a map of part of the cave and understand the general environment inside.

The second is to get the fighting abilities and habits of different pigs.

The third is that heroes who have actual combat experience with pigs lead the guards step by step on how to deal with pigs.

The use of intelligence is an ability that distinguishes humans from other species, and it is precisely because of this advantage that operations are extremely smooth.

At the beginning, everyone gathered directly at the No. 2 position transformed from the No. 2 target in the wilderness.

The hero will lead the team to take turns to fight in succession, using the blood and death of the pigs to train their troops.

You must know that under the circumstances of running out of ammunition and food, these people were able to endure the desperate conditions and fight to the death, resolutely completing the lord's orders and holding on to their positions.

Now, backing up to the battlefield can provide adequate supplies and rest, as well as stable treatment.

In addition, this group of people had just been strengthened by the lord's blessing, and their overall strength was even stronger.

Except for the small setback they encountered at the beginning, after they got used to it, the targeted combat methods were simply crushing for those pigs.

However, everyone is not in a hurry to go further into the beast's cave. Instead, they want to use this opening to bleed the pigs and consume their vitality.

It's not that the pigs haven't organized a counterattack, they even pushed back under the leadership of powerful pigs such as pig knights and pig thugs.

Not only did they push those teams out of the cave, they even rushed out.

What's waiting for them is a lot of strong human beings, and... artillery.

(End of this chapter)