our family is gone

Chapter 778 Warning
blah blah blah...

The lit fuse and the charging knight seemed to form a sharp contrast. Who is faster, you or me?

It was obvious that Patton's estimation of the distance was correct, as the fuse burned out first.

The knight understood that as long as he avoided the straight line of the muzzle, the distance of thirty yards was just a matter of breath for the speed of the charge, and victory was within reach!

However, this time, what came out of the muzzle were not fist-sized shells, but smaller but more numerous projectiles.

Shotgun bombardment!

The projectiles fired from just a few cannons formed a barrage of bullets, and the charging knights seemed to rush forward as if they were actively meeting the enemy.

"boom--!"

The next second, the wailing and screaming of the war horses even drowned out the sound of the artillery. The knights had no time to react before the bullets tore through their armor and pierced their bodies, and they tumbled down along with their horses.

It rolled for a long distance due to inertia before stopping, and the situation was basically hopeless.

Whether it was a warhorse or a human, there was not a single living creature still standing in the large area in front of the artillery.

Barton felt a little confused and even had a headache when he saw this scene.

It’s over. So many war horses were killed. How do we write the battle report?
The remaining knights who did not charge as fast were completely frightened and did not even realize that the cannons needed to be reloaded. If they rushed forward now, they might be able to kill those gunners.

But fear takes away their ability to think. Not everyone can burst with virtue, and that is what makes it precious.

Run away! Run as far as you can...get away from this damn place...

The remaining knights abandoned the so-called glory they were proud of, but how could they, who were so frightened, escape the pursuit of Hamlet's cavalry?
More and more artillery pieces entered the positions, and when they roared wantonly, it meant that the war was over...

Originally, those ordinary people were defeated by the musket array, and now one third of the knights who were gathered with great difficulty were also killed by artillery. The rest were terrified and were running for their lives.

But at this time, there are still people who insist.

Patton looked at the only enemies still holding on and recalled the defeat he had suffered. It was the church's troops that fought to the end and allowed him to escape alive.

That’s right, the final rebels were the church troops. Their fanatical faith gave them psychological support, and they had no fear of death for the sake of the Holy Light.

And the magic cast by the clergyman did indeed pull them back from the brink of death time and time again.

"Target...fire." Patton's silence was not out of sympathy for the scene, but because he was calculating the trajectory.

As soon as the sound was heard, the shells were thrown at the heads of the rebels. No magic was used. They just crushed the formation and destroyed it.

When the last bit of resistance disappeared, all that was left was garbage time, treatment, capturing prisoners and counting...

Patton also had a headache about how to write the report, because although the battle was won, it was not a good win.

To be honest, this battle was not fought well, because we encountered the enemy halfway and many things were not prepared.

If the position is occupied in advance, the artillery can cover a distance of more than a thousand yards and completely crush the enemy without the need for any blocking battle.

This sudden encounter resulted in the infantry fighting those guys head-on without artillery cover, resulting in many unnecessary casualties.

They miscalculated the speed of the noble coalition's advance and thought they had grasped their movements, so they did not send out more reconnaissance. Ultimately, they underestimated the enemy.

…………

"Report!" The messenger rushed in and handed over the briefing, "Report to the Lord, our army defeated the noble coalition forces in one fell swoop."

"Okay." Lance didn't react much. Isn't it normal to win?

But after reading the briefing, I was speechless. Such heavy casualties?
Whether it was our own side or the enemy's, what happened to the promise to kill the nobles with cannons and end the battle quickly? How did it turn out like this?
Niang Xipi!
"Keep marching and take these places for me." Lance tapped the document with some dissatisfaction. "Also, tell Patton to be alert at all times! Pride and complacency are slow but insidious killers. I can accept failure, but I cannot accept such a stupid victory. It is simply playing with the lives of soldiers."

"Yes!"

While others were celebrating their victory, the lord's warning hit the commanders on the head: beware of arrogance and impatience.

After leaving the wounded behind and making adjustments, the army set out again, determined to take over the territories of those nobles as soon as possible before the news spread.

…………

In Owendo, a banquet was held in the manor belonging to the consul, and all the big and small people in the city were invited to attend.

Most of the people on the first floor are gentlemen and ladies who talk and communicate with each other. For them, this is a rare channel of communication. They can meet people they rarely see on weekdays and expand their network.

But the real key to the banquet lies in the living room on the second floor. Only those who have the real power to influence Owendo can sit here, and what they discuss is naturally the key to Owendo's survival.

"Hamlet's army is heading south, and those nobles are asking us for help. I think everyone knows about this, so tell us about it."

Walter brought up the reason for calling them here. In fact, everyone here has their own channels to receive news.

"That Lord Hamlet is simply a madman, he doesn't follow any rules at all!"

"We must support them if they send out troops, otherwise it will be our turn if they fall."

"That's right. We must not let him attack us, otherwise our family business will be gone."

Judging from the leaked news, Hamlet will take over all the places he conquers and turn them into assets of his territory, which will then be managed and distributed according to the plan from above.

All the nobles and various forces were arrested. Those who had not committed any crime were fine, but those who had problems were directly arrested and sent to labor camps.

Let them work? Like the serfs? Isn't this a humiliation to them?
If the circumstances are serious enough to warrant the death penalty, that would be even more disastrous. Few of them are clean enough to get to this position.

This method is simply killing them. In their eyes, Hamlet is even more terrifying than the cult.

More than a dozen people present expressed their strong support for the noble coalition in their war against Hamlet.

"It seems like everyone supports it, so I won't say anything more. How much will everyone contribute?"

One sentence made them fall into silence. It seems that these people are not as fanatical as they seem. After all, their own interests are involved.

Walter couldn't help but secretly complain in his heart when he looked at them - they were shouting so loudly, but no one said anything when it came to paying. If I really rely on you, I'll be waiting to die.

At the beginning, there was not much energy to control it, so a more cautious approach was taken to quickly restore order. The bureaucratic and church forces were simply eliminated, and many old bureaucrats were promoted at the same time. Not much action was taken on the lower levels.

I just didn’t expect that so many characters would emerge in Owendo in such a short period of time.

There is a reason. Most of these businessmen, like Watt, have their own estates outside the city, or in other cities. Anyway, when they encounter a situation, most of them will run away first and then see how the situation develops.

The last time the famine caused chaos in the city, they left here and just avoided it, and Lance didn't have much time to take care of them. After the order was restored, these guys came back. The relationship between them was complicated, and Walter had to look at their faces if he wanted to control Owendo.

"Since you won't send any men or give any money, you might as well just surrender."

Suddenly, when those people were silent, an out-of-place voice came out. When others looked over, they saw that it was a young man who looked ordinary.

It seemed as if the face was covered with a layer of mist, as hazy as myopia. I could never see clearly, and yet it seemed as if I could see clearly, but I would forget it the next second.

But no one cared about this, and almost every time the young man spoke, he caused ridicule from others.

"What kind of kid is causing trouble here?"

"Background and ability are important when it comes to making a living. When did age become important?" The young man was not afraid at all. He sneered at the man and said, "Old man, huh?"

This voice caused everyone to laugh quietly, except for the man who had just spoken out with a somewhat ugly expression. When had he ever suffered such humiliation?
But they did agree with the young man's words. Those who could sit here were all well-known and influential people, at least they were recognized by the governor Walter.

Thinking of this, everyone looked at Walter, but saw that he was pretending not to see it, and they couldn't help but be cautious.

We all hang out here, and we all know that the previous consul had some connections with the empire. I heard that this one got in touch with the empire as soon as he took office, and he even got involved and made a lot of money.

As a result, they subconsciously regarded the young man as someone from the empire, and his background was naturally beyond the reach of businessmen like them.

The person who just reacted also regretted it a little. Why did he step out just now...

The businessman had no sense of shame, so when he found out the young man's identity, he immediately smiled and complimented him.

"That's right, I wonder if you are...?"

"I am the Lord Hamlet you are looking for."

Lance responded with a smile, not seeming to be hiding anything.

But those people couldn't believe it. At the same time, they also realized a serious problem. The person who organized this banquet was...

Almost everyone turned their eyes to Walter, and the questioning was more direct than before and seemed naked.

"Walter! That's not funny."

"What does it mean?"

"What on earth are you doing?"

Walter sat calmly in his seat and narrated briefly.

"Your intelligence is outdated. Hamlet's army defeated the coalition of nobles a few days ago, so you don't have to waste time worrying about whether to contribute money or manpower.

The 6,000 noble coalition troops surrendered in less than half a day, so we don’t need to make so many things happen, because the army has now entered the city, and the fact that this land is called Hamlet cannot be changed. "

Hearing this basically confirmed Lance's identity, but this sentence made those people boil over like fried fish, and their terrified expressions showed the purest emotion, which was shouting and cursing.

"Traitor! You betrayed us!"

"Damn it! Do you think he'll let you go?"

"boom!"

Suddenly, without any warning, a gunshot rang out in the room amid the shouting and cursing. However, this shot was not fired by Lance, but by someone in the crowd.

And the person he was aiming at was not Walter, but Lance.

"But you shouldn't be out here alone."

The gunman spoke confidently, even if they were surrounded, so what? As long as they could capture the lord, why would they be afraid of those guys?
But then a horrifying scene unfolded. When the smoke cleared, everyone came to their senses and found that the man who claimed to be the lord had raised his hand and held out two fingers, pinching something in between.

As he let go, the sound of the object falling to the ground could be clearly heard, and everyone's eyes followed it only to realize that it was a deformed projectile.

Although the chamber pressure of today's muskets is relatively poor due to airtightness technical issues, not to mention pistols, the initial velocity of the bullet leaving the chamber is average.

But this information is compared with modern firearms. In fact, whether it is a flintlock rifle or a modern firearm, the speed of a shot is completely beyond the ability of ordinary people to react.

And the man in front of them caught the bullet with his bare hands right in front of them...what does this mean?
Not to mention those guys, even Walter's calm personality that he had worked so hard to maintain was almost strained.

He knew that the lord was strong, and he also had some information about supernatural powers, but he didn't expect him to be so strong!

Fortunately, I didn't have any extra thoughts, otherwise if I really joined forces with those guys to defend the city, it would probably be a dead end.

However, when the lord is one of your own, you do have an incomparable sense of security, it's stable!
"Your gun is quite exquisite."

The man came to his senses and found that Lance had walked in front of him without him knowing when, and the musket in his hand had turned into his hand and he was playing with it.

"what!"

He didn't understand Lance's mumbling at all. He screamed and stepped back subconsciously, which also woke up the others. Panic seemed to spread again.

But Lance didn't seem to want to continue playing, and just uttered a word.

"Quiet."

That voice seemed to have some kind of magic, and instantly those people were calmed down as if they were under control, and then they spoke one sentence.

"What are you doing? Am I a bad person?"

How would you let others respond?

"My Lord, they forced me to come here. I didn't want to come at all. I am absolutely loyal to Hamlet."

"You were the one who screamed the loudest just now, and you even scolded me." Lance was playing with the rifle, but when he heard this, he couldn't help but smile and teased.

"Sir! I'll give you all my assets in Owendo. Will you let me go?"

Decisiveness is a skill of a businessman, because hesitation will lose the opportunity to make money, but unfortunately Lance does not have this skill.

"I've told some idiots not to trade my stuff with me, hopefully I don't have to repeat myself too many times because my patience is always low with stupid people."

"I have elderly parents and young children to take care of. If something happens to me, they won't be able to make a living. Please have pity on me."

"That's easy. It would be great if we could bring him home and reunite the whole family."

Lance finally took his eyes off the rifle in his hand. The gunsmith had good skills, but unfortunately he was destined to be eliminated by the times.