our family is gone

"You are too greedy. The buyer offered 40% and you just asked for 30%. You are still taking kickbacks from both parties. Aren't you afraid that the pirates will kill you?"

"Without us, no one would want 30% of the goods, and the pirates don't need them. There are still a lot of them left on the mountain with no one wanting them."

Lance couldn't help but complain as he flipped through the account book. When he noticed that the broker had stopped, he began to urge him impatiently.

"Write, keep writing."

Even if Lance can remember those things, he still needs these brokers to write down everything they know, as this is evidence.

Soon the whole piece of paper was filled with what Lance wanted. Most of them were some secrets they knew, and various channels, which they relied on to make a living.

"You should know that according to legend, Black Jack disappeared, but left clues. Legend has it that if you collect all the clues, you can find the treasure he hid?"

"Yes, but after the chaos, Black Jack's three children disappeared, and the treasure map disappeared with them, so there was no follow-up to this matter."

The broker still had some professional ethics. He knew a lot of similar rumors, but he had never heard of anyone discovering them.

"It's not a treasure map. It's three tokens, two shells, and a bead. They were given to me by a friend."

Lance took out the half shell that he had obtained before. He could feel a faint spiritual luster on it, but he didn't know how to use it. It was also impossible to break it by brute force. He could only find out after collecting all three pieces.

To be honest, Lance was so busy before that he had no time to waste on the so-called treasure hunt, but now he can use it to write something about it.

"This..." The broker suddenly seemed to realize something, and looked at Lance with a strange look.

Isn't it said that only Black Jack's children can have it? How come it's in your hands?

Is that friend of yours you? Otherwise, why would you give him everything?
But he knew what to say and what not to say, so he didn't ask, but just explained helplessly:
"I really don't know anything about the Black Jack treasure. There are a lot of rumors about it, but most of them are just some drunk guys bragging. So many people haven't found it for so many years, how could I know?"

Lance didn't care about the broker's reaction. He was not here to look for treasure. His real purpose was something else.

"You have to help me do one thing. That is to spread this news tomorrow. Ten days later, I will open this shell here for everyone to find the secret inside. Remember, everyone should find the other two pieces of news at the same time. I am willing to cooperate in the treasure hunt."

"Ah!" The broker couldn't help but exclaim when he heard this. Publicizing this thing? Do you know how much of a stir it would cause?

"Don't be afraid. If they come looking for you, just pretend you don't know. Just say someone asked you to release this news. There will be many people releasing it, and you are just one of them. There is no need to worry about your safety."

Lance knew what he was thinking when he didn't say anything, and he patted the account book in his hand to warn him.

"Don't even think about running away. I think your partners would also like to know how much you ate. And the fact that you're the only one running away from so many people shows that there's something wrong with you."

It's no use just saying nice things to these guys who deal with pirates; they must be put under enough pressure.

“How could that be… I’m just worried that no one will believe me.” The broker forced an explanation with a professional smile on his face, but he was probably cursing in his heart.

"Don't worry about this. Those big pirates who have followed Black Jack will understand when they hear that it is a shell instead of a sea chart. You just need to spread the news."

"Yes Yes Yes."

Lance hypnotized him to sleep, and then left. Following his introduction, he also visited some other brokers, used similar methods to grasp their weaknesses, and then arranged things.

It's true. Lance discovered from the brokers that the matter of Hamlet actually involved many forces.

What about the Mercenary Guild, the Medical Association, some big businessmen and the nobles behind them, etc.

It seems that Totnes is not the only one who does not want to see Hamlet rise, but it is a consensus among many people.

But who cared? Lance never cared anyway.

But Lance also found something very interesting, a nautical chart from a pirate broker with his backing.

A somewhat old, rolled-up piece of parchment, with delicate patterns drawn on it when it was opened, marking routes and various similar routes, ocean currents, reefs, islands...

Lance could tell at a glance that this was the sea outside Hamlet. It wasn't that he had been there before. In fact, Lance had no impression of it at all.

As for why?
For one corner of the fully unfolded chart bears the family crest of Hamlet's ruler.

From the exquisite markings on it, you can tell that it is definitely not something that ordinary people can possess. This kind of thing can be called a strategic map. I don’t know how much money was spent and how many people risked their lives to get it.

But now it is in the hands of pirates. I don't know whether it was given to Black Jack by the ancestor, or it was the spoils of Hamlet looted by these pirates. Anyway, it is a symbol of Hamlet's decline and a shame, so Lance took it away.

It was already evening when Lance returned to the boat. The team members who had gone out for the survey had all returned one after another. Since this place was not very big, they had probably finished their visit in one day and set sail to prepare.

However, it was only after personal investigation that they discovered that this place was really easy to defend and difficult to attack. The environment was very complex. Apart from the opening they had made when they came in, there were others, and the gaps between the small islands could also be passed through by boat.

They were not afraid of difficulties, but they were worried that if a fight broke out, it would be difficult for Hamlet's men to completely surround the entire area, and the pirates would be able to escape from here through different waterways.

If we cannot completely wipe them out, things will become even more troublesome if they roam around. You know, it is really difficult to catch them in the vast ocean.

There are an estimated three thousand people in the entire Shipwreck Bay, most of whom are pirates. And this is only the part that stays here. There are many more that are not here.

After all, wild dogs will only return to their dens after they have caught prey and eaten their fill. Those that have not caught prey will be outside looking for prey on an empty stomach.

After returning, Lance also had a general understanding of their situation. The difficulty was that it was difficult to completely surround the ships of Hamlet’s navy.

Secondly, if this place is taken down and some pirates escape, the remaining pirates outside will also know about it and will not come back but wander around.

"Don't worry, they will gather here by themselves when the time comes." Lance explained with a smile, "Because no pirate can refuse the news of Black Jack's treasure."

Lance briefly explained his plan. It was estimated that by then all the pirates in the surrounding area would gather here and he would catch them all in one fell swoop and completely eliminate the surrounding pirates.

"Why don't we find a place by ourselves? It's too difficult to fight here." Someone raised the question. Since they planned to use treasure to lure them, why not choose a place suitable for an ambush?

"Of course, because you know that the pirates also know that these guys have been under various high-pressure environments for many years and don't trust anyone. Who knows what the guy who released this news is planning?
But this is a special place. The complex environment and the so-called [Pirate Code] give them a fig leaf. At least here they have a sense of security, even if it is insignificant. "

"But according to this estimate, the number of pirates may exceed 5,000. We only have 1,000 navy soldiers. How can we fight them?"

"Our ships have been modified with artillery, and we can blow them up when the time comes. Send a few ships to guard them..."

"But what about their defenses in the bay? They still have to go ashore and clear out the enemy at night..."

With this information, those people began to formulate new battle plans, talking to each other at once, but full of vitality.

Lance would not intervene too much, but instead approached Wilson and handed him the chart, "Take a look at this, do you recognize it?"

Captain Wilson was also thinking about how to fight, but his thoughts were interrupted by the lord and he could only take the thing and open it. He was stunned at first, but he quickly reacted.

"It's Hamlet's stuff!" But after taking a closer look, he couldn't help but sigh, "Such a detailed chart is much more complicated than what we saw at that time. I'm afraid only senior officials are qualified to see it."

Wilson didn't say anything else, but he roughly understood the lord's intention in taking out this thing, and handed it back.

"It's not allowed now. Too much has changed over the years. It's better to take it back and put it in a museum so that future generations can know about it."

Lance didn't say anything after listening to Wilson's words, because he remembered that he had killed a small leader under Red Beard. The coat and the musket on his body were the trophies of killing a naval admiral named Hamlet.

These pirates plundered nutrients from Hamlet's decline and grew, and in some ways they are the same trouble left by their ancestors.

Then let them witness the rise of Hamlet...

…………

Hamlet, in the wilderness.

Although Hamlet has been developing the wilderness, it was mainly the north of the town, in order to eliminate the influence of the witches and open the road to the ruins.

This part is highly developed, but in other parts, for example, to the south and southwest, there are many noble lords, and the territories derived from them have a certain degree of development, and there are also some old roads connecting them.

But now the northwest of Hamlet's city is a real wilderness, because extending there are the remnants of the mountains.

Perhaps we can testify from some remaining ruins that there were people here in the past, but now it has become a wilderness swallowed by nature.

As soon as the mad dog escaped, Boudica asked the lord for help, and gathered Junia, William (Figs), Laura and others to go deep into the wilderness to find and capture it.

Logically speaking, it should be easy for Figgs, a wolfhound born for hunting, to find the mad dog, not to mention the aerial reconnaissance brought by Laura.

Unfortunately, the weather became their biggest enemy, and a sudden snowfall interrupted their operation. When the snow was a little lighter, they resumed their search, and found that the heavy snow had eliminated all traces of the mad dog, and the cold wind made the hawks unwilling to fly.

What’s even more troublesome is that no one has cleared the snow, and a thick layer of it has accumulated. Although it’s not so severe that it’s impossible to walk, it’s still very troublesome.

It was Figos who was really helpful. He found the clue from the faint smell and led everyone to chase after it.

Along the way, they encountered some hungry wild beasts that took their team as prey, but the fact that they were still alive proved who was the prey.

Three days is the bottom line given to them by the lord. It is impossible for you, Boudica, to lead others into a trap just for a dog because of your personal emotions.

Now the time is very close, which makes Boudica a little irritated. She used to be a master hunter and she once hunted a lioness as a coming-of-age gift.

But hunting was definitely not her forte, because when she was in the mountains she would not go out even in the winter when it snowed, so she really had a blind spot in her knowledge.

"Woof woof!" Figgs, who was tracking in front, suddenly barked twice, and the whole team became alert. William explained excitedly.

"The kid found the scent. The mad dog was nearby."

As he spoke, he walked forward and fed Figgs some food. He stroked the dog with his mouse-skin gloves and encouraged him, "Find it. Don't let the prey get away."

Figus jumped out and ran on the snow. His long fur made him fearless of the cold. The blessing from the lord made him more agile and powerful than ordinary hounds.

The others followed, but after walking a little further they entered a relatively sparse forest for some reason. Figes seemed to have noticed something.

The pace of progress also slowed down a bit. It no longer rushed forward, but paced forward. Its nose kept moving, making it look a little uneasy, as if it was trying to figure out what the smell was.
"Figs encountered something he didn't recognize. Everyone be careful." William could only explain based on the dog's condition. He didn't know what it was specifically.

Soon they discovered something strange. There were many bushes and weeds in the wilderness, and even if they dried up in winter, there should be traces left. However, the birch forest in front of them looked very desolate, as if no grass had grown for many years.

This was against the norm, as the last thing that wasn't swallowed by the wilderness was a ruin shrouded in death.

It is a consensus among everyone that visions represent danger, especially when there are supernatural powers in this world.

As they continued to go deeper, they soon discovered something. They were huge standing stones covered with all kinds of incomprehensible patterns and runes, arranged into unique shapes. But what they discovered was just a corner of Stonehenge.

“The smell stops here.”

Figus seemed a little irritable, as he sensed danger. William tried to comfort him while looking at everyone and signaling.

"What should we do now?" Junia felt that this mission was a bit confusing.

"Go back and tell the Lord that this is no longer something we can handle."

William was very calm and rational. Even Boudica, who was unwilling, knew that this was the right choice and looked back at the Stonehenge.

"I will definitely come back!" (End of this chapter)