our family is gone

Chapter 849 Warming Up
News always lags behind, and this is even more so in this ignorant age. The pirate trial organized by Hamlet has long ended, and even various projects have begun to emerge, such as song storytelling, drama and novels.

There are culturally processed products, and naturally there are realistic and serious themes. For this purpose, a special museum was set up, which preserved several iconic pirate ships and displayed various collected evidence, telling the cruelty and poisoning of pirates, as well as the affairs of those nobles.

It can be said that if these continue, a heroic epic story will definitely be born, and this place will become a famous attraction in the future, attracting many tourists.

However, the spread of this news was limited by the cold winter. After all, the rivers were frozen and caravans would not take the snow-covered roads.

But there are some places where this restriction is ignored, namely the towns on the coast, as Hamlet travels between them in the name of hunting pirates.

Moreover, the local people already had a lot of business exchanges with Hamlet, and this had already been planned before.

But it was the first time that Hamlet acted in the name of the army, and those people were very scared at first, but the army of Hamlet was still strictly disciplined, unlike those armies that were no different from pirates.

Now, hearing about what happened, the coastal residents who were harassed by pirates, especially those who had been harmed by pirates, were even more excited.

The only ones who felt uneasy were probably the local nobles, consuls, or those who were really related to pirates.

Of course, Totnes was no exception. The news was like a tide that hit their already torn confidence.

The various messy news caused various reactions among the people in Totnes, but overall they caused a lot of trouble. At least the high-level nobles and ruling bureaucrats felt threatened.

They put pressure downward to try to suppress the situation, sending out sheriffs and troops to prevent the spread of news and even to ban Hamlet's ship from coming.

The pressure was put on the four major families, and some even advocated starting a war and sending gunboats to blow up Hamlet.

But now no one dared to reveal the loss of Totnes’ gunboat, otherwise they would never dare to say it after knowing it.

The suppression did have some effect, but the spread behind the scenes became even more intense. As for banning ships, it is even more impossible.

In the past, people gave you face because you had gunboats. Now, what do you have to blockade the coast? How can you say that I am a ship from Hamlet? Are you still going to do business?
The top management may know that Hamlet negotiated with those businessmen, but they don’t know what they talked about. In any case, many businessmen have begun to waver.

For these stakeholders, what is more terrifying than decline is watching it happen helplessly.

At this time, even the real queen of Totnes, who was hiding in the mansion, understood something.

For ordinary people it is a scarlet curse, but for her it is an extension of power. The Countess was infected by her own hands, so she can feel that breath.

But now it's gone...

She didn't know what happened, but she knew that the original plan might have to be changed.

"Tell those guys to get ready and contact the imperial nobles. They are definitely more anxious than us this time."

The other three of the four major families didn't know why the woman suddenly changed her mind, but they had always supported the war against Hamlet.

So when the order was issued, it showed their control over Totnes. Even the noble bureaucrats strongly supported this decision, showing unprecedented efficiency...

What happened in Hamlet could not be heard by ordinary people in the imperial capital, but the nobles each had their own intelligence channels and all felt uneasy.

What does Hamlet want to do?
The nobles are the pillars of the country, and this is shaking the foundation of the country!
When the emperor of the empire found out, he was furious. What a damn unruly people!

Fortunately, there was good news soon. Totnes took the lead in mediating with several great nobles the war between the empire and the rebels, that is, the war between the great nobles, because now they had a bigger enemy.

Everyone is in the aristocratic system, and now there is someone who doesn't follow the rules, so he naturally becomes the common enemy of everyone.

The nobles were fighting to the death one second, and the next they were singing, dancing and having a party together in their warm mansions. Only the soldiers were still outside chewing on tree bark in the wind and snow.

The three parties' desire to unite is bound to be a long negotiation process as each has its own interests, but at least a start has been made and there is still time to talk slowly before spring.

…………

"Hahaha!"

Lance laughed loudly in the room. It was unknown whether he felt that he had won or he wanted to put pressure on Hamlet. Anyway, the news of the coalition forces soon reached his ears.

But Lance was not in a hurry at all, instead he started complaining.

"If the three parties come separately, it will be a bit troublesome. After all, the scale of Hamlet's army is not large. But if the three of them cooperate, I guess they will drag each other to death."

The feudal army, or the three parties, do not have a truly convincing commander, and each has its own interests. Lance can basically see what Fenglinshanzhan.

Retreat and advance as swiftly as the wind, make detours and encircle as slowly as a forest, burn, kill, plunder and invade like fire, and remain motionless as a mountain when friendly forces are in trouble.

"There is also news that something seems to have gone wrong within the church. They actually don't care about these things, but instead start to gather strength. However, many bishops have their own interests in the local area, and it is estimated that they will appear in this coalition."

"The reason why the church is so powerful is because it has mastered the so-called [Holy Light], which is a kind of extraordinary power. However, any extraordinary power will have a price. Now that the saints who walked the world with the Holy Light have disappeared, it is estimated that this has caused a backlash."

We are all family and there is nothing to hide. At the same time, he is also warning them of the dangers of supernatural powers.

All kinds of magical powers have a price, but some are manifested immediately, while others wait to be manifested.

Because many cases had to be handled expedited, some supernatural powers were asked to assist. In addition, Lance increased investment in the research of supernatural powers, which made some people dependent on this thing.

Recently, more and more supernatural beings have come to Hamlet, and managing them is a difficult problem, which also means that Hamlet is increasingly involved with supernatural powers.

Lance got a headache just thinking about it. For him, it would be easier to just fight a battle. Fortunately, he didn't have to worry about most things now. He just led the extraordinary people he had trained to do research or taught outstanding students to impart knowledge and ideas.

However, he still controls the general direction and key issues, such as the intelligence collected about the threat posed by the coalition forces to Hamlet. "Let everyone come back for a while, just in time to study the war situation that Hamlet will face next."

After things were arranged, Lance went to find Yulia who had been here for a few days.

"How is it? Has the world changed a lot?"

"The world remains the same, but Hamlet has changed a lot."

Yulia is also afraid of the cold. No one knows if it’s because of her bloodline or for some other reason. Anyway, she seldom goes out after coming here and spends most of her time reading some information.

Lance also opened some information to her, allowing her to quickly understand some stories that happened on this land, and of course the legendary lord.

The details were not written down, but only those who have been a noble lord would know how difficult it is to do so. At the same time, he also had an inexplicable admiration for Lance, because both of their families were in decline, but he made it. If he hadn't been rescued by him, he didn't know how many more years he would have to sleep.

"Come on, I'll go out for a walk and take you to meet some of Hamlet's friends."

Yulia didn't want to go out, but since she was invited, she simply packed up and left the room. Fortunately, it didn't snow today, and it was a warm winter.

Yulia is not wearing the Iron Maiden heavy armor now, but a simple casual dress with a heavy coat on top, a hooded cloak to block the snow, and a scarf. Only her eyes are exposed, which will not attract much attention.

"The coldest time has passed. It's not just the weather that's warming up, but also the guys' eagerness to make a move."

Lance told her about the coalition forces. Now both Scarlet Rose and the Emperor of the Empire have entered the scene, and they are both her enemies.

These days she has been thinking about the conversation between the two of them that day, and she also understood what Lance meant when he warned her that revenge was just something, and she just had to find a way to accomplish it, and not treat it as a complete surrender.

But she still had some resistance. After all, everyone has different personalities, and she did not find any redemption in Hamlet.

Then suddenly she said this, which meant that she had just stayed in Hamlet for a few days when she got the chance for revenge. Now she began to feel the absurdity of fate.

Question Lance, understand Lance...

"If this is the case, won't Hamlet be hated by the entire empire and be caught in the flames of war?"

Yulia had not yet lost her mind, but understood that this was a very terrifying situation and that the entire empire regarded him as an enemy.

"Wrong, wrong. The nobles and bureaucrats cannot represent this country, not to mention that they are not united among themselves."

Lance had some inexplicable self-confidence. To be honest, anyone with a little common sense should not believe him, but Yulia didn't know why she actually believed him.

She was brought into a high-level meeting. Reynald, Barristan and others also rushed back from the border. Excellent students such as Joan of Arc were also there. They mainly started discussing the issue of war.

"This is the former Lord of Totnes, Duke Julia. She is also one of the victims of the Emperor's conspiracy. She will help us win this time."

Lance's brief introduction surprised everyone a little, but not too strange. After all, whatever the lord did was normal and they were used to it.

At the beginning of the meeting, everyone knew that there would only be one battle between the two sides, so they started to study how to fight right after entering here. It was impossible for them to hold banquets like those imperial nobles, and then have contacts between the various parties, and negotiate on interests. It was hard to say whether they could unite in the end after all the busy work.

Lance asked Julia to come over because he needed her knowledge of the Totnes area. Although it had been lost for many years, as an heir to a long-standing noble family and having served as a lord for a period of time, some of her opinions could not be ignored.

"Those enemies may seem powerful, but in fact most of them are serfs. They can only fight with favorable winds. However, Totnes now has artillery units, so we must be careful."

"Those enemies will definitely try every possible way to destroy Hamlet, so we need to be vigilant not only on the front line, but also in the rear and supply. In particular, the problem of spies must be solved and they must be controlled before the war begins."

"The power of the nobles will attract many extraordinary people. In addition, many of them are extraordinary people, so there will definitely be extraordinary forces interfering in the war. This issue must also be taken into consideration."

"I have no doubt that they will use plagues, curses, and the like when the battle is lost. Everyone must be careful."

Lance has not forgotten the source of the scarlet curse. It would be troublesome if it really spread.

The discussion in the meeting was intense but not chaotic, and the combat system was operating efficiently. For Julia, who was used to the nobles' slow efficiency, this made her feel Hamlet's vigorous vitality.

"In short, they won't give Hamlet more time to develop. They will definitely take action after the ice and snow thaw. Our advantages are equipment, tactics, and quality. We can defeat them. Humans don't need these blood-sucking insects."

"Yes!"

It is definitely impossible to formulate a combat plan right now. Lance's coming here is just to make a start and introduce Yulia. The rest still needs to be perfected by those professional military strategists. Baldwin has commanded large troops in combat and his experience is definitely richer than his.

That's right, Lance didn't intend to give orders. He was not very interested in the infighting among these humans. In his opinion, it would be more practical for those people to build roads instead of just using their energy. Unfortunately, no one would listen to him.

"My lord, Brother Martin wishes to see you."

After leaving there, Lance soon received a rather unexpected news that the mendicant monk who took away the saint's ashes last time had come back again.

To be honest, he didn't want to bother with those charlatans, but since they came to him at this time, maybe there was some reason, so he just met them.

"The noble coalition forces this time have nothing to do with us. You know we don't interfere in the internal affairs of the nobles."

Lance didn't expect that as soon as he saw the candle-lighting priest and the mendicant monk, he heard the explanation and started cutting quickly.

This action made Lance couldn't help laughing, and he teased: "Are you in such a hurry to find me just to tell me this? The fight hasn't even started yet, and what if they win?"

The mendicant monk had obviously come here on a mission, and he had no reaction at all to this level of teasing, but some things are better said directly.

"I am here to ask you a question on behalf of the church..." The friar raised his scarred face and looked at Lance, and said solemnly, "How do you plan to treat the church?"