our family is gone

The church's defection was not too surprising to Lance. In fact, he quite liked it. After all, it was not easy to tear the church apart and drag it into the propaganda, so he was still reserved.

Now that the villains have jumped out themselves, Lance naturally starts to dig up old accounts without any scruples, whipping them in public opinion and publicizing what they have done.

The church has strong control over the grassroots, and there are religious factors involved, but Hamlet has no religious background, so it’s not suppression or anything.

It is because they can read and write that the world they come into contact with is no longer the world outlined by the church, but another world described by Lance.

Reims has been promoting a literacy policy for a long time, organizing public classes, night classes, schools, and opening libraries. Now if you want to get promoted, you have to read and write and keep learning.

Of course there is another very important reason, that is, they are now able to eat and dress warmly, and have the time and energy to think. When a person learns to think, he will find all kinds of things wrong and will not be so easy to control.

After all, why do they believe in the church? Isn't it just to want a better life? Now for many people, this is heaven. When it comes to their own interests, they are more resistant than anyone else to those who want to bring them back to feudal religion.

Of course, there are some fanatical believers with fixed mindsets, because the church is everything to them.

Especially for the older ones, it is equivalent to brushing up merits for half a lifetime. Now you tell me that worshipping those charlatans is useless? The sunk cost is too high. How can they believe it?
When the church came out to make the announcement, it did cause some commotion in Hamlet, but it was quickly dealt with. After all, the basic base was not shaken. Instead, the fanatics made people hate the church even more because of the commotion.

How to do?
Only kill!

They wanted to see the Holy Light, so Lance would send them there. After all, he was always willing to help others...

However, in this "witch hunt" atmosphere, Martin actually came here again to find Lance.

"The church has declared Hamlet a dark place, why are you still here?"

"I failed to convince them, but I can join Hamlet on behalf of the Mendicant Order and follow the rules of the Lord."

Martin really bowed his head this time, and was very decisive, worthy of being a veteran.

Lance did not seem ecstatic about Martin's surrender, but instead expressed it in a teasing tone.

"Want to hedge your bets? Is that what your pope wants or what you want?"

“It’s impossible for them to agree to this, but our faction has never done such messed up things. Those who can execute the oath have very pure faith. I can’t watch those filthies die along with the Holy Light. I can’t be a sinner.

Old man, my title of "Martyr" is still useful. I can come forward and declare that they are the blasphemers. The mendicant order supports Hamlet. They are all good warriors and priests. "

Martin naturally wants to hedge the risk by standing on Hamlet's side, but in fact he is also full of pressure within the mendicant order. You know, most of the beggars are fanatics, and not everyone approves of his flexible approach, and some even call him a traitor.

Lance didn't mock them at all. This was indeed the best result Martin could do.

Why have many aristocratic families been able to survive for thousands of years? It is because they never gamble, but invest in all parties and never put all their eggs in one basket.

Now, facing the choice given by Reims, the church directly splits its own faction, supporting the nobles on one hand and Hamlet on the other. Even if Hamlet wins, he can gain a certain amount of power and will not disappear completely.

But didn’t they ask Lance if he wanted to?
"No need. Maybe we can still talk before the church is destroyed, and I don't mind. But now that you have made your choice, it is not something I can change."

There was no way Lance would agree with Martin, let alone let them join the army.

Although it is said that the more friends the better, many things go wrong because you are in me and I am in you. Once you join the battlefield, there will be connection whether it is treatment or fighting. If Lance really has any credit, he will have to admit it with a pinch of his nose.

And who knows if you are really surrendering or just trying to stir up trouble? You have to know that those who can keep their oaths are basically determined fanatics. Can they really let go? Lance can't bet on their thoughts.

It was not easy to eliminate the influence of the church, so there was no need for him to let them take the credit.

Otherwise, after a while, they might say that they won the battle with the help of the Mendicant Order, and then it would be hard to explain.

"I won't acknowledge you, but we do things based on evidence. If your Mendicant Order has really never done anything dirty, you shouldn't worry. You just need to control your subordinates from participating in the war and wait for the war to end. I won't touch you then, unless you violate the regulations."

Simply put, Lance doesn't care whether the Mendicant Order surrenders or not. It's good enough if they can stay there honestly. Of course, if there is trouble, they will be cleaned up together.

Martin has lived for so many years, but he has never met a weird person like Lance.

Although the mendicant orders are not as powerful as the mainstream, they have a much better reputation among ordinary people and their appeal is also stronger.

If they get support, jihad may not be able to be launched, and a large number of people may even defect.

But he just refused, whether it was out of defensiveness or disgust, the only thing that was certain was that the church was doomed.

There is no way to save the situation...

"I'll show you a clear path. The ancient bloodline behind Totnes is an opportunity for your mendicant order."

Lance's sudden words made Martin fall into deep thought, and he left immediately.

The silent candle-lighting priest on the side couldn't understand the meaning of this sentence and asked the monk for help.

"The Lord of Totnes is actually a blood descendant! But what does the Lord mean by that?"

"A pledge of allegiance." The friar uttered the word slowly, and explained gloomily, "Taking down the blood descendants will prove that those who support the nobles are corrupted."

There were some things he didn't say. It was obvious that Lance wanted him to use the blood descendants to eliminate the diehards within the Mendicant Order.

At the same time, by doing so he would completely tear off the last fig leaf of the church, which would be equivalent to making him the bad guy.

What a sinister guy...

Lance found Greendale who had just finished hibernation and naturally talked about what happened. "Will he really do this?" Greendale's condition also recovered as the weather warmed up, and her mental state was obviously much better.

"Now his only way out is to cut off ties. As long as he can expose that Totnes is behind the Bloodline and that the Church and the Empire are cooperating with the Bloodline, then he can define the current Church as fallen, and they can accumulate prestige."

"I feel like they might not be able to defeat her. After all, there are three powerful transcendents around Scarlet Rose. Not to mention that no one has even seen her take action, or those who have seen her are all dead."

"It doesn't matter. It's not my people who died anyway. Those fanatics are trouble. Dedicating themselves to the Holy Light to eradicate the evil of the Bloodborn is the best outcome for them."

Lance had no interest in these. He didn't come here to find Greendale for this matter. He gestured, "It's about time. Come with me. This matter still needs to be resolved."

Greendale knew that Lance was talking about the mountain barbarians, but weren't there more important things to do at this time?

"Shouldn't we deal with the coalition forces first under the current circumstances?"

"A war of this scale requires too much material to be mobilized, and the muddy roads after the snow melted slowed down the progress. Neither the movement of materials nor the marching could be fast. Even if they had already started, it would take time to start the war.

But the mountains are a hidden danger. We must solve this problem. Otherwise, when the war comes, the mountains will be our rear. If the beast disease spreads, it will easily cause problems. We must take advantage of this opportunity to solve it. "

Lance didn't care. If Reynald, Baldwin and the others were in chaos because of his departure, all their efforts would be in vain. Anyway, he had left a mark in Hamlet, so if anything really happened, he could just teleport back.

Since Lance said so, Greendale had no objection, but asked a question with some surprise.

"Should we invite Boudica and Laura?"

"No, Boudica shouldn't bear this responsibility. Now that the chicks have grown up, Laura needs to tame them and can't leave."

Logically speaking, these two people were born into the mountain barbarian tribe and were very suitable for this task, but Lance refused after a little consideration.

Why was Boudica expelled from the tribe?

It was because he fled during the battle, and the origin of that battle was that the tribe believed it was an invasion by the empire.

It’s hard to say what Lance is going to do now. Anyway, that kind of situation is not suitable for her to go. It’s good to live a purposeless life without too many worries.

The Grindel tribe is gone, and she doesn't have all these messy concerns. Compared to the mountains, she is now a Hamlet in terms of both position and identity.

A carriage drove quickly towards Bastia. Even though the roads were repaired and maintained by prisoners, only the main roads could be used. Some secondary roads or small roads became muddy due to the melting winter snow. One can imagine the road conditions in most of the empire.

However, thanks to the efforts of the prisoners, the construction of the main roads in the area was completed in winter. In the past, it would take two or three days to go from the city to Owendo even by horse carriage. Now it only takes less than a day, and it only takes one day to go to the farther Bastia. This was after Lance visited the villages and towns along the way.

Nothing abstract happened. Instead, everyone's mental state recovered during the winter rest.

Spring is here, and the scene of everything thriving in its full glory is still before our eyes.

Bastia is considered a big city, but unfortunately it was destroyed by a cult leader. By the time they took it back, it had become a hellish mess.

Later, people were sent to take over and sort out the situation. After a winter, most ordinary people were finally settled down. The surrounding towns were also taken over naturally after the fall of the nobles.

With the help of Lawrence, the old fox, Margaret, who was stubborn, and a large number of officials, the takeover was finally completed after a winter.

Of course, the army stationed here was the reason why there was no chaos. After the church fell out, most of the problems arose from the believers remaining in these recovered areas.

Sometimes a smooth transition means that there is no cleanup and some hidden dangers will still remain. This is why Lance is so wary of the possibility of the church's restoration.

Because many believers actually say they don't believe, but the ideas they have been taught since childhood are difficult to change. If Martin, that old fox, really takes the opportunity to sneak in, it may cause trouble.

Lance says he respects and blesses people, but he is extremely hostile to any religion, because anyone who has a little understanding of human nature will know that faith can easily be exploited by ambitious people.

He never had any hope for the current group of ordinary people who grew up in a strong religious atmosphere. He could only look to the new generation. Hamlet would be synonymous with science and development.

Since they were already there, Lance and Greendale took a stroll around the city of Bastia. After a winter of treatment, the tragic scene of corpses everywhere had long disappeared, but traces of the accident could still be seen on some buildings.

The castle was used as a government building, and with the efforts of a large number of officials, the former aristocratic bureaucracy was replaced by the Hamlet system, just like this castle.

Lance did not look for them, but walked on the street with Greendale. He wanted to see the local level and the condition of the local civilians.

There is no numbness, but a vigorous spirit is revealed. The face is no longer skin and bones. Although it cannot be said to be rosy, at least it looks a bit human.

"This place is still not suitable for industrial development because the mountainous terrain is too restrictive. I think the surrounding villages and towns should still develop specialty agriculture, such as high value-added fruit trees and medicinal herbs, and then use the resources from the mountains to do some simple processing..."

The two men walked in it and were also evaluating and planning Bastia. It did not have the conditions to become a large city. If they applied Hamlet's experience of indiscriminately developing the plain coastal areas, trouble would easily arise.

But he also has a unique advantage, that is, the mountains and the throats of the outside world, through which furs, medicinal herbs, wood, and some strange things from the barbarians flow out.

To put it simply, the future is promising, but it is difficult to balance nature and development.

After walking around, I found that some merchants had started to appear here. It seemed that they were all waiting to trade with the barbarians like in previous years.

Heavy snow blocked the mountains and consumed supplies, causing the prices of furs stored over the winter to be very low. Some weaker tribes even had to take out their most valuable treasures in order to exchange for enough supplies to make ends meet.

Of course, they had to rob before, but then Count Bastia rose to power and protected the country for more than ten years. Now it is Reims' turn to take control. Do they dare to start a war?
The merchants were just waiting to cut their meat for the barbarians, but Lance didn't feel anything about it.

"Let's go. We still have to go to the mountains." (End of this chapter)