Our family is in decline

The Imperial Navy is actually Totnes, or the private army of the Governor of the Eastern Province.

The real role of the Totnes research artillery is here, and the ground formation is just an attempt.

No pirate dares to act wild in front of them. The prosperity of the port and coast shows their strength. Without strength, it is difficult to protect them.

"Have you traveled this route before? What were the conditions like on the road? Are there any extreme conditions?"

Lance knew that there were still ships passing through this route before the bandits invaded and wreaked havoc. Even though Hamlet was in such decline, a town still had a lot of commercial activities.

Although he had learned some information from Tiffany before, he was used to understanding and learning. Only with more information could he control the situation.

"Of course I have traveled this route..."

It felt much easier after getting out of the sea. During the boring journey, the old captain didn't mind telling Lance about the situation of this route.

Totnes is in the eastern part of the empire, while Hamlet is at the northeastern end. Many gathering places have developed along the long coastline of the empire.

If you look at it purely in terms of commercial value, it is actually quite good, because it needs to pass through several cities and towns, including three large cities with a population of 50,000, not to mention those large and small seaside fishing villages.

It is very convenient whether it is replenishing goods or reselling goods to earn the price difference.

But the problem is that a very troublesome thing interferes with this route.

Pirates are an ancient but not yet lonely profession.

“Originally, this route was very prosperous, but then Hamlet declined, and pirates who didn’t know where they came from began to appear here.

This guy is as cunning as a water snake. He hides when faced with Totnes' navy, and rushes to plunder when faced with merchant ships. The erosion of pirates in the past ten years has led to the decline of this prosperous waterway. Only those who are confident enough in themselves Only guys dare to take this route. "

When talking about the arrogance of pirates, the old captain became more and more angry and talked about some things from that year.

"Why were those guys so arrogant when Hamlet's navy was strong? I killed no fewer than ten pirates back then! They fled when they saw our flag raised.

But more than ten years ago, those damn bureaucrats even misappropriated military funds, and the equipment issued to us was all rotten iron. Even if our ships were damaged, they could not be repaired or updated. They could only be repaired and continued to extend their service life. .

On the contrary, those pirates don't know who they are supporting. Their equipment is actually better than our navy's, and their ships are even better and faster than ours! "

"We have to pay more to keep those pirates out. Brothers fell down one by one because of their equipment. They could have survived~

One warship even broke into two sections in the sea while chasing pirates due to its extended service life and disrepair. Only less than ten of the 134 brothers on board escaped. "

The old captain's sad and angry voice attracted the attention of many crew members, but these young people had heard too many similar words from him.

They have never experienced this, and some of them are not even Hamlet's parents, so they don't pay much attention to it.

But Lance knows that the decline of Hamlet's navy is just a microcosm of Hamlet's overall decline.

And the person behind those pirates was none other than the prodigal son of the ancestor, who spent all his family wealth in order to research extraordinary powers.

And in order to hide his eyes from others, he hired pirates as white gloves to search for extraordinary items or rare cultural relics, remains and ancient texts from various places.

This led to the growth of pirates and the decline of the own navy. It is self-evident where the money went~

"It's all the fault of those corrupt bureaucrats and degenerate nobles. Those guys don't care about our life or death at all!

In the end, the city was captured. At that time, three years of wages were still owed and unpaid, and he still wanted his brothers to risk their lives with him?

I bother! "

The old captain said and suddenly gestured towards Lance.

"If they were like you, sir, how could those pirates ride on our heads? They would have been hacked to death by our brothers long ago!"

The old captain's excited words drew Lance's attention back, and everyone could feel that he had great opinions on those guys.

But Lance was quite embarrassed by these words.

Although he didn't do it, he was Hamlet's orthodox no matter what, so he quickly changed the subject.

"Is it possible that we might encounter pirates on this trip?"

"How can there be so many pirates, not to mention that this is within the control of Totnes. Those guys disappeared when they saw the flag of the warship~"

The old captain was careless, obviously not afraid at all, but he couldn't help but be envious of the Totnes warship.

"If only we had this... when would I see our flag raised again..."

"You can see it~" Lance couldn't help but be touched. Even though he was so disappointed with those guys, it was still difficult to conceal his feelings for Hamlet. After all, it was the place where he devoted his youth to protect, and he had witnessed the glory of the past.

The old captain came back to his senses and saw Lance's serious expression. He thought he was worried about the pirates, so he couldn't help but comfort him.

"Don't be afraid, sir. Even if the pirates come, I can still kill dozens or twenty of them with my old bones!"

The old captain's words were regarded as bragging by the young sailors, and they couldn't help but laugh and tease him.

"Hahaha! Just don't twist your waist when the captain arrives."

"Stay away then."

"Aren't you hiding in the barrel?"

"..."

"Go away! You bunch of brats." The old captain was not angry, but laughed and cursed, "You don't know, think about me back then..."

Looking at this scene, Lance relaxed slightly with a smile on his face. He looked up at the approaching warship, but he knew in his heart that he had one more thing to do when he returned.

Rebuilding the Navy.

It is our duty to restore the glory of Hamlet!

After handing the ship over to the old captain, Lance began to inspect the cabin, going to each cabin personally and showing his face to tell them that he was with them.

At the same time, he told them some rules and approved that they could go out on the deck to have a look, but they could not interfere with the crew's work. Children must be accompanied by their parents and no playing was allowed.

People staying in a confined space for a long time will produce psychological pressure. If there is a constant backlog, problems are likely to occur. He also did this to eliminate hidden dangers.

Of course, Lance has a simpler method. He has already arranged for some literate people to read in each cabin. He will instill in them the rules of Hamlet, teach them some basic knowledge, get rid of the influence of religion, and find something for them to do. Do.

After walking around, he didn't find anything unusual. On the contrary, he was a little surprised by the people's docility and ability to withstand pressure.

Lance didn't know if the Empire's training was good or bad, but it was a good thing for him for the time being.

After walking out of the cabin below, but thinking of the hope in those people's eyes, Lance couldn't help but rub his temples. The two thousand people were also a pressure for him. He could only hope that something special would happen to Hamre so that he could fulfill his promise to them~

But now is not the time to think about this. Lance knows that there is still someone waiting for his answer.

"Can I come in?" Lance knocked on the door.

There are still many rooms on the upper floor, and it is okay to separate one or two. Boudicca and Paracelsus are among them.

After receiving a positive reply, Lance pushed open the door and entered.

This design is a cargo ship. The space on the ship is utilized to maximize the loading of cargo, so this kind of room is very small, and there is even only one bed.

After stuffing a few packages and two people inside, there was no more space, not even room to stand.

Lance raised his hand and put the casually thrown away halberd aside, looking at Boudica lying on the bed like a dead fish.

"Uh... Boss, are you here yet?" Boudica turned her head, looking like she had lost her mind.

"If you want to be beautiful, you have just started. It will take at least four or five days."

"Ah~"

When Lance saw this scene, he knew that he had made a mistake. She was so big that she occupied the bed directly, while the petite doctor sat helplessly on the edge of the bed.

"Okay, I'll give you another place."

Lance didn't bother to care about the moaning Boudica, but helped carry her luggage to her room.

"This is my room, you can stay here for the next few days."

It was also a similar space and configuration. Paracelsus was quite surprised when he came in. This man who was obviously a noble actually lived in such a simple place? Not even luggage~

"Any questions?"

"how about you?"

"Of course I have a place to sleep." Lance walked in first and helped her put away her luggage, then sat directly on the chair. "Now we should talk."

When it came to this, Paracelsus didn't think much and spoke directly to him.

"Is what you said before true?"

Lance was amused when he heard this, and couldn't help but joke, "Why do you dare to come if you don't believe it? Are you really not afraid that I am lying to you?"

"The eyes of those refugees don't lie. You are a trustworthy person." Paracelsus adjusted his glasses with a calm expression, "What's more, you had no reason to let me go at that time."

Looking at his appearance, Lance couldn't help but sigh, he was so courageous, or pure rationality, no wonder he could sprout "scientific" ideas under the dual oppression of religion and feudalism.

"Pa..." Lance felt a little awkward when he opened his mouth and frowned slightly, "Your name is a bit hard to pronounce. If you don't mind, can I call you doctor?"

"Whatever you want, I don't care~"

"Miss Paracelsus." Lance chose a more intimate title without hesitation, "I have read your research materials, and I also know that you want to explore the mysteries of the human body."

As he spoke, Lance looked at her and saw her nodding before continuing.

"My promise to you has not changed. I will provide you with research conditions and even provide you with some special help beyond your understanding. But the same research results will belong to me. Of course, the honor of the researcher will always be yours." of."

The doctor was lost in thought, but he agreed without hesitating for too long.

(In order to prevent you from saying that my word count is too low, I will use doctor to refer to Paracelsus from now on. Deduct 1 for agreeing.)

"Can."

It's very simple. If she wants to explore the mysteries of the human body and find the principles that cause disease, she must need more corpses. Only this man in the whole world can accommodate her.

And she doesn't have much interest in things other than this, whether it's money, power, honor or anything else.

Of course, this was just in her thoughts. In fact, Lance knew that there were many researchers like her among the extraordinary, who were even crazier than her.

Those people are called wizards, and the organization they gather is what Tamara calls the extraordinary organization [Black Tower].

An organization of survival of the fittest, because the order in it is that the strong dominate the weak.

Lance suspected that the author of [Spiritual Vision] was a wizard.

But that doesn't matter anymore, Lance needs to cultivate his own talents.

The first is to expand her horizons.

"Have you seen the other side of this world?"

When the doctor heard this, the first moment he heard this was not confusion, but fear. Although it disappeared quickly, this moment was accurately captured by Lance.

He knew there must be something driving the doctor down this path.

"It seems you have seen some interesting things, would you mind telling me?"

The doctor was silent, with a solemn expression and no intention of speaking.

Lance didn't mean to force her, but turned to talk about the extraordinary power that Tamara had taught him about.

It's just that he must have screened it, and there are some things that he can't let her know yet.

These words of Lance immediately aroused her disgust, and obvious resistance appeared on her face.

She originally thought that Lance was a man who believed in science, but she didn't expect that he would do this, which really made her feel bored.

Of course Lance noticed her reaction, but now that the ship was at sea, he was not afraid of her running away, so he didn't panic at all.

She raised her hand and opened her palm toward the doctor. The next second, a knife appeared out of thin air in front of her.

Lance took advantage of her daze and directly picked up her hand and cut it open on the fingertips. Blood immediately flowed out. He then raised his hand to activate [Flesh and Blood Reconstruction], and the small wound was healed in just a blink of an eye.

"Ah~" At this time, the doctor softly cried out in pain, pulled his hand back, looked at his fingers and couldn't help but frowned and asked: "Why do you want to cut me?"

"Of course it's to make you feel the extraordinary power more clearly~" Lance smiled. It would hurt to cut like this. Why cut yourself when you can cut others?

The doctor couldn't help but fall silent after hearing this, but looking at her frown, he knew it was not a good thing.

Although she didn't say it explicitly, you could tell by looking at her clasping her fingers that she still didn't believe it.

"Want to do it again?" Lance shook the dagger in his hand.

"Impossible! What kind of deception is this? Is it magic?" Seeing that it was inevitable, she still questioned it, grabbed the dagger and studied it.

Seeing her reaction, Lance couldn't help but sneered and joked:

"You clearly believe it yourself, so why do you have to force yourself to deny it? You are now the feudal thought you despise. You are unwilling to come into contact with new things, let alone admit new things. Instead, you choose to arbitrarily put them out of your mind. Erase.

Admit it, you, like the pastors of those churches, are neither materialistic nor scientific~"

The doctor's hand paused, and she, who had wanted to prove something just now, fell silent.

"Spirituality is a very illusory concept. Due to limitations in talent, many ordinary people and even extraordinary people cannot observe its existence. But in fact, spirituality does have many wonderful uses. Since the church has relied on monopolizing divine magic for thousands of years, it has been able to see.

And you consider yourself a pathology researcher. If you want to study in depth the pathogenic principles of the human body, it is impossible to avoid this important influencing factor. And your first reaction now is not to study its effect on the human body, but to negative.

This reaction is enough to show that you are not a real researcher. What supports you is not your desire for knowledge, but..."

But Lance had no intention of letting her go, but continued to hit her hard, trying to reverse and reshape her ideas.

What he needs is a scientific and rational researcher to help him explore the path of medical development in the world, not a self-righteous fool.

Lance's words were as sharp as a knife, piercing into her mind without hesitation, and then stirred wildly, destroying her original outlook.

Everything she was proud of became worthless in his words. Huge pressure shrouded her mind like a dark cloud, her thoughts became confused, and a strange wailing sound seemed to be heard in her ears.

The college student who had outstanding grades and could debate with the teacher in class disappeared, and was replaced by a college student whose mask was taken off, revealing a panic.

Seeing her like this, Lance stopped speaking harshly.

This college student's mentality is still not good enough. He hasn't even talked about his ancestor's bad things yet. Wouldn't he go crazy if he encountered those monsters?

But suddenly, Lance realized that he was just a college student who had not yet graduated. Before he had time to go out and make a living, he was deceived by a letter from the old man.

Without him, even if he doesn't die on the old road, he will only be controlled by the mayor and housekeeper. He stupidly recruits mercenaries to find the ancestor, and then becomes part of the sacrifice~

Lance had no intention of continuing to put pressure on her. On the contrary, his attitude softened a lot.

"Can you tell me? Why did you take this path?"

Wordless silence...

Lance watched her reaction, knowing it was too early to talk about this now, and she was unwilling to open up to a stranger.

However, Lance was not surprised by this and even took the initiative to change the topic.

"Do you know what my background is?"

The doctor couldn't think of such a wide-ranging topic. He was even a little stunned for a moment and looked up at him unconsciously.

"It's archeology~" Lance seemed to be recalling the past and said to himself: "I was also a college student back then, and I didn't know anything about extraordinary powers until..."

However, Lance suddenly stopped at the beginning. This Riddler behavior directly aroused the doctor's curious nerves. She forgot her previous emotions for a moment and subconsciously asked a question.

"what's going on?"

"My reaction when I first came into contact with the extraordinary power was similar to yours. It was unimaginable and I didn't believe it at all. I tried to use my shallow knowledge to explain and resist, but I just refused to believe that there was such a power.

But this is the fact. In the process of research, I continued to learn and discovered a very realistic situation. The existence of spirituality is like the wind. We can’t see it, but it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.

On the contrary, it has already appeared around us, but we didn't notice it, and the extraordinary ones are trying to control those winds through various means to accomplish various things. "

Lance didn't answer her question, because he was too lazy to make up things that didn't exist, so he could only make up a long paragraph that didn't exist.

"People are always accustomed to using known knowledge to explain everything, because staying in the inherent knowledge will give him a sense of familiarity, like a shelter in the wilderness. Although he seems to have been leaked everywhere, he can still Give you a sense of security.

Once you step into unknown territory, it means risk and insecurity. Just like although you may find food and water sources in the wilderness, you may also encounter wild animals, and people are always greedy for that sense of security.

But as a researcher, we are all people who take the initiative to leave the shelter and explore the wilderness. If you choose to close yourself in because of fear, you are destined to not gain more. "

The doctor fell into deep thought after hearing this, and these words gave her a hint of insight.

It's like making a new discovery in anatomy and correcting the professor's mistakes in class, only to be refuted.

Those old guys stick to their old ideas and are not willing to accept new things at all.

Then isn’t it the same for you now?

Am I becoming the person I despise the most?

So who am I?

Lance noticed her sudden and rapid change in expression, and realized something was wrong. Could it be that he had hit her too hard and spoiled her?

Thinking of this, he quickly raised his hand and patted her shoulder to comfort her.

"Mistakes are not terrible. On the contrary, mistakes are the steps leading to the right answer, because many mistakes are bound to occur in the process of exploring the unknown. As long as you recognize the mistakes and correct them, it will be fine."

"Do you think I still have a chance?"

"Of course, I can do it, and so can you."

As expected, this sentence pulled her out of her paranoid state. At the same time, Lance's creation of similar experiences also made her psychologically rely on this "senior" unconsciously.

However, in order to prevent her from having random thoughts again, Lance had no choice but to signal her to share her research results with everyone.

"This is a corrosive agent I prepared. It is stronger than the one in the school laboratory. It can even corrode bones."

The doctor took out a small bottle and sloshed the thick green liquid inside. She looked very proud, and her words also revealed that this should be her method of stealing corpses and destroying traces of them.

Seeing this, Lance was glad that she hadn't weaponized this yet, just used it as a means to eliminate corpses, otherwise he would have probably killed several people that night.

"I have a few good things here." Lance took out the pills used in cult incense. "This can stun the enemy, this can make people excited, and this can arouse sexual desire. I need you to help me research the materials inside. And the formula, I will also provide you with the materials."

Lance probably also guessed that these things should be the things that the ancestors and the witches got through herbal medicine in the past, and they have no corruptive power.

Then it can naturally be used by him.

In fact, there is something more urgent, that is, aphrodisiacs, which are needed as long as humans are alive.

But the formula of that thing has not been fully analyzed yet and needs further verification.

He is immune to corruption, but others are not, so he dare not show the original text to others. It must be translated and reviewed by him.

happy New Year to all!