Our family is in decline

At night, the sea is dark and lightless, a darkness that can swallow up any light. Only the hazy stars and moon in the sky guide the direction.

On a cargo ship that was heading to Hamlet, most of the people on the ship were asleep, except for the sailors on night watch. Even Lance fell into a deep sleep, but for some reason, he suddenly woke up with the feeling of peeping.

In an instant, he got up from the bed and opened his spiritual vision. Seeing the nervous expression, he did not dare to relax at all.

He was a collector last time, why don't you choose this time to do it this time?

On a ship, it's not as good as on land. If we really want to fight, it will be a big trouble.

It's just that after being on guard for a while, there were no more visions, and the space in front of him was stable and showed no signs of spiritual fluctuations.

Could it be something in the sea?

Lance knew that the sea in this world was not an ordinary mess, and he would not be surprised if he suddenly encountered something strange.

He immediately walked out of the room and took a look around. It was still calm, and the sailors on duty didn't find anything unusual.

This is strange~

Standing on the deck and feeling it carefully, there is indeed no problem.

Just when he hesitated, the familiar feeling of performing a sacrifice came, and the void inexplicably returned a large amount of spirituality to him. It was a huge spirituality that he had failed to obtain even after killing hundreds of people along the way. He was stuffed.

What the hell is this sacrifice?

[Blessing], strengthen!

Not caring about so much anymore, Lance didn't hesitate at all. He changed his previous button-and-swish look, and his spirituality began to nourish his body.

He does not need to worry about spiritual agitation like ordinary extraordinary people, and he will pile it on whenever there is one.

Power...a powerful force filled the body.

But Lance did not use it without restraint. On the contrary, his strong willpower directly suppressed the desire for power and interrupted the strengthening.

He does not need to worry about spiritual restlessness, but the human body has its limits. Strengthening it too much at once will cause him to lose control of his body.

At the same time, unrestrained use is a waste of the refreshing mechanism it brings. It is better to give the body time to adapt step by step.

The body is like a bottle. Every time it is strengthened, its volume is increasing. When he realizes that it is almost enough, he will naturally stop. Only full spirituality can give him sufficient trump cards.

Instead, he transferred the remaining bit of spirituality to the wolf spirit that was always by his side, just like raising a pet, watching it grow up.

The phantom body of the wolf spirit became more solid and refined, as if you could see the hair in it. At the same time, its movements and postures were also much more flexible, no longer as stiff as before.

But the gift from the void was not over yet. A patchwork leather scroll appeared out of thin air, as well as a pure white crystal.

These two things fell into his hands. Unlike those extraordinary equipment, he automatically knew what these things were when they came out of the panel.

The human skin scroll [Abyss Contract], with the help of the contract, Lance can sign a contract with an entity and control it.

More importantly, this thing was not written by humans, but made by abyssal demons. In an abyss world full of betrayal, only contract binding can allow them to control other demons and fallen humans.

To people in the church, this thing is full of blasphemous rituals, but to Lance, a lot of it is very interesting knowledge.

It states what kind of rituals are used to communicate with strange demons, and then sign a contract to control them, as well as the rituals to expel, seal and kill strange demons.

Especially the effectiveness of the contract. With the help of mysterious power to complete the contract, even the abyss monsters will be restricted, let alone ordinary people.

As for the crystal, it is the [Unyielding Soul], a soul that even the abyssal demons cannot make surrender and can only imprison.

Lance took the things back to the showroom. Although he had found a huge bargain for some reason, he had no intention of relaxing.

It looked like he had sacrificed something to an abyssal monster, but when had he ever done this?

He couldn't figure it out, and at this moment, the weird sense of peeping came again. Lance turned around and looked back. Why didn't he understand this time?

It was similar to the feeling Tamara had when she was exploring her talent.

Someone is using extraordinary power to investigate him, and then he is attacked!

Why did I forget this incident?

Lance looked weird. There was no surveillance in this world, but there were strange supernatural powers. Wouldn't it be easy to find a thief?

No wonder Totnes’ official response was not big~

But this backlash might have stirred up a hornet's nest. Fortunately, I ran fast.

Lance also came to his senses. He was indeed reckless. Fortunately, there was someone above him. Otherwise, he would be in trouble even if he was not caught.

but……

Lance found that he had gone on a killing spree, and he had gained a lot of gains, including spirituality and props, even though he had worked hard for a long time.

As long as a few more come, I will...

It was a good idea, but Lance never dared to take such a big risk for such a small amount of money.

Greed is not terrible, what is terrible is being controlled by greed.

I took a look at the panel. I just spent so many spiritual blessings to strengthen it. Sure enough, the level has changed.

【Brave】→【Elite】.

"It's level three~" Lance looked at the situation above with emotion.

After more than a month of stepping into the elite, he didn't know whether it was faster or slower, but it was all a result of his own hard work.

After waiting for a long time, no gift came. Lance didn't know what happened to Totnes, but at this time he was too energetic and couldn't sleep, so he just leaned on the light of the lantern and took out the book to read. look.

Learning is something you can never lose.

…………

“Interesting~”

Lance studied the [White Wolf Secret Scroll] in his hand and found some very interesting things in it.

For example, the means of making extraordinary equipment and the processing of some spiritual materials.

He finally knew how to make the small skulls that were the ornaments produced by the barbarian tribes.

It turns out that a potion needs to be prepared, and the human head is completely removed and immersed in it. With the help of the ritual, the soul or spirituality will be imprisoned. At the same time, the flesh and blood will dissolve and the impurities will be removed to retain the pure spirituality, and the skull will shrink.

It's very magical and interesting. Lance wants to study it in depth, but most of the extraordinary equipment made by these methods have negative effects.

There are also various effects on the body, the most common of which is spiritual agitation, which makes it easier to withstand greater pressure.

Lance studied this because he wanted to find out the actual function and use of the [Wolf Pendant] and the [Wolf Head Statue].

During research and translation, he still found the problem. Those white wolf equipment were made with the power of the wolf god. If you want to use them, you must rely on the power of the wolf god.

It's just that he is not a barbarian, and he doesn't believe in that stuff. Where did the wolf god come from?

So what he hates the most are these nagging bastards. If there's anything the fuck he wants to do, can't he just say it and be done with it?

A concise and clear book like "Spiritual Vision" could be read in one night, but it took him two days of research to find any clues.

There are differences in the languages ​​​​between tribes. Many of them don't know what it means when they switch to another tribe, let alone an archaeologist who has only studied the basics. He can only guess based on the context.

We must first translate into common language, then eliminate the nonsense, refine useful information, and study...

Most people really don’t understand this, or they don’t have the inclination to sit down and study it.

But now that he was in a dead end, it meant that he had wasted these two days, and he couldn't help but feel irritated.

"Boss, what are you doing?"

Boudica, who was lying on the bed, noticed something strange about Lance and couldn't help asking curiously.

After this period of adaptation, she was not that dizzy and basically recovered. However, the ship was so big that after a few rounds, she had no place to go and could only stay in the room in a daze.

"It's okay." Lance glanced at her and ignored her. At first, he also thought that Boudica was also a barbarian and might be able to help translate, but this guy was illiterate.

In other words, only wizards and shamans in the tribe can learn writing and continue the tribe's heritage. The rest will die one day and spending time learning writing is worse than learning to survive and fight.

"Shhhhh..." Boudica was so bored that she was almost going to get moldy, and she even whistled there.

Lance was speechless when he looked at him like that, just like a child.

They are also barbarians, and you are also a barbarian, why do you just...

"Hey! Yes, they have a wolf god, and I seem to have a wolf god too~"

Lance suddenly realized something and raised his hand to summon the wolf spirit.

They are both spiritual and should be almost the same.

For a moment, Lance became excited and took out the [Wolf Pendant], just about to try it.

"What are you doing, boss? What's so good about you?"

Boudica's dull voice came, and Lance suddenly realized something.

Damn it, this is on a ship, if something goes wrong it will be troublesome!

How could I make such a stupid mistake?

Lance suppressed his restless heart and fell into thinking.

When did you become so impatient?

Is it the person whose corrupt influence has never been eliminated and is always influencing the world subtly?

You will be corrupted as long as you are alive...

What a fart!

Lance curled his lips. Those were other people, and he couldn't be affected.

The real reason is that he has been going too smoothly during this period. He has done everything from murder and arson to theft and robbery, but nothing happened.

Not to mention harvesting a large number of talents and property, this period of time was too relaxing, without the pressure of the beginning, which directly wore away his vigilance.

Lance couldn't help but calm down. Fortunately, he reacted without paying too much price. Otherwise, if the ancestor really wanted to give him a blow, his life would be unbearable.

"Huh~" Lance took a few deep breaths and slowly adjusted, his eyes once again revealing a sense of vigilance.

Looking at Boudica, she said solemnly:

"The fight against corruption is a fight against oneself. You can never relax. You are a good reminder. I will reward you with a glass of wine when I go back."

"Great!"

Boudica couldn't understand why the boss was acting strangely. It seemed that he was also stupid in the boat.

But as long as you have a drink, it’s fine. Who cares~

Lance was a little envious of Boudica, who could enjoy herself for a long time just by looking at a glass of wine, and decided to give her some "care" for her growth.

"Let me ask you, how many of the words I taught you yesterday do you remember?"

"Ah!" The expression on Boudica's face suddenly collapsed, uglier than crying.

The smile didn't disappear, it just moved to Lance's face.

He must study hard and at least let this guy know Hamlet's rules and some simple words.

At the same time, Lance also learned the spoken language of the barbarians from Boudica. The two sides basically seemed to be learning from each other.

In the room, Lance was forcing Boudica to learn a foreign language. For Boudica, this was more uncomfortable than giving her a few punches.

Until a sudden knock on the door sounded.

"My lord! Pirate!"

Are you so unlucky?

Lance didn't care about learning a foreign language and rushed out of the room.

But Naboudika felt that she was finally saved. She preferred fighting to studying. It would be best if she could have some fun.

Not to mention that I have been so idle these past few days that I immediately picked up my halberd and rushed out.

As soon as Lance stepped out of the deck, he saw the sailors gathered and heard their discussions.

"We shouldn't be able to escape, right?"

"Their ship is much faster than ours, and it will only be a matter of time before they are caught up."

"..."

Their faces were all a little ugly, but the old captain looked normal. It seemed that he was not bragging, and had indeed killed many pirates.

Lance didn't blame them, because they never encountered pirates when traveling on rivers, so this reaction was normal.

Quickly walked up to the bow of the ship and took the monocular telescope from the old captain.

He extended his gaze and saw that there was indeed a ship in the distance, but it didn't clearly display a skull and crossbones flag. How could he be sure it was a pirate?

Lance asked this question, and the old captain on the side raised his finger to explain.

"That's a speedboat that specializes in speed. Generally speaking, shipping fleets don't use this kind of ship. Warships have special markings, but this one doesn't.

And I don’t know if you have noticed it, but their canvas style is a bit strange. I dare say there must be pirates standing behind it who are ready to join gangs.

Moreover, they did not follow immediately after discovering it, and it took them a long time to get up, and they kept speeding up as soon as they started.

Looking at their route, their purpose is clear. No matter whether we speed up to escape or turn around, they have enough space to intercept us. They must be pirate ships. "

After listening to the old captain's explanation, Lance understood a lot.

"They treat us like fat sheep~" Lance looked at the approaching ships in the lens tube and couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth with a hint of ridicule.

"Get ready to fight, you can't escape this one." Lance handed the binoculars to the old captain, but he didn't feel the slightest bit worried just by looking at him.

Lance was a little worried at first. He was not afraid of fighting at all. He was afraid of damage to the ship. With so many people on board falling into the water, it was unlikely that many would survive.

But after confirming that the opponent's ship had no artillery and was just an ordinary sailing warship, I felt relieved.

Lance's arrogant words left the sailors speechless and stunned.

How can any merchant ship take the initiative to wait for a pirate ship to approach?

However, his order was supported by two people.

"Kill, kill, kill!" Boudica raised her halberd and howled wildly, saying the words she had learned and remembered most in the past few days.

She has been holding it back these past few days and needs a fight to vent it.

The old captain was old but still energetic. Faced with this situation, he directly drew the scimitar from his waist.

"I think there are only fifty or sixty pirates on that ship at most. There are so many of us, and one of us can chop them into pieces with one knife. What's more, the adults are here, so scared!"

Also, those sailors suddenly realized that their trip was no ordinary cargo transport. There were hundreds of guards on the ship, not to mention a powerful barbarian warrior.

They had also heard about her exaggerated achievements from the refugees, and with Lord Lance right in front of them, the original fear of pirates was washed away and replaced by bravery!

"Brothers, don't be underestimated by those people!" The old captain yelled, making a cut with the scimitar in his hand, as if he had found the feeling he had back then.

Those sailors were also eager to give it a try, and were not afraid of fighting at all, because they would get paid for doing things for the Lord, and the casualties were not counted, so they had no worries at all. They might even be able to win the Lord's appreciation with the pirate's head.

Sometimes the impact of personal reputation is so exaggerated. Of course, what is more practical is the generous rewards and guarantees.

"Send a signal to tell the ships behind us that we are going to take action, let them be alert to the surroundings, and at the same time observe the situation and prepare to respond.

Except for the sailors who control the ship, everyone should go down, move out the debris and pile it up into a bunker, and let the guards set up spears at the back to block the entrance and exit. No pirate can be allowed to go down, and at the same time..."

Lance quickly laid out his tactics. It was very simple. When the pirates came, he and Boudica would kill them while the others hid and waited until it was over.

"Sir, they are all great young men and will not let you down." The old captain didn't understand the arrangement when he heard it. At the same time, the excitement aroused by the sailors did not subside so easily, and they all asked for a fight.

"grown ups!"

"I come."

"Count me in!"

"..."

"You can't have casualties, otherwise who will sail the ship?" Lance had no intention of relenting, but suppressed the sailor's request to fight.

The reason why he doesn't want them to come into contact with pirates is simple. He needs people to drive the ship and maintain high speed. Once casualties occur, his speed will be slowed down.

The old captain understood this truth, but did it take two people to kill dozens of pirates? I couldn't help but remind him, "And pirates are different from those refugees. These guys are very cruel and their hands are stained with blood."

"So I asked the guards to line up and guard the corridor with their spears. They can only fight with me on this deck."

Lance looked calm, how could he not think of this?

"But pirates are too dangerous. What if I get hurt? I will lead the guards in the battle, and I will take command from behind."

The old captain didn't know Lance's strength, so he naturally looked embarrassed. He didn't want the commander to be in danger, and he couldn't bear the responsibility.

"If I don't fight on the front line, then I'm not qualified to lead them!" Lance waved his hand, "No need to say anymore, I'm here."

This scene directly shocked those people. The sailors' originally extinguished passion exploded, and an inexplicable power filled their bodies.

It's not for rewards or military exploits, it's just that I want to fight beside that person.

"Sir, we are not afraid of pirates!"

"Even my knife is not vegetarian."

"..."

Even the calm heart of the old captain who was accustomed to the storm could not help but be agitated. If those bureaucrats and aristocrats back then could be like you, why would Hamlet be like this!

Lance put on an attitude that left no doubt, "Immediately execute my order, notify the guards, and appease the people. There will be many opportunities for you in the future."

"Listen to my lord, I'll kill those guys later, work now!" the old captain greeted.

Although the sailors wanted to kill the pirates, they could not disobey Lord Lance's order and had no choice but to move. The whole ship suddenly became lively, and the scene just now was also passed on.

If an ordinary cargo ship heard that pirates were attacking, it would probably cause chaos.

But this one showed unprecedented calmness.

The people prayed for Lord Lance in the bottom cabin, and everyone stayed in their places without any confusion.

The guards walked out with guns in hand and formed gun formations to guard the various passages. No fear could be seen on everyone's faces. On the contrary, they revealed an unusual determination, even a bit of fanaticism.

Everyone believed unconditionally - the figure standing on the bow of the ship with a sword in hand.

Paracelsus was in the upper cabin, so he naturally heard the movement outside, and saw this scene when he came out.

In addition to studying the books in her hands these past two days, she also changed the dressings of the wounded. She also heard stories about the camp and this man's performance.

Coupled with this gesture, it really makes people...

She didn't know what that person was thinking, but when he made it, he was already dazzling enough.

Thinking of this, I couldn't help but walk over.

"Why are you here? I can't take care of you." Lance noticed the doctor wearing that strange costume and beak mask walking up.

"Don't underestimate women, I can help you." Paracelsus drew out his strange dagger and took out a potion bottle with one hand. The viscous potion swaying inside was daunting.

Lance couldn't help but feel a headache when he saw this. He shouldn't have chatted with her about weaponizing corrosive agents before. He just hoped not to damage his ship.

But that's okay, we can see how strong she is. Anyway, as long as she doesn't die, she can pull people up. At most, she only needs to spend some attention to take care of her.

"Lord Lance!" The old captain came up with a scimitar and a musket on his waist.

"What are you doing up here? If I get hurt my ship won't have a captain."

"Sir, you are all here. If I shrink back, no brother will obey me." The old captain moved the scimitar in his hand, his eyes were a little dazed, as if he had returned to the passionate days, and he couldn't help but want to prove it.

"Sir, don't look at my old bones, but my knife is still sharp. I have wanted to chop those guys for a long time, but unfortunately I never had the chance."

Although he said this, he was ready to protect Lance, even if he risked his life, whether it was to give an explanation to Walter or for the hope he once had in his heart.

Thinking of this, the old captain's expression couldn't help but become cruel, and he looked up at the pirate ship that was getting closer.

Lance had nothing to say about this. Pirates were dangerous to ordinary people, but to him they were nothing more than rotten fish and shrimps. It was just a good time to test his power of becoming an elite.