Our family is in decline

"She is a woman captured by the eagles. She has nowhere to go. I hope the lord can keep her."

Naturally, it was difficult for Laura to say that the woman was a gift, and she herself was somewhat embarrassed.

Because she found that this man was a little different from the nobles she knew well, but she couldn't tell what was wrong.

So to be a little more tactful, these few words were almost laborious for the uneducated Laura to squeeze out.

"So that's it, then it's okay." Lance also roughly understood the woman's situation, and his interest was greatly reduced for a while. He turned back and continued to walk to the study, "Tell me more about Bastia."

There are not many things that Laura can know, especially high-level matters are not her turn.

She is more of a tool among the eagles. She is not the hand holding the bow. She is not even a bow, only the arrow that is shot.

But her growth happened to coincide with the rise of Bastia, so we can get a glimpse of the secret behind that rise through her.

Similar to the city of Ovendo, the emergence of Bastia is also a force that emerged after Hamlet's decline.

Judging from the power structure of the territory, the earl has four barons and hundreds of knights.

Unlike the cavalry of knights like Alvin, these hundreds of knights have fiefdoms. Although the knights' territory is only the size of a village, the manager of the village is actually the village chief.

But it is these "village chiefs" who are the backbone of the territory, and the count relies on them to control the territory.

The status of the church in the territory is also extraordinary. The people of the church also go deep into the towns below. There is no shortage of tithes that should be collected, and even the earl has to give face to the bishop.

It can be said that from Lance's perspective, Bastia is a very traditional feudal aristocratic territory, where the nobility and the church jointly rule the world.

In the military, Laura is relatively familiar with it because she often works with the eagles.

Bastia has three knights with a total strength of fifty. Although these one hundred and fifty are called knights, they should be more accurately called cavalry.

As for those knights who were also nobles, they were usually paired with one or two knight retinues. In fact, they were all wearing armor and mounted on horses during wartime, which was considered combat effectiveness.

In total, it is 100 knights + 100 retinues + 150 cavalry = 350 cavalry.

As for the infantry, the number that is truly considered a standing army is only 3,000.

After all, there is no war. Maintaining an army is very expensive. It is most common to recruit young men when necessary. Good soldiers are those who prepare their own weapons and food.

But Bastia has a population of hundreds of thousands, and it is normal for tens of thousands of young people to be mobilized during wartime.

The entire Bastia currently only has more than 300 knights and 3,000 infantry.

This seems childish compared to the wars in Lance's memory that often involved thousands of cavalry and tens of thousands of infantry.

But in fact, Bastia's strength can be regarded as a hegemon in the northern border of the empire. Otherwise, he would not be able to suppress the mountain barbarians and become one of the six legends of the empire.

If Bastia didn't control the throat of the empire and the mountains and make a lot of money from this, I'm afraid it wouldn't be able to support this kind of army.

In addition, the count's private army includes surrendered barbarians such as the Eagle Group, as well as special agent caravans who are good at camouflage, and they also protect extraordinary people like the Pyromancer.

These powers hidden in the dark cannot be underestimated. If Lance is not included, then Hamlet really has nothing to offer in front of Bastia.

No wonder he dared to let a knight order, no more than fifty people, come over in an attempt to annex Hamlet.

But this was all just a joke to Lance.

If you dare to attack, you will be defeated!

"Tell me about the baron's daughter. What happened on the road?"

"She's a very strange..."

Laura was also a little unclear about Margaret.

Why would someone leave a noble lady alone and come here to do such a thing?

However, Margaret's "glorious" deeds were widely spread, even she, a person who didn't pay much attention to these things, had heard of it.

Lance couldn't help but laugh when he heard the farce of the hunt.

This guy is quite interesting...

In the hall, the two of them were immersed in the bowls of porridge, finishing the bowl in two or three gulps.

The warm porridge in the stomach is like a pair of warm hands smoothing the entangled internal organs that are constantly twitching. The feeling of filling the empty stomach is so good that the whole person feels alive.

But this bowl was obviously not enough. Human beings' most primitive greed was inspired and they wanted more.

Susan looked at the two of them from the side, seeming to have guessed what they meant, and continued to scoop food from the pot into their bowls.

"Don't worry, there is still more."

The two of them didn't say anything, they just continued to drink the second bowl...

However, after finishing the third bowl, Susan did not continue to feed them, but instead took the pot away.

"You can't eat anymore. You have been hungry for so long and suddenly eat so much. Your body will not be able to bear it. Take a rest first and give your body time to recover."

"Any more?"

When a person faces food after being hungry for several days, please do not doubt the body's hunger.

The black-haired woman held the bowl and looked at Susan. It was obvious that she would rather die than be hungry again.

Susan has been with Lance for so long and has also been responsible for handling refugees. Naturally, she learned the common sense from the lord and also knows what the refugees need most now.

That is to reassure them by telling them what they will eat later.

"You need to undergo a three-day course of treatment. The food will gradually change from fluid to solid, such as some boiled vegetables and roots, and finally everything will become normal food."

I don't know if it's because the porridge water is easy to digest, or because it has a psychological effect. It's only been a few minutes since I drank it. My body feels like the land that has been dry for a long time has finally been moistened by rain, and the muscles that were originally shaking can't help but relax.

The body is replenished, and the brain is re-fed with nutrients to regain its sanity, gradually overcoming the urge and getting rid of the hunger and thirst.

But the strong emotions at the moment of the unblocking were uncontrollable and finally burst out.

"Me!" The black-haired woman suddenly shouted uncontrollably, and then quickly turned into a cry. Her eyes were still red, and she started crying while holding the rice bowl, while still shouting vague words, But what can still be heard are words of thanks.

"thanks, thanks……"

"You don't need to thank me. It was the lord who gave you food, and it was the lord who saved you." Susan also walked over in this way, and of course she could feel the woman's strong emotional catharsis.

Fortunately, what she called was not the church, otherwise Susan wouldn't have a good look on her.

Margaret was much calmer in comparison, even a little abnormally calm.

In other words, since she had this experience and personally experienced the suffering in the world, she could never go back to the sunny and cheerful aristocratic lady.

However, Margaret did not forget the reason why she came here and asked Susan.

"Is this Hamlet?"

Susan was busy comforting the woman, and she couldn't help but look over when she heard this.

"Yes, this is Hamlet."

"Then who is he?" Margaret hesitated a little. She might have the answer, but she still couldn't help but ask.

There was no clear point in her words, but Susan understood that there was only one answer here.

"Yes, he is our lord."

Margaret, who received a positive reply, fell silent. She was also a member of the aristocratic system, so she still knew a little about the territory.

She had had a lot of guesses about this place after she just learned that her father and the entire knights led by Alvin had been captured.

The one who can compete with Count Bastia should be a similarly powerful lord.

While advancing among the refugees, she also had a slight yearning for the rich territory described in the rumors. After all, it was the psychological support that supported her at that time.

But these psychological constructions were quickly overturned after she came to Hamlet and had enough food and drink to think again.

This place is not as big as my own castle. How can a lord live in such an ordinary place?

I'm afraid the knights will all decorate some swords and shields with family crests, but the homes here are simple and there is not even the slightest thing to show the status of the nobles.

Not to mention that such a young man, probably about the same age as himself, could actually capture a battle-hardened veteran like his father?

The overturned impression was quickly filled with new doubts. He was clearly in Hamlet, but he felt a strong sense of strangeness, as if there was a layer of fog around him.

Margaret didn't know if she was starving, but this unreasonableness was hard for her to understand, and she naturally fell silent.

But the curiosity gradually emerged...

"Okay, you've been tired for so long, let's stop here tonight."

Lance ended the topic when he saw that the time was almost up. He already knew everything that needed to be known, and Count Bastia's methods could be pieced together from the scattered clues.

Laura only reacted after hearing this. Talking to Lance didn't have the pressure of facing the count at all. The two parties were as relaxed as chatting. She didn't even realize that the man in front of her was the lord of the land.

"I'll let someone make arrangements. Go and have a good rest. You'll be safe here." Lance reassured her and told her the issue she was most concerned about.

That's her safety.

As an assassin, she had assassinated many people who could not deal with the count, and she was also afraid that this day would happen to her.

And Lance's words captured her lifeblood.

By the time the two walked out of the study and returned to the hall, Margaret and the woman had already finished eating. Although the scene was a bit messy, it was understandable.

Lance's eyes fell on the red-haired woman, Margaret, and their eyes met. Neither of them meant to avoid it, and they directly looked at each other.

In the end, Lance took the initiative to withdraw his gaze and spoke to break the atmosphere of the scene.

"Susan, go and make arrangements for them. It's getting late. Have a good rest and talk about anything tomorrow."

After saying that, Lance left here directly, not bothering to care about these things. He had one thing to deal with first.

And the direction he was heading towards was undoubtedly outside the town.

The war horse neighed, abandoning the light behind and rushing towards the darkness.

Tonight is still very long...

…………

On the land shrouded by the power of the ancestors, Hamlet Town is not the only bustling place. In this remote place, a "carnival" is also about to take place.

Count Bastia mixed a large number of thugs into the refugees. These people were not refugees, and they were probably keenly aware of the strangeness at the beginning. Most of them did not die in the massacre, but escaped from the refugees after entering Hamlet.

These people were originally robbers and bandits, and all they did was kill and sell goods. Without restrictions here, they gathered into a large team of two to three hundred people in a short period of time.

Two factions are vaguely visible among them. One faction is the barbarians. Although they come from different tribes, under certain circumstances, their execution ability is very strong. They quickly abandon their grievances and do everything for survival.

As for the way to select the leader, they changed from the normal way of speaking with fists. Instead, they elected the most experienced and cunning wise man as the leader, because only in this way can they lead them to survive.

Respect for wise men is actually quite common among barbarians, as it is an extension of respect for tribal priests.

In this case, a barbarian who was not tall and even looked thin due to years of imprisonment became the leader of the group.

The most prominent feature is that there are ferocious scars on the aging face, almost tearing half of the face open, and one eye has become pale and blind due to this, but the only remaining eye is even more sinister.

Because he also made a lot of noise when he fought against Bastia.

One of the most outstanding achievements was that a man ran to assassinate Bruce. Although he failed, he actually escaped.

Later, the earl was even more alarmed, and the leader of the eagle group was sent to lead people up. With the help of the eagle group, Bruce struggled in the city for a long time before catching him.

The reason why he is still alive is because he is a stepping stone for Bruce to prove himself, which is equivalent to hanging the prey's head on the wall.

But the barbarians prefer his other name - Sly Fox.

The other faction is naturally the Imperial people, and their composition is more complicated. They include robbers, bandits, mercenaries, and gangsters. You may not be able to find so many of them in a place with better security.

It seems that the Count almost emptied Bastia's prison to gather this bunch of "talents".

The way they elect leaders is actually similar to that of the barbarians. Everyone in this circle knows each other, and everyone knows who has done what.

It's just that there is no real leader among them. Instead, there are several big and small bosses, and no one is convinced by the other.

Part of the reason why it didn't split open directly was because of the pressure from the barbarians, who were afraid of being stabbed in the back.

On the other hand, everyone has just escaped and doesn't even have any weapons. At the same time, everyone is hungry and thirsty and urgently needs to prioritize survival issues.

And this was the reason why they were still making peace with the barbarians, because in front of them was a small town that fell asleep due to the arrival of night.

"Brothers have been hungry for so long, it's time to eat some meat."

"Damn it, I don't even know what a woman tastes like anymore."

"Jie Jie Jie! Come on, brothers."

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