Our family is in decline

Then the bandits did not leave after the robbery. Instead, they stayed on the old road and often blocked the road and robbed. After the business road was cut off, prices in the town soared, food shortages led to famine.

Moreover, the sudden imposition of a protection tax by the town mayor made ordinary people even worse. Some free people were forced to sell themselves to farmers in order to survive.

"Where is your lord? Doesn't such a big town have a militia?"

"I don't know where the noble lord has gone. There is a militia group, but most of them were dead when the bandits came. If they didn't die, they ran away. There are only a few left..."

As he spoke, the clerk's expression became cautious. He looked back around to make sure there was no one around and then whispered: "The remaining ones will become the same kind of police officers. If you encounter a customer, you'd better stay away."

Lance understood what he meant. The mayor had recruited a lot of mercenaries to resist the bandits. After the war, these mercenaries and the surviving militiamen became the peace officers.

In fact, the mayor controls the town's thugs. These people do evil in the town and are more hated than the bandits.

"Where's the church?"

"Hey~" the clerk laughed, "After the bandits retreated, the people from the church and the mercenary guild left the town. Now the church and the guild are empty."

Leonard's expression changed somewhat when he heard this, and a hint of disappointment appeared on his resolute face, but he didn't say much.

The situation in the town is not optimistic. First, there is a farmer who has a large number of serfs occupying the farm estate. He controls most of the food in the town. The second is the mayor who has a security group formed by mercenaries and gangsters.

Normally, you should find the housekeeper first and confirm your identity first.

However, Lance knew that this would definitely alarm the mayor. There were only three of him, and if the strong dragon could not overwhelm the local snake, he would still have to be restricted by him...

"Where's that woman?"

Lance continued to ask about the weirdo just now, and the clerk also showed a helpless expression at this time.

"Alas~ It wasn't the bandits that caused the trouble. Originally, her family of three was doing well, but when the bandits attacked her, her husband and son died, leaving her alone.

I don’t know if she is crazy. I heard that she dragged a seriously injured veteran out of the ruins and took him home for treatment. The pastor asked for money to save the person. In order to raise money, she took the veteran’s equipment and sold it, but she didn’t expect it. She was robbed by that group of mercenaries and tortured for a whole night before being thrown out of the street. By this time, the priest who could cast magic had already left with the church, and now she went completely crazy.

I survived by picking up the garbage left by the mercenaries and helping her leave some fish gills and viscera for her. "

"Veteran?" Lance noticed the words used in the clerk's mouth.

"Yes, that mercenary used to be a soldier. When the bandits attacked, he was the only one who stood up and led us to resist the bandits. However, judging from the situation at the time, he was seriously injured and may have died long ago."

Both Disma and Leonard were quite emotional when they heard this story.

"This is yours." Lance tossed the copper coin over and then took out another copper coin and threw it at the clerk.

"Another pound of brown bread to take away."

The clerk seemed to realize what Lance meant, but didn't say much, just shook his head and went backstage.

"I want to take a look, what do you two say?" Lance knew that he actually had no fighting ability. The pistol on his waist was mostly a deterrent, and he had to be followed by someone to walk in the town.

"The Holy Light protects me." Leonard put on his helmet.

"Then it's definitely fine for me." Disma drank the last bit of beer in one gulp.

When Lance walked out of the tavern, he saw the woman crouching at the door and approached her.

She obviously wanted to get closer just now, but she didn't know why this time her expression was distorted and she looked frightened. She tightened her body and hugged herself tightly, not daring to raise her head to look at Lance again.

Lance didn't make much movement, he just squatted down and slowly handed over the black bread wrapped in paper.

"Don't be afraid, we won't hurt you, just take it and eat it."

The woman looked up at the bag, then slowly met Lance's gaze. She was stunned for a moment when she saw the smile on his face, but she quickly reacted, grabbed the bag and ran away as if running away.

"Just left like this?" Disma frowned and asked, wanting to stop him, but Lance raised his hand to stop him.

"This land is full of miserable people. It seems that corruption has begun. Our task is very difficult~"

After saying this, Lance started to follow, but only Disma still asked a question in confusion.

"Lord, why are we doing this?"

"We are all outsiders, and the locals don't know us at all. If we want to gain a foothold here, we need to have a connection with the locals, and the only mercenary who is willing to protect civilians during the war is to us It’s of great value.”

Originally, Lance was still worried about how to break into this small town, but after hearing the woman's story, he finally made a plan.

His idea was simple, he wanted to capitalize on the veteran's reputation among civilians, but he had to see the specific situation on site before making a decision.

The three of them hung behind the woman and arrived at a private house, watching her hurriedly enter.

It can be seen that the woman's family situation used to be pretty good, otherwise there would not be this single-family house with a mud and stone structure. It is a pity that a sudden war destroyed everything.

The door was not locked and was only lightly closed. However, as soon as he approached the house and before entering, he could smell a faint stench. Thinking of what the clerk had said, he even suspected that the mercenary was dead at this time. It was caused by the rotting corpse. The smell comes out.

Looking at each other, it seemed that they thought so too, but those who were here had no intention of leaving directly.

"It's just the beginning. People who can't adapt are not suitable to stay here."

Lance took the lead and pushed the door open, but the stench suddenly became a hundred times stronger after passing through the door. It invaded the nasal cavity and made Lance, who had just eaten, feel a little nauseous.

But he also saw what was really going on inside the house.

The woman cut her wrist open and let the blood drip into the mouth of the man lying on the bed.

However, the sudden intrusion of Lance and the three men alerted the woman. She only heard a strange scream and fell to the ground, but she quickly stood up again and raised the iron piece as a threat.

"Get out of my house quickly!"

"Don't be afraid, we are not those mercenaries." Lance said a word, and then walked directly towards the woman.

When the woman saw Lance approaching, she actually went crazy and raised the iron piece to hit her. How could Leonard watch? When he was about to move forward, Lance raised his hand to stop him, and instead opened his arms towards the woman.

"If you want to fight, then fight. I have an unshirkable responsibility for you to become like this."