Our family is in decline

Hamlet, New Town.

It is another new day, and a large number of adventurers have woken up from the tavern, casino and brothel, and are ready to go to the ruins to search for treasures.

Recently, more and more people have found good things. Of course, according to the habits of those guys, they can blow a copper coin into a gold coin, and some people who pick up a gold coin also say it is a copper coin.

However, whether it is true or false, it inspires those who want to get rich overnight, because many people really picked up some jewelry, citrine, and of course coins scattered in the ruins.

After these days of cleaning, the skeletons on the periphery have basically been knocked into pieces. After losing the evil power, the weathering of the bones is very serious.

The bones that were originally difficult to break with knives and axes seemed to have finally exploded after more than ten years of wind and sun. They turned into pieces with just a touch, and turned into powder when stepped on directly.

Those adventurers are very good at accumulating experience. After the initial panic, they quickly adapted to the situation of the ruins, and their awe of the ruins quickly faded.

As long as you avoid facing it directly at night, you can lure out the skeletons in the building and kill them during the day, and then you can go in and search.

Ordinary adventurers or scavengers are still limited to daytime, while some powerful mercenary groups have already spent the night in the ruins.

All they need to do is clear out a solid building from the skeletons near dusk, then seal it off and prepare enough firewood to set up camp.

Bonfires can dispel the evil breath in the air, and the higher the distance from the ground, the less impact it will have.

More importantly, bonfires can deter rats, and blockades can stop skeletons but not rats. One person's ear was bitten by a rat.

"It's dawn, and those skeletons should start to retreat. Everyone get ready."

A little light came through the cracks in the window nailed by the wooden board, indicating that the Scorpion Mercenary Group had survived another night. It was obvious that this was not the first time they were calm.

After Scorpion finished speaking, he stood up and walked to the window to look outside. He could see that they were now on the third floor, almost the highest point of the house, but not very high in the surrounding area, which meant that they were getting deeper and deeper into the prosperous area of ​​the ruins in the past.

And his words were also reflected. As the sun came out, the skeletons that were craving for the breath of the living around the building began to retreat and look for dark places away from the light.

"Captain, the supplies we brought can only last for another day. If we can't find any more, we will probably have to stay and go back tonight."

The team member who counted the supplies reminded him, and the others echoed him.

"It's been three days since we came out. Every day when I open my eyes, I see skeletons, and when I close my eyes, I see mice. Apart from some small things, I don't see any treasures."

"The damn weather is getting colder and colder. I just want to take a good bath in the bathhouse now."

"Why aren't you hugging a woman?"

"It's so cold. How can a woman take a bath? I can't count on a medicinal bath. It would be better to steam a sauna after the bath."

"You know how to enjoy yourself."

As they spoke, they all showed a relaxed look. Scorpion heard this and understood that everyone's high-intensity exploration was almost at its limit.

Scorpion looked at the spire of the church in the distance and knew that there was no chance, so he had to give up and changed his words:

"Today our main task is to search the surrounding buildings and try to collect some good things, and then go back to rest for a day or two."

The reason why Scorpion made such a decision was that he also felt something was wrong. He did find some things along the way, but there was no inspiring harvest. Instead, everyone was under great pressure.

Because there are not only skeletons transformed from civilians active in the core area, but also some soldiers or sheriffs, these skeletons are equipped with armor or weapons.

Although it can still be dealt with, the intensity of the battle is gradually increasing, and Scorpion can't fight the team here. He wants to go back to rest and collect information about other people.

No one knows what happened to Hamlet back then, but if so many skeletons can be left, it means that many people did not leave at that time, but why are the wealth found scattered?

Scorpion's suspicion is probably also thought of by many people, but why are they just suspicious?

Because it is normal to let the master go first. If something really happens, the bottom will not receive the news, but those masters will definitely feel that something is wrong, so it is possible to pack up and run away in advance.

But who cares? The mercenaries couldn't help but cheer when they heard Scorpion's words.

"Great!"

The originally low morale was restored a little. Everyone simply packed up and went down to move the piled up debris. Then they could see that the door and the surrounding brick walls were covered with various scratches, which were the results of the skeletons scratching all night.

"Kill them!"

…………

Those adventurers dared to stay in the ruins for various reasons, but Hamlet's team was much more conservative and came back after dark, even the guards and the heroes.

Because they didn't pursue the elimination of skeletons or treasure hunting, they naturally didn't need to take too much risk.

After all, those "treasures" were put in by the guards. How could they not know what was going on?

And last night, when the lord took away Junia and a team of guards, he left behind a batch of extraordinary equipment. Of course, some were left for himself, and some were to be distributed to those low-level goods that could not be used.

Of course, extraordinary equipment is valuable, but those things are like cabbage to Lance.

The value of a few pieces of equipment is at most a few hundred or thousands of gold coins, but if you really want to mobilize so many people, it will not be this amount of money.

Not to mention that they are still paying for their own money and efforts, and the money will eventually return to Lance after their consumption.

This is equivalent to those card-drawing games in later generations. If you don't win, you can only think that you are unlucky, but there are always people around you who win, so you will think that the next one... the next one must be me.

Give them some thoughts, let them think that they are fighting for themselves, but in fact it is just a pitiful joke.

Hamlet makes money and Hamlet spends it, and each wants to take it home.

The guards took the prepared goods into the ruins, and took into account some heroes to form a team to enter it to maintain the fragile order. The ghost of Hamlet's order hangs over all the guys who want to make trouble.

And Reynard and other troops also began to prepare to mobilize the front-line troops according to the lord's orders, and those who should take leave took leave and those who should change guards changed guards.

The soldiers on the front line were replaced to guard several farms or outposts in the surrounding cities, and those were transferred back to the front line of the ruins for training.

There were countless skeletons as targets, and there were ruins for them to train and cooperate.

Everything seemed to be in order, and everyone was fighting for their own reasons, and they didn't care about other things at all.

But the world is always complicated...

In a large monastery standing on the top of the mountain, white is the main color to show its holiness.

And deep in this huge building complex, there is a quaint but not dilapidated place, where rows of candles are lit on the table for worship, showing a ladder shape, and the number is getting smaller as you go up.

Some candles are bright, while others are as weak as soybeans, as if a slight breeze can extinguish them, but they persist tenaciously.

No one would care about this place at first. Compared with the lively front, the calm day after day is normal.

But today, a candle at the top suddenly went out, and then a scream came from the room.

"Ah!"

A middle-aged monk in gorgeous monk clothes hurried out of the hall, shouting in fear.

"Hurry up and inform the Pope that the candle of the saint has gone out."

This sentence immediately caused a corner of the monastery to panic, until an old man appeared.

The most prominent one was the one wearing an exquisite white robe, with a shawl with countless complex patterns on the outside.

He wore a high hat inlaid with jewels in a similar style, and his clothes were mainly white and gold, so exquisite that they seemed to be made of gold and silver threads.

He held a golden cross-headed staff that was as tall as a person, which also had complex patterns and was inlaid with the most precious gems. Behind him were two guards in full armor and holding halberds. The powerful aura he exuded was probably not weaker than that of a legend.

Both the clothes and the staff were extremely luxurious, and the legendary strongmen who were placed in other places were just the Pope's guards. It can be seen how exaggerated the strength of the church is.

On the contrary, the old man who was the protagonist seemed very ordinary, without that kind of powerful aura. If it weren't for this set of appearances, it would be hard to believe that he was the Pope.

"Your Excellency the Pope!"

In the room, there were several people who had already arrived and were waiting. They were all dressed in luxurious clothes, and the aura they revealed was not simple. Those who could come here were probably the top leaders of the church.

However, these people who would tremble in the empire if they sneezed did not have the calmness on their faces at this time. On the contrary, they all showed a trace of uneasiness.

Those who could come here all knew some information. The saints of the church were inherited from generation to generation. When one died, the body and equipment would be preserved.

There were also mistakes and many things were lost over the past thousands of years, but in the end, the inheritance was completed under the power of the church.

It's just that not every time is so lucky. The previous generation finally disappeared in the territory of Hamlet, causing the church to directly break this inheritance.

But the church did not give up and continued to send people there. This is why the Holy Light Knights of the church appeared in a dilapidated town at the beginning.

Unfortunately, that ghost place is the territory of the ancestors, and with all kinds of blockades, how could they find the trace of the saint.

Fortunately, the faint light shows that the saint is still alive, giving them a glimmer of hope. As long as the saint is found, the inheritance can be passed on, which is a very important thing for the church.

However...

It seems that the Pope's eyes are not on those people, and he did not react much to the greeting, because the first thing he saw when he entered the door was the candles.

And now the candle at the top of the stairs is extinguished, and everyone knows what this means.

The saint is dead.

The Pope was also a little disappointed, and turned to look at everyone and asked: "Everyone already knows, tell me."

"It must be Hamlet's heretics who killed the saint, we must fight hard!"

"Launch a holy war and send troops to Hamlet!"

"The body of the saint must be found anyway. If it falls into the hands of others, it will be a humiliation for the church!"

The pope did not react much to those who instigated him. He knew the current situation of the church. It didn't matter if the external holy war failed. With the empire as a blood bag, a large number of young people would follow the call of the Holy Light in a few years, and they would fight back at that time.

But the problem was that the empire was also in trouble. The drought in the central part and the civil war in the empire directly crippled the empire. In addition, some evil cults and organizations in various places emerged. Now the church can't take care of itself, let alone start a holy war.

Our church has declined...

Why did the church not react to the ruins of Hamlet that stirred the world? Because a period of time after the catastrophe was the weakest time for the ancestors to control Hamlet.

At that time, the ancestors were trapped by the ritual, the Ascension Sect had not yet developed, and the necromancer had not yet summoned so many skeletons.

In order to save the saints, the church also organized people to enter the ruins. Although they didn't find anyone, they knew that there was nothing inside, and they were too lazy to move without benefits.

And they also wanted to use this to eliminate those dead spirits and consume Hamlet's power at the same time. They wanted to be the fishermen, so they let it go.

In their view, Hamlet's methods are extremely ridiculous. They look at this matter from a God's perspective and think they are in control of everything.

And the death of the saint this time gave them a slap in the face, a heart-wrenching slap in the face.

Who the hell knew that you could really find the saint! And kill him.

The meaning of the saint to the church is too important. In some cases, the source of the church's decline is really likely to be related to the disappearance of a large number of elites, legendary masters, and saints in the church.

But as they said, the body of the saint must be taken back, and perhaps the inheritance can be continued. As long as the saint comes back, everything will be fine.

"Back then, we suspected that the saint was trapped somewhere in Hamlet. This time, I heard that Hamlet was inciting adventurers to attack the ruins. Could it be that the saint was discovered?"

"The church cannot lose the saint, just like it cannot lose the holy city."

"Contract the power of other places, make other believers suffer first, and I will bear the blame."

What they said were all abstract words.

The holy city has been lost long ago, and the saint is dead now. Both are gone. It seems that you can come back with just one word, but you are not here.

As for shrinking the power of other places, it will definitely cause disasters. The blame will be on the church. What do you worry about?

However, these words of advice still made the Pope determined. He paused his staff to make the scene quiet. After a moment of silence, he spoke

"Do it. Although suffering is coming, how can we watch Hamlet's followers fall under the threat of the dead? No matter what, we must eliminate the cancer controlled by the dead."

The Pope is the Pope. He started with all kinds of lofty reasons, but for those below, it is profitable to take action. (End of this chapter)