Our family is in decline

"You are too greedy, the buyer gives 40%, you just keep 30%, and you still take kickbacks from both sides. Aren't you afraid that the pirates will kill you?"

"Without our 30%, no one wants it, and the pirates don't need these goods. Now there are a lot of them on the mountain that no one wants."

Lance couldn't help but complain while flipping through the account book. When he noticed that the broker stopped, he urged him impatiently.

"Write, keep writing."

Even if Lance could remember those things, he still needed these brokers to write down everything they knew, which was evidence.

Soon, the things Lance wanted filled the whole paper, mostly some secrets they knew, and various channels, they relied on this to make a living.

"You should know that Black Jack disappeared, but left clues. Legend has it that if you collect all the clues, you can find the treasure he hid?"

"I know, but after the chaos, Black Jack's three children disappeared, and the treasure map disappeared with them, so there was no follow-up to this matter."

The broker still has some professional qualities. He knows a lot of similar rumors, but he hasn't heard of anyone finding it.

"It's not a treasure map, it's three keepsakes, two shells, and a bead. This was given to me by a friend."

Lance took out the half shell he got before, and could feel a faint spiritual luster on it, but he didn't know how to use it, and it was impossible to crack it violently. He could only find out after collecting all three pieces.

To be honest, Lance was so busy before that he didn't have time to waste on the so-called treasure hunt, but now he can use it to make a fuss.

"This..." The broker suddenly seemed to realize something, and his eyes looking at Lance were a little weird.

Isn't it said that only Black Jack's children have it? How come it's in your hands?

Is your friend you? Otherwise, why would you give everything?

But he knew what to say and what not to say, so he didn't ask, but explained helplessly:

"I really don't know about the Black Jack treasure. There are a lot of rumors about it, but most of them are just some guys who are drunk and bragging. So many people can't find it for so many years. How can I know?"

Lance didn't care about the broker's reaction. He didn't come to find treasure. His real purpose was another thing.

"You help me do one thing, that is, to reveal this news tomorrow. Ten days later, I will open this shell here for everyone to find the secret in it. Remember, everyone, and find the news of the other two at the same time. I am willing to cooperate in the treasure hunt."

"Ah!" The broker couldn't help but exclaimed when he heard this. Open this thing? Do you know how much noise it will cause?

"Don't be afraid, if they find you, pretend you don't know, just say someone asked you to release this news, and there will be many people who will release it. You are just one of them, don't worry about your safety."

Lance knew what he was thinking when he didn't speak, and patted the account book in his hand to warn him.

"Don't think about running away. I think your partners should also want to know how much you have eaten. And you are the only one running away from so many people, which shows that there is something wrong with you."

It is useless to say nice things to these guys who deal with pirates. They must be put under enough pressure.

"How could it be... I am worried that no one will believe me." The broker smiled professionally and explained, but he was probably cursing in his heart.

"Don't worry about this. Those big pirates who have followed Black Jack will understand when they hear that it is shells instead of sea charts. You just need to spread the news."

"Yes, yes, yes."

Lance hypnotized him to sleep directly, and then left here. Following his introduction, he also visited some other brokers, used similar methods to catch their key points, and then arranged things.

It's true that Lance found out from those brokers that Hamlet's matter actually involved many forces.

What about the Mercenary Guild, the Medical Association, some big businessmen and the big nobles behind them...

It seems that it is not only Totnes who does not want to see Hamlet rise, but it is the consensus of many people.

But who cares? Lance never cares.

But Lance also found something very interesting, a sea chart from a big pirate broker.

A somewhat old, rolled-up parchment, with delicate patterns drawn on it, marked with routes and various similar routes, ocean currents, reefs, islands...

Lance could tell at a glance that this thing was the outer sea of ​​Hamlet, not that he had been there before, in fact, Lance had no impression of it at all.

As for why?

Because the family emblem of the ruler of Hamlet was printed on a corner of the fully unfolded sea chart.

From the delicate markings on it, it is clear that it is definitely not something that ordinary people can hold. This kind of thing can be called a strategic map. I don’t know how much money it cost and how many people risked their lives to get it.

Now it is in the hands of pirates. I don’t know whether it was given to Black Jack by the ancestor or the spoils of these pirates who robbed Hamlet. Anyway, it is a symbol of Hamlet’s decline and a shame, so Lance took it away.

It was already evening when Lance returned to the boat. The team members who had gone out for the survey had all returned one after another. Since this place was not very big, they had probably finished their exploration in one day and set sail to prepare.

It was only after personal inspection that I found that this place was really easy to defend and difficult to attack. The environment was very complicated. In addition to the opening when they came in, there were others, and the gaps between the small islands could also be passed by boat.

They were not afraid of difficulties, but they were worried that it would be difficult for Hamlet's people to completely surround the entire area, and those pirates could escape from here through different waterways.

If they could not be completely annihilated, things would be even more troublesome if they were roaming around. You know, it is really difficult to catch them on the vast ocean.

There are an estimated 3,000 people in the entire Shipwreck Bay, most of whom are pirates, and this is only the part that stays here, and there are many who are not here.

After all, wild dogs will only return to their nests when they catch prey and eat their fill, and those who have not caught prey will be hungry and look for prey outside.

Lance, who came back, also roughly understood their situation. The difficulty is that it is difficult for Hamlet's navy ships to completely surround them.

Secondly, if this place is defeated and pirates escape again, then the remaining pirates outside will also know about this matter and will not come back but wander around.

"Don't worry, they will gather here by themselves." Lance explained with a smile, "Because no pirate can refuse the news of Black Jack's treasure."

Lance briefly talked about his plan. By then, it is estimated that all the pirates around will gather here and wipe out the surrounding pirates in one fell swoop.

"Why don't we find a place by ourselves? It's too difficult to fight here."

Someone raised a question. Since they plan to use the treasure to attract them, why not choose a place suitable for ambush?

"Of course, because you know that the pirates also know that these guys are in various high-pressure environments all year round, and no one trusts them. Who knows what the guy who released this news is planning?

But this is a special place. The complex environment and the so-called [Pirate Code] give them a fig leaf. At least they have a sense of security here, although it is insignificant."

"But it is estimated that the number of pirates may exceed 5,000. We only have 1,000 navy. How should we fight?"

"Our ship has been modified with artillery. When the time comes, we will bomb them. A few ships will defend..."

"But what about their defense based on the environment of the bay? In the end, we still have to go ashore to clear it out. Once it's night..."

With this information, those people began to formulate new combat plans, talking to each other, but full of vitality.

Lance would not interfere too much, but found Wilson and handed over the sea chart, "Look at this, do you recognize it?"

Captain Wilson was also thinking about how to fight. He was interrupted by the lord and could only take the thing and open it. He was stunned at first, but soon reacted.

"It's Hamlet's stuff!" But after a closer look, he couldn't help but sigh, "Such a detailed sea chart is much more complicated than what we saw at that time. I'm afraid only the top leaders are qualified to see it."

Wilson didn't say anything, but he roughly understood the meaning of the lord taking out this thing and handed it back.

"It's not accurate now. It has changed too much over the years. It's better to take it back and put it in the museum so that the younger generation will know these things."

Listening to Wilson's words, Lance didn't speak, because he remembered that he killed a small leader under Red Beard. His coat and the musket were the trophies of killing a Hamlet naval commander.

These pirates plundered nutrients from the decline of Hamlet to grow, and in some cases they were also the troubles left by the ancestors.

Then let them witness the rise of Hamlet...

…………

Hamlet, deep in the wilderness.

Although Hamlet has been developing the wilderness, it is mainly the north of the town. At that time, it was to eliminate the influence of witches and open the road to the ruins.

This part is more developed, but other parts, such as the south and southwest, have many noble lords, and the territories derived from them will be developed to a certain extent, and there are some old roads connected to them.

But now the northwest of Hamlet City is the real wilderness, because the mountains are extended there.

Perhaps some remaining ruins can prove that there were people here in the past, but now it has become a wilderness swallowed by nature.

Boudica asked the lord for help as soon as the mad dog escaped, and gathered Junia, William (Fegus), and Laura to go deep into the wilderness to find and capture it.

In theory, it is easy for Figus, a wolfhound born for hunting, to find the mad dog, not to mention the aerial reconnaissance brought by Laura.

But unfortunately, the weather problem became their biggest enemy, and a sudden snowstorm interrupted their actions. When the snow was a little smaller, they started looking again, and then found that the heavy snow had eliminated the traces of the mad dog, and the cold wind made the falcons unwilling to fly.

What's more troublesome is that the snow has accumulated into a thick layer without anyone cleaning it. Although it's not so bad that they can't walk, it's still very troublesome.

It was Figes who was very capable. He found the clue from the faint smell and led everyone to chase it.

Along the way, they also encountered some hungry beasts that took their team as prey, but they were still alive, which proved who was the prey.

Three days was the bottom line given by the lord. It's impossible for you, Boudica, to lead others into the pit for a dog because of your personal emotions.

Now the time is very close, which makes Boudica a little irritated. She used to be a hunting expert and hunted a lioness as a coming-of-age ceremony.

But hunting is not her forte, because when she was in the mountains, she would not go out in the winter when it snowed. It was really a blind spot in knowledge.

"Woof woof!" Figus, who was looking for the trail in front, suddenly barked twice, and the whole team became alert. William explained excitedly.

"The child found the smell, and the mad dog stayed nearby."

Then he stepped forward to feed Figus some food, and his hand with ratskin gloves stroked and encouraged the dog, "Find it, don't let the prey run away."

Figus jumped out and ran on the snow. His long hair made him fearless of the cold, and the blessing of the lord made him more agile and powerful than ordinary hounds.

The others followed him, but after walking a distance forward, they entered a relatively loose forest for some reason. Figus seemed to have noticed something.

The pace of progress also slowed down a bit, no longer rushing forward, but pacing forward, the nose kept moving and seemed a little uneasy, as if trying to distinguish what this smell was?

"Figus encountered something he didn't know, everyone be careful." William could only explain it from the dog's state, and he didn't know what it was specifically.

And soon they also found something strange. You know, there are a lot of shrubs and weeds in the wilderness, even if they dry in winter, there should be traces left, but the birch forest in front of them seemed very desolate, as if no grass had grown for many years.

This is against the norm, because the last one that was not swallowed by the wilderness was a relic shrouded in death.

The vision represents danger, this is the consensus of everyone, especially when there are extraordinary powers in this world.

And as they continued to go deeper, they soon found something, that is, huge stones standing up, covered with various incomprehensible patterns and runes, arranged in a unique shape, and what they found was just a corner of the Stonehenge.

"The smell is cut off here."

Figus seemed a little irritable, it felt the danger, William comforted it while looking at everyone to signal.

"What should we do now?" Junia felt that this mission was a bit confusing.

"Go back and tell the Lord that this is no longer something we can handle."

William was very calm and rational. Even Boudica, who was unwilling to give up, knew that this was the right choice and looked back at the Stonehenge.

"I will definitely come back!" (End of this chapter)