Our Family Has Fallen
Chapter 82: Arrangement_1

Chapter 82: Chapter 82: Arrangement_1

Lance fiddled with the Incense Burner he had confiscated from the woman’s hand.

His gaze was fixed on some medicinal pills laid out on the table, each stored in different boxes.

These were items found on the woman after she was sacrificed, presumably pills to be used with the Incense Burner. Once lit and placed inside, the rising smoke would release their medicinal properties.

It was only after experiencing the situation that day that he had taken some interest in researching them, finding that the pills, when lit, each had different effects.

It took him days to figure out their uses: languor, excitement, aphrodisiacs... All these effects acted on the body, not as psychic attacks, which is why the "Sanctuary" had no response that day.

But as for the formulas, he was utterly clueless. He knew nothing about Herbology and didn’t even have a way to get started with it.

At that moment, there was a knock on the door. Dismas, who had been out scouting, returned to report on the bandits’ movements to Lance.

"My Lord, those guys have moved out. They’re probably two hours away from here," he said.

"A bunch of useless trash. I waited four days for them to finally gather," Lance complained with disdain.

He had thought they would be able to assemble in two days and then come over on the third.

Who knew they would drag it out another day? Did those bandits have any idea how precious one day was to him?

"Actually, they had already gathered, but there was an infighting incident. I’m not very clear on the details, but several people died, and the rest united. It’s likely someone seized the opportunity to absorb the others."

"They’re in such a hurry to divide a cake they haven’t even gotten their hands on. These people are doomed to never achieve anything great."

Lance shook his head, but he didn’t let his guard down. He called Reynard and the others to start planning their tactics.

"They don’t know about the town yet. Have a few new recruits put on mercenary uniforms and pretend to flee in defeat to lure them into the square. Three squads will hide here. Once they enter, form up and seal the three exits, driving them over here."

Lance pressed his finger firmly on a street on the Map. "This is the execution ground I’ve chosen for them. I want to annihilate them all, leaving none behind."

"Yes!"

Everyone understood Lance’s determination. These bandits were not just ordinary thugs. Relying on the few incompetent farm Guards wouldn’t suffice and could even disrupt the order of the farm.

Moreover, everyone in town had a deep-seated hatred for the bandits. Only their blood could wash away that enmity.

This was also the time for him, as their Lord, to assert his authority over his troops.

Lance had calculated everything meticulously, planning to waste nothing.

However, Balistan voiced his concern. "My Lord, are we really going to use these thirty new recruits to fight? Many of them haven’t even seen bloodshed. The recent incident involving a few fishermen offers no reliable reference." The quality of these new recruits was difficult to ascertain; they weren’t terrible, but they were definitely not impressive.

Even during the last encounter with a few fishermen, there were continuous problems. If they faced ruthless bandits head-on, they might collapse before the fight even began.

"Of course, I won’t just let those recruits face off against hundreds of bandits directly. Just wait and enjoy the show." A confident smile emerged on Lance’s face.

They all knew their Lord’s style. He wouldn’t do something he wasn’t sure of.

"My Lord, should we notify those people to evacuate?"

"No. That would alarm everyone and cause chaos." Lance looked at the Map on the table and slowly shook his head. "Reynard, go and notify everyone to gather at the church in an hour. Say I have an announcement to make."

The church had been remodeled into a hall. Since there were no entertainment activities, it was vacant. However, the space was large enough to accommodate so many people, and its solid brick-and-stone structure could provide good protection for ordinary people. Using this pretext to gather them would cause the least commotion.

Lance arranged everything methodically and then patted Dismas on the shoulder, casting "Bless" to eliminate his fatigue.

"Rest well for a bit. Your performance will be soon."

"Leave it to me, My Lord!" Dismas seemed very excited, grabbing his things and hurriedly leaving.

Only then did Lance turn to call for Balistan. "Come, let’s go see the training of the new recruits."

「 」

"KILL!"

On the training field, two groups of men were engaged in intense training.

Since the night Lance discovered their situation, targeted training had begun, shifting from the previous drills of poking at targets to more confrontational exercises.

Divided into two teams, one held spears without spearheads, and the other donned masks before charging with swords and shields.

Those who could break through the spear formation within the time limit were rewarded with an extra egg at dinner. If they failed to break through—meaning the defending team held—the defenders received an extra egg, while the attackers had an egg deducted from their meal.

In addition to the regular physical and strength training, five bouts of combat exercises were added each day, with the teams rotating between attacking and defending.

This more practical approach to training, after two days, had resulted in more solid formations, making it difficult for those wielding short weapons to penetrate.

The attackers had no armor and no ranged weapons—and the bandits were the same.

Lance patrolled the grounds and was rather satisfied.

Once they weathered this crisis and completely eradicated the bandits, he planned to retrain these new recruits as Musketeers.

At that point, they would only need to maintain basic physical training and learn how to shoot and load their guns.

The use of spears would also be adapted to the use of bayonets on Long-barreled Flintlock Guns.

The current problem was gunpowder. Firearm consumption would increase significantly. These items were not produced by the town, and the Flintlock Guns they had in hand were not yet equipped to mount bayonets, which was why he was delaying the changeover.

「 」

Meanwhile, the bandits were also advancing toward Hamlet.

A group of over a hundred men appeared on the old road, unashamed, as if they were the masters here, not bandits hiding in the forests.

Their equipment was a jumble of styles; whether clothing or weapons, there was no uniformity even within the same group.

Combined with disorganized management, it was common for some to fall behind during the march. Moreover, the constant talking created a raucous noise that could be heard from afar.

"Fucking starving for days now! This time we must have a feast!"

"Don’t remind me. That woman we caught last time died after just a couple of days of fun. This time I’ll have to grab a couple more."

"HAHAHA! Just one more big score and I’m going back home to buy some land and get a wife."

...

The morale of the bandits was high. Driven by their desire for money, women, and food, they all exhibited a strong will to attack and were proactive in their advance.

After all, their last raid on Hamlet had been exhilarating.

Burning, killing, and looting—they cut down anyone who dared to resist. They could hardly express how thrilling it was.

The mere thought of those townspeople begging for mercy before them made them impatient, a fierce smile creeping onto their faces.