Our Family Has Fallen
Chapter 89: Upgrade_1

Chapter 89: Chapter 89: Upgrade_1

Dismas also came downstairs, his face etched with guilt.

"My lord, are you all right?"

The Lord had tasked him with keeping an eye on the Gunners, yet he had still let the Lord get shot.

"It’s fine. You couldn’t have been expected to watch every corner in that chaos. I only asked you to be watchful to prevent frequent, large-scale gunfire. That there was only one gunshot is a testament to your performance."

It was only then that Lance looked down at his armor, long since stained with blood. He hadn’t defended himself at all during the relentless slashing, which had left various marks of attack on it. The armor bore the marks of sword slashes, axe chops, knife cuts, and hammer strikes, with several spots even pierced through. His Longsword didn’t fare much better; the sword blade had become pitted and dented after clashing violently against metal weapons multiple times. The once intact armor was nearly ruined after just one wearing. Only he dared to use it in such a way. Few normal people could have survived such cumulative wounds.

And the reason he could do this was naturally because he was "cheating"!

He was very calculative with his use of [Bless], applying minor enhancements during safe times to gain benefits while also cheating the system to recover his status. The reason was simple: his other Abilities also relied on [Tribute] to be used. With no income, he couldn’t just mindlessly strengthen himself without thought; he needed to save most of the Tributes for emergencies. For instance, facing the alpha wolf and getting shot recently, it was his prior careful planning that ensured he had Tributes to use. Otherwise, if he had strengthened himself haphazardly before, he would’ve run out of "mana" by now. Maximizing the use of limited resources was an art form, and unfortunately, as a pauper in his past life, he was an expert at it.

In battle, he used [Bless] to strengthen himself without hesitation, experiencing a comprehensive increase in strength, reflexes, and constitution in a short time. He was stronger than the malnourished bandits; his sword strikes could force them to lose their grip on their weapons. His reflexes allowed him to clearly see the bandits’ movements and attacks, easily exploiting their weaknesses. His constitution meant he could take hits with greater resistance, facing numerous attacks without succumbing easily to dizziness or bleeding. More importantly, the continuous Strengthening endowed him with inexhaustible stamina, transforming him into an unstoppable war god. His accomplishment of fighting from one end of the street to the other undoubtedly earned him the title of Brave.

He had transformed from a weakling incapable of fighting to a formidable man in just over ten days, all thanks to the continuous transformation of his body by [Bless]. Exercise alone couldn’t achieve this effect in a year. Lance had understood the importance of [Bless] the first time he used the Ability, even fantasizing about creating an overpoweringly strong army. But he quickly realized this idea was impractical due to the huge gap between investment and return. He had Sacrificed nearly two to three hundred people by now, with most of it spent on himself, and had only just advanced from apprentice to Brave (level 2), with the next level still far out of reach. Apart from the scarcity of Tributes, another critical reason was that once blessed and strengthened, it couldn’t be undone. That meant an uncontrolled and irreversible process, which would be troublesome if it created an enemy. Mass use was out of the question, so he rarely used it on anyone other than himself. As for Dismas and the others, their loyalty was sufficient, but the lack of Strengthening was still due to the scarcity of Tributes. Spending Tributes on them now wouldn’t strengthen them much; it was better to enhance his own weak points and thereby improve the team’s overall strength. Otherwise, every battle felt like a few experts trying to carry a novice, with them constantly having to divide their attention to protect him. As long as he lived, the team couldn’t be defeated. He would consider Strengthening the others after he caught up in strength. For now, he’d just refresh their statuses.

"You go to the church now and notify those people that the bandits have been wiped out. Tell them to come out. I need manpower to clear the battlefield."

"Yes!"

But just as victory was achieved on the front lines, a problem arose inside the church where the villagers were sheltered.

"Step aside! Everyone, step aside!" A man brandishing a dagger had taken Susan hostage and was shouting loudly at the people around him.

"Have you lost your mind? The bandits will kill you if you go outside!" Susan felt the cold blade against her neck but showed no fear, instead shouting back defiantly.

"Ha! You actually believe those nobles? He probably lured us in here, and by now, he must have taken his soldiers to loot all our belongings and fled!"

It had to be said that his words immediately sowed doubt among the people, who already harbored negative impressions of the Nobility.

It was undeniable. The bandits had invaded Hamlet with such ease. One reason was their possession of artillery. Another crucial factor was the sudden disappearance of the mayor, the official in charge at the time, which led to the immediate collapse of the town’s defenses.

Otherwise, if they had held on a bit longer, or if an evacuation to the church had been organized, so many people would not have been killed, and their friends and family might have survived.

Sometimes trust takes a long time to build, but it can collapse in an instant.

The church, which had been relatively calm until now, suddenly became restless.

Seeing this, the man’s face twisted into a ferocious expression. He wildly spread negative words, each sentence adding immense pressure to the villagers.

"It’s impossible to win! Those bandits number in the hundreds. What can he do with a few militiamen?"

"The bandits have muskets and cannons, and he only has Spears!"

"He’s definitely run off by now, leaving us here to die!"

"Hahaha! We’re doomed!"

"..."

As doubt took hold, trust vanished. The Lord’s image in their hearts crumbled, even shattered.

More and more people were no longer choosing to wait.

"Open the door!"

"Let us out quickly!"

"The bandits are coming!"

Even Susan found herself wavering, it had to be admitted. It couldn’t be helped; for centuries, the vile nature of Noble Lords had been practically seared into the very blood of the common folk. Seeing a noble inspired fear in them. This also meant there was no trust to speak of, as their relationship was solely one of oppression and being oppressed.

People had started to get up and head toward the main door, but at this time, someone charged out and stood in front of it.

"No! We can’t open the door! The outside is swarming with bandits! We’re safe as long as we stay here!"

"Trying to play the hero?" the man lifted the dagger and pointed it at him. "Carl, you think you’re someone important after two days of blacksmithing, huh?"

"If you have the guts, then kill me!" Carl stood firm in front of the door. "The Lord said we can’t open the door!"

"Tsk! If it weren’t for those nobles, would your parents have died at the hands of bandits? And you still believe those people?"

"It was the Lord who saved us! I believe the Lord will not abandon us!" Carl’s face was stubborn, and he didn’t back down an inch.