Chapter 1035: Chapter 577: First Encounter at the Bay
Lance’s tone also turned a bit cold, and the look he gave Grendel was somewhat strange.
"Besides, when I’m going to beat those bastards, since when do I need a woman to give me a claim?"
All that noble crap in front of Lance was like toilet paper: useful, he’d wipe with it; useless, he’d toss it straight into the pit.
Because his power didn’t come from the noble system at all; he carved it out with real blades and real blood.
Meeting that gaze, Grendel was stunned for a moment.
Was she wrong?
Just like she’d said, the Lord didn’t care, but she needed to know what was going on, to block some trouble for Lance, or quietly make it disappear.
Someone had to do this kind of thing, like the roots buried deep in the soil beneath a blooming flower.
Grendel didn’t dare say anything more and could only agree.
"I understand. Her identity hasn’t been exposed, for now only the two of us know. This card is in your hand."
But Lance didn’t show much reaction to that, as if he was thinking about something.
"What are you thinking about?" Seeing this, Grendel leaned closer. "Are you still planning to go to the Bay alone?"
Lance truly hated it when someone randomly messed up his plans, couldn’t even tell primary from secondary contradictions, eyes on the pot while the bowl in front of them wasn’t finished.
That wasn’t foresight; it was blind greed.
But Grendel had played these little tricks for his sake. Seeing her back down, Lance couldn’t keep a cold face at her, so he followed her lead and shifted the topic.
"The sea is one of Hamlet’s two legs, and it’s the thicker leg. If we want development, we have to connect to it. I don’t have the luxury of choice."
"When?"
"In the next couple of days. I’ll just deal with these things as soon as possible."
"Can’t you rest properly for once? You haven’t stopped at all during this period. It hurts just watching you."
"If I don’t stand up, who will? I took this Lord’s seat, so I have to solve these problems."
Lance did want to lie down, but unfortunately the ancestor was running ahead, and he had to give chase.
And the Ascension Sect definitely wouldn’t sit and wait to die. He had a hunch that as he pushed forward, the situation would only grow more complicated.
He had to do more while things hadn’t completely gone to hell.
Not resting now was so he could properly slack off in peace later.
......
With Totnes’s enormous daily throughput, news about Hamlet spread along the commercial routes.
In a corner of some tavern in the Empire sat a lone figure, more than half their body hidden in shadow. A wide-brimmed black hat obscured their face, leaving it hard to see clearly, but the interesting part was that loose, golden hair, perhaps marking this as a woman.
Her outfit was neat and practical. The buckled jacket showed a long, lean figure, not bulky at all. Long legs in leather pants and riding boots carried a hint of noble style, though the whole getup had a bit of a worldly, road-worn air.
The "worldly" here wasn’t about anything lewd, but the true dust and wear that gave a sense of vicissitudes, the kind you only got moving through all kinds of harsh conditions.
Outside she wore a coat like a cloak. With that cloak to cover her, no one knew what was in the bulging bundles at her waist, but anyone could see she was not someone to mess with.
As she listened to the stories circulating in the tavern about the Hamlet Ruins, her interest was immediately piqued.
"Interesting~"
The half of her face under the shadow curled into a crooked grin as she murmured.
The next second she called out loudly.
"Check, please!"
"Coming!" the barkeep answered, but when he arrived he saw only the coins on the table, and no person.
The barkeep looked around, but only the swinging saloon doors at the entrance still swaying back and forth proved someone had been there.
......
Hamlet, forward outpost.
After days of construction, the area around the outpost had been cleared into a much broader open space, with plenty of temporary camps set up.
But this wasn’t the chosen site for the new town. The town would be further ahead, built atop the ruins of that former settlement.
This place had been set up in order to properly utilize the resources of the wild lands.
At the same time, it would be a springboard for exploring the Ruins, and the resupply point for Adventurers.
Relying on the abandoned town from back then, they could obtain building materials faster, along with leveled ground.
Clearing was always faster than starting from nothing.
And the outpost remained a military fortress; once the town took shape, stationing troops here would also be a way to keep the new town under control.
Lance appeared here to inspect the construction, which reassured the civilians who had gathered to build the town.
But that wasn’t his real reason for coming. He was here to hold a commendation assembly; the relevant results had finally been sorted.
To get more spectators, Lance simply gave the workers half a day off, and amid the cheers of the people the troops soon gathered as well.
On a platform that had been set up in advance, Lance awarded medals to the soldiers and proclaimed their achievements.
"Jack! In battle you killed two enemies, and, even more commendably, you lived up to the oath of never abandoning your comrades, taking the risk of carrying a wounded companion and breaking out of the encirclement..."
Lance read out loudly, then went through the proper motions and patted his shoulder. "Well done, soldier!"
"For Hamlet!"
The soldier straightened his back, a solemn expression on his rugged face.
What is honor? This is!
Facing the gazes of the crowd below the stage, excitement, even exhilaration, rushed to his head. He felt his whole body burning hot, as if filled with endless strength, itching to charge onto the battlefield and kill the enemy!
