Chapter 1013: Bastia and the Mountains’ Predicament (3)

Whether for the obsession from years ago or for other reasons, he had to take down Hamlet.

But he was already old, no longer the Empire’s fierce tiger who led knights to charge against the Barbarian Alliance Army and even crushed them in one fell swoop.

Fortunately, Bruce displayed strength not inferior to him, and even stronger with the accumulation of resources.

And at this moment, the door knocked, and the butler walked in to report.

"My lord, Francis has returned, and he has brought back Baron Lawrence and the Order of Knights, but..."

Finally hearing some good news, the Earl couldn’t help but show a smile, but as soon as he heard the latter half, his expression stiffened, and he urged in a deep voice.

"Speak!"

"When they entered the city, they were almost driven away as refugees..." The butler briefly described their disheveled appearance upon return, nearly mistaken for refugees, not realizing they were the Order of Knights.

"Let Francis come in to see me." The Earl stayed composed, not uttering much on the situation.

Soon, Francis, looking completely different from his previous rich merchant demeanor, entered, having lost a noticeable amount of weight.

Back then he rode in a carriage, eating hot pot and singing, only to be robbed on the way.

Returning on foot, munching on black bread, he exerted more energy than he had in the first half of his life.

How pitifully disheveled...

"What exactly happened?"

The Earl prioritized seeing Francis, indicating greater trust in him, as they needed to rely on his Sanctuary to survive in Bastia, and since Lawrence was already a failure.

"The people of Hamlet are like bandits, worse than bandits! We were robbed midway, detained for a few days..." Francis started lamenting his ordeal.

However, he was very clear about what could and couldn’t be said.

"After giving us a scare, they released both us and Baron Lawrence, putting out the word that they wanted a ransom of twenty thousand, and if we wanted to retrieve those weapons and Knight Alvin, we’d have to pay."

If Lance were here, he would definitely be surprised, because his initial asking price was ten thousand ransom, yet this fat man had doubled it, and even multiplied the price of the equipment by three times the market price.

Lance agreed to give him a tenth of the equipment ransom as he really worked hard, truly living up to business acumen.

Even the Earl, upon hearing this, fell into deep thought, not appearing to be angry.

But Francis was not really worried that the Earl would refuse.

The reason was simple: upon returning, Francis had already heard about the current state of Bastia; they lacked soldiers and even more so equipment, wasn’t this grasping their situation?

He must extort them viciously! How else could he take revenge for being used like a dog for so many years?

Francis’ confidence lay in Lance’s arrangement—this maneuver of holding Alvin as collateral and demanding ransom for the equipment was too ruthless, the Earl must agree, otherwise, without equipment, these knights were just stronger soldiers, unable to perform real combat power.

Bear in mind that even for a skilled blacksmith with two apprentices, it would take half a month to complete a set of qualified Knight’s Armor.

Especially now, as the probing from the barbarians grows more intense, the situation becomes increasingly urgent, leaving no time to wait.

Francis also understood that Bastia was no longer safe, so he needed to find a way to escape before things escalated.

"Go make preparations, disguise as a merchant caravan and head to Hamlet to quickly retrieve those horses and equipment." The Earl took a long breath and gestured.

Honestly, any problem that could be solved with money wasn’t really a problem, as he still had substantial accumulations from controlling Bastia for so many years, not to mention having just confiscated and slaughtered a batch of fat pigs.

Besides, in his eyes, Hamlet was always his possession; if giving money could lull them into complacency, so much the better, as eventually, this money would return to his hands.

Francis withdrew, and another member of the Order of Knights was called over.

Alvin was, after all, still his son, not to mention he himself was a second son who rose to prominence, hence having unique expectations for Alvin, which is why he made such arrangements.

It seemed as though he was pushing him forward, but in actuality, he had arranged several trusted aides within the Order of Knights, ready to protect Alvin at any time, and naturally needed to know the details now.

"Tell me everything, from start to finish."

This knight didn’t appear young either, but recalling what happened in Hamlet, he still felt an unspeakable pressure bending his spine.

They followed orders, driving the Barbarian Tribes into the trap under Alvin and Lawrence’s lead, then...

From firsthand experience, his account was, of course, more detailed than what Laura had initially described, enabling the Earl to probe the true state of Hamlet.

The Eagle Flock was indeed slaughtered by the Barbarians, with only one escaping to relay the message, corroborating Laura’s words.

But what shocked even the Earl was that the "civilians" of the outlying towns voluntarily supported Hamlet and battled to the end without a single person fleeing.

And later on, they went through more similar attacks, where they charged the Order of Knights shouting Hamlet’s name, hindering their advance.

Due to pre-battle exhaustion, injured warhorses, harsh environment, falling into the traps prepared by the enemy, musket firing, and various chaotic reasons culminating in their eventual defeat and capture.