Ruin has come to our family

He put Barristan in charge of the new recruits, using them to maintain order at the scene. Then, Lance had a large board erected in the middle of the square, upon which all the new policies were posted. It did not matter if the people could not read; he had already arranged for someone to be there, reading the decrees aloud and explaining them.

At the same time, Lance set up his own table and began the detailed work of registering the townsfolk, a process which also served as an application for the new jobs. Only those with a document signed by him could participate in the work and, more importantly, receive their wages. For those who had truly helped him in these last few days, such as the women from the brothel, Lance arranged better jobs, giving them the means to survive on their own merits and escape their past.

Everything proceeded in an orderly fashion. Lance displayed an inexhaustible energy, handling all matters personally, meeting with the people one by one to know their faces. He was further strengthening his authority and centralizing his power. More than that, he was making the townsfolk know him, and understand him. He was making them understand that everything they now had was a gift from their lord. Without his approval, nothing else mattered.

This continued until nightfall. A great bonfire was lit in the square, and around it were placed several large cauldrons in which food was stewing, alongside baskets of black bread. For this evening's meal, Lance had even ordered a pig to be slaughtered. It was not enough for everyone to have a piece, of course, so the meat was minced and added to the porridge, while the offal was chopped finely and mixed into the vegetable stew.

Each person received a bowl of meat porridge, a bowl of vegetable stew, and a loaf of black bread. For the past three days, they had merely had something to eat. Tonight, they could eat their fill, and with the taste of meat. This solidified their belief that their lord could lead them to a better life, and made them look forward to tomorrow with even greater anticipation.

Lance and his party, however, had their own private meal. Large roasted pork chops were brought out, and the small group quickly devoured their food.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, they began to discuss the day's events.

"My lord," Dismas began, "how did you know the townsfolk would cause a disturbance?" He was more impressed than ever with Lance's almost divine foresight. He had been ordered that morning to disguise himself and blend in with the crowd, which was how Lance had been able to so accurately identify the ringleaders.

"Because the corruption has already spread," Lance said, putting on his mystical air, his words deliberately vague. "Though you cannot feel it, I can see that many among them have been affected."

Of course, he could not see any so-called corruption. It was all based on his speculation of the human heart. With over eight hundred people, it was impossible that there were no troublemakers among them. And these people had never received a free meal in their lives. Now that he had given them three days of it, they would surely be unwilling and resentful to simply have it cut off and return to their previous state.

They were bound to cause trouble. The only question was the intensity.

By deliberately removing the forces of order, Lance had intentionally allowed them to run wild. He had wanted these troublemakers to riot. Only when they rioted could he identify the malcontents hidden among them. And only then would he have a reason to arrest a batch of laborers to fill the ranks at the farmstead. It was a very practical problem: he had drawn off the workers from the farmstead, creating a labor shortage. These criminals, who did not need to be paid, were the best solution.

So, the entire event had been a trap set by Lance, waiting for those men to succumb to temptation. And to control the intensity of the riot, he had crushed it with thunderous force the moment it began. Everything was within his control. The unruly malcontents were purged, his authority was consolidated, his policies were implemented, the security of the domain would improve, and the farmstead would have its labor force replenished.

But he could not tell them of these calculations. Instead, Lance changed the subject. "The town has been temporarily stabilized. In your opinion, who is our most important enemy right now?"

"The cultists, of course," Dismas blurted out. "They are the cause of all this." He was desperate for the blood of an enemy to wash away his own shame.

"No," Lance shook his head slowly. "The brigands. I believe the brigands are our greatest current threat."

His statement made the others think. Before they could say anything, he began to explain.

"Those cultists are busy dealing with the seal; they have no time to bother with us. But the brigands' retreat was only temporary. More than ten days have passed. The supplies they plundered must be running low. And with no more caravans traveling the Old Road, the brigands, unable to resupply, will surely raid the town again.

"Furthermore, if we wish to fight the great evil, we need more men, more equipment. And for that, we must further develop the town's economy. But right now, with the brigands occupying the Old Road and robbing any merchants who pass, we cannot develop at all.

"So, whether it is for the safety of the town, for the development of the economy, or to fulfill my promise to avenge the dead townsfolk, the brigands must be exterminated."

As the saying goes, "To prosper, one must first build a road." If he wanted to develop the town, he had to open the only channel to the outside world—the Old Road. Otherwise, with his current rate of consumption, no amount of money would last forever. Besides, Lance also needed more sacrifices to obtain [Boon] and increase his own strength. He couldn't kill his own people. But brigands? They were fair game.

The brigands had to be dealt with, and soon.

Once the enemy was identified, the entire conversation became focused. "Barristan, you participated in the battle at that time. Let's start there. Tell us what happened."

Though he had heard about the battle twice before, the perspectives had been very different. As a veteran soldier, Barristan's analysis of the battlefield would be of great reference value to Lance.

In his retelling, Barristan explained that he had not been involved from the very beginning. He had been in a nearby town when he heard of the bandit plague here and had come voluntarily. When he arrived, the war had not fully erupted, and the brigands did not yet have artillery.

In his impression, the brigands' strength was uneven. Most were of the level of common bandits, but there was a core of elite fighters distinguished by the white furs they wore. These elites were well-armored, their gunmen were expert marksmen who were fond of taking potshots from cover and were hard to locate, but their numbers were likely small.

The town had a contingent of Church knights, and the Mercenary's Guild also had many strong sellswords. Combined with the guards from the various caravans and the militia, their strength was not that different from the brigands, so the two sides were in a stalemate.

This continued for some time, until one day, a large number of gunmen suddenly appeared, and they brought with them several cannons. They shattered the defensive line, broke into the town, and began to burn, kill, and loot.

"Where would a common band of brigands get their hands on cannons?" Dismas asked. He had been in that line of work himself, and he had never heard of any bandits with the ability to steal artillery.