"Bastia has many Barbarian Mercenaries. You've already said that they're very popular, but it doesn't prove anything."

Lance spoke fairly, although he also disliked Count Bastia. He couldn't just blame him for everything.

"It's a shame their equipment was taken away; otherwise, we could have confirmed their identity."

Lance tried to find more clues from the body, but it had been stripped clean. However, judging by his build, it was clear he was an elite soldier.

"The bloodstains here..." Dismas seemed to discover something on the other side, following the blood trail deeper into the nearby woods and suddenly shouting out.

"This one's still alive!"

Upon hearing this, Lance and the others rushed over, seeing a person lying on the ground with his head turned to one side.

He showed no reaction, with only faint breaths lingering, while a large amount of blood loss was underneath him.

They turned him over to reveal a long, narrow wound under his blood-soaked shirt, which miraculously avoided the heart and lungs despite the severity.

It was likely that those people thought he was dead and didn't finish him off; otherwise, he wouldn't have survived until now.

But with such an injury and excessive blood loss, death seemed inevitable.

Having finally found a survivor, Lance naturally wouldn't let him die like this. He raised his hand, using Flesh Reconstruction to heal the internal injuries, leaving only minor skin and flesh injuries.

He casually pulled out some medicinal powder and sprinkled it on the wound, pressed a piece of gauze onto it, and then Blessed him slightly to stimulate him, pulling the dying man back from death's door instantly.

"Ah!"

The man awoke and, upon seeing several people surrounding him, was startled. His heart, weakened by blood loss, couldn't take the shock, almost causing him to faint again.

But Dismark wouldn't coddle him, grabbing him by the collar and pulling him over, even drawing a Short Sword and pressing it to his neck.

"Who are you people? What exactly happened? Why are you here?"

The scene plunged the man into a frightened stupor, but after the harsh act comes the softer touch from Lance, the good cop.

Lance immediately knocked away the Short Sword in Dismark's hand and, with a smile, added some words of comfort.

"We saved you. Don't worry, we're not bad people, but you're quite suspicious. There have been bandit and thief troubles recently; we have to be cautious."

Lance's demeanor naturally conveyed high relatability and trustworthiness, making his words convincing.

The man's tension eased slightly, and he looked down at his bandaged wound, quickly thanking everyone and starting to explain.

"I'm not a thief! I'm with the Gene Commercial Group; our base is in Ovando City. We were attacked by Barbarians, please take me away from here."

The man was so frightened he was rambling, his thoughts quite muddled.

However, he mentioned two very crucial terms, "Gene Commercial Group" and "Ovando."

Upon hearing these, Lance's smile froze momentarily but soon became even more radiant.

Now Dismas's enemy was right in front; if Lance forcibly held back, it might brew trouble.

The key wasn't Dismas personally but maintaining the character Lance had crafted without any flaws.

So Lance definitely had to take action against these people.

He still needed a bit of face; if there was no reason and it was confirmed they were just an ordinary caravan, he'd probably save them, and might even trade with them as Ohio City readied for operation.

But unexpectedly, it was Gene, whose father had been killed by Lance when he'd collaborated with the Ascension Sect, and now the son had delivered himself. One could only call it fate.

However, in the area around Ovando, apart from Walter, he was likely the only one able to gather such a team.

Having encountered him, Gene must endure the hardship.

After all, that caravan broke down, accumulating at least hundreds of horses; even if they were all draught horses, it was still considerable. These precious beasts could help Hamlet achieve "mule and horse transformation" sooner. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

"Anything else? Spill everything out. If you dare lie, you'll regret living." Dismas's hatred was undisguised; he was more interested in who was inside that luxury carriage.

The man, nearly broken under repeated pressure, had just narrowly escaped death before being saved again, hence he had no reason to hide anything, revealing everything he could. Lance and his team asked questions, and he answered without hesitation.

Because of this, Lance and the others quickly understood why they had provoked Barbarian Plunderers.

He also personally witnessed Michelle's insanity along the way, the torment of innocents, having long lost favor with the guy, now releasing everything after being free.

And the Transcendent controlling corpses, the powerful Heavy Armored Knights...

"It must be him!" Dismas seemed very sure.

"How could there be such disgusting people?" Margaret felt uncomfortable just hearing about Michelle's actions, and of course, there was the anger born of righteousness.

Laura was silent, just tightening the robe around her, appearing somewhat gloomy.

But Lance's focus wasn't on this.

"So your target is Hamlet?"

"That's right, Gene said that as long as Hamlet was captured, everyone could move freely."

Due to the Barbarian Plunderers' harassment, the whole caravan was in a state of extreme oppression. Gene promised them they could plunder freely at Hamlet to maintain morale.

Some were from Ovando's city defense force, so how could they not understand what these words meant? As a driver, he heard a lot from those people.

After hearing they were planning to squeeze Hamlet, Lance didn't seem angry but instead laughed.

Initially worried about not finding an excuse, now one was directly offered.

"I'm done talking; I truly didn't deceive you. Let's leave here quickly." The man begged desperately.

Lance snapped out of it, smiling at him and saying warmly.

"Do you know? We're the people of Hamlet."

"..." Upon hearing this, the man didn't know what to do for a moment, standing there dumbfounded.

"Don't be afraid; I said we're not bad people. Otherwise, why would we save you?" Lance teased with a smile and then stood up to rally the group. "Let's go. I'm curious to see how they plan to take Hamlet."

After gathering intelligence, the scouting trip was indeed complete, and Lance wasn't interested in wasting time any longer.

"Can't go back! Can't go back!" The man seemed to realize something and couldn't resist advising, "Those people have gone mad, slaughtering a village. They won't spare anyone."

"Hmph! Just them?" Dismas snorted disdainfully, eager for his gun sword to taste blood.

"That's not something you need to worry about; just know that Hamlet has never lost."

Lance was equally unconcerned, but still looked back at the man after his warning and offered a piece of advice.

"Let me point you in the right direction. There are no towns around here, and your wound is simply treated, yet not fully healed. Only Hamlet has doctors who can completely fix you; continue down this road, and you'll reach it. Whether to go or not is up to you."

Having said his piece, he couldn't be bothered to waste effort talking further, leaving him and sacrificing several corpses on the roadside.

This scene was unnoticed by the man, but Laura and Margaret observed the magical act, recalling the earlier healing of the dying man.

Though Laura, part of the Eagle Flock, was familiar with these things, for her, Lance as Lord was even more mysterious and powerful without arousing much curiosity.

Wrapped in a new hooded black robe, she paid no mind and followed orders.

But Margaret, curious by nature, was puzzled, unsure how to ask in front of the others, simply asking.

"What are we doing now?"

"This isn't just any ordinary enemy. We must strike hard!"