Our Family Has Fallen

Audrey also fell into silence; if it weren’t for that person’s intervention, she might have been torn apart by the monster.

But she didn’t expect that in an instant, that person would also turn into a demon-like monster. The terrifying power easily tore the monster to shreds, and of course, rescued her from the rampant pollution.

Having been saved twice, she should have been glad, but no matter how she looked at it, she felt the demon had set its sights on her after the monster’s death, its eyes filled with madness.

"Thump! Thump-thump-thump!"

A peculiar lute sound echoed, and the demon that was about to act suddenly emitted a wail as if gravely injured, clutching its head and swaying, the struggle evident, as if something was waging war in its mind.

The lute sound continued, even Audrey was drawn in attention, seeing a clown-like figure step out from the shadows.

The movements were not like normal walking, but carried a unique rhythm; it held a Lute in its arms, strumming. The joyful, clear lute sound emanated from his hands.

Even Audrey felt her near-collapse emotions ease upon hearing it, and the targeted person regained both sanity and the control of his body amidst the music.

Just as swift as the transformation was, the return to humanity was equally rapid—bones reshaping, muscles shrinking, the lava-like red receding, all barely discernible in the dim.

It was indeed that darkness that obscured the horrifying scene, visible only to a few, including the man himself who reverted back to human form.

The pain of twisted flesh and bone wasn’t enough to let him express much, for he had endured far greater suffering, leaving nothing but resignation and melancholy in the face of others’ wary and anxious gazes.

At this moment, another person charged forward, drenched in blood—Boudica, her face still bearing traces of fury, with her axe blade dripping blood which proved that the chaos in the town was not limited to this one location.

In fact, Boudica had just dealt with another Heretic alongside the clown on the other side before rushing over here; others within the town were also battling the rampaging Transcendents, with many stepping forth.

Of course, a large number of troops entered, with expressions carrying a hint of killing intent, and the pervasive smell of gunpowder around them said it all.

Unlike the police who could only fend off monsters with bare flesh, these troops were armed with heavy weaponry—bombs and incendiary bottles were thrown to physically resolve the Transcendent’s breakdown.

Meanwhile, Grendel had returned from the distant New Town with the help of Alviss, their appearance directly quelling any potentially ensuing chaos with high-end combat prowess.

Hamlet seemed to have stabilized the situation amidst the arrival of Extreme Darkness, but the price paid was considerable; even without full accounting, known casualties already exceeded a hundred.

Most of these were caused by confronting the rampaging Transcendents, no wonder the Church mercilessly suppressed these loose entities, for their instability meant out-of-control events could spell catastrophe.

How much more must humanity pay to survive in this world?

...

Ovando.

After the chaos of the grain war was quelled, this place was slowly but steadily recovering.

Though it couldn’t be called prosperous, having a stable situation in these times was already a rare thing for ordinary people.

The battered city, chaotic refugees, unemployed workers, and starving citizens were beginning to recover.

People are like wild grass; even if cut down, as long as there’s a root, as long as there’s sunlight, they’ll regrow.

The once near-stagnant dock controlled by the Gang also recovered due to Vick’s cleansing, allowing business activities to flow again.

Dealing with the empire, and those trade caravans that normally circle the surroundings often come to Ovando for business cloaking, making Ovando appear much improved.

Now, a caravan from Bastia had appeared here, led by Vick, whose experiences of late had made him increasingly composed, though he now showed the face of a businessman—calculating and greedy.

"You go busy with that, I’ll deal with the business."

Setting foot in Ovando City, his first move was to head off for pleasure, drawing dissatisfaction from his subordinates, yet they could only agree.

Although the Earl supported Vick, many key personnel were the Earl’s men, and critical positions were naturally controlled by the Earl, which spoke of his trust.

The desire is just to leverage the "connections" Vick develops with a titular power but little real authority.

Vick is quite aware the Earl’s pie is impossible to swallow; sooner or later, when the Earl consolidates those connections, he’ll be kicked aside.

However, Vick didn’t mind; he executed his tasks while Vick managed his affairs, now openly using the Earl’s money to wine, dine and play with all sorts in the name of entertaining.

Actually, he was openly exchanging intelligence and information, where Vick needed to send collected info back to Hamlet via Walter, along with receiving Hamlet’s orders through him.

"What good stock have you received lately?"

"The amount of money decides the amount of stock; how much did you bring this time?"

Walter had never negotiated such deals, straightforwardly asking for the base price.

"Sounds like the old brother’s made a fortune."