Our Family Has Fallen

Furthermore, the community that Lance attacked at the beginning was merely an average-level merchant community, only slightly wealthy, and nowhere near qualified to bump into the truly rich.

They claimed it was to get closer to the Holy Light, but anyone who believes that is just ridiculous. For those who can produce such money, Gold Coin is merely a number.

And none of those in control of this money are fools, aside from an unpredictable ancestor.

All this is said merely to leverage the security around that church; they wanted to shield themselves from the persecution of Supernatural Powers.

Like Lance at that time, he did not dare to act there as the defenses were strict and there was possibly a Transcendent Ritual...

And now the simple map drawn by Scorpion uses the church as a reference point because they could see the majestic silhouette of the cathedral from the perimeter, making it the most suitable.

If it were a normal city, experienced adventurers could identify noble and wealthy areas just by observing the architectural styles.

Unfortunately, these ruins are called ruins because they are dilapidated, and because Hamlet developed so well back then, large areas are complex brick and stone buildings, further complicated by last time’s massive collapse.

A brief introduction of what they’ve observed makes the team understand the difficulty of the mission.

Similar to the church, another iconic building caught their attention, and a team member, seeing the captain didn’t mention it, asked.

"Captain, isn’t there a luxurious building at the end of the ruins? There must be good stuff there."

"To get to that place, we’d have to pass through the entire ruins. If we had that capability, would we still be here?

And besides, if you can see it, everyone else can see it too, and when the time comes, it might result in fierce competition. It’s better to explore other places."

This shows that even in a skilled team, not everyone is fit to be the leader, but the heavyweights are yet to come...

"Saying the ruins are occupied by those skeleton frames, I think, is not entirely accurate; it should be they are filled with them!"

Scorpion began the discussion with this statement to convey his attitude and then began to recount the contents of that announcement and the scene witnessed.

Although they were not devout believers, no one could say they weren’t influenced by the Church.

Such sacrilegious circumstances and strange evil forces cast a shadow over everyone’s faces.

"However, the announcement also said those Skeletons are more sluggish during the day, and with so many people gathered here, breaking a few bones isn’t difficult, but once inside, survival depends on one’s skills."

If it were just them, entering these ruins would be suicide, but with so many experts gathered, they might just crack it open.

You must know, earlier they disliked there being too many people, but now they’re grateful for the crowd, as it represents opportunity.

This is simply a matter of needing more people for work, but less for dining.

There are many situations to be resolved, such as the city’s vastness and their activity limited to daytime, making it hard to deeply explore if they use time traveling back and forth.

If they stay overnight, they could have the advantage, but how to deal with the more active Skeletons at night?

"We need to purchase a batch of muskets."

"Muskets are useless against those Skeletons, right?"

"But they are very effective against people, aren’t they?" Scorpion calmly spoke of an awkward past event, "When we’re held at gunpoint, I’d prefer our guns pointed at the enemy, instead of being forced to surrender like in that tavern incident."

It’s not even the Skeletons that are the most dangerous, but other adventurers. Trust no one—this is a consensus among those who’ve survived thus far.

The various complex situations often aren’t as dangerous as humans; they might ambush you halfway for the treasures you worked hard to find.

Under the complex conditions of city ruins, their stress levels are higher.

In a direct confrontation, they wouldn’t be afraid, but with traps, archers, gunners—it becomes challenging to defend against.

Archers might move silently, but unless they hit a vital spot, death isn’t immediate.

As for gunners... one shot and an elite might be taken down.

Now Scorpion is somewhat irritated, wondering why the Lord loosened gun control. If they had kept it tight, the risk of getting shot would have been reduced.

"Prepare your gear, enhance your armor. Those Skeletons don’t have much attack power, keep the bandages and herbs distributed well..."

Here, Scorpion couldn’t help but feel fortunate about his decision. Thankfully, he completed the supplies ahead of time, as his first reaction upon seeing the store’s price list was to say to hell with the ruins and just grab a car for hauling and selling goods.

A truckload from the city to here would turn into shiny Gold Coins in our pockets.

But unfortunately, Scorpion knows this was just a thought because those industries are monopolized by the Lord, and reselling without permission is asking for death.

Nonetheless, those powder-covered hemostatic bandages were indeed good. They saw police in a conflict immediately stop bleeding after wrapping them.

And those herbs that could relieve some negative statuses—they personally experienced the effects.

When they first arrived, a team member had trouble acclimating, vomiting, and diarrhea, and a bottle of herbal treatment worked quickly.

However, these items are not cheap, so they could only prepare some for saving lives.