Chapter 1438 - 772: Warning (2)

Chapter 1438: Chapter 772: Warning (2)

"Right, we absolutely cannot let him attack, or else all our possessions will be gone."

Judging from the leaked information, when Hamlet conquers those places, he will claim everything as assets of the territory, to be planned, managed, and distributed by the higher-ups.

And all those nobles and various forces have been captured. Those who haven’t committed any crimes are fine, but those with issues are directly sent to labor reform.

Make them work? Like those serfs? Isn’t that an insult to them?

If the circumstances are severe, they will get the death penalty, which is even worse. There aren’t many who are clean enough to avoid it.

This method is practically killing them. In their eyes, Hamlet is even more terrifying than an evil cult.

The dozen or so people present all expressed themselves passionately, fully supporting the war between the Noble Alliance Army and Hamlet.

"It seems everyone supports it, so I won’t waste words. How much will each contribute?"

A single sentence cast them into silence, indicating that these people were not as fervent as they appeared, as it pertained to their own interests.

Walter, observing their demeanor, couldn’t help but internally mock them—shouting so loudly, yet none spoke when it came to contributing money, relying on you would be waiting to die.

At first, he didn’t have much energy to control, so he adopted a relatively prudent method to quickly restore order, only removing those bureaucratic and church forces, while promoting a number of former bureaucrats, barely touching the lower levels.

Yet, unexpectedly, in such a short time, Ovando sprouted so many figures.

There were reasons; most of these businessmen, like Walter, have their estates outside the city, or in other cities. In any case, when faced with situations, most would flee first, then assess the situation.

During the last famine that caused chaos in the city, they left and just barely avoided it, and Lance didn’t have much time to deal with them.

Once order was restored, these guys returned. With such complex relationships, Walter had to consider their mood in controlling Ovando.

"No people, no money, might as well surrender."

Suddenly, amidst their silence, a discordant voice emerged. Everyone looked over to find it was a rather ordinary-looking young man.

He had a visage seemingly shrouded in a thin mist, like a nearsighted haze, never clear, yet seemingly clear but forgotten in the next moment.

However, nobody cared, and the young man’s words almost immediately provoked ridicule from the others.

"Where did this kid come from to cause trouble here!"

"In these circles, it’s about background and strength. Since when has age been the metric?" Unfazed, the youth coldly sneered, "Old crook, right?"

This caused chuckles among the crowd, except for the one who spoke earlier, whose expression turned grim, as they weren’t used to such insolence.

But they indeed echoed the youth’s words, as everyone seated here had some standing, at least earning Walter the Governor’s recognition.

Thinking this, the crowd glanced at Walter, only to see him feigning ignorance, causing further apprehension.

Everyone here knew a bit about the previous Governor’s Empire connections, and this one reportedly connected with the Empire right after taking office, even earning quite a bit himself.

Thus, subconsciously, they assumed the youth was from the Empire, a background none of these businessmen could match.

The one who spoke up earlier now regretted it; why did they speak up at all...

A businessman couldn’t afford the loss of face, so upon realizing the youth’s identity, immediately switched to flattery.

"Oh, indeed, indeed, may I ask who you are...?"

"I am the Lord of Hamlet whom you seek."

Lance responded with a smile, showing no intent to conceal it.

However, those present could hardly believe it, simultaneously realizing a grave issue—the organizer of this gathering was...

Nearly everyone turned their gaze towards Walter, with a much more direct and unreserved inquiry than before.

"Walter! This isn’t funny."

"What does this mean?"

"What exactly are you up to?"

Walter calmly sat in his place, explaining succinctly.

"Your intelligence is outdated. Several days ago, Hamlet’s army defeated the Allied Army composed of those nobles, so you don’t need to waste time deciding whether to invest people or money.

That Noble Alliance Army, with six thousand men, surrendered in less than half a day, so we shouldn’t be making many more plans, as the fact that this land is now called Hamlet cannot be changed."

Upon hearing this, Lance’s identity was effectively confirmed, but within, it erupted like a fish boiling in shocked terror, reverting to pure, irate cursing.

"Traitor! You’ve betrayed us!"

"Damn it! Do you think he’ll spare you?"

"Bang!"

Suddenly, amidst the cursing, a gunshot echoed unexpectedly within the room, but this shot wasn’t fired by Lance, rather, it was fired by someone from the crowd.

And the target wasn’t Walter but Lance.

"But you shouldn’t just appear here alone."

The shooter confidently spoke; surrounded or not, what’s the fear if they capture the lord?

Then came a terrifying scene; as the smoke cleared and everyone snapped back to reality, realizing the self-proclaimed lord raised his hand, fingers pinching something.

Releasing it, the sound of it hitting the ground was audibly clear, and when everyone followed it, they saw a deformed bullet.

Despite musket’s and flintlock gun’s low muzzle velocity due to poor sealing, a shot like this isn’t something an ordinary person could react to.

Yet the man before them caught the bullet with bare hands... what concept might this bespeak?

Not just those people, even Walter, who maintained a calm demeanor, nearly broke character.

He knew the lord was strong, aware of some information about supernatural power, but didn’t expect such strength!

Fortunately, he didn’t harbor extra ideas; otherwise, truly uniting with those people to defend would’ve surely been a dead end.

Indeed, when the lord is on your side, there’s unparalleled security—solid!

"Your gun is quite exquisite."

The man snapped back to reality, finding Lance somehow already in front of them, and the musket in their hand had shifted to his, being toyed with.

"Ah!"

Without understanding Lance’s mumbling, a shout escaped, instinctively stepping back, alarming others, causing chaos to seem to spread again.

Yet Lance seemed uninterested in further playing, merely uttering a word.

"Silence."

That sound appeared to carry some magic, instantly causing those people to calm remarkably, quickly followed by another line.

"What are you doing, am I truly that bad?"

How could others respond?

"My Lord, they forced me to come, I never wanted to, I am absolutely loyal to Hamlet."

"You were the loudest just now and even swore at me." Lance toyed with the musket but couldn’t help but smile at the remark, teasing.

"My lord! I’ll give you all my assets in Ovando, spare me, please?"

Truly a businessman’s ability, for hesitating means losing the chance to profit, but sadly, Lance was unimpressed.

"I’ve told some fools before, do not trade what’s mine with me. I hope I won’t need to repeat it too many times since my patience is scant for foolish folks."

"I have seniors and juniors to care for; if something happens to me, they can’t survive, have some mercy."

"That’s simple, joining your family together would be harmonious, wouldn’t it."

Lance finally diverted attention from the musket in hand, as the gunsmith’s skill was commendable, though destined to be surpassed by the era.