Chapter 1378: The Unyielding Bastia

Bastia.

Like all surrounding regions that can see certain conditions, the distant black cloud on the horizon that refuses to dissipate is a very hot topic recently.

However, most ordinary people quickly lose interest. For those serfs who can barely eat and are exhausted every day, it’s not them who are facing disaster, so who has the time to think about these things that have nothing to do with them?

What these ordinary people should be worried about now is the Lord’s declaration to fight the Barbarians, constantly drafting people for war.

One must know that this is not Hamlet; most of the nobles draft soldiers like grabbing strong men, giving this count, and the people below must find a way to gather enough people.

But keep in mind that a batch of young men has already been drafted recently, yet few have returned alive. During autumn harvest, almost half of the families were crying.

Now it’s happening again, who can bear it?

Only those noble lords have the mind to ponder what exactly is happening on the horizon.

On the castle of Baron Lawrence’s territory, looking toward the east at Hamlet, there is still a thick black fog covering it.

Though it’s a distant view, being able to see it from here suggests the vast coverage of the black curtain. This power that exceeds human understanding filled him with unease.

Similar to Walter, those who experienced the great catastrophe back then have a kind of deep fear towards this scene, let alone his own daughter being over there, which further intensifies his pressure.

Yet when the appointed time arrived, he restrained those excessive emotions, donned a black hooded cloak, and walked into the secret passage holding a candle holder.

Before the familiar sewer iron gate, a simple knocking sound came from the darkness, responded in kind, before Lawrence proceeded, the dim candlelight barely revealing two blurred figures.

"Password."

Even though it was a familiar voice and they have always had single-line contact, both sides underwent a cumbersome verification before proceeding to interact.

"Here’s what you wanted." After confirming the identity, Vick handed over a letter, and Lawrence hurriedly stepped forward to take it, then used the weak candlelight to read it.

"We will ensure her safety, everything at home is currently within the plan, the risks are controllable."

Vick briefly explained, to reassure Lawrence, and to confirm his own task direction, he has been keeping in touch with Hamlet through Ovando.

He also obtained more detailed information, confirming the situation was still under control, and brought back this letter.

Lawrence can still recognize his daughter’s handwriting, coupled with her complaints about being left at school, basically confirming safety, letting him be slightly relieved for now.

"Is there anything you need me to do?" Since Lawrence received a response, he naturally knew that he needed to get to work; otherwise, just contacting him with a letter wouldn’t have sufficed, meeting face-to-face isn’t simple.

"The situation at home arose precisely because those evil cultists fell into a disadvantaged position of necessity, so the Lord anticipated that those evil cultists will certainly take action during this time. Moreover, our people have indeed found traces of evil cultists in the city, you need to prepare."

"After the last incident, the Earl has someone watching me, what should I prepare?" Lawrence listened to this without agreeing right away.

During the last meeting, plans were made to abandon Alvin, use the evil cult card and bring the Church on board to counter the Earl.

Although Lawrence pretended to play dead upon returning, feigning excessive grief, severing ties with others externally.

But actually, he sought out excuses to find his daughter, dispersing trusted aides to alleviate the Earl’s attention, observing their loyalty and testing some of them.

After planning, he finally employed those people, supported by Vick’s intelligence, "accidentally" uncovering an evil sacrificial site.

Then he stirred up the matter to the ears of several noble lords, who once he subtly hinted them realized the Church is evidently more useful than Alvin’s banner.

Why would those nobles raise Alvin’s flag?

Because they realized the Earl wants to promote Bruce, planning to take action against them, which is precisely why they do not want to go to war, cannot allow the Earl to deflect internal conflicts externally.

Moreover, if they fight, their power would be worn out, by then resisting would be out of the question.

Choosing to support Alvin and compete against Bruce was also a kind of helplessness, after all, they couldn’t openly defy the Earl as vassals under the noble system.

But aligning with the Church is equivalent to jumping out of this restriction, and the opposing target changes directly from Bruce to the Earl.

That is precisely why after being guided, they decisively abandoned Alvin and turned to the Church.

The nobles raised the Church’s banner and used the evil cult issue to press the Earl to cancel the fight against the mountains.

And not necessarily to actually fight the evil cult, but to delay until the first snow when heavy snow seals the mountains, making war impossible, even if fighting is planned, it would have to wait until next year, by then who knows what the situation would be.

Although Lawrence withdrew afterward, it still drew the Earl’s attention, who has been watching him, making it truly difficult to do anything more.

And Vick, having mixed here for so long, naturally clear about the situation, yet he straightforwardly threw out this sentence.

"Don’t worry about it, the Earl is now busy sparring with those people, not to mention he won’t last long."