our family is gone

Chapter 432 So What Is The Price?

suspect?Enlightenment!
At first, Bruce couldn't figure out whether this could be an opportunity?After listening to the count's explanation, it suddenly felt as if constipation suddenly came out.

Just two words - refreshing!
A simple manipulation of public opinion can achieve this level. Compared with my father, I am still too young to think of this.

"But those barbarians may not be able to listen to us."

After Bruce calmed down a little, he also raised a question. If he really wanted to put on a show for them, he would need the cooperation of the barbarians. Otherwise, he would be able to figure out the problem with a little investigation.

"Why are those barbarians looting? It's because the mountains are blocked by heavy snow in winter. If they want to survive, they must reserve more supplies. At the same time, they use war to screen out the old, weak, sick and disabled, leaving the chance of survival to the stronger. Younger people.

There is no need for us to go look for them. When the news is passed, we only need to withdraw some outposts, and at the same time make the evacuation movement louder, and let them go down the mountain to plunder. Do you think they can still hold it back?

Even if they can bear it, we only need to block the caravan and ban the transportation of salt. They will have to go down the mountain without salt. "

"But these places have long been Bastia's territory. If the barbarians are allowed in..." Bruce frowned. He often patrols the borders and knows these places very well. The people living there are all Bastia. residents.

He knew very well what it meant to let the barbarians go down the mountain. He had visited the villages on the border that were harmed by the wolves, and the sight was even more shocking to him than the battlefield.

Because soldiers dying on the battlefield and unarmed civilians being massacred are completely different things.

"Am I still teaching you on the first day? War is so cruel. It's just some farmers. It will happen again next year. It's not important compared to the situation. Why are you hesitating?"

The count seemed to notice Bruce's hesitation and couldn't help scolding him.

The most taboo thing for those in power is kindness, as that would not be a good way to be a lord.

The earl can be regarded as a cunning person for being able to get to this point. The situation has obviously been in trouble because of the capture of the knights, which completely disrupted the previous deployment.

But he can also use public opinion and the situation to make arrangements and direct such a big show.

For him, the farmers who were plundered by the barbarians because of the shrinking of the defense line were just a small price to pay.

He couldn't even talk about the cost, because in his words, the farmers were like weeds, they would grow back next year even if they were cut.

Do people care about weeds?
This is how nobles view ordinary people, and it has never changed for thousands of years.

Although Bruce was hesitant, it was impossible for him to question his father's decision, so he could only nod and comply.

"Come here." The Earl stood up again, walked to the map, and raised his hand to signal Bruce beside him.

"We use this area to lure them out and open the road leading to Hamlet. The soldiers at the post will withdraw to this direction to protect Bastia. If they are invaded, they will fight back."

"Really?"

There are also specific playing styles, and Bruce is not sure which one his father wants to use.

"Of course it's a real fight. We will open up this road. What we want is to let them enter Hamlet to plunder, rather than allowing the barbarians to plunder in Bastia.

Why go to Hamlet, which is further away, if you can raid in Bastia, which is closer?So we have to fight, and we have to hit them hard and force them to pass.

We wait until they come back from plundering and then intercept and kill them. This way we can get the supplies. At the same time, rescuing the civilians who were kidnapped in the mountains can also build our reputation, and it can also make us look like we are at war with the barbarians to confuse other forces.

But here we must pay attention to a certain degree. We must let them taste the sweetness and be reluctant to give up, but they will not get too many benefits. We must consume their population as much as possible. There has been no major war in the past few years. Who can I don’t know how many barbarians there are in the mountains. "

Bruce didn't answer. He knew that the war was coming and the barbarians wanted to die. Bastia also didn't know how many people were going to die.

There are only a few high-level arms like knights that can fight against the barbarians, and most of the ordinary soldiers in the army are the main body.

"Let's go and do it. If this battle is successful, the Bastia family will replace the Hamlet family and become the real king of the northern border of the empire. When the time comes, they will control the northern border and watch the civil strife. It is not impossible to take a look at the position of the emperor."

Even Bruce was surprised by his father's unabashed ambition, but if it really succeeds, it may not be impossible.

Originally, he was a little worried about the cost of the war, but when he thought of this, his emotions were slowly replaced by high passion. As for the ordinary people who became the price of their ambitions, he completely forgot about them.

Power is indeed the best aphrodisiac for men...

At this time, the housekeeper stepped forward to report Laura's injury.

"It's an arrow wound. Judging from the damaged leather armor, the size is indeed the size of the eagles' own arrows. The wound..."

When he heard about the condition of the wound, even the earl couldn't help but admit that it was good for Laura to get the news and come back. He waved it casually, "It can be used, tell the eagles not to touch her and let her recover well." .”

"Yes." The butler withdrew, but the earl and Bruce had to continue studying the war that was about to begin.

In the room, the doctor and housekeeper had left, leaving Laura lying weakly on the bed.

There was no anesthesia during the fucking operation, and the pain almost made her faint several times, but she was afraid!

I was afraid that I would faint and not wake up, or say something out of control, so I could only hold on without making a sound, and my teeth would be broken.

There was even some numbness at the back, and I felt like half of my body had lost all feeling. Fortunately, I finally managed to survive the surgery.

But the waiting now is excruciating. No one knows whether the person waiting to open the door will be a fully armed guard or...

But at this moment, the door opened, and Laura subconsciously wanted to move, but she pulled the wound, and a ferocious look appeared on her face uncontrollably.

Fortunately, it was not the guards who came in, but the housekeeper and a maid.

"Don't be nervous. This is Bastia Castle. You are safe." The butler still had that smile on his face and raised his hand to signal the maid to come forward.

"No, I can move on my own."

Although it seemed that she had passed the test, Laura still refused the maid's offer of support, got up with difficulty, picked up her things, and walked out.

When she walked out of the castle, her heart did not calm down, but became nervous. No one knew what would happen when she returned to the eagles.

"If anyone asks you, just say that the mission failed and you escaped. You can't mention the details to the second person, even your leader."

Hearing this, Laura’s pale face showed an ugly expression.

Although the Eagles joined Bastia and were influenced by the empire, their core still has a strong tribal style, which is definitely not a good thing for a deserter who failed the mission.

"Don't worry, the earl is very optimistic about you. I'll send you back, and he won't dare to do anything to you." As if he saw Laura's dilemma, the housekeeper added a comforting word.

"I understand, no other person will know." Laura had no choice but to agree.

Everyone knows that the butler's status in Bastia is probably not comparable to that of the barons, but now he is sending an unknown soldier back.

Laura didn’t know what happened. Anyway, the housekeeper soon left the eagle colony, and she finally met the leader of the eagle colony.Laura looked up and saw people in various costumes coming and going in the hall of the station. These people were wearing metal armor, some were leather armor, and some even had guns.

Some wore bird-head masks on their faces, while others did not. Their clothes also looked very casual, with an obvious mercenary style.

It can be seen that everyone here is almost different, just like entering a mercenary guild. Only the feather accessories on the body and the cloaks that basically everyone has can make people see the barbarian style.

Sitting among these people was this man, wrapped in a black robe. Only the feathered accessories could be seen, and his face was shrouded in the darkness of the hood.

That was the leader of the eagle group, and around him stood some tall elites wearing bird-head-style masks.

"Why are you the only one out of ten who came back?"

A voice with a strange tone came. It was hard to imagine how it was pronounced, because it didn't sound like a human voice, but the low and surly voice of a nighthawk.

Barbarians never like to hide their emotions. If they don't like it, they just don't like it.

The silence in the face of questioning soon aroused the excitement of other members of the eagle group, and then more and more insults followed. It sounded like the entire hall was involved in a fierce quarrel.

"Weak!"

"Those who run away don't deserve to be here!"

"You should die outside for this disgrace and should not come back..."

Laura could feel the anger of the people around her, but she couldn't say it!

And she is no different from a deserter to a certain extent.

"Execution!"

The sudden sound was like the cry of a sudden explosion in the night, instantly overpowering the noisy sound.

Two armored and masked elites walked out from among the members of the eagle group and were already prepared to attack her with oppression.

"No!" Laura seemed to realize some instinct and wanted to resist, but how could she escape after being injured and "tortured" so hard that she was caught easily.

One person clamped her hands and kicked her hard to make her kneel down. The other person casually lifted her hood, revealing Laura's frightened expression, and took the razor handed to her with her right hand.

"Go!"

The leader's voice came out, and the man directly grabbed her hair and pulled it up. Then he took out a razor and cut off the strands of hair, letting them fly away.

"No!"

Different from Laura's hoarse shouting, the surrounding eagle members all laughed happily, mixed with various insulting words.

It was as if what he was watching was not torture, but some kind of fun-filled performance.

Laura's punishment soon ended, but the strange thing was that only half of her long hair was shaved off, while the other half was left on.

It's just that because of her struggle, there were many wounds on her scalp besides the remaining hair residue of different lengths, and blood flowed out from them across her face, making her face even more ferocious.

There were two lines of tears shed at the same time.

That's right, Laura, who endured all the hardships along the way and persisted, even stabbing herself with an arrow to protect herself, picking at her wounds and burning them with gunpowder without crying, was crying now.

It wasn't heart-breaking, but rather numb, as if she had given up hope, and her eyes had lost all their sparkle.

"Take him down and lock him up, just because you, a loser, dare to let an old dog act arrogant in front of me!"

The leader's words were mixed with part of the barbarian language, which most people couldn't understand at all, but he also vaguely stated the reason why he treated Laura the way he did.

Because he thought the butler was slapping him in the face by sending the person back.

He was mocking the Eagles for their inability to do things well. Otherwise, why would a deserter who failed a mission deserve to be sent back?
However, the warning was still effective, and the leader of the eagles did not kill Laura, otherwise she would never survive.

But the punishment he chose was more of a mental injury than a direct injury.

When eagles were still tribes, the gods believed in were the natural spirits of birds.

Feathers are very important to birds, and by extension, to eagles, hair represents a very important meaning, and even further represents face, strength, etc.

And now shaving off her red hair, and only shaving half of it, is equivalent to plucking half of the feathers of a bird, which is a very serious humiliation.

Laura was dragged away, and the onlookers of the eagles dispersed as if after a carnival. It was as if what happened just now didn't happen at all.

Only the broken red hair left on the ground, mixed with dripping blood, told everyone that the scene just now was not fake...

"Bang!"

The sound of steel colliding sounded as the cell door was being closed.

Laura was thrown into the dirty, filthy cell with a strong stench.

But only at this time, in this place, her tense nerves were finally released.

The pressure that had accumulated in her heart along the way poured out uncontrollably, swallowing up her sanity in an instant.

Soon soft sobs could be heard in the cell.

What did you do wrong?
The surge of emotions brought intense mental pressure, which even made her forget about the wound on her waist that had just burst, and the scar on her head that was still bleeding. Only humiliation and pain almost swallowed her heart.

In this despair, Laura did not feel any resentment towards Hamlet or Lance.

If he had used release as a condition to force Laura, then all the resentment she accumulated in the end would probably have to be attributed to Lance or Hamlet.

But with just a slight twist, Lance released her first and at the same time helped her conceal the fact that she was caught.

and then?
Laura herself would take the initiative to lie and conceal it, even risking self-harm to defend this lie.

Because this is not for Lance's benefit, but for her own benefit. Once it starts, it will develop out of her control, and she can only go on.

But during this period, everything was her own decision, and Lance had no influence or interference in her behavior at all.

Killing without blood, I can only say that Lance is the most terrifying...

　Thanks to [The Fist of the North Star is Invincible] for the 500 reward
　　
　
(End of this chapter)