CHAPTER 466: CHAPTER 300: THE CONVOY RETURNS_1

"Let’s go. Tamara must be eager to see you."

Lance teased before turning to leave, and Amanda had no choice but to follow.

Outside, Tamara showed her tact; she didn’t follow them in but waited outside. Just as she was about to ask Lance about the situation upon seeing him emerge, her expression fell at the sight of the person following behind him.

"That’s enough. Now, in my presence, this matter between you two ends here. I know both of you are upset, but have you ever considered that your conflicts are entirely baseless, even absurd? You’ve been hostile for years over the struggles of the previous generation. You became tools in their fight for power and profit, even coming to blows and wishing each other dead. It’s both tragic and ridiculous."

Lance’s words laid bare the true source of their conflict, which was not really between them.

Neither of them were fools. After hearing this, they both fell into silence, and their animosity gradually subsided.

After so many years, it would be impossible for them to suddenly give up their hostility. The fact that they had restrained themselves in his presence was already commendable.

"Alright, now what do you think the Seeker of Omens will do to deal with us?"

Lance introduced a common enemy, immediately diverting their hostility.

"Assassins—people like her. They will disrupt the situation and then try to eliminate us amidst the chaos," Tamara said without hesitation, her words also hinting to Lance not to trust Amanda.

Amanda’s eyes flickered strangely upon hearing this, but she chose to remain silent.

To be honest, she knew her teacher had already begun to target Hamlet, but it was impossible for her to reveal that.

Lance didn’t mind and waved his hand. "Alright, you two have been fussing for days. Get some rest."

As a strategist, he had enough patience to lay out his plans. The two were destined to fall into his grand scheme.

Lance left, leaving the two behind.

With the pressure gone, they no longer hid their disdain for one another. Almost simultaneous snorts of contempt accompanied nearly identical turning movements, displaying a remarkable, albeit hostile, coordination.

...

"Is it a bit unreasonable to offer Sanctuary to both at this time? It might draw us into the Romani conflict."

"I intended to seek collaboration, to use the strength of the Romani to fight against the evil cult, but the situation has gotten completely out of hand.

"Moreover, with wars breaking out everywhere, whether the Romani act or not, the situation in Hamlet will inevitably become more complex—that’s the issue we’ll have to face in the future. Right now, there are very few people I can trust."

Lance candidly recounted his recent confrontations with the Romani to Grendel, taking out the Messenger as he spoke. "This is something good I got from them."

Grendel took the oddly shaped eyeball and quickly learned to use it under Lance’s guidance.

"It’s a remarkable device."

As soon as she finished speaking, her words were repeated from Lance’s end a second later.

"It’s a remarkable device..."

Upon hearing this, surprise spread across Grendel’s graceful face.

But giving her this equipment signified a deeper level of trust; she could feel Lance’s complete confidence in her. For a moment, she felt guilty about her prior suspicions.

Lance, on the other hand, was somewhat helpless. The device required Spiritual Essence to operate, and there were very few Transcendents in town. Among these people, he could only give it to Grendel, who had no background to speak of.

"I understand," Grendel said, storing her half of the Messenger and making her own promise in response to Lance’s trust.

Lance didn’t mind spending a bit more time to communicate with her, but soon, news spread through the town.

The caravan had returned.

After returning from Totnes, he had instructed Walter to lead a team to form a caravan. Its purposes were to monopolize the grain supply in Ovando City, open up trade routes across Hamlet Territory, and gather information from human settlements. For this, he had even dispatched twenty soldiers to ensure the caravan’s safety and to keep an eye on Walter.

Now, nearly a month later, the outbound caravan had finally returned.

Lance hurried over and finally saw the long-absent caravan. Compared to when it had left, the elongated convoy was now laden with cargo, so heavy that the axles creaked. The weary draft horses strained forward, spurred on by the drivers’ whips at any sign of slacking.

Good heavens! The caravan has at least doubled in size since it left. Walter’s management skills are truly impressive.

"Well done! Welcome back!" Lance stepped forward to greet them, and Walter quickly descended from his wagon.

"My Lord," Walter said, clearly moved to see Lance welcoming him. His appearance spoke of a challenging journey.

Lance also noticed a tall, robust man accompanying Walter.

"Lord, this is Tadiff, a very famous Bounty Hunter and an old friend. He offended certain people and was thrown in jail. I bailed him out," Walter introduced. However, his words seemed to annoy the man.

"Screw that," Tadiff retorted, slapping Walter on the back. "Didn’t I help you out?"