Yes, although Igor had been scared half to death last night, out of loyalty to his fellow villagers, he had still ignored Talente's "advice" and risked returning to the village to report the matter to Lord Bamelo, the most prestigious man there.
Of course, the people they had encountered last night had not been villagers from Huka Village at all, but "actors" from the Security Bureau.
As for the buried corpses, they were Anglo-Portuguese Army soldiers Junot had killed on the north bank of the Mondego River some time ago. The bullet holes in their bodies did not matter either—they could simply be said to have been "shot dead by English soldiers supervising the village relocation."
A few hours later, the men Bamelo and Calvão had sent carefully dug up the bodies Igor had described. Sure enough, there were four people dressed as farmers. That afternoon, more than a dozen of Nehabe Village's most prominent people gathered at Bamelo's home, every one of them grim-faced.
"That's how it is," Bamelo said. "Clearly, the rumors are true.
"The question now is no longer whether we'll receive compensation after reaching Lisbon, but whether we can even reach Lisbon alive."
More than a month earlier, the Security Bureau had begun spreading news that "the English are going to destroy Portugal." Minor nobles like Bamelo had heard some whispers of it.
And now, those whispers had corroborated what was happening right before their eyes.
A country gentleman said nervously, "Then what should we do now?"
"In any case, we can't leave the village." Bamelo gritted his teeth. "And we absolutely cannot burn this place down. Once we lose the village, the English can dispose of us as they please."
"But Lord Matos came with soldiers..."
Remembering what the "Huka Village villagers" had said last