A figure in a straw hat appeared before Chen Yu.
His right hand tightly grasped the arrow that had flown towards the City Lord of Pohai City. With a sudden surge of strength, the energy-condensed arrow shattered in his hand with a 'bang'.
The ensuing explosion caused him no harm.
"Lord!"
Upon seeing the appearance of the straw-hatted figure, the City Lord of Pohai City immediately prostrated himself.
"Your subordinate has been doing his utmost to enter the fortress, but Chen Yu is completely unresponsive. It's truly not a matter of my incompetence. Please, believe me."
"Wow, you've defected, you spineless worm!!!" Mi Mu shouted.
Seeing this, Chen Yu was not surprised. From the beginning, he had never considered the City Lord of Pohai City to be a man of integrity. His eagerness to enter the fortress had always been suspicious.
As expected, his entry into the city was a mission assigned to him by the demon.
"I know. This matter definitely has nothing to do with you," the straw-hatted figure said with a slight smile, placing his hand on the City Lord of Pohai City's head. "Unfortunately, the task I assigned you was to enter the city, and you... did not complete it."
"My lord..."
Before the City Lord of Pohai City could finish his words, the head pressed by the straw-hatted figure exploded without warning, splattering red and white matter everywhere.
After completing this, the straw-hatted figure licked his tongue and spat out a mouthful of saliva.
He then flicked his tongue towards the ground.
He leaned down and repeatedly wiped his hand, stained with red and white matter, on the City Lord of Pohai City's clothes. Once his hand was clean, he slowly stood up, gently blew on his palm, and after gazing at his palm for a moment, slowly looked up.
"Long time no see, City Lord Chen."
Revealed from beneath the straw hat was Liao Dao. He looked up at Chen Yu on the city wall with a playful expression.
"Not really. If we're to be precise, we've never actually met. Your 'long time no see' is inaccurate. You should say 'first meeting, nice to meet you.' " Chen Yu said with a smile, then frowned. "You want to meet me, so you meet me. Why are you squeezing someone's head? Are you trying to act tough and scare me? And licking? You're not acting tough like this. If you're pretending to be a pervert, this isn't how you do it. We're practically acquaintances. I know what kind of person you are. A year isn't enough to turn you from a normal person into a pervert. Hurry up and put away your special abilities."
"Hahahaha..."
Liao Dao threw his head back and roared with laughter. Chen Yu watched him quietly.
"Want to puke?"
"..."
"Seriously, what does licking brain matter taste like? Is it disgusting? Do you want to puke?"
"..."
"I heard it tastes like tofu pudding, is that true?"
"Are you sick?!"
Liao Dao, who had been clenching his fists and trying to maintain his persona, couldn't help but exclaim.
What a strange person.
He kept going on and on about brain matter.
It was utterly disgusting.
Otherwise, why would he have spat it out after just one lick?
His stomach was still churning, and his mind couldn't bear to think about what had just happened, yet Chen Yu continued to babble incessantly.
"Hahaha, it looks like it doesn't taste like tofu pudding, it's quite disgusting." Chen Yu chuckled.
Liao Dao forcibly suppressed his anger, repeatedly exhaling to calm himself. His gaze fell on Mi Ye, attempting to change the subject.
"You're quite capable. You actually managed to save her."
Hearing Liao Dao's words, the people on the city wall couldn't help but glance at Chen Yu.
"An acquaintance?"
Mi Ye nudged her chin towards Liao Dao below the city.
"You could say he's an acquaintance. We had some interaction when I first arrived here," Chen Yu nodded noncommittally and said, "I didn't expect that in just one year, things would have changed so much."
"How come I don't know about that?" Hei Lu asked blankly.
"When I encountered you, he was long gone," Chen Yu said softly. "At that time, this fellow was on the run, and I had issued a pursuit order for him."
"So he's here for revenge, looking for you."
Mi Mu, who was very good at grasping the main point, widened her eyes and covered her mouth with her hand.
"So, all of us here now are helping you resolve a past scourge. Private, I'm not going to lie, why didn't you finish him off when you were chasing him? If you don't cut the grass at the roots, it will grow back with the spring breeze."
"Mi Mu, don't speak nonsense."
Mi Ye frowned slightly, and Mi Mu smiled.
"Oh, I'm just trying to ease the tense atmosphere. You guys really like to blow things out of proportion. Sister... you've been acting really strange lately."
"I..."
"Alas, in a sense, what Mi Mu said isn't entirely wrong," Chen Yu said with a candid smile. "Liao Dao must harbor resentment towards me. Perhaps the demon race's invasion of human and beastmen territories is their lifelong pursuit, but their offensive strategy doesn't necessarily have to be focused here. Liao Dao's appearance is likely due to my involvement."
"City Lord, please don't say that."
Mi Ye's tone was gentle, and her expression carried a hint of worry, not wanting Chen Yu to bear such a heavy burden.
The people on the fortress engaged in a lively exchange, inadvertently leaving Liao Dao below the city neglected. Liao Dao, standing below the city, went from posing initially to eventually losing his patience.
"Chen Yu!!!"
"What are you yelling about? Grandpa is listening." Chen Yu walked to the city wall, looked down at Liao Dao, and snorted lightly. "You've got a thick skin to still be alive. It's just that you haven't been doing well, have you? Why did you defect to the demon race? Instead of being a decent person, you chose to be a traitor, didn't you?"
"Hmph, you've got quite the nerve."
"Uh-huh."
Chen Yu shrugged nonchalantly.
"You still remember how you treated me back then. When I break through your pathetic fortress and enter your city, turning you into a prisoner, don't you dare say I'm too harsh and don't care about our past friendship." Liao Dao narrowed his eyes, his expression filled with icy coldness. "The treatment you receive will be the consequences of your own actions."
"Do we have any past friendship?"
Hearing Liao Dao's words, Chen Yu couldn't help but laugh.
"Is our past friendship just you contacting others in the region to boycott me? Is your hatred towards me because you failed to counter me after boycotting me? Buddy, you can't be so hypocritical. I'm just treating you the way you treated me. When I faced it, I said nothing, but when it's on you, you can't handle it. How can you live like that? Ah, no, you shouldn't be considered human anymore; you're a lackey."
"Sharp tongue." Liao Dao snorted coldly.
"Honestly, you should thank me too," Chen Yu suddenly changed the topic, and Liao Dao narrowed his eyes and frowned. "What do you mean?"
"If I hadn't pursued you, would you have achieved what you have now?"
Chen Yu said with a smile, "If I hadn't pursued you, you'd just be a survivor on the brink of death. But look at you now, you've become a henchman. Although you're not free, you can occasionally act like some kind of animal. No matter how you look at it, I've spurred your progress."
"Chen Yu, you're really asking for death!"
Liao Dao clenched his fist and shouted angrily, but Chen Yu's eyes remained smiling.
"Where is Ye City? Where is he?"