A whisper, like heavenly music, sounded beside Lan Feng's ear.
Everyone in the camp turned their gaze towards the entrance of the tent. A youth in a black robe, accompanied by a female general clad in armor, who looked like a goddess of war, appeared before them.
"City Lord Miye."
Seeing the person before him, Lan Feng felt immensely surprised.
Though they were city lords within the Windrise City territory and had little contact, they all recognized each other.
What surprised him was Miye's presence here.
The territory of Windrise City was vast. Milu City, guarded by Miye, was more than a thousand li away from Lan Feng City. More importantly, the powerful figures behind them were not the same.
"Why... why are you here?"
"My life is hard." Miye, draped in armor, sighed dejectedly. "Wasn't I captured by the City Lord of Windrise City and brought here together?"
As she spoke, Miye lazily raised her arm.
"Is there water?"
"Yes, yes, of course there is water." Lan Feng hurried to instruct his subordinates to prepare a drink for Miye. Miye simply smiled and found a seat. "You don't need to pay much attention to me; I'm just a guide at best. This person is the savior of your Lan Feng City."
Miye slowly raised her hand, pointing in Chen Yu's direction.
"Countess Miye, you jest. How can I be considered a savior?" Chen Yu wore a wry smile.
Demons had attacked the city.
Upon receiving the news, Chen Yu immediately rushed to Hei Lu's location. Fortunately, the demons' appearance had not penetrated the depths of Windrise City's territory.
Chen Yu got a general understanding of the situation within the territory.
Then, uninvited, he went to Milu City to meet with Miye.
Regardless of whom Miye was loyal to, the sudden influx of demons was a common enemy for them all.
When Chen Yu arrived, Miye should have had some information as well.
The defenses of the entire city were arranged meticulously, and the city's border defenses had been pushed forward by tens of li. When Chen Yu arrived, the troops of Milu City were setting up camp.
After stating his purpose, Miye did not refuse.
The two then traveled light and arrived at Lan Feng City as quickly as possible.
When they arrived at Lan Feng City's temporary encampment,
Looking at the civilians outside,
Chen Yu was shocked, and at the same time, he was awed by Lan Feng City's responsibility.
There were hardly any soldiers visible outside.
Yet, most of the civilians were safe and sound, having merely been frightened. One could imagine the tragic price the troops of Lan Feng City had paid to escort these civilians out safely.
"What?"
"We've come this far, City Lord Chen, are you still hesitating? If you're unwilling to take in these refugees, our Milu City can take them in with some effort."
Miye narrowed her eyes and smiled.
However, Chen Yu knew in his heart that she was not joking. She genuinely intended to take these people under her wing.
Milu City was wealthy and well-supplied.
Accepting these millions of refugees was not a difficult task for her.
With the influx of these refugees,
the strength of her city could also be greatly enhanced.
"From a geographical perspective, it would be better for our Windrise City to accept them," Chen Yu said with a smile.
Miye smiled without speaking.
Many things were understood implicitly.
For other cities, the influx of refugees might be a troublesome matter, but for cities with ample food and funds, the appearance of refugees was like a gift from heaven.
She was already planning to work with Chen Yu.
Although millions of refugees were very appealing, she did not need to compete with Chen Yu.
Furthermore...
She did not believe that Windrise City's territory would be lacking refugees in the future.
"City Lords, please pause for a moment. If I heard correctly, you two are willing to accept my city's people?" Lan Feng's expression was somewhat urgent.
Millions of people were crowded in the wilderness.
Although it seemed calm now, no one could guarantee what would happen after nightfall.
Lan Feng City's warbands had almost all been wiped out.
He did not have enough troops in hand to protect these refugees.
After nightfall, the range of demonic creatures' activities would increase.
He was anxious!
"I said from the beginning that our Windrise City would accept them," Chen Yu said in a deep voice. "I have a first-tier city near Windrise City's main city. City Lord Lan Feng can directly lead your people to settle there, and you can continue to be the city lord you are now."
"You... you say..."
"Why are you stammering? Aren't you going to thank City Lord Chen?" Seeing that City Lord Lan Feng was speechless for a long time, Miye frowned and whispered, "Looking at the entire Windrise City territory, or even the entire Tartar Kingdom, you won't find a lord as magnanimous as City Lord Chen Yu. If I were you, I would have already knelt down to offer my gratitude."
Chen Yu listened with a sigh.
For some reason, he felt that Miye was deliberately being sarcastic.
Lan Feng, however, heard Miye's words.
With a thud, he knelt down.
"I, Lan Feng, swear my loyalty to Windrise City unto death!" Lan Feng, kneeling on the ground, kowtowed directly to Chen Yu.
Seeing this, Chen Yu quickly helped him up.
Lan Feng's eyes were also filled with tears.
"City Lord Chen, I, Lan Feng, was blind before and colluded with the enemy. If I had known you were so benevolent, I should have joined your banner long ago."
"You are too serious."
Chen Yu patted Lan Feng's shoulder.
"You only cry now. You city lords are all short-sighted," Miye said with a silly laugh, leaning back in her chair. "After the incident, you finally see clearly, don't you? No one is helping you."
"Indeed, I was short-sighted."
Lan Feng, being mocked, did not retort, merely nodding silently.
Chen Yu did not taunt him.
He could understand that often, decisions were made out of necessity.
The higher the position, the more so it was.
Looking at all the cities in the Tartar Kingdom, how many could do as they pleased like Miye, possessing substantial financial resources and food supplies?
This was the capital of her confidence.
"I will send people to escort the civilians outside back to the city," Chen Yu said solemnly. "When we arrived, it seemed we saw a few city lords leaving your place. They..."
"Don't mention them!"
Lan Feng's teeth itched with hatred.
From his attitude, one could sense what had happened in the tent.
"You don't need to hate them so much. There will be a time when they suffer, and perhaps they will be worse off than you then."
Miye on the chair chuckled.
In times of peace, Windrise City appeared to stand as a collection of impregnable fortresses. But in times of war, these cities were merely tofu built with stones.
A single push and they would fall!
Lan Feng City was a cautionary tale.
In Miye's eyes, those city lords who abandoned Lan Feng City were a bunch of fools.
They still believed they were safe and sound because the trouble hadn't reached them yet,
and they could rest easy!
Lan Feng City had already fallen. Instead of banding together for warmth and solving the problem, they were still thinking of self-preservation. It wouldn't be long before those cities met the same fate as Lan Feng City, perhaps even worse.
Chen Yu, however, frowned lightly.
Noticing this, Lan Feng instinctively asked,
"City Lord, is there any difficulty?"
"No..." Chen Yu smiled and shook his head, looking into City Lord Lan Feng's eyes. "Do you dare to go back to Lan Feng City with me one more time?"