In the dilapidated building, everyone remained silent.
They were indeed dissenters within the city, but their starting point perhaps differed fundamentally from other dissenters.
They desired change!
Some dissenters within the city might be ambitious, wanting to seize control of it, while others sought to gain corresponding benefits.
And some, wished to grant this city a new life.
"Brother, we all know your thoughts, and we are all willing to follow you." After a prolonged silence, the man with a mole on his face sighed, "Just tell us what we should do next. Assassinating Clay is definitely out of the question. It's not just us; the other factions can't do it either."
"Cut off the supplies!"
The hook-nosed man narrowed his eyes and said in a low voice.
"Calculating the time, Clay's grain-gathering teams should be returning. If we intercept this batch of grain, the refugees' support for Clay will diminish, and we will still have a possibility of overthrowing his regime."
"But what about those refugees?"
The young man who had spoken up for Clay not long ago frowned.
"They are already pitiful enough, and they aren't even original residents of our city. Even we, who have lived here for generations, have some surplus. Those refugees truly have nothing to eat. Even with Clay's continuous relief efforts, they are still starving and freezing. If we cut off their food supply now, they will truly starve to death!"
"Then let them starve."
Faced with these accusations, the hook-nosed man gave an extremely cold reply.
"Brother, they are living souls too!" The young man shouted, clenching his fists. The hook-nosed man heard this and immediately slammed his hand on the dusty table. "Stop being so soft-hearted!"
After shouting angrily, the hook-nosed man glared at the young man.
"We are undergoing a transformation now. As long as this city can change, what does it matter if some people die in the process? Besides, they are all migrants and refugees from the outer districts. It's not our city's original residents who are dying! If you can't accept all this, then withdraw early and don't get in the way."
"Fine, I withdraw!"
The young man stared intently at the hook-nosed man for a long time, then pulled off a silk ribbon from his sleeve and threw it on the ground.
"Your ideology is too far from the justice I imagined. Perhaps I shouldn't have joined you. I support you in transforming and changing this decaying city, but I also insist that everyone's life is equal. If your so-called transformation requires sacrificing the lives of those migrants and refugees, and needs to be driven by assassinating Clay, then I'm very sorry, I will not continue with you."
"Get out!"
The hook-nosed man yelled, raising his hand. The young man grinned and shook his head.
"Brother, don't blame me for speaking too much. Your original intention might be right, but your methods now are indeed a bit too extreme."
Smiling slightly, the young man walked directly out of the dilapidated building.
The others gazed at the young man's retreating back...
"Xiao Liu."
"Don't call him." The hook-nosed man shouted, glaring. The man with the mole on his face frowned and moved closer. "Brother, don't be so angry. Xiao Liu, he actually..."
"He's just an idiot."
The fox-person sighed and said in a low voice, shaking his head.
"He really thinks he can see through the world after studying outside for a few days. Transformation is like war, does war ever happen without casualties?"
"He doesn't understand, I don't blame him."
The hook-nosed man chuckled lightly, slowly raising his head, a glimmer of yearning appearing in his eyes.
"Don't you think Xiao Liu is the true future? Although he doesn't understand now, it is people like him who can truly give this city new life. Let's all work hard for Xiao Liu. When we truly take this city, the position of city lord will go to Xiao Liu."
"Brother dotes on Xiao Liu too much," the fox-person pouted.
"As if you don't dote on him either." The hook-nosed man grinned and said, "We brothers watched Xiao Liu grow up. When we found him, didn't we all place our hopes for the future on him? He is everyone's dream, isn't he?"
Hearing this, the others laughed and nodded continuously.
They had struggled at the bottom for decades, their sharp edges long since worn down, their pure hearts dulled.
Xiao Liu was their hope for the future.
All their beautiful aspirations and wishes for the future were placed on Xiao Liu, hoping they would blossom and bear fruit in him.
"Boss!"
Suddenly, a person dressed as a refugee rushed in from outside.
"The grain-gathering team is back."
Almost the moment the words fell, the people inside the building tensed up instantly. The hook-nosed man also twisted his neck and pulled a sharp saber from his waist.
"Get ready to work!"
At this moment, within the City Lord's Mansion of Windrise City.
The vast City Lord's Mansion was tightly guarded by members of the cavalry legion. On the outskirts of the streets, countless refugees could be seen wielding wooden sticks, voluntarily serving as patrol guards for the City Lord's Mansion.
They supported City Lord Clay.
It was this City Lord who gave them food to eat and saved them from starvation.
"You're saying someone is planning to ambush the grain-gathering team."
Clay, sitting at a round table, looked intently at the young man in front of him. The person sitting with him was none other than Xiao Liu, who had just spoken up for him.
"Yes."
Xiao Liu's hands under the table were clenched tightly into fists, his expression somewhat nervous. This was actually his first time meeting the City Lord. In peacetime, the City Lord was high above, far beyond the reach of ordinary people like him.
"My brother and them want to intercept the grain. If the refugees run out of food, they naturally won't continue to support you."
"Why come here to tell me this?" Clay asked with confusion in his eyes, "Shouldn't you be quite happy to see me being overthrown by the refugees?"
"I don't agree with their methods."
Xiao Liu pursed his lips and said solemnly, "I think refugees are also people, and their lives should not be used to push for change. However, my brother and them are definitely not like other dissenters in the city. What they truly want is for the city to change, to reduce the heavy taxes left behind from before. They have feelings for this city, but seeing it so dilapidated, they want to make some changes. Perhaps their actions are a bit extreme, but their intentions are definitely good."
"Taxes."
Clay understood after hearing this, then sighed with a touch of sadness.
"I did think about changing the tax situation, but a city... changing taxes is a major matter. Furthermore, when I took office, the noble consortiums were still in power. Although I am the City Lord, I am powerless. Never mind that, do you know which grain-gathering team your brother and them intend to intercept?"
"This... I don't know," Xiao Liu shook his head.
"If that's the case, it's really tricky," Clay mused. "There are six grain-gathering teams dispatched. If I don't know which one they are blocking, it's hard for me to make a corresponding response. Now, we can only pray that your brother and them haven't done anything too outrageous. If anyone from the grain-gathering team is truly killed by them, even if their intentions are for this city, I, as the City Lord, cannot let them go."
Suddenly—
Footsteps hurried outside the City Lord's Mansion. Before long, Lauren walked in with a solemn expression.
"City Lord Clay, the grain-gathering team has been ambushed. Should we send reinforcements!"