There is no reason to abandon a city.
At least, that's what Chen Yu thought.
After obtaining the City Lord's Seal, Chen Yu had a rough understanding of the city's situation and was even more glad that he hadn't given up on this easily attainable city.
What Ke Lai had said was not false.
The former Hurricane City, now Fengqi City, spanned over seven thousand li horizontally and vertically.
The City Lord's Seal clearly stipulated that this area belonged to Hurricane City, and no other city could encroach upon it.
Seven thousand li across.
Outside the cave, this could be considered a rather large country.
Within the cave, Hurricane City was merely a city under the jurisdiction of the Tatu Kingdom, which revealed the astonishing territorial area of the entire Tatu Kingdom and the vastness of the cave system as a whole.
With the City Lord's Seal in hand, Chen Yu knew the exact locations of the subordinate cities.
He was not in a hurry to deal with these subordinate cities.
The internal division within the main city had not yet been resolved. If he were to deal with the subordinate cities now, even if he possessed the power of a Martial Marquis, he would be unable to cope.
Besides, he had no soldiers!
The cavalry regiment of this city, at full strength, was less than 3,000 men. The rest were hardly considered fighting forces. Since the previous city lord, the old prince of the Tatu Kingdom, had reached the end of his lifespan, this city had never regained its former glory spanning seven thousand li.
Many of the city's inhabitants had fled, and those who remained did not trust Ke Lai, the city lord.
If he had truly been able to win over the city's populace,
there would not have been such a severe internal division.
Apart from the original inhabitants, there were only refugees and vagrants.
"So, the city's division is partly due to those who want to take advantage of the chaos, partly because they believe you are unworthy of your position, and partly because they are displeased with you taking in refugees and vagrants. These are the core reasons for the internal unrest, am I right?" Chen Yu murmured, leaning against a true ancient tree.
Ke Lai nodded upon hearing this and said,
"The original inhabitants are very unhappy with the influx of vagrants and refugees. Those separatists are also using this to incite the original inhabitants to join their ranks. As long as they can successfully ascend to power, Hurricane City will return to its former state."
"You can't solve it," Chen Yu stated.
Ke Lai spread his hands, his eyes filled with indescribable helplessness.
Solve it?!
If he could truly solve these problems, why would he hand over a city spanning seven thousand li to someone else?
"I understand the general situation," Chen Yu said, stretching lazily and moving his shoulders as he saw Ke Lai's helplessness. "I will handle this later. Although this city now belongs to me, I want to ask you for a favor."
"Please, go ahead."
"While I am away, I would trouble you to continue serving as city lord for a while longer."
"Ah?!!!"
Instantly, Ke Lai was dumbfounded.
What was going on?
He was still expected to continue as city lord.
Alas!
He had tried his best to throw away this hot potato, not wanting to live in such a state of anxiety. He had thought that once Chen Yu took over, he would be completely free, but now he was being asked to continue suffering here.
"My Lord City Lord, you..."
"I know what you are thinking," Chen Yu said softly, comforting him. "The problem is that I genuinely cannot get away right now. I have to go to the royal city of the Tatu Kingdom. Only after I have handled matters in the royal city can I then focus on the affairs of our Fengqi City."
Chen Yu absolutely had to go to the royal city.
At this point, whether he could successfully be certified was no longer important. Chen Yu's previous desire for certification was to hide and to have an overt backing. If someone secretly wanted to deal with him, the Tatu Kingdom would provide deterrence in the open.
Now, having self-destructed the Tiger Talisman, the significance of deterrence no longer existed.
Certification, therefore, had become unimportant.
However—
His insistence on going to the royal city at this time had other purposes.
"You are going to the royal city?" Ke Lai's heart skipped a beat, and his expression changed dramatically. "My Lord, don't say I didn't warn you. The royal city of the Tatu Kingdom is no safe place at present. You have self-destructed the Tiger Talisman, and it's likely that many people in the royal city are waiting for you now. If you go at this time, wouldn't that be equivalent to walking into a trap?"
Chen Yu was naturally aware of all this.
The long journey from the Tu Free Federation to the Tatu Kingdom had not seen anyone approach him, which clearly indicated that the problem lay with the Tatu Kingdom. Chen Yu initially thought that Ke Lai's invitation to enter the city was instructed by the Tatu Kingdom.
Upon learning that he intended to cede the city, it was no surprise that the Tatu Kingdom would be the focal point of the problem.
It was indeed dangerous.
Going, he had to go!
Chen Yu dared to self-destruct the Tiger Talisman, having made up his mind to confront them directly. If he were to show fear now and not dare to go to the royal city, wouldn't that allow the hidden forces to see through his intentions? At the very least, Chen Yu's sudden self-destruction was definitely beyond their expectations, and they might even be pondering why Chen Yu had the courage to do so, and whether he had some backing force that made them hesitant.
If he were to retreat now, the fog would dissipate.
He would have nowhere to hide.
"I must go to the royal city," Chen Yu said with a smile. "I will really have to trouble you to serve as city lord for a while longer. The reason for this, I believe you can understand without me explaining."
"Are you afraid of the Tatu Kingdom?"
Hearing Ke Lai's slightly suspicious question, Chen Yu chuckled.
To be chosen by the former city lord as the city lord of Hurricane City, Ke Lai must possess some ability. Otherwise, why would the former city lord have entrusted this legacy to an outsider rather than his own descendants?
Chen Yu was indeed afraid of the Tatu Kingdom.
Ke Lai was the city lord appointed by the former prince, a rightful successor. The Tatu Kingdom had no reason to punish Ke Lai, the rightful successor. At most, they would secretly instigate the old prince's subordinates or descendants to cause trouble for Ke Lai.
They would not dare to go too far in the open.
Chen Yu even suspected that the internal unrest in the city might have the shadow of the Tatu Kingdom behind it.
Who wouldn't covet a city spanning seven thousand li?
But if this city were to fall into Chen Yu's hands, the situation would change. Chen Yu was not a subject of the Tatu Kingdom; he was an outsider. The Tatu Kingdom, under the guise of killing an invading foreign enemy, could mobilize its troops to attack.
At that time, even if Ke Lai defended Chen Yu, they would have their own set of excuses.
How could the common people know the truth?
Chen Yu did not have the spare energy to deal with these matters. Therefore, the best way to handle it was to let Ke Lai continue in the position of city lord, while he manipulated things from behind the scenes.
"This is indeed a problem," Ke Lai frowned slightly, then put on a bitter face. "But I really don't want to live in fear anymore. You have no idea how I've lived these past six months."
"Simple."
Chen Yu smiled slightly and conjured four Meteorite Guards with a wave of his hand.
"From today onwards, they will guard you day and night. Do you think... you can or cannot take on this acting city lord role?"