“Siege?”
The moment he received the message, Klei frowned so hard he felt like he could crush a mosquito, his eyes widening as he roared.
The probationary knight who came to report was startled by Klei’s shout and took half a step back.
“Who is attacking the city, and what banner are they flying?”
“There are no banners.” The probationary knight under the heavy golden helmet kept shaking his head. Although his expression couldn’t be seen, his rapid breathing was palpable. “I only saw a vast, well-equipped legion standing below the city walls. Their numbers must be at least tens of thousands. They stopped once they reached the city.”
Klei, with his brows tightly knit, was calculating in his mind.
A legion of tens of thousands.
Well-equipped.
Indeed, there were quite a few entities within the borders of Fengqi City that could field tens of thousands of troops, and the scope narrowed significantly for those who also possessed excellent equipment.
At the very least, it would require a city lord with the title of Count to dispatch such a strong force.
He subconsciously glanced at Chen Yu, who was still sitting as steady as a mountain on the stone stool. With an enemy force at their gates and such a critical moment, Chen Yu’s expression showed no sign of haste; he was as calm as a waveless lake.
“Did they say anything when they reached our city?”
Only then did Chen Yu ask, unhurriedly.
“I do not know.” The probationary knight bowed his head in reply. “Seeing the heavy troops at the city’s foot, I hurried back to report.”
“Is the defensive formation ready?” Klei pressed.
The probationary knight who was asked paused inexplicably. Although his expression couldn't be seen, he could roughly imagine the embarrassment and wry smile beneath his helmet.
What defensive formation?
Although the city had some siege weapons, there were hardly any defending soldiers.
The handful of knights, even if they all went to resist tens of thousands of elite soldiers, would be meaningless. Not to mention that the Knight’s Order was currently responsible for the main defense force within the city. Many personnel had been drawn from the livestock and agricultural areas, and there were still people needed to maintain stability within the city. There were fewer than a hundred people truly defending the city.
After a long silence with no response, Klei also recalled these details, frowned, and waved his hand.
“You hurry and summon the others in the city to the city gates to defend against the enemy. There’s no need to sally out to meet them; just stand on the city walls. I will come after discussing countermeasures with the City Lord.”
Upon receiving the order, the probationary knight rushed out of the City Lord’s mansion.
At the pavilion, Klei paced back and forth, clenching his fists. Such a surprise attack left Fengqi City with no time to react.
“Can’t you slow down a bit?” Chen Yu looked up at Klei and said, “Your pacing is making my head spin.”
“City Lord!”
Finally hearing Chen Yu speak, Klei’s face was full of worry.
“The enemy is at our gates, aren’t you anxious?”
“Don’t be so agitated.” Chen Yu remained seated serenely on the stone stool, raising a hand towards Klei, who looked like he wanted to devour everyone. “As the Deputy City Lord, how can you be so restless without even understanding the situation? You are the City Lord; in times like these, you must remain steady.”
“I…”
Before Klei could finish speaking, Chen Yu raised his hand again, telling him to stop.
“The patrols at the city gate saw a legion, but they haven’t actually attacked. Why are you in such a hurry?” Chen Yu whispered. “Even if they do want to attack, our Fengqi City’s walls are sturdy, and we can hold out. Although the city lacks sufficient defending soldiers, are the siege weapons you purchased just for show?”
“The siege weapons are good, but there are too few people,” Klei said with narrowed eyes.
Klei’s heart was already as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. He frowned and flipped open the testimonies of Luoma and the others on the table.
“How is this possible!”
“At this time, which city can rashly dispatch troops to attack us? There are still monsters lurking around our city. For such a legion of tens of thousands, they would need to clear out all the lurking monsters to break through.”
“Which city within the borders of Fengqi City has this kind of strength?”
“Stop looking, let’s go out and take a look.” Chen Yu took a sip of cold tea, placed the teacup on the table, and straightened his clothes. “What can you figure out from these testimonies? The data on them cannot be taken seriously. Any city will hide its troops; their strength is never what is apparent.”
“City Lord, shouldn’t we let Yabo bring troops back for reinforcements if we go out just like this?”
“Our training grounds are two hours’ walk away, and the soldiers in the legion are all new recruits. It’s too late to call them back, and they might not be of much use anyway.” Chen Yu gently tugged on Klei’s shoulder. “Just come with me to the city gate to take a look. I will have a solution then.”
Seeing that Chen Yu had spoken to this extent, Klei could only follow with a mixture of doubt and trust.
He had no solution.
All his confidence stemmed from his elemental affinity.
If they truly harbored malicious intent towards Fengqi City, and communication failed, Chen Yu would have to resort to a meteor summoning spell. Even if a Saint realm expert intervened to stop him, he would have justification.
A city guarded by a Saint-level powerhouse – how could he be forbidden from retaliating when others sought death by attacking him?
What was the point of cultivation if, one day, he couldn’t be bullied and had to crush those who threatened him? This applied to all cultivation realms. Reaching the Saint realm and then acting like a turtle in its shell?
What kind of logic was that?
Even if his strength was exposed, he wouldn’t care. Previously, he had intended to act low-key after arriving in Fengqi City and had made some minor adjustments in secret.
At this moment, he had truly understood the complexity of Fengqi City.
So be it if it was exposed.
This way, it would also serve as a deterrent to other cities.
Moreover, Chen Yu felt that the arrival at Fengqi City might not necessarily be external enemies. Calculating the time, it had been over a month since Black Donkey had departed from Freedom Town. Even if he crawled, he should have reached his destination by now.
Chen Yu’s order to him was forced march, not a leisurely stroll or an outing.
North City Gate, on the city wall.
Almost all the members of the Knight’s Order of the entire city had ascended the city walls. On both sides were the siege weapons that Klei had purchased at high prices from outside.
Everyone held their breath, in a state of high alert.
Since the establishment of Fengqi City, there had never been an incident of a siege. The absolute strength of the Old Prince made the petty villains outside not dare to have any undue thoughts about it. However, they never expected that just shortly after the Old Prince retired, someone would become impatient and launch an attack.
The members of the legion standing on the city walls had already made up their minds.
At worst, they would die!
Fengqi City had only just begun to show signs of progress, and they would absolutely not allow these people to destroy the haven behind them.
“Elder Donkey, why are we just standing here foolishly below the city?” A Minotaur, clad in a vibranium set of at least Perfect grade, with a golden sword at his waist and a black axe on his back, and a golden ring on his nose, asked gruffly towards the youth lounging on the straw mat.
The youth tilted his head slightly, and with a single look, the small soldiers beside him quickly moved a large leaf aside.
This allowed the youth to remain comfortably in the shade.
“You’ve been walking for so long, do you really not know what fatigue is?”
The youth on the straw mat yawned widely. This yawn was highly contagious, making the eyes of several nearby beasts, who looked like generals, sting.
“I truly envy your bull hooves; they can really walk.”
The youth, exuding an aura of laziness, glanced at the Minotaur’s feet and stretched lazily.
“Stay put.”
“Master, if you are tired, rest here. I’ll take two battalions to attack the city. Although this city looks harder to attack than the ones we encountered before, I guarantee you, this city will fall within three hours!” The Minotaur patted his chest loudly. Several other beasts nodded in agreement, “Yes, Black…”
“Hmm?”
The lazy youth immediately frowned. The few beasts who were about to speak swallowed their words.
“Donkey, Elder Donkey.”
“You lot, watch your mouths. Master Hei is the second-in-command of our city, Master Hei Dou. If Dou-ge finds out you’re calling him by the wrong name, all your scales will be chopped off.” The lazy youth pouted. “Don’t you disbelieve me. You’ve only joined the battalion for a short time. Our Master Hei is absolutely ruthless. Years ago, ‘Ka Ka’ was chopping off people’s scales; even Commander Kuka and Commander Jack were almost chopped.”
“Yes, yes, yes…”
Several beast generals nodded and bowed cautiously.
Although they had never actually seen Hei Dou’s true appearance, in their minds, the ferocious, bloodthirsty, scale-chopping figure described by the youth before them had been firmly established.
“Elder Donkey, are we attacking this city or not?”
The beast generals lowered their heads and asked cautiously.
“We’ve been marching for two days and two nights. The brothers in the legion are all tired and their feet are sore. Since it’s still early, why don’t we just attack and capture the city? It would be good to rest inside. Didn’t you say our Great Master is waiting for us? We can’t be held back by this broken city.”
The lazy youth on the straw mat frowned, looking at these few reckless fellows.
“Where is our destination?”
“Fengqi City.”
“Look closely at the words on the city wall. How do you read them?” The youth slowly raised his hand. Several generals silently looked back and then shook their heads in confusion. “Master, you know we can’t read.”
In an instant, the lazy youth lying on the straw mat covered his face with his hand.
“Is there anyone who can read!”
“I… I can read.” The small soldier holding the leaf slowly raised his hand, and then he heard the youth say, “Go and tell these fools what the words on that city are called.”
“Fengqi City.”
“Huh? This city is also called Fengqi City?!”
The Minotaur general’s eyes widened instantly upon hearing this, and he shouted blankly.
“This city has the same name as the one we are going to.”
“Sigh, what’s so strange about that? There are many cities with the same name in the Grotto-heaven, which is so vast,” another beast general waved his hand. The lazy youth lying on the straw mat felt increasingly suffocated.
“Come… come, come, come…”
The youth slowly raised his hand, and the generals all leaned in.
“Tell me, is it possible that this Fengqi City is the Fengqi City we are going to?” The lazy youth’s eyes now showed no trace of laziness. He silently looked at the beasts in front of him, his expression gentle. “Use your pig brains to think carefully.”
“It’s… possible.”
The Minotaur general nodded, then suddenly slapped his head as if he had a revelation.
“I… I know. Master, you’re afraid this city is the one we’re going to, so you’re hesitant to attack recklessly. Don’t worry, don’t worry. We’ll attack first. You can contact our Great Master to ask. Our mission is urgent, and we can’t delay. I heard our Great Master is a bloodthirsty executioner, so we can’t harm Master.”
“All of you, get back here, damn it!”
Seeing that these reckless fellows were truly about to rush out, the lazy youth lying on the straw mat instantly became anxious and stood up, shouting.
The Minotaur general, who had picked up the axe behind him, was stunned. Before he could react, a ghostly figure appeared beside him, grabbing his ear.
“This city is the Fengqi City that the Great Master wants us to go to!”
“Did you hear me clearly?”
“This city is our destination!”
The Minotaur general’s ears buzzed, and he trembled, looking at the angry youth.
“Come, repeat what I just said,” the youth said, slowly exhaling, one hand on his hip. The beast generals swallowed. “This city is our destination, the Fengqi City where the Great Master resides.”
“Alright, since you all heard clearly, go attack the city.”
“Got it!”
Upon receiving the order, the Minotaur warrior, carrying his axe, rushed out again. The other generals followed closely behind. The youth, who was still trying to calm his anger, stood with his hands on his hips, facing away from them. He finally felt some relief from his anger. Just as he was about to turn back to scold those fools again, he watched in disbelief as the Minotaur general, leading the charge, suddenly became enraged.
“Damn it, are you all idiots!”
“Get back here!”