The meteor hung suspended in the air.
Countless refugees held their breath, their gazes fixed on the sky, their eyes filled with an indescribable yet genuine fear.
Maintaining a forbidden-tier spell required an extreme expenditure of magical energy.
Even for a Saint, casting a forbidden spell wasn't difficult, but sustaining it was another matter entirely, something they might not be able to endure for long.
Yet, Chen Yu, who had conjured the meteor, showed no signs of fatigue.
"Such terrifying magical energy."
The mole-faced man looked up at the meteor above, his heart filled with immense shock.
"It's been about the time it takes to brew a cup of tea since he conjured it, and his magical energy hasn't been depleted yet. This new City Lord of Fengqi City is so strong it's frankly terrifying."
"What's going on? Is his magical energy inexhaustible?" the fox-person asked, his brow furrowed in astonishment.
Little did they know, inside Yabo, a tempest was raging.
His brothers only had a vague concept of forbidden spells; at their Obsidian realm, they couldn't truly comprehend how formidable Chen Yu was, maintaining such a spell.
Yabo, however, understood very clearly.
The longer the meteor remained suspended overhead, the greater his shock grew.
Terrifying?!
This was beyond the realm of terror; it was enough to plunge an entire kingdom into despair.
The magical energy he was expending to maintain the forbidden spell was likely enough for him to cast several more. One forbidden spell could destroy a city, and several such spells would be more than even the capital city of the Tatu Kingdom could withstand.
Chen Yu, though appearing as a youth, already possessed a power that could make a kingdom tremble.
Chen Yu, perhaps still contemplating how to make Yabo sincerely submit to him, was unaware that Yabo was already filled with admiration for him.
As long as Chen Yu truly considered the well-being of the city, Yabo felt he had no reason not to pledge his loyalty.
The strong were often proud, but they also admired strength!
Chen Yu, who had conjured the meteor, calmly watched the refugee who had questioned him. In truth, he was rather pleased that a refugee had stepped forward to ask him such a question.
Questions led to answers, and answers led to further development.
Did he truly intend to end the lives of these refugees with this meteor?
No!
Fengqi City needed to develop, and that required an influx of people. If he let the meteor fall now, these refugees would indeed turn to ash.
What would become of the city?
What use was a city, no matter how vast, without its people?
"Are you unable to answer, or do you find the meteor overhead to be too terrifying?" Seeing the refugee speechless for a long time, Chen Yu lightly chuckled and twitched his arm. The meteor above silently vanished.
The oppressive aura of the forbidden spell dissipated, bringing instant relief to everyone.
"Holy shit!"
"He actually dispersed the forbidden spell so easily."
The fox-person's eyes widened, his mouth agape. The shock in the eyes of the others reached an unprecedented level.
While they were at the Obsidian realm and indeed didn't deeply understand forbidden spells, they also knew, though not Saints themselves, how severe the backlash would be from forcefully retracting a released battle skill.
For a forbidden spell, it was surely only an increase in backlash.
"Brother, this City Lord's strength..." the mole-faced man tentatively asked, only to see Yabo's eyes blazing with an almost burning intensity.
Yabo, perched on the eaves, gazed intently at Chen Yu's figure, exhaling slowly after a long while.
"Unfathomable."
Chen Yu had no idea that the simple fireball he had conjured would cause such immense shock to Yabo. His purpose in doing so was simply to deter the refugees and prevent a conflict between them and the City Lord's mansion.
"Speak."
After dispersing the fireball, Chen Yu's eyes held a smile.
"Give me a reason why I must give you food. If you can provide one, I'll have Clyde give you two hundred loaves of bread and thirty catties of beef."
*Gulp.*
Upon hearing the mention of food, the refugees couldn't help but swallow.
The refugee who had been on the verge of being branded as an enemy, though fearful, felt his fear overcome by the promised food, and he shouted loudly.
"This is a promise from the City Lord's mansion!"
"Is that all?" Chen Yu looked calmly at the refugee and shook his head. "If that's all, then you won't be getting the bread and beef."
"The City Lord's mansion of a city should prioritize its credibility the most."
The refugee stared intently at Chen Yu, his fear seeming to vanish in that instant.
"Isn't that so?"
"If I say it isn't, can you refute me?" Chen Yu grinned and said softly, "Is the credibility of the City Lord's mansion really that important? I'm not very familiar with the circumstances of other cities, but I still want to ask all of you, did the City Lord's mansions you belonged to ever truly keep their promises to you?"
The refugees fell silent. No one answered Chen Yu's question.
Credibility?!
If the City Lord's mansion had truly been trustworthy to them, how could they have ended up as refugees?
"Credibility is indeed important, that's true." Seeing the refugees' silence, Chen Yu nodded slightly. "If you want the people of a city to have more cohesion, the City Lord's mansion must set an example; this is undeniable. But you, who have fallen into becoming refugees, should also know a truth: in this world, relying on oneself is better than relying on anyone else. Just like now, the City Lord's mansion promised to give you relief food, but now I don't want to give it. What can you do to me?"
Chen Yu spread his hands, looking at the refugees whose lips moved but couldn't utter a word.
"Do you have to depend on others' generosity to live? Have you always been like this? In the towns, city-states, or cities where you lived before, did you also survive on the relief food provided by the City Lord's mansion?"
"That shouldn't be the case, right?"
"Didn't you earn your living through the hard work of your own hands in your past lives?"
"Look at yourselves now: like fledglings waiting to be fed, societal rejects who have lost the ability to live, capable of working with your hands yet only desiring to reap without sowing. If your relief is stopped, you would overthrow the City Lord's mansion that gave you sustenance during your most difficult times?"
"Do you still have any dignity?"
Chen Yu, with his hands raised, looked at the refugees before him. Hearing Chen Yu's words, many among the refugees lowered their heads in shame, daring not to meet Chen Yu's eyes, and felt remorse for their recent actions of wanting to confront the City Lord's mansion with the crowd.
"Even if we rely on our hands, we need jobs, don't we?"
Suddenly, someone stood up from among the refugees and shouted at Chen Yu.
"Don't we want to rely on our own hands? We came to Hurricane City because we heard of its stability; we wanted to find a way to survive here. But after arriving, we found it no different from the cities we left behind – chaotic!"
"We are not some advanced cultivators, nor are we a match for the wild beasts and monsters outside the city."
"How do you expect us to live?!"
"Is it wrong for us to want to live? You say we have no dignity, but then you should provide us with jobs."
"Alright, I will."
Upon hearing this call, Chen Yu's face finally showed a smile as he looked at the man whose neck veins were bulging.
"You want a job? Our Fengqi City will provide you with one."