The moon was bright, but starless.
A brilliant crescent hung high in the sky. On the tower of the City Lord’s mansion, Chen Yu leaned his arm on the railing, gazing into the distance.
What a shame.
He had hoped, perhaps, to leave the caves and return to the outside world. But then that little devil’s club had brutally hammered reality back into him.
Actually, Chen Yu didn’t particularly wish to go back.
Even if he returned to the outside, he’d be all alone. His current status would be nonexistent there. No matter how he thought about it, staying in the caves was better.
He wanted to return mainly to learn some skills.
One realizes the need for knowledge only when it is to be used.
Chen Yu truly regretted not having read more books when he was outside the caves.
Any genre, any subject.
Anything would do.
He had never imagined he’d be so capable one day.
Managing two cities.
How intimidating.
Freedom Town already had over a million citizens. As for Fengqi City, there was no need to even mention it. Its scale rivaled that of a royal city, capable of housing tens of millions without issue.
Spanning seven thousand *li* in length and width, it could probably accommodate hundreds of millions.
If we talk about the initial small-scale operations, Chen Yu handled them rather simply.
But as the scope expanded, he found it a bit challenging.
If only he could return to the outside, he would gather more batteries, download all the books he could, and then return to the caves to study them at his leisure.
Alas, that idea had fallen through.
As far as Chen Yu could tell, Fengqi City was lacking in many areas.
Labor.
Troops.
In terms of food, they weren’t lacking too much now. Liya was very reliable, providing Chen Yu with rice and flour. Meat wasn’t difficult to obtain in the caves, as long as one went out hunting.
With Chen Yu’s exquisite cooking.
They weren’t particularly afraid of parasites.
Labor would take time to grow. As long as Fengqi City could develop again, Chen Yu wasn’t worried about the city lacking citizens.
But the troop situation…
Recruiting soldiers in Freedom Town was still vivid in his memory. It was quite difficult to recruit troops. He wasn’t short on equipment, but Chen Yu still had a significant concern.
Weapons!
The only type of weapon he could craft by hand was the sword.
Black Iron grade, Bronze grade, Silver grade, Gold grade.
All weapons were swords.
Even for the staves needed by mages, he couldn’t forge them.
And even less so for the robes of mages.
This resulted in a significant problem: Chen Yu’s troop types were limited.
Everyone in the legions wielded swords.
And wore armor.
The equipment for mages was also like this, which did not suit their professions.
Furthermore…
His legions were all swordsmen, which could be understood as infantry.
If they encountered ranged archers,
Or cavalry.
Even with an equipment advantage, the inherent counters between troop types would greatly diminish his legions’ strength.
More importantly,
His military strength was simply not on the same level as other factions in the caves.
He relied on equipment to compensate.
If it were before, when he was in Freedom Town, his surrounding enemies were just camps with little strength, and he didn’t need to worry about these things.
The future, however, would be a war between nations.
The outbreak of war between the Batu Federation and the Tatu Kingdom might just be the beginning.
The influx of foreigners would inevitably disrupt the existing order in the caves.
During the ensuing chaos, the foreign enemies encountered could very well be entire nations.
Chen Yu had to consider things more thoroughly.
“Where can I get blueprints for other types of equipment?”
Leaning against the railing, Chen Yu narrowed his eyes and murmured.
Rustle, rustle…
The sound of faint footsteps in the distance broke the quiet night.
Chen Yu turned his head and saw the little devil, hands clasped behind her back, her bright eyes looking at him and nodding towards the outside of the City Lord’s mansion.
“Coming.”
“Who?” Chen Yu looked bewildered. The little devil shrugged and spread her hands. “Who else could it be? It’s your beloved Jiucai. He’s waiting outside the gate. It looks like you succeeded.”
“Really?”
Upon hearing this news, Chen Yu was overjoyed.
Ya Bo had always appeared very cold. Chen Yu had thought it would take some time to win his allegiance, to subtly let him feel Chen Yu’s capabilities.
He hadn’t expected that the salary system and tax policies would be announced, and that Ya Bo would come directly.
“Let him in. Coincidentally, I have something I want to ask his opinion on.”
“Okay.”
The little devil replied, then turned and walked out with her hands behind her back again. In the past, she’d be too lazy to run errands like this, or would complain to Chen Yu even if she did. Now, she seemed somewhat accustomed to it.
A few minutes later…
Outside the tower, Ya Bo’s figure appeared in Chen Yu’s sight.
His face was as haughty as ever.
In the darkness, he was like a phantom, and if one wasn’t careful, it seemed as though he would blend into the night.
“You’re here?”
Seeing Ya Bo ascend the high platform, Chen Yu, who was looking up at the bright moon above, whispered.
“Find a place to sit freely.”
Ya Bo remained silent, casually finding a stone stool and sitting down.
“Have you thought it over?”
After a long silence, Chen Yu turned his gaze to Ya Bo with a smile.
“Are you willing to work for me?”
“Are the salary system and tax policies on the bulletin board serious?” Ya Bo frowned, a hint of suspicion in his eyes.
He had naturally gone to check the contents of the bulletin board.
The moment he saw the content, his first thought was that it was absolutely impossible.
Even he,
After overthrowing the previous regime, couldn’t achieve this level.
The taxes and meager income of Hurricane City in the past were indeed unacceptable to him, but with such a drastic change, even he felt it was unreal.
“You’re not doing this deliberately to recruit me, are you?”
His suspicious gaze fell on Chen Yu. Chen Yu looked at him with a smile for a long time.
“Do you think that’s possible?”
This rhetorical question left Ya Bo speechless.
If anyone else had asked such a question, Ya Bo would have scoffed.
However, Chen Yu was a Saint.
In the eyes of a Saint, even if Ya Bo were Jiucai, he was no different from any other realm.
“I am doing this for this city.”
“Even if I truly want to recruit you, I wouldn’t need to do such a thing.”
“Lies are always revealed eventually, aren’t they?”
Chen Yu smiled slightly, looking at Ya Bo, who had been sitting on the stone stool without speaking for a long time.
“You came here late at night, so you must have made a decision.”
“Before I answer your question, can I ask one more?” Ya Bo looked up, his eyes fixed on Chen Yu, whose back was to the bright moon.
“Ask.”
“Are you… really a Saint?”
With a heart full of apprehension, Ya Bo mustered the courage to voice his doubt.
It was hard to believe that Chen Yu, so young,
Could be a Saint!
He was truly too young. At his age, even being in the Gold realm would be considered a genius. How could he possibly be in the Saint realm?
The moonlight spilled onto Chen Yu.
Those wisps of silver light seemed to drape him in a veil of moonlight.
He smiled at Ya Bo,
And slowly turned back.
The moonlight cast a long shadow of Chen Yu on the tower, and Chen Yu also smiled faintly.
“No.”
Ya Bo’s breath eased almost instinctively. He knew Chen Yu couldn’t be a Saint. He probably used some unknown method to cast those forbidden spells.
Unexpectedly…
“I am indeed not a Saint. I… am above the Saint realm.”